Ramsey County Gang Database Under Fire by Sen. Mee Moua (DFL) - Full Video

March 18, 2010
State Capitol - By Marty Owings

Senator Mee Moua (DFL) introduced a measure which would end the ability of the Ramsey County Sheriff's department to collect data on gang members and those who may associate with gangs. The database, known as GangNet, is used by the Ramsey County Sheriff's department to collect data on gangs and apparently those associated with gangs. The problem according to Moua is that this database and others like it may contain data on individuals with no association with gangs or gang members.

Senator Moua says the problem is exacerbated by the fact that these is no way for the public to know what data exists in the GangNet database. Moua says there are concerns about the trustworthiness of data entered by the Metro Gang Strike Force and what she says are "collateral consequences" that may arise as a result of the data. Moua says Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher chose not to show up at the hearings nor did he send a Deputy to discuss the issue.

Moua's bill contains language which has angered Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher. Specifically, Fletcher points to language in the bill which contains the following:

Fletcher responded to Moua's measure with a press conference and a three page letter in which he highlighted why he thinks the program is needed, including the fact that 3000 known gang members are currently contained in the database. Fletcher asserts in his letter that, "Dismantling the computer systems that track these criminal gang members would send us back to the pre-computer "stone ages" of law enforcement."

Fletcher further asserts that the data, which is currently secret, would become public under the Moua bill, which he say's defeats the goals of privacy advocates. That argument is seen as weak given the fact that Moua's proposal is trying to address the secrecy of the data in the first place.

Moua held a press conference today to say that she was going to put a one year hold on the measure as result of her conversations with Law Enforcement personnel. Moua says it makes sense to give the Law Enforcement community a year to correct the issues and that she's willing to listen to concerns from them.

Minnesota Sheriff's Association Executive Director James Franklin says that Fletcher was caught completely "off guard" by the measure and that no one gave him a "heads up" on the measure. Franklin said he believed that measure was unnecessary since Fletcher had already taken steps in the past 30 days to address some of the concerns, including notifying Parents or Legal Guardians if a juvenile was being added to the database. Franklin says the database kept information for ten years, but that had been reduced to five years recently.

Franklin says it wasn't Fletcher's choice not come to the hearing, that instead it was he who asked Fletcher not to attend in order to avoid "confrontation".

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