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PSC - Minutes - 09-28-23MINUTES OF THE ROSEMEAD PUBLIC SAFETY REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 28, 2023 The Regular Meeting of the Rosemead Public Safety Commission was called to order by Chair Michael Cao at 7:14 p.m. in the Rosemead City Council Chamber located at 8838 East Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, California. PRESENT: Commissioners Fonseca, Foutz, Garcia, Kuang, and Martinez ABSENT: Commissioners Ta and Wu PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: was led by Commissioner Martinez INVOCATION: was led by Vice -Chair Foutz 1. PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE Vice -Chair Foutz opened the Public Comment period. No Public Comments were received. Vice -Chair Foutz closed the Public Comment period. 2. CONSENT CALENDAR: Commissioner Fonseca made a motion to approve the minutes from the August 24, 2023, Public Safety Commission Meeting, and was seconded by Commissioner Garcia. Motion carried by the following vote: YES: 5-0 3. MATTERS FROM STAFF A. LACoFD Fire & EMS Incidents Report (August 2023) Assistant Fire Chief Gonzales reported that fires are down, and EMS has remained standard. Vice -Chair Foutz asked whether the beginning of the school year has impacted the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the types of calls received. Assistant Fire Chief Gonzales mentioned that he would need to research more to see if call volume is affected by the beginning of the school year. Assistant Fire Chief Gonzales spoke on the after -action report for Tropical Storm Hilary and commended the City for a job well done with the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) as well as the collaboration that took place within the meetings. It was great to see the City's engagement and planning for an emergency. He also mentioned that LACoFD has a few notes and will be strengthening the sandbag and sand availability as well as where to strategically place the distribution around the City. In a one -day period, over 100,000 sandbags were provided for residents during Tropical Storm Hilary. There were minimal incidents in the City during the storm. In the future, distribution locations for sand will be provided through messaging from the City and County on social media. City Manager Kim announced to the Commission that staff did a great job at tracking the storm and preparing. Public Works, Code Enforcement and Management staff were on standby and had rearranged schedules to ensure there was coverage during the storm. City Manager Kim thanked both Assistant Fire Chief Gonzales and Interim Chief of Police Tiwari for collaborating and participating in the group messaging to provide updates as the storm progressed. Commissioner Garcia asked whether there was a plan to assist vulnerable communities such as homeless individuals both before and after an emergency. City Manager Kim stated that there were LA County shelters opened as well as active monitoring provided by Code Enforcement to assist homeless individuals and provide them with resources and location of the facilities. This item was Received and Filed by the Commission B. LASD Crime Statistics (August 2023) A summary of the crime statistics for August 2023 was provided by Chief of Police Tiwari. He mentioned that grand theft auto increased due to a TikTok trend showing how to steal Kias. There are also special operations taking place to address loss prevention in stores. Officers are monitoring the camera booths and have arrested two people. These operations will continue with other stores in the City to deter theft. There were a few shootings which were isolated, and a taskforce was formed to address this issue. More aggravated assaults took place but were also isolated incidents. There was an increase in burglaries and thefts. Macy's experienced a flashmob theft with high value items such as cologne being stolen. Surrounding cities have also been affected by smash -and -grabs. LA County Board of Supervisors has created a taskforce and allocated funds to combat these issues; however, it has not come to fruition. Vice -Chair Foutz asked for clarification on burglary and robbery and how it is defined. Chief of Police Tiwari explained that burglary refers to entering a structure with the intent to commit theft and robbery is to take property by force or fear. Commissioner Kuang suggested more patrol to act as a deterrent and help residents and businesses feel safe during the holiday season. Chief of Police Tiwari mentioned that extra patrol is provided during the holidays especially by the mall, Target and Walmart. City Manager Kim responded to a previous question from the Commission, why does the City have LASD instead of its own police department. City Manager Kim briefly explained that it is a budgetary decision. The contract with the Sheriffs Department is approximately 35.7% of the City's overall general fund budget which equates to a little over $10 million. Rosemead is a city of about 5 square F4 miles with a population of a little over 50,000. Compared to Monterey Park, which is slightly larger, but comparable to Rosemead, spends $31.8 million on its police department. The cost of running a police department is significantly more than to contract for services. If Rosemead decided to have its own police department, then there are set up costs that need to be taken into consideration such as a police station, jail and other infrastructure needs which makes it an expensive proposition. Vice -Chair Foutz emphasized that he is a fan of California Contract Cities and is a good idea for Cities the size of Rosemead. Rosemead does not have any special taxes or any levies for law enforcement due to being a contract City and relying on the services of LA County fire and law enforcement. He mentioned that $10 million is a bargain. Chief of Police Tiwari addressed a question from the previous meeting, asking whether the Rosemead SAO team has made a connection with the school personnel at each school ensuring patrolling during drop-off and pick-up times. There is a dedicated SAO deputy, Deputy Farley, that is connected with the elementary schools in the City. On November 5`h, there will be a new motorcycle deputy assigned to the City. The motorcycle deputy will meet with school principals to talk about concerns such as accidents or speeders near