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BUDG£f 94-95
Hay 12, 1994
THE HONORABLE CITV COUNCIL
Palo Alto, California
Members of the council:
Attention: Finance Co~ittee
ProposeC Police A9sist§nce in ¥aB~~to -Fiscal Yoar 199t~?S
hRort I.. BriOl.
In March .:1.992, Council approved the use of Palo Alto Police
resources to pa~ticLpate in a Regional Enforcement Detail (tho REO
'l'eam) for six months to assist the East Palo Alto Police Department
in attempts to r.educe the amount of violent crirn~ that had been
occurring in the community. since then~ council has authorized the
Police Department to exceed its staffing level by one 6erge~nt and
two officer positions and extended Palo Alto's participation in tha
RED Team until June 30, 1994.
This report provides a summary of th& RED 'I'caro's success sinCE!!
inception and describos the changes that have occurred in East Palo
Alto's crime situation since the RED Te,am began working.
Additionally, the report provides recommendations to continue law
enforcement support for an additional 12 months' period, durinq
which time staff would work 'with representatives from East palo
Alto, Henlo Park and San Mateo Cou~ty to develop a specific phase
out plan. Staff requests Council/s continued approval to exceed
authorized staffing levels to backfill for officers assigned to
East Palo Alt;o. Total cost for the 12-month continuation is
approximately $267,840. Staff proposes to take this from the
Budget Stabilization Reserve, since funding frou ongoir.q :revenue
sources is not sufficient to cover the additional expenditures.
DacltgrOl.lnd
The Palo Alto Police Department's fornalized efforts to assist East
Palo Alto began in July, 1989. At that time, East Palo Alto Police
Chief Dan Nelson requested the assistance of several neiqhboring
police agencies to address alarming increases in homicides, violent
crime and drug sales. This multi-agency task force ",'as comprised
of officers from palo Alto l Menlo Park, Redwood CitYI Atherton and
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the california Hlqhway Patrol (CMP). This was a proactive effort
to directly target 'pecific type. of cri~.. Up to that time, Palo
Alto officers routin~ly responded to assist East Palo Alto police
officers w.'hen called4
In Jamlary 1992, an unprecedented 11 shootings occurred in th.e span
of 12 hours. Newly-apPointE'.d Police Chief Burnham Matthews
requested emerqency assistance. from 6urrol.mdinq jurisdictions.
Palo Alto city council authorized Palo Alto Police resources to be
&ssigned to East Palo Alto for a six·'month. period as part of the
newly-oreated Re.qional Enforcement Detail (RED) TE:am, consisting ot
one sergeant and threE! officers. At that time, othor Team
-participants included officers from East Palo Alto, Menlo Park,
state Parole and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Pirearms. Council authorized several subsequent extensions beyond
that initial six-montl't period until June 30, 1994. Council also
authori~ed the police Department to exceed its budgetod staffing
levels by one sergeant and two officer positions until that date.
It has been clear since the TeamJs inception that the purpose
underlying its deployment has been auqmontation of the underataffe.d
East Palo Alto Police Department. During its operational life, the
TeamJs accomplishments have been remarkable. A brief summary of
the RED TeamJs operational success is in order.
The RED Team has had a decided impact on criminal activity in East
Palo Alto and has significantly contributed to the overall crime
reduction effort. Without question, the act~itional assistance of
18 San Matso county SheriffJs deputies and 14 California Highway
Patrol officers this past year-has been the tut"ning point in East
Palo Alto's drastic drop in crime. Uonetheless, the 24 mcnths of
RED Team work have produced some very noteworthy statistics.
Prom its inception date, on April 1, 1992, the RED Team has made
over 1,000 arrests. Many·of thes~ have been for violent felonies
involvIng weapons of every description. In fact', the Team has
seir.ed 87 hand9uno, 55 rifles and shotquns and 9 daggers.
