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PM ON THIS WEDNESDAY, MAY 5TH, 2021.
WELCOME TO OUR CITY COUNCIL B SESSION.
UH, MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU READ THE ROLE? COUNCIL MEMBER
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
PRESIDENT COUNCIL MEMBER BERT
COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY COUNCIL HERE.
ALRIGHT, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.
[1. 21-3319 Update on Police Services Review [Maria Villagomez, Deputy City Manager]]
ONE ITEM ON OUR AGENDA TODAY.UH, SO LEMME TURN IT OVER TO OUR CITY MANAGER, ERIC WALSH.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
UH, TODAY WE'RE PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON THE POLICE SERVICES REVIEW THAT, UH, WAS INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET PROCESS THIS YEAR, BACK IN AUGUST.
UM, ALL YOU'LL RECALL, I LAID OUT A FRAMEWORK TO REVIEW AND ANALYZE POLICE SERVICE, UM, AND THE FRAMEWORK CENTERED AROUND A A COUPLE OF F UH, A COUPLE OF PILLARS, MAIN PILLARS.
ONE, FOUNDATIONAL ISSUES, UH, TWO COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, THREE COMMUNITY INPUT AND FOUR SERVICE ALTERNATIVES.
UM, IN DECEMBER, I SENT A COUNSEL, UH, A MEMO SUMMARIZING THE ACTIONS TAKEN, UH, UH, TO DATE, UH, AT THAT POINT TO ENHANCE OUR POLICE RESPONSE, UH, BUT ALSO, UH, LOOK INTERNALLY TO OUR OWN, OUR OWN ORGANIZATION.
UH, AS A REMINDER FOR EVERYBODY, THERE ARE THREE COUNCIL COMMITTEES THAT HAVE BEEN ACTIVE AND DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT.
UM, A AS, UH, OUTLINED BY THE MAYOR LAST SUMMER.
AND I WANNA THANK, UH, ALL OF THEM FOR, FOR THEIR CONTINUED WORK.
YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, WHICH HAS TAKEN THE LEAD ON THE, REVIEWING THE PROGRESS OF THE PROJECT DURING GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE, WHICH, UH, HAS BEEN WORKING TO COORDINATE AND ADVOCATE OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES AS THEY RELATE TO ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND EQUITY, UH, COMMITTEE, UH, WHICH HAS HAD THREE PANEL DISCUSSIONS REGARDING THE PROMOTION OF RACE, UH, AND GENDER EQUITY AND BEST POLICING PRACTICES THAT ALSO ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH AND, UH, DEESCALATION MEASURES.
SO ALL THAT WORK IS CONTINUING SINCE, UH, SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR, OBVIOUSLY, WE HAVE DEVELOPED OUR LEGISLATIVE AGENDA THAT DOES INCLUDE, UH, CHANGES TO STATE LAW TO INCREASE ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY.
AND THAT HAS BEEN A PART OF OUR LEGISLATIVE UPDATES THAT, UH, JEFF COYLE HAS PROVIDED THE COUNCIL ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
UH, WE'VE ALSO, UH, BEGAN OUR NEGOTIATIONS WITH S A P O A ON A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT TO ADDRESS THOSE FOUNDATIONAL ISSUES THAT WE TALKED ABOUT LAST SUMMER, EARLIER THIS YEAR.
UM, UH, PRIMARILY FOCUSED AROUND ACCOUNTABILITY AND DISCIPLINE.
UM, WE, I THINK WE'VE BEEN VERY CLEAR IN TERMS OF OUR PRIORITIES, UH, GOING BACK TO LAST SUMMER.
AND THOSE, UH, CONTINUE TO BE OUR PRIORITIES GOING FORWARD.
UM, MARIA WILL TOUCH A LITTLE BIT UPON THAT ELEMENT.
UH, AND AS IT RELATES TO, UM, UH, THE FOUNDATIONAL ISSUES.
UM, JUST SO THE COUNCIL KNOWS, UH, WE ARE PLANNING ON, ON DOING A, UH, EXECUTIVE SESSION UPDATE TOMORROW ON C B A, BUT MARIA WILL COVER THOSE PRIORITIES AND KIND OF WHERE WE'RE AT, UH, WITH THE NEGOTIATIONS.
UH, THE CITY HAS ALSO ENTERED INTO AGREEMENT WITH STRAC AND THE MEADOWS FOUNDATION TO STUDY OUR RESPONSE TO MENTAL HEALTH CALLS AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS AS IT RELATES TO THE WHOLE ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE AND, AND WHAT TYPE OF TEAM, UH, SHOULD BE THERE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THESE CALLS.
WE HAVE CONDUCTED A SURVEY, UH, WE CONTRACTED TO DO, TO CONDUCT A SURVEY TO UNDERSTAND THE COMMUNITY'S EXPECTATIONS OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
MANY OF YOU HAVE SEEN, UH, THOSE, UH, RESULTS AS WE'VE GONE THROUGH, UM, THE, A NUMBER OF NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS.
UM, WE'VE ALSO CONTRACTED WITH U T S A WHO ANALYZED THREE YEARS WORTH OF 9 1 1 CALLS.
REALLY GREAT DATA THAT I THINK IS HELPING, UH, INFORM, UM, WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE MAY, MAY HAVE INTUITIVELY KNOWN.
UM, BUT IT'S REAL DATA THAT WE'RE GONNA USE, UH, TO KIND OF SET THE FRAMEWORK GOING FORWARD.
AND THEN, UH, WE HAVE 27, WE HAVE HAD A NUMBER OF THESE ALREADY, BUT WE HAD 27 MEETINGS ACROSS THE CITY TO SHARE, UH, THE RESULTS OF BOTH THE, UH, THE SURVEY THAT WE DID, AS WELL AS, UM, UH, GET ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK FROM THE PUBLIC.
SO WE PROBABLY HAVE ANOTHER EIGHT OR NINE OF THOSE MEETINGS, UH, TO GO.
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BEEN HELPFUL IN KIND OF OVERLAYING AND GETTING REACTION TO, UH, SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WE'RE ASKING.WE'RE USING A LIVE INTERACTIVE TOOL FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND, UM, I THINK THOSE HAVE BEEN REALLY BENEFICIAL.
WE HAVE A TELE-TOWN HALL SCHEDULED TOMORROW EVENING ON THE TOPIC.
AND AS WE CONTINUE TO MAKE PROGRESS ON THE PROJECT, UM, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, OUR GOAL IS TO BRING TO THE COUNCIL RECOMMENDATIONS AS PART OF THE F Y 22 PROPOSED BUDGET THAT REALLY ADDRESS, UM, THESE ISSUES IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY INPUT, UM, AND ANY POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVE WAYS, UH, THAT WE SHOULD LOOK TO RESPOND TO SOME OF THE CALLS.
AND MARIA WILL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT IN THE STATUS UPDATE, UH, TODAY.
AND AS, UH, FINALLY, AS WE CONTINUE TO THE DIALOGUE WITH THE COMMUNITY, I DO ANTICIPATE THAT THERE WILL BE ADDITIONAL WORK, UM, THAT CONTINUES BEYOND THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
UM, I TRULY BELIEVE THAT AS WE'VE LEARNED MORE ABOUT THIS AND UNDERSTAND THE ELEMENTS THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH, UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE CITY SHOULD BE DOING PERIODICALLY TO CONTINUE TO, UM, TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE ALIGNED.
UM, SO IT'S BEEN A GOOD EXERCISE SO FAR.
WE'RE NOT DONE YET, OBVIOUSLY, BUT, UH, WE'LL GIVE YOU THE STATUS UPDATE TODAY.
SO WITH THAT, MAYOR, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO MARIA SO WE CAN GET INTO THE PRESENTATION.
MARIA, THANK YOU ERIC, AND GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
UH, THE, TODAY WE ARE GONNA GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON OUR POLICE SERVICES REVIEW PROJECT.
AND, AND THE GOAL OF THIS, UH, PRESENTATION TO YOU IS TO GET YOUR INPUT AND YOUR FEEDBACK ON THE WORK THAT WE HAVE DONE SO FAR.
WE, UM, HAVE NOT DEVELOPED ANY RECOMMENDATIONS.
THIS IS, UH, A CHECKPOINT TO HEAR YOUR FEEDBACK AS WE CONTINUE OUR WORK.
ONE OF OUR GOALS IS TO HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY COUNCIL AS FAR OF THE BUDGET PROCESS IN TERMS OF THOSE RESPONSE ALTERNATIVES AND FUNDING.
SO MARIA, I THINK YOU JUST WENT MUTE.
I HAVE A, A
UH, IT IS NOT ONE SINGLE DEPARTMENT, BUT IS, IS TAKING, UM, MANY PROFESSIONALS AND EXPERTS WITHIN OUR CITY ORGANIZATION TO PREPARE FOR THIS PROJECT.
SO STARTING WITH OUR CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, OUR FIRST ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY, LIZ PROVINCIO, AND OUR CITY ATTORNEY, ANDY, AND OUR CITY ATTORNEY, ANDY SEGOVIA, ALSO INVOLVED AS ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, UH, DR.
WHEN IT COMES TO MENTAL HEALTH AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, UM, DAVID MCCAREY AND SAN GIBBS HAVE PROVIDED SUPPORT TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S EQUITY EMBEDDED IN THIS PROJECT.
UH, JEFF COYLE HAS BEEN HELPING US WITH THOSE PRIORITIES AT THE LEGISLATIVE, UH, LEVEL.
UH, LAURA MAYS WITH, UH, GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, BERTA RODRIGUEZ, HAVE BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS IN, UH, PROMOTING THE EVENTS AND, AND ENSURING THAT WE HAVE ALTERNATIVES AND DIFFERENT WAYS TO REACH OUT TO OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, CRAIG HOPKINS WITH I T S D HAS BEEN HELPING US IN, UH, RETOOLING OUR WEBSITE TO ENSURE THAT OUR INFORMATION IS, UH, USER FRIENDLY FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
IN TERMS OF DATA FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, MELODY WOOSLEY HAS BEEN HELPING US IN THE AREA OF HOMELESSNESS AS WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, ADDRESS THIS VERY COMPLEX ISSUE THAT NOT ONLY INVOLVES THE POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT INVOLVES THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY AND MANY DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY ORGANIZATION.
UH, JENNY HIXSON FROM, UH, METRO HEALTH HAS BEEN ALSO ASSISTING US WITH, UH, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, UH, REVIEW OF, OF POTENTIAL DIFFERENT RESPONSES.
AND OF COURSE, CHIEF MCMANUS AND THE SUPPORT OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AS WE HAVE EMBARKED INTO THIS VERY IMPORTANT, UH, PROCESS OVER REVIEWING OUR POLICE SERVICES.
SO IN THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, THE FRAMEWORK THAT THE CITY MANAGER, UH, LAID OUT AS FAR AS THE BUDGET PROCESS LAST YEAR, AND THIS HAS BEEN A ROADMAP FOR THE WORK THAT WE HAVE DONE, ADDRESSING FOUNDATIONAL ISSUES WITHIN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IN TERMS OF ACCOUNTABILITY, DISCIPLINE, AND HIRING.
THIS ARE AREAS THAT WE'RE TACKLING THROUGH OUR LEGISLATIVE PROCESS AND ALSO AT THE TABLE THROUGH THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, AGAIN, AGREEMENT, UH, PROCESS.
AND THEN THOSE NEGOTIATIONS, OUR TRAINING, WHICH IS, UM, VERY CRITICAL, UH, TO ENSURE THAT OUR POLICE OFFICERS ARE PREPARED TO ADDRESS AND, UH, THE DAILY CHALLENGES THAT THEY FACE IN THEIR PROFESSION.
UH, THE CHIEF HAS INCREASED THE FREQUENCY OF TRAINING WITH SHORT VIDEOS THAT ARE PLAYED, UM, BE BEFORE THE, THE SHIFT OF THE OFFICERS BEGIN, JUST TO REMIND THEM OF VERY IMPORTANT TOPICS THAT THEY FACE ON A DAILY BASIS, LIKE DEESCALATION, FOR EXAMPLE.
ADDITIONALLY, LOOKING, UM, UM, MORE INTO LONG TERM, UH, TRAINING IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING.
UH, THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT IS RIGHT NOW WORKING WITH
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METRO HEALTH AND THE SOUTH TEXAS TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE CONSORTIUM TO COMPLETE AN ASSESSMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT READINESS TO OBTAIN A TRAUMA INFORMED CERTIFICATION.THIS IS VERY CRITICAL BECAUSE OF THE CALLS THAT WE ADDRESS EVERY DAY.
I WILL SHARE WITH YOU THAT WE'RE NOT AWARE OF ANY OTHER MAJOR CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT IN THE COUNTRY THAT IS CURRENTLY PURSUING THIS TYPE OF CER CERTIFICATION, TRANSPARENCY AND DATA.
WE ARE, UH, FOCUSING ON OUR WEBSITE AND INFORMATION THAT WE CAN PROVIDE TO OUR COMMUNITY THAT IS USER-FRIENDLY.
UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UH, THIS IS AN AREA THAT WE ARE ALSO WANTING TO KNOW FROM THE COMMUNITY, HOW CAN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BUILD BETTER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PUBLIC.
NOW, IN TERMS OF THE SECOND PILLAR, WHICH IS EXPECTATIONS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN ASKING THE COMMUNITY IS WHAT IS THE ROLE OF POLICE FROM THE EYES OF THE COMMUNITY, WHAT TYPE OF ENCOUNTERS THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, PERHAPS FOR US, THE CITY AS AN ORGANIZATION, HANDLE THOSE CALLS IN A DIFFERENT WAY.
AND ALSO TO, UH, BETTER POSITION OUR POLICE OFFICERS TO ADDRESS CALLS IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, U T S A HAS DONE SOME WORK FOR US TO REVIEW CALLS FOR SERVICE, AND I WILL GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL LATER IN THE PRESENTATION.
INPUT IS CRITICAL TO THIS PROJECT.
UM, THE INPUT FROM FROM YOU TODAY, AS WE ARE DOING A, UM, A CHECKING POINT AS WE CONTINUE WITH THIS, THE PROGRESS OF THIS PROJECT, OUR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN, UH, FOLLOWING THE DEVELOPMENTS OF THIS, UH, PROJECT AND MORE DETAIL, THE INPUT OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS.
WE HAVE A TOTAL OF, UH, 20, UM, MEETINGS IN, IN ALL THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS TO HEAR DIRECTLY FROM THE NEIGHBORHOODS.
WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF SCHEDULING MEETINGS WITH STAKEHOLDER GROUPS THAT WILL TAKE PLACE IN, IN THIS MONTH OF MAY.
AND THEN LOOKING AT THE FOURTH PILLAR, WHICH IS RESPONSE, ALTERNATIVES AND FUNDING.
IN ADDITION TO THOSE GOALS THAT THE COMMUNITY IS SHARING WITH US IN TERMS OF PERHAPS HAVING A DIFFERENT RESPONSE THAN THE CURRENT MODEL WE HAVE TODAY, WE ARE FOCUSING ON THREE SPECIFIC AREAS, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, HOMELESSNESS, AND MENTAL HEALTH.
AS WE ARE LOOKING AT ALTERNATIVES, WE ARE TALKING TO OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS, UH, AS WELL, UH, OTHER PROVIDERS IN, IN THE, IN THE, IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO LET ME BEGIN INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THE DETAIL INTO FOUNDATIONAL ISSUES.
SO ON OUR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, UM, AGREEMENT NEGOTIATIONS, WHEN, WHEN WE CAME BACK, WHEN WE CAME TO YOU IN JANUARY, WE LAID OUT OUR PLAN OR STRATEGY.
AND, AND THAT STRATEGY WAS TO FOCUS ON DISCIPLINE AND, AND TRANSPARENCY, OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS AND FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY.
THESE, UH, PRIORITIES REMAIN AS WE, UM, WILL CONTINUE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ASSOCIATION.
UM, AS YOU MAY KNOW, WE, WE MET WITH, WITH THEM ABOUT 10 TIMES, UH, FROM FEBRUARY TO APRIL 19.
UH, WE EXTENDED OUR NEGOTIATIONS THROUGH MAY 12TH, WHICH IS NEXT WEEK.
WE ARE IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE ASSOCIATION TO SET, UH, DATES TO CONTINUE, UM, NEGOTIATIONS.
SO WHAT, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU NEXT IS THE PROGRESS THAT WE MADE DURING THIS NEGOTIATIONS.
SO, STARTING WITH DISCIPLINE AND TRANSPARENCY, THIS PARTICULAR CHART SHOWS ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE THOSE AREAS WHERE WE HAVE RICH CONSENSUS WITH THE ASSOCIATION.
AND ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, THOSE AREAS THAT WE ARE CONTINUING NEGOTIATIONS.
SO THE AREAS THAT WE ACHIEVE CONSENSUS IS OUR 180 DAY RULE.
AS YOU KNOW, THE POLICE CHIEF IS ALLOWED TO IMPOSE DISCIPLINE UP TO 180 DAYS FROM THE DAY THE CHIEF, UM, FROM THE DAY THE INCIDENT TOOK PLACE.
UH, IN CONVERSATIONS WITH THE ASSOCIATION, WE REACHED CONSENSUS WHERE THIS WILL CHANGE TO 180 DAYS FROM THE DAY THE CHIEF NUN OF SHOULD HAVE KNOWN FOUR MAJOR INCIDENTS.
ANOTHER ITEM THAT WE HAVE REACHED CONSENSUS IS UNDER CURRENT COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT, OFFICERS ARE ALLOWED TO ADDRESS OR ANSWER INTERROGATORIES OUTSIDE OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS.
PRIOR TO BEING INTERVIEWED, WE HAVE REACHED CONSENSUS WITH THE ASSOCIATION TO RESPONSE TO THOSE INTERROGATORIES AT INTERNAL AFFAIRS, SO THEY WON'T BE TAKING THOSE OUTSIDE OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS ANYMORE.
UM, ALSO, THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT PROVIDES TODAY FOR A 48 HOUR NOTICE BEFORE THE OFFICER COMES TO BE INTERVIEWED AT INTERNAL AFFAIRS.
WE HAVE REACHED CONSENSUS TO CHANGE THAT TO 24 HOURS.
THE AREAS THAT WE CONTINUE NEGOTIATION, AND ONE OF THE AREAS THAT IS CRITICAL FOR THE CITY IS THE ARBITRATOR, UM, AUTHORITY.
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IN THIS PARTICULAR CHANGE IS TO ENSURE THAT THE OFFICERS MAINTAIN THE RIGHT TO APPEAL DISCIPLINE.BUT WE WANT TO CHANGE THE ARBITRATOR AUTHORITY.
WE WANT TO, UH, ENSURE DUE PROCESS FOR THE OFFICERS, BUT WE WANNA GIVE DEFERENCE TO THE CHIEF'S DECISION WHEN IT COMES TO DISCIPLINE.
WE ALSO, UM, ARE WANTING TO CONSIDER ALL PAST CONDUCT FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS WHEN, UH, DISCIPLINE IS GIVEN TO AN EMPLOYEE.
TODAY, WE HAVE CERTAIN STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS FOR, UM, DISCIPLINE THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO REMOVE.
AND FINALLY, THE AREA THAT WE CONTINUE TO, UM, HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE ASSOCIATION IS TO LIMIT THE REVIEW OF EVIDENCE THAT AN OFFICER CAN SEE PRIOR TO THE INTERVIEW WITH INTERNAL AFFAIRS TO EXCLUDE WITNESS STATEMENTS.
SO, MOVING TO THE AREA OF OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS, UH, THE THREE AREAS WHERE WE HAVE RICH CONSENSUS IS SCHEDULING.
AND THIS TIES BACK TO TRAINING AND THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE WANNA MAKE TODAY.
UM, THE IN-TRAINING OR THE IN-SERVICE TRAINING IS LIMITED TO UP TO 80 HOURS PER YEAR.
WE HAVE RICH CONSENSUS THAT WE CAN INCREASE THAT TO 120 HOURS PER YEAR.
UH, RESIDENCY POINTS, THIS IS, UH, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE HAD AT IN OUR LEGISLATIVE AGENDA.
AND THE ASSOCIATION, UH, PROVIDED THIS CHANGE THROUGH, UH, NEGOTIATIONS, IS TO INCREASE THE RESIDENCY POINTS FOR CADET APPLICANTS FROM ONE TO FIVE.
THIS, THIS WILL ALLOW US TO, UM, BE ABLE TO HAVE MORE APPLICANTS WITHIN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO IN TERMS OF LEAVE, UM, FOR THE CHIEF TO HAVE DISCRETION TO APPROVE OR DENY LEAVE BASED ON OPERATIONAL AND NECESSITY, AND ALLOW EMPLOYEES TO TAKE UP TO 240 HOURS OF CONSECUTIVE LEAVE UPON SEPARATION.
SO AGAIN, THESE ARE THE AREAS WHERE WE HAVE RICH CONSENSUS.
NOW, THE AREAS WHERE WE CONTINUE TO HAVE DISCUSSION WITH THE ASSOCIATIONS INCLUDE PROMOTIONS.
THE CITY HAS PROPOSED THAT WE INTRODUCE PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS AS PART OF THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR PROMOTIONS.
UH, CIVILIAN STATION, UH, THERE'S AN OFFICE WITHIN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, OFF DUTY EMPLOYMENT THAT IS RUN, UH, BY A COMBINATION OF SWORN PERSONNEL AND CIVILIANS.
UH, WE SEEK TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF UNIFORMS, UH, THAT ARE, UM, ASSIGNED TO THAT UNIT AND MOVE THEM INTO OTHER OPERATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT.
IN TERMS OF EQUIPMENT, UH, TODAY, VEHICLES ARE REPLACED AT 70,000 MILES.
