Initiatives
Terrorism Watch
The fight against terrorism remains the number-one priority of the United States Department of Justice. Here in Minnesota, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is engaged in anti-terrorism efforts, along with numerous local, state, and federal leaders, as part of the Minnesota Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Economic Crime
In this country, ordinary people believe if they work hard, they can build a house, start a business, or improve their community. Because this country was founded on the rule of law, these people have the right to expect business and government leaders to provide them with honest guidance along the way.
Therefore, when business leaders and government officials misuse their positions or misspend consumer or taxpayer dollars, they tear at the fabric of our economic system as well as our democratic process. They erode confidence in our business structures as well as our government; and left unchecked, they threaten our American way of life.
For these reasons, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota works hard to stamp out economic crime. In that effort, the Office is joined by our federal and state law enforcement partners, including the Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force, which was created and directed by state law to combat the growing trend of cross-jurisdictional financial crime.
Mortgage Fraud
In 2007, the dream of home ownership became a nightmare for millions of Americans. Numerous factors contributed to the housing crisis, but the dramatic increase in mortgage fraud was high among them. According to the FBI, more than $4.5 billion was lost to mortgage fraud in the U.S. in 2007. The Mortgage Asset Research Institute now ranks Minnesota as eighth in the nation in reported cases of mortgage fraud.
To address this problem, the U.S. Attorney’s Office recently joined with the IRS, the FBI, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to form a mortgage fraud task force. With the aid of other local, state, and federal law enforcement entities, the task force investigates and prosecutes those persons and corporations who engage in fraud in the mortgage system.
Weed and Seed
Weed and Seed initiatives in Minnesota provide local law enforcement, business leaders, and neighborhood residents with the forum through which they can work with state and federal officials to "weed" crime out of targeted areas and then "seed" those areas with opportunity and hope. At this time, Minnesota has two Weed and Seed sites: The Central and Phillips neighborhoods in Minneapolis.
Minnesota has a unique Weed and Seed structure in that federal funding for all Weed and Seed sites in the state is directed through the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Justice Programs. That office oversees much of the U.S. Justice Department's funding to law enforcement and crime prevention groups throughout the state. Thus, a partnership with the Minnesota Office of Justice Program helps the U.S. Attorney's Office ensure the financial integrity as well as the collaboration of Minnesota's Weed and Seed sites.
If your city, neighborhood group, or organization is interested in possibly applying for recognition as a federal Weed and Seed site, visit the federal Weed and Seed site by clicking on the link below. Then, call the External Relations Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota for more information. Note, all applications for Weed and Seed must be coordinated with the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”) is a nation-wide program, initiated by President Bush in 2001, to reduce gun crime and liberate our communities from the stranglehold of gang violence. PSN offers national leadership and resources in an effort to encourage local, state, and federal law enforcement to join forces in the fight against gun violence and related crime.
According to the Metro Gang Strike Force, Minnesota is home to approximately 450 known gangs. While most of these gangs are based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, gang cells, or members, can be found in communities, large and small, throughout the state. In fact, between July of 2004 and December of 2005, ll5 of the people arrested in northwestern Minnesota had gang ties. Moreover, gang activity has become more common on our Indian reservations, where residents already experience victimization at a much higher rate than elsewhere in the state.
Because of this problem, PSN partners in Minnesota work together to address violent crime throughout the state, with particular emphasis on the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area and the Indian reservations at Red Lake, White Earth, and Leech Lake.
To learn more about PSN, click the link below:
www.projectsafeneighborhoods.gov
Project Safe Childhood
Project Safe Childhood (“PSC”) is a national law enforcement initiative announced by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2006. Modeled after PSN, PSC encourages local, state, and federal law enforcement as well as non-government organizations to work together to combat computer-facilitated sex crimes against children. This initiative was deemed necessary after the U.S. Justice Department found that one in 33 children receives an unwanted sexual solicitation online each year, and one in four experiences unwanted exposure to sexually explicit Internet material each week.
In this fight, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota works closely with the Minnesota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which was created with federal dollars and is comprised of dozens of local, state, and federal law enforcement investigators who work tirelessly to stop Internet crimes against children.
To learn more about PSC, click the link below:
Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is the equivalent of modern-day slavery. It often involves the smuggling of foreign nationals into the U.S. for forced prostitution or involuntary servitude. However, the federal definition of human trafficking does not require that victims be transported. Furthermore, under federal law, the sexual exploitation of anyone under the age of 18, even if force, fraud, or coercion is not involved, constitutes human trafficking.
The International Labor Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, estimates there are 12.3 million people in forced labor or sexual servitude around the world. The Justice Department reports that annually in the U.S. between 14,500 and 17,500 people are exploited through the sex trade, in sweatshops, on construction sites, or in agricultural settings. The Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area is among the 15 largest human trafficking centers in the U.S.
To address this problem, the U.S. Attorney’s Office works with the Gerald D. Vick Human Trafficking Task Force. That task force, named for a slain St. Paul police officer who dedicated his career to ending the trafficking of human beings, was established with a Justice Department grant in 2006. The Task Force is led by the St. Paul Police Department and is comprised of a number of local, state, and federal investigators. Task Force members also work closely with Civil Society, a local victim-advocacy group that provides culturally and linguistically appropriate aid to victims of human trafficking.
Identity Theft and Document and Benefit Fraud
Identity theft and document and benefit fraud are growing concerns. According to the Federal Trade Commission, about ten million American adults become victims of identity theft each year. The crime also poses a threat to our national security. Using information or documentation stolen from American citizens, for example, terrorists can enter and remain in the U.S. to carry out their terrorist plots; or they can access the bank accounts of law-abiding people and use the money they steal to support terrorist cells or training missions here or abroad.
To address this problem here in Minnesota, the U.S. Attorney’s Office works with a task force led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Task force members aggressively and effectively target, investigate, and prosecute identity theft and document and benefit fraud.
Narcotics
The U.S. Department of Justice reports that while only about five percent of Americans use illegal drugs, drug abuse costs the U.S. around $200 billion each year in missed work, reduced job performance, treatment, law enforcement, injuries, and death. In addition, the trafficking of illegal drugs is increasingly becoming the business of violent street gangs in this state and across the nation.
As a result of this problem, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota has partnered with local, state, and federal law enforcement to disrupt illegal drug rings, pursue drug traffickers, and prosecute these offenders in the jurisdiction in which they will receive the harshest sentences for their crimes.
Many of the cases prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office are the result of a federal initiative called OCDETF (“Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces). Through OCDETF, large and violent drug trafficking operations are targeted for investigation and prosecution. The Office reports that, at any one time, it is prosecuting approximately 125 people from about 30 different OCDETF operations.
Civil Rights
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has an active civil rights enforcement project. Through that initiative, lawyers work to uphold federal civil rights laws, including, but not limited to, the Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Voting Rights Act. Moreover, they enforce federal hate-crime laws.