The Associated Press
St. Paul, Minn. (AP) -- The Minnesota Gang Strike Force will continue into next year.
The agency faced elimination in July after the Legislature adjourned without approving its budget. Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Tuesday he has found $650,000 in the Department of Public Safety’s budget to continue the crime fighting organization.
The strike force was begun in 1997 and has been credited with helping solve gang-related homicides and drug cases statewide.
Pawlenty also had to cobble together temporary funding to continue the force last year. During the session, lawmakers vowed to fund it, but it ultimately fell victim to a larger stalemate.
Pawlenty said he acted because prospects for a special session seem dim. The money will pay for the force for the rest of the year.
“We simply can’t allow the Gang Strike Force to cease to exist or run out of money in July,” Pawlenty said. He said it’s had “remarkable success” in combating gang activity in recent years.
The Gang Strike Force tracks more than 9,000 gang members. Last year, it helped arrest 876 people and seized 153 guns across Minnesota, according to its 2003 annual report. Sixty law enforcement personnel from across the state are assigned to the force.
The money will come in part from unspent funds dedicated to linking the state’s criminal justice information systems.