Fight Crime

In 2007 I brought to the Agency a two-part plan to re-focus our efforts on fighting crime in Hennepin County- violent crime in particular.

Detectives in the Agency now work shoulder to shoulder with officers from Golden Valley and Brooklyn Park and the DEA in investigations focused on the most violent and dangerous offenders as the Hennepin County Violent Offender Task Force.

With the development of CISA we have initiated a new platform for real time information sharing across the County. The members of the Unit use new information resources in crime analysis (software and computer capabilities including tracking, link charts, timelines, and mapping), and communicate reports and bulletins in real time with our law enforcement partners.

CISA publishes Daily Information Bulletins with information regarding current crimes and trends and Weekly Wanted Bulletins highlighting 10 individuals with active arrest warrants. Analysts also assist investigators throughout the County with their in-depth research and background information.

Hennepin County violent crime rates have fallen 29% since 2006 as a result of these efforts and those of our law enforcement partners.

With the VOTF and CISA initiatives we are advancing Public Safety by fighting crime, pursuing criminals and targeting the lethal combination of drugs, gangs, kids and drugs, focusing on our partnerships with law enforcement agencies and criminal justice partners, and providing leadership in communications, technology and information sharing.

Investing in Crime Lab Capability and Infrastructure

Since I began as Sheriff in 2007, new forensic technology and advancements in science continue to change the way law enforcement manages crime scenes and the nature of our work in identifying suspects; these developments now allow us the methodology to actually prevent crime.

The Hennepin County Crime Lab has become a focal point and showpiece for the Agency as a very unique asset for the residents of Hennepin County; it is one of only two crime labs accredited in the State by ASCLAD. The Crime Lab provides crime scene processing and evidence processing for our law enforcement partners in the County at no charge.

While economic circumstances have trended toward cut-backs, we have increased the investment of County resources and state and federal grants whenever possible in adding scientists, technicians, and analysts, for new equipment, software, and evidence management systems.

This year we will be renovating the main level of the Crime Lab to allow for more DNA evidence processing, which will reduce our backlog and significantly shorten our processing turnaround times.

A new policy and protocol in the Lab leads to the entry of all DNA records, including property crime records, in the national CODIS Database. By sharing our records in this database, and accessing records nationally, we have seen a huge increase in the number of “hits” (where one record matches another and we can identify suspects), leading to the identification of suspects and the arrest of repeat offenders before they advance to even more violent levels of crime.

Our caseloads and service requests have increased dramatically in the last 5 years, and we are working to meet the rising demand.

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