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Home My WebLink About0553.093• October 21, 1993 THE HONORABLE CITY CCUNCIL P~lo Alto, california Members of the Council: o Red Team/Regional Law Bnforc..ant Bffort. in East Palo Alto \ This is a six-month status report which provid~s Council 'With information about law enforcement activity occurring in East Palo ~~to. No Council action is requested. B&9kqround At the City Council meeting of March 22. 1993. Coun.-:il authorized continued assistance to the City of East Palo Alto in its efforts to reduce crime by extending the RED Team to June 30. 1994. Council also authorized the Police Department to exceed its budgeted staffing level by one sergeant and two officer positions, and directed that a joint exercise of powers agreement or a supplemental pOlice protection agreement be prepared. Further. Council instructed staff to return within si.x months with additional information relativE' tr) events occurring in East ~alo ~to. Specifically, staff was to 1} explore the potentia.l for the City of East Palo Alto to fund the five-year plan; 2) tie down the role of other agencies; 3) provide benchmarks for evaluation, and 4) provide clear criteria for continuance of ~he RED Team. The City Atto~~ey is in the process cf preparing a joint powers agreement for Council consideration which will be presented in a separate staff report. Potenti.l PuDding for last Palo ~to'. Five Ye.~ Public Safety P1an East Palo Alto officials report that the city is making concrete progress in developing an economic base upon which the police departfficnt c~~ develop its long-term public safety plan. According to Bob Beyer, East Palo Alto Director of Development, sever-al projects are progressing, while other projects are etill in the cDnceptuc-.l stage. The Gateway 101 plan is on schedule. and the enyironrnental impact report is currently in progress. Mr. Beyer bas informed staff that Home Depot, whicb is part of Gateway 101, is elated to break ground in August of 1994 and open the following summer~ It is anticipated that Home Depot will generate approxirn~tely $1.2 to $1.5 million in tax revenue during fiscal ~995-96. This amount is approximately equivalent to 20 percent of existing city revenue and is critical for the city's economic viability. ~ .. ~ ... · ,;.-' o Nego"C.iations are currently undE-no'ay .... ith X-Marti in addition to three other business entitiea. Discussion is also underway 'With grocery retailers for possible developmen~ of the old Nairobi shopping center at ~iversity and Bay_ purthermore l to facilitate public access, the city has jus'"_ received $3 _ 5 million in federal grant money to reconstruct and improve existing freeway interchanges. At this point, it is difficult to forecast revenue from these projects. Mr. Beyers has indicated, however. that Eas~ Palo Alto's newly fo~~ed Economic Development Ad'..-isory Ccuncil is Elolidly undenoray; and the potential for funding future public safety needs looks promising. BA9iona~ Law Znforeemen~ Efforts On April 11 1993 1 two other law enforcement agencies implemented significant perBorL~el cc~~itment8 to the City of East Palo Alto. Newly elected San Mateo County Sheriff Den Horsley. with support fram the San Mateo County' Board of Supervisors. assigned IS full-time deputies to eerJe as patrol officers in East Palo JUto+ Sheriff Horsley has informed staff that he will continue the existing l~vel of support until Januar/ 1995; a corr~itment beyond th1s date will be conditional upon his re-election. Additionally, with the support cf Governor Pete Wilson, California Highway Patrol commissioner Maury Hannigan and Redwood City CHP Commander Jim Saker deployed ~4 traffic officers to East Palo ~~to+ Commissioner Hannigan has indicated that, barring other demands, he js committed indefinitely to the regi~nal efforts to assist the City of Bast Palo Alto. Other law enforcement agencies still directly involved with the RED Team include the Menlo Park Police. the u.s. Bureau of Alcohol~ Tobacco and Firearms and the California State Parole Agenclo". Including representatives from the Regional Enforcement Team l the City of Eas~ Palo Alto is currently receiving direct law enforcement assistance from 40 officers representing six agencies. ''Pcb-art. Lor Evaluating RED Team Perform-npe The evaluation of RED Team effectiveness can best be assessed by all examination of the following principal factor~: 1) crime r~tee, 2) team productivity, and 3) anecdotal evidence from police officers, staff and citizens. 