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PSC - Minutes - 01-25-24MINUTES OF THE ROSEMEAD PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 25, 2024 The Regular Meeting of the Rosemead Public Safety Commission was called to order by Chair Amy Wu at 7:00 p.m. in the Rosemead City Council Chamber located at 8838 East Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, California. PRESENT: Commissioners Fonseca, Foutz, Garcia, Martinez, and Ta ABSENT: Commissioners Kuang PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: was led by Commissioner Ta 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 Garcia made a motion to approve the minutes from the September 28, 2023, Public Safety Commission Meeting, and was seconded by Commissioner Fonseca. Motion carried by the following vote: YES: 5-0 3. MATTERS FROM STAFF A. LACoFD Fire & EMS Incidents Report (November and December 2023) This item was Received and Filed by the Commission. B. Introduction of New SAO Deputies Ruvalcaba and To Chief of Police Lt. Tiwari introduced two new deputies. Alex Rubalcaba is a 17 - year department veteran and was recently assigned to Temple station. He transferred from the Santa Clarita station, where he was a 10 -year motor deputy. Deputy Ruvalcaba will be assigned to Rosemead as the motor deputy. He is also a training officer with the ability to train deputies from patrol to motorcycle. Deputy To has been assigned to Temple Station for the past five years. She is a new addition to the team as of November of 2023. She predominantly works the pm shift hours. She is also a local resident of the San Gabriel Valley and speaks Vietnamese. C. LASD Crime Suppression Efforts (December 2023) A summary of the crime suppression efforts for December 2023 was provided by Chief of Police Tiwari. On November 30, 2023, Rosemead City Manager Ben Kim and Lt. Tiwari discussed the rise in violent crime within the San Gabriel Valley. There was a discussion on the robbery that occurred on the evening of November 26, 2023, at the Costco in the City of Industry, in which a victim was robbed of her purse while in the parking lot. The victim was putting away items in her vehicle when the assailant's vehicle drove next to the victim and grabbed the woman's purse. The victim held onto the purse, and the suspects dragged her about 50 yards through the parking lot, causing her to have critical but non -life-threatening injuries. In preparation for the upcoming shopping holiday season, City Manager Kim and Lt. Tiwari discussed the importance of keeping those who shop in Rosemead safe. As part of the efforts, deputies would be specifically assigned to patrolling the shopping thoroughfares in Rosemead (3600 Rosemead Boulevard - Target, Ulta, Ross, Walmart, and Macy's) and conduct high visibility patrols (patrol in which a deputy would have their rear amber lights on while patrolling the parking lot to let their presence be known) as a potential deterrent to these crimes. Also, utilizing Reserve Deputy Personnel to assist with working these operations would help offset the burden of the extra patrol hours for the deputies. There is a recent grant that was awarded to the County of Los Angeles to combat organized retail theft. In collaboration with detectives from Los Angeles County's Major Crimes Bureau, LASD will be conducting several retail theft operations within Rosemead, combating the significant increase in retail theft. D. LASD Crime Statistics (December 2023) A summary of the crime statistics for December 2023 was provided by Chief of Police Tiwari. He mentioned there was a slight rise in aggravated assaults. There is also an increase in grand theft that has been skyrocketing across the state and a rational reason behind it is the social media videos showing how easy it is to steal a vehicle. Step by step instructions are provided on how to steal certain types of car brands with Hyundai and Kia being the major ones. LASD is doing campaigns for Kia owners, like giving away a free car club or anti -theft device. Burglaries are lower and due to collaborative effort of extra patrols, and CSOs. The overall data shows numbers are coming down from 2022. One of the City's goals is to try to lower crime from the year prior. E. Injunction for Zero -Bail Schedule Jennifer Pineda, Management Analyst provided a summary. Los Angeles County is now operating under a no cash bail system, which is formally known in legal circles as pre arraignment release protocols. While this new system is well intended with the hope of creating greater equity in our justice system, it has severely impacted our police department resources, limited the ability of individualize release decisions and lumps career and chronic criminals in with first time offenders. This is why a coalition of 29 diverse cities throughout Los Angeles County filed an injunction to pause or restrict no cash bail, until bonafide research can be done to assess the program's impact and our communities have an opportunity to provide input since residents will be directly impacted if this untested program goes awry. The City of Rosemead is part of this coalition. On December 11th, the injunction was denied by Orange County Superior Court Judge William Claster. In his ruling, he concluded that, "the cities did not have sufficient evidence to show the LA County Superior Court failed to adequately consider the potential risks to victims and public safety when developing the policy. The city's arguments that criminals would be emboldened to commit more crimes without a cache belt deterring currently amounts to speculation as to what might occur." The preliminary injunction was denied, but the coalition will have an opportunity to PA amend and resubmit the complaint by January 31. Additional updates will be provided at a later time. F. Rosemead SAO Team Weekly Reports This item was Received and Filed by the Commission. G. L.A.CADA Supplemental Services Report (December 2023) This item was Received and Filed by the Commission. H. Crime Prevention and Emergency Preparedness Activities Public Safety Supervisor Mandy Wong provided an update on the Crime Prevention and Emergency Preparedness Activities. She mentioned the Coffee with the Deputies event which provides an opportunity to meet local Rosemead deputies as well as the L.A.CADA team who provides outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness. The event will take place Tuesday, February 20, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. at the Starbucks on San Gabriel Boulevard. The Community Academy was on hold due to COVID-19 but will be restarting once again. The topics are being worked out and will be held once a week on Wednesdays. Graduation will be held after the sixth week. The program will be starting on April 3 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Registration is required. 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. A. Commissioner Comments Vice -Chair Foutz commented an accident on Marshall exiting Target and stated that there have been several accidents in that location. He requested that it is further investigated. City Manager Kim mentioned it falls in the purview of the Traffic Commission and he would discuss it with Public Works. Commissioner Fonseca requested to see stats from the LA CADA outreach for the next meeting. Commissioner Fonseca mentioned that there is an issue with traffic control and speed on Walnut Grove between Landis View Lane and Rush Street. There was an incident that happened approximately four weeks prior with a possible fatality. Within the last year, there have been six to eight incidents in which the Fire Department and Sheriff s Department have been called. The area is not well lit, nor does it have enough visibility. The area needs to be reviewed and possibly discussed with the Traffic Commission or City Council. 3 Commissioner Garcia mentioned that the Homelessness Subcommittee focuses on homelessness issues and invited committee members to attend on February 20, 2024. City Manager Kim mentioned that L.A.CADA focuses on homelessness outreach and addressing barriers to those experiencing homelessness. L.A.CADA provides shelters and other services, especially since the City does not have shelters in place. The City contracts with L.A.CADA on a full-time basis at 1.4 million over the next four years. Chair Wu asked if a presentation could be provided by the Al company that presented it to the City Council. She asked whether Al could be used to catch criminals. City Manager Ben mentioned it was presented to City Council but there has not been ftu-ther direction. The Al software can be used to catch criminals but was presented directly to LASD. A presentation can be provided at a later date. WIF.V13111W:Oul � The meeting was adjourned at 8:39 p.m. The next Public Safety Commission meeting will be held on Thursday, February 22, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. �zz_ ----\ - APPROVED: Jennifer P' agement alyst u, Chair 11