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PSC - Item 3E - Public Safety Commission Staff Report Dated April 27, 2023 PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION STAFF REPORT TO: THE HONORABLE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION FROM: MICHAEL BRUCKNER, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER DATE: APRIL 27, 2023 SUBJECT: REPORT AND DISCUSSION REGARDING PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES AND PROGRAMS (CONTINUED FROM JANUARY 23, 2023) SUMMARY At the October 27, 2022, Public Safety Commission Meeting, the Commission requested that staff return with a summary of action items for further discussion which was brought forth at the November 28, 2022, Public Safety Commission Special Meeting. At this meeting, the Commission provided a series of topics and suggestions for further review and discussion. This report serves as a summary of possible policy and programmatic options for the Public Safety Commission to consider as part of its comprehensive review of public safety programs and services. This item was presented at the January 26, 2023, Public Safety Commission Meeting and was continued to February 23, 2023, and March 23, 2023. This item was continued again to the April 27, 2023, for additional discussion. The Commission addressed several items, and the report has been updated to reflect those changes. Therefore, it is recommended that the Public Safety Commission continue to discuss and provide recommendations for improving public safety services in the City of Rosemead. DISCUSSION At the November 28, 2022, Public Safety Commission Special Meeting, the Commission provided a series of topics and suggestions for further review and discussion. At the February 23, 2023, Public Safety Commission Meeting, several of the items were reviewed and a consensus was reached on a formal recommendation. Those items are noted in the summary below. Fentanyl and Methamphetamine Awareness & Narcan Administration The Commission recommended that the City partner with local schools to offer education courses on the dangers of fentanyl and methamphetamines, and how to administer Narcan during a potential overdose episode. Public Safety Commission April 27, 2023 Page 2 of 11 Recommendation: LASD will plan and execute a drug awareness pop-up at Rosemead High School. Additional drug awareness information can be provided to community members during regularly scheduled crime prevention programs like Neighborhood Watch or Community Area Watch. Update: The Commission reviewed this item on February 23, 2023. LACFD has provided the City with a handout on how to administer Narcan. It has been determined that no formal training is required. The City will ensure that this handout is available on the City’s website and at public safety related events. Sidewalk CPR Workshops The Commission recommended that the City reinstitute Sidewalk CPR workshop trainings for Rosemead residents and businesses that are interested in learning more about CPR administration. The Los Angeles County Fire Department has indicated that they can support the City with this effort and will supply all the necessary training materials and equipment. Recommendation: The Public Safety Department will coordinate quarterly sidewalk CPR trainings with LACFD. Update: The Commission reviewed this item on February 23, 2023. Sidewalk CPR workshops are scheduled on a modified quarterly basis for CY 2023 on March 29, June 14, and August 1, and will continue a rolling cycle of meetings in perpetuity. Crime Prevention Programs The Commission expressed interest in better understanding the City’s Crime Prevention Programs. The City generally offers three programs for City residents and businesses, including: Neighborhood Watch, Business Watch, and Community Area Watch. Below is a summary of each, along with the times they are offered: A. Neighborhood Watch – This program is designed to teach residents techniques to reduce the risk of becoming victimized at home or in public. It trains residents on the importance of recognizing suspicious activities in their neighborhoods and how to report them to law enforcement. Additional guidance is offered on how to secure homes and properties to reduce instances of crime. And, most importantly, it creates a safe and friendly space for neighbors to get to know one another. There are currently 43 established Neighborhood Watch groups in Rosemead; however, only 16 block captains are currently active and in continuous communication with the Public Safety Department. For a Neighborhood Watch group to become established, it requires a group of willing residents to come together and invest their time and energy to help reduce crime in their neighborhood. Public Safety Commission April 27, 2023 Page 3 of 11 Neighborhood Watch group meetings can be scheduled at virtually any time, with or without City Public Safety Department staff or law enforcement personnel. When requested, staff and Sheriff’s deputies can attend these meetings to provide