1. Crime Rates -The notion of a cooperative enforcement approach to address crime issues in East Palo Aleo was premised upon the view that. crime is a regional program. Therefore, long-term. crime reduction efforts in East Palo Alto should favorably impact crime not only in that city. but in neighboring cities as well. East Palo Alto Crime Rate: Violent crime in East Palo Alto has dropped dramatically over the past year. Most significant is the :z."eduction in homicides _ At this time last year, 34 murders had occurred. compared to only five this year" Likewise. since Apr~l 10-21-93 -2- t o of thie year, robberies have dropped by sa percent l the use of a firearm during a robbery has dropped by 75 percent, and aS$aults with a firearm ha.ve dropped :by 50 percent. Fuz'thcr. East Palo Alto police report that while crime overall is dO .... T~ sllbstantial1y, the reporting by citizens af incidents and the abilit-y of police to take reports and actua.lly conduct investigations have increased. This skews the number of bu~glary reports upward, because until recently, many citizens simply did not report burglaries due tc the feeling that. the police could not address the ~minor" crimes. NOIII~ confidence in policing is gradually being' restored; and people are calling to report incidents they previously simply would have lived with. Palo Alto Crime Rate~ Crime ra.tes in the Palo Alto neighborhoods bordering East Palo Alto have remained relatively consistent between the summer months of 1992 and 1993. 'this would suggest tha.t criminal activity is not being displac~d to-Palo A1 to. Furthermore~ reports of gu .. ":lshot disturbances have decreased from :23 for th~ months of June~ July and August of ~992 ve~sue 16 for the same period in 1393. 2. Team Productivity Work performed is another benchmark for evaluation. The number of criminals, weapons and drugs taken off the streets by the RED Team is truly i~preBsive. During the 1992- 93 operational period fru~ April 1, 19~2 (date of inception) to June 3D, 1993, the RED Team worked a total of 236 days. In that e~me, 121 people were arrested for the widest variety of crimes from murder to tbeft. They confiscated 48 rifles and 8hotguns~ 72 handguns, .9' knives, drugs with a street v'alue in excess of $.100,000 and over $250~OOO in stolen property. A caveat, however~ is in order. While crime rates are drastically down and there is no ~~escion that tbe increased police presence is the causal factor. the decrease cannot be attributed solely to the RED Team. The Sberiff's Department and CHP's inf~sion of officers on April l~ 1993 has had an obvious effect. All of these forces working cogether have enhanced the cooperative policing effort and made a marked difference. 3. Anecdotal Evidence -Team Self-Evaluation -There is significant favorable citizen response toward the police in East Palo A1to~ East Palo Alto Police and Palo Alto Folice staffs report that citizens r~ve provided continual positive feedback and many supportive comments about the RED Team. Recently, a suZ'~ey by the Palo Alto Crescent Park Homeowners' Association resulted in strong support for continued la_ enforcement efforts in East Palo Alto. The officers themselves a.lso relate receiving regular praise from East Palo ~to residents. Surprisingly, some of the older street gangsters, who fear che younger criminal element, have lauded the work of the officers for mitigating routine violence. CMR,SS3,93 '. "-,-. ,/ &c 3 at AI RED Teart', officers report that street. crime has decreased vi'8ibly. Previously, the Team might effect six arrests O~ a daily basis for "ObV..i.OOlS" acts of crime. Now, many of the perpt:'!tz'atorE' have either left the area or are taking steps to conceal their crimino.l behavior. As a result of this change, more covert enforcement tactics are being employed to ferret out criminals wh~ had operated openly and with apparen~ impunity. Criteria for RIP Team Continuance The original deployment of the RED "Team. was to augment East Palo Alto Pclice Department's understaffed force duri!'1g a period of extreme violent crime. Continued deployment ',;as authorized by Council until June 30, ~994, in order to provide ongoing assistance until such time tr..at the E,'3.st Palo Alto Police Department could provi.de appropriate staffing l~vels. St.Obsequently, a true joint and relatively unique policing effort evolved. Now the combined forces of several agencies have been brought to bear with measured success on what was considered an impossible, or at least a very difficult, crime problem. Need tor assistance was the fi!'st. and remains the most:: compelling~ criterion for contin~ed RED Team assistance. For the moment, crime in East Palo Alto has been substantially reduced. The outside assistance from several agencies is