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Inspector General: hotline, bank-scan tools and staffing push to speed investigations
Summary
The Office of the Inspector General reported improved web complaint response, new bank-record scanning and investigative databases, staff hires and a plan for peer review and investigator certification.
Curtis Donald, presenting as inspector general, updated the Governmental Operations Committee on investigative operations, tooling and staffing, saying the office has focused on timelier complaint responses and technical upgrades to accelerate complex investigations.
Donald said the office has improved its web-based complaint intake and is phasing out a prior smartphone app that had fallen dormant. He described closer information-sharing with federal, state and local law-enforcement partners and said the office acquired a bank-record scanning tool that can convert image bank records into spreadsheets, shortening a task that previously took weeks.
The inspector general reported the office added three investigative databases to support asset and identity research and is working to outfit investigators with appropriate safety and investigative gear. He described recent hires and interim appointments: Shatabra Powell (management analyst), Brittany Clift (interim investigations manager), Investigator George Ash and other investigators with prior federal and state law-enforcement experience.
Donald gave a breakdown of investigative workload for fiscal 2025: about 43% of investigations were fraud and theft, 27% were waste and abuse, and roughly 20% of incoming matters were outside the office’s jurisdiction and were referred to other agencies. He said some administrative investigations will include recommendations in final reports, while criminal investigations are handled with prosecutorial partners and may be withheld from public release to protect prosecutions and asset-recovery actions.
Donald said the office lacks a deputy inspector general and plans to pursue a formal peer review by the Association of Inspectors General by December and to complete inspector-general investigator certifications for current staff by March 2026. He requested budget consideration for vehicles, training and equipment to support surveillance and investigative operations.
Why it matters: improvements in tooling (bank-scan) and staffing can reduce investigative timelines and improve evidence gathering; peer review and certifications aim to professionalize the office and increase public confidence in investigative rigor.
Ending: Committee members praised the upgrades and discussed publishing an annual IG report and the timing of peer review; the committee recommended staff follow up on integration of IG referrals into the 311/One-Call system.