support to the group to address their concerns. In addition to formalized Neighborhood Watch group meetings, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) has also offered community-wide Neighborhood Watch meetings to allow any member of the community a platform to share their public safety concerns with law enforcement. LASD just recently concluded a series of Neighborhood Watch meetings over the fall which were not well attended, despite the City’s efforts to advertise the events. Neighborhood Watch is only as effective as the amount of time and energy a group of neighbors is willing to invest. Formal in-person meetings, while a good platform to share and exchange ideas, may no longer be the preferred way for neighbors to communicate with one another. Taking Neighborhood Watch virtually might be a better solution in this day and age; however, further investigation is required to determine if there is a platform that is available to residents to share information and alerts on suspicious activities with their neighbors in real-time. B. Business Watch – Similar to Neighborhood Watch, Business Watch is designed to address the unique concerns of business owners in the City to help prevent crime in their establishments. These meetings are held virtually and scheduled on the second Tuesday of odd-numbered months at 9:30 a.m. With the amount of commercial burglaries occurring each month in Rosemead, it is vitally important to the City that the Business Watch program be expanded. C. Community Area Watch – The purpose of the Community Area Watch meeting is to educate the community on crime statistics and trends, to share information on personal safety, securing homes and businesses, becoming a CERT volunteer, and more. Historically, these meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month but were transitioned to a virtual recording due to COVID-19. The pre-recorded messages are created and posted on the City’s YouTube channel. As discussed with the Commission, attendance at these various meetings has been minimal. The Commission did share some suggestions about expanding public outreach which is discussed later in this report; however, the question before the Commission is how to refine and/or enhance the City’s crime prevention programs. Recommendation(s): In consultation with the Public Safety Department staff and LASD, the City is recommending the following programmatic changes: Public Safety Commission April 27, 2023 Page 4 of 11 • The City should be subdivided into six (6) reporting districts that coincide with LASD reporting districts. An SAO deputy will be assigned to each district as its community policing liaison. • Community Area Watch meetings be held twice a year in each reporting district. • The meetings should be tailored to provide crime trends citywide and specifically to each reporting district. • For Business Watch, it is recommended that the Rosemead Special Assignment Team contact business owners and pass out information about how to participate in the Business Watch program. • Business Watch meetings should be held virtually once a month to support the unique needs of the City’s business community. • All crime prevention meetings should be attended by the Rosemead Chief of Police or their designee in their absence. Neighborhood Watch meetings will continue as requested by new and/or establish groups. Update: The Commission reviewed this item on March 26, 2023, and approved the recommended changes to the City’s crime prevention programs. Public Outreach The City uses a variety of methods to communicate with the Rosemead community. These include the City website, social media, press releases, and our new weekly e-digest called Rosemead This Week. The City is in the process of creating its first-ever Communications Plan and has prepared a survey for the Rosemead community to identify opportunities to expand our outreach. This survey will be in multiple languages and is designed to find out how and where Rosemead residents consume information so we can meet them where they are at. The City has also recently completed a Request For Proposals to update the City’s website. The current site is limited in terms of organization, search, and functionality. The new site will offer more robust communication tools, including translation options that will bridge the divide for non- English speakers. Regarding translation, the City can do more to ensure that critical messaging around public safety items are more timed out to allow for translation into common languages spoken in Rosemead. Recommendation: Conduct citywide Public Information Perception Survey to identify opportunities for broader engagement with the Rosemead community. Update: The Commission reviewed this item on February 23, 2023. The survey was released on March 16, 2023. Staff will evaluate the results and develop a comprehensive communications plan for the City. Public Safety Commission April 27, 2023 Page 5 of 11 Anti-Camping Ordinance & Jurisdiction As discussed with the Commission, Code