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.
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