ollowing a rash of recent arrests of identified Chicago gang members, Brainerd Police Chief Frank Ball confirmed Tuesday that Brainerd is no longer a sleepy little town devoid of big city crime.
"Two years ago, gangs didn't qualify as one of our problems," he said. "But now that element is definitely here." Because of an increase in credit card and check fraud as well as an upsurge in the quality of marijuana being found in Brainerd, Ball said police became aware of an increase in gang presence.
He said three Brainerd officers have now had their duties shuffled to accommodate a closer watch on gang activity and that the vigilance has paid off. Five of the eight Brainerd residents listed by the state as identified gang members have been arrested for a variety of crimes ranging from drug-related crimes to kidnapping and assault.
Ball reported that other members of the gang have chosen to leave Brainerd.
Police investigator Bruce London, who has helped in the monitoring activities, said the primary gang influences in Brainerd appear to be the Gangster Disciples and Mickey's Cobras. The Gangster Disciples are one of the more active gangs in the state with major gang activity reported in all but the northwest part of the state. The Brainerd gang members arrested all had ties to a Chicago incarnation of the gang. The Brainerd area Mickey's Cobras are believed to have come from the Twin Cities area.
In a statewide breakdown of gang activity reported by the year-old Minnesota Gang Strike Force, the central district to which Brainerd belongs is the third most active of six districts, with 35 identified gang members. The metro area reports 103 confirmed members while southeast Minnesota has a confirmed 76.
Prosecutions including central Minnesota gang members also appear brisk with 55 gang-related arrests, 26 cases pending legal deposition and 29 convictions in the past year. The central force served 32 search warrants and seized 21 firearms, three vehicles and $14,379 in gang-related action. Also confiscated were 759 grams of crack cocaine and 69.6 grams of powder cocaine.
"We owe a lot of thanks to the citizens who have called our office with concerns about possible gang activity," Ball said. "It was literally a gut feeling from some people in this community who thought that things were not right that helped get us involved in the first place."
London seconded Ball's statement by stating the public had served as a valuable resource for the police.
"They are really our eyes and ears on this," he said.
Ball said that while he was proud of the department's efforts so far, he knows that gang infestation is something that requires constant wariness.
"The old saying goes that crime will always seek its own level in society," Ball said. "We need to show early on that this is not acceptable behavior and fight to drive it out of the community."
Minnesota Gang Strike Force
is working hard to destroy gang activity
By NATE DYBVIG
Staff Writer
BRAINERD, MN
After its first full year of operation, the Minnesota Gang Strike Force is poised to present the Legislature with an eye-opening look at just how serious a problem gangs have become in Minnesota.
In a draft of its annual report, which will be presented at the strike force's monthly Oversight Committee meeting today in St. Paul, Gang Strike Force Commander Ron Ryan paints a picture of a state that is fighting hard to destroy a growing network of gang roots in the state.
Following its creation by the 1997 Legislature, the gang strike force began working in the metro area in November of 1997 with outstate expansion beginning in January of 1998. The southern part of the state was the final part added to the coverage in December.
The force has used a gang pointer file to identify 360 gang members and 160 organized gang groups within the state. In the report, Ryan predicts the number of confirmed gang members will double in the next few months with better processing and the addition of southern Minnesota to the statistics.
Of the confirmed members, only 103 currently live in the Twin Cities metro area with another 76 in southeast Minnesota, 35 in central Minnesota, 15 in Northern Minnesota and 32 in the city of Willmar, which reported its numbers independent of the southern statistics.
Along with the identification of gang members, the force has also kept a running tab on arrest information. In 1998 the force arrested 425 gang members, which resulted in 129 convictions and 291 cases that remain in the legal system. The force also served 226 search warrants and seized 186 firearms, 17 vehicles and approximately $610,000.
In the past year a large amount of illegal drugs has also been confiscated by the force. The report indicates the force collected approximately four and a half pounds of crack cocaine, 15 pounds of powder cocaine, a quarter pound of heroin, one and a third pounds of methamphetamines and 548 pounds of marijuana.
The force was started with a $6.5 million grant from the Legislature, and currently employs 60 investigators across the state. The two-year pilot project is overseen by a committee made of 16 representatives from state law enforcement groups. Brainerd Police Chief Frank Ball is serving on the committee as a representative of the Minnesota Chief of Police Association.
Once the committee receives the report today, it is expected to formulate a strategy to extend funding for the force. The current state funding package is scheduled to expire at the end of this year.
What makes a gang member?
Minnesota currently has 360 confirmed gang members. The Minnesota Gang Task Force has set a criteria on classifying a perons as a gang member. In addition to being convicted of a felony or gross misdemeanor and over the age of 14, suspected gang members must meet at least three of the following ten criteria to be considered a gang member.
1. Admits gang membership or association.
2. Is observed to associate on a regular basis with known gang members.
3. Has tattoos indicating gang membership.
4. Wears gang symbols to identify with a specific gang.
5. In a photograph with known gang members and/or using gang related hand signs.
6. Name is on gang document, hit list or gang related grafitti.
7. Is identified as a gang member by a reliable source.
8. Arrested in the company of identified gang members or associates.
9. Corresponds with known gang members or writes and/or receives correspondence about gang activities.
10. Writes about gangs (graffiti) on walls, books or paper.
SOURCE: Minnesota Gang Strike Force 1998 annual report.
