Marana Chief of Police Jeff Pridgett updated members on his department community policing efforts in fast-growing Marana.
Location-Marana Town Hall
Speaker- Chief of Police Jeff Pridgett
Attendees: John and Cindy Dooling, Peter Mack, Bob Bishop, Don Jorgensen, Harald Burtzloff, Mark Goligoski, Andrea De La Cruz. Beckie Penman via internet and, I "think, Laura Clymer. .
President De La Cruz called the meeting to order shortly after 8AM.
Good News! The Northwest Fire Department has completed the restoration of their training facility, and we are now welcomed to return. We all agree, due to holiday schedules, we shall target the first meeting in January for our triumphant return!
Bob, Don and Kathy traveled to Mexico and part in the building of a new home in one day with about 35 others most of whom are Rotarians from District 5500. This program, which is non-Rotarian, builds about 30m to 40 homes a year for low-income families. Both Don and Bob spoke highly of the process and Bob said he would "do it again!"
Andrea spoke of her visit to Mending Souls last week along with Bob and Kathy. Apparently, it is an extensive program with other charitable organizations involved. Readers may recall Mending Sould Director spoke to our club a few weeks ago.
Chief Pridgett's presentation came next. He is a MUSD grad having attended K through 12 and graduating from Marana High School. He joined Marana's finest in 2003 and climbed the ladder while touching every rung including motorcycle cop! He was appointed Chief a little over a year ago.There are currently 111 members in the department and seven open slots. These 111 are split into six patrol squads, a K( squad, The Direct-Action Response Team (DART) CIU, and Traffic. They have task forces aligned with DEA, Gang Activity Enforcement, auto theft action and participate in the Counter Narcotics alliance with Oro Vally and several other police departments.
The number one crime in Marana is shoplifting with over six hundred in 2023. They do pursue shoplifting calls contrary to what you may see in other cities or states. If theft is over $1,000, they refer to County Attorney's office as a felony, however the policy of the current County Attorney is often to refer back to the town to pursue as a misdemeanor.
Marana is not immune to human trafficking. They work closely with local motels and have a good relationship. They also are in an alliance with Oro Vally and Sahuarita called Stonegarden.
Response times from call received to arrival are truly impressive with the following statistics from 2023 stated in minutes and ranked by priority:
#1 4:16
#2 6:39
#3 8:21
#4 9:00
The Department has excellent relations with ICE and Border Patrol and member Mark Goligoski, an Administrator with MUSD, praised the chief for their work with the Marana schools.
Chief Pridgett was generous with his time and the meeting ran over about ten minutes with no complaints!
For additional info go to https://comunitycrimemap.com
Internet only meeting next week with double Happy Bucks?
We are in the process of recruiting new members. If you are reading this and not a current member, give us a call or better yet join us at the next meeting.ne
Your New Scribe, returning from many years wandering the Sonoran desert,
John Dooling