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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 173-05practices and legislation changes. The Field Training Officer (FTO) program audit was completed this quarter. Recommendations for changes to the program have been reviewed. A special FTO Audit Committee comprised of key personnel in the Field Services Division and management has been developed to complete an action plan that will result in significant modifications to the program, especially in areas of basic police training and community relations. Strong emphasis will be placed on improving social interaction and problem solving skills of the trainees. Staff has started the planning process that will result in a visit by all police employees to the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance for Law Enforcement Program in Los Angeles this summer. The Museum of Tolerance is a high-tech, hands-on interactive museum that focuses on the dynamics of racism and prejudice in America and the history ofthe Holocaust. Museum personnel have developed a law enforcement-specific program. The Museum, the educational arm ofthe Simon Wiesenthal Center, was founded to challenge visitors to confront bigotry and racism and to understand the Holocaust in both historic and contemporary contexts. The State Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) will fund most ofthe costs ofthis program. In addition to participating in the program at the Museum, staff is exploring the possibility of using an interactive video training program offered by the Center that focuses on personal interactions between officers and the public, highlighting a number of issues such as race relations, ethics and communication skills. The Continued Professional Training (CPT) training sessions that all sworn personnel are required to attend have been revised to address communication skills and decision-making. CPT sessions conducted in January and scheduled for March and May 2005 will all deal with scenario-based, hands- on training addressing verbalization, de-escalation skills, and use of force options. A newly developed course in tactical communication deals specifically with learning how to best communicate in stressful and hon-stress situations is included in the training plan. This course also addresses de-escalation and escalation techniques, as well as listening and interpersonal skills that incorporate dealing with personal emotions during interactions. The Department continues its partnership with the Multi-JurisdictionlResearch Group developed from the Policing Racial Bias conference held at Stanford University last summer. Police command staff participated in a pilot project on February 18 that uses different exercises to break down barriers between groups. As a result ofthe pilot project, Police and Stanford staff are working on plans to use this model with line-level police staff and members of the community. The Police Department is continuing with the plan to purchase video cameras and install them in every patrol vehicle. As reported in last quarter's report, Council approved the funding for the cameras on November 8, 2004. Staff and members of the Palo Alto Peace Officers' Association are currently working on the use policy. Staff is using the model policy developed by the Intematiomil Association of Chiefs of Police and the policies of other agencies as the foundation. Staffwill return to the HRC for input in April and to the Council for policy.review and contract approval soon thereafter. Staff CMR:173:05 Page 2 of 8 anticipates having the cameras installed and operational in all patrol vehicles by Mayor June 2005. Community Outreach -On February 23', the Police Department and Human Relations Commission (HRC) hosted a community meeting. Approximately 60 people attended, including a number of police officers who came on their own time to hear the community concerns firsthand. HRC member Shauna Wilson ably facilitated the meeting. In addition to the Police Chief, Sergeant Scott Wong and Officer Donna Arndt represented the Department on the panel. HRC members J effBlum and Adam Atito also made presentations. One hour ofthe meetingwas devoted to hearing from members ofthe community. Information gathered from the meeting will be used in discussions with the HRC liaison committee and City staff regarding the proposal for using the HRC as a police review body. Staff has begun the process of developing the Police Department's next five-year Strategic Plan. Key staff members have been identified to participate on the Strategic' Plan Committee. Input from stakeholder groups in the community, including