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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-04-01 PDCAC Minutes CfIY OF CHULA VISTA REGULAR MEETING OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes April 1, 2021—09:30 am Virtual Via Teleconference Pursuant to the Governor of the State of California's Executive Order N-29-20, and in the interest of public health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the Police Department Community Advisory Committee and staff participated in this meeting via teleconference. All votes were taken by roll call. 1. CALL TO ORDER A regular meeting of the Police Department's Community Advisory Committee of the City of Chula Vista was called to order at 9:33 on April 1, 2021 AM via teleconference. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Aragon, Barros, Cazares, Chavez, Corbet, de la Garza, Lampkin, Kingkade and Sablan. Not Present: Bidart, Harb & Millican Staff: Kennedy, Collum,Thunberg, Redmond, Trujillo & Miller 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS: No requests for in-person comments. No comments received from "e-comments" after the allotted time. No comments by email to Captain Collum after the allotted time. 4. CHIEF COMMENTS: Chief Kennedy recognized CAC member Peter Mabrey who was one of the original CAC members who served under three chiefs. He retired and is moving to La Paz to operate a sports fishing business. Chief Kennedy shared she received a letter in which he said he was blessed to have been a member of the Community Advisory Committee and invited everyone to visit La Paz and fish with Pedro's Real Mar 1 Sportfishing. Chief Kennedy will provide his information to any member wishing to reach out to him. His vacancy will be filled later. ALPR Update: The department has done extensive outreach and is excited the community is interested in having an ALPR conversation. She encouraged CAC members to be the voice for those in the community who might be uncomfortable to discuss concerns or questions with the police department. The department is willing to talk to anyone and has met or spoke on the phone with community groups or representatives such as the Chula Vista Human Relations Committee, ACLU, South Bay People Power, and San Diego Alliance. A community forum seeking community input is scheduled for April 7, 2021. Findings will be presented at the Council meeting on April 20, 2021. Everyone's voice is important so if members have any comments, they are encouraged to make a comment as well as share the information with the community. She thanked Captain Thunberg for the in-depth presentations. CAC member Kingkade thanked the chief and command staff for listening to the community concerns on confidentiality. She said it is a device to empower police community partnership. She asked if the link for comments could be sent to the members. CAC member Kingkade asked Chair Cazares if the committee could speak in support as a whole on the program. Chair Cazares believed the members could speak individually and deferred to DCA Trujillo on if they could speak as a group. Chair Cazares stated it is important for the community to share concerns and needs to know the CAC appreciates those concerns and is willing to listen and voice community concerns to the department. Chair Cazares was confident with the ALPR procedures after viewing Captain Thunberg's March 23, 2021 council meeting. DCA Trujillo said CAC members could identify themselves as members and give their individual opinions. But the CAC would need to meet and decide as a committee what the CAC position is. Chair Cazares expressed all members should attend the community forum on April 27, 2021 before making a CAC statement. Drone Update: The department has been considered a leader in the "Drone as First Responder" program. It is prohibited from being used for surveillance and is used to feed real time information to the officers responding to calls for service. This is truly de-escalation at its best, providing the officers with real time information so that they can slow down and develop good de-escalation tactics and keeps the community, the subjects involved and the officers safe. The FAA has given the department approval to fly anywhere in Chula Vista (100%city coverage). Chief Kennedy thanked Captain Redmond for his in-depth work with the program. The department has S drone sites available (CVPD headquarters, Southwestern College, Bayview Hospital, Ares Hotel and Sharp Hospital), although only four are needed to cover most of the city and only four are usually in operation. CVPD can only fly within the Chula Vista city jurisdiction. 