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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018 September 19 MinutesMINUTES A REGULAR MEETING OF THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHULA VISTA POLICE DEPARTMENT 3rd floor training room 315 FOURTH AVENUE September 19, 2018 CHULA VISTA, CA 91910 5:00 PM Roxana Kennedy Chief of Police MEMBERS: Ray Aragon Martin Barros Gustavo Bidart Norma Cazares Patty Chavez Takisha Corbett Jose de la Garza Henrietta Harb Marla Kingkade Peter Mabrey Ternot MacRenato Anthony Millican Gerry Sablan STAFF: Captain Vern Sallee Captain Phil Collum Captain Eric Thunberg ASM Jonathan Alegre DCA Carol Trujillo SAS Cathy Miller CALL TO ORDER: 5:11 PM ROLL CALL: Present: Marla Kingkade, Gerry Sablan, Henrietta Harb, Martin Barros, Norma Cazares, Ray Aragon, Gustavo Bidart, and Patty Chavez Not Present: Ternot MacRenato, Takisha Corbett, Anthony Millican, Jose de la Garza, and Peter Mabrey City staff present: Roxana Kennedy, Eric Thunberg, Phil Collum, Vern Sallee, Jonathan Alegre, and Carol Trujillo PUBLIC COMMENTS: No public comments. 1. Approval of minutes of November 2017 and April 2018 minutes. Motion to approve the November 2017 Minutes made by Gerry, seconded by Norma. Discussion: Norma asked to clarify the difference between the CAC’s type of advisory committee, versus a formal commission of the City of Chula Vista. She also asked how the legal structure of the CAC impacts how agendas and minutes are required to be noticed and posted. Carol Trujillo clarified that certain boards or commissions of the city are created by ordinance or by City Charter. These types of boards and commissions are required to follow a number of regulations governing meetings, agendas, and minutes. Those regulations are outlined in the municipal code, as defined and passed by the City Council. The CAC is not a group that was created by ordinance or by City Charter. Instead, the CAC was created by a resolution of the City Council. She provided the following history: In May of 2001, the City Council directed city staff to form an ad hoc committee to evaluate whether the City should establish a review board to investigate police misconduct complaints. Staff, working with the assistance of a professional consultant, contacted 20 community organizations asking for nominations from among members of the community. A seven-member Citizens Task Force was formed. The Task Force met eight times from August to November 2001 and devoted an estimated 656 hours to their mission. Their work included reviewing police policies and procedures on investigating and resolving citizen complaints, reviewing civilian review boards in other jurisdictions, reviewing police academy and in-service training records on ethics and police conduct, reviewing citizen complaints filed with the Department, interviewing community members, interviewing members of police groups, and interviewing participants in civilian review boards. The Task Force also took public testimony at a three-hour meeting that drew 50 community members. Eventually, the Task Force summarized its work and presented its 20-page report and recommendations to the City Council on December 17, 2001. The Task Force found no demonstrated need for a civilian review board. Instead, it strongly recommended the creation of an advisory board on police practices and procedures. According to the Task Force’s report, “The purpose and scope of an advisory board would be to work in partnership with the Chief of Police on matters related to public safety and community-related issues. An advisory board would advise and consult with the Chief of Police concerning police department policies and procedures that involve the department’s interaction with the public. The advisory board would meet regularly with the Chief of Police to discuss relevant public safety and community –related issues.” On December 17, 2001, the City Council unanimously accepted the task force’s report and approved its recommendations (City Council Resolution No. 2001-455). The Police Department implemented the task force’s recommendations and, on October 21, 2002, the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) held its first meeting. The CAC has continued without interruption since. Since the CAC was formed based on a resolution of the City Council, it is not defined in the City Charter or City ordinances. The City Attorney’s Office concluded soon after the CAC was formed that it was subject to the Brown Act. The CAC agreed that meeting Brown Act requirements fosters public transparency and community engagement. As a result, staff posts public notices of agendas, minutes, and meetings. Patty noted that today’s meeting was being held in a secure area of the Police Department, not open to the public. She inquired if the Police Department could work to ensure that future meetings are held in a public space. The Chief agreed. The Chief mentioned that the CAC normally meets in the Community Room, which is open for public use. But today’s meeting was held on relatively short notice. Although the meeting was publicly announced, and the agenda posted in compliance with the Brown Act, a scheduling conflict prevented the meeting from being held in the Community Room. As a result, for today’s meeting, Police Department staff assigned personnel to physically wait at the entrance of the Police Department to allow citizens to attend the meeting. The Police Department will continue to strive to make sure all meetings are open to the public. Norma commented that she would like to ensure that agendas for meetings are more visibly posted, and that minutes are publicly available. (Agendas and