HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 133-06TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: POLICE
DATE:FEBRUARY 6, 2006 CMR:133:06
SUBJECT:ANALYSIS OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA FROM THE SECOND QUARTER
OF FISCAL YEAR 2005-06
This is an informational report. No Council action is required.
BACKGROUND
Since July 1, 2000, the Police Department has been proactively collecting demographic data on all
enforcement contacts. On September 10, 2001, the Police Department submitted its first quarterly
report on this data to Council (CMR:350:01). Since then, nine additional informational reports have
been submitted (CMR:223:02, CMR: 186:03, CMR:391:03, CMR:491:03, CMR:231:04, CMR:387:04,
CMR.’484:04, CMR:173:05, CMR:298:05, CMR:381:05 and CMR:443:05).
The collection of demographic data is just one part of a comprehensive approach that the City of Palo
Alto Police Department has undertaken to enhance police-community relations and ensure policing
activities are conducted without racial bias.
Since 2000, the Department has continued to evolve and refine the collection and reporting of this
information. Changes include the types of information captured, when demographic information is
captured, the manner with which the data is recorded and how it evaluates and reports this
information. The overarching goal is to provide more meaningful information to the City Council and
public. To ensure the Department meets its goal, the Department continues to collaborate with the
City Auditor to review the data that is being presented in this report. In addition, the Department had
the data and reporting format reviewed by Stanford Professor Sam Savage and New York University
Professor Art Aronson. Both provided insight into the process and offered suggestions on how the
academic profession might be of value in this process in the future.
In previous Council reports (CMR:298:05, CMR:381:05 and CMR:443:05), the data collection
process was carefully outlined. For reference purposes, a summary of this information has been
provided in Attachment A.
CMR:133:06 Page 1 of 19
DISCUSSION
Contact Data
The Department continues in its trend of increasing the amount of proactive contact. During the
second quarter, a total of 3,035 self-initiated contacts related to vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle stops
were made by officers. For the second quarter, the Department recorded demographic information on
100 percent of these contacts.
Race - Table 1 provides the summary by race for each of the 3,035 contacts made during this quarter.
During this past quarter, White persons were more than three times more likely to be contacted than
Hispanics and Asians, four times more likely to be stopped than African-Americans, and more than
five times as likely to be contacted than individuals identified as Other.
Table 1 - Number of Contacts
Total
Percent
of Total
African-~
Total American Hispanic White Asian Other
3,035 350 493 1,497 411 284
100%12%16%49%14%9%
Gender- Of the 3,035 contacts, 967 were female and 2,067 were male. There was one contact where
the gender was not specified.
Age - Of the 3,035 contacts, the age of individuals ranged from under 21 to 93. More than half of the
contacts were with individuals between the ages ranging from under 21 to 40 (1,548 or 5 ! percent).
Table 2 - Age of Contacts
Age Range
Total
Percent
of Total
Age
3,035
100%
Under
21
409
13%
Between
21 and 40
Between
41 to 60
1,548 903
51%0%
Between
61 and 93
145
5%
Unknown
30
1%
Residence of Individuals Contacted - Palo Alto serves as a destination point for many individuals
traveling into/through the City to work, study (proximity to Stanford University) and for leisure
CMR:133:06 Page 2 of 19
activities. This has been verified by the information provided in Table 4. Any comparison to
demographic census data should be done with the information from adjacent counties. However,
because the census data is over five years old and other factors, census data as a benchmark should be
used as a limited tool.
Table 3 provides summary percentages of each race taken from the 2000 census data for the four Bay
Area counties compared to percentage of enforcement contacts during the first quarter. These
formulas utilize the same methodology used by the City Auditor in the Service Efforts and
Accomplishments (SEA) Report. The table makes clear that Palo Alto’s enforcement contacts track
more closely with the four-county demographic profile than with Palo Alto’s demographic profile,
confirming Palo Alto’s position as both a destination point and location as a transit point between four
county destinations.