Enforcement staff engage in homeless-related contacts Monday through Thursday in the early morning hours to remove individuals who are camping in the public right-of-way, private property via letter of agency, or City facilities. These contacts are typically supported by LA County Sheriff’s deputies; however, deputy support is not always available. Further, the City’s municipal code restrictions are general in scope and may not be in full compliance with recent case law. It is without question that homeless encampments in Rosemead create unsanitary, unhealthy, disorderly, and dangerous conditions that may affect both the campers and the general public. To fully explore additional enforcement options related to homeless encampments, per the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Martin v. Boise, in order for the City to prosecute its anti- camping laws, a shelter bed must first be offered. If the individual accepts shelter, then no enforcement is warranted, and placement in a shelter can help remove individuals experiencing homelessness from City streets. If an individual refuses shelter and continues to camp, then enforcement can commence, and the individual can be removed by law enforcement. At the November 28, 2022, PSC Meeting, the Commission recommended that the City of Duarte’s Anti-Camping Ordinance be reviewed as a potential model for Rosemead. Staff contacted the City of Duarte for a copy of their ordinance and was advised that no such ordinance exists. The neighboring City of Arcadia adopted an updated Anti-Camping Ordinance which has been included in this report. Furthermore, the Commission also expressed concerns that jurisdictional issues may impede the City’s ability to address homelessness. This is true to a certain extent as addressing public safety issues along fault lines of jurisdiction does sometimes create mitigating factors in terms of response; however, the City does maintain an open dialogue with all stakeholders and we all share a common goal of abating homeless encampments, specifically, and addressing rising homelessness, generally. Recommendation: It is recommended that the Public Safety Commission review the City of Arcadia’s Anti-Camping Ordinance and provide suggestions for a similar ordinance in Rosemead. Update: The Commission reviewed this item on March 26, 2023, and requested a list of areas from City staff that where camping will be prohibited at all times, in addition to recommendations from staff on the timeframe where involuntary camping would be allowed. This is included as Attachment A. Public Safety Vehicle Street Access, Curb Markings, and Permit Parking The Commission requested additional information regarding public safety vehicle access and whether current parking standards and curb markings in the City are sufficient to provide access Public Safety Commission April 27, 2023 Page 6 of 11 to public safety vehicles. The City has consulted with both LAFD and LASD and determined in most instances, there is sufficient ingress and egress on City streets for vehicles. Further, the Commission inquired whether recreational vehicles can be parked on City streets. Staff has reviewed the City’s municipal code and section 17.112.070 expressly requires that recreational vehicles be properly stored on side or rear yards and screened from view of the street. If the Commission or the community is aware of improperly parked recreational vehicles, they are encouraged to contact the City’s Code Enforcement Division for abatement. Additionally, the Commission also requested more information about more red curb striping on City streets. The Public Works Department oversees curb striping in the City. In consultation with the Public Works Director, it was determined that any requests for additional curb striping be submitted to the Traffic Commission, which is the advisory board charged with providing recommendations to the City Council on this topic. Recommendation: It is recommended that the Public Safety Commission provide a list of the areas or streets of concern to be transmitted to the Public Works Department for review by the Traffic Commission. Finally, the Commission inquired as to whether a permit parking program would help enhance public safety by clearly identifying which vehicles belong in the permitted parking area and which vehicles are not permitted. Establishing a permit parking program has been discussed in the past; however, there are several factors that must be considered, including but not limited to: • Who defines the parking permit district? Residents or City? • How many permits per household? Single-family vs. Multi-family? • How much will permits cost? Yearly? Overnight? • Do permits cover the cost of enforcement? Cost recovery vs. General Fund subsidy? • Are there senior and low-income waivers? What is the subsidy? • How are ADUs factored into number of permits? • Will the City require residents to use garages for parking? • How is permit parking affected on street sweeping days? Understandably, there are