In this complex, globalized, post 9/11 world, our operational partnerships have never been more important to our efforts to protect your communities.
 Today, we work with colleagues at every level of government—local, state, federal, even international—across the law enforcement, intelligence, and first responder communities. We lead and take part in multi-agency task forces, intelligence groups and fusion centers, and public and private sector alliances. A number of our partners literally sit shoulder-to-shoulder with us in FBI space, just as we share our agents and analysts with other agencies. We work closely on joint investigations—sometimes taking the lead, sometimes taking a back seat to others, sometimes contributing equally among many agencies. Our work with our colleagues, in fact, is so intertwined today that it’s often nearly impossible to separate the contributions of one agency—and one nation—from the next.
In Minneapolis, our major partnerships include:
Minneapolis Joint Terrorism Task Force
 The Minneapolis Division Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), established in January 2000, centralizes and maximizes the federal, state, and local investigative efforts regarding both domestic and international terrorism in the Minneapolis Division's tri-state area. The JTTF concept emphasizes the importance and efficacy of the multi-agency approach in protecting national security.
The primary mission of the JTTF is to detect and neutralize any terrorist activity in the Minneapolis Division and to investigate terrorist acts carried out by groups or organizations that fall within the definition of terrorist groups as set forth in the current U.S. Attorney General Guidelines. The secondary mission of the JTTF is to quickly respond to terrorist and bombing incidents.
Members of the JTTF include representatives from federal agencies, including the FBI; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Department of Agriculture; U.S. Marshals and the Federal Air Marshals; and the Internal Revenue Service. State and local representatives include the Minnesota State Patrol, the Minneapolis Police Department, the Saint Paul Police Department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Minneapolis/Saint Paul Airport Police, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office, and the Sioux Falls, South Dakota Police Department.
South Dakota Joint Terrorism Task Force
The FBI established a South Dakota JTTF in October 2001. The South Dakota JTTF is a branch of the Minnesota based JTTF. The South Dakota JTTF is made up of representatives from the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office, the Sioux Falls Police Department, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. The primary purpose of the JTTF is to detect and neutralize any terrorist attempts in South Dakota and to investigate terrorist activities carried out by groups or organizations that may be represented in our state.
The JTTF has established close working relationships with all aspects of law enforcement and our communities. To facilitate information sharing, a direct line of communication has been established with the South Dakota Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN). All state and local JTTF members have been granted a top secret security clearance or are in the final approval process. Day-to-day operations of the JTTF are conducted out of the Sioux Falls FBI office.
It is important to note that the JTTF covers the entire state of South Dakota. You may provide information to the JTTF in several ways. An individual may call any FBI office in South Dakota, or law enforcement agencies can simply fill out a LIEN sheet that will be provided to the JTTF.
 Minnesota Cyber Crime Task Force
The Minnesota Cyber Crime Task Force (MCCTF)—a joint FBI and U.S. Secret Service task force that includes members of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and local law enforcement—investigates cyber crime in the Minneapolis Division. The task force specifically investigates violations of federal law where the Internet and computer systems or networks are used as instruments or targets of terrorists, foreign intelligence services, and criminal activity. FBI agents assigned to the Computer Analysis Response Team (CART) also operate out of the task force. The MCCTF continues to reach out to additional partners within the states of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota to form partnerships to jointly investigate cyber and high-tech crimes.
Minneapolis Organized Crime Task Force
The Minneapolis Division Organized Crime Task Force consists of FBI agents and agents from the Internal Revenue Service and Minnesota Department of Public Safety. This task force targets and investigates organizations involved in illegal activities such as interstate gambling, weapons and drug trafficking, extortion, and prostitution.
To identify, penetrate, and dismantle organized crime rings, the task force works with several local and federal law enforcement agencies, such as the Minneapolis and St. Paul Police Departments; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The Organized Crime Task Force has dismantled several large criminal organizations involved in a large-scale gambling operations and weapons trafficking.
Minnesota Fugitive Task Force
The Minnesota Fugitive Task Force was established in 1992 under the Safe Streets Initiative. It includes FBI agents, officers from the Minneapolis and St. Paul Police Departments, deputies from the Hennepin and Ramsey County Sheriff's Office, and deputies from the U.S. Marshals Service.
The Minnesota Fugitive Task Force's mission is to track, locate, and arrest individuals who have outstanding felony warrants for violent crimes. Typically, the fugitive task force apprehends three fugitives each week. It receives requests from state and local law enforcement agencies to locate and apprehend violent fugitives often located in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. If these fugitives flee the state, the Minnesota Fugitive Task Force works with other FBI Fugitive Task Forces throughout the U.S. and abroad to apprehend these individuals.
Since its inception in 1992, the Minnesota Fugitive Task Force has apprehended well over 2,000 violent fugitives.
Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force
The Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force (NPSTDETF) is a multi-agency entity made up of representatives of the Bureau of Indian Affairs; the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; the Pine Ridge, Rosebud, and Cheyenne River Indian Reservations; the Pierre Police Department; and numerous other law enforcement agencies from across South Dakota. The NPSTDETF targets serious drug traffickers on and off Indian reservations in South Dakota.
Through FBI funding, the NPSTDETF has established office space in Pierre, South Dakota, where tribal investigators can work jointly with their federal, state, and local task force partners. The FBI is a founding member of the task force, and one seasoned agent currently coordinates its operations. The NPSTDETF is considered by many law enforcement officers to be a prime example of cooperative law enforcement. This group of highly skilled veteran officers from several key agencies functions as a cohesive 15-member unit that safely apprehends dangerous drug dealers.
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