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Staff Report.LG Police Services Report Jan- Aug 2022 PREPARED BY: Jamie Field Chief of Police Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Interim Finance Director 110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● (408) 354-6832 www.losgatosca.gov TOWN OF LOS GATOS COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT MEETING DATE: 08/16/2022 ITEM NO: 8 DATE: August 8, 2022 TO: Mayor and Town Council FROM: Laurel Prevetti, Town Manager SUBJECT: Receive the Information Provided in the Police Services Information: January – July 2022 RECOMMENDATION: Receive the Information Provided in the Police Services Information: January – July 2022 BACKGROUND: On August 3, 2021 the Police Department presented an update on overall delivery and comparison analysis of Police services. This Police Services Report presents the following information: • Department staffing update and succession opportunities • Calls for service and officer activity • Mandates and training • Mental health evaluations and resources • Community outreach and volunteer programs DISCUSSION: DEPARTMENT STAFFING UPDATES Law enforcement agencies nationwide are experiencing staffing challenges comparable to the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department (LGMSPD). Current trends of retirements, resignations, in conjunction with fewer applicants have resulted in highly competitive recruitments. While knowledge transfer is an integral part of the training of all Department staff, the loss of institutional and local experience is noticeable and additional mechanisms are being implemented to bring new staff up to speed as quickly and thoroughly as possible. PAGE 2 OF 9 SUBJECT: Receive the Information Provided in the Police Services Information: January – July 2022 DATE: August 9, 2022 DISCUSSION (continued): The Police Department budget allocates for 39 sworn positions. From December 2020 through July 2022, ten sworn staff members have retired or departed for personal reasons. An additional Officer will also be separating soon for personal reasons, bringing the overall number to eleven. The Police Department has hired nine Police Officers in that timeframe; however, recruitment and retention of qualified personnel remains challenging. Two of the nine new officers are in the Field Training Program and not yet operating as independent Police Officers. The Department has three current vacancies with one Police Officer Recruit in the Police Academy as of August 2022. The 28 available sworn personnel are divided among four patrol shifts, the investigations bureau, and administration. Of the remaining sworn personnel, the table below identifies the current availability of sworn staff, while also considering medical reasons or Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), light or modified duty, and those currently being trained: The Police Department is dedicated to recruiting, training, and retaining qualified officers that are a positive representation of the vision and values of the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department. The process of hiring and training a Police Officer is a lengthy process, further extended for applicants that have not completed a Police Academy. Recruitment, background investigations, and hiring of a recruit is estimated to take about three to four months. Once the recruit is hired, they are then sent to a California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) accredited Police Academy for about six months. Upon graduation, the recruit must complete a POST-approved 16-week Field Training Program led by certified members of our Police Department. Our current capacity accommodates up to three trainees at a time. The timeline of recruitment to operational capacity as a new Police Officer is approximately one year and approximately six months if they are a considered a lateral with prior experience. It should be noted that the Fiscal Year 2022/23 adopted budget included one-time temporary staff hours to further augment sworn and nonsworn capacity. Dispatchers are critical components for law enforcement and are undergoing similar staffing issues. The Police Department is budgeted for eight full time Dispatchers and is presently at four with two in training. PAGE 3 OF 9 SUBJECT: Receive the Information Provided in the Police Services Information: January – July 2022 DATE: August 9, 2022 DISCUSSION (continued): The total training program is approximately 20 weeks in length to prepare an individual to work independently, including a Dispatch Academy and one-on-one training in the Town’s Dispatch/Communications Center. The configuration of our Communications Center can accommodate two Dispatchers in training at any given time. Nine oral boards for Officers, Dispatch, Records, Parking Control, and Community Service Officers have taken place between January -July 2022. The background process has recently been contracted to an outside vendor who is providing thorough and unbiased assessments in compliance