Table 3 - Summary 2000 Census Data
African-
American
PERCENT OF TOTAL - ]
PALO ALTO ONLY ! 2%
ALAMEDA CO.11i~.6%
SAN FRANCISCO CO.i! 7.6%
SAN MATEO CO.11 3.4%
SANTA CLARA CO.I 2.6%
PERCENT OF TOTAL - I
FOUR COUNTY AREAI 7.3%
PALO ALTO
ENFORCEMENT
CONTACTS FIRST 12%
QUARTER
.... Hispanic
5%
19.0%
I’...’.’.14.1%
1[,,,,,21.9%
1....24.0%
20.4%
16%
White Asian Other
73%
40.9%
43.6%
49.8%
44.2%
44.0%
49%
17%
20.3%
30.7%
19.8%
25.4%
23.8%
14%
3%
II 5.2%
II 4.0%
t5.1%,
113.8%
4.5%
9%
To help account for the diversity in its contacts, the Department recorded the city of residence of the
people arrested or cited in Palo Alto as part of its demographic collection process. Table 4 provides a
summary of those persons contacted who reside in Palo Alto, as well as other adjacent communities
within Santa Clara County (Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Stanford) and San Mateo
County (East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Redwood City). Other city and county areas within San
Mateo and Santa Clara Counties are provided, either within California or those who reside outside of
California or the United States. In addition, it provides the percentage for each city of residence
broken down by race. Because the Department does not keep track of contacts by name of individuals,
it is impossible to determine whether some individuals were contacted on more than one occasion
during the quarter.
CMR:133:06 Page 3 of 19
Table 4 shows that individuals contacted are slightly more likely to live in an adjacent community (33
percent or 997 contacts) over Palo Alto (30 percent or 901 contacts). Of the 901 individuals contacted
who identified their residence as Palo Alto, 63 percent were White, 17 percent Asian, eight percent
Other, seven percent African-American and five percent Hispanic. For those contacts that came from
individuals from adjacent communities (33 percent), 368 were White (37 percent), 260 Hispanic (26
percent), 170 African-American (17 percent), 101 Other and 98 Asian (10 percent each).
Table 4 - Residence of Contacts
African- ! Hispanic White Asian Other [ Total
..... ~ eft ~.an ..............................................................................................................................,
Palo Alto 65 45 568 ) 154 69 I 901
. %of.tpta! .........7_% ......~0/0 .............63% ...........17%8% .......[30% ..........
Adjacent 170 260 [ 368 98 101 997
Communities
% of~tota1 17%26%[37% ......10%!0% .....33%
Other Santa i[ 41 101 272 105 58 577
Clara County /% of total 17%18%47% 18% : 10%.._1 ~9%. .............
All Other ) 74 f87 289 54 56 560
TOTAL
% of total
contacts by
race
350
12%
493
16%
1,497 411
49%14%
284
9%
3,035
100%
Reason for Contact - Officers will make contact ~vith individuals for a number of reasons. One such
reason is a result of pre-existing information (they match the suspect description in a previous or
recently reported crime). Of the 3,035 contacts made by officers during this quarter, 273 were the
result of suspect descriptions. It is important to note that citizens usually generate suspect descriptions
not police officers. The racial distribution of suspects presented in this report is compiled from these
citizen-provided descriptions in police reports. Table 5 outlines the description for suspects by race
obtained from the second quarter crime offense reports. As an example, out of the 273 incidents with
suspect description, 31 percent were reported as being Hispanic. African-American suspects make up
approximately 13 percent of the suspects reported in crime reports and 12 percent of contacts by all
officers. It is important to note that these numbers may reflect the same suspect for multiple offenses,
but without the actual identity of suspects, it is impossible to determine. The Department continues in
its efforts to gather suspect description data from other area law enforcement agencies, as contacts
CMR:133:06 Page 4 of 19
occur as a result of pre-existing information from local area bulletins or crime reports from outside
agencies; however, there were not enough other departments with consistent or viable data to provide
a meaningful comparison.
Table 5 - Percent of Suspect Description by Race
___J American ! Hispan!c I White I Asian Other I Total
Total 36 84
Percent of Total
Suspect
Description
Percent of
Total Contacts
13%31%
12%16%
27%
49%
11 67*273
4%25%100%
14%9%I 100%1
*Figure includes 54 suspects with unknown description
Reason for Contacts - In addition to pre-existing information, other reasons officers make contact with
subjects include Penal Code violations, equipment or other non-hazardous violations, moving
violations or other traffic related hazards, and other Code violations (Municipal, Health and Safety
Code). All violations were observed by the officers. It is not surprising that more than half the
contacts (52 percent) are related to moving violations or other traffic related hazards since traffic has
been one of the Council’s priorities for several years. Table 6 provides a breakdown by the reason for
the contact by race.
Table 6 - Reason for Contact by Race
~Total ........
"~;~i-~;-ae- ........~-i- ...........................55 ..............................i~~" ..................1-~- .................;-~ ............................~g ................
................................ i~~0~ ~;~ii~ ..........."~ ...........ViolationEquipment
..... 6ii~;a~ .................:~ ....................................7~ ....................................,;~ ........................-i-i ...................l!i~g ..............................~5, ..................
CMR:133:06 Page 5 of 19
Table 7 provides the breakdown in percentages for each type of contact by race.
