MN law enforcement will model gang collaboration off New Jersey strategy

(FOX 9) - Minnesota leaders say a New Jersey-style information-sharing strategy could help slow gang-related shootings spreading across Twin Cities communities.

How Minnesota agencies will share gun evidence

What we know:

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and local investigators said newer gangs of Somali youth tied to recent shootings are more mobile and more loosely organized than gangs in years past. That means cases are more likely to cross city lines and pull in multiple agencies.

Local perspective:

At a Monday news conference, the BCA said 46 agencies signed onto a shared framework under Minnesota's Crime Gun Intelligence Center, housed in the Federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Officials said the effort combines local, county and state resources with support from the FBI and ATF to coordinate investigations and share information across jurisdictions.

Minnesota BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said, "That requires an approach that's unique compared to some of the things that we've done in the past. We use data that we have to identify those individuals that are trigger pullers that are out shooting in our communities. And then have that laser focus, wherever that might be in the Twin Cities metropolitan area."

Timeline:

Officials said the approach follows a strategy introduced in New Jersey 20 years ago.

The model includes regular meetings, oversight by the attorney general's office and increased use of federal databases, and the New Jersey attorney general says it led to a more than 50% drop in shootings in 10 years.

Minnesota agencies will share shell casing evidence through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN, which can connect a gun used in one city to another shooting somewhere else.

ATF Special Agent-in-Charge Joe Persails said, "When we combine these capabilities with the intelligence and resources of our law enforcement partners, together we can more effectively identify those responsible for the shootings."

Why leaders say the regional model matters

Big picture view:

Officials said the effort follows a string of violence tied to Somali and East African gangs, including a shooting outside the Eden Prairie homecoming football game, a shooting at an Edina church, and more than 100 rounds fired outside a home in Bloomington connected to the Eden Prairie shooting.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said a St. Louis Park Highway 100 shooting already showed how shared ballistics work can connect cases across communities, including a shooting in Burnsville in February.

"Those casings were linked to four other serious shootings in the metro area. So what Drew's trying to do here is tie the dots together," Fletcher said of BCA Superintendent Drew Evans. "And we need to do that. We need to share information, because not everybody shares on a regular basis right now, but Drew's driving that train, and we're going to get there."

What's next:

Local officials, including Eden Prairie Mayor Ron Case and Fletcher, have pushed for a regional task force to combat the violence.

The BCA's current setup is multiple local task forces working together under one umbrella, though Evans did not rule out one large regional task force if the violence continues.

Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said, "We have a Somali-American gang problem right now. This does not mean that all members of the Somali-American community are involved in criminal activity, because that is simply not the case."

Fletcher also stressed that the actions of a small group should not be used against the wider Somali community.

According to Fletcher, the gangs total about 300 members across 13 groups, and he said arresting 50 members could dramatically reduce the violence. Half of those, law enforcement said, could face federal charges under RICO, a law used to prosecute gangs and criminal conspiracies.

"RICO ... is a federal statute that we could levy against gangs and conspiracies," said FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Chris Dotson. "It's on the table, but it's again just one tool of several, federally, that we can bring."

What we don't know:

Officials did not say Monday how quickly they expect the new framework to reduce shootings in Minnesota. They also did not say when the state might move from multiple local task forces to one regional task force.

Evans said agencies are not using one database to track gang members. He also said the state will measure how well the model works locally and adjust if needed, but officials did not lay out public benchmarks for that process at the news conference.

Crime and Public SafetyMinnesotaHennepin County