members of minority groups and the HRC will be solicited in order to develop the direction and goals for the Department for the next five years. Staff is working to have the new Strategic Plan in place by July 1, 2005. For the past nine years, the Police Department has presented a Citizens Academy for residents of Palo Alto and neighboring communities with ties to Palo Alto. This Citizens Academy gives an overview of the many facets of police work and each of the divisions within the Department. All of the academy instructors are members ofthe Department who provide instruction in their particular area of expertise. This program has been very successful not only for the members ofthe community learning about how the Police Department operates, but also for the members of the Department to better understand and interact with the community. As a result ofthe popUlarity ofthe Citizens Academy, staffhas expanded the program from its original two sessions per year to three. Staff has also included a block of instruction in race relations and community outreach. Feedback received from Acaderriy alumni includes that they have a better understanding of the job of a police officer in Palo Alto and how the Department operates. Members of the Department's Investigative Services Division (ISD) have been invited to address the local chapter of the Anti-Defamation League on March 7, 2005, regarding the investigation of hate crimes. The focus of this discussion will be the proactive nature ofthe Police Department in response to hate crimes and hate incidents. The Police Department and the Santa Clara County District Attorneys' Hate Crimes Unit, work together to aggressively investigate and prosecute all hate crimes. This Spring, the City Auditor will work with the Police Department in conducting a random survey some drivers of vehicles that are stopped to determine how they feel they were treated during the stops. For the past three quarters, staff has been monitoring the Community Access Line designed to allow members of the public to freely voice their concerns with the Police Department. Staff has received relatively few calls on this Community Access Line. In an attempt to reach out to a broader group of community members, this line has also been translated into Spanish. For this quarter, a total of four CMR:173:05 Page 3 of 8 for the quarter. Attachment D provides comparison information with previous reports. The majority of the searches (84.9 percent) were associated with an arrest and were conducted after the arrest was made. A total ofnine searches were conducted prior to the arrest. Seven ofthose searches were a result of the subjects being on probation/parole from previous criminal convictions and two were the result ofthe subject consenting to the search. The two consent searches leading to arrests were as follows: • Orie African-American was stopped for a broken taillight. The officer knew the subject had a history of drug violations and asked for consent to search for drugs. Drug paraphernalia was found and the subject was arrested. • One Hispanic was stopped for making an unsafe lane change. During the contact, the officer smelled the strong odor of marijuana. Consent was requested for the officer to search the vehicle for drugs. Marijuana was located and the subject was arrested. Both of these searches complied with Department policy. Searches not incident to arrests Fifty-one searches were conducted that did not result in arrests. Sixteen of these searches were the result of Department-required inventories of vehicles being impounded. Most ofthese impounds were associated with unlicensed drivers. Ten searches were the result of conditions of parole/probatiori not leading to an arrest. This means that during the contacts, officers learned that the individuals had search clauses included in their terms of probation or parole. Searches ofthese people were conducted, but no contraband was located. Thirteen searches not associated with arrests were made as a result of reasonable suspicion developed by officers, officer safety, or plain view of possible contraband. These searches, known as probable cause searches, differ from the consent searches mentioned above because the officers had legal justification to conduct the search even without the consent of the subject. The thirteen probable cause/officer safety searches are listed below. • A White was placed on a hold for a 72-hour mental evaluation. This person was searched for weapons prior to transportation to the hospital. No criminal charges involved. • An Asian was stopped for suspicion of drunk driving and found to have a minor arrest warrant. As the