Table 7 - Reason for Contact (Percentage by Race)
American
Moving .....Hazard 7°/o 11%{ 1 O0 ~/o
Location of Contact - Using the City’s Geographical Information System (GIS), the Department has
broken the City into four quadrants (Beat 1 through Beat 4). The boundaries for each of the four beat
areas have been provided on a map in Attachment C. Of the 3,035 contacts for the second quarter, the
Department was able to plot 2,797 of the contacts on a map. The remaining 238 contacts could not be
plotted because they were geographically outside the city limits or the location had some other
anomaly (e.g., an incomplete or unrecognizable address) that made it impossible to map. The Beat 2
area (Downtown) continues to have the largest numbers of contacts. It is reasonable to expect that the
greater number of contacts would be made in the areas where there is the highest concentration of
officers.
The number of contacts in Table 8 is lower (by 238 contacts) than the total contacts provided in Table
1 made by officers during the second quarter. The disparity occurs when the information is plotted on
a map. To accomplish pin-mapping, the Department retrieves the data from its Police Records
Management System (RMS) and then plots the information on the map. Currently, the boundaries for
the reporting districts (a subset of each Beat Area) cannot be cleanly drawn on a map. The Department
is currently working with its public safety computer vendor to create a custom interface between the
City’s GIS system and the public safety systems to eliminate this anomaly and correctly account for
and display all the data cleanly on a map display. Until the programming change is made, the
Department would have had to conduct a hand-check of hundreds of records to eliminate the change in
numbers.
A map of Beat 1 through Beat 4 for each of the races is attached in Attachment C.
CMR:133:06 Page 6 of 19
Table 8 - Contacts by Beat
[,American Hispanic White ! Asian Other Total
’ ~ii .....................
i Beat2 [ 184 i 254 : 720 ] 180 131 ’ii~ .......
~ Beat .~" ] 43 9i i49 .59 1~ ~ ......
i Beat4 .......................................................24 54 197 58 39 [ 372
Percent of
Disposition of the Contact - Table 9 provides the numbers by disposition for each contact where
demographic information was captured during the quarter. Clearly, citations issued continue to
represent the highest percentage of final action taken by officers. Of the 3,035 contacts, 1,257 vehicle
stops (41 percent) resulted in a citation being issued by the officer. When one looks at the number of
contacts in Table 9, the largest number resulted in White drivers who received a citation (662
contacts); more than four times the number of Hispamcs who received a citation.
Table 9 - Disposition of Contacts (by Race)
...........5i~Si~iii;~-0fContact ~-x~an2 ...............Hispanic I
...................................... ................................ ............................... ......... ....... ........ ....
] Ame~can White Asian
........................................................... ~ ....~ ........................................Warning [ 77 130 I 301 I 78 62 648
N0 action ..........~~~~ 105 70 ......928
Table 10 provides a breakdown of disposition per contact by race in percentages.
CMR:133:06 Page 7 of 19
Table 10 - Disposition by Race (Percentages)
’DlSp~Siti0r~ ’~Ncan’ ..... i .................................. ........................................... ........................................... ...................................... .......................................
of Contact American I Hispanic White ] Asian Other TOTALS
~i~eTg~de l~ ~6% ......................i-i6% ..................I 50aAo ..........................-]7-i6< ...........1i6% ............. ..........
Table 11 looks at the disposition percentages from a different perspective, the breakdown of each race
by type of disposition.
Table 11 - Race Breakdown by Disposition (Percentages)
Disposition African-
of Contacts American Hispanic White Asian Other TOTALS
Citation 22% ......~2<aag gag { ~-0g ......a)~ ....
TOTALS ~ 100%100%100%] 100%100%!100%
Searches
Of the 3,035 stops, searches were conducted only 10 percent (297 searches) of the time. This
information reveals that one in approximately 10 contacts resulted in a search by officers. By
comparison, Sacramento Police Department reports a contact to search ratio of one to six ~.
Table 12 provides a summary of search information for this quarter.
1 U.S. Department of Justice Study "How to Correctly Collect and Analyze Racial Profiling Data Washington DC: Government Printing Office,
2002)
CMR:133:.06 Page 8 of 19
Table 12 - Search vs. No Search
American ]. H!.~pa~c White Asian Other Total
..............................................................................................................................................................................Search 75 80 119
No
Search 275 413 1,378 400 ! 272 2,738
Of the 297 searches that were conducted, 50 percent were required by Department policy as a result of
either an arrest or vehicle impound inventory. Probation/parole situations resulted in 26 percent of all
searches. Only 23 percent were the result of consent or probable cause situations.
