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Q&A
DOI's strategies for high-priority investigations
0:51:05
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134 sec
Commissioner Strauber outlines the Department of Investigation's strategies for handling high-priority investigations, particularly in agencies like NYCHA. She emphasizes the importance of experienced staff, strong relationships, and follow-up procedures.
- Experienced investigators vet complaints and maintain awareness of agency concerns
- DOI has strong relationships with NYCHA leadership and prosecutors' offices
- The department makes policy and procedural reform recommendations
- DOI follows up on recommendations to ensure implementation
Chris Banks
0:51:05
Excellent.
0:51:06
What resources and strategies are in place to ensure that DOI can adequately respond to these type of high priority investigations and prevent similar issues from happening in the future?
Jocelyn E. Strauber
0:51:22
You know, I think, you know, we we rely on our investigators to vet the the complaints that we received.
0:51:30
We and and to have an awareness Right.
0:51:33
Of what the concerns are at their particular agencies.
0:51:36
That's certainly true with NYCHA.
0:51:38
We have a very experienced inspector general and team supporting, you know, that entire operation.
0:51:46
So so we we receive complaints and we know what we're looking for.
0:51:50
Like I said, we have we have strong relationships with NYCHA.
0:51:54
So it's not only, you know, anonymous complaints from which we learn things, it's from concerns shared at times by leadership.
0:52:04
That squad has strong relationships with prosecutors' offices, and so they have, you know, the relationships they could use to build a case, like the case that we announced back in February.
0:52:18
So those are, you know, those are some of the features, you know, that that make for a squad that can do challenging, difficult, important investigative work and do it successfully.
0:52:30
And then we make recommendations for policy and procedural reform, and we we sort of stay on and follow-up on those recommendations.
0:52:41
So as it happens, we had made recommendations to NYCHA years before the the big bribery takedown last February.
0:52:49
Some of those recommendations, unfortunately, NYCHA had chosen not to implement.
0:52:53
They were operationally challenging or they were expensive.
0:52:56
Once we were able to bring a criminal case of that size, that can be a very motivating set of circumstances for, an agency, and they did implement all of those changes.
0:53:06
So it's sort of a combination of understanding how the agency works, knowing how to vet complaints properly, having the staff to devote to them, having prosecutorial relationships, you know, that squad is a good model for all of those things.