| For Immediate Release | For more information contact: |
| March 30, 2001 | Sandra Whalen (651-296-5529) |
(ST. PAUL) House Judiciary Finance Chairman Rich Stanek (R-Maple Grove) has authored legislation that will continue to fund the Department of Public Safety grants for the Minnesota's Gang Strike Force.
The grants are for reimbursement of law enforcement agencies who have contributed members to the criminal gang strike and to expand the agency or office's capacity to investigate and prosecute criminal gangs.
"With the help of the gang strike force, the metro area has been fairly successful in countering gang crime," Stanek said. "But gangs are on the rise in our smaller cities. That's a top concern."
Stanek also notes the connection of gangs and drugs, and the rural boom in the homemade drug methamphetamine. Anhydrous ammonia is prime ingredient in the production of meth, as well as a cheap, common fertilizer often used by farmers to improve nitrogen levels in soil.
Meth manufacturing is skyrocketing because of the availability of components and ease of production, Stanek said. Many of the drug's other ingredients are commonly available at neighborhood retailers: cold pills, rubbing alcohol, drain cleaners, rat poison, table salt, lithium batteries and other seemingly mild household items. Meth makers only need a few teaspoons of anhydrous ammonia to make a typical 4-ounce batch; the drug can then fetch $100 per gram on the street.
The problem of meth production found its niche in the Midwest about 10 years ago and is moving north through Iowa to Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, Stanek said. Between big urban areas of St. Louis and Kansas City, the largely agricultural state of Missouri has suffered the problem for several years.
"Unfortunately, other states' successes in cracking down on drugs is becoming our problem," Stanek said. "Crime, like lightning, finds the path of least resistance. Without adequate officers and resources, gangs and meth will become a bigger and bigger problem for us."
more
The Minnesota Gang Strike Force was created in 1995 and made about 1,400 arrests in 1999-2000. More than 1,100 names have been added to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's (BCA) confirmed gang member list, and 111 separate gangs have been identified in Minnesota. BCA estimates suggest over 7,000 gang members in Minnesota.
HF1824 would allocate $5.7 million over the next biennium. It has been referred to the Judiciary Finance Committee for hearing.
State Representative Rich Stanek is the chairman of the House Judiciary Finance Committee and a Minneapolis Police Inspector. He is currently in his fourth term representing Maple Grove and Osseo.
30