Additionally, th~ RED Team has recovered 5S stolen vehicles and
seized drugs of all types with a value exceeding $156,000.
statistics alone, however, do not tell the 'Whole story_ Before
additional la~ enforcement assistance arrived, the RED Team
imparted a strong sense of reassurance to a beleaguered community.
That reassurancl;! extended beyond the East Palo Alto city boundaries
to the. surrounding neighborhoods in Palo Alto and Menlo Park, Which
had been plagued nightly by continual gunfire and the threat of
falling bullets. Fortunately, the criminal climate in East Palo
Alto has improved drastically.
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During-'19512, c"ln unprecGdented level ot violence was GKperienced in
east Palo Alto. End-ot-year figures proved East Palo Alto the
lurder capital (por capita) of the country. The RP.o Team orrivod
in April of that year, tollowad one year later by operation Safe
Street. and the addition ot 32 officers from the Sheriff's Office
and tho CHP. Th. combined effort. ot all agenci •• resulted In a
aiqnlficant reduction in violent off.n.... Only one y.ar after
e.cquiait1on of the murder capital status, violent crime has tr'l'nded
do ... ~n..,"'rd at a noticeable rate. A compo rison of violent crit2G
ehtist1co for 1992 <lncl 1993 shown below clearly d.picts this
tr"nd.
l1lUlII till l.ill .t.J:lIAlliilI
Hoaicido. 42 6 -86'
R.P*' 1,z 13 -19%
Robbery with firearm 162 86 -47t
... n robbery 271 195 -2at
~oGaultB with firearm 158 120 -2U
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This dacrease in violent crime, co~bined with staffing from other
ngencieB and Bupplement&l funding from a variety of sources, has
fostered a new stabilization and a crime rate more consiGtent 'With
that of othor cities of oiml1ar size in urban settings. In tact,
excluding the REO Tea~, currant combined staffing in East Palo Alto
on an officer-per-thousand population basis exceeds that of almost
till other cities in tho state. Baot Palo Alto Police are now able
to redireot enforc:eUient efforts toward a more proactive, as opposed
to a reactive, approach. 'l'his is evident in newly instituted
cODAunlty policin9 effort., bolst.red inveotlgative capability and
enhancod evidence handling and processing capacities.
BEp 'op c-Q.t §wp,mary
Since the forAlation of the RED Team, expenditur~s for salary,
overtime, and equipment totalled approximately $826,708 for Palo
Al1:o. T~e breakdown of el<penditur •• by year is detailed in Exhibit
.... It should be noted that the cost. for fisoal year 1991-92
reflect only the three-month participation from April through JUne,
and for tiscal year 1993-94, the costs have been projected through
the and of the year.
~po,e4 Aa.!atanol tor J~~~~
At the Tr!~Cities/County meeting on April 6, 1994, East Palo Alto
City Man~qer Jerry Groomes requested that:
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The current levol of law enforce»ant support from Palo Alto,
Menlo P.ftrk and San Katel) county continuo for one YOBr.
Tho chief low enforcenent offlclale frCA ~8t Palo Alto, Palo
IIlto and Kenlo park identify the "oat effective uses or theil'
statts.
A speoHio
iAplnented
June, .1997.
phaae-out plan be developed which vill b.
over the threo~year period between July, 1995 and
city Honagel' Oroo .... 0100 provided staff with intonation relating
to tho city's long-term lav enforcemont needs, which yere baaad
upon Bconoa1c d6velopment projoctionB~ It ~a8 Mr. Groomes' belief
that tho City or g~8t PAlo Alto would require the same lovel of
enforce-llont ftssistance. frOD nOighbor1nq communities until Juno,
1995. At that time, tho law enforce_ant conmit~ent by Palo Alto,
Menlo Park Zlnd San tftlt.QQ county "ould be reducod consistent with
the pre-aCjreed upon pha.se-out plan. According to Hr. Groomes, all
Palo Alto and H'onlo Fad( police ofticerg would 110 lonq~r be needed
by June, 1997.
