PSC - Minutes - 01-26-23MINUTES OF THE ROSEMEAD PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
JANUARY 26, 2023
The Regular Meeting of the Rosemead Public Safety Commission was called to order by Chair
Michael Cao at 7:01 p. m. in the Rosemead City Council Chamber located at 8838 East Valley
Boulevard, Rosemead, California.
PRESENT: Commissioners Cao, Fonseca, Foutz, Garcia, and Wu
ABSENT: None
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: was led by Commissioner Garcia
INVOCATION: was led by Commissioner Wu
1. PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE
Chair Cao opened the Public Comment period.
No Public Comments were received. Chair Cao closed the Public Comment period.
CONSENT CALENDAR:
Commissioner Garcia made a motion to approve the minutes from the November 28, 2022,
Public Safety Commission Meeting, and was seconded by Vice -Chair Foutz.= Motion
carried by the following vote: YES: 5-0
2. MATTERS FROM STAFF
A. Introduction of Interim Chief of Police Lt. Kevin Tiwari
Assistant City Manager Michael Bruckner introduced the Interim Chief of Police
Lieutenant Kevin Tiwari. The City was without a Chief of Police for the last four
months as the previous Chief of Police went out on medical leave. Lieutenant
Tawari joined the City in December, just prior to the holidays.
Lieutenant Tawari stated that he has been in law enforcement for a little over 20
years in different capacities. He announced that he has been a Lieutenant for about
a year and serving as the Interim Chief for about a month. Prior to promoting to
Lieutenant, he was a Sergeant for six years overseeing the mental health evaluation
team and crisis intervention training. He was also a Field Sergeant assigned to
Compton, a Deputy for about 10 years working in various assignments of patrol
FTO. Prior to becoming a Deputy, was an intern with Temple Station as a CSO.
Lieutenant Tawari stated that his first introduction to law enforcement was when
he was an Explorer directly out of Temple Station and his first ride along was in
Rosemead, 20 -something years ago. He expressed that as a kid he never thought he
would be serving as a Lieutenant at the same station he started. Lieutenant Tawari
is looking forward to a great partnership with the City and serving the citizens of
Rosemead.
Chair Cao thanked Lieutenant Tawari on behalf of the City and Commission for his
20 years of service. He expressed that it was phenomenal to go from an Explorer to
now becoming Chief. He mentioned his experience and input are extremely
valuable because he has known the community his entire life.
B. Law Enforcement Summary Presentation 2021-2022
Lieutenant Tawari presented on part -one crime and arrest statistics, probation,
parole as well as the community -oriented policing model. The slide on part -one
crime compared 2021 and 2022 with crime categories listed: homicide, rape,
assault, robbery, burglary, theft, grand theft vehicle, and arson. Burglary went up
from 2021 to 2022 and includes vehicle, commercial and residential burglaries.
Assaults, violent crimes, and homicides were down. Crime stats also included
information from 2018 through 2022. A map was provided which included where
crimes are happening. Burglaries are fluctuating and are high in 2022. Arrest data
specific to the City of Rosemead was provided. Felonies are up slightly in 2022 and
misdemeanor arrests were down by 3.6%. In comparing grand theft auto, there was
a 90% increase in the last quarter of the year.
Routine calls can be anywhere from a parry call to a burglary report. Priority calls
can be from family disturbances where there's a threat of violence or a potential
fight. Emergent calls can come from car accidents, where there's a potentially
injured individual, domestic violence happening at the moment, or robbery taking
place. Emergent calls require a response with lights and sirens. Calls have a 60 -
minute, 20 -minute, and 10 -minute response time threshold. The slide shows that
there are response times for calls that are going over the average. The average for
Emergent calls was 4 minutes which can be lower at times. Priority calls are a little
over 10 minutes. Higher numbers for Routine calls were seen in July and August
which were about 80 minutes.
There is a Probation Officer located at Temple Station working with parolees along
with a Parole Compliance Team (PCT.) At the moment there are about 70 parolees
that live in Rosemead. A parolee is someone that has committed a felony and has
been convicted by the state parole board. Probation is sometimes handled in-house
on the County level. There are about 88 probationers that live in the City. There are
about 74 sex registrants who need to go through compliance checks every one to
two months. Parolees are subject to search and seizure.