WE WANT TO INCREASE THAT REQUIREMENT TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
AND FINALLY, FOR WORKING HOURS, WE WANT, UH, MORE DISCRETION TO THE OFFICER TO ADJUST WORKING HOURS, UH, FOR, FOR THE DEPARTMENT.
NOW, THE LAST, UH, PRIORITY IS, UH, WAGES IN HEALTHCARE, WHICH IS WITHIN OUR FISCAL, UH, RESPONSIBILITY AND OUR FISCAL CONSTRAINTS.
UH, THE PROPOSALS THAT WE HAVE AT THE TABLE, JUST TO REVIEW 'EM WITH YOU, UH, THE CITY PROPOSAL IS AN 8% WAGE INCREASE OVER FIVE YEARS.
WE ARE INTRODUCING SOME, UM, CHANGES TO HEALTHCARE, SO MINOR CHANGES IN THE PHARMACY, UH, FORMULARY, AND TO MAINTAIN CURRENT ANNUAL INCREASES TO EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS, THE ASSOCIATION IS PROPOSING A 12 PLUS PERCENT WAGE INCREASE OVER FIVE YEARS, UM, HEALTHCARE TO BE MAINTAINED, UM, THE WAY IT IS TODAY.
UH, AND THEY'RE ALSO PROPOSING TO DECREASE THE ANNUAL EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS TO 2% PER YEAR.
SO THAT IS THE SUMMARY OF WHERE WE ARE ON COLLECTIVE BARGAINING NEGOTIATIONS.
THE NEXT AREA THAT I WANT TO, UM, UPDATE THE COUNCIL ON IS ON COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS.
AND THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT, UM, ASPECT OF THE REVIEW THAT WE'RE DOING AS WE'RE TRYING TO DETERMINE WHAT IS THE ROLE OF POLICE AND THE EXPECTATIONS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
SO TO BEGIN THAT PROCESS, UH, WE, UH, CONDUCTED A POLL, UH, AND WE RETAIN E T C INSTITUTE, UH, WHICH IS A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION TO CONDUCT A SURVEY FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
THIS POLL WAS CONDUCTED BETWEEN FEBRUARY 15, UH, AND MARCH 19TH, 2021.
UH, THE METHODOLOGY INCLUDED, UM, GETTING A RANDOM SAMPLE OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE AN ADDRESS WITH THE US POSTAL SERVICE FROM EACH OF OUR 10 COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
THE SURVEY WAS ADMINISTERED BY MAIL, UH, PHONE, UH, AND ONLINE, AND IT WAS BOTH AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
UH, THE E T C SENT OVER 5,000 SURVEYS, AND THEY GOT, UM, 1,150 SURVEYS THAT WERE RETURNED AND COMPLETED, UM, ROUGHLY ABOUT A HUNDRED IN EACH OF THE 10 COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
AT THE SAME TIME, IN ORDER TO COMPARE RESULTS TO, UH, THE OTHER MAJOR TEXAS CITIES, E T C CONDUCTED A RANDOM SAMPLE OF AT LEAST 100 RESIDENTS IN DALLAS, AUSTIN, FORT WORTH, EL PASO, AND HOUSTON.
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THIS, UM, SAMPLE THAT WE TOOK, THIS RANDOM SAMPLE IS GEOGRAPHICALLY AND DEMOGRAPHICALLY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CITY.SO IN TERMS OF OUR RACE, YOU'LL SEE THAT THE SAMPLE, UM, PERCENTAGES COMPARED TO OUR CENSUS, SO IT'S PRETTY CONSISTENT AMONG ALL RACES AS FAR AS GENDER IS, IS, IS, UM, THE SAME, VERY, VERY CLOSE TO OUR CENSUS AND AS WELL AS AGE.
THE SUMMARY OF THE MAJOR FINDINGS OF THIS POLL IS THAT THE SATISFACTION, UH, WITH S A P D IS HIGH.
MOST SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS FEEL SAFE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND ALTHOUGH RESIDENTS FEEL SAFE, THEY ARE SOME AREAS OF THE CITY WHERE SOME OF OUR RESIDENTS DO NOT FEEL SAFE.
UM, ALSO, THE MAJORITY OF THOSE WHO'VE RESPONDED INDICATED THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE VISIBILITY OF THE POLICE, UM, IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS BE INCREASED.
AND ALSO, THE MAJORITY OF THE RESIDENTS, UM, INDICATED THAT THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO, UM, SHARE SOME OF THE RESPONSIBILITY THAT CURRENTLY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS OVER SOME 9 1 1 CALLS TO OTHER AGENCIES.
SO, I'M GONNA REVIEW SOME OF THE, UM, HIGHLIGHTS OF, OF THE SURVEY.
SO, BEGINNING WITH CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, THIS PARTICULAR CHART HERE SHOWS THE PERCENTAGE OF, UM, RESPONDENTS WITHIN THE SAN ANTONIO SURVEY THAT WERE SATISFIED AND VERY SATISFIED, AND TO THE RIGHT, UH, THE COMPARISON WITH OTHER TEXAS CITIES.
SO HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, 72% WERE SATISFIED OR VERY SATISFIED WITH THE WORK OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WE WERE TIED NUMBER ONE WITH THE CITY OF FORT WORTH.
UM, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE ALSO ASK HOW RESIDENTS, UM, IF THEY FEEL SAFE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS DURING THE DAY AND DURING THE NIGHT.
SO, 79% INDICATED THAT THEY WERE, UM, THAT THEY FELT SAFE OR VERY SAFE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS DURING THE DAY.
AND 59% INDICATED THAT THEY FELT SAFE OR VERY SAFE DURING THE NIGHT.
COMPARING THAT TO OTHER, UH, TEXAS CITIES, UM, IN TERMS OF HOW SAFE RESIDENTS FEEL DURING THE DAY, WE WERE NUMBER ONE, UH, COMPARED TO OTHER TEXAS CITIES, FOLLOWED BY FORT WORTH AND EL PASO.
AND FOR THOSE, UM, RESIDENTS THAT FEEL SAFE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND AT NIGHT, WE WERE SECOND TO EL PASO.
NOW, LOOKING AT THE DATA IN A MUCH MORE DESEGREGATED MANNER, UM, YOU'LL SEE THAT, UM, IN, IN THE MAP ON THE LEFT.
THIS IS THE SATISFACTION OF OR HOW SAFE, UH, RESIDENTS FEEL AND THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS DURING THE DAY.
THE DARKER BLUE, UH, IN MEANS VERY SAFE, AND THE LIGHT BLUE MEANS SAFE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE RIGHT, UM, THAT'S THE HOW SAFE THEY FEEL DURING THE NIGHT.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE AREAS OF THE SOUTH, UH, YOU SEE SOME YELLOW.
SO THERE ARE RESIDENTS DON'T FEEL AS SAFE AS RESIDENTS IN THE, IN THE REST OF THE CITY.
SO, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF THE SURVEY THAT ALLOWS US TO DESEGREGATE THE DATA BY AREAS OF THE CITY AND BY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT QUESTION THAT WE ASKED, UH, THE, THE RESPONDERS WAS IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE VISIBILITY OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BE INCREASED IN THEIR, IN, IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS, OR BE CHANGED IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS, 57% INDICATED THAT THEY WOULD LIKE IT TO BE INCREASED OR GREATLY INCREASED.
UM, YOU'LL SEE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, UH, AS WE COMPARE TO OTHER CITIES, UH, WE WERE ABOUT 57%, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT BELOW THE AVERAGE OF THE LARGE TEXAS CITIES.
SO I WILL POINT OUT, AND THIS IS OF COURSE COMING FROM E T C, THE RESIDENTS WHO DID NOT FEEL SAFE, WANTED PO WANTED THE POLICE TO BE MORE VISIBLE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.
SO, PERCEPTIONS OF SAFETY AND THE DESIRE OF MORE POLICE VISIBILITY AND THE NEIGHBORHOODS WERE STRONGLY CORRELATED.
FOR EXAMPLE, IN DISTRICT NINE, WHERE THE RATINGS FOR NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY WERE THE HIGHEST RESIDENTS WERE LEAST LIKELY TO THINK THEY WANTED TO SEE POLICE VISIBILITY INCREASE BY CONTRAST IN DISTRICT THREE, WHERE THE RATINGS OF NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY WERE THE LOWEST RESIDENTS WERE MORE LIKELY TO THINK THAT THE VISIBILITY OF POLICE SHOULD INCREASE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.
ANOTHER AREA OF THE SURVEY THAT IS CRITICAL TO THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING IS THE LEVEL OF RESPONSIBILITY THAT SS A P D SHOULD HAVE.
IN CERTAIN 9 1 1 CALLS, WE SELECTED THE 16 TYPES OF 9 1 1 CALLS, UM, TO MEASURE THE DESIRE OF THE COMMUNITY TO SEE A DIFFERENT RESPONSE OTHER THAN THAN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND YOU'LL SEE AT, AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS, UM, TABLE WITHIN THE RED, UH, SQUARE, THAT THOSE WERE THE CALLS THAT THEY WILL FEEL COMFORTABLE, UM, HAVING SS A P D WITH A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF RESPONSIBILITY THAN BEING PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY.
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FIREWORKS, PARKING VIOLATIONS, GRAFFITI ENFORCEMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH ORDERS, MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, NOT INVOLVING A WEAPON AND ANIMAL RELATED CALLS.ANOTHER IMPORTANT QUESTION THAT WE ASK, AND THIS GOES TO THE HEART OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, IS COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS.
SO WE ASKED THE QUESTION, HOW CAN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BUILD BETTER RELATIONSHIP WITH RESIDENTS? SO YOU'LL SEE FROM THE RESULTS THE MAJORITY INDICATED FOR SS A P D TO HAVE MORE INVOLVEMENT WITH SCHOOLS, MORE COMMUNITY-BASED POLICING PROGRAMS LIKE OUR SAFE PROGRAM AND PARTNERSHIPS WITH NONPROFITS, UM, ORGANIZATIONS.
SO THE, THE, THIS POLL THAT WE TOOK, AS I MENTIONED, IS A RANDOM SAMPLE OF OUR RESIDENTS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
THE WORK THAT WE'RE NOW DOING IN THE COUNCIL DISTRICT MEETINGS IS TO FIND OUT WHAT IS THIS NEED TO EVERY SINGLE DISTRICT WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY SO WE CAN CONSOLIDATE THAT FEEDBACK AND BEGIN TO FORMULATE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF THE COUNCIL.
SO AS PART OF THIS PROCESS, UM, AND, AND THIS GOES HAND IN HAND, IS THE WORK THAT U T S A CONDUCTED.
SO WE PARTNERED WITH U T SS A BACK IN SEPTEMBER TO DO A REVIEW OF OUR 9 1 1 CALLS, AND I'LL SHARE WITH THE COUNCIL THAT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO CONDUCTS SUCH AN AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF OUR 9 1 1 CALLS.
SO THEY TOOK ABOUT 34 MONTHS OF WORTH OF DATA FROM JANUARY, 2018 TO OCTOBER, 2020 TO SEE PATTERNS AND THE TYPE OF CALLS THAT WILL RESPOND TO THE TIME THAT IT TAKES THE OFFICERS TO GET THERE, HOW MUCH TIME THEY SPEND ON THE SCENE, AND WHAT IS THE OUTCOME OF THOSE, THE OUTCOME OF THOSE CALLS.
SO, UM, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, WE, UH, GET SEVERAL CALLS FOR THE SAME INCIDENT.
SO THEY WENT THROUGH A PROCESS OF NARROWING DOWN THOSE, UH, INCIDENTS THAT ARE RELATED TO A 9 1 1 CALL, OR COME DIRECTLY FROM, UH, THE RESIDENT.
AND WE ENDED UP WITH CLOSE TO 3.1 MILLION INCIDENTS THAT WE REVIEW.
SO I WILL SHARE WITH THE COUNCIL JUST SOME STATISTICS.
UM, THE CALLS PER SERVICE PER YEAR IS ROUGHLY ABOUT THE SAME, UM, E E EVERY YEAR.
SO OUR WORKLOAD IS, IS PRETTY WELL DISTRIBUTED.
THE CALLS PER SER SERVICE BY DAY OF THE WEEK, UH, YOU'LL SEE IN, IN THE BOTTOM CHART THAT, UH, SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS ARE THE LOWEST DAYS THAT WE GET PHONE CALLS COMPARED TO THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, WHERE WE GET THE, THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF CALLS.
BUT OVERALL, UM, IS, IS PRETTY MUCH WELL DISTRIBUTED.
NOW, ONE PIECE THAT I WANNA SHARE WITH COUNCIL, AND THIS GOES, UM, ALSO IN TANDEM WITH, WITH THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, IS THE TYPE OF CALLS THAT, UM, S A P D RESPONDS TO.
SO IN ORDER TO RESPOND TO THIS, UM, UH, OVER 1 MILLION INCIDENTS THAT WE RESPOND ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, SS A P D HAS TO PRIORITIZE THEIR RESPONSE.
SO WE HAVE SEVEN PRIORITY CODES, AND THIS IS JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF THE, OF THE CALLS WITHIN THOSE, UH, PRIORITIES.
THIS IS NOT AN EXPENSIVE LIST THAT WE HAVE MANY MORE CALLS THAT ARE INCLUDED WITHIN THIS, THIS, UH, CATEGORIES.
BUT JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
SO FOR INSTANCE, A RAPE IN PROGRESS IS A CATEGORY ONE.
OUR GOAL FOR PRIORITY ONE CALLS IS TO GET TO THOSE CALLS WITHIN SIX MINUTES OR LESS.
UM, PRIORITIES, ONE, UH, TWO AND THREE, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE DESCRIPTIONS HERE, ASSAULT IN PROGRESS, UM, THEFT IN PROGRESS.
UM, THOSE ARE THE, THE, THE THREE HIGHEST PRIORITY CALLS THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS TO.
UM, TYPICALLY THEY MAY INVOLVE A WEAPON CATEGORIES 4, 5, 6, AND SEVEN.
UH, THEY TYPICALLY DO NOT INVOLVE A WEAPON THAT MAY BE CALLS FOR, UM, INSTANCES WHERE SOMETHING HAPPENED IN THE PAST AND IS BEING REPORTED.
UH, THEY ALSO INCLUDE CALLS LIKE ANIMAL RELATED CALLS, LOUD MUSIC, UH, FIREWORKS, UH, DISTURBANCES, UH, ID THEFT, ET CETERA.
BUT THIS IS JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF THE TYPE OF CALLS AND THE PRIORITY OF THOSE CALLS.
THE NEXT SLIDE, THE WORD THAT U T S A DID, TAKING THE 34 MONTH PERIOD THAT I DESCRIBED, THEY, UH, SEGREGATED THOSE CALLS BY PRIORITY.
SO YOU'LL SEE THAT, UM, THE, THE PRIORITY ONE, WHICH IS THOSE, LIKE RIGHT IN PROGRESS, FOR EXAMPLE, IS, IS LESS THAN HALF OF A PERCENT OF THE TOTAL CALLS THAT WE RESPOND TO, OR THE TOTAL INCIDENTS I SHOULD SAY.
SO, PRIORITIES ONE, TWO, AND THREE, WHICH IS TYPICALLY A WEAPON INVOLVED THE POLICE NEEDS TO RESPOND RIGHT AWAY IS, IS, UM, A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF OUR WORKLOAD PRIORITIES FOUR THROUGH SEVEN.
THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE, UM, MOST OF THE, THE CALLS THAT ARE COMING TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
SO THE RESULTS OF THE WORK BY U T S A, UM, THEY FOUND OUT THAT THE DISTRIBUTION ACROSS COUNCIL DISTRICTS AND OUR ORGANIZATIONAL UNITS, WHICH ARE SUBSTATIONS
[00:30:01]
AND REPORTING AREAS, UM, THEY APPEAR TO BE RELATIVELY, UM, EQUAL DISTRIBUTION.UM, THE CALL TYPE AND PRIORITY, AS I MENTIONED, PRIORITY FOUR AND SEVEN INCIDENTS ARE THE MOST COMMON PRIORITY.
ONE REPRESENT LESS THAN HALF OF A PERCENT, UM, POLICE RESOURCES THAT ARE APPLIED TO THE RESPONSE, UH, WHICH ARE UNITS DISPATCH FOR TIME IN THIS POSITION, SLIGHTLY MORE THAN 50% OF ALL INCIDENTS RECEIVE A SINGLE UNIT RESPONSE.
SS A P D SPENDS ABOUT 40 MINUTES ON SCENE ON AVERAGE, AND ABOUT 80% OF ALL INCIDENTS ARE RESOLVED, UH, WITHOUT A NECESSARILY A POLICE REPORT.
THEY ALSO, UH, U T S A IDENTIFIED THAT, UM, A SPECIAL FOCUS, UH, WAS PLACED ON PRIORITIES FOUR TO SEVEN, AS I MENTIONED, TO EVALUATE POLICE RESOURCES THAT ARE APPLIED TO THE SITUATION.
UH, THIS WERE PRIORITIZED DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY THAT MAYBE SOME OF THESE CALLS MAY BE GOOD CANDIDATES FOR A NON-POLICE RESPONSE.
USING THIS LENS, UH, WE CREATED A SUBSET OF CALL TABS THAT, THAT WERE IDENTIFIED BY THE TEAM, UM, FOR FURTHER RESEARCH.
SO WE, UH, PROVIDED TO THE COUNCIL THE, THE FULL REPORT THAT, UH, U T S A PROVIDED.
SO YOU CAN SEE MORE OF THE DETAILS OF THIS CALLS, BUT LET ME TAKE YOU TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO, UM, YOU SAW ON THE, ON, ON THE RESULTS OF THE POLL THAT SOME OF THE CALLS THAT THE COMMUNITY INDICATED, OR THOSE THAT RESPONDED TO THE SURVEY, THAT THEY WOULD ENTERTAIN A DIFFERENT RESPONSE IN SS A P D INCLUDED MENTAL HEALTH, UM, NOT INCLUDING A WEAPON, FIREWORKS AND ANIMAL RELATED CALLS.
SO, THE REASON WHY THE U T S A RESEARCH IS IMPORTANT, AS WE, UM, THINK ABOUT POTENTIAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND MENTAL HEALTH BEING ONE OF OUR PRIORITIES, IF WE WERE TO HAVE A DIFFERENT RESPONSE, THIS WILL ALLOW US TO IDENTIFY THE NUMBER OF INCIDENTS, THE RESOURCES THAT ARE INVESTED BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT ADDRESSING THESE CALLS.
BUT THE SAME TOKEN, YOU HEARD FROM THE POLL THAT RESIDENTS WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE VISIBILITY OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE DISTRICT MEETINGS, WHAT WE'RE HEARING IS WE WANNA SEE EITHER MORE POLICE OFFICERS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, OR HAVING MORE INTERACTIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY, LIKE BEING INVOLVED IN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETINGS OR COMMUNITY EVENTS.
SO THIS COULD ALLOW US TO PERHAPS REALLOCATE OUR RESOURCES FROM PERHAPS ADDRESSING SOME OF THESE CALLS TO BEING MORE VISIBLE IN THE COMMUNITY AND DEVELOP DEVELOPING BETTER RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THE CONCLUSION OF THE U T S A, UM, ANALYSIS IS THAT THERE'S CERTAIN CALL TYPES THAT RARELY RESULT IN AN OFFICIAL REPORT BEING TAKEN, AND THEY'RE OFTEN DISPATCHED TO A SINGLE OFFICER, AND THEY CAN BE HANDLED RELATIVELY QUICKLY.
UH, THESE CALL TYPES MAY BE AMENABLE TO OUR RESPONSE BY NON-SWORN POLICE PERSONNEL.
AND OUR CURRENT CATEGORIZATION OF CALL TYPES AND PRIORITY CATEGORIES SHOULD BE REVIEWED TO ENSURE THAT, UM, IT'S BEING ACCURATE AND CONSISTENT.
SOME OF THE LIMITATIONS AND AND CONSIDERATIONS OF THE REVIEW IS THAT CURRENT DATA IS BASED ON WHAT, WHAT OCCURRED WHEN A POLICE OFFICER RESPONDED TO A CALL.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WOULD'VE HAPPENED IF SOMETHING WOULD'VE BEEN DIFFERENT IF THE CALL WAS RESPONDED BY A NON S A P D OFFICER.
SO, TRANSFERRING RESPONSE TO ANOTHER CITY UNIT OR DEPARTMENT WILL REQUIRE RESOURCES, TRAINING, AND OVERSIGHT TO MAINTAIN RESPONSE, RESPONSIVENESS TO OUR RESIDENT NEEDS.
SO THAT'S THE CONCLUSION OF THE WORK DONE BY U T S A.
NOW, IN TERMS OF OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, NOW THAT, THAT WE'VE DONE THIS POLL JUST TO KIND OF GET A PULSE OF THE CITY IN TERMS OF, UH, EXPECTATIONS, WE'RE ASKING EACH OF OUR COUNCIL DISTRICTS OR RESIDENTS WITHIN OUR COUNCIL DISTRICT, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD? SO IN TOTAL, WE HAVE 20 DISTRICT MEETINGS, FIVE COMMUNITY-WIDE CONVERSATIONS, AND TWO TELEPHONE TOWN HALL MEETINGS FOR 27 OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESIDENTS TO PARTICIPATE.
WERE ALSO STARTED THE, UM, SCHEDULING, UH, MEETINGS WITH STAKEHOLDER GROUPS TO GIVE THEM AN UPDATE ON THE, ON THE PROJECT AND GET THEIR FEEDBACK AS WELL.
