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PSC - Minutes - 03-28-24MINUTES OF THE ROSEMEAD PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MARCH 28, 2024 The Regular Meeting of the Rosemead Public Safety Commission was called to order by Chair Amy Wu at 7:04 p.m. in the Rosemead City Council Chamber located at 8838 East Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, California. PRESENT: Commissioners Fonseca, Foutz, Garcia, Martinez, and Kuang ABSENT: Commissioner Ta PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: was led by Commissioner Garcia INVOCATION: was led by Commissioner Fonseca 1. PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE Chair Wu opened the Public Comment period. No Public Comments were received. Chair Wu closed the Public Comment period. 2. CONSENT CALENDAR Vice -Chair Foutz made a motion to approve the minutes from the January 25th, 2024, Public Safety Commission Meeting, and was seconded by Commissioner Fonseca. Motion carried by the following vote: YES: 6-0 3. MATTERS FROM STAFF A. LACoFD Fire and EMS Incidents Report (February 2024) No representatives were present. This item was Received and Filed by the Commission. B. Crime Statistics (February 2024) A summary of the crime statistics from January 2024 was provided by Police Chief Tiwari. He noted that, in the past few months, burglary and robbery have gone down; however, thefts have increased in December and January, caused by a newly implemented program that targets retail crime suppression. Previously successful operations from the new program have taken place at Target, Ross, Ulta, and Macy's. Every effective arrest counts as another statistic. Grand theft autos of Kia and Hyundai cars remain high. Kia and Hyundai are working on the theft issue by changing the ignition switching, which will hopefully result in a decrease of thefts. Overall, grand theft autos remained stagnant. Lt. Tiwari stated Rosemead is having an increase in vehicle burglaries. The Police Department and City Manager Kim are working with a company that utilizes a phone and tablet with proprietary software as bait items to track criminal movement. As soon as either the phone or tablet is stolen, video recording commences and sends the operation its GPS route and live video. The goal is to utilize this technology to complete an arrest. Once the program is fine-tuned, the Police Department can officially start deploying bait operations that will not require monitoring. The City Manager highlights the importance of this propriety software and technology, as the phone is worth $1,350 and the tablet is worth $1,050, which crosses the threshold of $950 in petty theft and makes the crime a felony charge. The objective is to start placing these bait packages to increase arrests and mitigate the thefts in the city, sending the message that the City and Police will make every effort to enforce what they can. The City Manager cited the successful implementation of the Nighttime Burglary Suppression Program in support of these new operations, which decreased nighttime crimes against restaurants. This item was Received and Filed by the Commission. C. Rosemead SAO Team Weekly Reports This item was Received and Filed by the Commission. D. L.A. CADA Supplemental Services Report Chief of Police Lt. Tiwari presented the recently started Community Area Watch program with help from Mandy Wong. The Community Area Watch reporting system is divided into districts of 6 areas. The program is promoted through social media and Rosemead This Week, and Code Enforcement is enlisted to hand out flyers. The last Community Area Watch meeting, attended by 45 individuals, discussed law and code enforcement, emergency preparedness, and homelessness. The overwhelming concern of the community is homelessness. Lt. Tiwari enlisted City staff to create a video showing the combined efforts of L.A. CADA, the Police Department, and City to address homelessness. This video was played for the Commissioners. Mandy Wong, Public Safety Supervisor, spoke on her experience with a homeless individual, who shared his story regarding addiction and his life since homelessness. This item was Received and Filed by the Commission. E. Crime Prevention and Emergency Preparedness Activities Public Safety Supervisor Mandy Wong provided a summary of the Fire Chief's most recent City inspection. She gave her thanks to the Public Safety Staff for their performance on the City's EOC Assessments and Readiness. Mock drills and tabletop drills are done at least once a year. She also mentioned that the Community Academy is starting on April 3, 2024, and will continue for 6 weeks. There will be 15 participants, including Commissioners Fonseca, Garcia, and Chair Wu. CERT training will also be hosted in 2025 by the City of Rosemead. Any residents in the county can participate, while Mandy Wong and several fire captains will be teaching the class. This item was Received and Filed by the Commission. 4. MATTERS FROM COMMISSION A. Commissioner Comments Commissioner Fonseca followed up on the issue of the intersection of Walnut Grove and Landis View Lane. Police Chief Tiwari gave updates on enforcement and details in that area. He indicated that a few operations have been carried out with their motor deputy and with patrol deputies. SAOs and Rosemead deputies have prevented some collisions, with the focus of keeping students safe during school hours. Police will continue to monitor the area to prevent accidents from happening in the future. Commissioner Fonseca also asked if the area of the intersection of Walnut Grove and Landis View Lane is a concern. Lt. Tiwari noted that, after details, the Police Department noticed that many people failed to stop for buses and were speeding. Given these insights, the area is seeing frequent enforcement action. Chair Wu inquired about the SAO reports and asked if daily patrol checks are done at the listed addresses. Lt. Tiwari indicates that patrol checks are not done daily, but through the course of the week. There are multiple businesses being patrolled. There is high focus on the Garvey corridor, which is populated with food businesses. The Police Department has been working with Mandy Wong and Jennifer Pineda on a No Cash In -Store Overnight campaign involving City - sponsored posters. In total, 3,600 businesses have been contacted and business owners have been responsive. Vice -Chair Fontz observed that small businesses can face robbery when removing cash from the register till. Lt. Tiwari remarked that, when contacting businesses, Police gave the business owners suggestions beyond just emptying the register for keeping their assets safe. City Manager Kim mentioned a Community Development Department program called the Commercial Fagade Program, which functions as a grant. One application of the grant is a film that goes on top of windows and prevents the glass from shattering, reducing the chances of breaking in. Other applications include lighting, cameras, and improving security. So far, the Commercial Facade Program has been successful and will continue to be rolled out. Commissioner Garcia, Commissioner Kuang, and Chair Amy thanked the City Staff and Police Department. City Manager Kim commented regarding a curfew on parks. Police Chief Tiwari mentioned that illegal overnight camping is taking place at the park. The Police are working with the City Attorney, City Manager, and Public Works to put signs up for curfew. They can now begin enforcing a park curfew from 1 OAM to 5AM, focusing on different parks in the city. City Manager Kim indicated to the Commission that a park ranger program was started 6 months ago. The City is constantly hiring additional park rangers, and soon will have 7 -day coverage to keep Rosemead parks safe and secure. Police Chief Tiwari mentioned that CSO's and Code Enforcement are getting trained on new laptops and Sheriff's radios. A total of 16 people are receiving training. 5. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:01 p.m. The next Public Safety Commission meeting will be held on Thursday, April 25th, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. APPROVED: chard Rojas, Alssaant City Manager Amy Wu, Chair