SF4371

Purpose

This bill aims to improve public safety by clarifying how certain grants from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are used as reimbursements, updating how crime data is recorded and reported, and strengthening access to orders for protection for law enforcement. It also creates new funding and procedures related to witness and victim protection, and updates data privacy rules around protective orders.

Main Provisions

• Crime data collection (Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 299C.05)

  • Requires the division to collect and preserve information about offenses from start to finish and to use data useful for studying crime and justice.
  • Requires data to follow a form prescribed by the superintendent and to align with standards used by the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI, where possible.
  • The goal is to align Minnesota’s crime reporting with national systems.

• Undercover Buy Fund, witness and victim protection (Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 299C.065)

  • Grants reimbursements to local officials for costs related to:
  • Cross-jurisdictional drug investigations, buying/selling stolen goods, or gambling violations.
  • Investigations involving recruitment, transportation, or use of juveniles for prostitution.
  • Partial reimbursement for intensive, long-term multijurisdictional investigations that exhaust local resources (with some limits, such as missing and endangered children requiring compliance with certain policies).
  • Investigations into violent criminal gangs.
  • Creation of a Witness and Victim Protection Fund to relocate or otherwise protect witnesses or potential witnesses involved in prosecutions who face threats; protections can include identity changes, housing, transportation, living expenses, employment help, and other services to become self-sustaining.
  • Local agencies can apply for these grants; detailed reporting is required after investigations (numbers arrested, charges, values of substances or contraband, informant payments, and a budgeting accounting).

• Data classification and reporting requirements

  • Applications for grant money are confidential; investigative files containing witness identities or undercover sources are confidential.
  • The conclusion of an investigation with a grant is a public report, but identifying details about assisted witnesses are private data.
  • Agencies must provide annual or biennial summaries of witness assistance services.

• Orders for protection and data sharing

  • Expands the data framework around orders for protection, harassment restraining orders, and no-contact orders issued in various criminal contexts.
  • The data network must include these orders and, if available, a photo of the offender to aid enforcement.
  • Data about the offender is private; data about the victim can be shared for enforcement purposes.

• Copy of orders to law enforcement

  • Courts must copy orders for protection and continuances to the local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the vulnerable adult’s residence and the lead investigative agency within 24 hours of issuance.
  • Court administrators must provide verification information about the existence and status of orders to law enforcement, with applicable references to existing statutory provisions.

• Repeal of a prior statute

  • Repeals Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 299C.12.1.10 (details not provided in the summary).

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Updates to crime data collection and alignment with national standards (FBI/DOJ systems) to improve consistency in reporting.
• Creation of a formal Undercover Buy Fund framework and a new Witness and Victim Protection Fund with explicit grant and reporting requirements.
• Expanded and clarified data privacy rules around court orders for protection and related enforcement data.
• Mandatory sharing of order information with local law enforcement within a tight timeframe to improve enforcement capability.
• Repeal of an existing statute related to the program (299C.12.1.10), removing that prior provision.

Implementation and Oversight

• Grants reimbursements are administered by the commissioner of public safety.
• Local sheriffs or municipal police chiefs apply for grants using prescribed forms and procedures.
• The bill requires regular reporting to legislative committees on investigations funded by grants and on witness assistance services (by January 1 of every even-numbered year).

Who Is Affected

• Local law enforcement agencies (sheriffs and municipal police departments).
• Court systems and court administrators.
• Victims and witnesses involved in criminal prosecutions.
• The public, through changes in data reporting, privacy rules, and enforcement efficiency.

Potential Impacts

• Improved data quality and national comparability of crime reporting.
• More consistent funding and support for major investigations and for protecting witnesses and victims.
• Faster and more reliable enforcement of protection orders through better data sharing with law enforcement.
• Stronger privacy protections for investigative data and sensitive witness information.

Relevant Terms - crime data collection - Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) - Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 299C.05 - crime reporting - United States Department of Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - nationally recognized system - Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 299C.065 - Undercover Buy Fund - Witness and Victim Protection Fund - grants reimbursements - cross-jurisdictional criminal activity - possession and sale of controlled substances - receiving or selling stolen goods - gambling activities - recruitment, transportation, or use of juveniles for prostitution - missing and endangered child - long-term multijurisdictional investigations - violent criminal gangs - housing and relocation for witnesses - new identity documents - data classification - confidential records - private data on individuals - public data - orders for protection - no contact orders - harassment restraining orders - data communications network - verification information - court administrator - lead investigative agency - copy to law enforcement - within 24 hours - Minnesota Statutes 2025 Supplement section 609.2334 subdivision 11 - repealing Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 299C.12.1.10