The dream task force Barb is talking about essentially is a recreation of the "Drug & Crime Task force" U.S. Attorney David Lillehaug and I put together after the 1995 year that Gregory Reinhardt speaks of as the benchmark for crime in "Murderapolis". It had great effect at cleaning up the area around 13th and Franklin. I believe an investment of $2500.00 in NRP dollars buying Minneapolis Police hours was matched by a bunch of hours from the Metropolitan Transit Police and some Sheriff Department people. I think they made 145 or so arrests in one week and crime moved on for a couple of years. That task force included myself and a police officer (Sgt. Irv Olson) who the neighborhood choose as its other representative to the consternation of some higher ups at Police Department. Also it included the prosecutors from the Attorney Generals office down to the County, as well as the heads of the Sheriffs Department, Metro Transit Police, Chief Olson, State Commissioner of Public Safety, and U. S. Attorney David Lillehaug. It was very effective for a short period of time until Commissioner Don Davis and David Lillehaug left. David Lillehaug, Don Davis and Pat McGowan seemed to drive that effort. I am glad to know that the idea continues, but am saddened that it has become a political show instead of the active fireball it should be.
Did anyone notice that there were NO politicians involved in the first one? I attribute a great deal of that small success to not including politicians. The Task Force only included two neighborhood representatives and people who had direct command of police resources or prosecutorial power to take criminals off the street. A "Dream Task Force" would be much the same with the addition of approximately 40 or 50 officers dedicated to "eagerly seeking" drug and gang criminals on a day & night basis throughout Minneapolis. Put Captain Mike Martin or Lt. Rick Thomas in charge of the "seeker" team and Minneapolis could soon find that open street crime would move to more friendly places, perhaps other cities, or to the suburbs where their customer base presently is. (Perhaps the present U.S. Attorney should hire David Lillehaug as a consultant to show him how the "Weeding" can be done.) On to a good example of what a neighborhood can do. Last week Mary Watson called me (I am the Crime and Safety Committee Chair) and said someone had complained about drug dealers hanging out on the empty lots surrounding Peace House at Franklin and Portland. This land is slated for development by CCHT as part of the "Gateway" project, but would be empty for almost a year. Instead of fuming about CCHT and how the police are not doing enough I addressed the problem in about five minutes (or at least began the process). I immediately called Alan Arthur, at CCHT, and talked about the problem. When I suggested fencing the area Alan said, "Great idea, and how about if we fence the next lot also because they will just move." Within five minutes Alan and I had decided we would participate in a meeting with Third Precinct officers to talk about committing some of our NRP contracted police, his help with matching that, and coordinating such action with fencing and beat officers. The secret was the partnership that should exist between a responsible developer, the police, and the neighborhood. Sometime in the next week we will have that meeting and an aggressive, multi-pronged, attack will start addressing that problem corner. Alan Arthur should be commended for being so open to problem solving. Of course he is doing what he should be, but it is such a sharp contrast to some other developers that it has to be mentioned. The real problem will be to shore up and attack Chicago and Park at the same time, or all the drug dealers will just walk down two blocks. Or the Portland dealers will change hours to the morning market at Park and Franklin. Which brings us to the complaint that "Suburb" people have been slandered. Every morning from about 5:00 or 6:00 AM until 8:00 or so Park Avenue is wall to wall with drug dealers and prostitutes. Those cars stopping for their morning "Bump and Grind, get all your needs meet with one stop shopping on the way to work" are not coming from neighborhood people. They are people from "better" neighborhoods and suburbs driving to work down Park Avenue which is little more than an urban freeway to funnel people downtown at that point. A reverse sting operation that confiscates their commuting cars and then is made a media event after a couple of days would REALLY go a long way to killing that lucrative "Street Corner Pharmaceutical and Entertainment Industry". Many poor people have a difficult time obtaining decent cars to get to jobs in the suburbs. Confiscate the cars and sell them on an income based sliding scale to neighborhood residents as partial "Mitigation" for having to put up with that mess every day. Want a little creative motivation to turn in your drug dealing or buying problem? Give title to the car confiscated to anyone assisting in busting the drug buyer or dealer. You might have lines of poor people all lined up with their borrowed video cameras trying for that chance to get the conviction and a new car. Instead of the silly gun control methods now being employed, that gang members laugh at, how about a $250.00 reward for anyone turning in a person illegally possessing a firearm. This includes all minors, all felons, and those without carry permits by the way; so it should include 100% of all the gangbangers and drug dealers. Anonymous call-in with a number that is assigned. Show up with the number after a successful arrest and BING you get the money, no questions asked. Come back with the number after a successful conviction and BAM you get another $200.00! Believe me $250 dollars or $450 is a small investment to get the gun and the person. Have some fun and make a profit too. Might as well also make some citizens "Eager Seekers". Morning sermon now done, you folks have a wonderful blessed day. You know you deserve it! Minneapolis is sure wonderful this cool morning. Jim Graham, Ventura Village, Phillips Community and the Sixth Ward of Metropolis Wise sayings "We can only be what we give ourselves the power to be" - A Cherokee Feast of Days The people are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty. - Thomas Jefferson REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
