The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2001-03-19 CRC MINS MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION March 19, 2001 City Attorney' s Conference Room 4 :30 p.m. ------------------------------------------------------------------- MEMBERS: John Dorso, Harriet Acton, Deric Prescott, Mark PRESENT: Croshier, Barbara McAllister, David Potter, and Sergio Feria MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: City Attorney John M. Kaheny Candy Emerson, Director of Human Resources Rick Emerson, Chief of Police; Sgt . David Eisenberg The meeting was called to order at 4 :35 p.m. 1. Roll Call. The roll was called and all members were present. 2 . Approval of Minutes . MSUC (Potter/Acton) to approve the minutes of February 26, 2001 as presented. 3 . Discussion of Community Rights and Enhancement Plan. Chair Dorso noted Virgil Pina presented his plan at last month's meeting. ' Candy Emerson, Human Resources Director: She was invited to today's meeting at Attorney John Kaheny's request . Ms. Emerson stated she met with Mr. Pina approximately two years ago to discuss the minority hiring practices of the City. Ms . Emerson shared with Mr. Pina the City's Federal EE04 report showing a breakdown by ethnicity, gender, classification, job family and the various recruitment techniques . . Human Resources has added 9 new staff members, who can provide improved recruiting and testing practices . With outreach recruiting, the percentage of minorities working in the City has gradually increased. The City currently advertises in two primarily black publications, San Diego Voice and Viewpoint and The Riverside Precinct especially -for police recruitment . The City also uses La Prensa and La Opinoin in L.A. and the Hispanic and Black Hotlines . In addition, the City has a user friendly website. Human Resources has, in conjunction with the Fire Department, developed an academy to bring in students from minority communities. Presentations are made at Southwestern each year trying to recruit minorities . The Human Resources Department is ethnically diverse in age, gender, and race. That fact is promoted in recruiting efforts with the. cultural diversity emphasized to prospective employees. An EEO Analyst provides Charter Review Minutes March 19, 2001 Page 2 regular counseling for applicants who require additional assistance due to cultural and language barriers to help them through the selection . process . The City's bottom line has always been to find the best candidate. Ms . Emerson is available to meet with Mr. Pina if he has a specific issue. Chair Dorso asked Ms . Emerson if the City has done everything possible to meet Mr. Pina's concerns. Mr. Emerson replied the City is proactive in that regard, but there is always more you can do. Rick Emerson, Police Chief, and Sgt. David Eisenberg (assigned to Community Relations) : Both appeared at the Commission's request to address issues on traffic stops and Independent Civil Review Board. The Police Department has previously done citizens surveys that show a 920-93o satisfaction component associated with services provided by the Police Department. Every 2-3 years, the Police Department checks to get a report card on how they are doing. A Civilian Review Board is used in some communities for looking at Police misconduct, doing full-blown investigations, reviewing investigations that police departments have performed, making recommendations to Police Chief . Chief Emerson believes our Police Department has been able to look at issues brought forward and conduct thorough investigations . If misconduct is found, discipline is imposed. He believes a Civilian Review Board is not necessary at this point in time. With over 74, 000 calls for service last year, there were 15-19 citizen complaints which correlates to most people being happy with the Police Department. Through ARJIS, statistical information is kept on traffic citations, field interrogations, and arrests . The numbers are broken down by ethnicity and balanced by the residential component. Due to our proximity to the border, our geographic placement impacts a city of 175, 000 . The City has signed an agreement,with the State of California for data collection on traffic stops . Officers will complete a card showing who is being stopped, if a citation, warning or verbal was issued, who is in the vehicle, are they from the area, was there a search of the vehicle. The City of San Diego has been collecting similar data for 12 months . Chief Emerson has met with Virgil Pina, ACLU attorneys and the San Diego Police Chief to discuss this process . Most of the other cities in the county have elected not to move forward with this data collection. The target start date for Chula Vista is May 1. Charter Review Minutes March 19, 2001 Page 3 Member Acton questioned if the ethnicity of the officer would be reported and Chief Emerson stated they would be indicating their sex and race. Member McAllister questioned what ethic breakdowns would be used. Chief Emerson reported the basic SANDAG data collection and standard census criteria would be used. Chief Emerson noted 5% of our officers are black with population parity because the community is 5 . 6% black. The percentage of Hispanics in the sworn ranks is 25-35% and our resident population is 42-43% based on a 10 year old census . Member Prescott pointed out 75% of the 80 largest cities have Civilian Review Boards. Mistrust of police departments is a primary reason for their start-up and/or a frustration when complaints are made that they are not handled properly. Rick Emersonmentioned an undercover sting was done in San Diego where one of the local television stations sent two of its employees (an Hispanic and African American) to local police departments to request a citizen complaint form. In all cases, the individuals were given forms and/or a supervisor spoke to them. If a citizen is unhappy with the Police Department, their remedy is to file a claim or a letter to the City Attorney or City Manager. Member Potter was floored by the minimum number of citizen complaints filed for a city this size and feels it' s an impressive record. - Commission Croshier questioned what happens if false accusations are made against police officers . Rick Emerson noted Penal Code §1486 states a citizen has to sign the citizen' s compliant with the admonition _stating it is not a false complaint, and there. will be recourse . Member McAllister stated the complaint process is a circular one as it' s investigated and dealt with by the Police Department. She thinks a citizens review board is worth thinking about . Attorney Kaheny noted a complaint can be filed against any police officer in the United States with the U. S . Department of Justice or the local District Attorney' s office. Chief Emerson stated an annual report is sent to the State Auditor of complaints filed. In addition, there is a citizens police, academy to involve citizens in how the whole process of the department works . Member Feria feels there are definite upsides to a citizens review board, e.g. , to discourage litigation against the City and to provide a forum of people independent of City Hall to air grievances . Discussion ensued regarding pro and cons of civilian review boards, whether or not they are more liberal than police management, the r Charter Review Minutes i March 19, 2001 Page 4 problems with local review boards in the City and County of San Diego and length of time for investigations . 4 . Report by City Attorney John M. Kaheny. Attorney Kaheny distributed a memorandum from Cliff Swanson, Deputy Director of Public Works, .regarding advertising in city construction jobs . He was unable to reach John Witt and Mary Salas regarding campaign reform and will report next month on that issue. The FPPC investigated the races in Chula Vista regarding fines and money laundering. As far as the City of Chula Vista is concerned, it is well beyond the statutory period. The interesting fact is that the recipient of the money did not have a clue it was going on and it occurred outside our jurisdiction. 5 . Public Comments . None 6 . Members' Comments . MSUC (Acton/Potter) to waive the meeting in April, 2001. At the next meeting, Attorney Kaheny will provide historical documentation on the civilian review boards in the country. 7 . Adjournment . MSUC (Acton/Potter) to adjourn the meeting at 5 : 50 p.m. to the next meeting scheduled for May 21, 2001 at 4 : 30 p.m. Lorraine Kraker, Secretary J:\home\lorraine\crc\minute\3-19-01