SO YOU'LL SEE ON THIS NEXT SLIDE, JUST THE BREAKOUT OF THE, THE DIFFERENT PILLARS THAT WERE LAID OUT BY THE CITY MANAGER AND HOW WE ARE OBTAINING INPUT FOR THOSE.
THE TIMELINE FOR, FOR THIS, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, YOU'LL SEE THAT THIS NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS AND COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS STARTED IN APRIL.
WERE SCHEDULED TO COMPLETE THOSE IN THE MONTH OF MAY.
UH, THE TELEPHONE TOWN HALLS, WE HAVE THE FIRST ONE TOMORROW.
UH, WE ARE GONNA HAVE TWO IN TOTAL, AND THEN WE'LL BEGIN, UM, MEETINGS WITH STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.
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HAVE FOCUS GROUP WITH GROUPS, EXCUSE ME, WITH OUR POLICE OFFICERS TO GET THEIR FEEDBACK ON THOSE CALLS THAT THE COMMUNITY SYNDICATING PERHAPS COULD BE HANDLED DIFFERENTLY.ALSO, ON HOW WE CAN, WE, S A P D CAN BETTER BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE'LL BE DOING THAT, UH, LATE MAY AND EARLY JUNE.
ALSO TO INCORPORATE THE, THE FEEDBACK OF OUR POLICE OFFICERS INTO THIS WORK.
NOW, IN TERMS OF RESPONSE, ALTERNATIVES AND FUNDING, THE THREE AREAS THAT THE CITY MANAGER LAID OUT ON HIS PLAN, INCLUDED ON THE NEXT SLIDE, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, UM, HOMELESSNESS AND MENTAL HEALTH.
SO THE, THE THREE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING HERE IS EVALUATING POLICE, UM, IN A DIFFERENT ROLE, PERHAPS AS A SECONDARY OR BACKUP RESPONSE IF, IF POSSIBLE.
UH, A TEAM-BASED APPROACH WHERE WE HAVE OTHER PROFESSIONALS RESPONDING TO THE CALL PROFESSIONALS AND CASE MANAGEMENT MENTAL HEALTH TO AUGMENT AND STRENGTHEN THE RESPONSE TO OUR COMMUNITY.
AND JUST TO GIVE YOU, UM, SOME IDEAS OF WHAT WE'RE DOING IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, WE'RE LOOKING AT A HOLISTIC APPROACH, UM, THROUGH A FAMILY SUPPORT LENS.
SO TODAY, WHEN WE RESPOND TO A CALL, WE ARE FOCUSING ON HELPING THE VICTIM.
WE ARE LOOKING AT OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPAND THAT, TO ALSO ASSIST THE CHILDREN AND THE PERPETRATOR WITHIN, WITHIN THIS FAMILY UNIT.
HOMELESSNESS IS A VERY COMPLEX ISSUE.
UH, THOSE ARE FACING HOMELESSNESS HAVE DIFFERENT NEEDS AND THEIR DIFFERENT, UH, LEVELS OF RESPONSE AND ASSISTANCE THAT I NEED THAT ARE NEEDED TO ASSIST THEM.
UM, ROUGHLY ABOUT 55% OF UNSHELTERED HOMELESS, UM, HAVE MENTAL A MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE.
SO AS WE ARE DOING THE WORK FOR MENTAL HEALTH, UM, WE FEEL THAT SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS COMING FROM THE MEADOWS, UM, STUDY WILL ALSO ASSIST US WITH DEALING WITH THAT HOMELESS, UM, POPULATION AND THE INTERACTIONS THAT THEY EXPERIENCE WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
THIS IS AN AREA THAT WE'RE FOCUSING, UM, WORKING WITH OUR HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS METRO HEALTH AND OTHER PARTNERS IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO, YOU MAY RECALL, BACK IN JANUARY, THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED AN INTER-LOCAL AGREEMENT WITH SOUTH TEXAS, UH, REGIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL OR STRAC, TO SUPPORT A MENTAL HEALTH COORDINATION STUDY, UH, WITH A MEADOWS MENTAL HEALTH POLICY INSTITUTE.
THIS STUDY WILL SERVE AS A FOUNDATION TO INFORM ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO RESPOND TO CALLS THAT INVOLVE MENTAL HEALTH.
THE DRAFT REPORT WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND EQUITY COMMITTEE IN EARLY JUNE TO RECEIVE THEIR FEEDBACK, AND THEN A FINAL REPORT WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE IN EARLY AUGUST.
SO FINALLY, THE NEXT STEPS IN THIS PROCESS.
UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY, UM, GETTING INPUT FROM OUR COMMUNITY.
WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR YOUR INPUT TODAY.
IN THE MONTH OF JUNE, WE ARE GONNA BE GOING TO THE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND EQUITY, UM, COMMITTEE TO, UH, PRESENT THE, THE, THE WORK OF THE MEADOWS FOUNDATION AND RECEIVE THEIR INPUT.
WE ALSO GONNA GO TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE TO REPORT THE RESULTS OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, AND PRESENT A FRAMEWORK FOR RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE WILL INCLUDE IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET IN AUGUST.
WE ALSO WILL COME BACK TO THE FULL COUNCIL AT GOAL SETTING SESSION TO PROVIDE YOU WITH AN UPDATE OF THE RESULTS OF THE MEADOWS, UH, WORK, AS WELL AS THE FRAMEWORK FOR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR YOUR FEEDBACK.
IN JULY, WE WILL PREPARE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND EARLY AUGUST, WE'LL COME BACK TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE TO PRESENT THE FINAL MEADOWS WORK AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE CITY MANAGER WILL INCLUDE IN HIS PROPOSED BUDGET ON AUGUST THE 12TH.
UH, WE'LL HAVE, UH, BUDGET WORK SESSIONS AND DISCUSS THOSE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOUR INPUT, AND ALSO THE INPUT OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN OUR BUDGET IS SET TO BE ADOPTED IN MID-SEPTEMBER, AS THE CITY MANAGER MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING, AS WE HAVE BEEN WORKING THROUGH THIS, UH, COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF POLICE SERVICES, THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE INCORPORATE IN AUGUST IS NOT THE ONLY RECOMMENDATIONS.
THERE'S MORE WORK TO DO AS WE'RE GETTING MORE INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE SEE THIS AS AN ONGOING, UM, PROCESS TO CONTINUE TO ENSURE THAT OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT IS BEST EQUIPPED TO SERVE THE RESIDENTS OF SAN ANTONIO MAYOR AND COUNSEL.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, AND THE TEAM AND MYSELF ARE HERE TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, MARIA, THERE'S A LOT TO UNPACK HERE.
UM, AND I, I DON'T WANT TO TAKE UP TOO MUCH TIME WITH, UH, WITH MY QUESTIONS, BUT I DO WANNA START WITH A FEW, UM, UH, GOING BACK TO THE SURVEY DATA ON HOW RESIDENTS ARE FEELING ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY IN SAN ANTONIO.
THIS WAS CONDUCTED BY E I T, IS THAT THE NAME OF THE FIRM THAT DID
[00:40:01]
THE, THE SURVEY? E T C INSTITUTE.UM, AND THAT WAS A, THAT WAS A, UM, SCIENTIFIC SURVEY DONE IN SAN ANTONIO.
UM, THIS, UH, IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH, UH, WERE, WERE THERE COPS USED, WERE THERE SIMILAR SURVEYS DONE IN OTHER COMMUNITIES? I SEE.
WE DID A, AN ADDITIONAL HUNDRED OR SO SURVEYS IN OTHER CITIES SO WE COULD FIND A COMPARATOR, BUT OBVIOUSLY THE MARGIN OF VARIANT IN THOSE SURVEYS WOULD BE MUCH LARGER THAN OUR OWN.
UH, DO WE HAVE ANY SIMILAR BENCHMARKS FOR THE OTHER CITIES? JUST TO BE SURE THAT WE'RE COMPARING APPLES TO APPLES.
UM, WE USE THAT, UH, RANDOM SAMPLE OF A HUNDRED RESPONSIVE PER, PER CITY, UM, MAYORS.
SO THAT WAS THE BENCHMARK THAT WE USE.
WE DIDN'T USE ANY ADDITIONAL ONES TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.
I'D BE CURIOUS TO KNOW IF, IF OTHER CITIES ARE DOING SIMILAR SURVEYS, UH, THAT WOULD'VE THE SAME KIND OF PRECISION AS THE ONE THAT WE'RE DOING HERE.
UM, GOING INTO THE MORE OF THE HEART OF THE, THE DATA THAT YOU PRESENTED, I THINK THIS IS, UM, THIS IS VERY HELPFUL DATA AND IS GONNA PROVIDE A LOT MORE FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO DISCUSS WITH REGARD TO ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF POLICING AND, AND RESPONSE.
UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT THE MEADOWS INSTITUTE IS WORKING WITH US ON THE MENTAL HEALTH, UM, UH, RESPONSE, UH, MENTAL HEALTH CALL RESPONSE.
UH, WHAT KINDS OF, UH, SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE ARE WE GOING TO BE, UH, SEEKING TO LOOK AT THOSE OTHER CALLS THAT WERE INDICATED, THOSE, THERE'S A, I'M LOOKING AT THE DATA ON THAT UTSA PRESENTED, AND THERE'S A, A HUGE OPPORTUNITY HERE, UH, WITH PRIORITY FOUR TO SEVEN CALLS.
I DON'T KNOW WHICH ONES IN PARTICULAR OTHER THAN THE ONES THAT YOU INDICATED, UH, WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, ELIGIBLE FOR, UH, SHARED RESPONSE OR ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE.
BUT IN TERMS OF MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR US TO CONSIDER AND FOR, UH, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO CONSIDER, WHO IS, WHO ARE WE SEEKING EXPERTISE FROM TO DO THAT? SO, MAYOR, LET ME START WITH, WITH, UH, UM, RESPONDING TO YOUR QUESTION, AND THEN I'M GONNA ASK DR.
BRIDGER TO HELP ME WITH SOME OF THE WORK THAT SHE'S DOING ON MENTAL HEALTH AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
SO, SO ONE OF THE APPROACHES, APPROACHES THAT WE'RE TAKING IS BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY.
YOU SAW THE CALLS LIKE FIREWORKS, UH, GRAFFITI MENTAL HEALTH WITH NOT INVOLVING A WEAPON, THE ENFORCEMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH ORDERS.
SO THAT BASED ON THE FEEDBACK THAT WE HEAR BACK FROM THE COMMUNITY AND THE BALANCE OF THIS MONTH, UH, WE ARE GONNA FOCUS ON THE TOP TWO PRIORITIES TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK WITH RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COUNCIL.
MENTAL HEALTH, UH, IS, IS ONE OF THE TOP PRIORITIES IN MOST OF THE MEETINGS THAT WE HAVE HELD.
UH, SO THAT IS VERY CONSISTENT WITH THE WORK THAT DR.
WE DON'T HAVE A CLEAR NUMBER TWO AT THIS POINT.
NOW, IN ADDITION TO THOSE, UM, DIRECT FEEDBACK THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM THE COMMUNITY, WE'RE ALSO FOCUSING ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, HOMELESSNESS, AND MENTAL HEALTH.
BRIDGER IS PART OF A TASK FORCE THAT IS LOOKING AT MENTAL HEALTH IN ADDITION TO THE WORK THAT IS BEING DONE BY MEADOW.
BRIDGER TO ELABORATE ON THE PARTNERS THAT SHE'S WORKING WITH IN THOSE CALLS.
APOLOGIES FOR ONLY HAVING AUDIO, NOT VIDEO.
UM, WE ARE WORKING ON, UM, THREE SPECIFIC ALTERNATIVE RESPONSES.
MARIA HAS ALREADY COVERED THE MENTAL HEALTH ONE FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
WE ARE WORKING WITH, UM, THE METRO HEALTH TEAM TO RESEARCH EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES.
UM, THEY ARE ABOUT DONE WITH THAT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE, AND THEN WE WILL TAKE THE RECOMMENDATIONS TO A STAKEHOLDER GROUP FOR THEIR INPUT AND REVIEW.
UM, AND THEN WE WILL GO THROUGH THE APPROPRIATE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE, UM, ON THE HOMELESSNESS, BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH OVERLAP BETWEEN MENTAL HEALTH, UM, RESPONSE AND HOMELESS RESPONSE.
WE ARE WAITING FOR THE MEADOWS WORK TO FINISH BEFORE, UM, WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
WELL, AND AS PART OF THAT DISCUSSION, UH, MAYBE THE CHIEF CAN PROVIDE SOME INSIGHT HERE.
I THINK, UM, INSTINCTIVELY WE KNOW THAT CERTAIN CALLS BEYOND THE, THE CATEGORY ONE CALLS ARE MORE LIKELY TO END UP IN A MORE DANGEROUS SITUATION, UM, ESPECIALLY IF YOU INCLUDE WEAPONS IN THE MIX, UH, MENTAL HEALTH CALLS, UH, WITH A WEAPON, ET CETERA.
UH, ARE, IS THAT, UM, IS THAT KIND OF DYNAMIC BEING CONSIDERED WHEN WE'RE MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FOR SHARED RESPONSE OR ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE, MAYOR, THAT THOSE, THOSE CONSIDERATIONS WOULD,
[00:45:01]
WOULD HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED? UH, WHEN LOOKING AT, WHEN LOOKING, UH, EXCUSE ME, WHEN LOOKING ABOUT, WHEN LOOKING AT, AT HOW WE MAY PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE THERE, THERE'S TOO MUCH VOLATILITY IN THOSE TYPES OF CALLS.SO I THINK WE NEED TO BE, THERE NEEDS TO BE A VERY DEEP DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW WE HANDLE THOSE, UH, GOING FORWARD WITH ANY TYPE OF ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE.
BUT I DO THINK THAT THERE SHOULD BE AN ALTERNATIVE TYPE RESPONSE, WHETHER IT'S COMBINED, WHETHER IT'S A SINGLE RESPONSE FROM ANOTHER TYPE OF AGENCY, UH, OR SIMPLY JUST SS A P D.
BUT THERE NEEDS TO BE, UH, DEEPER DISCUSSION.
AND I, I, AGAIN, I DO BELIEVE THAT THERE SHOULD BE SOME ALTERNATIVE TYPE RESPONSE.
YOU KNOW, MAYOR, LET ME, LET ME ALSO ADD AND JUST KINDA REMIND EVERYBODY, UH, BUT, UH, LAST, UH, FALL, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT CHANGED THEIR POLICY ON HOW THEY RESPOND TO MENTAL HEALTH CALLS WITH A WEAPON INVOLVED.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, STARTING TO MAKE THOSE CHANGES AS OF LAST YEAR AND, AND TREATING THOSE CALLS DIFFERENTLY AT THE POLICE LEVEL AND MAKING SURE THAT THE PROPER RESOURCES ARE THERE IS, IS, IS CRITICAL.
UM, AND, AND, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE WERE, WHAT WE'VE BEEN FOCUSED ON ARE THE MENTAL HEALTH CALLS IN GENERAL, NOT WITH A WEAPON, BUT, BUT TO THE CHIEF'S POINT, THEY STILL COULD TURN.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE, AS MARIA MENTIONED.
YOU KNOW, IT'S PROBABLY GONNA BE MORE OF A TEAM APPROACH ON THOSE TYPES OF CALLS, BUT I WANTED TO REMIND THE COUNCIL THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE WAY WE RESPOND TO THOSE OTHER CALLS WITH WEAPONS.
YEAH, AND, AND YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE WAS PLENTY OF DISCUSSION, UM, THIS FALL, UH, IN PARTICULAR ABOUT, UM, DEESCALATION AND, YOU KNOW, IN, IN A MENTAL HEALTH CALL, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS GET RAMPED UP IMMEDIATELY AS SOON AS THERE'S A WEAPON INVOLVED.
UH, AND, AND PERHAPS IF THERE'S NO WEAPON INVOLVED, WE CAN WORK TOWARDS DEESCALATION OR KEEPING THINGS FROM GETTING ESCALATED IF WE'RE, IF WE'RE STARTING AT LEAST WITH, UM, MENTAL HEALTH, UH, EXPERTS, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THE OCCASION IS, IS, UM, IS RIGHT FOR THAT.
SO, AT ANY RATE, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE THINGS ARE BEING CONSIDERED AS WE, AS WE MOVE FORWARD TO MORE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, JUST A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS.
I THOUGHT THAT THE, UH, SURVEY, NOT THE SURVEY, THE, UM, ANALYTICS THAT WERE PROVIDED BY U T S A WERE VERY HELPFUL, UH, PARTICULARLY AS IT RELATES TO THE KINDS OF CALLS THAT COME INTO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WE HEAR ABOUT THE 0.5%, UM, ALL THE TIME.
UH, BUT THE BULK OF THE WORK THAT IS HAPPENING ON THESE OTHER PRIORITY CALLS, UM, WITH, UH, WITH REGARD TO OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH U T S A AND THE INSTITUTE THERE, IS THAT AN ONGOING ONE? IF IT'S NOT, UH, ARE WE PLANNING ON ENGAGING THEM LONG TERM SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO GET THIS KIND OF DATA TO HELP US SHARPEN OUR QUESTIONS AND REFINE OUR APPROACH? I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF CITIES THAT HAVE ENGAGED, UH, THEIR ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS, UH, IN THAT WAY.
UM, ARE WE DOING THAT? DO WE PLAN TO DO THAT? SO, MAYOR, THAT WAS PART OF THE CONVERSATION THAT I HAD WITH, WITH U T S A AND DR.
SMITH LAST, UM, I GUESS IT WAS LATE SUMMER, EARLY FALL.
UM, AND, AND SO WE WANTED TO TRY THAT, THAT PARTNERSHIP.
I, I WOULD LIKE, AND I THINK THE CHIEF WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE AN ONGOING RELATIONSHIP WITH, UM, UH, THE UNIVERSITY TO BE ABLE TO HELP WITH SOME OF THE DEEP DIVE.
UM, AND ALSO THE, THE ADDITIONAL SCAN OF THINGS THAT ARE CO ACRO, UH, HAPPENING ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SO THIS IS, THIS IS REALLY OUR FIRST FORAY.
UM, THE, THE AGREEMENT THAT WE HAVE WITH THEM RIGHT NOW WAS JUST FOR THIS TASK.
AND I THINK AS WE GET THROUGH THIS, WE'LL LOOK TO SEE WHAT TYPE OF PARTNERSHIP OR INSTRUMENT NEEDS TO BE IN PLACE TO, TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE OPEN-ENDED AND, AND ON A, ON, ON AN ON-CALL TYPE OF BASIS.
WELL, AND, AND MY LAST, UH, BIG QUESTION THEN IS, IS GIVEN ALL OF THE, THE DISCUSSION AND, AND, UM, ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, THE, THE DATA BACK ABOUT PEOPLE'S ATTITUDES TOWARDS, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ENTIRE CONVERSATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY, WHICH IS COMPREHENSIVE AT THIS POINT WITH THE FRAMEWORK THAT WE'VE LAID OUT AND THE COMMITTEE WORK THAT'S HAPPENING, AND THE STAKEHOLDER INPUT, ARE WE DEVELOPING A SET OF METRICS, UM, OR STRATEGIC OUTCOMES TO KNOW THAT WE ARE HITTING THE MARK? I MEAN, WHEN WE ARE GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS AND WE'RE LOOKING AT THE DATA ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, WHAT QUESTIONS ARE WE ASKING OURSELVES AND HOW DO WE KNOW THAT WE'VE ACHIEVED SUCCESS,
[00:50:01]
UH, THROUGH THE, THE PROCESSES THAT YOU'VE LAID OUT, ERIC, WHAT ARE OUR OUTCOMES, UM, AND DATA POINTS THAT ARE, ARE GONNA KNOW THAT, THAT, THAT ARE GONNA LET US KNOW THAT WE'RE MOVING THIS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR OUR COMMUNITY? SO, MAYOR, I, I THINK AS WE, AS WE START TO NARROW DOWN THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND GO THROUGH THE, THE, THE, THE PUBLIC INPUT AND THE STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS AND THE, AND THE MEETINGS WITH THE OFFICERS, WE'LL NEED TO DO THAT.UM, BUT YOU KNOW, LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
WE, WE JUST GOT THROUGH TALKING ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH 9 1 1 CALLS, YOU KNOW, FRANKLY, IT'S NOT A POLICE ISSUE.
THERE'S A LARGER MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY.
PEOPLE ARE CALLING 9 1 1 BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW WHO ELSE TO CALL.
AND SO WE, WE, AS WE, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS, THOSE STRATEGIC OUTCOMES COULD, COULD GO BEYOND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND, AND, AND I THINK, I THINK WE MAY SEE THAT ON, ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
I THINK WE MAY SEE THAT ON MENTAL HEALTH AND HOMELESSNESS.
AND SO, SO I, I, I ALMOST SEE IT IN TWO PARTS.
IT'S WHAT IS THE PART THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE SHOOTING FOR ORGANIZATIONALLY AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, BUT THEN WHAT ARE THE STRATEGIC OUTCOMES THAT ARE NEEDED BROUGHT ON FROM A BROADER SENSE, FROM A COMMUNITY WIDE SENSE, AND, AND MAYBE ACROSS FROM GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS.
WELL, LET ME RECOMMEND THEN THAT WE GET THE OFFICE OF EQUITY ENGAGED IN THAT BIG QUESTION THAT, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE ASKING HERE ABOUT WHAT ARE, HOW DO WE KNOW WE'VE SUCCEEDED, OR HOW DO WE KNOW WE ARE SUCCEEDING AS WE MOVE THIS FORWARD? UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY FOR THE LAST EIGHT YEARS PRIOR TO, UM, WHAT WE'VE DONE HERE OVER THE LAST TWO, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT U C R DATA, THAT WAS OUR MEASURE.
