The St. Paul Police Department will soon accept federal funding to compensate officers who work overtime in opioid distribution investigations.

On Wednesday, the St. Paul City Council approved the police department’s partnership with the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to work on a statewide anti-heroin task force.

The BCA received a $1.4 million, two-year grant from a U.S. Department of Justice program to work with local agencies, like the St. Paul police, on fighting the opioid epidemic, according to BCA spokeswoman Jill Oliveira.

According to the agreement, the agencies will collaborate on investigating trafficked opioids connected to fatal overdoses, practitioners who illegally prescribe opioids and “high level” distribution systems through “street level” suppliers.

St. Paul City Council member Dan Bostrom said the agreement won’t significantly change police practices, but will “multiply” resources available to those participating in the agreement.

Local-level departments can utilize state resources, like those from the BCA, through the partnership to assist with opioid work, Bostrom said. The BCA also will benefit, as city departments “know the (local) areas better than anybody else,” he said.

This exchange of resources will solidfy a statewide network of agencies that are fighting the opioid epidemic, he said.

The BCA applied for the federal task-force funding through the Community Oriented Police Services, a federal program supporting officers across the nation who do opioid-related overtime work.

In 2016, the most recent year with available data, 395 people died in Minnesota from opioid overdoses, according to data from the Minnesota Department of Health. Heroin, a type of opioid, caused 150 of these deaths.

Agencies in seven other states also were accepted in the two-year program, with over $7.1 million in grants made available. None of the funding can support opioid treatment programs or the prosecution of unlawful opioid-related activities.

The amount the police department receives will depend on the number of overtime hours worked, said police spokesperson Mike Ernster. Related Articles St. Paul woman sentenced for manslaughter in man’s death; murder charge dismissed

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The agreement also emphasizes investigating opioid movement in Minnesota’s Native American community, which has been hit hard by opioid-related deaths, according to the health department. Its data shows Native Americans in Minnesota are five times as likely to die from an opioid overdose as white Minnesotans.

The BCA will work with around 30 local and tribal law enforcement agencies on the task force, according to Oliveira.