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Home My WebLink About2001-09-10 City Council (5)TO: City of Palo Alto City Manager’s Report HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: POLICE DATE:SEPTEMBER 10, 2001 CMR:350:01 SUB~CT:QUARTERLY REPORT ON DEMOGRAPHIC DATA COLLECTION (PROFILING) This is an informational report. No Council action is required. BACKGROUND In March 2000, the Police Department committed to a comprehensive program of voluntary Demographic Data Collection that was to have begun in July 2000. The program included collection of data on virtually all police/citizen contacts, and the submission of quarterly reports to Council. Staff’s best intentions notwithstanding, a number of training and technical data collection problems delayed the effective starting date of the program until January 2001. Further technical problems with data collection and reporting refmements delayed submission of the first quarterly report until now. This report, therefore, includes data on the third and fourth quarters of Fiscal Year 2000/01. Staff believes that it is accurately capturing data on at least 90% of all citizen contacts. Due to incomplete or unavailable data, up to 10% of all citizen contacts may not be represented in the attached report. It should be noted that data collection difficulties, both human and technical, are largely the result of the Palo Alto Police Department’s ambitious attempts to capture information on al__L1 citizen contacts, not simply car stops. Staff hopes to attain 95% reliability in the next quarter. DISCUSSION 1. What data is the Police Department collecting? The Police Department is collecting data on arrests, citations, traffic stops (including passengers), field interviews, consensual contacts and searches. (Attachments A and B). These CMR:350:01 Page I of 4 categories include virtually all field contacts between citizens and officers. Most agencies that have demographic data collection programs track only car stops. 2. Why is the Department tracking these statistics? The effectiveness of the Police Department depends in large measure on maintaining the trust and confidence of the community. Discriminatory practices, whether they are real or perceived, erode that trust and confidence. The problem of "racial profiling" has generated community, media and legislative .attention across the country and has created doubts about the professionalism of many law enforcement agencies. The Palo Alto Police Department believes that it has a responsibility to openly communicate with the community it serves. The Department created the program of voluntary data collection not due to a belief that the Department had problems, but due to a desire to communicate the Department’s high level of professional ethics and integrity to the Palo Alto community. 3. How is the Department collecting the data? Some of the data is retrieved from arrest reports, traffic citations and field interview cards entered in the Department’s Records Management System (RMS). The remaining statistics are retrieved from a "Demographic Data Collection Form" designed to capture data for which there was previously no written documentation. (Attachment C) 4. What do the statistics mean? Absent gross indicators of major problems, there is little consensus on how to interpret demographic data. Caution is warranted when using statistics to analyze behavioral trends or to justify organizational responses. Variables such as regional population, resident City population, daytime City population, probation and parole populations, crime and arrest trends, the prevalence of gang activity, and even traffic patterns have an effect on police/citizen contacts. The Department now plans to conduct an analysis of its initial demographic data. A working group comprised of both police personnel and community members will conduct this analysis. The working group will be examining such questions as: 1.Is every police/citizen contact initiated by the members of the Palo Alto Police Department justified legally and in terms of Department policy? 