Eased upon the above request, the. Po) ice Chiefs for the three
citios Met for the purpose of identifying the most beneficial use
of laW' enforcement assistallcO fro:;;:! Palo Alto and Honlo Park. It
lias Eaet P.alo Alto Acting Police ~'hief John sterling's belief that,
while there are still considerable luprovements to be made, Eaot
Palo Alto is out: of ttle ficr-isis mode. n Gi'len this situation, and,
should Council authoriz4) use of Palo Alto's resources d~lrinq fisca.l
year 1994~95, it 1s staft's intent to provide the sarne level of
police assistance (one ssrqeent and thrs8 officers) during liscal
yoar 1994-95.
Palo Alto officers corrently <l!IsBiqned to the RED Iteam ",ill be
ne.eded during-, the four .. week pe~iO<l 8ssoci.ellted 'With tho upcoming
World CUp Soccer ~anos in June and July. Because staff feals it is
i~port8nt to rotate the current RED Team officers back into the
mainstream of Palo Alto's or9~nization, they would then return to
their normally assigned positions within the Field service.
Division. Pending council approval tor continued partioipation,
replacement officora ,",ould be seleoted .from thOB{) personnel who
volunteer tor the a~8iqnment and will be r088siqn~d in September,
1994. city Manager Groo~e8 has informed staff that a new Police
Chief will be identified by July 1, 1994, staff will consult with
the ne.w Eilst Palo Alto Polico Chie.f lind determine his/hor-specific
needs durin9 fiscal year 1994~95.
Filoal Xe~1'?'-95 costa
Coots for continued law enforcenant It(J;rticipation through fisctll
year 1994-95 clre estimated to be $2'6'1 j 840. Expenditures inolude
sa:lary and benefits for three pOSitions, (pending Council approval
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to exceed budqated statfinq levels), overtime for officGr& and ar.y
minimUlll staffing backfill situations, vehicl •• and equipment.
Exhibit B details the pr~ject.d 1994-95 costs.
R'gog·PCat.iops
Staff ~eeo~4ndD that councilr
1) A\lthod,. continued pollce .. soi9t.n~. to tho Citr of East Palo
Alto by providing ona sergeant and thr •• otC cerB tJl<ough
June 30, 1995; and
2) AuthorizG the Police oepartllent to exceod
staffing levels by one sergeant and two otfic6ra
year 1994-95; and
its bud .. _tod
dudn .. fiscal
3) Direct staff to work in conjunction with repre8ent~tiye& or
M&nl0 Park, San Mateo County and ~Bt Palo Alto in tho
development or a phaso .. out plan and report back. to tho,
CounciL
'l'~Hf/:'
CHRIS DIJRI(IN
Polics Chief
Attachments: Exhibit A
Exhibit B
cc Menlo Park Police
East Palo Alto Police
California Highway Patrol
San Mateo county Sheriff's DeparLrnent
Crescent Park. Homeowners' Association
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PALO MIlO POX,XCR D2I'AR'I'IIBU1'
EAST PALO ALTO COSTS
SALARIBS
Reqular Salaries and Benefits
Overtime
Total Salary
!fOI/-SI\Ll\lIY
Equipment
Vehicle
'l'O'l'lIL COSTS
and Benefits
• April through June
1Ul-92·
lICTOllL
$93,120
$8,226
$101,346
o
$2,876
$104,222
.* Projections throuqh June 30~ 1994
1992-93
lICTUlIL
$306,219
$78,073
$384,292
$2,449
$16,456
$403,198
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$249, n3
$45,914
$295,287
$12,500
$11,502
$319,289
El<jU BIT to
$640,652
$132,273
$180,925
$14,949
$30,834
$826,708
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EXUIBIT :u
ESTIMATED COSTS POR FISCAL YEAR 1994-95
SALARIES/BENEFITS
OVERTIME
EQUIPMENT/VEHICLES
$232,340
10,000
25.500
$267,840