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Hennepin County’s DWI Court targets people who are likely to repeatedly drink and drive. So far, in the court’s first year the success rate shows that only one person reoffended. That compares to a 60 to 80 percent rate of reoffending for repeat DWI offenders using the traditional probation supervision model.
The mission of the DWI court is “to enhance public safety through a court-supervised program designed to assist repeat DWI offenders and restore them as law-abiding members of our community. A collaborative and strength-based approach is used to support participants while holding them accountable.”
The Star Tribune reported that more than 100 repeat DWI offenders entered the DWI court during the year. Three years ago the DWI court started in St. Paul and then Hennepin and St. Louis counties picked up the program. The surrending suburbs are also beginning this program. It is modeled after the successful drug courts that were developed in the 1990’s.
The success of the program is made possible by a rigorous schedule that includes intensive supervision that lasts for at least 18 months. Once an offender is doing well, they receive praise from a judge but if an offender is not doing well they receive sanctions.
DWI court defendants can win back limited driving privileges quicker . This allows them to drive to work, court, AA and aftercare but with significant safeguards. Offenders must have insurance and use an ignition interlock that monitors alcohol consumpiton and prevents them from driving if they have been drinking.
In order to fight violent crimes throughout Minnesota the HEALS (Hope, Education, and Law and Safety) program was established over 10 years ago. This unique program involves both corporate commitments and public agencies in collaboration to help reduce violent crime.
One of the corporate sponsor’s for HEALS is Honeywell, Inc. Back in 1996, a New York Times article named Minneapolis as “Murderapolis” reflecting a sharp rise in homicides from 60 in 1994 to 86 in 1996. Honeywell’s world headquarters is located in one of the most crime-ridden neighborhoods in Minneapolis. As a result, Honeywell was concerned for the safety of its employees and property and for the quality of life in the surrounding neighborhood. Honeywell decided that in order to remain in the inner city, it had to do something about violent crime.
In 1997, Honeywell’s chief executive officer recruited other CEO’s from private corporations such as Allina Health Systems, 3M, General Mills, and the staff of the Minnesota Business Partnership. They met with the Governor to share their concerns about the escalating local and statewide crime rates. The Governor pledged his support and a series of planning meetings were held with the business community along with Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies where they developed the Law Enforcement Task Force.
Today, Minnesota HEALS is a 61-member organization made up of private corporations and local government agencies. This includes the chiefs of police and mayors’ offices of Minneapolis and St. Paul, sheriff’s offices, attorneys’ offices and commissioners from Hennepin and Ramsey counties. With 25 to 30 law enforcement representatives from the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments’ gang, homicide, and narcotics units, the probation department; and Federal agencies such as the FBI, DEA, ATF, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office the HEAL program targets specific groups such as gangs, homicide suspects and helps victims of these crimes.
The Minnesota HEALS program offers a rapid response team, saturation patrols, state gang task force and community and prevention strategies.
Effective August 1, 2008, it is illegal on Minnesota roads to text message, email or access the Web on a wireless device while driving. This new law is considered as a primary offense, which means law enforcement can stop a motorist if they observe the motorist violating the law.
Actually, the law goes even further. If you are operating a motor vehicle, using a wireless communication device to write, read or send an electronic message you can be pulled over and fined up to $300. This applies to drivers of all ages.
This law came about through a study of fatal crashes during the years 2005 through 2007. The study showed that at least 15% of all fatal crashes and 240 traffic deaths occurred because the driver was distracted while texting, emailing or using a wireless device to communicate. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distraction is a major factor in about 25 percent of all crashes.
Since 2006, cell phone use for teen drivers with a provisional license was completely prohibited by law. With this new law, teen drivers cannot text their friends while driving. According to an informal DPS Minnesota teen driving survey, teen respondents said texting was their biggest distraction while driving and the “most unsafe” behavior their friends engaged in while driving.
Texting when driving does not make you a criminal, but not texting while driving will save your life.