2.Can every resident or visitor in Palo Alto, regardless of race, age or gender, expect to be treated fairly? CMR:350:01 Page 2 of 4 3. Does the initial data disclose any trends or problems that the Department needs to address? 4. How does the data compare to similar jurisdictions? RESOURCE IMPACT Considerable time and effort have gone into the development of a process and software program to capture this data. The Department received a $10,000 grant from the California Highway Patrol to help offset these costs. POLICY IMPLICATIONS This program is consistent with existing City policy. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT This is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act and environmental review is not required. ATTACHMENTS Attachment A: Third Quarter Demographic Data Collection Report Attachment B: Fourth Quarter Demographic Data Collection Report Attachment C: Demographic Data Collection Card PREPARED BY: DEPARTMENT HEAD: PATRICK DWYER, Chief of Police PATRICK DWYER Chief of Police CMR:350:01 Page 3 of 4 CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: EMII~Y HARRISON Assistant City Manager CMR:350:01 Page 4 of 4 A’I-FACHMENT A Palo Alto Police Department ,uarterl’ Data Collection Total Reported Contacts Total Adult Arrests Total Juvenile Arrests Total Adult Cites Total Juvenile Cites Total Reported Other (Adult)* Total Reported Other (Juvenile)* Contacts as a Result of Dispatched Calls Contacts as a Result of Self Initiated Activity Total Reported Searches Total Person Searches Total Vehicle Searches Total No Search Searches as a Result of Dispatched Calls Searches as a Result of Self Initiated Totals 4994 519 118 2545 87 1660 65 113 4881 601 491 110 Ethnicity ! Asian !Black t Hispanic 526 569 ~6 19 129 123 347 1721 343 9 4i 11 143 2461 332 2;lOi 11 516 553t 810 23 141 i 174 20 123 i:125 3 181 49 Other 449 White 2604 30 218 7 71 264t 1419 9 54 1341 805 5i 37 21 49 447 2555 26i 237 I 20122 4!36 Gender Female Male 1554 3440 4393 63 538 503 4281 672 5 8 30 181 133i 144 423 2367 0 2O 261 217 112 407 32 86 935 1610 23 64 434 1226 18 47 22 91 1532 3349 112 489 92 399 20 90 1442 2951 6 57 106 432 *Other includes Field Interviews, Consensual Contacts, and Warnings on Traffic Violations. Printed 8/30/01 A’n-ACHMENT B Palo Alto Police Department ,uarterl, Data Collection Total Reported Contacts Total Adult Arrests Total Juvenile Arrests Total Adult Cites Total Juvenile Cites Total Reported Other (Adult)* Total Reported Other (Juvenile)* Contacts as a Result of Dispatched Calls Contacts as a Result of Self Initiated Activity. Total Reported Searches Total Person Searches Total Vehicle Searches Total No Search Searches as a Result of Dispatched Calls Searches as a Result of Self Initiated Totals 4851 Asian . Black Ethnicity Other 408 White 2525 Gender 607 81 2324 72 1624 143 725 4126 583 497 86 4268 276 307 526 605 27 144 8 22 347i 158 6 3 130 262 8 16 56 141 470 464 29 123 26 109 3,14 497,482! 22~521 Hispanic 787 126 5 327 9 304 16 120 667 156 115 41 631 56! 43 3 194 5 154 9, 59 349 I 31~ 376 22 267 43 1298 49 774 94 349 2176 243 216 27 2282 124 Female Male 1367 3484 130 477 17 64 786 1538 24 48 390 1234 20 123 176 549 1191 2935 118 465 103 394 15 71 1249 3019 69 207 49 258 *Other includes Field Interviews, Consensual Contacts, and Warnings on Traffic Violations. Printed 8/30/01 ATTACHMENT C Palo Alto Police Department Data Collection Card PALO ALTO POLICE DEPARTMENT DATA COLLECTION CARD Officer Name: Incident# i Race ! Gender 1 2 3 4 5L [Date SearchlAge A/J A/J A/J A/J A/J D M/F M/F M/F M/FI M/Fi H=Hispanic O=OtherRace Codes: A=Asian W=White B=Black Age Codes: A=Adtdt J=Juvenile Search Codes: SPC Search Person Consensual SVC Search Vehicle CorLsensual SPVC Search Person & Vehicle Consensual SPPC Search Person Probable Cause SVPC Search Vehicle Probable Cause SPVPC Search Person & Vehicle Probable Cause SPPP Search Person Parole/Probation SVPP Search Vehicle Parole, Probation SPVPP Search Person & Vehicle Parol~’/Probation D=Driver P=Passenger Reason for Contact Self-Initiated Dispatched to 1.Penal Code / H&S 2.Municipal Code 3.Vehicle Code 4.BOL / APB / Special Detail 5.Suspicious Activity 6.Consensual Notes: Printed 8/28/01