BUT CLEARLY IT'S MUCH MORE THAN THAT.
UM, AND I THINK THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I'D LIKE TO HEAR WHAT THE OFFICE OF EQUITY HAS TO SAY AND WHAT COMMUNITY, UH, WHAT, WHAT OUR, UH, CONSTITUENTS, UM, ARE ASKING THEMSELVES ABOUT, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, WHEN WE'RE MOVING THIS, UM, THIS PROCESS FORWARD.
HOW DO WE KNOW WE'VE SUCCEEDED? AND I THINK IT'S GONNA BE MORE THAN JUST THE, YOU KNOW, THE ROTE PUBLIC SAFETY STATISTICS THAT WE'RE USED TO SEEING FROM THE F B I.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE DISCUSSION.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, MARIA AND, UM, ERIC AND CHIEF, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION, LET ME MOVE NOW TO COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL.
UH, THANK YOU MARIA FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UH, BERT AND LAURA, THE CHIEF AND, AND THE ERIC AND THE WHOLE TEAM WHO'S BEEN OUT THERE GARNERING, UH, PUBLIC INPUT AND COMMENTS.
UH, THIS IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT WORK.
AND LIKE, UH, ERIC HAS MENTIONED THIS IS THE FIRST TIME, UH, THIS IS DONE, UH, FOR THE CALLS, UH, FOR THE CALL LOGS, AS WELL AS ALL OF THE PUBLIC INPUT THAT'S COMING IN.
SO WHAT WE'RE GETTING IS VERY VALUABLE, AND I DON'T WANT THIS TO BE THE LAST TIME WE, WE LOOK AT A REVIEW LIKE THIS.
I THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE OUR BASELINE.
UM, I WANNA, I WANNA JUMP OFF WHERE THE, WHERE THE MAYOR LEFT OFF AND TALK ABOUT METRICS.
AND I, I COULDN'T AGREE MORE THAT JUST LOOKING AT, AT, YOU KNOW, NUMBER OF INCIDENTS.
THAT'S REALLY JUST ONE PIECE OF, OF THE PUZZLE.
BUT IF WE'RE STRIVING TO IMPROVE, I'M GOING TO SUGGEST A FEW OTHER THINGS THAT WE CAN LOOK AT.
ONE OF THEM IS, DO WE HAVE, AND HOW OFTEN DO WE HAVE REPEAT, UM, RESIDENTS, OR SHALL WE CALL THEM CUSTOMERS, RIGHT? AND WHETHER THEY'RE BEING ARRESTED OR WHETHER THEY ARE HOMELESS, OR WHETHER THEY HAVE A MENTAL HEALTH OR SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROBLEM, HOW OFTEN DO WE SEE THE SAME PERSON AGAIN? UM, I THINK WHEN WE STOP SEEING REPEAT CUSTOMERS, WE HAVE, THAT IS SUCCESS IN TERMS OF OUR, OUR SAFETY NET, OUR SYSTEMS, AND WE STOP HAVING TO USE POLICE FOR SOMETHING THAT THEY, THAT THEY'RE NOT A, UH, THAT'S NOT WHAT THEY WERE INTENDED FOR, RIGHT? NUMBER TWO, AND THE PROBLEM IS REALLY ELSEWHERE.
IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT A, A DIRECT LIFE SAFETY PROBLEM.
UH, THE OTHER THING I, I'D LIKE TO SEE US USE AS, AS METRICS AND, AND SOME OF THIS HAS BEEN ADDRESSED THROUGH THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, IS THE USE OF FORCE SEEING THAT ELIMINATED.
I, I THINK THAT IS A, A GOAL WE SHOULD ASPIRE TO.
I'VE, I'VE SPOKEN WITH A NUMBER OF RETIRED OFFICERS, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY ALL HAVE THEIR, THEIR STORIES, BUT, BUT ONE OF THEM, UH, TOLD ME I NEVER USED FORCE OR I, I MAYBE ONLY HAD TO USE IT ONCE, UH, WHEN I WAS ON THERE.
AND LET'S, LET'S NOT FORGET THAT THAT IS REALLY ONE OF THE REASONS WE
[00:55:01]
SAW THE, THE PROTESTS WE DID LAST SUMMER AND WHY WE TOOK ON THIS WORK.IT WASN'T JUST ABOUT DOING OUR WORK MORE EFFICIENTLY.
AND BY ALL MEANS, THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ACTUALLY GET TO CON TO REAL OUTCOMES, RIGHT? LIKE NOT HAVING REPEAT CUSTOMERS.
BUT THE OTHER REASON IS PEOPLE ARE DYING OR, OR PEOPLE HAVE DIED AT THE HANDS OF, OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.
CERTAINLY LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS, HAS HELPED A LOT OF PEOPLE, BUT EVEN ONE DEATH IS, IS TOO MANY.
THE OTHER REASON WE SAW PEOPLE MARCH WAS BECAUSE OF RACIAL EQUITY.
SO I THINK THOSE ARE TWO THINGS WE WANNA USE OF FORCE AND RACIAL EQUITY ARE THINGS THAT WE WANNA TRACK AS WE MOVE, AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, I, UH, SPEAKING ABOUT REPEAT CUSTOMERS AND ALTERNATIVE RESPONSES, I THINK ERIC IS, IS RIGHT, AND WE DO NEED TO, TO WORK ON THAT, IS IT DOESN'T MATTER IF WE HAVE A, A GREAT MODEL OF, UM, YOU KNOW, THREE, THREE DIFFERENT ENTITIES RESPONDING TO A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.
IF AT THE END OF THE DAY WE HAVE NO PLACE TO SEND THOSE PEOPLE, IF WE CANNOT GIVE THEM THE HELP THAT THEY NEED TO GET THEIR LIVES BACK ON TRACK, OUR POLICE OFFICERS ARE GOING TO BE DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
SO, UH, I, I KNOW I'M THROWING AT YOU ANOTHER PROBLEM, BUT THAT NEEDS TO BE AN ADDENDUM TO THIS SOLUTION.
AND HOPEFULLY THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN GET OUT OF THE WORK WITH, UH, WITH MEADOWS FOUNDATION IN COLLABORATION WITH, WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
AND THE SAME THING GOES FOR, FOR HOMELESSNESS, RIGHT? IT'S, IT'S A CRISIS, IT'S AN EMERGENCY, RIGHT? RIGHT NOW, UM, THERE, UH, AND I THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, IF WE'RE ABLE TO GET TO A MODEL, THEN WE CAN HAVE P D B WHERE THEY NEED TO BE WHEN WE NEED THEM IN THOSE PRIORITY ONE CALLS, RIGHT? THAT'S REALLY, UH, THAT'S ONE OF THE GREATEST REASONS THEY EXIST, IS THAT PRIORITY ONE.
AND IF THEY'RE NOT DOING TYPE SEVEN CALLS, UH, OR PRIORITY SEVEN CALLS, THEN WE'RE, WE'RE IN A MUCH BETTER PLACE.
I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER METRIC, UH, FOR, FOR SUCCESS IN TERMS OF THIS, THIS EVALUATION OF, OF SERVICES.
UM, I WANNA MAKE A, A COUPLE OF COMMENTS.
UH, ONE OF THEM HAS TO DO WITH, UH, FIRST OF ALL, THE SURVEY RESULTS THAT YOU GOT.
I THINK THOSE ARE ENCOURAGING WHAT WE HEARD FROM THE PUBLIC WHEN WE MET WITH THEM.
SOME OF THAT WAS ALSO VERY ENCOURAGING.
THERE SEEMS TO BE A GENERAL, UH, APPROVAL, RIGHT, OF HOW SS A P D DOES THEIR, DOES THEIR WORK.
UM, BUT I DON'T WANT TO FORGET THAT.
WE ALSO HAD SOME WRITE-IN COMMENTS WITH, UH, STILL A LOT OF CONCERN ABOUT, UH, USE OF FORCE AND, UH, POLICE ATTITUDES.
SO, AND, AND THEY MAY BE THE MINORITY, BUT I, I THINK IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP THAT IN MIND BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY WHAT, WHAT LAUNCHED, UH, ALL OF THIS WORK.
SORRY, I'M TRYING TO FIX MY SCREEN VIEW
SO ONCE THE TIMER COMES ON, IT'S A, IT'S, IT'S ME AND A BIG NUMBER AND IT'S, UH, A LITTLE DISCONCERTING.
UH, BUT I UNDERSTAND THE NEED TO, TO KEEP TIME.
UM, SO IN, IN TERMS OF, OF USER FORCE, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO DO AN EVALUATION OF THE TYPES OF CALLS, UH, MAYBE THEY WERE INITIATED EVEN BY OFFICERS, BUT TYPES OF CALLS, DAYS OR CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN OFFICERS MAY HAVE TO USE FORCE MORE FREQUENTLY? UP UNTIL NOW, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S BEEN PART OF THE REVIEW.
YOU ARE CORRECT, COUNCILWOMAN.
WE HAVE NOT LOOKED AT, UM, USE OF FORCE WITHIN THE CALLS THAT WE RESPOND TO.
UM, LET ME LOOK INTO THE DATA THAT WE HAVE AND HOW WE TRACK IT AND, AND, AND I'LL REPORT BACK TO, TO THE FULL COUNSEL IN TERMS OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DOING THAT.
UH, THERE WAS A CAVEAT PROVIDED BY U T S A REGARDING, UH, THE ACCURACY OF THE CATEGORIZATION OF PRIORITIES.
I BELIEVE IT WAS ONE OF YOUR BULLETS, UH, IN THE CONCLUSIONS, MAKING SURE THAT THE CALLS WERE APPROPRIATELY CATEGORIZED.
IS THAT, UH, IT SOUNDED LIKE A RECOMMENDATION OF, UH, MAYBE A SAMPLING ANALYSIS WE SHOULD DO.
IS THERE A PLAN TO DO THAT? UH, YES.
COUNCILWOMAN, AS I MENTIONED, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE TAKE, TAKE SUCH A DEEPER DIVE INTO OUR DATA, AND WE DID FIND, UH, TIMES WHERE, UM, CALLS A MINOR NUMBER WERE MISCODED, NOT CO CODED PROPERLY.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH, UM, OUR VENDOR TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET, UH, REPORTING MORE FREQUENTLY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO ANALYZE THAT.
[01:00:01]
SO, SO WE'RE IN, IN THE EARLY STAGES OF DEVELOPING THE PLAN ON HOW WE GONNA DO THAT IN A MORE FREQUENT BASIS.BUT IS THERE A CONCERN A, ABOUT THE, THE DATA THAT WAS ALREADY REVIEWED, WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS ACCURATE? UM, NO, COUNCILWOMAN BASED ON OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH, UM, UH, DR.
TAYLOR, THEY, THEY DIDN'T FEEL THAT IT WAS ANY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THEY HAVE SEEN IN OTHER CITIES.
THE REPORT DOES, HAS THE, DOES HAVE THE NUMBER OF CALLS THAT THEY IDENTIFIED WITH POTENTIAL ISSUES, AND IT WAS, IT WAS A SMALL PERCENTAGE.
UH, I JUST HAVE A, A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS.
UM, OH, UM,
I, I ACTUALLY THINK THAT'S REALLY CRITICAL AND I, I SORT OF LAMENT THAT WE HAVEN'T ALREADY DONE IT AND I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY CRITICAL EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.
UH, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THESE ARE THE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE GOING TO IMPLEMENT WHATEVER WE, WE GIVE THEM.
AND IF WE A, DON'T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THEIR PERSPECTIVE, UH, WE MAY BE GOING DOWN A WRONG PATH, OR B, IF WE DON'T HAVE THEIR BUY-IN, THEN IT MAY NOT EXECUTE.
I THINK WE'VE ALL HAD AN EMPLOYEE THAT DOESN'T LIKE, UH, SOME PROJECT THAT YOU GIVE THEM AND WHEN THEY DON'T LIKE IT IS NOT GONNA TURN OUT WELL.
AND, UH, I'M NOT SAYING THAT'S THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN, BUT THEY DO HAVE A LOT OF INSIGHT TO OFFER US.
SO I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT THAT BE DONE SOONER IN THE PROCESS OR, OR THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS.
AND I, I'M NOT SURE HOW APPROPRIATE IT IS FOR COUNCIL MEMBER TO ACTUALLY GO OUT THERE AND TALK TO THEM AND GET THEIR INPUT.
UM, I THINK THAT'S, UH, PROBABLY MORE APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR TEAM, UH, TO DO BECAUSE OF THE HIERARCHY.
IT'S, UH, IT'S OFTEN HARD TO GET INPUT FROM RANK AND FILE, RIGHT, BECAUSE OF THAT HIERARCHY.
BUT REALLY, RIGHT NOW, THAT'S A REALLY VALUABLE PIECE OF INFORMATION.
SO WE HAVE TO WORK AROUND, UH, THAT HIERARCHY IS, THAT WOULD BE MY RECOMMENDATION.
AND THEN LASTLY, THIS IS, UH, JUST SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT FOR, FOR ALL OF US IS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT WHY AND HOW PEOPLE FEEL SAFE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WEIGH INTO SAFETY.
AND I, I'M SURE COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ CAN TELL YOU ABOUT HOW STREETLIGHTS WEIGH INTO THE PERCEPTION OF SAFETY.
A POINT THAT I MADE EARLIER AT MY COMMITTEE MEETING IS THAT WHETHER YOU LIVE IN A GATED COMMUNITY, THAT MIGHT WEIGH INTO YOUR PERCEPTION OF SAFETY.
AND WHAT WE SAW IS THAT THE NEWEST, UH, OR THE MORE RECENTLY DEVELOPED DISTRICTS ARE THE ONES THAT FEEL THE SAFEST.
WELL, THEY DO HAVE THE NEWEST INFRASTRUCTURE.
THEY'RE PROBABLY MOST LIKELY TO HAVE, UM, BETTER STREETS, BETTER SIDEWALKS, BE CLEANER STREETLIGHTS, AND TO BE GATED COMMUNITIES.
SO I, I THINK WE HAVE TO, UM, KEEP THAT IN MIND.
SO EITHER, WHETHER TO YOU THAT MEANS MORE INVESTMENT IN THE OTHER SIX DISTRICTS IN TERMS OF INFRASTRUCTURE OR, OR WHETHER IT MEANS, UM, IT, IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT SENDING MORE POLICE OFFICERS TO THE OTHER SIX DISTRICTS IS GOING TO SOLVE ANY, ANY PROBLEM IF WE DON'T PROVIDE THEM THE INFRASTRUCTURE AS WELL.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MAYOR AND COUNCILWOMAN.
I, I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU, CHIEF MCMANUS WAS HAVING THE EXACT SAME CONVERSATION WITH ME BEFORE THIS MEETING.
THAT TO, UM, NOT NECESSARILY THAT THE SOLUTION IS MORE OFFICERS, BUT IT COULD BE MORE STREET LIGHTING OR OTHER, OTHER AREAS THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS RATHER THAN JUST POLICE.
I, I, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND JUMP IN.
I MEAN, IT, THE, WE HAVE HAD, UM, PROBABLY 16 OR 17 MEETINGS ALREADY, OR 14.
UM, AND WE STILL HAVE A LOT TO GO.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW HOW COUNCILWOMAN SULLIVAN HAS TALKED ABOUT THIS ISSUE BEFORE, COUNCILMAN TREVINOS TALKED ABOUT THIS ISSUE BEFORE, UM, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE OF THIS, YOU KNOW, POLICE SERVICES, THAT'S AN EXCELLENT POINT.
THERE, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY THINGS THAT WE DIDN'T, THAT WE, THAT WE DIDN'T, WE, WE, WE KNEW, BUT, UH, MAYBE INTUITIVELY, BUT THEY HAVE A DIRECT TIE ON ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'RE HEARING.
AND SO THERE'S BEEN A, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF VALUE IN SPENDING THE TIME, UM, WITH ALL THE, WITH ALL THE DISTRICTS AND, AND ALL THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND, AND GROUPS.
SO, UM, I, I WOULD ANTICIPATE SOME OF THE INTERNAL CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD, UM, UM, NEEDING TO MAYBE LOOK DIFFERENTLY IN HOW WE DO THAT IN THE FUTURE IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
UH, THANK YOU MAYOR, AND THANK YOU, MARIA.
UM, TO JUMP INTO THE CONVERSATION, I WANNA START
[01:05:01]
WITH THE NEGOTIATION PIECE THAT WE BEGAN WITH, AS WE KNOW THAT PROP B WAS VOTED DOWN.SO WE'RE LOOKING TO, TO SPEAK TO OUR COMMUNITY ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY AND WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE AS WE'RE GOING FORWARD.
AND I KNOW YOU MENTIONED SOME OF THE NEGOTIATIONS THAT WE HAVE A CONSENSUS ON, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO ELABORATE A LITTLE BIT MORE, BECAUSE MANY WANNA KNOW EXACTLY WHERE DO WE FALL WITHIN ACCOUNTABILITY, ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATES WITH THE QUALIFIED IMMUNITY.
AND, AND CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT, COUNCILMAN, I'M GONNA ASK, AND YOUR LIST TO HANDLE THE QUALIFIED IMMUNITY, SINCE THAT IS NOT SOMETHING WE HAVE, WE'RE NOT NEGOTIATING WITH THE ASSOCIATION.
AND I'LL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS ON WHAT WE ARE NEGOTIATING AT THE TABLE.
THAT IS NOT AN ISSUE FOR US AT THE TABLE.
IT'S A FEDERAL, UM, COMMON LAW CREATION, UM, FOR PURPOSES OF, OF HOW, UH, AN OFFICER IS TREATED IN THE COURT.
SO, UM, WE CAN OFFLINE WITH YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE TO, TO TALK ABOUT HOW THAT WORKS.
UM, BUT FOR PURPOSES OF C B A NEGOTIATIONS, THAT'S NOT ANYTHING WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AT THE TABLE BECAUSE OF HOW IT'S CREATED.
THAT'S A GOOD THING BECAUSE A LOT OF OUR COMMUNITY IS STILL CONFUSED.
AND SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE HEARING SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS, SO MANY DIFFERENT STORIES, SO MANY DIFFERENT, UM, AREAS, AND THEY'RE NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT IS ON THE TABLE.
HOW ARE WE GONNA, UM, ADDRESS THE CONCERNS THAT THEY DO HAVE ABOUT THE OTHER ISSUES OUTSIDE OF CBAS AND OUTSIDE OF 1 74, OUTSIDE OF 1 43.
AND I THINK THAT THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO EDUCATE OUR COMMUNITY ON EXACTLY WHERE WE ARE, UM, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE WERE KIND OF STILL IN A STANDSTILL, UM, WHEN IT CAME TO THE PROPOSITION BEING ON THE BALLOT.
AND SO I THINK THAT WE NEED TO DO AN ASPECT TO OUR COMMUNITY OF EDUCATION ON WHERE WE ARE NOW.
UM, AND SO MARIA, ALSO, I KNOW THAT RIGHT NOW THERE IS A PUSH TO, UM, ASK THAT WE AS A CITY COUNCIL, DELAY THE NEGOTIATION CONVERSATION AND THEN DELAY A CONTRACT UNTIL AFTER, UM, JUNE 5TH.
AND SO I WANNA KNOW, HOW WOULD THAT AFFECT US IN THE NEGOTIATION CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING RIGHT NOW? WELL, COUNCILWOMAN, WE, UM, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE HAD ROUGHLY ABOUT 10 NEGOTIATION SESSIONS WITH THE ASSOCIATION.
WE EXTENDED OUR NEGOTIATION TIMEFRAME TO MAY 12TH, WHICH IS NEXT WEEK.
UM, I HAVE BEEN PERSONALLY IN CONVERSATION WITH THE ASSOCIATION TO START SETTING DATES TO GET BACK, UM, TO NEGOTIATING.
SO WE ANTICIPATING THAT THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN SOON.
SO OUR GOAL IS, IS TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE ASSOCIATION, NOT AWARE OF ANY REQUESTS FOR DELAYING THAT.
UH, WE CONTINUE WITH OUR TOP PRIORITIES.
UM, SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
WE, WE WILL BE, UM, LETTING THE, THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMUNITY KNOW WHEN OUR NEXT, UH, NEGOTIA NEGOTIATION SESSIONS WILL TAKE PLACE.
BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE, UM, UH, IN CONVERSATIONS WITH THE ASSOCIATION.
AND THEN CHIEF, AS WE'RE LOOKING AT THE SURVEY, WE SAW THAT A LOT OF THE ENGAGEMENT, ABOUT 73% WAS AROUND YOUTH ENGAGEMENT.
AND I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE A PLAN OF ACTION ON HOW THAT IS GONNA GO FORWARD, OR WHO WILL BE HANDLING, TAKING UP THAT INITIATIVE WITHIN OUR POLICE, UH, DEPARTMENT COUNCIL MEMBER, WHICH, WHICH, UH, I, I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T HEAR WHAT THE 73% WAS.
IT WAS FOR THE YOUTH AND YOUTH ENGAGEMENT.
SO WE HAVE, UH, A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON RIGHT NOW AS FAR AS, UH, YOUTH, UH, AND, AND, AND ENGAGEMENT GOES.
WE'RE IN THE SCHOOLS RIGHT NOW, UH, ON A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT, UH, UM, PROGRAMS. OUR, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OFFICER, DOUG GREEN IS INVOLVED IN THOSE.
AND, AND AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE, WELL, THE, THE, THE PROGRAMS THAT WE'VE HAD HAVE BEEN DORMANT SINCE, UH, THE ONSET OF COVID.
WE'RE LOOKING TO KICKSTART THEM BACK UP IN JUNE.