with SB 2 (Certification standards for sworn staff). An additional Records Specialist oral board is scheduled in the next month. The hiring and recruitment efforts have recently resulted in the following hires: • Police Academy Recruit – started the Academy August 1, 2022 • Dispatcher -beginning training on August 15, 2022 • Parking Control Officer – beginning training on August 22, 2022 • Community Service Officer Interns – two beginning training on September 1, 2022 The Police Department currently has the following open positions: • Records Specialist • Police and Records Manager (expected to be reclassified to a different position) • 2 Communications Dispatchers • 3 Sworn Personnel The Police Department has hired a total of seven per diem Dispatchers to supplement the full- time Dispatch staff in order to allow for better coverage, training, and vacation opportunities with more focused training of new Dispatch staff. Vacations or elective time off frequently requires backfill as well as overtime coverage in addition to the impact of unexpected COVID- related vacancies. During Fiscal Year (FY) 2021/22, the Police Department used 1,959 hours of Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SPSL) time off due to COVID impacts. The table below depicts the number of overtime hours collected in pay and compensation time that were necessary to fill shift vacancies in comparison of the first six months of 2021 to that of 2022. The variance of 227 hours more overtime in the Communications division is likely due to per diem staff not being available during the 2021 time period and therefore the full-time staff working increased overtime hours. The variance of 804 more overtime hours in 2022 versus 2021 is likely due to the significant COVID impact at the beginning of 2022 among sworn staff, training of new Officers during that timeframe, and lean staffing availability. PAGE 4 OF 9 SUBJECT: Receive the Information Provided in the Police Services Information: January – July 2022 DATE: August 9, 2022 DISCUSSION (continued): SUCCESSION OPPORTUNITIES Since January 2022, there have been several succession opportunities for sworn and non-sworn staff. Through several promotional processes, the following assignments were filled by internal staff members: • Police Captain • Two Sergeants • Two Corporals • Lead Records Specialist • Senior Records Specialist • Two Senior Communications Dispatchers In May of 2022, Department leadership participated in a Team Building Workshop through an opportunity made available by a POST grant and donation by the Police Foundation. The outcome of the Team Building Workshop was the development of a two-year Strategic Plan that outlines five goals and priorities that the Police Department will continuously assess and remain focused on as part of the Departments direction through 2024. These goals are: • Goal 1 – Organizational recruitment, development, and retention of a quality workforce • Goal 2 – Prevent and reduce crime, increase quality of life, and focus on traffic safety • Goal 3 – Active partnerships • Goal 4 – Embrace and integrate technology throughout the agency • Goal 5 – Organizational wellness CALLS FOR SERVICE AND OFFICER ACTIVITY Despite the staffing challenges previously outlined, the LGMSPD continues to provide an uncompromising high level of service to the community. The following table depicts a comparison over the last two years between the months of January – July of the PAGE 5 OF 9 SUBJECT: Receive the Information Provided in the Police Services Information: January – July 2022 DATE: August 9, 2022 DISCUSSION (continued): Communications division call volume both inbound and outbound, immediacy to which they are answered, and number of 911 calls. The industry standard for a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) agency is a target for 911 calls to be answered within less than ten seconds 95% of the time. Outbound calls can be a result of transferring callers to other points of contact within Town Departments, contacting or following up with community members, or conducting other inter-agency duties. Officers’ response to priority calls for service continue to be comparable to prior years. These metrics can be found in the Fiscal Year 2022/23 Adopted Operating Budget in the performance measures section of the Police Department chapter. Priority 1 refers to an immediate emergency with threat to life or a public safety hazard, Priority2I is an urgent emergency that requires an immediate response, and a Priority 3 incident is a non-emergency. The LGMSPD has set response time goals of 5:00 minutes for Priority 1 calls, 10:00 for Priority 2 calls, and 15:00 for Priority 3 calls. The Police Department has maintained average response times below the priority goals between January and July for both 2021 and 2022. Additional data regarding traffic stops and preliminary RIPA information will be provided in the presentation to Town Council at the August 16, 2022 meeting. MANDATES AND TRAINING LGMSPD is committed to ensuring public safety service levels