[Mpls] A suggestion for more cost effective policing in Minneapolis

[gemgram]

Minneapolis faces three serious problems with providing public safety. 
These are:
1. Need for greater monetary resources
2. Need for more “on the street” police manpower
3. Need for a more professional police force

These needs may in part be addressed by creating an apparatus in the 
Minneapolis police department that would train suburban and out state police 
officers in drug & gang interdiction.

Institute of Drug & Gang Interdiction (Or some such title to be put on a 
graduation certificate)

Police departments around the state are required to provide and pay for 
additional training time or continuing education for their officers.  This 
amounts to many thousands of dollars for each separate police and sheriff's 
department in the state.  It includes thousands of sworn police officers 
from those departments in the Metropolitan area alone. Finding meaningful 
training that will have a maximum benefit to that department can be more 
than a challenge. It is almost impossible! Training officers from several 
suburban departments have openly expressed this problem and need.

Drugs and Gangs are no longer just an inner-city problem; the problem has 
gone statewide.  Other departments are aware of their lack of experience in 
dealing with this problem.  Minneapolis in juxtaposition has a world of 
experience in dealing with such matters, but lacks sufficient manpower and 
funding to deal with them as effectively as might be possible. Creating 
within the Minneapolis Police Department a “Drug and Gang Interdiction” 
training apparatus may address the needs of both. Other departments and 
agencies would pay their training dollars to Minneapolis to do street level 
training in the area.  In addition to some classroom orientation the 
“student” officers would receive training experience by actually 
participating in various police operations.  Such training could include, 
but not be limited to, “sting” operations, “reverse sting” operations, 
undercover surveillance, gang identification, saturation operations of 
targeted problem areas, public relations, ethical practices, and community 
involvement in policing. After completion of the course participants would 
receive a certificate as well as possibly some covered college credits.

Such an “Institute”, in addition to bringing scarce resources of manpower 
and funds to Minneapolis, would also raise the professional level of the 
Minneapolis Police Department itself.  By rotating officers through the 
program as teachers and trainers Minneapolis would raise the awareness, 
sensitivity, and professional conduct of the entire department.  Such an 
“Institute” would help to create a “culture” of professionalism that would 
be carried back to individual officer’s precincts.  Through the training of 
others the Minneapolis training officers would increase the expectation of 
proper procedures, practices, and techniques for ALL Minneapolis police 
officers. This alone would potentially save millions of dollars in lawsuits, 
as well as creating a far more effective and appreciated police department.

With Captain Mike Martin and others from the department being the leading 
authorities on gangs and drug interdiction in the State of Minnesota, 
Minneapolis is uniquely situated to take advantage of this possibility and 
opportunity.  In addition to being able to immediately have access to the 
increased manpower such “Training Officers” would provide, Minneapolis could 
dedicate the additional dollars paid for the training to hiring additional 
permanent police officers of its own.

This and other ideas are not new.  They, like the “STOP” unit, have come 
from Minneapolis’ own residents for the last four years, but have been 
largely ignored.  Minneapolis can make use of its wealth of human resources 
to do smarter, more creative, policing and provide better services to the 
Minneapolis community.  But Minneapolis leaders must be open to exploring 
those creative ideas that are brought forward.  An ongoing “Institute” would 
be one mechanism to allow for that possibility.

(I would be happy to flesh out such an initiative. I have run it by training 
officers and even some of our own Police Department Inspectors and Captains, 
and they all received it with enthusiasm.)

Jim Graham,
Ventura Village

>"Many receive advice, few profit by it."
- Publilius Syrus, 1st Century B.C.