9.3. SR 11-18-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The final question, "Why aren't the other cities being asked to contribute or add a member to the task force?" To date, the DTF has not been requested by any other city within the county for assistance to the degree it has in the city of Elk River on drug related crime, mainly population driven. The intent of the request is not to ask the city to supplement the Sheriff's Office or other city's budgets. The DTF case load is approximately 25% Elk River that, however, does not mean 75% of the time the Elk River DTF member would be investigating cases outside of the city. In fact, a vast majority of the officer's time would be working on DTF cases/operations within the city. An additional staff member augments what is currently being done within the city by the county DTF. Even though some of your officer's time will be spent outside of the city of Elk River, as you know, criminal activity does not stop at any particular jurisdictional boundary. The Elk River Police Department would be responsible for the salary and benefits of the officer and the personal equipment; i.e., firearm,handcuffs, and a squad car. There may be revenue generated through forfeitures that would help offset some of the city's costs, this would vary from year to year. The Sheriff s Office would fund the DTF operations, which would include providing office spaces, computer and specialty equipment, and undercover buy money. The Sheriff's Office would also provide training specific to DTF operations. It is with this infrastructure already in place that would provide the most cost effective and efficient way for the county and city to partner and provide additional services combatting narcotic activity occurring within the city of Elk River. I would be remiss if I didn't point out some additional benefits to your city by joining the Drug Task Force: 1. A coordination of efforts to reduce illegal activities of serious and/or violent offenders and drug traffickers. 2. Enhanced interagency cooperation, increased agency coordination, increased communications and specialized investigations, 3. Local expertise to identify and target the highest priority drug enforcement problems in the city of Elk River and our community. This model produces innate efficiencies through low overhead and is effective. 4. Co-located personnel share information and enhanced intelligence gathering, leading to increased narcotics arrests and seizures. 5. A focused pro-active approach in dealing with drug related issues. As your Sheriff, I am supporting Chief Brad Rolfe's proposal of adding a police officer to the DTF. We believe the city is in need of additional attention in regard to narcotic investigations. It remains our goal to work with you to maintain a safe community by identifying, disrupting, and apprehending those who are trafficking and selling narcotics to our children and adults.