a lot of variables that go into creating a permit parking program. The costs and benefits of parking demand management are well understood but the impacts are difficult to determine. Staff did research available sources to see if there is a nexus between permit parking and crime but could not find any authoritative information to substantiate its effects on crime; however, a single search return did provide a study that was unattainable (trid.trb.org/view/576065). Update: The Commission reviewed this item on March 26, 2023, and tabled this item. Public Safety Commission April 27, 2023 Page 7 of 11 Broken Windows Theory First proposed by the late criminologist James Q. Wilson in 1982, the broken windows theory of criminal justice holds that seemingly minor instances of social and physical disorder in urban spaces can contribute to an atmosphere of lawlessness that encourages more serious crimes. The question before the Commission is whether this is true for the City and what steps need to be undertaken in order to prevent the “broken window” from occurring. LASD does not believe that the City is in a “broken windows” cycle as low-level offenses like graffiti and other forms of vandalism are quickly addressed by law enforcement and City staff. The increase in property and other crimes is largely attributed to the state’s efforts at criminal justice reform and the revolving door of justice being championed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Recommendation: LASD and the City will continue to monitor quality-of-life crimes and address them in a timely manner. Update: The Commission reviewed this item on February 23, 2023, and supported the recommendation. Public Safety Staffing & Budget The City contracts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for law enforcement services. The current FY 2022-23 contract with LASD is approximately $9.4 million and includes law enforcement administration, patrol, and Rosemead Special Assignment Team as described below and on the Service Level Authorization firm (Attachment C). It is important to note that this staffing model has existed relatively unchanged for approximately 10 years or more. • 1.0 FTE Lieutenant (Chief of Police) • 1.0 FTE Sergeant • 12.0 FTE Patrol Deputies • 7.0 FTE Special Assignment Deputy • 1.0 FTE Grant Motor Deputy Patrol deputies work three shifts (AM, PM, EM) and at any given time there are 3 – 5 patrol vehicles operating in the City. According to LASD, response times to calls are estimated as follows: • Routine Call: 50 minutes • Priority Call: 15 minutes • Emergent Call: 8 minutes Attached for the Commission’s review is the Contract City Law Enforcement Services and Equipment Master Rate Sheet (Attachment B) for the current fiscal year. This sheet provides the additional incremental cost for one unit of service. For example, if the City were to acquire one more unit of 56-hour deputy patrol, the cost would be $463,979. Public Safety Commission April 27, 2023 Page 8 of 11 The table below depicts comparative law enforcement staffing for all cities in the San Gabriel Valley that contract with LASD. City Pop. Budget (millions) Expenditure per Resident Sworn Officers Residents per Officer Rosemead 50,245 $9.4 $186.93 29.5 1,704 South El Monte 19,590 $5.7 $290.96 18.1 1,082 Temple City 35,763 $5.2 $145.40 15.6 2,292 Duarte 21,245 $5.0 $236.89 16.3 1,303 Industry 67,000* $12.0 $179.86 37.5 1,786 La Puente 37,303 $8.5 $227.09 26.3 1,418 Diamond Bar 53,857 $7.3 $135.07 23.5 2,292 La Habra Heights 5,551 $0.6 $115.97 2 2,775 Walnut 27,830 $4.1 $147.03 13.7 2,031 San Dimas 34,064 $7.9 $233.15 26.5 1,285 *Population is mostly industrial and commercial workers (estimated). Based on relevant data available for population and fiscal year 2022-23 police expenditures, the City spends approximately $186.93 per resident on police services. The average for all contract cities is $189.84 per resident. The City currently utilizes 29.5 FTEs to support its law enforcement function in a City of 50,245, which translates to one sworn officer for every 1,704 residents. The average population of contract cities is 31,716 and the average law enforcement personnel required is 20.9 FTEs, or 1,797 residents per sworn officer. Recommendation: Discuss current service model and cost/benefits of adding or removing units of service to enhance law enforcement response times and reduce crime. HOST Team The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homeless Outreach Services Team (HOST) is responsible for addressing homeless encampments with 10 or more people in Los Angeles County. HOST will engage with individuals in these encampments to assist with connecting them with services in the County’s continuum of care. After a required notification period, HOST will assist with enforcement related to encampment clean-up efforts. Currently, there are no encampments in Rosemead that meet the 10 or more threshold. Recommendation: Continue to monitor homeless encampments in Rosemead and engage with the HOST Team on an as-needed