The biggest uptick in crime is vehicle theft and commercial burglaries. To deter
crime, the Sheriff's Department is putting out public safety announcements to lock
vehicles. There is a spike in grand theft auto which can also be linked to the trends
on TikTok encouraging car thefts. Deputies are trying to educate the public while
taking reports to make sure people are using locks or clubs. Another mission for
Temple Station is to deter narcotics and gang activity by advising residents that if
they see something, to say something. Using the crime data, more patrolling is
happening during the time incidents are being recorded. Crime prevention
strategies involve community outreach working with Neighborhood Watch
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programs to address community concerns. There are seven reporting districts and
Deputies on the Special Assignment Team are responsible for reaching out to the
community and passing out flyers for meetings.
Crime trends are up which include residential and commercial burglaries as well as
vehicle thefts. TikToks are being made to encourage youth to steal vehicles. To
help eradicate these trends, station detectives are working with special assignment
deputies from Temple City, South El Monte, and Rosemead in conjunction with the
Detective Bureau, to start saturation patrol. The goal is an operation a month to
deter crime in Rosemead. There are also undercover surveillance operations
through the Major Crimes Bureau. Flock cameras are also being utilized to gather
data and share resources with other stations. Potential reasons for the uptick in
crime can be seen after 2020. After COVID, the government enacted a no -bail
reform, which means there is zero bail unless the crime was a violent felony.
Therefore, if someone committed grand theft auto and it was a pursuit, with the
suspect being detained, the individual would get booked to the station, but they
would get released on a citation. Sometimes individuals would be released before
the report was written. Court dates were also not taking place until 60 days. Now
if someone gets arrested for a felony, they are held in jail for a minimum of two
days until arraignment and then the courts decide.
Commissioner Wu asked if there is a certain district where there are higher crime
trends showing right now.
Lieutenant Tawari replied that the trends being seen are commercial burglaries and
grand theft at night along Valley Boulevard.
Vice -Chair Foutz asked regarding the morale of the Deputies.
Lieutenant Tawari stated that Captain Mark Reyes has made the morale superior to
any other station. The morale is very high, and he has implemented three days off
for deputies to give them more time with their families. Overtime is still required
but not as much as in other facilities. A lot of the Deputies are also from the San
Gabriel Valley and feel they are giving back to the community they serve.
Vice -Chair Foutz asked what happens after a person is arrested especially with the
district attorney not prosecuting.
Lieutenant Tawari stated that the District Attorney is responsible for the entire LA
County, and everyone needs to abide by those guidelines. People are getting
released with less time, or no time served which are crimes that a few years ago
would have been severe. Criminals are talking and they understand that if they
commit a crime, there is no real punishment. The recidivism rate is high and,
unfortunately, it equals to higher crime in cities throughout LA County.
Vice -Chair Foutz questioned if crimes were being committed by a smaller pool of
individuals.
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Lieutenant Tawari explained that there are repeat criminals coming through and,
unfortunately, the punishment is not seen for the crime being committed.
Commission Garcia mentioned her concern over routine response times being over
60 minutes and asked whether there was a discussion as to why it is happening.
Lieutenant Tawari expressed that the Captain would further discuss it in a later
presentation and discuss trends as well as a 12 -year model on crime which keeps
increasing. Calls need to be triaged for priority and when there are limited
resources, those are the call Deputies tend to first and it equates to higher response
times for routine calls.
Commissioner Wu asked if the person dispatching the call could provide an ETA
to the caller or provide a call back.
Lieutenant Tawari pointed out that callers are kept on the line for emergent calls,
and for routine calls, they will advise if the Deputy is delayed or needs to tend to
another call but that usually happens after the 60 -minute mark. There are times
when it falls through the cracks when other emergent calls go through. There does
need to be better communication as far as ETA to inform people how long it will
take.
Commissioner Wu questioned the procedure on the homelessness issue and
whether there is a plan to address that.
