Elk Grove Ranks As Safest City In Region, Mayor Credits Investment In Police Force
ELK GROVE (CBS13) — Elk Grove was named the safest city in the region by the FBI, but some residents disagree with that ranking.
Mayor Gary Davis says the city has spent around $1 million a year on gang prevention. That's an amount he says is the same as Sacramento spends, despite Elk Grove being one-fourth the size.
"Our biggest decrease has been in the violent crime section, but there's also been a pretty good decrease over the years in property crime," he said. "We invest heavily in our street crime prevention unit, so we have a full-time police force that their No. 1 job is to sniff out gang members and keep them out of Elk Grove."
But not everyone who lives here is convinced the streets have gotten any safer.
"There's been a lot of drug busts here in Elk Grove, and when we moved here 23 years ago, it was pretty quiet," said resident Ruth Galven.
The mayor admits there is still a lot of work to be done, but he says investing in the police department has been the biggest reason they've seen things change for the better.
Davis hopes other nearby cities take a page from their book.
"Investing in people, investing in technology, and just being in a place where our police and our residents interact on a regular basis makes a big difference," he said.