that are a result of dedicated efforts from the Communications division, Patrol, and other divisions within the Police Department. Recruitment, training, and succession planning continue to remain an ongoing priority while monitoring the fiscal implications from overtime needs and wellness impacts on staff members. Several unfunded legislative mandates were incorporated into the Police Department’s technology, service delivery, personnel assessment, and training. These included Police reform efforts towards transparency including compliance with the Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) and California Incident Based Reporting System (CIBRS/NIBRS). LGMSPD was one of the PAGE 6 OF 9 SUBJECT: Receive the Information Provided in the Police Services Information: January – July 2022 DATE: August 9, 2022 DISCUSSION (continued): first agencies in the county to become compliant with Department of Justice (DOJ) for CIBRS / NIBRS in 2022. Additionally, Assembly Bill 481 – Military Equipment Transparency required the Police Department to engage with the community prior to seeking approval by Town Council of an Ordinance in May 2022. The Ordinance codifies annual reports on qualifying Police Department resources under AB 481 guidelines. Additionally, there are several legislative impacts to the Police Department. Compliance with Senate Bill 2 – Police Decertification which has resulted in a significant increase in staff and resources needed at POST to ensure reporting and compliance with Police misconduct and eligibility for current or future employment. The Police Department has contracted with an experienced and respected personnel background vendor for future sworn background investigations to assure the requirements of Senate Bill 2 are followed. The Police Department’s Personnel and Training staff have been engaged in frequent training and updates for awareness and responsiveness to the requirements outlined in Senate Bill 2, as several tenets to the bill are retroactive to the conduct of Officers. Finally, Senate Bill 1000 – Radio Encryption pending legislative action and is being closely monitored by many California law enforcement agencies due to its significant operational and fiscal impact on radio communications. LGMSPD sworn staff are required by POST to complete 34 hours of training annually and Dispatchers are required to complete 24 hours. The specific training requirements are available for public view on the Police Department’s Website on the Transparency webpage: https://www.losgatosca.gov/2713/Transparency-and-Data-page. This year, as part of this required training, Officers have completed training in Emergency Vehicle Operations (EVOC) in the Explorer patrol vehicles to re-emphasize safe driving disciplines. As part of Advanced Officer Training (AOT) in 2022, sworn staff completed De- escalation and Use of Force training through the first use of the new Virtual Reality (VR) decision and tactics training technology. This same technology will be experienced by the attendees of the upcoming Community Police Academy. This system assists Department trainers in creating a realistic training environment for Officer’s decision-making, de-escalation, and use of force. The system allows the VR inhabitants of the scenarios to have their mental status, gender, race, and many other attributes adjusted for maximum reality. Providing new and existing staff with the necessary training to develop confidence and competency is a priority for the Police Department to navigate in its current lean staffing model. This requires continuous assessment of mandatory or immediate Department training PAGE 7 OF 9 SUBJECT: Receive the Information Provided in the Police Services Information: January – July 2022 DATE: August 9, 2022 DISCUSSION (continued): needs based on POST requirements and operational effectiveness. Additionally, the promotional and collateral positions that have been filled during January – July 2022 are followed with necessary trainings in order to support those individuals in their new roles. These training opportunities frequently require backfill through the use of overtime. MENTAL HEALTH EVALUATION REPORTS AND RESOURCES LGMSPD maintains a partnership and collaborates with mental health resources made available through Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services. In addition, LGMSPD has implemented several additional efforts to compliment a multi-disciplinary approach to providing support to those that may benefit from the options available. Below is an outline of resources utilized based on an assessment of the situational needs: Therapy Canine Program o Two therapy canines were funded through donations by the Police Foundation and completed training in spring 2022. The canines are assigned to a handler in the Communications division and to a handler assigned as a Corporal on patrol. Both handler and canine attend ongoing training and are available to be a resource to both staff and to the public. The canines have been to multiple community events and were deployed on school campuses the day after the Uvalde incident to increase law enforcement presence and offer support. Ambulance Contract o The Police Department maintains a contract with an Ambulance service to provide transport at a pre-contracted rate in the event the transport would create unnecessary financial strain on the patient in need of mental health resources. This resource has not been utilized. Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT) o Teams of clinicians with the ability to respond at the request of law enforcement or may conduct follow up with families and only request a law enforcement presence if necessary. o The efforts of MCRT are focused on connecting family/caregivers to community support, conduct mental health evaluations and assessments, provide post-crisis follow up, and provide crisis intervention and safety planning as needed. MCRT services ages 18 and older, regardless of insurance status. Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS) o Provides stabilization and support services for children and young adults from ages 4-20. Therapeutic teams provide consultation, assess for safety, and intervene through crisis counseling. Post-crisis stabilization services are provided to ensure referral and coordination to ongoing services. PAGE 8 OF 9 SUBJECT: Receive the Information Provided in the Police Services Information: January – July 2022 DATE: August 9, 2022 DISCUSSION (continued): 9-8-8 o 9-8-8 is a national initiative and a shift of mental health crisis calls away from law enforcement. In Santa Clara County, when someone calls 9-8-8 for services, their needs are evaluated by the Suicide Prevention Hotline to determine what resources may be best suited to meet the caller’s needs. The available resources include MCRT, MRSS, TRUST, or others that may be available in th e area. This is a new program launched in July 2022 and is being evaluated for enhanced collaboration and quality improvements. COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS LGMSPD launched a Community Policing initiative in May 2022. The Community Policing programs and opportunities include Coffee with a Cop, the Therapy Canine Program, a Community Police Academy, Walk with a Cop, and staff support of Special Olympics activities. These engagements are identified on the lower portion of a LGMSPD Community Policing logo to promote these events throughout the year on the Department website, social media, or other communications. The engagements are integral to building community – police partnerships and a better-informed vision of public safety needs and responses. LGMSPD hosted a Coffee with a Cop in May and August, has received almost ten Walk with a Cop requests, supported at least four Special Olympic activities, and is excited to begin its first 10-week Community Police Academy at the end of August 2022. Community outreach and resources also occurs in many other forms, including National Night Out, social media communications, Operation Care, Vacation Checks, On Watch, and the many Emergency Preparedness and Volunteer opportunities offered through the Police Department. Emergency Preparedness and responsiveness throughout the Town of Los Gatos is strengthened through the force multiplying efforts of the Disaster Aid Response Team (DART) and the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Both teams work collaboratively throughout the year on common drills, including a wildfire evacuation drill in April 2022. Additionally, other Police Department volunteer opportunities include the Explorer Cadet program, Volunteers in Policing (VIP), Victim Services Unit (VSU), and Neighborhood Watch. The Police Department provided eight Neighborhood Watch meetings from January to July of 2022, with six of those being new Neighborhood Watch groups. CONCLUSION: The Police Services Report is intended to provide a transparent overview of available resources, operational efforts, and continued priorities that may be considered valuable to the community PAGE 9 OF 9 SUBJECT: Receive the Information Provided in the Police Services Information: January – July 2022 DATE: August 9, 2022 CONCLUSION (continued): and Town Council. The Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department is committed to providing a high level of service and modeling the values of Professionalism, Compassion, and Integrity. The Police Department continues to conform to the data-driven law enforcement model and to evaluate the information to ensure an equitable and quality service model to the communities that we serve. The Police Department is committed to building, bridging, and enhancing police-community relationships through opportunities for engagement and in the multitude of services that the Department offers in order to develop collaborative methods to maintain a safe community that is free of the fear of crime. FISCAL IMPACT: The acceptance of this report has no fiscal implications. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: This is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.