Saturday, August 7, 2010

Domestic surveillance and intelligence gathering-Minnesota Style, Part 1

On Wednesday, August 25, 2010, the first meeting of a legislative created work group will meet to review the landscape of criminal intelligence gathering and use of investigative and intelligence databases by law enforcement in Minnesota.  This work group was created in SF2725, Section 6.

Over the past two years at the legislature there has been pointed and heated discussion over initiatives by the Minnesota Bureau of Apprehension(BCA) such as SF1103-HF1449 introduced by Senator Betzold and Rep. Lesch and the issue of GangNet which is an investigative/intelligence database administered by the Ramsey County Sheriff.

The discussion of intelligence gathering and surveillance is not new to Minnesota, from the recent past of a private database organized by the Minnesota Police Chiefs Association called MJNO which had millions of records on individuals to where Minnesota state authorities during World War 1 collected information and did surveillance on its citizens.

What this work group will be discussing and the recommendations it gives to the Minnesota Legislature next year can and will have a great impact on your privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights. 

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