People writing bad checks affect both consumers and taxpayers. We pay higher prices for goods and services because of the losses associated with bad checks. Law enforcement also spends significant resources investigating and prosecuting people who issue these checks. During these tough economic times, businesses are seeing an increase in bad check writing.
Recently, the St. Paul, Minnesota police announced that they are holding an informational session that includes local police, city attorneys, the Financial Crimes Services and private investigation services to discuss their “Worthless Check Diversion Program” for businesses. This free program for businesses began this year. So far, the program has recovered thousands of dollars for business owners.
Morrison County already has a program in effect. The main goals of the program are restitution for victims, increase accountability of people who issue worthless checks, educate merchants and residents in reducing the number of worthless check cases and reduce the costs to law enforcement associated with investigating and prosecuting worthless check cases.
The program is at no cost to the taxpayer or area merchants. The people who issue the worthless checks support the program.
It’s just like taking candy from a baby. That’s what burglars are laughing about in Minnetonka these days. As a result, this string of burglaries in Minnetonka has prompted a crime alert.
The burglars are gaining access to homes by using the homeowner’s own garage door openers. At least fourteen residential burglaries have been reported. If you leave your unlocked car outside with your garage door opener in the car, guess what, all these criminals have to do is push the button and get into your home.
The police also said that they are gaining access through open garage doors as well as unlocked doors. Many valuables have been stolen such as purses, wallets, checkbooks, laptop computers, cell phones, cameras, bicycles and other items.
What can you do to prevent or stop this crime? It’s as simple as locking your doors, closing the garage door and even parking your car in the garage. If you want to leave your car outside, please remove your garage door opener from your car and take it inside with you.
The police are encouraging you to join neighborhood watch groups. Report any suspicious activity or if you see someone not from your neighborhood call the Minnetonka police at 952-939-8554.
Operation FALCON (Federal And Local Cops Organized Nationally) is a nationwide fugitive apprehension operation coordinated by the United States Marshals Service (USMS). This operation uses the resources of federal, state, city and county law enforcement agencies to locate and apprehend criminals wanted for crimes of violence.
This year during the last week in June, FALCON captured and arrested 112 fugitives throughout Minnesota. The suspects had outstanding felony warrants for a variety offenses including assault, narcotics, robbery, and one was wanted for a homicide in St. Paul. Several gang members were also arrested. One suspect who was a sex offender and failed to register was basically off the radar but the officers involved in FALCON tracked him down and arrested him in the Champlain area.
Since its inception in 2005, Operation FALCON has sworn in participating local officers as Special Deputy U.S. Marshals. During the last three years, FALCON has made more than 36,500 arrests of dangerous fugitive felons and cleared more than 45,000 warrants. It continues to be the largest and most successful fugitive apprehension effort in U.S. Marshals history.
The Columbia Heights Police Department (CHPD) has started a crime reduction program this summer that addresses crime and offenses in the city. The initiative involves partnering with the Anoka County Sheriff’s Department, the Fridley Police Department, The Anoka-Hennepin Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force (AHDTF) and the Minnesota Gang Strike Force.
They are targeting areas in the city that have crimes against people to enforcement of juvenile offenses – such as curfew and underage drinking. This proactive approach so far has netted 50 arrests and charges for offenses such as curfew violation, possession of drugs and underage consumption of alcohol. In addition, the summer initiative is focusing on two components, one on violent and repeat offenders and problem narcotic areas that relate to many calls to the department.
The CHPD along with AHDTF recently set up surveillance and enforcement operations that resulted in 11 arrests, 2 search warrants and 28 weapons seized since the summer initiative began. By the first week of July, 35 arrests were made, including two felony-level narcotics arrests and three weapons arrests. Some of the arrests identified potential gang members and helped establish safety and security at the Columbia Heights Jamboree festival. This demonstrates that the initiative has a significant impact and brings a real sense of safety and security to the community.
The summer initiative will continue through the end of August and if it works out well, the summer initiative may become a full-time program.