Table 13 provides the data by type of search broken down by race. When a search was conducted, 37
percent of the time they were the result of the subject being arrested, 26 percent ~vere due to probation
or parole status, 12 percent of searches occurred after the officer received consent, 11 percent were for
probable cause, and 13 percent were a result of the vehicle being impounded by the officer.
Table 13 - Reason for Search by Type
Search American I Hispanic / White
12%
110
37%
77
26%
33
11%
13%
.... .............. ....................... .......................... ......................’ii .......i2 .............11~ ........
°/° °f t°tal searches {1BY RACE 25%] 27%40%4%4%100%
Table 14 provides the reason for search by race in percentages.
CMR:133:06 Page 9 of 19
Table 14 - Reason for Search by Race in Percentages
Type of Search I American Hispanic
~;~ .........i~% .........-~i% .......
~Ci~t t; a~e~i ......... 5ig ..........
searches byrace 25% ] 27%
P~)~nt- .... o-ft8~i ~ ...................... ......................
contacts BY ~CE 12% 16~
White Asian Other ]¯"’ Totals 1
0%4%
3% 3%
i
..... ~;/o ..............~ % .........) 0 0%
40%4%4%i 100%
49%" .......... .....14% .....9%
] .....
100%1 ........
Searches Related to Probation/Parole - Seventy-seven searches (26 percent of individuals searched)
were the result of conditions of parole/probation. This means during the contacts, the individuals
contacted by the officer were on probation or parole.
Consent and Probable Cause Searches - A detailed review of 33 probable cause and 37 consent
searches was conducted to better understand why these subjects were being searched before they were
formally arrested or released. Probable cause searches were the result of reasonable suspimon
developed by officers, officer safety, or plain view of possible contraband. These searches differ from
the consent searches because the officers had legal justification to conduct the search even without the
consent of the subject.
The following provides a more detailed breakdown of the circumstances for each of the 70 related
searches.
CMR:133:06 Page 10 of 19
Consent Search
An officer stopped a vehicle driven by a White male for a Vehicle Code violation. The officer
recognized the subject as a known gang member and asked to search the vehicle. No drugs or
weapons were found. The driver was issued a citation and released.
Two officers on routine patrol located a Hispanic male juvenile and a Hispanic female juvenile
in a parked vehicle to the rear of a closed business. The vehicle was partially hidden in the
dark lot, late at night. The two subjects were not fully clothed. The two subjects consented to
a search of the vehicle. No drugs or contraband were located and the two subjects were
released to their parents.
An officer located a White male subject sitting in a parked vehicle in the parking lot of a
closed community center. The officer contacted the subject who immediately volunteered to a
search of his vehicle before the officer asked. No drugs or contraband were located. The
subject was released.
Two officers observed a White male subject sitting in the driver’s seat of his veNcle to the rear
of a closed business. The vehicle was backed into the loading dock during hours of darkness.
The officers had prior knowledge that the subject was arrested for burglary less than one
month prior. The officers contacted the subject who consented to a search of his vehicle. The
officers located illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia in the vehicle. The subject was
arrested and taken into police custody.
An officer came across a parked vehicle with a Hispanic male occupant. The vehicle was
parked on private property in a very isolated area. The vehicle was backed in and partially
hidden behind trees. The officer contacted the subject who gave consent to search the vehicle.
No drugs or contraband were located. The subject was released.
An officer stopped a vehicle driven by a White male subject for a Vehicle Code violation. The
driver had a suspended license and two outstanding misdemeanor warrants for his arrest. The
driver gave consent to search the vehicle. No drugs or contraband were located. The driver was
released with a new court date for his warrants.
An officer located a White male subject sitting in a vehicle backed into a parking stall at a
closed business. The subject appeared to be under the influence of a narcotic. The subject
stated he did not have identification. The subject gave consent to search his vehicle. The
officer located marijuana and the missing identification in the vehicle. The subject was issued
a citation and released.
CMR:133:06 Page 11 of 19
An officer consensual encountered a Black male and a Black female subject. The officer had
prior knowledge that the male had been convicted of narcotics violations. The male consented
to a search of his person. The officer located steel wool and a metal rod used for crack pipes.
During the contact, the officer developed a suspicion the female was involved in drug activity.
The female appeared jittery and nervous. The female gave consent to a search of her person.
The officer located drug paraphernalia and crack cocaine. The female was arrested and taken
into custody. The male subject was released.
An officer located a Black female subject seated in a parked vehicle late at night. The vehicle
was parked on private property in an area known for drug activity. The subject had a
misdemeanor warrant for her arrest. The subject gave the officer consent to search her vehicle.
No drugs or contraband were located. The subject was released with a new court date for the
warrant.
