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The Mayor and City Council shall discuss and possibly take action on a request to allow the City Manager to over hire for the sole purpose of joining the Arizona Gang & Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission Task Force (GIITEM). Discussion and Action.
AGENDA ITEM DESCRIPTION
The City of Maricopa has recognized a significant trend in increased gang member presence and criminal activity over the past year. The Maricopa Police Department has identified individuals who live and visit our community and have been identified through reliable state data bases as gang members. Some of these individuals are connected with criminal activity within the City of Maricopa. The Maricopa Police Department does not currently have a member dedicated to investigating these particular crimes as gang crimes with increased penalties due to staffing limitations.
The Maricopa Police Department has an opportunity to join the Arizona Gang & Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission (GIITEM) Task Force through an IGA with the Department of Public Safety (DPS). The IGA between the City of Maricopa and DPS authorizes DPS to pay 75% of the payroll expense of our member. This includes salary, shift pay, benefits and others (please refer to attached IGA). DPS also pays for all overtime expenses related to task-force activity. The IGA indicates DPS provides our member with a vehicle and the maintenance of that vehicle for the task force purposes. The IGA for GIITEM is worded and funded the same as the Auto Theft Task Force, of which we are a member. For the City of Maricopa Police Department to become a task force member, staff believes the overhire position is necessary due to current staffing conditions and increasing workload coinciding with increased population. Police Department hereby acknowledges that in future years, should grant funding not be appropriated, this position will be elliminated and the overall staff count for sworn officers may be decreased by one person depending on position allocation needs and budgetary considerations.
Benefits of joining the Task Force:
• Adding a Sworn Officer to investigate all Gang related activity within the City of Maricopa at the price of ¼ an officer expense.
• Connecting criminal gang activity within the City of Maricopa to criminal gang activity in surrounding jurisdictions to enhance prosecutions and sentencing.
• Adding additional resources (other Task Force member agencies) to our city asset in an event our resources are insufficient to properly address criminal trends or specific events.
• Increased gang recognition training to the entire Police Department and other City Departments if necessary.
• The Maricopa Police Department does have the budgetary capacity to absorb this additional expense.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council grant City Manager permission allowing the Police Department to over hire by one sworn officer for the FY20 for the sole purpose of joining the Arizona Gang & Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission. Staff acknowledges that in future years, should this task force funding not be appropriated, this position will be elliminated and the overall staff count for sworn offiers may be decreased by one person depending on position allocation needs and budgetary considerations.