minutes are publically posted on the City’s announcement kiosk and the Department’s front door.) Norma also suggested that the CAC should consider scheduling meetings well in-advance, preferably on a regular frequency, so that meetings dates can be expected by the public in- advance. Captain Collum concurred to work with staff to create new and better strategies to enhance public transparency and community collaboration. Norma also pointed out that the minutes for November included one item, relating to a presentation on crime statistics, that was tabled. Norma asked that staff ensure that this, and other tabled items, are scheduled for future meetings. Captain Collum concurred and will work with staff toward this end. After discussion, the motion to approve the November 2017 minutes was passed unanimously. Motion to approve April 2018 minutes made by Martin, seconded by Henrietta. Discussion: Norma pointed out that the minutes for April also included an item, relating to a presentation on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, that was tabled. Captain Collum agreed to work with staff to ensure tabled items are scheduled for future meetings. Norma noted that an item from the April meeting was tabled, relating to the department’s proposed Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) program, and wants to make sure it is brought forward to a separate meeting. After discussion, the motion to approve the April 2018 minutes was passed unanimously. 2. Chief’s Report The Chief was pleased announce that the Chula Vista Police Department, working in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service and other partner agencies, has received a check in the amount of approximately $5.9M in asset seizure funds. The funds are the result of a national investigation surrounding money laundering and other financial crimes. The receipt of these funds marked the largest asset seizure in the history of the Police Department. The funds will be utilized to acquire tools and technologies to increase employee safety, improve department operations, and enhance safety throughout the community. The Police Department’s Domestic Violence program has been recognized as a finalist for the Center for Problem- Oriented Policing’s 2018 Hermon Goldstein International Award for Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing. The Domestic Violence program centered around research and testing of a series of new and innovative strategies to reduce and prevent domestic violence. Investigations Lieutenant Dan Peak was on-hand to present further information. The Chula Vista Police Foundation, in cooperation with the School Resource Officers and the Chula Vista Elementary School District, is hosting its sixth annual Shoes and Socks Give-Away. This annual event helps assist 400 underprivileged local students by providing needed shoes and socks, helping increase self-confidence, reduce bullying, and helping the students focus on their studies. The event will be help at Payless Shoe Store at the Chula Vista Center mall, 500 Broadway, this Saturday at 7:00 am. All members of the Committee were invited to attend. The Chief and Captain Vern Sallee gave a briefing about a recent incident that occurred in the area of SDG&E park. A video, showing a small portion of the incident, was publicized in the local media and raised some concerns with members of the local community. The Police Department took proactive action immediately after the incident to launch an internal administrative investigation, to be open and transparent with the community, and to initiate steps to foster listening opportunities to hear and act on the concerns and perspectives of local community members. CAC Chair Norma Cazares played an early and integral role in helping facilitate open communications with stakeholders and others in the community. Meanwhile, the Police Department’s ongoing administrative and criminal investigations have included a comprehensive and objective investigation into the overall circumstances, and the conduct and behavior of department personnel. Henrietta pointed out her feeling that the juveniles involved in this incident appeared to be taking advantage of the recording made on their cell phones and may have used the video to suggest that the police officers should not have defended themselves against an assault. Norma thanked Captain Sallee for his proactive efforts in the aftermath of this incident. Norma discussed the positive relationships that the Police Department has built with the community. Norma also discussed the current expectation of members of the community that the Police Department, having discussed the ongoing investigation, will at some point information the community about the results of the investigation. Chief Kennedy and Captain Sallee agreed that the department should consider current expectations of the community when considering future public communications surrounding this case, while balancing legal limits on what information can be shared. 