An officer arrested a subject for possession of cocaine. The subject stated she bought her
cocaine from another subject, known to police. A second officer located the specified Black
male subject a few blocks away and stopped him. The officer had prior knowledge that the
subject had been convicted of multiple criminal offenses. The subject gave consent to be
searched. No drugs or contraband were located. The subject was released.
An officer located a parked vehicle, late at night in a closed City park in violation of the
Municipal Code. The park is known for high drug usage. The officer contacted the Hispanic
female driver who gave her consent to search the vehicle. No drugs or contraband were
located. The subject was released.
An officer located a parked vehicle in a City park after hours, a violation of the Municipal
Code. The park is known for high drug usage after hours. The officer contacted five juvenile
occupants of the vehicle, four Hispanic males and one Hispanic female. The officer obtained
consent to search from the driver. No drugs or contraband were located. All five subjects were
released with a call to their parents.
An officer stopped a Hispanic male pedestrian for a Penal Code violation. The subject failed to
adequately identify himself, either verbally or with identification. The subject provided
multiple variations of his name. The officer searched the subject for identification after
obtaining consent. No evidence of identification was found. No drugs or contraband were
located. The subject was released.
An officer stopped a Black male bicyclist for a Vehicle Code violation. The subject provided
several different variations of his name and birth date, failing to adequately identify himself.
The officer obtained consent to search in order to locate identification. No evidence of
identification was found. No drugs or contraband were found. The subject was released.
CMR:133:06 Page 12 of 19
The officer contacted a White male subject who had a history of drug violations. The subject
appeared nervous and kept putting his hands in his pockets. The subject told the officer he had
small white rocks in his pockets. The officer obtained consent to search, but did not locate any
drugs or contraband. The subject was released.
An officer on routine patrol located an Asian male subject who was sitting in a parked vehicle
in a public parking garage. The subject appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs
or in need of psychiatric care. The Officer contacted him to check on his welfare. The subject
gave consent for the officer to search his vehicle. The officer did not locate any drugs or
contraband. Once the subject was ruled out as a missing person and as being able to care for
himself, he was released.
An officer stopped a vehicle driven by an Asian male for a Vehicle Code violation. The subj ect
displayed symptoms of being under the influence of drugs. The subject gave consent to search
his vehicle. No drugs or contraband were located. The subject was evaluated for Driving
Under the Influence (DUI) and released.
An officer located a parked vehicle in the darkened area of a closed City park in violation of
the Municipal Code. The park is known for drug usage after hours. The officer approached the
car and contacted the Hispanic female and the Hispanic male occupants. The male volunteered
that he had a prior conviction for drug trafficking. The officer suspected the two were using
illegal drugs and was granted consent to search the vehicle. No drugs or contraband were
located. The two subjects were released.
An officer stopped a vehicle driven by a White male for a Vehicle Code violation. The subject
did not have a driver’s license and provided a false name. The subject gave consent to search
his vehicle. The officer located paperwork revealing the subject’s true name. The subject had a
suspended license. The subject was cited and released.
An officer located a vehicle in a closed County parking lot after hours. The parking lot was
posted with no parking and no loitering signs. The officer contacted the Hispanic male
occupant and believed he was under the influence of alcohol. The subject gave consent to
search the vehicle. No drugs or alcohol were located. The officer evaluated the subject for
Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and determined he was not impaired. The subject was
released.
An officer stopped a vehicle driven by an Asian male for a Vehicle Code violation. The subject
had red, watery eyes and the officer suspected drug or alcohol usage. The subject gave consent
to search the vehicle. No drugs or contraband were found. The subject was released.
An officer stopped a vehicle driven by a male of an unknown race for a Vehicle Code
violation. The officer suspected the two occupants were engaged in drug activity based on their
CMR:133:06 Page 13 of 19
behavior and movements. The driver gave consent to search the vehicle. No drugs or
contraband were located. The subject was released.
An officer stopped a White male pedestrian who had an open container of alcohol. The subject
gave consent to be searched for additional alcohol and/or drugs. No drugs or contraband were
located. The subject was released.
The officer stopped a Hispanic male pedestrian loitering near vehicles in an area known for
auto burglaries. The subject had a shaved down screwdriver which can be used to illegally
enter vehicles. The subject gave consent to search his person. No drugs or evidence were
found. The subject was released.
An officer on routine patrol stopped a White male bicyclist for a traffic violation. The subject
had a history of narcotics convictions and was on probation for one of the drug offenses. The
subject also gave his consent to search. No narcotics or contraband were located. The subject
was released.
An officer on routine patrol came across a vehicle parked in a secluded hotel lot late at night.
