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Police say gang unit short-staffed as detectives spend weeks preparing cases
Summary
MCPD officials told the council the gang unit has multiple vacancies and that validating gang membership can require weeks of detective work and hundreds of hours in preparation for trial, straining capacity while officers rotate into federal task forces and promotions.
Special Investigations Director Ian Clark told the Public Safety Committee that the department's gang teams have persistent vacancies and high workload: the major-offender team had three vacancies and the gang investigative team had been down to three vacancies before two detectives transferred in. "We are down approximately 190 officers" department-wide, Clark said, explaining why backfilling investigative positions often pulls from patrol staffing.
Clark described the labor intensity: a single detective can spend more than 200 hours on analysis, meetings and file review for a validation summary and trial preparation. He warned of burnout from long trial obligations that pull detectives off regular duties. Council staff asked for a staffing assessment and the committee agreed to receive a fuller update in the November staffing briefing to determine how many positions the gang unit requires and how they interplay with patrol needs.
