1999 Minnesota Statutes

     299A.64 Criminal gang council and strike force. 

    Subdivision 1.    Membership of council.  The criminal 
 gang oversight council consists of the following individuals or 
 their designees:  the commissioner of public safety; the 
 commissioner of corrections; the superintendent of the bureau of 
 criminal apprehension; the attorney general; the chief law 
 enforcement officers for Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Cloud, and 
 Duluth; a chief of police selected by the president of the 
 Minnesota chiefs of police association; two sheriffs, one from a 
 county in the seven-county metropolitan area other than Hennepin 
 or Ramsey county and the other from a county outside the 
 metropolitan area, both selected by the president of the 
 Minnesota sheriffs association; the executive director of the 
 Minnesota police and peace officers association; and the 
 Hennepin, Ramsey, St. Louis, and Olmsted county sheriffs.  The 
 council may select a chair from among its members. 

    Subd. 2.    Statewide gang strategy.  (a) The council 
 shall develop an overall strategy to eliminate the harm caused 
 to the public by criminal gangs and their illegal activities 
 within the state of Minnesota.  In developing the strategy, the 
 council shall consult with representatives from the community 
 services division of the Minnesota department of corrections and 
 federal probation officers employed by the United States 
 District Court of Minnesota.  As far as practicable, the 
 strategy must address all criminal gangs operating in the state 
 regardless of location or the motivation or ethnicity of the 
 gangs' members.  The strategy must address criminal gangs in 
 both the metropolitan area and greater Minnesota.  The council 
 shall consult with and take into account the needs of law 
 enforcement agencies and prosecutorial offices in greater 
 Minnesota in developing the strategy.  The strategy must target 
 individuals or groups based on their criminal behavior, not 
 their physical appearance.  The strategy must take into account 
 the rights of groups and individuals that the strike force may 
 target and protect against abuses of these rights. 

    (b) In addition to developing the strategy described in 
 paragraph (a), the council shall develop criteria and 
 identifying characteristics for use in determining whether 
 individuals are or may be members of gangs involved in criminal 
 activity.  The council shall also develop procedures and 
 criteria for the investigation of criminal gangs and crimes 
 committed by those gangs throughout the state. 

    Subd. 3.    Criminal gang strike force.  The council 
 shall oversee the organization and deployment of a statewide 
 criminal gang strike force.  The strike force must consist of 
 law enforcement officers, bureau of criminal apprehension 
 agents, an assistant attorney general, and a communications and 
 intelligence network.  The council shall select the members of 
 the strike force who shall serve at the pleasure of the council. 
 The council shall ensure that all law enforcement officers 
 selected to join the strike force are licensed peace officers or 
 federal law enforcement agents found by the Minnesota board of 
 peace officer standards and training to have equivalent 
 qualifications.  In selecting members of the strike force, the 
 council shall consult with chiefs of local law enforcement 
 agencies, sheriffs, and other interested parties.  The council 
 shall request these individuals to recommend willing and 
 experienced persons under their jurisdiction who would help the 
 strike force and to permit those persons to join it.  To the 
 greatest extent possible, entities contributing members to the 
 strike force are encouraged to also contribute equipment and 
 other support.  The council shall attempt to ensure that these 
 entities do so. 

    Subd. 4.    Strike force duties.  The strike force shall 
 implement the strategy developed by the council and is 
 responsible for tactical decisions regarding implementation of 
 the strategy.  In addition and upon request, the strike force 
 shall assist and train local governmental units, law enforcement 
 agencies, and prosecutors' offices in methods to identify 
 criminal gangs and gang members.  To the greatest extent 
 possible, the strike force shall operate as a cohesive unit 
 exclusively for the purposes listed in this section.  If 
 regional units are established under subdivision 7, the council 
 shall ensure that the existence and operation of these units do 
 not impair the overall goal of a uniform statewide strategy to 
 combat crimes committed by gangs. 

    Subd. 5.    Service; transfer.  To the greatest extent 
 possible, members of the strike force shall serve on the force 
 for the entirety of its existence.  Members continue to be 
 employed by the same entity by which they were employed before 
 joining the strike force.  While serving on the strike force, 
 however, members are under the exclusive command of the strike 
 force.  A member who desires to be transferred back to the 
 position the member held before joining the strike force may 
 request a transfer from the council.  The council shall approve 
 and arrange for the requested transfer as soon as is 
 practicable.  The person in charge of the organization from 
 which the member came also may request that a member be 
 transferred back.  In these instances, the council shall approve 
 and arrange for the requested transfer immediately or as soon as 
 is practicable.  If a member is transferred from the strike 
 force, the person in charge of the organization from which the 
 member came shall arrange for an experienced individual, 
 acceptable to the council, to replace the transferred person on 
 the strike force.  If this arrangement cannot be made, any grant 
 received under section 299A.66, subdivision 1, must be repaid on 
 a prorated basis. 

    Subd. 6.    Commanders.  The council shall designate a 
 member of the strike force to be its commander and may appoint 
 an individual assigned to a regional unit established under 
 subdivision 7 to be the commander of the regional unit. 

    Subd. 7.    Regional units.  If the council at any time 
 determines that it would be more effective and efficient to have 
 distinct units within the strike force concentrating on specific 
 areas, it may establish regional units within the strike force 
 and select their members.  If the council chooses to do so, the 
 other provisions of this section still apply to the individual 
 units, and the council still has the duty and authority to 
 develop necessary procedures and criteria for and to oversee the 
 operation of each individual unit.  The council may continue to 
 alter the structure of the strike force and any units composing 
 it in any way designed to further its effectiveness and to carry 
 out the intent of this section. 

    Subd. 8.    Role of assistant attorney general.  The 
 assistant attorney general assigned to the strike force shall 
 generally advise the council on any matters that the council 
 deems appropriate.  The council may seek advice from other 
 attorneys and, if the council decides it would be appropriate, 
 may retain outside counsel.  The assistant attorney general 
 shall train local prosecutors in prosecuting cases involving 
 criminal gangs and in interviewing witnesses and victims and 
 shall cooperate with other strike force members in developing 
 and building strong cases.  

    Subd. 9.    Attorney general; community liaison.  The 
 attorney general or a designee shall serve as a liaison between 
 the criminal gang oversight council and the councils created in 
 sections 3.922, 3.9223, 3.9225, and 3.9226.  The attorney 
 general or the designee will be responsible for: 

    (1) informing the councils of the criminal gang oversight 
 council's plans, activities, and decisions and hearing their 
 reactions to those plans, activities, and decisions; and 

    (2) providing the criminal gang oversight council with 
 information about the councils' position on the oversight 
 council's plans, activities, and decisions. 

    In no event is the criminal gang oversight council required 
 to disclose the names of individuals identified by it to the 
 councils referenced in this subdivision. 

    Nothing in this subdivision changes the data classification 
 of any data held by the oversight council. 

    Subd. 10.    Required report.  By February 1 of each 
 year, the council shall report to the chairs of the senate and 
 house of representatives committees and divisions having 
 jurisdiction over criminal justice policy and funding on the 
 activities of the council and strike force.  This annual report 
 shall include: 

    (1) a description of the council's goals for the previous 
 year and for the coming year; 

    (2) a description of the outcomes the council achieved or 
 did not achieve during the preceding year and a description of 
 the outcomes the council will seek to achieve during the coming 
 year; and 

    (3) any legislative recommendations the council has 
 including, where necessary, a description of the specific 
 legislation needed to implement the recommendations. 

    HIST: 1997 c 239 art 8 s 8; 1999 c 216 art 5 s 4