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Home My WebLink About6C - Southwest Metro Drug Task Force DATE: 6C DICK POWELL, POLICE CHIEF CONSIDER APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION 93-61, ENTERING INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH SOUTHWEST METRO DRUG TASK FORCE AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA FOR REIMBURSEMENT AUGUST 16, 1993 AGENDA NUMBER: PREPARED BY: SUBJECT: INTRODUCTION: The purpose for this agenda item is to accept or reject membership in the Drug Task Force. BACKGROUND: The City of Prior Lake is a member of the Southwest Metro Drug Task Force. This task force was set up with federal funds and matching city money. The task force is made up of 10 regional communities (Prior Lake, Shakopee, Scott County, Chaska, Chanhassen, Carver County, St. Boni/Minnetrista, McLeod County and Mound). Each community contributes money to the task force and the federal government matches the contribution on a 50/50 basis. DISCUSSION: In the last 12 months the Prior Lake Police Investigators referred 28 cases to the task force. See the attached fact sheet for additional information. The City of Prior Lake's contribution to the task force is $8,400.00. This works out to $296.30 per call. In reality the cost per call is substantially less as many calls are informally referred by patrol officers and detectives and are not documented. There are also calls being referred to the drug task force that are coming directly from citizens. Each year the City adopts a resolution continuing our intent to participate in the Task Force and authorizing the City's contribution. Therefore, our 1993 participation was approved by Resolution 92-37 in December 1992. The 1993 funding was drawn from contingency in January 1993. The timeline for commitment to the Task Force in 1994 has been accelerated. Therefore, they are requesting that the City adopt a resolution of participation at this time and allocate the funding for 1994. The attached resolution authorizes City participation in the Southwest Metro Drug Task Force for calendar year 1994 and allocates $8,400.00 from the 1993 contingency account to pay for this program. ALTERNATIVES: The following alternatives: is a list of the 1. Approve Resolution 93-61. 2. Do not approve Resolution 93-61. 3 . Table this reasons. item for specific RECOMMENDATION: Approve Resolution 93-61. ACTION REQUIRED: Make a motion to approve Resolution 93-61. or deny FISCAL IMPACT: The balance of the contingency account is $21,723.90 as shown on the attached report. This allocation will reduce the balance by $8,400.00. RESOLUTION 93-61 A RESOLUTION ENTERING INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF MINNESOTA FOR REIMBURSEMENT MONIES THROUGH THE FEDERAL ANTI-DRUG ABUSE ACT OF 1986 MOTIONED BY WHITE SECONDED BY FITZGERALD WHEREAS, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety has been designated to administer Law Enforcement funds available through the Federal Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986; and WHEREAS, the City is eligible to receive funds for services set forth in its grant application. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA that: 1. The City of Prior Lake enter into an agreement with the State of Minnesota, Department of Public Safety, to reimburse the City for monies spent for approved activities in connection with this grant application. 2. The City Manager is hereby authorized to execute said agreement and any amendment thereto. 3. The amount of $8,400.00 is hereby allocated from the 1993 contingency account number 101-49999 for 1994 participation in the Southwest Metro Drug Task Force. Passed and adopted this ~h day of August , 1993. YES NO Andren Fitzgerald Kedrowski Scott White A~t ~ ~ ~ ~ Andren Fitzgerald Kedrowski Scott White Frank Boyles City Manager City of Prior Lake {Seal} RATIONAL FOR DRUG TASK FORCE The City of Prior Lake is a member of the Southwest Metro Drug Task Force. This task force was set up with federal funds and matching city money. The task force is made up of 10 regional communities (Prior Lake, Shakopee, Scott County, Chaska, Chanhassen, Carver County, St. Bonnie/Minnetrista, McCleod County and Mound). Each community contributes money to the task force and the federal government matches the contribution on a 50/50 basis. The task force is made up of 4 officers from these communities and is currently based out of the Shakopee City Hall. In the last 12 months the Prior Lake Police Investigators referred 28 cases to the task force. The City of Prior Lake contribution to the task force is $8400. This works out to $296.30 per call. In reality the cost per call is substantially less as many calls are informally referred by patrol officers and detectives and are not documented. There are also calls being referred to the drug task force that are coming directly from citizens. The task force does all of the follow up on the cases. Their undercover people meet with informants, conduct surveillance and conduct full scale drug investigations on the leads furnished them by the police departments. They also are in a continual process of following up on their own leads. Not all the leads result in immediate arrests. In the last year the drug task force made a very visible case for cocaine dealing in the parking lot of one of our bars. Those arrests resulted in drug searches and in Scott and Dakota County with drugs being seized. The main suspect in that case pled guilty last week and will be in prison for two years. In the ~ast year they also completed the forfeiture process on a house ln Prior Lake where the methanphetamines, with a street value of over $30,000 were being sold and the house was seized by the agents. A similar case and arrests were effected at a house in the north end of the city and that house is now under the forfeiture process. In previous years the Task Force was responsible for the complex cases involving the former Band D Bar that ultimately lead to numerous felony drug charges and convictions as well the bar not applying for a new liquor license. As police oLficers of Prior Lake we have been very satisfied with the service provided by the task force. They have kept us informed of their progress in working with the information we have supplied them. The task force does what the Prior Lake Police could not afford to do. They responded to the citizen's drug lead or information tip with resources Prior Lake does not have. 1. They do this with officers not known in the area. Our officers are known and even occasionally are in the newspaper. 2. Their officers use vehicles not known to the drug dealers (our vehicles are known as they do respond to police emergencies/are needed to assist with parades and are used by our investigators everyday) . 3. Their officers have greatly advanced investigation techniques, legal issues and warrant executions. Prior Lake cannot afford investigators in this level of work. training in drug the drug search to train a team of 4. The work is dangerous and time consuming. Drug officers seldom if ever work alone or without a backup. This usually means the commitment of two officers not just one. Surveillance work and waiting for informants is extremely time consuming. Prior Lake cannot afford at this time to pull an investigator off his case load to conduct a one week surveillance of a drug operation. The drug task force does this everyday. 5. They have the expensive surveillance equipment, secure radio frequencies, "body bugs" and recording equipment that are required to do this type of work. The Prior Lake Police Department does not have this equipment and cannot afford it in the immediate future. 6. The drug officers are plugged in the local drug scene and the local drug enforcement world. Their agents know the names of the dealers who work the entire area and are daily in contact with the officers from other drug task forces. 7. We believe having a drug task force in concert with an education program such as DARE is the minimum stance that the city can afford to take in combating the drug problem. To Summarize: The Southwest Metro Drug Task Force is cheap answer to an expensive law enforcement problem. (Drug enforcement) They have a history of providing Prior Lake with a high level of service and we have been very satisfied with their performance. To cut this funding would mean a drastic drop in the police departments level to respond to drug related investigations. This is an area where the public expectation is high and police frequently hear comments from citizens such as "that is why we moved to Prior Lake to get away from the drug dealing" . Under 94DRUG