There were two people sitting in the "blacked out" vehicle which had no license plates. The
officer contacted the two Hispanic male occupants and engaged them in conversation about
their activity. The officer asked for identification and paperwork for the vehicle. One of the
occupants had no identification. The officer asked for consent to search the vehicle for
identification or contraband. No contraband was located. The two subjects were released.
An officer stopped a White male bicyclist for a traffic violation. The stop occurred at 2:30 a.m.
in a residential area where recent burglaries had occurred. The officer asked for consent to
search the subject for weapons because he was wearing baggy clothing and the officer was
unable to immediately tell if he was carrying any weapons. No weapons were located and the
subject was released.
An officer on routine patrol located a suspicious vehicle parked in abank lot at 11:30 p.m. The
officer stopped to investigate and found a white male inside. The officer asked the subject for
identification and consent to search the vehicle. No weapons or contraband were located. The
subject was released.
An officer stopped a pedestrian for a traffic violation. The subject openly admitted to being a
Surreno Gang member. The officer asked for consent to search for contraband or weapons.
Nothing was located and the subject was released.
CMR:133:06 Page 14 of 19
Probabte Cause Search
The Menlo Park Police Department (MPPD) broadcast the description of a suspect in an
attempted rape that had just occurred. A Palo Alto officer took an observation post in the area.
The officer located a black male pedestrian who fit the description and stopped him. The
subject was searched based on the possibility that he may be armed and for officer safety
reasons. The subject also consented to the search. The subject was identified and determined
to have two outstanding warrants for his arrest. An in-field identification was conducted and
the subject was determined not to be the rape suspect. The subject was issued a new court date
for the warrants and released.
The officer stopped a vehicle driven by a Hispanic male for a Vehicle Code violation. The
officer smelled an odor of marijuana and asked the subject for consent to search the vehicle
and his person. The subject claimed the smell was emitted from an unusual legal cigarette. No
drugs or contraband were located. The subject was released.
An officer stopped a vehicle driven by a Hispanic male for a Vehicle Code violation. The
officer smelled an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. The subject had an outstanding
misdemeanor warrant for his arrest. The driver also gave the officer consent to search the
vehicle and his person. No drugs or contraband were located. The driver was released with a
new court date for the warrant.
An officer on routine patrol located a parked vehicle in a remote area late at night. The officer
approached the Hispanic male driver and instantly smelled a strong odor of marijuana. The
driver gave consent to search his vehicle. No drugs or contraband were located but the subject
admitted that he had just smoked marijuana. The subject was released.
The officer stopped a vehicle driven by a White female for a Vehicle Code violation. The
officer smelled an odor of marijuana and believed the subject was under the influence of drugs.
The officer located marijuana and several boxes of small canisters of nitrous oxide. The
subject was issued a citation and released.
An officer stopped a vehicle driven by a black male for a traffic violation. The officer
contacted the subjected and smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. The
officer searched the vehicle and located the marijuana. The subject was cited and released.
A Hispanic male was stopped after officers found him walking in the roadway. Officers
thought that the subject was intoxicated and stopped to evaluate if he was able to care for
himself. Officers asked the subject for permission to conduct a consent search. The subject
agreed to allow the officer to search him. The officers did not locate any evidence or
contraband. After they determined that the subject was able to care for himself, the officers
released the subject.
CMR:133:06 Page 15 of 19
A White male adult subject riding a bicycle was stopped for multiple Vehicle Code violations.
During the detention, the subject informed officers that he was on active probation for
narcotics violations. The officers asked for permission to search the subject. The subject
granted the officers’ request and a search was conducted. No evidence or contraband was
located and the subject was released.
An officer stopped a vehicle driven by a Hispanic mate for a traffic violation. The subject
displayed symptoms of being under the influence of marijuana and admitted to having smoked
it recently. The officer could smell marijuana and searched the vehicle for contraband. No
contraband was located.
An officer stopped a vehicle driven by a White female for a traffic violation. The officer
contacted the driver and smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. The
officer searched the vehicle and located the marijuana. The subject was cited and released.
An officer stopped a vehicle driven by a White male for a traffic violation. The officer
contacted the driver and noticed drug paraphernalia and marijuana. The driver searched the
vehicle and located a small amount of marijuana. The subject was issued a warning based on
the small amount of marijuana. The subject was released and the marijuana was destroyed.
An officer on routine patrol located a suspicious vehicle parked in the lot of a closed City park.
The officer contacted the White male driver and noticed marijuana in the center console of the
vehicle. The officer searched the vehicle and retrieved the marijuana. The subject was cited
and released.
Benchmarking
The Department continues in its efforts to benchmark its data against other law enforcement agencies.