BUT, UH, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MIDNIGHT BASKETBALL.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IMPROMPTU, UH, TYPE, UH, ACTIVITIES ON WEEKENDS WITH, WITH KIDS AT THE PLAYGROUNDS.
SO WE, WE HAVE A VARIETY OF THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON AND, UH, WE JUST HAVE TO, UM, GET THOSE CRANKED BACK UP AGAIN BACK.
AND IF WE AS A CITY COUNCIL CAN HAVE THAT INFORMATION GOING FORWARD, WHEN THAT'S ABOUT TO CRANK UP SO THAT WE CAN PUT IT OUT INTO OUR SCHOOLS, MAKE SURE THAT
[01:10:01]
OUR SUPERINTENDENTS AND OUR SCHOOL BOARD TRUSTEES HAVE THAT INFORMATION AND OUR SCHOOL COUNSELORS AS WELL.I THINK THAT THAT IS A GREAT WAY GOING FORWARD.
BUT THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME, MAYOR.
UH, MAYOR, IF I MAY, I JUST WANTED TO ADDRESS A COMMENT FROM THE COUNCILWOMAN.
SO, IN CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CHIEF COUNCILWOMAN, OUR GOAL IS TO GET OUR PROGRAMS BACK AND RUNNING BY JUNE ONE.
THAT'LL GIVE US TIME TO, UM, UH, GET 'EM IN SOCIAL MEDIA AND LET THE COMMUNITY KNOW THAT WE'RE COMING BACK WITH ALL THE PROGRAMS THAT WERE SUSPENDED BECAUSE OF C OVID 19.
SO WE'LL COORDINATE WITH ALL OF YOUR COUNCIL OFFICES TO, UM, DISSEMINATE THAT INFORMATION.
MARIA, COULD I JUMP, COULD I JUMP BACK IN FOR ONE QUICK SECOND? GO AHEAD.
UH, THERE WERE, THERE WAS, UH, THERE WERE TWO PROGRAMS THAT I, I WANTED TO MENTION.
ONE WAS WITH, WITH YOUTH, UH, OUR SUCCESS THROUGH RESPECT PROGRAM, WHICH IS HEADED BY DOUG GREEN, UH, BY DOUG GREEN AND, UH, IN, IN THE SCHOOLS AND THE HIGH SCHOOLS AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS.
AND THEN THE OTHER ONE WE JUST STARTED WAS, UH, DOUG AND ONE OF OUR FEMALE OFFICERS, UH, STARTED A FEMALE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM, UH, WORKING WITH THE, WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO DO THAT.
SO THEY'RE TWO OF THE, TWO OF THE, UH, VERY IMPORTANT PROGRAMS THAT WE, UH, THAT WE'VE UNDERTAKEN.
COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, ANDREW SULLIVAN, COUNCIL MEMBER GRAT.
I'M GLAD WE WERE ABLE TO SEE IT IN ANOTHER COMMITTEE EARLIER.
AND, UH, FIRST I THINK, WELL, FIRST I WANNA COMMENT ON WHAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL MENTIONED.
'CAUSE THAT'S ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT I THOUGHT ABOUT, UM, WHEN YOU HAD THE ONE SLIDE DIFFERENTIATING WHY PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT THEY NEED VISIBILITY.
AND DISTRICT NINE SAYS 70% SAYS NO, AND DISTRICT THREE, THE MAJORITY SAYS YES AND INCREASES NEEDED.
I WAS ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT HOW MANY GATED COMMUNITIES ARE IN, UM, DISTRICT NINE IN COMPARISON TO DISTRICT THREE, HOW MANY, UM, HOAS OR SUBDIVISIONS THAT YOU HAVE, AND THE DIFFERENCE THERE.
SO, UM, WE HAVE TO KEEP THAT IN MIND.
AND WHEN YOU'RE BUILDING OUT SUBDIVISIONS, WHEN YOU PAY H O A DUES, YOU HAVE CERTAIN EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT SECURITY WILL BE IN THE AREA OF WHAT LIGHTS WILL BE IN THE AREA OF WHAT, UM, STREETS WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF AS WELL.
SO THE OTHER POINT WAS HOW DO YOU QUALIFY, OR WHAT WAS THE DEFINITION OF MAKE THEM FEEL SAFE OR UNSAFE? WHO DEFINED THAT? THEY DEFINED IT THEMSELVES? THE RESIDENTS? OKAY.
AS COUNCIL, THEY DO, OKAY, SO WHEN WE SAY UNSAFE, DOES THAT MEAN UNSAFE BECAUSE THERE'S A DRUG HOUSE DOWN THE STREET, OR DOES THAT MEAN THERE'S A LAW, THERE'S A DOG THAT'S LOOSE, OR THERE'S AN ABANDONED HOUSE, OR THE STREET LIGHT IS OUT? SO I THINK, UM, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO HERE, UM, IN, IN, UH, DEFINING AND QUALIFYING THIS, BECAUSE EVEN IN THIS, THERE'S A LOT OF DISPARITY THAT EXISTS HERE, UH, IN THESE FINDINGS.
AND EVEN LOOKING AT THE OPEN-ENDED COMMENTS, THERE WAS NO, UM, IT WAS DRUGS AND BURGLARY AND THEFT AND, AND OTHERS READING ALL THOSE OPEN-ENDED COMMENTS IN THE, UM, IN THE BACKUP DOCUMENTATION.
SO I, I HAVE TO SAY THAT BECAUSE I THINK WE'RE STILL OFF A BIT HERE.
UM, SO ANOTHER POINT I WANTED TO MAKE NO MATTER WHAT, I THINK THIS ALSO PROVES THE POINT TO MY COLLEAGUES.
I THINK I'VE MENTIONED THIS BEFORE, WHY WE DO NEED A POLICE SUBSTATION IN DISTRICT THREE.
UM, SO I'LL CONTINUE TO, TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
AND DON'T WORRY, I'LL SAY THAT UNTIL, UM, THE VERY LAST DAY.
SO ANYHOW, I JUST, YOU ALL KNOW THAT.
AND WHAT ARE OUR, WHAT ARE OUR, OUR CALLS RIGHT NOW, UM, FOR CALLS THAT WE GET AND SS A P D, WHAT ARE, WHAT IS THE TOP CALLS THAT WE'RE GETTING RIGHT NOW? HOW MANY AND WHAT IS THE TOP, UH, CALL COUNCIL MEMBER? SOME, UH, MARIE, DO YOU WANNA TAKE THAT OR DO YOU WANT ME TO HANDLE
[01:15:01]
IT? UH, SURE.SO COUNCILWOMAN, UM, THE, THE, THE CALLS THAT WE GET IN SS A P D, THEY VARY IN THOSE PRIORITY CALLS THAT YOU SAW.
SO VERY CONSISTENT TO WHAT YOU SAW IN THE SURVEY WHERE PRIORITY ONE, TWO, AND THREE, UH, TEND TO BE THE, THE NUMBER OF CALLS THAT WE GET THE LEAST, AND PRIORITY FOUR TO SEVEN, SPECIFICALLY PRIORITY FOUR.
THAT'S WHERE WE SEE MOST OF THE CALLS.
SO JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME EXAMPLES, UM, CONSISTENT, WHAT WE HAD ON THE SLIDE, TYPE FOUR CALLS INCLUDE MENTAL HEALTH DISTURBANCE, PANHANDLING, SUSPICION, PERSON OR VEHICLE, UM, ANIMAL RELATED CALLS, GRAFFITI IN PROGRESS.
SO THAT CATEGORY FOUR, THAT TENDS TO BE, UH, ONE OF THE HIGHEST.
THE SEC, THE, THE, THE TOP, UM, PRIORITY CALLS THAT WE GET IS PRIORITY SEVEN, AND THAT INCLUDES, UM, PATROL BUYS, UH, THREATS, UH, ABANDONED VEHICLES, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO VERY CONSISTENT TO WHAT YOU SAW AND THE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY.
THOSE ARE THE CALLS THAT SS A P D IS GETTING TODAY.
AND WE, AND, UH, WE HAVE A DASHBOARD ON THAT AS WELL.
FOR ON S A P D, WE HAVE THE, THE HOTSPOT, UH, MAP ON THE SS A P D WEBSITE AS WELL.
WE DO, WE DO COUNSEL, CORRECT.
AND SO, UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, MAY, MAYBE IT ISN'T, UH, JUST POLICE SERVICES, UM, BUT MAYBE IN CERTAIN PARTS OF TOWN IT'S A COMBINATION, MORE VISIBILITY AND INCREASE OF POLICE IN CERTAIN AREAS AND LESS IN OTHERS.
BUT THEN MORE INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE, IN STREET LIGHTS, IN TRAFFIC, CALMING IN, UM, MORE ANIMAL CARE OFFICERS, MORE CLEANING UP ABANDONED BUILDINGS, MORE CLEANING UP, UM, VACANT LOTS THAT ARE OVERGROWN.
UM, THAT KIND OF SAFETY MECHANISMS THAT INCREASE THE QUALITY OF LIFE, BUT ALSO INCREASE THE ABILITY, UM, MORE SIDEWALKS BECAUSE IT'S SAFER WHEN YOU'RE ABLE TO WALK ON A SIDEWALK AND NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF A STREET OR IN SOMEONE'S YARD.
UM, SO I THINK WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS BUDGET WISE, WHEN YOU ALL ARE LOOKING AT THIS BUDGET WISE, UM, HAVING THE CONVERSATION, I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE ALSO NEED TO PUT THE SCOPE OF INVESTMENT INTO OUR COMMUNITIES AND INTO THE OLDER COMMUNITIES OF SAN ANTONIO, UM, THAT STILL NEED THAT.
SO, UM, THAT'S SOME THOUGHTS THAT I WANTED, UH, TO SHARE.
AND ALSO, UM, ASK YOU, MARIA AND ERIC, IF Y'ALL CAN SEND THE RECORDING OF THE VIDEO THAT WAS FOR DISTRICT THREE LAST NIGHT, SO WE CAN SHARE IT WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AT OUR LAST PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING, I ASKED HOW CLOSELY THE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY ALIGNED BY CATEGORY WITH WHAT THE RESEARCHERS FOUND AS, OF COURSE, THEY'VE HAD ACCESS TO THE CITY'S DATA.
ULTIMATELY, MY QUESTION WASN'T ANSWERED BY THE RESEARCHERS, AND I RECEIVED A RESPONSE SAYING THAT IT WASN'T WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THEIR RESEARCH QUESTION.
UM, THE, THE DATA, WHAT, WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR IS, IS THE DATA PROCURED, IS SOLID, IS IMPORTANT, AND I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING ABOUT IT.
I WANT THIS TO BE RESULTS ORIENTED.
I DIDN'T WANNA SEE THIS TURN INTO ANOTHER STUDY WE AGREE ON, AND THEN WE MOVE ON WITHOUT MAKING CHANGES.
SO AS I SEE IT, WE HAVE THESE TWO DATA SETS, THE REVIEW OF POLICE SERVICES SURVEY AND POLICE DEPARTMENT DATA THAT THE U T S A RESEARCHERS STUDIED.
I KNOW THEY WERE SEPARATELY COMMISSIONED, BUT HERE WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO USE THEM COLLABORATIVELY TO MOVE THIS, THIS ISSUE FORWARD.
THE, THE WHOLE ISSUE OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
HAVING SAID ALL OF THAT, UH, I WAS VERY DISCOURAGED, I HAVE TO ADMIT, AFTER OUR PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING.
BUT TODAY, I AM ENCOURAGED BY MARIA'S PRESENTATION, SPECIFICALLY THE STATEMENTS MADE REGARDING SHARING CALL TYPES WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS SO NON-POLICE PERSONNEL CAN RESPOND.
AND THEN HOW THAT ALIGNS WITH WHAT OUR CITIZENS ARE ASKING FOR.
ACCORDING TO THE SURVEY, THE QUESTION THAT WAS NOT ANSWERED BY THE RESEARCHERS AT OUR PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING, YOU ANSWERED VERY WELL HERE TODAY, MARIA.
AND I THINK IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST THE BEGINNING, I THINK THE MAYOR MADE A GOOD POINT.
HOW DO WE KNOW WE'RE ACHIEVING SUCCESS? THAT'S REALLY IS, IS AT THE CRUX OF WHAT I WANT TO KNOW.
UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WE, WE HAVE A PLAN AND WE'RE GONNA IMPLEMENT THE PLAN.
AND THEN HOW DO WE KNOW THAT WE'RE WE'RE SUCCESSFUL, THAT THIS PLAN IS SUCCESSFUL? I AGREE THAT WE DO NEED TO ENGAGE THE OFFICE OF EQUITY, UM, AND OF COURSE INCLUDE THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE AS WELL.
MAYBE INCLUDE PERIODIC SURVEYS TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION WITH THE PEOPLE WE REPRESENT.
THIS ISN'T GONNA HAPPEN QUICKLY OR
[01:20:01]
OVERNIGHT.YOU KNOW, I, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW AS WE, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, THAT WE ARE CONTINUING TO ENGAGE, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE ALL, UM, TAKING TIME TO MEET WITH SEVERAL GROUPS, BUT, UH, THESE, THESE SURVEYS ARE MORE COMPREHENSIVE.
AND SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO CONTINUE THAT.
I JUST WANNA MAKE A COUPLE OF POINTS.
THE WORK THAT WE COMMISSIONED THROUGH THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, THIS, THIS STUDY IS WORKING WELL WITHIN THE BIGGER FRAMEWORK THAT CONCLUDES BOTH CHECK AND I G R.
SO I'M THANKFUL TO, UH, THOSE COMMITTEE CHAIRS AND, AND OF COURSE, THE CITY STAFF FOR, FOR HELPING US TO, TO, TO GET THIS DATA AND THEN TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
UM, WHILE THIS IS THE BEGUN LONG BEFORE SATURDAY'S ELECTIONS, I THINK WE'VE BEEN INFORMED BY THE ELECTION RESULTS, BUT THIS IS IN LINE WITH THOSE RESULTS.
I THINK WE WERE ALREADY KIND OF ON A GOOD TRACK.
AND, UM, SO WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM THE ELECTORATE AND, AND REALLY EVERY CONSTITUENT OF OUR CITY WITH THIS SURVEY IS, UH, THAT THIS IS THE, THE DIRECTION WE NEED TO GO.
I ALSO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE TO SHARE THIS WORK AND THE ACTIONS WE CONTINUE TO TAKE IN RESPONSE TO THIS DATA WITH THE PUBLIC TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT EVERYONE IS INFORMED.
SO AGAIN, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT THINGS LIKE A SURVEY, UM, CONTINUING A SURVEY, UH, I JUST WOULD LIKE TO SEE KIND OF CHECKPOINTS THAT WE'RE, THEY'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
UM, SO I REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT, BUT IF ANYBODY HAS ANY COMMENTS.
COUNCIL MEMBER, KIO, HDA, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA.
AND THANK YOU MARIA AND, AND TEAM, AND TO THE U T S A, UM, TEAM FOR DOING THIS.
UH, I, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS I HAVE, UH, SPECIFICALLY ABOUT, THERE WAS A QUESTION ON THERE, AND I'M SORRY I DIDN'T WRITE DOWN THE QUESTION NUMBER ROSE ASKING ABOUT HOW TO BUILD BETTER RELATIONSHIPS.
IT WAS ON PAGE 17 OF THE 100 PAGE DOCUMENT THAT YOU ALL SENT.
UM, 12% SAID OTHER SUGGESTIONS.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THOSE OTHER SUGGESTIONS ARE.
WERE THEY ABLE TO WRITE? I MEAN, I LOOKED THROUGH ALL OF THE PDFS THAT YOU SENT EVERY SINGLE REPORT, AND I COULDN'T FIND THAT.
CAN SOMEBODY HELP ME SEE WHAT WAS WRITTEN AS OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR THAT 12%? BECAUSE ONE OF THEM WAS, OBVIOUSLY WE HAD PUT ON THERE LIKE SAFE OFFICERS AND VISITS TO SCHOOLS, BUT THERE'S 12% OF RESPONDENTS THAT, UH, RECOMMENDED OTHER SUGGESTION.
WAS THERE AN OPEN-ENDED QUESTION FOR COMMENTS THERE? UM, COUNCILMAN, IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'M, UM, LOOKING AT THE, THE, OKAY, I FOUND IT.
SO THERE'S A QUESTION NUMBER NINE, OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR WAYS THE POLICE DEPARTMENT CAN BUILD BETTER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO THAT IS ROUGHLY AROUND PAGE 28, 29 OF THE OPEN-ENDED ATTACHMENT THAT, THAT WE PROVIDE TO THE COUNCIL.
SO YEAH, YOU'LL SEE THERE THE RESPONSES BY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
AND I JUST HAPPENED TO OPEN, UM, ACTUALLY DISTRICT FOUR.
THEY SAID, UM, I NEED TO INTERACT WITH THE COMMUNITY BETTER NEIGHBORHOOD PATROLLING, PATROL THE NEIGHBORHOODS FOR MORE SECURITY, UM, PUT OUT SO THAT, BUT TO, BUT THAT WAS A DIFFERENT QUESTION.
'CAUSE THE QUESTION THAT'S REFERENCED ON PAGE 28 AND 29, MARIA, IS WHAT CONCERNS DO YOU HAVE ABOUT THE INTERACTIONS? BUT THE QUESTION WAS SPECIFICALLY FOR HOW COULD THEY BUILD BETTER RELATIONSHIPS? I DIDN'T SEE THE OPEN-ENDED ANSWER TO HOW TO BUILD, UH, BETTER RELATIONSHIPS IN THE OPEN-ENDED ONE.
AND, AND I HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME, COUNCILWOMAN, SO I'LL OH, GOOD.
UM, IT'S, IT'S ONE ATTACHMENTS.
'CAUSE I WAS, WHEN WONDERING WHAT THAT 12% ADJUSTED, 'CAUSE MAYBE THERE'S LIKE ANOTHER GOLDEN NUGGET IN THERE THAT WE MISSED OR SOMETHING, AND I HAVEN'T SEEN IT.
UM, SO I WAS, UH, HAPPY ABOUT PAGE 32.
UM, THEY TALKED ABOUT HOW A PRIORITY, UH, OR A PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY, UM, SHOULD BE FOR POLICE TO HANDLE AGGRESSIVE PANHANDLING.
THAT'S VERY CONSISTENT WITH WHAT I SEE IN DISTRICT FOUR.
I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE INCREASING THE TRAINING FROM A HUNDRED, FROM 80 HOURS TO 120 HOURS.
DID WE, UM, BECAUSE WE, WE SAW IN QUESTION 18 THAT THAT'S WHAT FOLKS SAY WE SHOULD BE DOING.
UM, WHEN ARE WE GONNA FIGURE OUT WHAT THOSE EXTRA 40 HOURS ARE GONNA BE IN TRAINING? I THINK THE CHIEF HAS ALREADY SOME IDEAS.
COUNCIL MEMBER, THE, THE, THE, IF I CAN GO BACK JUST REAL QUICKLY.
YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT INCREASING THE FREE AND THAT TRAINING.
UH, WE'RE DOING THAT TRAINING BY USE OF, UH, ROLL CALL VIDEOS, UM, THREE TOPICS A MONTH, UM, EVERY
[01:25:01]
DAY, UM, DURING ROLL CALL.AND THE, AS FAR AS THE ADDITIONAL, UH, 40 HOURS OF TRAINING, UH, THAT WOULD BE DICTATED BY, UM, UH, AT LEAST IN PART ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE MOMENT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE CURRENT, WHAT'S IN THE CURRENT CLIMATE.
AND THEN, UH, THROUGH DISCUSSIONS AT THE ACADEMY AS FAR AS WHAT, WHAT TO, WHAT TO PUT OUT THERE IN, IN, IN TERMS OF TRAINING BLOCKS.
COUNCILOR, LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
I MEAN, AND I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT ALSO FALLS IN THE BUCKET OF, OF THAT WE, IT, IT ALWAYS NEEDS TO BE REFRESHED, BUT YOU KNOW, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, WE, WHEN WE, WHEN, WHEN, WHEN THEY TRAIN INCOMING OFFICERS ON THE LAW AND DRIVING AND, YOU KNOW, BEING A POLICE OFFICER AND THINGS LIKE, UM, UH, L G B T Q RELATIONS, UH, RACE RELATIONS, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE, THE, THE CULTURALLY SENSITIVE IS SENSITIVE ISSUES THAT WE TRY TO IMPRESS.
YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IS WE DON'T SPEND A LOT OF TIME, UM, OR WE SHOULD SPEND MORE TIME ON UTILIZING THE DATA FROM THE SURVEY AND THE 9 1 1 CALLS.
AND, AND, AND WHAT TYPE OF, WHAT TYPE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE OR NEIGHBORHOOD ENGAGEMENT TRAINING ARE WE GIVING OFFICERS THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THEIR CALLS ARE GONNA BE DEALING WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD ON A LIGHTING ISSUE OR, OR A, UH, A DISTURBANCE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND, AND MAYBE, AND MAYBE SPENDING MORE TIME TO KIND OF FILL OUT THAT EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE.
BECAUSE LOOK AT THE 9 1 1 CALLS.
IT'S THE MAJORITY OF THEIR CALLS THAT ARE GOING ON.
UM, SO IT'S LIKE WE'RE TRAINING THEM FOR THE, THE, THE SPECTRUM.
AND THERE MAY BE A PIECE IN THE MIDDLE WE'RE MISSING.
THERE'S A LOT MORE WORK THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND MARIA AND THE GROUP WE'RE GONNA DO TO HELP IDENTIFY.
