A look inside the St. Paul policy

Last update: February 24, 2008 - 10:09 PM

A look inside the st. paul policy

Excerpts from the St. Paul policy for investigating protest groups:

"It is the policy of the St. Paul Police Department (SPPD) that the Department will not initiate or participate in the investigations into groups or individuals based solely upon their lawful exercise of First Amendment Rights....

"If the checking of leads determines no possibility of unlawful activity, all records created should be destroyed except a chronological log of activity that indicates the officer involved, steps taken, reasons for the inquiry, and outcome of the lead checking.

"When checking leads, investigators shall employ techniques that are as minimally invasive as possible and yet can be reasonably effective...."

"Undercover officers and informants are also forbidden from disrupting the lawful operations of an organization, from sowing seeds of distrust, or from instigating unlawful acts or engaging in unlawful or unauthorized investigative activities. Undercover officers shall not become so involved in a group that they are involved in directing the operations of a group."