However, only a limited number of law enforcement agencies are capturing this data, and those that
have in the past ceased data collection of this type in 2003-2004. In addition, the types and amounts of
data that Palo Alto captures are significantly greater than information gathered by other law
enforcement agencies, making benchmarking a challenge.
Comparison Demographic Data-During this quarter, the Department acquired recent demographic
data (Second Quarter 2005-06) from the Mountain View Police Department; calendar year 2002-03
data from Modesto Police Department; January to October 2005 demographic data from Davis Police
Department; and, second quarter 2005-06 data from Fresno Police Department. Not all of these
Departments are featured in this report as the information has been only recently acquired and is being
analyzed. Future reports will include more information.
Mountain View - During the second quarter 2005-06, Mountain View police officers made contact
CMR:133:06 Page 16 of 19
with 4,978 subjects during vehicle stops (Mountain View captures only data during traffics stops). Of
those, 43 percent were White, 22 percent Hispanic, 19 percent Asian, 9 percent identified as Other,
and 7 percent African-American. These percentages vary.just slightly from Palo Alto. During those
contacts, Mountain View officers search approximately 6 percent of all subjects contacted. Palo
Alto’s search percentages are slightly higher (ten percent). Like Palo Alto, citations rank high in
terms of disposition of contacts (42 percent for Mountain View vs. 41 percent for Palo Alto). Of those
issued citations, White persons contacted by Mountain View made up the highest disposition
percentage (47 percent for Mountain View vs. 53 percent for Palo Alto). Of African-American
contacts made by Mountain View police officers, individuals were likely to be contacted and released
with a verbal warning (60 percent). Of the Whites persons contacted by officers (2,144), 50 percent
(1,063) received verbal warnings.
Davis - Demographic information is only captured when citations are issued. During the period of
January to October 2005, the Davis Police Department issued 5,899 citations. Of the citations, 60
percent were issued to White drivers, 18 percent to Asians, 13 percent Hispanics, four percent African-
American and five percent identified as Other. The Davis Police Department does not capture any
additional demographic data for additional comparison.
Fresno - In Fresno, during the second quarter 2005-06, the Fresno Police Department made 23,417
traffic stops; of those, it captured demographic data on 23,404. Of the 19,489 citations issued, 42
percent were to Hispanics, 37 percent Whites, 10 percent African-Americans, six percent Asians and
six percent Other. There were 514 arrests during the same time period. Of those, 62 percent were
Hispanic, 19 percent White, 17 percent African-American, two percent Asian and one percent Other.
The only search data captured by Fresno is on vehicles searched broken down by race. No other data
is captured by Fresno that can be utilized for comparative purposes.
Modesto - Although Modesto Police Department captured the largest amount of similar data, the
information is for a period of March 2002 to February 2003 - no data since that time has been
captured. Modesto had budgeted $10,000 a year for the collection and analysis process. It stopped
gathering data about three years ago when the community at large lost interest. Because the report is
so extensive, staff is currently analyzing the report and will include comparative data in the third
quarter 2005-06 report.
The Department will continue to research other agencies in an effort to identify benchmarks that can
be reported in future reports.
Update on Department’s Activities Improving Community Relations
Community Access Line - Since implementing the Community Access Line in 2004, the Department
has had little activity. During the past quarter, the Department received one phone call from a citizen
with a customer service concern. When the individual was contacted by a Police Lieutenant who
explained the situation further, the matter was successfully resolved. The Community Access line
CMR:133:06 Page 17 of 19
remains active to provide an opportunity for members of the public to voice their concerns with the
Police Department. The line is also translated into Spanish. Staff continues to inform the community
of the existence of this telephone line and encourages members of the public to share concerns and
commendations regarding interactions with the Palo Alto Police Department.
Community Feedback Link on Police Website - During this quarter, the Department added an
additional contact mechanism for the public, establishing a new link on the Police Department’s
website that generates an email to the Department from the public providing feedback on encounters
with the Police Department employees.
Video Cameras in Police Vehicles - During this quarter, the Department began implementation of the
new Mobile Audio Video (MAV) system for the Police Department. Fleet Maintenance is currently
installing the equipment and to date has approximately 12 vehicles equipped with the new equipment.