It isn’t a crime not to wear your seatbelt in Minnesota. It isn’t a primary offense if you aren’t wearing a seatbelt it is only a secondary offense. Police officers cannot pull you over if you aren’t wearing a seatbelt.
But it IS a crime when you see people thrown from their cars in an accident and die on the highway.
This year, Minnesota police added patrols during the statewide Click It or Ticket seatbelt enforcement sweep. Minnesota law does require any occupant in the front seat to be buckled in as well as any occupant under the age of 11. More than 400 cities across the state participated in this nationwide crime prevention campaign.
When statistics show that wearing a seatbelt saves lives, why wouldn’t you take a second to wear a seatbelt? Take for instance the preliminary data from the state of Colorado who has the most aggressive seatbelt education. Statistics show the number of unbelted drivers and passengers who died on Colorado roadways dropped to an all-time low in 2007. Last year, 206 people who were not buckled up were killed in crashes. This is out of a total of 389 drivers and passengers who died. The percentage of unrestrained occupants killed was also the lowest on record at 53%. By comparison, in 2002, the first year of Click It or Ticket enforcement in Colorado, 380 people died unbuckled, representing 67% of the total number of drivers and passengers killed.
Because of Minnesota’s Click it or Ticket program this year, 81 percent of front seat occupants were wearing their seatbelts. That is an increase of four percent from last year. Did you know that most accidents occur within one mile of your home? So even if you are just driving to the local grocery store, make sure that everyone in your car is buckled up. You can help save lives by wearing your seatbelt.
A recent survey estimated that shoplifting or retail theft costs about $40.5 billion a year. New reports are showing that repeat offenders who are struggling with financial issues are stealing more common, everyday items such as groceries. Shoplifting is the single largest category of property crime in America with bank and car theft far behind.
Most experts agree that when the economy is down as it is now, shoplifting and other crimes go up. People are losing full-time jobs, getting only part-time jobs and having difficulty paying their mortgage or credit cards. They turn to shoplifting to get the items they want or need. This doesn’t justify shoplifting, it’s still a crime.
Shoplifting is considered a misdemeanor petty theft if the value of the stolen goods totals less than $300 to $500. First time offenders may be charged with a less serious crime such as disorderly conduct. But repeat offenders can be charged with grand theft or larceny – both are felony crimes if the stolen goods exceed $500.
The National Learning and Resource Center and the Minnesota Crime Prevention Association’s Crime Prevention Tips are excellent sources for retailers to learn how to prevent shoplifting crimes. As long as the economy is poor, shoplifting crimes will continue and will cost all of us a lot of money in the end.
Back in the “olden times,” police relied on fingerprints at a crime scene to show that a criminal was at a crime scene. Then the criminals got smart and started wearing gloves to cover up their fingerprints.
Now in 21st Century, crime fighting has leaped into the next generation of collecting fingerprints by using DNA samples to catch criminals. Recently, a man was connected to an armed robbery and arrested because of a piece of DNA evidence that was left at the crime scene.
Law enforcement agencies now use CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) to help catch criminals. CODIS has been gathering genetic samples from more than 1.6 million criminals, most taken after they entered prison. This database also includes more than 80,000 DNA samples gathered from unsolved crime scenes. Each month between 10,000 and 40,000 new samples are added by local authorities. The CODIS database was started in the early 1990s as a trial and expanded to 50 states in the late 1990s. Now, at least 170 local crime labs across the country can run DNA samples through the database and find matches.
One of the database’s more dramatic successes occurred in Houston when the FBI matched DNA evidence that helped to capture a bike-riding sexual predator who assaulted young boys at knifepoint. Police were at a standstill for months and parents were afraid to let their children outside to play. Once a DNA sample was available, CODIS found him and the police made the arrest.
Now for the first time, scientists are able to identify human DNA in dust. Although the amount recovered is tiny, further research could create a vital tool for investigators. They may be able to use the minuscule DNA collected from the dust at the crime scene to catch murderers and thieves by proving they were at a crime scene at a certain time.
Crime hasn’t changed in centuries, but now police have new techniques to help capture criminals.
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