2 Measure AUpdate: Upon its initial approval bythe City Council, Measure APublic Safety Expenditure Plan (PSEP) was originally intended to fund 29 sworn positions and 14 professional positions. To date, Measure A has funded 37 sworn positions and 16 civilian positions. Three additional sworn positions will bemade inJuly ZV22. This will he40 sworn positions and 16 civilian positions, far more than initially planned. Hiring new police officers isatime consuming process. Each officer can take aslong as1Qmonths tohire and train. Ofthe 37sworn positions, 31 have been hired and 12 are in the process pftraining. Measure Astill has positions that remain vacant. Although the department is hiring new officers for Measure A positions, there is a need to fill positions left by those who retire or move elsewhere, resulting in ongoing but variable rates of attrition. In response to the increased need to recruit, hire and train the new recruits, CVPD Professional Standards Unit has added one sworn background investigator, one civilian background investigator (Measure A) one recruiting officer and one training officer at the Regional Police Academy- effectively tripling the department's capacity tofind, hire and train new recruits. When Chief Kennedy became Chief mnDecember 3[\ 2O16, there was 227sworn positions. There are now 275positions. Chief Kennedy requested CA[ members reach out to the community to recruit officers that are willing to serve, have cultural competency and can begood problem solvers. Above all else they need totreat people with dignity and respect and understand what compassionate policing is. PoUicyUpda«e—rauJaNymnotivatad calls: Captain Collum addressed the recent national dialogue on social justice and calls for service that are racially motivated. The Dispatch Center has longed used an internal policy that prohibits the officers from being dispatched to calls that are based solely onthe race ofaperson. Dispatchers are trained toask questions ofcallers to help make sure the reason for the call for service is not racially motivated. |fthere isnot an articulable justification to dispatch an officer to a call for service,they will not be dispatched. Captain Collum said although it was an internal Dispatch protocol, the department is in the process ofadding ittothe departmoent'soverall policy manual. There is anew section being added to the manual that prohibits racially-motivated calls not only for the dispatch center, but also for the entire police department. Members were shown the dispatch version mfthe policy which stated, "Dispatchers will not enter calls for service when reports are based solely ono person's race, gender, age, orsexual orientation. Specifically, unless oreporting party can articulate a crime being committed or a needfor police response for reasons other than a person's race, dispatch will not create onincident or dispatch officers." Chair[ozaresrequested a copy of the draft. Captain Collum said because itisadraft, hewill check with the City Attorney onifitcan bereleased. Chief Kennedy requested CAC members to provide comments on policies and a new ad-hoc committee will beformed soon todiscuss another policy. Atvvo minute time period was given for public comments. There were no public comments from "e-comments" after the allotted time. No comments by email to Captain Collum after the allotted time. 3 5. Action Items 5.1. Approval of Minutes (January 14, 2021): A two minute time period was given for public comments. One comment was received by ecomment and no comments via email. Members were asked to read the ecomment. Chair Cazares asked for the comment be read aloud. The comment is as follows: "regarding the retiring input and asked were ecomments from the last meeting read aloud?". Chair Cazares would like the ecomments read aloud so it shows transparency and can be recorded. DCA Trujillo was asked if comments should be read out aloud and said it is optional and not required. Discussion of reading comments aloud will be placed on the agenda for the next meeting and put to vote. A motion to approve the January minutes was made by CAC member Aragon and seconded by CAC member de la Garza. Members voted to accept the minutes- carried unanimously. 5.2 Creation of an ad-hoc subcommittee to provide input on department Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) policy: Chief Kennedy would like an ad-hoc committee formed to provide comments on the department's ALPR policy. Members would review all aspects of the policy and make comments. The department will provide the information to review and up to six members can be part of the ad-hoc committee. A two minute time period was given for public comments. There were no public comments from "e-comments" after the allotted time. No comments by email to Captain Collum after the allotted time. CAC member Sablan asked how long the commitment would be. Captain Collum estimated the timeline to be approximately one to two month timeline with two to four separate meetings due to the educational component. DCA Trujillo requested a vote to establish the ad-hoc committee be made prior to any further discussion. A motion was made to establish an ad-hoc committee to review the ALPR policy by CAC member Sablan and seconded by CAC member Corbett. Members voted unanimously to approve the ad-hoc committee—motion carried unanimously. The ad-hoc committee will consist of Chair Cazares and CAC members Corbett, de la Garza, Kingkade, Lampkin and Sablan. 