An FBI-run task force on gangs in Minnesota is under fire for alleged oversight and operation deficiencies, according to a report in Wednesday’s
Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Citing concerns raised in two reports from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, the newspaper said the combined federal, state, and city operation “suffers from a lack of organization and oversight, and is plagued with conflict and a refusal to share information.”
The reports stopped short, however, of accusing anyone connected with the task force of questionable or illegal misconduct. Nonetheless, the FBI office in Minneapolis was quick to denounce the reports, according to the Star Tribune.
“The findings are based upon inaccurate information and dubious research practices,” local FBI chief division counsel Kyle Loven said in a statement.
Minneapolis Police spokesman, Sgt. William Palmer, also questioned how the reports were compiled but called the findings “constructive,” according to the newspaper.
The Star Tribune reported that the federal-local joint operation — dubbed the Safe Streets Task Force — was established to replace “the scandal-ridden Metro Gang Strike Force,” which was disbanded after reports of “missing funds, mistreatment of suspects, and misappropriation of seized property” surfaced in 2009.
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