St. Cloud Police Join Statewide Gang and Gun Violence Crackdown

(KNSI) – The St. Cloud Police Department is part of a new statewide effort to crack down on gang and group violence in Minnesota.

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension/Facebook

St. Cloud is one of more than 40 law enforcement agencies that have signed on to the plan announced Monday by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. St. Cloud and Rochester are the only city police departments outside the Twin Cities metro area taking part.

The agencies have agreed to share information and resources to track down the people behind shootings and other gun violence.

The work will run through Minnesota’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center, a partnership between the BCA, the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The center will coordinate investigations and help agencies share what they know, including a federal database that matches firearm evidence to crimes.

The FBI and ATF will focus on the most dangerous offenders and could move some cases to federal court, including racketeering charges.

The plan also calls for county-based teams that can respond quickly when crimes happen. Officials say the effort can be expanded if the number of investigations grows, including forming a task force.

The approach is modeled after a gang and gun violence prevention strategy used in New Jersey.

Formal agreements with the agencies are still being finalized, but the BCA says the work is already underway and is helping with current cases.

The lead partners include the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments, along with the Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin and Ramsey county sheriff’s offices. Investigators will work with the Hennepin and Ramsey county attorneys’ offices and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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