Stanek, local police launching new gang plan

Less than three weeks after the Metro Gang Strike Force imploded following months of controversy and scandal, its work is being revived in a new way.

With gang violence spreading to the suburbs, Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek and the county's police chiefs say they have settled on a strategy of intensified collaboration to take up some of the gang-fighting slack.

"We want to work with local partners to fill the void [left by the demise of] the Metro Gang Strike Force," Stanek said.

The plan includes biweekly meetings of commanders of five task forces that deal with crime in the county to share intelligence and details about investigations with a focus on violent crime.

Stanek said in a letter to county police chiefs last week that the initiative is to be headed by sheriff's Capt. Chris Omodt, who will "facilitate this biweekly meeting, be responsive to each and every chief in the county, and report back to you results relevant to your issues."

"I think it is a great idea," said Barry Fritz, Richfield police chief. "It is clearly a good first step in trying to pull together resources and intelligence information and sharing of that also."

Omodt commanded the Strike Force for about four months before he temporarily shut it down in May. He discovered Strike Force members had shredded documents hours after state Public Safety Commissioner Michael Campion said he would have the unit investigated. Campion permanently disbanded the Strike Force on July 17. Omodt, who was assigned to clean up the Strike Force, has not been implicated in any of its problems.

County Attorney Mike Freeman said he'll assign one full-time attorney to the initiative -- Pete Connors, a 30-year veteran of the prosecutor's office.

It is not clear what impact the west-metro strategy will have on east-metro law enforcement agencies. Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher proposed last Tuesday at a meeting of law enforcement officials that they apply for state funds to create some interim anti-gang programs. The idea did not get much traction.

On July 31, officials from 36 of 37 police departments in Hennepin County -- all but two of them chiefs -- discussed the new county plan. It includes:

• A surge "suppression" operation in which officers would blanket a neighborhood if a local chief felt it necessary.

• Focused, proactive investigations to head off crimes, and collaboration on investigations of crimes.

• Information-sharing to bring agencies up to date on investigations and make crime analysis information available to them.

• A strong prosecutorial component.

• A plan to apply for some of the funds previously used by the Strike Force. The money would come from the Minnesota Gang and Drug Oversight Council, but the Public Safety Department would have to approve.

Stanek and a small group of chiefs began meeting this spring as more problems emerged with the Strike Force, a multi-jurisdictional agency created to fight gangs. In May, the Legislative Auditor found that the force mishandled evidence and could not account for $18,000 in seized cash.

The west-metro law enforcement officials concluded they did not want a county strike force. "There is no appetite for more task forces," said Stanek.

He said that in 2007, his administration created the Hennepin County Violent Offender Task Force, and the Criminal Information Sharing and Analysis Unit. Stanek credits them with helping reduce violent crime in the county by 15 percent in 2007 and 8 percent in 2008. Crime fell nationally during that period, although not everywhere.

Plans call for the two units to confer at the biweekly meetings with commanders of the West Metro Narcotics Task Force, Northwest Narcotics Task Force and Minneapolis Police Violent Offender Task Force.

"Someone from Minneapolis will absolutely be at those meetings," said Rob Allen, Minneapolis deputy police chief. Minneapolis formed a gang enforcement team in July, and officers continue to share information with other area departments, he said.

"Police agencies care very deeply about city boundaries, and gang members don't, so if we don't work with other agencies, we are doomed to failure," said Allen.

The Strike Force got $2 million from the Minnesota Gang and Drug Oversight Council in 2008. Stanek said that although it is not clear what will be available next year, his office will apply for at least half that amount, because Hennepin County has 55 to 60 percent of the state's violent crime.

Freeman said that the Strike Force's work led to relatively few of the county's prosecutions.

"We didn't see much benefit on this side of the river," said Freeman. He said the new initiative means "we can take care of business on our side for the next 18 months, and I think Rich [Stanek] has provided some leadership on that."

Randy Furst • 612-673-7382