Lieutenant Tawari collaborates with the Homeless Outreach Services Team
(HOST.) The Team is seeing that even though services are being offered such as
housing, individuals are not accepting the help and it cannot be mandated to get
treatment or accept housing. There are many that are abusing substances or have a
mental illness. Prior to 2012, it was a felony if someone was in possession of
methamphetamine, heroin or other drugs. If a person was arrested, then they had a
choice to get help, or go to prison. The last count of homeless individuals in the
City of Rosemead was 83. Also, housing comes with rules and homeless individuals
do not want to live by those rules.
Chair Cao commented on the statistics of 2021 versus 2022 and the total number
of crimes which increased by almost 26% which was very alarming. Secondly,
commercial burglary is up, and he inquired as to why it increased and how it can
be alleviated. Third, larceny and grand theft also increased and therefore he asked
what potential resources are needed and what can community business owners do
to mitigate that.
Lieutenant Tawari mentioned with commercial burglaries he has been reaching out
to the business owners. The team found out that business owners are keeping money
in the register overnight. They are educating business owners to secure money and
not keep it in the register. Also to help there is more patrolling happening as well
as undercover surveillance.
Chair Cao asked how the Commission can help and how can Deputies help the
community. Is there technology that can help such as Flock cameras or other
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Lieutenant Tawari mentioned that more Flock cameras would be beneficial.
Chair Cao followed up on routine response times as the average went up to 80.2
minutes in August. He mentioned an increase of 30 minutes is a longtime and asked
about suggestions to increase response times. He also asked whether personnel is a
limitation.
Lieutenant Tawari mentioned the personnel model for Rosemead has been around
for 10 years and personnel has increased slightly. More deputies that are on patrol
would equal to lower response times.
Commissioner Garcia asked about programs for businesses
Assistant City Manager Bruckner mentioned that the City has a Business Watch
program, but it's not broken out by specific areas, say like Neighborhood Watch, or
Community Area Watch. It's generally citywide. Those meetings have been virtual
to accommodate the unique needs of business owners because they're obviously
working during the day, and not all of them live in Rosemead. Businesses can be
incorporated in the Community Area Watch within their specific reporting district
to come and participate in those events.
Lieutenant Tiwari added that each Deputy is responsible for connecting with five
businesses per week to invite them to meetings and provide information.
C. LAFD Fire & EMS Incidents Report (December 2022)
This item was Received and Filed by the Commission without comment.
D. Request for Joint Meeting with the Rosemead City Council
Assistant City Manager Bruckner announced that Mayor Pro Tem Steven Ly has
requested a joint meeting with the Public Safety Commission to hear a presentation
from the Temple Station on crime trends and issues going on in the community. If
the City Council has any further ideas or suggestions in terms of the direction of
this Commission, that would be an opportunity to have that conversation. The
meeting is tentative for Tuesday, February 28 at 6:00 p.m.
Chair Cao requested a potential study session with the City Council to have a
discussion with Council Members.
E. Report, Discussion, and Direction Regarding Public Safety Services and
Programs
Assistant City Manager Bruckner recounted the previous meetings and
presentations from City staff, LA County Fire, and the Sheriffs Department.
Questions posed were what topic areas and issues would the Commission like more
information on to work towards creating a series of recommendations at the end of
the fiscal year, sometime in June, to present to the City Council.
Commissioner Wu mentioned replicating the Anti -Camping Ordinance
implemented at the City of Arcadia.
Assistant City Manager Bruckner mentioned that the ordinance was in response to
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision of Martin v. Boise that required cities
that were going to have anti -camping measures on the books to provide an
opportunity for those individuals that are involuntarily homeless to camp. The
Ninth Circuit basically ruled homelessness is not a crime and people who are
involuntarily homeless, who don't have a place to go, and don't have a shelter should
be allowed to camp in public areas, but within certain restrictions. The Arcadia
ordinance took all those factors into consideration and implemented time, manner,
and place restrictions in addition to areas where camping is expressly prohibited at
all times for various public safety reasons. But within that framework, there were
areas within the City, where if an individual who was involuntarily homeless,
needed a place to camp overnight, and there isn't a shelter available, that would be
a place for that. Currently, the City of Rosemead's code is a blanket, thou shalt not
camp, which is in contrast with the Ninth Circuit's ruling.