the principal reason.. It should be noted, however, that all p01ice officers assigned to East Palo Alto, with the exception of the RED Team, are used to an9wer calls for service and address traffic matters. The RED Team remains the primary enforcement entity utilized for proactive enforce;nent work .. i.e., special operations targeting select individuals and groups of offenders. It is clear tha~ this need is c~rent and ongoing. Availability of officers willing to work long tenn in another jurisdiction is fundamental for the continued RED Team operation. The officers originally £ecruited and now serving remain motivated in their assignment. Other offic~rs have been selected as back-up. and there is a number of officers who have expressed interest in the assignmen~~ Request by Bast Palo for assistance is a prerequisite for RED Team deployment in that jurisdiction. East Palo Alto police originally asked for help and has aske.d that such assistance continue until staffing levels l.'ise, to adequately address crime without assistance from other law enforcement agencies. Presently~ the East Palo Alto Police Department is authorized 36 sworn police positions. This is an increase of one since last year. Furthermore. most recently, the EaBt Palo Alto Police Department was awarded a $506.000 grant from an anonymous foundation. According to Chief Matthews, the grant will fund two new positions: a Support Services Manager for three years and a Training and Reserves Manager for CMR,S53 ,93 -4- 10-21-93 _,'dO", •• t Q tdi > • \ , _., ' t r r o two years. Additionally, the grant funding will be used to purchase t',..to new police vehicles and m.iscellaneous equipment and to upgrade the pol i:::e l:adio system. Other Reg~oQal Iflorts During the past several months. ether activities have occurred which have involved elected officials, state agencies, the private sector, foundations and volunteer organizations in an effort to address the social and economic issues confronting East Palo Alto. Palo Alto is an active pa.rticipant in these joint acti.vities~ The following represents a brief overview of these activities: The REO Te.am's effol.-ts have been assi sted through the generosity of private sector firms, who have contributed equipment and services at no cost to the team. These have included high perfor~ance night vision devices; cellular phones and free air time; an enhanced two-way radic system with a dedicated red channel; and a mobile d~ta co~puter, which enables communication ~ith state and federal databases from a RED Team vehicle. As a result of Governor Wilson's executive order authorizing the formation of the Governor's Bast Palo Alto High Crime Response Team, a broad spectrum of state agencies has been directed to develop a model of coordinated efforts which can be implemented in East Palo Alto. The proposed stdte's response to the immediate crisis is to be followed by a plan for how the state can facilit-ate self -sufficiently on the part of local agencies in East Palo Alto. The report to the Governor is due on or before December 31, 1993. As Council is aware, the cities of East Palo Alto i Menlo Park and Palo Alto submitted a joint entry for a 1993 California Cities Helen Putnam Award of Excellence in the public safety category. Our entry was entitled ·Operation Safe Streets -The RED Team.W Staff has been informed that this entry has been selected as the Public Safety Grand Prize WinnE.r~ rt is anticipated that the Mayors from e.ach city will have an opportunity to receive the a~ard from Governcr Pete Wilson in the near future. The Helen Putnam Award ~as complimented by a recent visit to East Palo Alto by Governor Wilson, who acknowledged the community and p..ililic leaders fer assisting with the regional crime problems in East: Palo Alto .. The cooperation forged betWeen the three cities of Menlo Park, East Palo Alto and Palo Alto has continued to grow as other agencies join the coalition. Information on these efforts is reported in a separate report. CMR,553,93 -5- 10-21-93 ~. , .... Copclyion Staff will continue to participate in the City of East Pal,:) Alto's efforts to develop a leng-term econvT!'tic and public safety plan. and staff will return to Council in May 1994 with a report that addresses the iasu~s surrounding continued support beyond June 3D, 1994. In the event that any Council Member would like to discUSE this report, please notify staff and we will agendize it as soon as possible. ae$ectfully submitted, /. ,. . / ! , ~iSD~I~lt ~ Police Chief cc: M~r9aret Feuer, President h FLEM NC . ty Manager . Crescent Park Neighborhood Association Glenna Violette. Crescent Park Neig~Jborhood Association