City of Corona
Staff Report
400 S. Vicentia Ave.
Corona, CA 92882
File #: 21-0233
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 03/17/2021
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Police Department
SUBJECT:
Memorandum of Understanding between the Riverside County Regional Gang Task Force and the Corona Police Department.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
City Council consideration of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Riverside County Regional Gang Task Force and the Corona Police Department and the acceptance of funding transferred from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department related to the Gang Task Force.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council:
a. Approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the Riverside County Regional Gang Task Force and the Corona Police Department.
b. Authorize the Interim Chief of Police to execute the Memorandum of Understanding between the Riverside County Regional Gang Task Force and the Corona Police Department. c. Authorize the Chief of Police to negotiate and execute any extensions and/or amendments to this Memorandum of Understanding which are either non-substantive or otherwise in compliance with the City Council’s actions hereunder.
d. Accept a transfer of asset forfeiture funds estimated at $5,383.64 from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department for the Gang Task Force region.
e. Appropriate $5,383.64 from the Asset Forfeiture Fund 250 and increase the estimated revenue by the same amount for the Gang Task Force.
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File #: 21-0233
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
In December 2005, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved the implementation of a county-wide gang task force program. The gang task force program takes an assertive and regionalbased approach to address crime, disorderly conduct, and other gang activity issues. In April 2006, the City Council authorized a new Police Detective position on the Riverside County Gang Task Force known at the time as the Greater Corona/Norco/Home Gardens Regional Gang Task Force (GCNHGRGTF). The GCNHGRGTF worked closely with department detectives investigating gangrelated crimes. This Gang Task Force (GTF) was known as the Region 8 Team and was comprised of officers from Border Patrol, California Highway Patrol, Corona Police Department, Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Riverside County Probation, and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
In June 2018, the Region 8 GTF Team was dissolved. The remaining funding seized by GTF as a result of illegal activities and held in the City of Corona’s Asset Forfeiture account was equally dispersed among the participating agencies.
ANALYSIS:
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and the Corona Police Department are reestablishing the Gang Task Force partnership within Corona and surrounding communities. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department drafted a Gang Task Force Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to set forth the participating agencies' responsibilities in the Riverside County Regional Gang Task Force (RCRGTF). The RCRGTF consists of seven regions, and an Executive Board will govern each region.
The participating agencies in this MOU would be the Banning Police Department, Beaumont Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Cathedral City Police Department, Corona Police Department, Desert Hot Springs Police Department, Hemet Police Department, Murrieta Police Department, Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Riverside County Probation Department, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, and the United States Border Patrol. The proposal calls for local law enforcement agencies' coordination to promote safe and secure neighborhoods free of violent crime and gang violence. The GTF will take an assertive and regional-based approach to address crime, disorderly conduct, and other gang activity issues. This task force would be a force multiplier and provide gang enforcement, education, and prevention for at-risk youth. Through a regional-based approach, the participating agencies will be able to tailor each task force's activities to meet the needs of the specific communities they serve.
It is recommended that the Corona Police Department assign one Police Sergeant and one Police Officer II to the task force. Each partner agency would be responsible for all their own employees' costs, including vehicle and equipment costs. The Corona/Jurupa Valley Region will be Region 7 and will work out of the Corona Police Department. As the host agency, the Corona Police Department Sergeant would be the Region 7 Task Force Supervisor and be responsible for supervising and managing Region 7’s personnel and activities. The City of Corona Police Department would become the fiscal agent of this region’s asset forfeiture funds. Additionally, the MOU will allow Corona to distribute forfeitures to the participating agencies related to any GTF seizures in this region.
This GTF is expected to be an ongoing task force for an indefinite period. There is a thirty-day written notice requirement allowing partners to terminate if needed. It is recommended that the Chief of Police be authorized to determine continued participation, as long as there is no significant fiscal impact or other substantial MOU changes.
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File #: 21-0233
The City Attorney has reviewed and approved as to form the proposed MOU.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
No additional appropriation is requested for these positions. The Corona Police Department will support GTF with these duties internally, with one Police Sergeant and one Police Officer II position, two vehicles, and related equipment, estimated at $395,278 annually to support the team.
The GTF MOU will allow Corona to participate in the distribution of forfeitures related to any GTF seizures.
Approval of the recommended actions will; (1) authorize the City of Corona Police Department to become the fiscal agent for the GTF Region 7 asset forfeiture funds; (2) authorize approximately $5,383.64 in asset forfeiture funds to be transferred from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to the City of Corona; and (3) appropriate $5,383.64 from the Asset Forfeiture Fund 250 and increase the estimated revenue by the same amount for the Gang Task Force. All of this region’s asset forfeiture funds received will be strictly used for the GTF related activities and will accrue interest.
Fund 07/01/20 Est.
Fund Balance
Budgeted
Revenues/
Sources
Budgeted
Expenditures/
Uses
Fund Balance
Impacts
06/30/21 Est.
Fund Balance
Asset Forfeiture Fund
250
$225,803 $9,387 ($152,900) Appropriation
($5,384) Revenue
$5,384
$82,290
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the common sense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action is an agreement to enhance police efforts, and there is no possibility that adopting this Memorandum of Understanding will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: MICHELLE ADAMS, MANAGEMENT ANALYST II
REVIEWED BY: ROBERT NEWMAN, INTERIM CHIEF OF POLICE
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Riverside County Regional Gang Task Force MOU 2021 - 2025
2. Exhibit 2 - Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Gang Task Force Adjudicated City of Corona Page 3 of 3 Printed on 3/10/2021
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