REMARKS
Challenges with police response to fraud complaints
1:44:14
·
90 sec
Council Member Holden expresses frustration with the police department's response to fraud complaints, particularly in cases of home improvement scams. He highlights the tendency of responding officers to categorize these incidents as civil matters rather than crimes.
- Holden states that responding officers often tell victims to take the matter to court, misclassifying it as a civil issue
- He mentions having to educate precinct commanding officers about the nature of these scams
- The council member emphasizes the need for better procedures to verify the legitimacy of companies involved in reported scams
Robert F. Holden
1:44:14
You know the weakest link in in reporting the the awning scam, the police department.
1:44:20
You know why?
1:44:21
They the responding officers say that it's a civil matter.
1:44:26
This company you they did work on your chimney or your roof.
1:44:31
So if you're not happy with it, you gotta take them to court.
1:44:34
You have to do it.
1:44:35
So I I would call the CEO and I because I got to the CEO and I would have to educate the CEO.
1:44:39
I said, this is not a real company How could they sue a phony company?
1:44:45
And each time I was hitting my head against the wall.
1:44:47
In fact, it went so far that there was a, let's say, an address, 270 Broadway.
1:44:52
It was a a roofing company.
1:44:54
They sent the the precinct.
1:44:56
My precinct sent 2 officers down to check on the location.
1:45:00
Of course, there was no location.
1:45:01
There was there was no, you know, roofing company there.
1:45:05
So or they use just a UPS location, and that's a big scam.
1:45:12
It's happening every single day, the roofing scams.
1:45:15
Every because every time we report it and I publicize it, I get people coming out and said, I think my roof was I was scammed, but they're like, when you mentioned chief, they're they're in Darius.
1:45:26
Or you mentioned, I'm sorry, Commissioner, that they're in Darius, and they don't wanna actually, sometimes they don't wanna report it.
1:45:32
So I still think though, because we had 1 months ago, where the office is responding, said it's a civil matter.
1:45:41
They don't check on the company, and that should be the procedure.
