B. Review Sheriff's Office Investigator Position
Memo
€>-
PATROL SERVICES
DIVISION
To: Chanhassen Mayor and City Council
From: Sgt. Peter Anderley
Dat 10/3/08
6~'
R: Chanhassen Investigator
Detective Bob Zydowsky was assigned to the City of Chanhassen in March of 2008 as the city's first
contracted detective. Detective Zydowsky's main focus has been misdemeanor crimes that have
occurred throughout the city. He has worked closely with the deputies assigned to the city and has
proven to be a helpful source of information.
The position has allowed the citizens of Chanhassen to receive a higher level of service. Detective
Zydowsky has been able to contact victims of crimes in a timely manner and follow up with concerns
they have. Prior to the investigator position, not all misdemeanor cases were looked at or investigated
beyond the initial deputy taking the report. The investigator position has changed that because now
someone looks at every report. I have had several victims comment that it was nice to know that
someone looked into their case even though it could not be solved.
Prior to the investigator position, the deputies were assigned the cases for follow up. This took the
deputies away from their patrol duties. It also delayed the investigation process because the deputies
still responded to calls for service and were not able to commit all of their time to investigate the case.
This can be shown by the monthly reports in several areas that show a decrease in certain calls.
The detective position designated to Chanhassen provides the deputies with extra resources that they
would not have available to them. The deputies are able to hand the initial report over to the detective
immediately. This helps the investigator get a start on the case while information is still new and
witnesses' accounts are fresh in their minds. Several incidents have occurred where Detective
Zydowsky immediately responded to the crime scene to get the information, and assisted the patrol
deputies with the interviews.
Detective Zydowsky has also been able to maintain regular meetings with other investigators from
surrounding agencies. This is a valuable tool in solving crimes in the city. Criminals often commit
crimes in several jurisdictions. By opening the communication lines between investigators, they all
benefit.
At the meeting, I will discuss several examples of where these benefits have shown positive. I will
also go into further details about these benefits as they relate to the city and citizens that we serve.
Call comparison for 2007 to 2008
January 1 st to August 31 st
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Property Damage
Theft
Traffic-Alcohol
Alarms
Accident-injury
Accident-Prop Damage
Accident-Deer
Dist peace
Driving Complaints
Medicals
Open Doors
Traffic Stops
Citations
2007
44
11
192
73
44
760
61
347
21
277
425
429
19
2642
1963
2008
19
17
142
68
57
640
50
286
22
262
361
484
28
2647
1526
Decrease of 57%
Increase of 36%
Decrease of 26%
Decrease of 7%
Increase of 23 %
Decrease of 16%
Decrease of 18%
Decrease of 18%
Increase of 5%
Decrease of 5%
Decrease of 15%
Increase of 11%
Increase of 32%
No Change
Decrease of22%
In April of 2008 we started to track written warnings. YTD for 2008 is 209 warnings.