Commissioner Garcia asked regarding the pop -ups happening at schools and which
schools would be participating and if it was limited to high schools.
Lieutenant Tawari mentioned the next pop-up is set up to be at Rosemead High.
Special Assignment Deputies have only been going around to high schools right
now because that's where the trend seems to be. After high schools are middle
schools. There will be a big campaign of drug awareness and hopefully invite others
on social media or different elements to document this incident as far as reaching
out.
Chair Cao highlighted that the City of Rosemead has 22 funded positions and that
there are 12 patrols, 56 hours unit, and additional assignments as well. The
estimated total costs with liability surcharge for the fiscal year 2022-2023 is
$9,000,284.
Assistant City Manager Bruckner replied that the City has the option to choose the
level of service. There's a master rate sheet, which was also included in the staff
report. The City can pick and choose which services to procure.
Chair Cao asked how the Sheriffs Department decides how many personnel is
recommended for so many 1,000 residents in the City.
Assistant City Manager Bruckner mentioned that he was not sure how those service
level determinations were made, but he would further investigate and bring it back
to the Commission. It was also recommended to address the broken windows
theory (community blight, graffiti, broken windows) as the high prevalence of those
things, tends to lend itself to more crime and more criminality. For the benefit of
the Commission, the folks in the room, and the public the City does have a My
Rosemead app that you can be downloaded on a smartphone. If you see a pothole
or graffiti, you can take a picture of it, send it to us, and it generates a work ticket,
and our staff will go out there and address those things. We also have a 24-hour
graffiti hotline, that number is (626) 569-2345. So if you do see graffiti on the
corner of the street, and that street and that street, you know, give us a call and leave
a message. Our crews will be out there within 48 hours to try to take that down. For
general City repairs related to potholes, broken sidewalks, and things of that nature,
then contact our public works department at (626) 569-2262.
Chair Cao asked whether the Commission needs to provide a series of
recommendations.
Assistant City Manager Bruckner mentioned that the purpose behind this
Commission is to bring public safety concerns forward. The group can provide
some guidance and direction to our law enforcement friends, public safety team,
and City staff as well. Are we doing a good job? Are we not doing a good job? Are
there things that we could be doing better, constantly looking towards improving
as we go along, to make sure that this community is safe, that residents feel
protected in their homes and businesses feel secure.
3. MATTERS FROM COMMISSION
A. Commissioner Comments
Commissioner Garcia thanked staff for what they do. She also mentioned seeing
Instagram posts for Neighborhood Watch meetings which she was happy to see.
Commissioner Wu welcomed the Chief and thanked him for the wonderful
presentation. She is glad to hear about all the new programs in place and asked for
an update on that next month. She also acknowledged the Public Safety Department
team, Wayne and Mandy, who have been responsive in the City as well and just
want to make sure that they get the proper kudos.
Assistant City Manager Bruckner added that the Code Enforcement team has been
working overnight hours to do crime suppression patrols. They have been out there
keeping our streets safe. And we do have a plan to hire some additional part-time
staff to assist. One of the ideas was to have a bunch of part-time folks driving
around making sure that the streets are safe. One of our Council Members wanted
to bring that item forward to the Commission just to get their thoughts and opinions
on the program.
Chair Cao mentioned he attended the Monterey Park vigil with Mayor Sean Dang,
Senator Padilla, Congresswoman Judy Chu, our LA county Supervisor Solis,
Senator Susan Rubio, Assemblymember, Mike Fong, and countless local elected
officials. It's such a tragic event that happened in Monterey Park, as well as Half
Moon Bay and Oakland. He emphasized the importance and value of the LA
County Sheriff's Department and the Public Safety Department teams. In a time of
crisis like that, that's when people really see why you do it, what you do, and the
importance of it. He highlighted the important work of the Public Safety
Commission and what has to be done for the community.
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4. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was dedicated to the tragedy in Monterey Park and adjourned at 8:28 p.m.
The next Public Safety Commission meeting will be held on Thursday, February 23,
2023, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
APPROVED:
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Michael Cao, Chair