officers conducted the field sobriety tests and processed the paperwork for the warrant, the subject's behavior became increasingly threatening to the officers. As a result, the officers had probable cause to search the subject for weapons to ensure their personal safety. No weapons were found and the subject was released. CMR:173:05 Page 5 of 8 • One Asian was contacted after officers were dispatched to a shoplifter in custody at the Stanford Shopping Center. This individual was not under arrest, but was associated with the subjects that were in custody. Due to his association with theft suspects, he was asked for consent to search for possible stolen property. None was located and he was released. • An African-American was stopped after officers observed his vehicle partially hidden in the commercial area of East Bayshore Road where a number of commercial burglaries had recently been reported. Consent was requested to search for possible burglary tools or stolen property. Nothing was found and he was released. • An African-American was stopped after officers were dispatched to a call of a possible bicycle theft in progress. Officers asked the individual who matched the description for consent to search for possible burglary tools or stolen property. Nothing was found. • One Hispanic was stopped for driving a vehicle without a headlight at night. During the stop, the officer detected the odor ofmarijuana from the vehicle. The officer asked for consent to search this person and his white passenger for marijuana, but found nothing. • An African-American was contacted after officers were dispatched to a reported forgery investigation. Upon arrival, officers contacted the reported suspect and asked for consent to search for evidence of the forgery. Further investigation revealed that a crime had not been committed and the person was released. • One White was stopped for driving a vehicle with lighting and registration violations. During the contact, officers learned the subject had a history of drug violations and was asked for consent to search for drugs. Nothing was found. • An African-American was observed by an officer at University Avenue and Chaucer Street to be in possession of a shopping cart taken from Whole Foods Market. The officer was aware the subject had a criminal history for theft offenses and asked the subject for consent to search for stolen property. Nothing was located. • One Hispanic was stopped after officers were dispatched to a downtown bar on a report that a subject had stolen a tip jar from the bar. The subject was asked for consent to search for evidence of the crime. Nothing was found. • One "Other" race was stopped at Forest and Ramona at 12:00 a.m. for attempting to gain entry into several vehicles and acting suspicious. Officers asked for consent to search for burglary tools and stolen property. Nothing was found. • A White was stopped after officers were dispatched to a subject carrying a lit flare in public. Officers asked for consent to search the subject for weapons to ensure their safety. Nothing was CMR:173:05 Page 7 of 8 ATTACHMENT B) CONTACT COMPARISONS TOTAL ASIAN CONTACTS OO_Olx 9,845 01_02xX 9,398 02-03 13,242 03_04xXX 8,927 03-04xxxx 2,715 04-05xxxxx 2,406 04-5xxxxxx 2,023 x = 3rd & 4th/Quarters Only XX = 1 st & 20d Quarters Only XXX = 1st, 2nd & 3rd Quarters Only XXXX = 4th Quarter XXXXX= 1st Quarter Only XxXXXX = 2nd Quarter Only 1,052 (10.7%) 948 (10.1%) 1,475 (11%) 1,055 (11.8%)_ 323 (11.9%) 280 (11.6%) 218 (10.8%) AFRICAN-HISPANIC AMERICAN 1,174 1,633 (11.9%) (16.5%) 1,153 1,648 (12.3%) (17.5%) 1,557 1,998 (11.6%) (15.1%) 1,034 1,247 (11.6%) (14%) 328 421 (12.1%) (15.5%) 312 382 (12.9%) (15.8%) 223 339 (11.0%) (16.8%) Attachment B OTHER WHITE 857 5,129 (8.7%) (52.1%) 962 4,687 (10.2%) (49.9%) 1,462 6,750 (11%) (51%) 1,010 4,581 (11.3%) (51.3%) 277 1366 (10.2%) (50.3) 257 1175 (10.6%) (48.8%) 200 1043 (9.9%) (51.6%) ! \: I ATTACHMENT D • SEARCH SUMMARY FOR Four YEARS TOTAL ASIAN AFRICAN-HISPANIC OTHER OO-Olx 1,184 52 (4.4%) 01_02xX 1,513 61 (4%) 02-03 2,786 148 (5.3%) 03_04xXX 1,537 99 _(6.4%) 03-04xxxx 441 04-05xxxxx 451 04-5xxxxxx 412 2/05 x = 3rd & 4th Quarters Only XX = 1 st & 2nd Quarters Only XXX = 1St, 2nd & 3rd Quarters Only. XXXX= 4th Quarter only XXXXX = 1 st Quarter Only XXXXXX = 2nd Quarter Only 31 (7%) 23 (5%) 25 (6%) AMERICAN 264 330 58 (22.3%) {27.9%1 (4.9%) 338 421 91 (22.3%) (27.9%) (6%) 712 547 212 (25.6%) (19.6%) (7.6%) 333 302 112 (21.7%) (19.6%) (7.3%) 96 96 31 (21.7%) (21.7%) (7%) 99 98 35 (21.9%) (21.7%) (7.7%) 80 94 25 (19%) (23%) (6%) Attachment D WHITE 480 {40.5%) 602 (39.8%) 1,167 (41.9%) 691 (45%) 187 (42%) 196 (43.4%) 188 (46%)