RACE RELATIONS EQUITY, UM, L G B T Q I A, UH, UM, I WOULD EVEN VENTURE TO SAY, UM, UH, WOMEN AND CHILDREN WHO ARE EXPOSED TO VIOLENCE AND SERVICING THEM, AND THEN VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION AND VIOLENCE IN THE COMMUNITY AND FEMALES SPECIFICALLY.
AND, UM, INTERVENTION, UH, YOU KNOW, THROUGH, THROUGH SOME USE OF SOCIOLOGICAL, UM, BACKGROUND.
SO, SO ANYWAY, BUT, UM, I'M HAPPY THAT WE HAVE ADDED, OR THE RESIDENCY PORT, UH, POINTS.
I THOUGHT THAT IT WAS TELLING THAT OUR, OUR RESIDENTS FEEL SAFER DURING THE DAY THAN ANY OTHER MAJOR CITY.
UM, AND ABOVE ALL, ALSO, THEY FEEL SAFE AT NIGHT, UM, ABOVE EVERY OTHER MAJOR CITY EXCEPT ELPASO.
UM, AND I WONDER WHAT ELPASO IS DOING DIFFERENTLY, BY THE WAY.
UM, I'M HAPPY THAT THE, THE, IT LOOKS LIKE THE COMMUNITY IS VERY SATISFIED, UM, ALSO ABOVE ALL OF THE, THE MAJOR CITIES.
IT, IT SOUNDS LIKE WITH THE CURRENT POLICE WORK, UM, THE LOWEST PERCENT FROM ANY LARGE CITY, UH, OF FOLKS WHO DO NOT HESITATE TO CALL S A P D, UM, BECAUSE THEY HAVE CONCERNS WAS ALSO SOMETHING THAT WAS VERY REASSURING TO ME.
ON PAGE 76 OF THE, UH, UM, PAGE 76 OF THAT REALLY LONG REPORT, THE 100 PAGER, IT TALKS ABOUT 499 SURVEYS WERE MAILED.
DO YOU HAVE A BREAKDOWN OF HOW MANY OF THOSE WERE BY DISTRICT? LIKE, I WANNA KNOW HOW MANY DISTRICT FOUR RESIDENTS MAILED IN THEIR RESPONSE.
CAN, CAN SOMEBODY LET ME KNOW THAT SOMETIME? YES.
COUNCILMAN WILL ASK E T C TO PROVIDE THAT BREAKOUT.
AND THEN SIMILARLY, THERE WAS ONLY 152 SURVEYS THAT CAME, CAME BACK IN SPANISH, AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF THEY WERE SENT OUT AND YOU ALL DID INCLUDE THE COPY OF THE SURVEY INSTRUMENT IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH.
BUT I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS LIKE, SO DID BOTH SURVEY INSTRUMENTS GO OUT AND THEN THEY CHOSE WHICH ONE TO RESPOND TO? YES, COUNCILMAN, WE, UM, MAILED THE INSTRUMENT BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH, AND THEN THEY CHOSE HOW TO RESPOND TO IT.
UM, I ALSO WANNA TELL YOU THAT I APPRECIATED THE RESULTS BY RACE P D F, THAT U T S A PUT OUT.
I THINK IT'S VERY TELLING, UM, HISPANICS FEEL THE LEAST SAFE.
SO IN THE, IN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS, IT SAYS THAT, UM, IN RIGHTFULLY SO, HISPANICS ARE ASKING FOR INCREASED VISIBILITY, AND THAT WAS IN QUESTION THREE.
AND IT'S RESULTING BECAUSE THEY FEEL THE LESS SAFE.
QUESTION SEVEN A, UM, IT TALKS ABOUT HOW, UM, HOW WHAT SOME OF THE CONCERNS ARE, AND A LOT OF IT IS THAT POLICE WILL NOT SHOW UP SOMETIMES, OR MAYBE IT'S IF THEY'RE TAKING TOO LONG TO SHOW UP.
SO I'M APPRECIATIVE OF THE FACT THAT YOU ALL BROKE IT DOWN BY, UM, THE LEVELS RIGHT, ONE THROUGH FOUR, AND THEN I CAN NOW GO AND TELL MY RESIDENTS, WELL, IF IT'S BECAUSE YOU CALLED, UM, THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN PRIORITY ONE WAS, FOR INSTANCE, A CUTTING IN PROGRESS VERSUS PRIORITY FOUR WAS SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT.
[01:30:01]
SO, SO THANK YOU FOR INCLUDING THAT.I HAD NEVER SEEN THAT, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.
QUESTION 17, UM, WAS SIMILARLY TIED INTO THAT ONE BECAUSE WHAT OUR RESIDENTS SAID THAT THEY LIKED THE LEAST WAS RESPONSE TIME AND THAT THEY HARDLY SEE PATROLS.
SO AGAIN, I THINK THAT THE INCREASED VISIBILITY KEEPS JUST RESOUNDING, UM, IT, IT'S A, A RESOUNDING CALL.
AND THEN QUESTION 18, UM, WHAT SHOULD S A P D IMPROVE? AND AGAIN, IT WAS A VISIBILITY OR MORE OFFICERS.
AND SO, UM, I, I JUST WANNA SAY THAT I, I AM, UM, APPRECIATIVE THAT THERE WAS, UM, THOUGHTFUL, UM, DISCUSS, OR THERE WILL BE, THERE WILL CONTINUE TO BE THOUGHTFUL DISCUSSION ABOUT, UM, POLICE COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS.
AND I DO, UM, WANT TO SEE WHAT THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE.
UM, MARIA, FROM THE 12% OF OTHER SUGGESTIONS, I WAS DISAPPOINTED THAT THE SAFE OFFICERS DIDN'T RANK A LITTLE HIGHER IN THAT.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, THEY WERE FOURTH, UM, OUT OF THE FIVE, WHICH RIGHT ABOVE THE OTHER.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF PEOPLE REALIZE WHAT SAFE OFFICERS DO.
UM, SO MAYBE IT'S JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE OF PROMOTION ABOUT SAFE OFFICERS.
I KNOW OUR NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERS ARE VERY INVOLVED WITH THEIR SAFE OFFICERS.
I DON'T KNOW IF THE COMMUNITY, TO AN EXTENT KNOWS WHAT THE SAFE OFFICERS DO.
THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS, AND I'M SURE I'LL HAVE MORE LATER ON.
THANK YOU MAYOR, AND THANK YOU TEAM.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHE GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY.
UM, YEAH, I GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS HERE.
UM, CHIEF, WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE THOSE MISCELLANEOUS CALLS LIKE IN CATEGORY SEVEN? THAT'S, THAT SEEMS TO BE THE MAJORITY OF THE CALLS.
WHAT, WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF THE MISCELLANEOUS? I'M JUST CURIOUS.
UH, IT COULD BE, UH, IT COULD BE A PATROL BUY.
UH, IT COULD BE, UM, A SELF-INITIATED STOP BY A POLICE OFFICER.
UH, ANYTHING THAT THE DISPATCHER, UH, IS NOT NECESSARILY PUTTING OUT FROM A CALL, USUALLY IT'S OFFICER INITIATED.
WELL, UH, IN PREPARATION FOR THIS COMING TO THE, UH, SAFETY COMMITTEE, I, I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
AND, AND I'VE TALKED TO COUNCILWOMAN
BUT I, I, AND YOU'VE BRIEFED THIS BEFORE, OUR PRIME STATISTICS, WHERE THEY'RE AT AND HOW, YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY'VE BEEN OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, AND METRICS SHOWING THAT.
I'D LIKE TO SEE, UM, UH, UH, COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN SAN ANTONIO AND THE OTHER METRO CENTERS THAT LINKS THE NUMBER OF, UH, OFFICERS PER CAPITA HERE IN THE CITY TO OTHER CITIES.
UM, AND I, I WANT TO KNOW, HOW DO WE GAUGE TODAY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE ACTUALLY HERE IN SAN ANTONIO? BECAUSE AS EVERYBODY KNOWS, THIS CITY HAS GROWN A LOT OVER THE LAST FIVE TO 10 YEARS.
AND I WANT THAT PLUGGED INTO THE METRICS AS WELL.
WHERE ARE WE AT TODAY, AND HOW MUCH HAVE WE GROWN AND HOW MUCH HAS OUR POLICE FORCE GROWN OVER THAT SAME AMOUNT OF TIME? UM, UH, I, I DISAGREE WITH SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT, UM, AND IT, IT SHOWS IN THIS REPORT PEOPLE WANT TO SEE MORE POLICE OFFICERS.
AND I DISAGREE WITH SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT THE NUMBER OF POLICE OFFICERS DON'T NECESSARILY MEAN IT DOESN'T MAKE PEOPLE FEEL SAFE.
UH, YES, INFRASTRUCTURE IS AN IMPORTANT PART, BUT IT'S CLEAR IN THIS SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS WITH THE DATA THAT SHOWS PEOPLE WANT TO SEE MORE POLICE OFFICERS, UH, OUT IN THEIR COMMUNITY.
SO I, I THINK WE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO THAT PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THAT IN LIGHT OF THE GROWTH OF THIS CITY, HOW WE, HOW WE'RE DISPERSING THE POLICE OFFICERS ACROSS THIS CITY AND, UH, COMPARED THAT TO OUR CRIME RATE THAT, UH, WE'RE EXPERIENCING HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE ALL OF THOSE STATISTICS BRIEFED IN CONCERT WITH THIS AT THE SAFETY COMMITTEE THAT, UH, WHEN THAT BRING BEING, UH, BROUGHT, BROUGHT FORWARD.
AND I, I HAVE TO SAY PERSONALLY, I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT, UH, SUBSTITUTING OTHER, UH, UM, CITY OFFICES TO RESPOND TO, UH, LIKE MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS, UH, SPOUSAL ABUSE PROBLEMS, THOSE KIND OF THINGS TO, UH, PUT THEM, I MEAN, THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THEY'RE NOT, UM, THERE TO ENFORCE THE LAWS THEY'RE TRYING TO DEESCALATE.
BUT WHEN WE, WHEN YOU START OFF WITH A POTENTIAL PROBLEM, I WOULD HATE, I, I DON'T WANT TO SEND ANYBODY
[01:35:01]
INTO A DANGEROUS SITUATION HERE IN THIS CITY THAT WOULD THREATEN THEIR LIFE.I DON'T WANT US, I AM NOT GONNA SIGN UP TO THAT IF THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE POLICE OFFICERS FOR, TO RESPOND TO VOLATILE SITUATIONS.
AND IF ANYBODY ON THIS COUNCIL IS OKAY WITH THAT, SO BE IT.
BUT I'M NOT GONNA SIGN UP TO THAT.
'CAUSE I DON'T WANT TO PUT ANYBODY IN HARM'S WAY IN ANY TYPE OF SITUATION LIKE THAT.
SO, JUST SAYING THAT RIGHT, RIGHT OFF THE TOP.
AND I, I THINK IT'S KIND OF FUNNY THAT WE DO A LOT OF ANALYSIS AND A LOT OF STUDIES FOR DIFFERENT THINGS HERE IN THIS CITY THAT THOSE STUDIES GET LOOKED AT, VERY LITTLE COMMENTS, THEY'RE ACCEPTED ON FACE VALUE.
BUT HERE WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT'S NOT REALLY FITTING THE NARRATIVE THAT PEOPLE WANT TO HEAR, AND IT, IT IS BEING PICKED APART, UH, TO TRY TO MAKE IT SOUND, UH, A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT IT'S SHOWING US IN THE DATA THAT HAS BEEN COLLECTED, A SCIENTIFIC DATA THAT'S BEEN COLLECTED ACROSS THE CITY.
SO, I, I'M, AGAIN, I I JUST THINK IT'S A LITTLE BIT STRANGE THAT WE, HERE, WE HAVE A SCIENTIFIC STUDY THAT'S GIVEN TO US, AND WE'RE TRYING TO TAKE IT IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.
I THINK THIS SHOULD, THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE CAN'T DISCUSS IT, BUT THE BUT THE DATA IS CLEAR WHAT IT'S SHOWING US FROM ACROSS SAN ANTONIO.
AND, UH, UNLESS THERE WERE SOME TERRIBLE MISTAKES MADE BY THIS PROFESSIONAL COMPANY THAT DOES THIS STUFF, I THINK WE SHOULD, WE SHOULD ACCEPT THIS AND MOVE FORWARD WITH, UM, WITH WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO NEXT IN OUR, WITH OUR POLICE FORCE.
AND AGAIN, PEOPLE ARE HAPPY WITH OUR POLICE FORCE, THEY WANT TO SEE MORE OF IT.
AND THAT'S TWO BIG TAKEAWAYS THAT I THINK IS VERY, VERY EVIDENT HERE.
SO, UM, I JUST, I JUST, I JUST THINK THAT'S KIND OF FUNNY.
BUT, UM, CHIEF I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE THOSE STATISTICS AND METRICS PUT TOGETHER FOR THE NEXT SAFETY COMMITTEE IN CONCERT WITH THIS STUDY ON WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS ARE GONNA COMING OUT OF THIS STUDY.
SO THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT TO SAY.
MAYOR, CAN I JUMP IN REAL QUICK? SURE.
COUNCILMAN, LET, LET ME JUST, UM, LET, LET ME ADDRESS THE, THE MAIN ISSUE THAT YOU, THAT YOU RAISED AT THE BEGINNING.
UM, WE, WE WILL NOT BE MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, UH, AND THE CONCLUSION OF THIS REPORT THAT IS GONNA PUT ANYBODY IN DANGER.
UM, AND, AND I WANT, I I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S, UH, ANSWERED RIGHT NOW.
I MEAN, WE'RE NOT, I'M NOT GONNA DO THAT.
UM, THE STAFF'S NOT GONNA DO THAT.
THE CHIEF'S NOT GONNA DO THAT.
WE ARE TRYING TO DO, WE ARE TRYING TO THINK THROUGH WHAT MAKES SENSE, UM, AND IS NOT A FLASH IN THE PAN, BUT, UH, WE ARE NOT GOING TO MAKE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS TO, UH, RESPOND TO ANY OF THESE CALLS THAT PUTS EITHER OFFICERS OR OTHER DEPARTMENTS OR OTHER AGENCIES IN ANY SORT OF DANGER.
SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THAT.
WELL, I, I APPRECIATE, I APPRECIATE THAT, ERIC, AND, AND, UH, UM, I THINK THAT SHOULD BE PARAMOUNT IN RESPONDING ACROSS THE CITY.
WE WANT EVERYBODY TO BE SAFE, BOTH THE VICTIMS AND THE RESPONDING UNITS TO THOSE, TO THOSE REPORTS AND FULL STOP.
AND THAT SHOULD BE, THAT SHOULDN'T BE ARGUED AT ALL.
SO I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THOSE COMMENTS.
COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? HEAR YOU? GREAT.
JUST WANNA BE SURE, UH, YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO AGREE WITH MUCH OF WHAT, UH, COUNCILMAN PERRY JUST SAID.
I, I THINK WE SHARE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES, UH, UH, A COMMON INTEREST IN PUBLIC SAFETY, WHICH I'M SURE EVERY OTHER COMMUNITY DOES.
BUT, YOU KNOW, UH, THE NEIGHBORHOODS WE HAVE ARE, ARE SIMILAR.
UH, I'M SURE A LOT OF THE, UH, THE CONCERNS THAT OUR NEIGHBORS HAVE, UH, ARE SIMILAR.
SO I HAVE TO AGREE WITH MUCH OF WHAT HE'S HAD TO SAY.
YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE BIG ISSUES I THINK BOTH HE AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT IS HAVING MORE PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS, UH, ON THE FORCE OR IN THIS, IN THE STREET FOR US.
AND, YOU KNOW, I KNOW RIGHT NOW WE'RE GOING THROUGH A CRITICAL, UH, PHASE BECAUSE WE'RE NEGOTIATING WITH SS A P O A ABOUT A TOTALLY NEW CONTRACT.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HEARD THAT THERE'S A MORALE PROBLEM WITHIN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, QUITE A FEW PEOPLE ARE LINING UP TO RETIRE.
[01:40:01]
WE MAY HAVE SOME BIG GAPS TO FILL, YOU KNOW, THREE OR FOUR, FIVE MONTHS FROM NOW.AND IF ONE OF THE WAYS OF FILLING THOSE GAPS CAN BE FINDING ALTERNATIVE, UH, SERVICES TO RELEASE POLICE OFFICERS FROM DOING ITEMS 4, 5, 6, AND SEVEN, UH, SO THAT OTHER PROFESSIONALS CAN HANDLE THAT SO THAT THEN WE CAN KEEP THEM OUT IN THE STREET AND BEING MORE VISIBLE AND ADDRESSING THE REAL CONCERNS THAT PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT, UH, THE GREATEST PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES, THEIR PERSONAL SAFETY, THEIR PROPERTY SAFETY, THEN MAYBE WE DON'T NEED TO GO HIRE ANOTHER A HUNDRED POLICE OFFICERS, BUT WE NEED TO PUT THEM IN THE RIGHT PLACES AT THE RIGHT TIME.
I'M VERY HOPEFUL THAT THE CONTINUING STUDY WE'RE LOOKING AT ON WAYS TO ADDRESS, UH, SOME OF THE INDIVIDUAL NEEDS OF, OF PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT THE POLICE HAVE HAD TO ADDRESS MAY GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO REASSIGN, UH, OUR POLICE TO DOING THE JOB THAT, THAT WE ALL TRUST THEM TO DO.
AND THAT'S PUBLIC SAFETY IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS AND IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
SO I'M ANXIOUS TO SEE WHAT THE NEXT LEVEL OF REPORT'S GOING TO BE, UH, WITH THE AGENCIES WORKING WITH STRAC AND, AND WORKING WITH OUR PROFESSIONAL DEPARTMENTS LIKE METRO HEALTH, UH, AND HUMAN RESOURCES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, SO THAT WE CAN MAYBE GET MORE OF OUR POLICE OFFICERS FREED FROM THOSE TASKS THAT OTHERS CAN DO, SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THEY'RE IN OUR STREETS.
YOU KNOW, WE WERE SEEING THAT IN SAN ANTONIO, 57%, UH, IN THE CHART OF PEOPLE WERE SAYING, UM, THEY, THEY THINK THAT THE VISIBILITY, UH, YOU KNOW, IS IT'S OKAY, WELL, THAT MEANS, YOU KNOW, 43% SAY WE NEED MORE VISIBILITY.
YOU KNOW, WE LOOKED AT ONE OF THE CHARTS AND IT TALKED ABOUT MY DISTRICT, AND IT SAID THE RESIDENTS, UH, WEREN'T VERY LIKELY TO WANT MORE VISIBILITY.
ONLY 39% WANTED MORE VISIBILITY.
WELL, THAT'S 39% WHO DO, EVEN THOUGH THE OTHER, YOU KNOW, 70% OR 62% SAY EVERYTHING'S GOOD FOR THEM.
SO THERE IS A NEED TO BE SURE THAT WE HAVE MORE POLICE PRESENCE AND VISIBILITY THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITIES, NOT JUST IN DISTRICT NINE OR 10.
AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S GOING TO BE A TARGET FOR US TO MAKE SURE THE POLICE ARE ONLY DOING THE JOBS THEY ABSOLUTELY ARE TRAINED TO DO AND ARE PREPARED TO DO, AND ARE VALUABLE TO DO.
AND, AND FINDING OTHER WAYS OF, OF PROVIDING THESE OTHER SERVICES THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH REDUCING OUR COMMITMENT TO THE POLICE.
IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO TO IMPROVING AS A CITY, OUR COMMITMENT TO THE POLICE.
SO, UH, THO THAT'S WHAT I AM WALKING AWAY WITH RIGHT NOW FROM THIS REPORT.
AND, UH, THIS WAS A REALLY GREAT PRESENTATION, AND, UM, I THINK YOU GAVE A GREAT OVERVIEW.
AND, UM, THIS IS THE BEST I'VE EVER SEEN, UH, IN ALL OF THE YEARS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, UH, POLICING IN THIS COMMUNITY.
AND SO I THINK THIS IS REALLY GREAT.
UM, SO I, I GUESS I, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UM, UH, SO I MENTIONED THIS WHEN WE HAD OUR SMALL GROUP, UM, MEETING, IS THAT I, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UH, WHEN, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'RE ASKING THE QUESTION, YOU KNOW, SHOULD THIS, UM, BE ASSIGNED TO SOMEBODY ELSE, UM, BUT WE DON'T GIVE THEM WHAT OTHER OPTION THERE IS, UM, THEN PERHAPS IT LIMITS, UM, THE, THE WAY THAT PEOPLE RESPOND.
UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THOSE OF US, OF COURSE, SITTING HERE, WE UNDERSTAND FOR A LONG TIME THAT THERE ARE OTHER, OH, THERE'S ALWAYS ANOTHER OPTION.
UM, BUT IT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU DON'T GIVE THEM THOSE, UH, I, I FEEL LIKE IT MAY, UM, IT, IT MAY, I DON'T KNOW, INFLUENCE THEIR ANSWERS.
UH, SO HAS THERE BEEN, UM, WAS THERE ANY, I, I KNOW THAT WE TALKED ABOUT THAT IN MY MEETING.
WAS THERE ANY OTHER FOLLOW UP ON THAT, UH, PARTICULAR CONCERN? AND I MENTIONED THE ISSUE OF GRAFFITI IN PARTICULAR, THAT WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE SANTO, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WORKS WITH YOUTH, UM, IN ART, IN ART FORMS. LIKE, IS THERE A DIVERSION TO SOMETHING LIKE THAT INSTEAD OF A POLICE RESPONSE
[01:45:01]
COUNCILMAN? UM, FOR THE QUESTIONS THAT WE ARE SHARING AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS, WE INTENTIONALLY DIDN'T GIVE ANY OPTIONS SO THAT WAY THE COMMUNITY COULD TELL US, YOU KNOW, THEIR THOUGHTS.AND THERE'S NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWER.