3. Domestic Violence Project Investigations Lieutenant Dan Peak provided an overview of the Police Department’s efforts to reduce Domestic Violence. The Police Department responds to about 65,000 calls of Domestic Violence each year. Domestic Violence represent the second most-common type of call that our officers respond to. There are specific laws and protocols that are completed at each Domestic Violence investigation. In 2015, the Police Department received a $500,000 grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to conduct research on methods to reduce Domestic Violence. The Police Department conducted a focused study in one area of the city, making changes to protocols for the response an investigation of Domestic Violence crimes. More specifically, within the research area, police investigators focused on the offenders of Domestic Violence crimes. They did this by making proactive notification to offenders of the risks and penalties of Domestic Violence, by conducting periodic unannounced visits of offenders, and more. At the conclusion of the research period, the Police Department noted a 24% reduction in Domestic Violence incidents in the research area. Although the grant is nearing its end, the Police Department has evaluated potential means of continuing elements of the research program, given limited resources, to further reduce Domestic Violence citywide. New protocols will include a classification of an offender’s risk of re-offending, proactive electronic communications (text messages and emails) to offenders, and enhanced training for personnel. 4. Consideration and Adoption of Bylaws Captain Collum presented draft bylaws to the Committee. Captain Collum detailed the history of the preparation of the bylaws, as documented in previous meetings in the CAC. In June of 2017 the City Council directed staff to develop plans to address the chronic understaffing of the city’s public safety resources. A Public Safety Advisory Committee was formed that included Chula Vista residents, business owners, and community leaders. Motion by Norma to approved the bylaws as presented. Seconded by Martin. No discussion. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Measure A Staffing Strategies Captain Phil Collum provided a briefing on the steps leading up to the recent election of Measure A’s ½-cent sales tax designated to support public safety, and plans for new staffing positions in the Police Department. In September of 2017, staff presented an initial report to the City Council. The initial report detailed the decline in police budget allocations since the recession of 2008, compared current CVPD staffing resources and related crime and response metrics to other agencies around the county and state (CVPD usually ranked last), and recommended three stages of action to return staffing to appropriate levels. At the time of this report, CVPD’s staffing ratio was calculated at 0.86 officers per every 1,000 residents – the lowest staffing ratio in the County of San Diego, and the lowest of similar sized cities on the west coast. The three stages for improvement included a “Catch Up” stage to bring CVPD staffing ratios in-line with Carlsbad PD, just to “tie for last place” staffing ratios in the County of San Diego. That stage would require adding 43 sworn and 19 civilian positions. Future stages included a “Keep Up” phase, that called for increasing CVPD’s staffing ratio to its historic average of 1.12 officer per 1,000 residents, and a “Move Forward” stage to continue to increase staffing as the population increased. The Public Safety Advisory Committee conducted more community outreach, research, and collaboration. In December of 2017, under an assumption that even the “Catch Up” phase wasn’t fiscally practical in the short term, a Public Safety Staffing Strategies report was presented. This report split the “Catch Up” stage into two individual phases. The first phase of which assumed the City could generate new revenue to hire 29 sworn and 14 civilian employees. The second phase consisted of the remaining 14 sworn and 5 civilians, but a funding source for this phase was not identified. This report also considered options for funding sources and, after evaluation, recommended a ½-cent sales tax measure be placed on the ballot for public safety staffing. Further research and evaluation was completed and options for funding were evaluated. In February of 2018, the City Council adopted the Public Safety Expenditure Plan. This plan was evaluated potential revenue from a ½-cent sales tax measure, and proposed recommended expenditures to improve public safety staffing. Those expenditures included 29 sworn and 14 civilian employees. Should the plan be fulfilled, key benefits included adding 16 more officers to uniformed patrol in the streets, 55% more traffic safety officers, 50% more school resource officers, 26% more 911 dispatchers, and 33% more community service officers. All reports were publicly available on the city’s website at www.chulavistaca.gov/publicsafety. The ballot was on the June 2018 ballot, and the measure passed. Since then, city staff and City Council has been working toward several “next steps” to evaluate current demands and implement the Public Safety Expenditure Plan. These steps include the creation of a Community Oversight Committee (COC) by the City Council, to oversee revenues and ensure they are used for public safety purposes, and final authorization by the COC and City Council to implement the plan and any necessary amendments. In closing The CAC discussed a schedule for the next meeting. Norma suggested she would like the next agenda to include the following items:  A discussion on setting a quarterly meeting schedule for the CAC each year,  Catching up on a tabled item from a previous meeting relating to an overview of the department’s proposed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle program, and  Catching up on a tabled item from a previous meeting relating to a discussion about crime stats. Earlier, members of the CAC also sought to make sure future meetings were held in a space that was more easily accessible to the public. After discussion, the CAC agreed to hold the next meeting on Thursday, December 6, 2018 at 5:00 PM. Chief Kennedy thanked the committee members and concluded the meeting at 7:31 PM.