COMMUNICATIONS
IN RELATION TO THE
CITY OF ELK GROVE
NOVEMBER 13, 2024
REGULAR MEETING
From: Jason Lindgren
Bcc: Bobbie Singh-Allen; Rod Brewer; Sergio Robles; Kevin Spease; Darren Suen; Jason Behrmann; Jonathan Hobbs; Jennifer Alves; Suzanne Kennedy; Chelsea Mejia; Julie Hord; Brenda Haggard; Brianne O"Sullivan; Christopher Jordan; Antonio Ablog; Bobby Davis; Paul Solomon
Subject: City of Elk Grove -- Supplemental Information re: Item 8.1 for the 11-13-24 Regular Meeting Date: Wednesday, November 13, 2024 2:09:00 PM
Attachments: image001.png
Good Afternoon Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council Members,
Below is a link to download two (2) videos, submitted by Allan Veto III, received in relation to Item
8.1 for the November 13, 2024 regular meeting:
(On file with the City
Clerk)
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter, feel free to contact me by phone at 1-916-478-2286, or email at [email protected].
Jason Lindgren (he/him)
City Clerk
Office of the City Clerk
City of Elk Grove
8401 Laguna Palms Way, Elk Grove, CA 95758
Phone:
916.478.2286
TTY/TDD 888.435.6092
elkgrovecity.org
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GENERAL PUBLIC
COMMENT SUBMITTED
IN RELATION TO THE
CITY OF ELK GROVE
NOVEMBER 13, 2024
REGULAR MEETING
From:
To: Jason Lindgren
Subject: Message for the Council and staff for the November 13 Council meeting Date: Wednesday, November 13, 2024 3:40:54 PM
Attachments: CC on the PD v2.pdf
[EXTERNAL EMAIL]
Dear Mr. Lindgren,
Please distribute the attached pdf letter to the Mayor, Council Members, City Manager, City Attorney, Chief of Police and Sergeant Daniel Emerson.
Will you tell me when you have distributed my attached letter? Thank you and best wishes,
Mark Graham
Attachment
Sent
November 13, 2024
Dear Mr. Lindgren,
Please distribute this to the Mayor, Council Members, City Manager, City Attorney, Chief of Police and Sergeant Daniel Emerson.
Thank you.
Dear Mayor Singh-Allen, Council Members and staff,
Tonight I want to talk about the budget and the (in)adequacy of the City’s funding for investigations of financial crimes.
Summary:
Briefly, the City has inadequate staffing, only one investigator or detective, for financial crimes, which are expected to continue to grow. There are way too many cases for this one detective to handle, 125 cases. The cost to the residents is crimes remain unsolved and uninvestigated. The District Attorney can only prosecute upon a referral from the City.
A. Recommendations:
1. The Council should hold a closed door session with the police department and in particular the investigations unit to determine the extent and scope of the unit’s case load, needs for new financial crime investigators, and to what extent the City could solve the understaffing problem by adding 1, 2 or 4 new investigators for financial crimes.
2. The City should, if possible, hire 1-2 new investigators within the current budget.
3. The City should provide for adding 2-4 new investigators in the next budget.
B. Discussion:
Here are the facts about the PD and in particular the investigation unit on financial crimes.
1. Financial crimes and property crimes and are the biggest category of crime in the city.
2. The incidence of financial crimes has been growing and is expected to continue to grow.
3. The City has a $374 million budget.
4. The City has only one financial crime investigator or detective.
5. The City’s sole financial crime investigator has 50 cases now and another 75 cases pending.
6. The City needs between 2 and 4 more detectives to investigate financial crimes. Ideally to do it right and really serve the residents you will add 4 more investigators for financial crimes.
C. Suggested questions to ask during your closed session discussion with the police department:
1. Ask whether financial crimes are likely to become more or less common in Elk Grove. (Hint: It’s more!)
2. Ask how many cases a financial crime detective can successfully work on at a time.
3. Ask how much time he is able to devote on average to a case.
4. Ask how long it takes on average to solve each crime or otherwise dispose of it.
5. Ask whether the City’s one financial crime detective is EVER going to catch up on these 125 cases.
6. Ask what is the cost to the residents of the city having only one financial crime detective.
7. Ask to what extent could the City solve this understaffing problem by hiring 1, 2, or 4 new financial crime detectives.
The City of Elk Grove and our Council Members and staff are all committed to making this a safe and enjoyable city to live, work, and play. Part of this is safety including crimes including financial crimes.
Please make this part of your efforts to make Elk Grove a safe and enjoyable city to live, work and play.
Will the Council respond to this message?
Thank you very much,
Mark Graham