6. Presentations: 6.1 Recent Crime Trends: Chula Vista has long been rated one of the safest cities in San Diego. The police department is meeting goals for Priority 1 emergency calls (officer on-scene within six minutes for the first time in 10 years). Captain Collum explained that is from the time the call is received to the time the officer arrives at the call. This is due not only to an increase in the police personnel from Measure A but also the technology that helps streamline the calls. The department's goal for Priority 2 urgent calls is to respond within 12 minutes. Currently the 4 response time is 13:33 minutes, which has not met goal, but is the lowest that it has been in 20 years. Captain Collum shared the overall statistics provided by the 2020 FBI Index of Crime. Chula Vista rates 15.30, which is the second lowest crime rate among San Diego municipal law enforcement agencies. Chula Vista has a population of 270,000 people and covers 52 square miles. Chair Cazares asked if this information can be posted to the CVPD website. Captain Collum will post them on the transparency page, however,the public can also go to the FBI website for the information. Captain Collum said that although crime is down 7%,there are some disturbing trends in domestic violence and aggravated assaults across the nation. Research gives several factors which includes the pandemic, distance learning, early release from the prisons, decriminalization of crimes, booking and bail policies to reform the justice system and police activity impacted by the pandemic and national dialogue of police community relations. Chula Vista has seen an increase with homicides and firearm incidents. Historically, Chula Vista averaged 3 murders a year. In 2020,there were 10. Ghost guns (guns without serial numbers and purchased in kits) have increased. They are put together by the buyer and that circumvents federal and state laws. They are untraceable and easier to purchase. There has been a 400% increase over the year. Captain Collum showed several maps regarding calls for service which showed west of the 805 accounts for 70%of service calls. This area has high density of people and traffic; is opportunistic for crime; and tends to have higher crime rates. The other maps showed the density of the crimes in the city such as residential crimes, property crimes and vehicle burglaries. The department will reach out to the community in effort to reduce crime. The response strategy will be to increase patrol, but to avoid over policing areas. Community education and engagement will be increased, training and mentorship will be offered to newer officers who were hired and worked their first year during the pandemic, and partnerships like neighborhood watch and media engagement will also increase. Captain Collum's PowerPoint will be an attachment to the minutes and will be shared on the public webpage. A two minute time period was given for public comments. There were no public comments from "e-comments" after the allotted time. No comments by email to Captain Collum after the allotted time. 6.2 Discussion about technology to enhance public safety: Captain Collum said part of the strategy to address crime is through technology and community policy. He gave examples like the ALPR discussion as well as calls from the public requesting the installation of security cameras in public parks. Again,the department looks to balance privacy concerns and keeping the community safe by using technology. 5 7. Committee Members' Comments: Chair Cazares thanked Captain Collum and asked to verify that the PowerPoint will be attached to the minutes. Captain Collum verified it will be attached. Committee member de la Garza thanked Captain Collum for the presentation. He asked about the five drone sites and asked about the personnel who fly the drones. CVPD has contracted with a company to have "pilots in command" at these sites, who are not in law enforcement. The department does have police officers who remotely-control the drones from the station, and work with the non-police pilots in command. The FAA authorized a special waiver for the police department to fly drones beyond the line of visual sight of the pilot in command. Chief Kennedy encouraged CAC members to come to the station to see the drone operation so they can discuss it with any community member who has concerns. To date,there have been 5,500 drone missions flown in Chula Vista. CAC member de la Garza would like a tour. CAC member Corbett thanked Captain Collum and looks forward to participating in the ad-hoc committee. CAC member Sablan attended the previous press conference on the drone. He has taken the department tour and encouraged the other members to participate. He believes the program has been well received by the community. Chief Kennedy encouraged members as well and said if they knew anyone with concerns or question to refer them to the department so a tour could be set. She mentioned a community member who was concerned and was given a tour. 8. ADJOURNMENT: Chief Kennedy adjourned the meeting at 11:06 am with the next meeting scheduled for July 01, 2021 at 9:30 hours. Chief Kennedy believed there was a conflict with this date and will alert members of the new date. Minutes prepared by: Cathy Wier, Secretary 6