the schools. Secondly, in response to the weekly SAO reports, Chief of Police Tiwari mentioned that the events that transpired at the motel were two separate incidents. Operations at the motels will continue as arrest have been made from warrants to possession of drugs and narcotics. Commissioner Garcia referred to the zero -bail schedule and asked for an update on the hearing and dates. Chief of Police Tiwari responded that starting October 1, the zero -bail will begin for Los Angeles County. The bail schedule will still apply to serious felonies such as murder, rape, robbery, violent felonies, and aggravated assault. There will also be a category for magistrate review which then determines the bail amount, then there is a book and release for felonies like grand theft auto and lastly there will be an option for site and release for lower crimes. More insight regarding zero -bail will be provided during the next Commission meeting after the station's policy has been solidified. With no additional comments, this item was Received and Filed by the Commission. C. Rosemead SAO Team Weekly Reports Chief of Police Tiwari asked whether there were questions regarding the report. Commissioner Fonseca asked regarding the recent shootings on August 3rd and 9d', whether those were the only shootings that took place. Chief of Police Tiwari mentioned the shootings were related but no further information can be provided as it is an active investigation. 3 Commissioner Fonseca asked about the SAO deputies' schedules and if they will continue to be adjusted to address the high crime areas. Chief of Police Tiwari mentioned that due to the crimes and shootings, there was a saturation of patrol, but as these crimes have lowered, the deputies have gone back to their regular schedules. Commissioner Fonseca inquired whether all patrol vehicles have license plate readers. Chief of Police Tiwari replied that not all patrol vehicles have license plate readers. The purchase of the license plate readers is at an additional cost, but the City of Rosemead has contributed to the readers. City Manager Kim added that the City has two types of license plate reader systems. There are the flock cameras which are stationary in certain locations within the City and actively reading license plates of vehicles passing by. There are 25 flock cameras throughout the City. The second are the mobile license plate readers which are fixed to the patrol vehicles and capturing license plates as the deputies drive around the City. Chief of Police Tiwari stated that four out of six vehicles have mobile license plate readers. There are additional costs to the for the equipment as well as ongoing monitoring costs. Commissioner Fonseca questioned whether the City would look into having mobile cameras installed in all vehicles especially since it has been helpful in identifying stolen vehicles such as the one in Walmart on August 29. City Manager Kim replied that it is something the City can look into. Chief of Police Tiwari mentioned there has been a lot of success with the flock cameras as they capture data that can help make arrests and find individuals committing crimes. With no additional comments, this item was Received and Filed by the Commission. D. Crime Prevention and Emergency Preparedness Activities City Manager Kim provided an update on the Crime Prevention and Emergency Preparedness Activities. He mentioned that the packet included a summary of the September 2023 planned and upcoming activities and was open for questions from the Commission. Vice -Chair Foutz commended Public Safety Supervisor Mandy Wong for the thorough report. He pointed out the Great Shake Out at 10:19 a.m. on October 19. He emphasized that this is a great opportunity to practice and prepare for an emergency. 13 With no additional comments, this item was Received and Filed by the Commission. 4. MATTERS FROM COMMISSION City Manager Kim mentioned he would be taking comments from the Commission or topics that can be discussed in the next meetings that can be added to the agenda. If there are any items that the Commission would like more information on, pertaining to public safety, then this is when it can be addressed to be placed on the following agenda. It is important to talk about additional ideas to improve public safety for Rosemead residents and the community. The City is looking at various things that can be done specifically addressing the homelessness situation in Rosemead. At the next meeting, LA CADA can be invited to talk about their outreach efforts. They have been providing services to the City for approximately six weeks providing shelters and mental health services. A. Commissioner Comments Commissioner Garcia welcomed the newly installed Commissioners and looked forward to serving another year with fellow Commissioners. Commissioner Fonseca requested to see stats from the LA CADA outreach for the next meeting. City Manager Kim informed the Commission that LA CADA provides services to cities once a week through the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (COG) which is funded through Measure H. With the City Councils authorization, the City has brought in LA CADA to provide services five days a week which is showing progress. The City is spending about $1.2 million in the next four years to address the homelessness issue. The item will go on the agenda for further discussion. Commissioner Kuang commented regarding the speed limit on Del Mar intersection and if it can be reduced to 25 miles per hour as there have been accidents in that area. City Manager Kim mentioned that it is an arterial street, and a traffic study has been completed, speeds have been established and the speed survey has been approved. Being that it is an arterial street, it may not be a possibility. Vice -Chair Foutz commended Mandy for the activities in September and the impressive things to come in October. He also mentioned that having an extra layer of security can help, such as providing a club on a car to ensure it is not stolen. City Manager Kim mentioned that if residents are going on vacation, to inform Public Safety to do a vacation check on their homes. 5. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:16 p.m. The next Public Safety Commission meeting will be held on Thursday, October 26, 2023, at X00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. APPROVED: Arfiy Wu, Chair Analyst