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Chief Pata reports staffing gains, elder‑abuse case and stalled license‑plate‑reader rollout
Summary
Police Chief Pata said the department is fully staffed, a candidate for the next chief is advancing through testing, and officers worked a local elder‑abuse investigation alleging about $300,000 in theft; the previously approved license‑plate‑reader contract stalled over insurance and interoperability concerns with vendor Flock.
Police Chief Pata updated the council on staffing and recent investigations, and council members pressed staff about a delayed license‑plate‑reader (LPR) program.
Chief Pata said the department is now fully staffed and a candidate for the next police chief is "ahead of schedule in the testing process." He described several elder‑abuse investigations and singled out one case in which, after lengthy investigation, "it was discovered that they had taken about $300,000 from this, this resident," and said investigators worked with a volunteer forensic accounting team and the district attorney to assemble the case for prosecution.
Council members returned to a previously appropriated LPR program. Town Manager Johnson said the vendor Flock is "refusing to provide insurance for us" and that some jurisdictions are pausing or canceling agreements with Flock over privacy concerns. Chief Pata explained a countywide Flock network provides cross‑jurisdictional investigative benefits and a stand‑alone vendor solution would isolate Ross: "If we got our stand alone system, we would be an island... we would not have that benefit of knowing if a bad guy from Tiburon or Novato... is coming into our town." Council asked staff to follow up on how other jurisdictions resolved insurance issues and whether alternative vendors could meet interoperability needs.
No formal action was taken; staff will continue outreach and report back to the council.
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