UM, I THINK THAT ONCE WE COME BACK WITH RECOMMENDATIONS AND WE RECOMMEND WHO COULD POTENTIALLY TAKE THAT CALL, THEN WE GONNA HAVE THE TIME AFTER THE CITY MANAGER PROPOSES A BUDGET AND BUDGET ADOPTION, WHICH IS 30 DAYS.
AND WE ARE GONNA GO OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND ASK THEM MENTAL HEALTH CALLS, HYPOTHETICALLY, SHOULD E M SS BE THE FIRST RESPONDER RATHER THAN SS A P D? WHAT DO YOU THINK? SO THAT IS A MORE DIRECT, UH, UM, WAY OF ADDRESSING THE CODE AND THE WAY WE DO IN IT TODAY.
BUT WE INTENTIONALLY DESIGN IT THAT WAY, NOT TO GIVE THEM ANY PARAMETERS, BUT FOR THEM JUST TO TELL US WHAT THEY, WHAT THEY THOUGHT.
AND AGAIN, THERE'S NO RIGHT OR OR WRONG ANSWER, UM, BUT I UNDERSTAND YOUR, YOUR CONCERN.
AND, AND SO I THINK PERHAPS, WE'LL, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN WE REALLY GET INTO THE INFORMATION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW WE ADDRESS SOME OF THESE ISSUES, IF WE GIVE THEM A, ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE AND SAY IT CAN BE HANDLED PERHAPS BY X ORGANIZATION, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY MAY BE MORE LIKELY TO, UM, TO SUPPORT SOMETHING ELSE.
UM, AND I GUESS ANOTHER QUESTION, YOU KNOW, THAT I HAD, AND I, I WAS VERY SURPRISED TO SEE THAT THE HIGHEST, ONE OF THE HIGHEST THINGS, UM, THAT PEOPLE SAID THAT POLICE SHOULD RESPOND TO WAS THEFT OF PROPERTY WHEN ACTUALLY THERE, UM, AND I DON'T KNOW, CHIEF, YOU CAN, YOU CAN RESPOND, WE KNOW THAT LIKE 90% OF ALL CRIME OR PROPERTY CRIMES AND ACTUALLY POLICE'S ABILITY TO EITHER RETURN TO SENDER OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT IS LIKE 3% CORRECT.
SO I MEAN, AGAIN, LIKE THAT'S PROBABLY, WE, I THINK WE HAVE A DISCONNECT THERE.
I MEAN, IF WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT, UM, RETURN ON INVESTMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE REALITY IS SPENDING A LOT OF POLICE ENFORCEMENT ON PROPERTY CRIMES IS PROBABLY NOT THE BEST WAY TO USE OUR CITY RESOURCES.
SO I, I HOPE THAT WE COME UP WITH SOME ALTERNATIVES TO THAT.
I MEAN, I ALWAYS FELT LIKE THAT COULD BE HANDLED IN SOME SORT OF TECHNOLOGICAL WAY.
UM, AND WE KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT THERE ARE, UM, SOME WAYS, SOME TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES THAT WE COULD USE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THESE ISSUES.
AND, UM, UH, SO I, I I, I, I FELT LIKE, YOU KNOW, UM, AS WE EVOLVE THE CONVERSATIONS, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE'LL SEE, AND I, I ALSO, UM, I I'M REMINDED OF, YOU KNOW, MANY YEARS AGO, I DON'T KNOW, PROBABLY MORE THAN 10 YEARS NOW, UM, I USED TO BE INVOLVED IN AN ORGANIZATION THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, A BUSINESSES AGAINST CRIME NETWORK.
AND ONE OF THE THING, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS STILL TRUE, BUT SOME OF THE LARGER RETAILERS, UM, AND YOU CAN IMAGINE WHO THE LARGER RETAILERS ARE, THERE'S NOT THAT MANY, UM, ACTUALLY DID NOT HAVE ANY SECURITY IN THEIR STORES BECAUSE IT WAS CHEAPER TO USE OUR S A P D.
UM, AND SO THEY JUST, YOU KNOW, THEY, THAT WAS, THAT WAS A COMPANY POLICY, UH, THAT THEY SAID, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE LAW ENFORCEMENT HERE BECAUSE IT'S CHEAPER TO JUST CALL THE POLICE AND FILE A POLICE REPORT WHEN, UM, THERE'S A THEFT OF PROPERTY INSIDE OUR STORES.
SO I DON'T, THAT'S WHY I'M KIND OF GETTING AT, YOU KNOW, IS THERE A WAY TO USE TECHNOLOGY OR SOMETHING ELSE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THESE ISSUES THAT WE'RE REALLY NOT, UM, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE.
AND I'M, I'M AFRAID, UH, WHILE I AGREE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY, THAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS TO SEE OUR POLICE OFFICERS, THAT'S, I MEAN, I, I THINK THAT'S OVERWHELMING, AT LEAST, UH, YOU KNOW, I CAN SAY IN MY DISTRICT AND THE RESULTS, UM, UH, PROVE THAT, UH, OF THE SURVEYS.
BUT, BUT WHAT WE DON'T REALLY SEE IS LIKE WHAT OTHER ALTERNATIVES THERE ARE.
UM, AND COUNCILWOMAN
AND I ALSO FEEL LIKE THAT WASN'T QUANTIFIED RIGHT.
IN THIS PARTICULAR STUDY, MARIA, I MEAN, THIS IS, AND WHAT DID THE SURVEY SAY EXCLUSIVELY? THIS IS ABOUT POLICE AND OR POLICE POLICING.
COUNCIL IMAN, THE, THE, WE, UM, ATTACH A LETTER, A COVER LETTER TO THE SURVEY, SPECIFICALLY LETTING THE COMMUNITY KNOW THAT WE WANTED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE EXPECTATIONS THE COMMUNITY HAS OF THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UM, THE, THE SURVEY IS VERY, VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT, UM, COMMUNITY SURVEY ON POLICING IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO I, I THINK WE, WE MADE THAT VERY CLEAR ON BOTH THE COVER LETTER AND THE ACTUAL QUESTIONS ON THE SURVEY.
WELL, I HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DO ANOTHER
[01:50:01]
SORT OF DEEPER DIVE AS A COUNCILWOMAN MENTIONED ABOUT WHAT MAKES PEOPLE FEEL SAFE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD, OR, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH, BECAUSE WHEN, I THINK ONE THING THAT WE KNOW, UM, CRIME, WHICH IS, UM, WHAT PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT IS FAIRLY CONSISTENT ALL OVER THE CITY.WE DON'T HAVE HIGHER RATES OF CRIME IN ONE DISTRICT IN ANOTHER.
UM, YET WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE PARTS OF OUR DISTRICT THAT WANNA SEE MORE, UM, VISIBLY SEE MORE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PARTS THAT, THAT DON'T.
UH, AND SO, UH, BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ACTUAL CRIME RATES.
UH, AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THIS WAS A VERY, UM, UH, UH, POSITIVE, UM, UH, SURVEY AND, AND POSITIVE RESPONSES.
I JUST, I, I STILL THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN WE ARE GOING TO GO TO OUR CONSTITUENTS ABOUT A BUDGET, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LIMITED BUDGET AND LIMITED RESOURCES, I MEAN, WE AS COUNCIL MEMBERS KNOW THAT THEY, WE COULD DO OTHER THINGS MUCH MORE AFFORDABLY.
AND SO IF WE WANNA ADDRESS ISSUES LIKE, UH, PROPERTY THEFT OR PROPERTY CRIMES, WE COULD PROBABLY ADDRESS A LOT OF THOSE THINGS WITH TECHNOLOGY.
UM, IF WE WANNA ADDRESS ENFORCEMENT ISSUES WITH TRAFFIC, AND OTHERWISE, WE COULD ALSO DO THAT WITH TECHNOLOGY.
UM, BUT, UM, WE, I THINK THAT, UM, IT, IT'S STILL, UH, WHILE I'M, I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE INFORMATION PROVIDED, UH, THERE, THERE ARE GAPS BECAUSE, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU SAID, UH, EVEN FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE $50 MILLION TO SPEND IN YOUR DISTRICT, UM, YOU KNOW, DO YOU WANNA SEE LIGHTING STREETS, SIDEWALKS, POLICE ENFORCEMENT, RIGHT? LIKE, THAT MIGHT BE, AND IT WAS ALL RELATED ONLY TO SAFETY.
LIKE, WHAT MIGHT THAT LOOK LIKE? MAY, MAY LOOK STILL THE SAME, RIGHT? LIKE, THEY STILL WANNA SEE MORE LAW ENFORCEMENT BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE DO.
UM, BUT THEY ALSO WANNA SEE CLEAN, SAFE, UM, THEY WANNA SEE CLEAN STREETS, THEY WANNA ALSO SEE LIGHTING THAT AL THAT CAME UP OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
UM, AND SO DID THE, THE VISIBILITY OF POLICE OFFICERS.
BUT ONE THING THAT WE ALSO KNOW, AND PERHAPS IT WAS, IT WAS REFLECTED AND MAYBE IT DOESN'T, IT REALLY HAS NO IMPACT OF THE CRIME RATE, WHAT YOUR LIGHTING IS, WHAT YOUR, UM, HOW MANY VISIBLE POLICE OFFICERS DOESN'T HAVE ANY IMPACT ON ACTUAL CRIME RATES.
UM, I FEEL LIKE WE'VE LEARNED THAT MANY, MANY TIMES OVER THE YEARS, BUT IT DOES GIVE PEOPLE THAT PERCEPTION OF FEELING SAFER.
SO, UM, I, I, YOU KNOW, THANKS, THANKS FOR THE, FOR THIS.
MAYOR, IF I MAY, I WANTED TO ADDRESS A VERY GOOD POINT THAT THE COUNCILWOMAN, UH, COUNCILMAN GONZALEZ MADE.
AND, UM, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, COUNCILWOMAN.
WE WANNA KNOW WHY MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY FEEL SAFE, WHY THEY FEEL UNSAFE, WHAT COULD WE DO DIFFERENT TO MAKE THEM FEEL SAFER IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS? SO THOSE ARE SOME THE QUESTIONS THAT WE'RE ASKING AT THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
AND WE ENCOURAGE, UM, THOSE THAT ARE WATCHING THIS MEETING AND, AND, UM, TO PROMOTE THAT SO WE CAN HEAR THAT FEEDBACK, THAT QUALITATIVE, UM, FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY AS TO WHAT IS IT THAT THOSE SURVEY QUESTIONS MEAN AT A MORE, UM, A MORE LEVEL TO THE RESIDENT IN TERMS WHAT MAKES THEM FEEL SAFER, UNSAFE.
SO THAT'S AN EXCELLENT POINT, COUNCILWOMAN.
SO WE WANT TO INVITE THE COMMUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE, IN THE MEETINGS THAT WE HAVE, UH, GOING ON THIS MONTH.
COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER TIO, UH, THANK YOU MAYOR.
UM, AND THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
UM, I, I DO MAYBE ONE WAY TO KIND OF SUM UP AT LEAST THE WAY, UH, WHAT I, WHAT I THINK PART OF WHAT TODAY IS REALLY SPEAKING ABOUT IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT I'VE HEARD THE CHIEF SAY A LOT, A LOT OF TIMES, AND I'VE HEARD OTHER POLICE OFFICERS SAY, IS, IS THAT YOU, IN MANY CASES, A LOT OF US CREATE AN EXPECTATION OF SS A P D AS A CONCIERGE SERVICE.
AND, AND THAT THAT IS, UH, IT, IT, IT'S CRITICAL TO POINT THAT OUT BECAUSE WE AS A CITY HAVE MANY DIFFERENT OTHER APPARATUSES OTHER THINGS TO, TO HELP WITH THE, THE, THE VERY ISSUES THAT, THAT PEOPLE, UH, WANT TO DISCUSS AND TALK ABOUT.
AND, AND SO TODAY, UM, HERE, UH, AT MY FIELD OFFICE, WE, WE HAD, WE HAD SEVERAL POLICE OFFICERS, AND, BUT IT WAS IN A VERY DIFFERENT WAY.
IT'S, UH, WE HAD OFFICER FERRIS WHO'S PART OF THE HOPE TEAM, AND ID REC, SORRY, HELP START THE ID RECOVERY PROGRAM.
HE WAS HERE HELPING, UH, OUR OUTREACH SPECIALIST, OUR HOMELESS OUTREACH SPECIALIST IN HELPING TO, UH, GET MANY FOLKS, UH, RECCO, UH, BEGIN THE RECOVERY OF THEIR ID.
[01:55:01]
THIS IS SOMEBODY THAT IS, IS DOING AN AMAZING JOB.UH, WE HAD, UH, BOTH OUR SAFE OFFICERS, EJ FLORES, AND OFFICER RICKETT HERE AS WELL.
THE, THE, THE POINT OF THAT IS THAT THEY WERE HERE AS PART OF A BIGGER EFFORT, UH, AS WE'VE CREATED THIS, UH, UH, MOBILE HUB TO COME OUT HERE TO HELP DEAL WITH A VERY COMPLEX ISSUE, AN ISSUE THAT MANY, UH, SS A P D OFFICERS, INCLUDING OUR CHIEF WILL, WILL TELL YOU THAT, UH, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT, THAT, THAT IS, UH, IS EASILY SOLVABLE.
AND, UH, CERTAINLY WE, WE NEED TO THINK OF, OF POTENTIALLY HOW THIS SURVEY, UH, ALSO SORT OF LOOKS AT OUR ENTIRE CITY RESOURCES, RIGHT? SO WHEN WE SAY, HERE, HERE ARE THESE OTHER CALLS THAT ARE NOT AS HIGH PRIORITY, THEY'RE NOT AS LIFE-THREATENING, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS IT THAT, THAT THIS CITY PROVIDES THAT CAN HELP WITH THOSE ISSUES? AND THAT, I THINK IS, IS REALLY CRITICAL HERE.
UH, ONE OF THE, THE THINGS THAT, THAT WE DO, UH, QUITE A BIT IS WORK A LOT, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WITH, WITH SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT TO, TO REALLY MAKE SURE THAT THAT THINGS ARE CLEAN, THEY'RE PICKED UP, UH, THAT WE DON'T CREATE, UH, UH, HAZARDS WHEN, WHEN, WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, A LOT OF THE TRASH THAT THAT IS GENERATED, UH, BECAUSE OF, OF, YOU NAME IT, WHATEVER ISSUE THERE, THERE IS ENCAMPMENTS AND, AND HOMELESSNESS.
BUT, BUT WE, WE CAN, WE CAN EASILY PICK UP TRASH SO THAT THERE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT CAUSING, UH, FURTHER, FURTHER ISSUES.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ON TOP OF ALL OF THIS, AS WE'RE SAYING, WE WANNA SEE MORE VISIBILITY.
UH, PEOPLE, WHEN PEOPLE SAY THAT, I MEAN, I THINK IT'S, IT'S, YOU KNOW, SORT OF, UH, ALMOST CREATING A SELF PRESCRIPTION.
BUT I WANT US TO BE CAREFUL, UH, THAT IN CREATING THIS WITHIN OUR OWN STAKEHOLDER CONCERNS, UNDER THE, UH, HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN, THEY CENTERED AROUND THE NEED TO NOT CRIMINALIZE THINGS LIKE HOMELESSNESS OR MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AT THE HEART OF THAT IS, IS US AS A CITY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE DO HAVE PARTNERS, WE DO HAVE, UH, ORGANIZATIONS, AND WE HAVE OUR DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, UH, THAT, THAT I FEEL, UH, YOU KNOW, IS AT THE HEART OF HELPING TO PROVIDE, UH, SOME OF THESE SERVICES AND DO HELP, UH, OUR, OUR NEIGHBORHOODS FEEL SAFER, HELP OUR OUR CITY FEEL BETTER ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE THINGS THAT ARE, THAT, THAT ARE GOING ON.
UH, ON TOP OF WHICH, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE HEARD ME SAY THIS BEFORE, UH, YOU THINK ABOUT, UH, THE, THE AMOUNT OF TIMES THAT, THAT, UH, THAT WE, THAT, OR THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CALLING 3 1 1 AND 9 1 1.
WELL, 3 1 1 IS NOT AVAILABLE 24 7 THE WAY 9 1 1 IS.
AND I BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD REALLY START THINKING ABOUT, UH, HOW WE CAN MAKE 3 1 1, UH, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT IS AVAILABLE, UH, YOU KNOW, 24 7, SO THAT WE CAN TRULY TRY TO BALANCE THAT OUT AND MAKE SURE THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, CITY, UH, SERVICES AND CITY RES UH, RESPONSES ARE NOT SIMPLY ALWAYS PUT ON, UH, ON AN S A P D CALL.
'CAUSE IF YOU'RE CALLING AFTER HOURS, IT, THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH.
WE JUST, UH, TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE NOISE ORDINANCE, UH, AND EXAMINING THAT AND HOW, UH, MANY STAKEHOLDERS, THE BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS ALIKE WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE INVOLVEMENT FROM CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, NOT JUST SS A P D, BUT CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS TO HELP DEAL WITH THIS, THIS ISSUE.
UH, ANOTHER ISSUE WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT PE AND, AND I HEAR IT EVERY SINGLE YEAR, UH, MULTIPLE TIMES A YEAR DURING NEW YEAR'S OR OR JULY 4TH, WHICH IS COMING UP, UM, IS, IS THAT HOW MANY PEOPLE FELT STRONGLY ABOUT FIREWORKS? UH, A FEW YEARS AGO, MY OFFICE WORKED WITH ALMOST PARK TERRACE AND STAFF TO SEE IF CODE OFFICERS COULD RESPOND TO CALLS ABOUT FIREWORKS.
IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE STATE LAW PREVENTED CODE OFFICERS FROM CITING FOR NOISE.
HOWEVER, OUR CITY CO HAS A CODE 2153, WHICH DEALS WITH GROUND OR AIRBORNE VIBRATION, WHICH IS PERCEPTIBLE WITHOUT INSTRUMENTS.
AND SO, SINCE, SINCE CALLS FOR FIREWORKS PREDOMINANTLY OCCURRED DURING THE HOLIDAYS, LIKE NEW YEAR'S EVE AND 4TH OF JULY, OFFICERS ARE FOCUSED ON OTHER ISSUES LIKE KEEPING OUR STREETS SAFE.
BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THOSE CALLS SHOULD FALL BY THE WAYSIDE.
SO AGAIN, I'D, I'D LIKE FOR STAFF TO, TO, TO LOOK AT, UH, THIS REC A RECOMMENDATION OF HOW 2153 COULD BE USED TO GIVE CODE AUTHORITY TO SITE CALLS RELATED TO FIREWORKS.
AND THAT'S JUST ONE SMALL EXAMPLE OF WHAT I THINK IS, IS, IS REALLY CRITICAL HERE.
UH, WE TALKED, UH, ABOUT LIGHTING.
YOU KNOW, OUR CITY HAS, UH, AN URBAN
[02:00:01]
LIGHTING PLAN THAT CAN BE TRANSLATED OVER AND OVER AGAIN, UH, TO, TO DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS.YOU KNOW, IT IS CRITICAL TO, TO KNOW THAT YOU CAN, YOU, YOU, OBVIOUSLY, WE KNOW THE, ONE OF THE SYMPTOMS IS UNDER AN AREA, BUT YOU CAN ALSO OVERLIGHT AN AREA, AND THAT THAT CAN BE JUST AS BAD AS UNDERLINING IT.
SO, UH, UNDERSTANDING THAT WE, WE'VE, WE'VE GOT TO PARTNER, UH, IN WAYS TO, TO UTILIZE ALL OUR DEPARTMENTS AND, AND TO SEE THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT IN ITSELF, UH, AS, AND ESPECIALLY US AS A COUNCIL, IS, IS OUR NUMBER ONE RESPONSIBILITY WHEN IT COMES TO PUBLIC SAFETY.
THAT PUBLIC SAFETY IS REALLY ABOUT ALL OUR DEPARTMENTS WORKING TOGETHER TO TRY TO PROVIDE THAT, THAT SAFE ENVIRONMENT, THAT, THAT, THAT PLACE AND THAT PERCEPTION THAT PEOPLE, UH, WANNA FEEL, UH, WHAT, NO MATTER WHAT NEIGHBORHOOD THEY LIVE IN.
I SAID THAT, I'VE SAID THIS MANY, MANY TIMES, OR AT LEAST THIS STORY ABOUT MY, MYSELF, WHEN I WAS ONE, MY HOUSE WAS ONCE BROKEN INTO, AND WE WERE ABLE TO CATCH, UH, WHO DID IT SIMPLY BECAUSE I, I KNOW I GOT TO KNOW MY NEIGHBORS.
AND KNOWING, UH, YOUR NEIGHBORS, SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS THAT IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF, OF HOW, OF A SAFE COMMUNITY.
AND THAT, THAT ALL COMES ABOUT BY HAVING, UH, YOU KNOW, GOOD STREETS, WALKABLE SIDEWALKS, UH, OF COURSE, UH, THE PROPER AMOUNT OF LIGHTING.
AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S ABOUT HOW EVERYBODY'S WORKING TOGETHER TO GET US THERE.
SO, I, I, I WOULD LIKE TO, TO TO SEE, YOU KNOW, THIS SURVEY REALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT HOW, YOU KNOW, THESE KINDS OF THINGS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PUTTING A STRAIN ON OUR EMERGENCY DISPATCH AND UNDERSTANDING THAT, THAT SOME OF THESE, THESE, THESE, UH, ITEMS ARE REALLY ABOUT, UH, CAN, CAN ALSO INCLUDE OTHER CITY SERVICES AS A COMPLETE, A COMPLETE, UH, UH, LOOK AT PUBLIC SAFETY.
