Laserfiche WebLink
CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK <br /> Mr. Cotter stated, I purposefully ask the different departments to not supply more because I <br /> understand others' resources are tight as well. The whole idea of this is to help the different <br /> departments. Frankly,this is a lot of headache on behalf of the Prosecutors Office. I don't want to <br /> hire these three (3) officers but it is necessary. I don't want to try to go to a source I would be <br /> competing with for other things that need to be done that are also vitally important to keep our <br /> citizens safe. The likelihood of me coming back here asking if you can supply x numbers and x <br /> dollars for this or that is slim to none. It has worked well for twenty-five (25) years. We have <br /> certainly been tweaking it. I recognize the City's desire to do an Interlocal. I don't believe the <br /> Interlocal is necessary and the City does. I respect that and that is why I'm willing to do this but <br /> just so you know, it has been working with the law enforcement folks who understand the needs. <br /> The needs can shift within a month's period. When we had the Sturgis case,the SBPD helped out <br /> the Homicide Unit. Having that fluidity is helpful. <br /> Committee Chair Broden followed up, And the stats you have provided with regard to <br /> effectiveness and cases solved, that all helps. That type of information. <br /> Councilmember Dr. David Varner stated, First, thanks for getting the information back to us that <br /> was requested. On your article it lists seven (7) entities which includes a private member. Who is <br /> that? <br /> Mr. Cotter replied, That is our civilian member, Mike Carrington. <br /> Councilmember Dr. Varner followed up, And I see there is representation from Notre Dame and <br /> Indiana University and I think you said they don't contribute anything monetarily, correct? <br /> Mr. Cotter replied, That is correct. However, The University of Notre Dame does monitor the <br /> security of the buildings. <br /> Councilmember Dr. Varner followed up,And then I ask about the statistics. You cite the statistics <br /> without any citation. I've got my percentages but when you can get us those, that would be great. <br /> Particularly the homicide numbers. If I recall when this was created years ago, by statute, is this <br /> the responsibility of the Prosecutor's Office? How did this coalition come about? <br /> Mr. Cotter replied,I'm pooling the numbers together from seven(7)different documents. And no, <br /> it is not. These investigations are so complex that it is not something that an officer who has only <br /> received basic training, is trained to do. They learn it as they go and, traditionally, you're going to <br /> have some good investigators and some not so good investigators. It used to be literally luck of the <br /> draw and whoever is on duty. We need the best investigators and the best information from all the <br /> involved parties. Then, we put those all together to focus only on those specific types of crimes. <br /> That seems to work best. The reason it came to the Prosecutor is twofold. One (1) is because, <br /> ultimately, I'm responsible for holding individuals accountable for committing those crimes. <br /> Secondly, I don't have a dog in the fight so to speak. So I don't care whether the crime occurred <br /> in South Bend, Mishawaka or somewhere else in the County, I care that it occurred in St. Joseph <br /> County. Not having to worry about over emphasis on crimes that occur in specific areas is <br /> beneficial to the effectiveness of what we do. From my own observations,that has happened. That <br /> is why they combined this. This model seems to have worked very well. <br /> EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION ( EMPOWERMENT <br /> 455 County-City Building I227W.Jefferson Bvld I South Bend,Indiana 466011p574.235.9221If574.235.91731TTD574.235.5567Iwww.southbendin.gov <br /> 4 <br />