staff report.Santa Clara County Cities Association Recommendation for Police Reform
Reviewed by: Assistant Town Manager, Police Chief, Town Attorney, and 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: 08/03/2021 ITEM NO: 11
DATE: July 21, 2021
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Laurel Prevetti, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Endorse the Santa Clara County Cities Association Recommendation for Police
Reform
RECOMMENDATION:
Endorse the Santa Clara County Cities Association recommendation for police reform.
BACKGROUND:
The Santa Clara County Cities Association consists of all 15 cities within the County. For 2021,
Mayor Sayoc is the President of the Association Board and as the Los Gatos Town Manager, I
serve as an Ex Officio member of the Board to support the President.
Every year, the Cities Association identifies its work plan priorities. For calendar year 2020 and
2021, the Board has focused on racial justice, transportation, housing/unhoused, and other
matters. Board members participate on subcommittees for each topic area. Mayor Sayoc is a
member of the Racial Justice Subcommittee which has identified a series of recommendations
and action items on affordable housing, police reform, and hate crimes against the Asian and
Pacific Islander community. The Cities Association Board asked each member agency to review
the police reform recommendations and provide input to the Board for consideration at its
August meeting.
DISCUSSION:
Working with the Police Chiefs in Santa Clara County, the Subcommittee identified a single
recommendation to begin to rebuild trust with the community in light of national events
involving police use of force. The Subcommittee is recommending that all public safety
departments within the County be encouraged to complete Virtual Reality Decision and Tactics
(VRDT) training. VRDT simulates real-world police encounters and incorporates lessons
PAGE 2 OF 2 SUBJECT: Cities Association Recommendations for Police Reform DATE: July 21, 2021
DISCUSSION (Continued):
learned into the training curriculum, such as cultural competency, de-escalation, critical
decision-making, peer intervention, and implicit bias training. The technology would allow for
controversial police incidents that occur across the country to be turned into virtual reality
simulations almost instantaneously after they occur, allowing Officers to learn from real life
mistakes, and train for real world situations. VRDT technology increases efficiency in scenario-
based training and allows Officers to train with their equipment (e.g., handgun, Taser,
flashlight, etc.).
For Los Gatos, the Police Department purchased a VRDT trainer with grant funds from the
California Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training (POST). This equipment is
expected to arrive in September 2021 and will be used for training for all sworn personnel,
strengthening the Officers’ abilities to de-escalate and improve field decision-making in
challenging situations.
CONCLUSION:
The Town’s endorsement of the Subcommittee’s police reform recommendation would support
other agencies in pursuit of this technology.
COORDINATION:
This report was coordinated with the Police Chief and Town Attorney.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Endorsing the recommendation has no fiscal impact as the Town is already implementing it.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
This is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.