THAT IS, THAT IS SO, SO IMPORTANT.
SO, UH, I WANT TO THANK THE PUBLIC FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE SURVEY.
ALL THE NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERS THAT, THAT WE'VE SPOKEN TO ABOUT THIS, THAT, THAT HAVE MENTIONED THESE AND VERY SIMILAR STORIES ABOUT IT.
UH, OF COURSE, THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, YOU, U T S A S A P D, AND OF COURSE, STAFF, UH, YOU, THIS, THIS IS HOW I BELIEVE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE CAN ALL WORK TOGETHER.
AND AGAIN, TODAY WAS A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF HOW, UH, A LOT OF GROUPS HERE AT, AT THIS FIELD OFFICE LIKE RIO, UH, D H S WAS HERE.
OUR OUTREACH SPECIALIST, UH, OFFICER, UH, FERRIS FROM THE HOPE TEAM, OUR SAFE OFFICERS, MY STAFF, UH, MANY FOLKS, UH, FROM THE AMERICAN GI FORUM, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS IS HOW WE NEED TO KIND OF TRY TO TAKE A LOOK AT, UH, UH, CREATING A A A A A PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, UH, PERCEPTION IN OUR CITY THAT, THAT EVERYBODY CAN FEEL VERY PROUD OF AND COMFORTABLE WITH.
THIS IS, UM, EXCELLENT PRESENTATION, MARIA.
I CAN SEE THAT A LOT OF WORK WENT INTO IT, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, YOU, UH, YOU TAKING THIS ON.
UM, I, I APPROACH THIS REMINDED, UM, BY, BY SOMETHING THAT, THAT, UM, WAS TOLD TO ME AND THAT, THAT I ALWAYS TELL MY KIDS.
AND THAT IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S NEVER A WRONG TIME TO EMBRACE THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO IMPROVE THE WAY WE DO THINGS.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH THAT IN MIND, I, I TALK TO MY CONSTITUENTS QUITE OFTEN AND, YOU KNOW, FOR THE PAST FEW WEEKS, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US HAS HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF THEM.
UM, AND WHAT I'VE HEARD OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS AND WHAT I, WHAT I'VE HEARD A LOT OVER THE PAST TWO WEEKS IS, UM, THAT PEOPLE DO WANT TO SEE POLICE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND, AND I DON'T THINK THAT CONTRADICTS WHAT, UM, WHAT THE REPORT SAYS, UH, BECAUSE THE REPORT SAID, YOU KNOW, DO YOU WANT TO SEE MORE POLICE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS? RIGHT? UM, AND, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE, DEPENDING ON WHAT SIDE OF TOWN SAY, YES, I WANNA SEE MORE.
OTHERS SAY, NO, I'M, I'M, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M OKAY.
I THINK AN IMPORTANT QUESTION TO ASK WOULD BE THE CONVERSE, WHICH IS, DO YOU WANNA SEE FEWER POLICE OFFICERS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD? RIGHT.
AND I HAVE A FEELING THAT THE ANSWER WOULD BE UBIQUITOUSLY, YOU KNOW, NO, I DON'T SEE FEWER, UH, PEOPLE WANT OFFICERS IN THERE.
UM, WHEN WE TALK TO PEOPLE, THEY, THEY SAY, YOU KNOW, I WANT YOU GUYS TO HAVE ENOUGH HEADCOUNT, ENOUGH BANDWIDTH, AND, YOU KNOW, ENOUGH RESOURCES IN PLACE SO THAT WHEN I DIAL 9 1 1, YOU ARE THERE VERY QUICKLY.
UM, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ALSO UNANIMOUSLY ACCEPT THAT SAN ANTONIO IS CHANGING
[02:05:01]
IN DIFFERENT WAYS, AND THAT BECAUSE OF THAT, THE NATURE OF CRIME IS CHANGING.UM, CIVILIANS AND ALL THE POLICE OFFICERS THAT I'VE HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO, UM, I, I ALSO HEAR CONSISTENTLY FROM ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SENTIMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T NECESSARILY WANT YOU TO POLICE HARDER, WE JUST WANT YOU TO POLICE SMARTER.
AND I THINK THAT THAT'S WHAT THIS EXERCISE IS.
UM, AND IF ANYBODY OUT THERE IS WATCHING, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT A DISCUSSION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE MOVE, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE DO A LITTLE LESS POLICING AND A LITTLE BIT MORE COMMUNITY? I THINK THIS IS HOW DO WE DO BOTH, UM, YOU KNOW, IN, IN A MORE INTELLIGENT WAY? AND, UH, AGAIN, UNANIMOUS ACROSS THE BOARD, I HAVE YET TO MEET A SAN ANTONIO WHO DISAGREES WITH THE PROPOSITION THAT, UM, OFFICERS, UH, SHOULD NOT BE TASKED WITH THINGS FOR WHICH THEY'RE NOT TRAINED.
THAT, THAT ONE, YOU KNOW, IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I'VE ALL CIVILIANS AGREE, AND ALL POLICE, POLICE OFFICERS AGREE WITH THAT.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SIMILARLY, WHEN YOU TALK TO POLICE OFFICERS AND ALL CIVILIANS, THEY'LL TELL YOU THAT THEY ALSO DON'T WANT POLICE OFFICERS TO HANDLE PROBLEMS THAT ARE MORE APPROPRIATE FOR OTHER PROFESSIONALS TO HIRE.
AND THOSE PEOPLE THAT I'VE HEARD SAY THAT INCLUDE OUR VERY OWN CHIEF OF POLICE, UH, WHO'VE, YOU KNOW, CONSISTENTLY SAID, WE SOMETIMES PUT WAY TOO MUCH ON THESE OFFICER'S PLATES AND EXPECT THEM TO SOLVE PROBLEMS, UH, FOR WHICH THEY'RE JUST NOT EQUIPPED RIGHT? OR FOR WHICH SOMEBODY ELSE, UM, IS THE MORE APPROPRIATE FOR, YOU KNOW, FIRST PERSON TO RESPOND.
UM, THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH ADMITTING THAT.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, MARIA, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WISH HAD BEEN ASKED, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S TOO LATE TO ASK, IS IF YOU FEEL LESS SAFE TODAY, WHEN IS IT THAT YOU FELT SAFER? AND WHY DID YOU FEEL SAFE? OR WHAT WAS DIFFERENT ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE FACTS ON THE GROUND OR YOUR CONDITION, RIGHT? BECAUSE, UH, I THINK EVERYBODY HAS THIS NOSTALGIA FOR, YOU KNOW, A DAY WHEN THINGS WERE BETTER, RIGHT? BUT, UM, I'D, I'D LIKE TO KIND OF GET AN UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT PEOPLE THINK THAT DAY WAS.
RIGHT? UM, AND YOU KNOW, I, I, I KNOW MY, MY COLLEAGUE COUNSEL AND, UH,
BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THIS WHOLE SENTIMENT OF, YOU KNOW, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, RIGHT? THERE'S SOME OF THAT IN THERE, RIGHT? THERE IS THIS NOSTALGIA THAT AMERICANS HAVE FOR A DAY WHEN THINGS WERE SIMPLER AND SMALLER AND EASIER TO UNDERSTAND AND, UM, AND EASIER TO EXPLAIN.
UM, AND I, I, I DO THINK THAT ALL OF US, UM, THE OLDER THAT WE GET, UM, YOU KNOW, YEARN FOR THAT DAY THAT MAYBE NEVER WAS RIGHT, MAYBE THERE WAS NEVER A TIME WHERE THINGS WERE, WERE SAFER, BUT WE ALL HAVE THIS IDEA, THIS NOSTALGIA FOR A DAY THAT THE, THAT WE THINK MAY HAVE BEEN.
SO ANYWAY, I'M, I'M, UM, I'M GETTING A LITTLE BIT TOO META THERE, BUT I, ERIC, I THINK, I THINK YOU'RE PICKING UP ON WHAT I'M LAYING DOWN.
'CAUSE I SEE THE BODY LANGUAGE, BUT I, I DO WANT TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT SORT OF COMP, YOU KNOW, COMPARATORS THERE ARE BETWEEN TODAY AND WHEN THEY FELT SAFER.
MAYOR, THANKS FOR MY COMMENTS.
UH, JUST WANTED TO CHIME BACK IN BECAUSE THERE, THERE IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, THAT I, I WANNA AGREE AND, AND DISAGREE TO SOME EXTENT WITH, WITH MY COLLEAGUES FOR, FOR THE SAKE OF DISCUSSION.
THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO WOULD LIKE TO, AND, AND IT'S IN THE SURVEY, WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE OFFICERS.
UH, THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT SOME PEOPLE ANSWERED THAT THEY FEEL SAFER, AND THAT THERE WAS A DIFFERENCE WHEN WE LOOKED AT WHERE THAT WAS, RIGHT? THAT PEOPLE FEEL SAFER EITHER AT NIGHT OR IN THE DAYTIME.
AND I THINK THAT TELLS US ABOUT WHAT MAKES PEOPLE FEEL SAFER, THAT THAT GIVES US AN INKLING INTO THAT, THAT WE CAN'T IGNORE.
UM, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE SHOULDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE MORE OFFICERS IN, IN OTHER PLACES.
I ACTUALLY THINK, AND I'VE, I'VE TOLD THIS TO THE CHIEF AND MARIA, THAT AN INVESTMENT IN OUR SAFE OFFICERS, UH, A GREATER INVESTMENT IN OUR SAFE OFFICERS IS, IS WELCOMED BY, BY ALL COMMUNITIES.
THEY WORK IN A VERY DIFFERENT WAY FROM PATROLS BECAUSE THEY HELP US ADDRESS PROBLEMS, UM, THAT ARE, THAT CAN'T BE SOLVED BY A PATROL, BY A SINGLE PATROL VISIT, RIGHT? BUT THAT TAKE LONGER TO SOLVE, AND I THINK THEY COULD EVEN BE, UM, HELPED OR SUPPORTED BY A COMMUNITY LIAISON IN THE SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOODS THAT THEY'RE ASSIGNED TO.
UM, MY MY BIG CONCERN IS THAT SAFE OFFICERS GET PULLED AWAY FOR OTHER DUTIES, AND THAT PUTS THEM BEHIND AND PUTS THE NEIGHBORHOOD BEHIND AFTER THEY'VE INVESTED
[02:10:01]
A LOT OF WORK IN THAT.UM, I ALSO JUST JUST WANT TO MENTION THAT WHAT WE ASKED IS, DO YOU WANNA SEE MORE POLICE OFFICERS? IF WE HAD SAID, DO YOU WANNA SEE MORE CODE OFFICERS? DO YOU WANNA SEE MORE ANIMAL CARE SERVICES OFFICERS? DO YOU WANNA SEE MORE SIDEWALKS? DO YOU WANNA SEE MORE STREET WORK? I THINK THE ANSWER WOULD HAVE ALSO BEEN YES TO, TO A LOT OF THAT.
AND OUR JOB IS TO FIND, UM, AN EFFICIENT WAY TO PROVIDE WHAT IT IS THE RESIDENTS ARE ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR A SMARTER WAY, LIKE, UH, COUNCILMAN, UH, ELIA SAID.
UM, AND THEN ONE OTHER THING THAT WE HEAR A LOT FROM CONSTITUENTS, I, I HEAR TWO THINGS, RIGHT? I WANNA SIDEWALK, AND THE OTHER THING IS PEOPLE ARE SPEEDING DOWN MY STREET.
SO WHETHER THAT'S GOING TO BE SPEED HUMPS OR TRAFFIC CALMING OR MORE ENFORCEMENT BY POLICE OFFICERS, UH, OUR, MANY OF OUR RESIDENTS WHO FEEL LIKE THEY LIVE ON A DRAGWAY WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE TRAFFIC, UH, SPEED LIMIT ENFORCEMENT BY, BY POLICE OFFICERS.
BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT'S NOT REALLY, UM, ONE OF THE HIGHEST PRIORITIES, RIGHT? IT'S, UH, WHERE IS THAT ON THE LIST OF ONE THROUGH SEVEN? I'M SORRY, COUNCILMAN, COULD YOU REPEAT THE CALL? I DIDN'T GET THAT.
THAT'S, THAT'S NOT HIGH PRIORITY, RIGHT? CHIEF, I'M GONNA DEFER TO THE CHIEF.
I GUESS IT DEPENDS IF YOU HAVE A HIGH SPEED ON THE HIGHWAY, PERHAPS CHIEF, IF YOU CAN CHIME IN THE, THE LEVEL OF PRIORITY THAT YOU WOULD GIVE TO THAT CALL.
WELL, THE, THE PRIORITY LEVEL WOULD BE, WOULD BE LOWER, BUT BECAUSE IT'S, UH, IT'S NOT A VIOLENT CRIME, BUT IF YOU TALK TO THE, TO THE PEOPLE IN NEIGHBORHOODS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING THAT ON A REGULAR BASIS, IT'S, IT'S A VERY HIGH PRIORITY.
UH, SO TWO WAYS OF LOOKING AT IT.
I WANTED TO CIRCLE BACK AND SAY, UM, MENTION YES, ADDING SHARED, UM, PARTNERSHIPS LIKE WITH SOCIAL WORKERS.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT MANY INDIVIDUALS AND RESIDENTS HAVE, UH, TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THOSE SERVICES THAT NOT NECESSARILY POLICE HAVE TO BE THERE, MAYBE WITH SOCIAL WORKERS, BUT THEN THAT ADDS TO THE QUESTION OF IF WE DO HAVE SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES OR SHARED CALLS TO SERVICE, WOULD THAT BE 24 7? AND, UM, I THINK IT, IN PART, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE, BECAUSE SOME OF THESE THINGS HAPPEN 24 7, SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I, I MENTIONED THAT AS WELL AS MAKING SURE WE HAD ENOUGH BEDS AVAILABLE FOR INDIVIDUALS.
UM, POINT BEDS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO NEED HELP EITHER WITH DRUG AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE OR MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES.
YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO CHIME IN, UH, ABOUT, AGAIN, THE SPECIFIC QUESTION WAS MORE POLICE OFFICERS.
NO, THERE, THIS WAS NOT A, A, UH, QUESTIONNAIRE FOR DOG CATCHERS, SIDEWALKS AND THAT KIND OF THING.
HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS PARTICULAR SURVEY.
IT WENT OUT RANDOMLY, IT GOT THE RESULTS AND READ WHAT THE RESULTS ARE.
AND I, I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT SAFETY COMMITTEE TO, UH, DO THIS COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ON THE NUMBERS WE HAVE VERSUS THE, THE, UH, GROWTH IN THE CITY, UH, WHERE CRIME STATISTICS ARE, HOW WE'RE DOING, AND, UM, COMPARING THAT TO WHAT WE'RE WANTING TO DO WITH THE OVERALL POLICE DEPARTMENT HERE.
SO, UH, YEAH, READ THE REPORT.
THAT'S ALL I CAN SAY AT THIS POINT.
AND, UH, AGAIN, I, I, I THINK IT'S A LITTLE BIT, UM, FUNNY ON MY PART.
MAYBE I'M JUST NOT SEEING THIS, THAT, UH, WE'RE TRYING TO DISSECT OR PULL APART A REPORT TO MAKE IT FIT AN INDIVIDUAL NARRATIVE AND NOT READING THE REPORT AS IT WAS INTENDED.
WE PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR IT, AND HERE WE GOT THE RESULTS, AND I THINK WE NEED TO WORK WITHIN THOSE CONFINES AND SEE IF THAT'S THE DIRECTION THAT WE ALL AGREE THAT WE NEED TO GO IN.
UH, THIS HAS BEEN A VERY GOOD DISCUSSION, UH, AND I APPRECIATE, UM, THE
[02:15:01]
LEVEL OF ANALYSIS, UH, THAT'S GONE INTO THE PRESENTATION TODAY.UM, A COUPLE OF THINGS JUST, UH, COME TO MIND TO, TO WRAP UP THAT I DIDN'T ASK.
UM, AND, AND THAT IS, WE KNOW THAT OUR COUNTERPARTS OF THE COUNTY ARE ALSO ENGAGING IN A LITTLE BIT OF THIS ANALYSIS AS WELL, PARTICULARLY AS IT RELATES TO MENTAL HEALTH CALLS.
WHAT, WHAT LEVEL OF COLLABORATION ARE WE ENGAGING WITH THE COUNTY, THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, AND MAYBE OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT THAT ARE, ARE DOING THIS KIND OF WORK RIGHT NOW? MAYOR, UM, 2, 2, 2 AREAS.
ONE, UM, THE JUDGE HAS, UM, PULLED TOGETHER, UM, AND I, I DON'T REMEMBER THE OFFICIAL NAME OF IT, BUT IT'S, UH, LOOKING AT MENTAL HEALTH IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
BRIDGER HAS BEEN REPRESENTING US THERE.
AND THEN THERE'S A, UH, ANOTHER, A PARALLEL EFFORT THAT'S BEING COORDINATED THROUGH STRAC THAT ALSO INVOLVES THE COUNTY, UH, AS WELL AS, UM, U H S AND THE CENTER FOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES.
UM, AND BOTH THOSE GROUPS, UM, HAVE BEEN MEETING OVER THE LAST, I THINK IT'S JUST BEEN OVER THE LAST MONTH, BUT THAT'S THE, THAT'S BEEN THE NEXUS POINT SO FAR.
WELL, I OBVIOUSLY, UM, THEY RESPOND IN SOME CASES TO MANY OF THE SAME CALLS WE DO IN THE SAME AREAS.
SO, UH, SHARING OUR LEARNING WITH THEM AND VICE VERSA, I THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, THE OTHER THING I JUST, AGAIN, UNDERSCORE IS THAT I THINK I'M HEARING CONSENSUS THAT THIS HAS BEEN A REMARKABLE PRESENTATION.
IT'S HIGHLIGHTED A LOT OF, UH, DIFFERENT WAYS OF, OF, UH, SEEING WHAT WE TAKE FOR GRANTED THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT DOES, UH, AND WHAT THE COMMUNITY CALLS THEM TO DO ON A DAILY BASIS.
UM, THE, IN PARTICULAR, I'M STRUCK, CONTINUE TO BE STRUCK BY THE U T S A DATA, AND I'M ALSO HEARING FROM MY COLLEAGUES THAT THIS KIND OF ANALYSIS IS, UH, VERY USEFUL IN HELPING US TO EXAMINE THE, AND IDENTIFY THE QUESTIONS THAT WE NEED TO BE ASKING.
UM, I WANNA SAY IT AGAIN, I THINK THAT THAT KIND OF, UM, COLLABORATION AND INSIGHT FROM OUR INSTITUTIONS HERE AND, UH, CRIMINAL JUSTICE CRIMINOLOGY IS VERY HELPFUL.
AND I, I, I THINK THAT THAT TIE AND THAT, UM, EXPERTISE HAS BEEN USEFUL IN THIS DISCUSSION.
IT CAN ONLY BE USEFUL GOING FORWARD.
UH, I DON'T WANT, I WOULDN'T WANT US TO, TO SEVER THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, TOO SOON OR, OR FRANKLY, AT ALL IN TERMS OF, UH, OUR ABILITY TO, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVE THIS KIND OF IN DEPTH DISCUSSION AS WE'RE MAKING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND POSSIBLY LOOKING AT, AT WAYS THAT WE CAN REFINE OUR APPROACH.
SO, UM, I'LL JUST STATE THAT THERE, AGAIN, THIS HAS BEEN A GREAT PRESENTATION.
UH, MY COMPLIMENTS TO, UH, THE GROUP HERE, UH, MY COLLEAGUES AND, UH, ESPECIALLY TO YOU MARIA, WHO HAD TO WALK US THROUGH THE ENTIRE PACKET.
AND SO WITH THAT, UH, THAT IS EVERYTHING WE, YEAH, MAYOR, I, I, I DON'T WANNA MISS ANY MISUNDERSTANDING.
THE CITY'S NOT SEVERING ANY SORT OF RELATIONSHIP WITH U T S A.
SO I MEAN THAT, UM, THAT I, I THINK THIS HAS BEEN A GOOD EXERCISE FOR BOTH OF US, BUT WE'RE NOT, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT INTENDING ON SEVERING ANY SORT OF RELATIONSHIP OR, UM, UM, WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM.
AND I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT.
AND, AND, AND, AND NUMBER, NUMBER TWO, UH, TODAY'S MARIA'S BIRTHDAY, SO SHE DID A HELL OF A JOB, UH, ON HER BIRTHDAY.
I WAS GONNA, I WAS GONNA ADD THAT RIGHT AT THE END.
ALRIGHT, WELL, UH, THANKS FOR THE CLARIFICATION ON U S A AND, UH, ALSO, UH, AS WE WRAP UP THEN WE'RE STILL IN SESSION.
SO, MARIA, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND, UH, LET'S, LET'S ALL SING.
MARIA, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOGETHER.
SORRY WE HAD TO PUT YOU THROUGH THAT.
THAT'S, THAT'S A TREAT THAT WE WON'T BE ABLE TO ENJOY TOO MUCH LONGER AS WE GO IN PERSON.
UH, MAYBE WE SHOULD HAVE DESIGNATED ONE PERSON TO SING YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARIA, BUT HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM ALL OF US.
UM, THE TIME IS 4:24 PM THERE WILL BE NO EXECUTIVE SESSION TODAY.
EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEMS THAT WERE POSTED FOR TODAY WILL BE CARRIED OVER TO THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TOMORROW, THURSDAY, MAY 6TH, AND WE'LL BE TAKEN UP AT ANY TIME DURING THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING AT THAT TIME.
THE TIME IS NOW 4:25 PM AND TODAY'S MEETING IS NOW IN RECESS.