Because of complications with the new MAV system, on December 20, 2005 (10-days after going
live), the Police Department shut down the MAV system following repeated systems challenges that
were unsatisfactorily addressed by the vendor (Kustom Signals, Inc.). The major problems were:
significantly degraded audio quality on the wireless microphones that left the audio transmission
fractured and unreliable for evidentiary purposes; range of the microphone transmissions during
implementation was testing closer to 125 feet instead of the 1,000 foot range that was specified in the
bid; significant database problems as the system began locking up and losing communication between
the hard drive and the camera unit, and incorrect timestamps on the recordings. Individually any one
of these problems can seriously compromise the integrity of the system; collectively they resulted in an
unstable system. Given the critical importance of this technology, its evidentiary value in both
criminal prosecutions and internal investigations, as well as the politically sensitive nature of this
technology, staff is in the process of resolving these issues and ensuring that the vendor complies with
the stringent requirements outlined in the bid specification. Police staff and the vendor anticipate
bringing the system back on line sometime in February.
The Department continues its outreach to the community in a variety of other areas, including working
with organizers of the Friends of the Police Department on restructuring and outreach in the upcoming
year, hosting the first advanced-level course in the Citizens Academy.
RESOURCE IMPACT
Although the process has been streamlined, manual data entry and analysis of the demographic data
was still required for this quarter. Along with the data entry efforts, approximately 200 hours of
administrative staff time at an approximate cost of $10,000 has been spent reconciling the data and
preparing analysis of the statistical information, review of the demographic data cards, citations and
arrest reports. Staff continues to hope the workload will reduce in the future as processes are
automated, benchmark criteria are standardized and workload reallocations are considered.
CMR:133:06 Page 18 of 19
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Data Collection Process
Attachment B - 2000 Census Data
Attachment C - Beat Maps
PREPARED BY:
SHERYL ’~. CONTOIS
Coordinator, Police Technical Services
DENNIS BURNS
Captain, Field Services Division
DEPARTMENT HEAD:
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
Police Chief
EMI~q~~S ON
Assistant City Manager
CMR:133:06 Page 19 of 19
ATTACHMENT A
Demo~aphic Collection Process
Demo~aphic information is captured on all self-initiated enforcement vehicle, pedestrian
and bicycle stops. The Department’s Records Management System (RMS) captures the
following information:
race.
age,
gender,
location of stop,
reason for the contact,
action taken by the officer (disposition of stop),
city of residence for the individual contacted,
and, whether or not a search of the individual was conducted.
o If a search is conducted, the officer notes the reason and outcome of the
search.
An officer must make a reasonable determination of the individual’s race during the
contact in lieu of asking the person. The following race categories being used for data
collection purposes are consistent with those used by other law enforcement agencies:
White
African American / Black
Hispanic
Asian (Includes Other Asian, Chinese, Cambodian, Filipino, Japanese, Korean,
Laotian, and Vietnamese)
Other (Includes Guamanian, American Indian, Mid-Eastern, Pacific Islander,
Samoan, Hawaiian and Unknown).
Palo Alto
Demographic Data
Beat 1
October - December 2005
Ethnicity = Asian
ATTACHMENT C
Demographic Data
Beat 1
October - December 2005
Ethnicity = African American
T~.~ Ci~;. ~f
Palo Alto
Demographic Data
Beat 1
October - December 2005
Ethnicity - White
Demographic Data
Beat 1
October - December 2005
Ethnicity = Hispanic
Palo Alto
Demographic Data
Beat 1
October - December 2005
Ethnicity - Other
Palo Atto
Demographic Data
Beat 2
October - December 2005
Ethnicity - Asian
Pa!o Alto
Demographic Data
Beat 2
October - December 2005
Ethnicity - African American
Palo Alto
Demographic Data
Beat 2
October - December 2005
Ethnicity = White
Demographic Data
Beat 2
October - December 2005
Ethnicity = Hispanic
Demographic Data
Beat 2
October - December 2005
Ethnicity = Other
T~ ~ i ~,,,
Pa!o Alto
Demographic Data
Beat 3
October - December 2005
Ethnicity - Asian
Palo Alto
Demographic Data
Beat 3
October - December 2005
Ethnicity = African American
Palo Alto
Demographic Data
Beat 3
October - December 2005
Ethnicity = White
Pa!o Alto
Demographic Data
Beat 3
October - December 2005
Ethnicity = Hispanic
Tb~ ~i~-i ~.~
Palo Alto
Demographic Data
Beat 3
October - December 2005
Ethnicity = Other
T~c ~i~? uf
Palo Alto
Demographic Data
Beat 4
October - December 2005
Ethnicity - Asian
1
Pa!o Alto
Demographic Data
Beat 4
October - December 2005
Ethnicity = African American
Demographic Data
Beat 4
October - December 2005
Ethnicity - White
Palo Alto
Demographic Data
Beat 4
October - December 2005
Ethnicity = Hispanic
Palo Alto
Demographic Data
Beat 4
October - December 2005
Ethnicity - Other