BE IT RESOLVED, that Amendment 7 to Agreement A2010160 with the Executive Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy, to provide grant funds from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program during the period January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2022, increasing the receivable by $23,123.15 for a new total receivable amount of $349,125.15, be approved; that the Chair of the Board be authorized to sign the Amendment on behalf of the county; and that the Controller be authorized to accept and disburse funds as directed; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a supplemental appropriation of $23,123.15 be made to the 2022 Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office budget be approved; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that sponsorship and acceptance of grant funding for the program by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners does not imply a continued commitment by Hennepin County for this program when grant funds are no longer available.

The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program is a partnership through the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The purpose of the program is to reduce drug trafficking and production in the United States by:

• Facilitating cooperation among Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to share information and implement coordinated enforcement activities
• Supporting coordinated law enforcement strategies which maximize use of available resources to reduce the supply of illegal drugs in Hennepin County
• Annually provide a Drug Threat Assessment for the State of Minnesota to law enforcement leaders

Two of the initiatives the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office is involved with is the North Central HIDTA, Minnesota Investigative Support Center (ISC) and the West Metro Initiative – Hennepin County Violent Offender Task Force (VOTF).

The ISC’s primary goals are Analytical Case Support, Case and Target Deconfliction and Threat Analysis. The ISC puts a strong emphasis to support and encourage agencies and task forces to work together to eliminate Drug Trafficking Organizations from our communities, the state and across the country. The ISC consists of one HIDTA funded analyst from each of the five HIDTA counties who are collocated in the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Criminal Intelligence Division. This collocation ensures the best deconfliction and information sharing among the collective of the HIDTA partners throughout the region.

The Hennepin County VOTF focuses on narcotics offenses and violent crime through collaborative partnerships, utilizing all investigative means to conduct focused/targeted investigations on Hennepin County’s most violent offenders leading, to their incarceration. VOTF’s primary goal is to target suspects who have violent criminal histories that we believe to be in possession of firearms as well as narcotics trafficking operations. We accomplish this by gathering information from concerned citizens, cooperating defendants, confidential informants, and other investigative means. This information is then used to develop probable cause by which enforcement action can be taken. HC VOTF is a collaborative effort between HCSO, 4 other local agencies and 2 federal agencies.

This amendment provides funding for the North Central HIDTA Investigative Support Center which is seated in the Criminal Intelligence Division within the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office. These funds will be used to purchase a new server with increased processing speed, memory, and storage that is used for cell phone analysis technology. The current server is outdated and in need of replacement.