basis. Update: The Commission reviewed this item on February 23, 2023, and supported the recommendation. The HOST Team conducted outreach activities in the City on March 8, 2023. Public Safety Commission April 27, 2023 Page 9 of 11 Flock ALPR Cameras Over the years, the City has acquired and implemented several automated license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras at strategic intersections throughout the City. The ALPRs cameras provide law enforcement the tools to search vehicles by type, make, color, plate, and more. They provide law enforcement with real-time monitoring and alerts if a suspect vehicle has entered the City. The City currently has 25 ALPR cameras at major intersections throughout the City. Due to operational concerns about sharing the location of the ALRPs cameras, no information is being provided about the location of the cameras; however, staff has mapped the location of the existing cameras and is working with LASD to identify any gaps in coverage. Recommendation: Work with LASD to identify opportunities and locations to strengthen ALPRs camera coverage. Update: The Commission reviewed this item on February 23, 2023, and supported the recommendation. Additionally, staff is working with LASD to acquire license plate readers for City patrol and SAO vehicles to serve as a force multiplier for the fixed camera system. Overnight Crime Suppression Patrol Pilot Program In response to a series of commercial burglaries along the major commercial corridors in Rosemead, the City Manager authorized the creation of an Overnight Crime Suppression Patrol Pilot Program. Beginning in January 2023, the City’s Code Enforcement team volunteered to adjust their work schedule to begin overnight patrols from 12:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. to assist the Sherriff’s Department with identifying suspicious individuals and vehicles in the City during the overnight hours. The pilot program is scheduled to conclude at the end of February 2023. During the first several weeks of the program, Code Enforcement staff identified a break-in in progress, and several individuals who have been involved in vandalism during the overnight hours. As a result of the program and the coordination with LASD, 3 individuals were arrested. More notably, since patrols began, according to initial anecdotal reports by LASD, commercial burglaries have declined in the City over this period. It should also be noted that the Special Assignment Team has adjusted their schedule to conduct overnight crime suppression activities in support of the City’s crime prevention goals. The City is in the process of hiring additional part-time Community Services Officers to supplement the work of our full-time Code Enforcement team to continue overnight crime suppression patrols. Recommendation: Discuss the efficacy of developing a formal Overnight Crime Suppression Patrol program in coordination with LASD. Public Safety Commission April 27, 2023 Page 10 of 11 MET Team (Update) At the February 23, 2023, meeting, the Commission received a presentation from the County’s Mental Health Evaluation Team (MET). After the presentation, the Commission requested information regarding the cost of the MET team as well as demographic information about the populations served. These included the number of MET-related calls from Temple Station and Rosemead in particular, as well as the number of calls related to housed versus unhoused individuals. As shared in the presentation, the City of West Hollywood is the only City in Los Angeles County that funds its own MET team. Based on the information provided by West Hollywood and LASD, the cost of the program is estimated to be $361,000, which includes the cost for a bonus, a non- relief deputy (MET Deputy), and a mental health clinician assigned by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. MET provided information for calls for service and indicated that they do not track calls by housed or unhoused individuals. The calls for service information for MET at Temple Station are broken down as follows: 2019 – 550 calls 2020 – 506 calls 2021 – 384 calls 2022 – 422 calls Update: The Commission reviewed this item on March 26, 2023, and no action was taken. STAFF RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the Public Safety Commission discuss and provide recommendations for improving public safety services in the City of Rosemead. FISCAL IMPACT There is no impact on the General Fund to receive and discuss this report. Any proposed programmatic changes that are recommended will be evaluated for cost on a case-by-case basis. Public Safety Commission April 27, 2023 Page 11 of 11 PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS This item has been noticed through the regular agenda notification process. Prepared by: Mike Michael Bruckner Assistant City Manager Attachment A: Involuntary Camping Time, Manner, and Place Restrictions Attachment B: LASD Annual Service Level Authorization Staff Report Attachment C: Letter of Agency