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>> KAUR: GOOD AFTERNOON. THE TIME IS NOW 2:05 P.M. AND WE'LL CALL PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING TO ORDER. MADAM CLERK, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL? ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE A FEW ITEMS ON THE AGENDA.
WE'LL START OFF WITH APPROVING OUR MINUTES FROM THE NOVEMBER 17TH PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING. ARE THERE ANY UPDATES THAT NEED TO BE MADE TO THE MINUTES? COUNCIL MEMBER, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAUGHT ANYTHING THIS TIME. OKAY. WE'LL TAKE A MOTION ON IT.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? OKAY. MOTION CARRIES.
ALL RIGHT. SO WE HAVE THREE ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION TODAY.
THE FIRST ONE IS ON ACS, SO MARIA, I'LL HAND IT OVER TO YOU TO GIVE US A LITTLE
BACKGROUND ON IT. >> THANK YOU, CHAIR WOMAN. SO TODAY WHAT WE HAVE IS A PRESENTATION BY JOHN GARY, OUR ACS DIRECTOR TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THE ANIMAL CARE SERVICES STRATEGIC PLAN AND THE PROGRESS WE'VE MADE IN ACCOMPLISHING SOME OF THE GOALS. BUT MORE SPECIFICALLY WE WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT SOME OF THE STATISTICS RELATED TO SPAY/NEUTER SURGERIES AND SOME OF THE PROGRESS WE HAVE MADE WITH THE TWO ADDITIONAL CLINICS THAT WERE OPENED LATE LAST YEAR AND SOME OF THE PARTICIPATION OF OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL AS DETAILS OF THE OTHER CLINICS THAT WE HAVE ACROSS THE CITY, INCLUDING SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE STILL HAVE WITH INDIVIDUALS ON THE WAITING LIST AND THEY ARE TRYING TO GET SURGERIES IN OUR LOCATIONS. WITH THAT I'LL TURN IT OVER
TO JOHN. >> GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR AND COMMITTEE.
AS MARIA SAID, I'LL QUICKLY GO THROUGH SOME OF THE PROGRESS.
IT'S REALLY OVERALL STATISTICS, BUT WE'LL FOCUS REALLY ON TWO OF THE ITEMS THAT YOU ASKED FOR AND THAT WAS ABOUT THE OFFICER HIRING AND OF COURSE THE SPAY/NEUTER CLINICS AND HOW THEY'RE DOING. SO THE FIRST SLIDE THAT WE HAVE HERE, THIS IS REALLY JUST THOSE FIVE ITEMS THAT WE SHOW THROUGH OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, OUR MAIN FOCUS AREAS THAT WE HAVE. AND THEN GOING INTO THE PUBLIC SAFETY. SO IN FY24-25 WE ADDED ABOUT TWO RESPONDERS THAT YOU GRACIOUSLY ADDED THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS. SEVEN POSITIONS WERE ALSO ADDED TO INVESTIGATE BITE INVESTIGATIONS IN 2024 AS WELL.
THAT BROUGHT THAT TEAM UP TO FOUR DANGEROUS OFFICERS AND EIGHT BITE INVESTIGATORS FOR A TOTAL ON THAT TEAM OF 12. THE HIRING STATISTIC FOR THOSE POSITIONS, 100% OF THE NEW POSITIONS HAVE BEEN HIRED. WE ARE ACTUALLY OVERHIRED BY THREE. AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO DO THAT.
WE HAD AN ACADEMY THAT JUST GRADUATED IN THIS LAST SEPTEMBER, AND WE'LL HAVE THE NEXT ACADEMY THAT WILL BE STARTING SHORTLY THIS YEAR, AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR, PROBABLY AROUND SPRINGTIME IS WHEN THAT ACADEMY WILL START, WITH HOPEFULLY A COMPLETION DATE IN LATE MAY. AS YOU CAN SEE DOWN THERE IT DOES SAY WE HAVE 50 FIRST RESPONDERS POSITIONS WITH FOUR CURRENT VACANCIES.
IT ONLY SHOWS THAT WAY BECAUSE WE HAVE OUR TRAINEES THAT GET PROMOTED UP.
SO TECHNICALLY WE ARE OVERSTAFFED BY THREE. THOSE OFFICERS WILL SOON GO FROM TRAINEES TO OFFICERS AND THEN IT WILL BE MORE THAN 50 THAT WE HAVE.
WITH UNDER INVESTIGATIONS WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 17. WE DO HAVE ONE VACANCY IN OUR CRUELTY TEAM AT THIS POINT IN TIME. SO WE'LL BE WORKING ON FILLING THAT. WE JUST GOT THAT APPROVAL NOT THAT LONG AGO, JUST A WEEK OR SO AGO. AND THEN WE HAVE TWO COURT OFFICERS.
ONE IS REALLY THEY FOCUS ON PERMITS AND COURT. ONE IS PRIMARILY COURT AND ONE IS PRIMARILY PERMITS BUT THEY WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE BOTH PERMITS AND COURTS ARE COVERED. AND THE SUPERVISORS WE DO CURRENTLY HAVE ONE VACANCY.
WE JUST MADE A SELECTION THIS LAST WEEK, SO THAT TEAM WILL BE FULLY STAFFED HOPEFULLY BY NEXT WEEK WHEN WE GET THE APPROVAL FOR THAT HIRE.
MOVING ON TO OUR CRITICAL CALL RESPONSE, WE REALLY HAD A TREMENDOUS YEAR LAST YEAR.
WE MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS OVER THE YEAR. WE FINISHED LAST YEAR AT ABOUT 80.6% OVERALL CRITICAL CALL RESPONSE RATE, BUT WE FINISHED THE LAST THREE MONTHS, WE'VE HAD OVER 96% AND CURRENTLY FOR THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR WE'RE AT 96.2% FOR OUR CRITICAL CALL RESPONSE RATES. SO OUR GOAL WAS TO FINISH AT 97% BY THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR. WE BELIEVE WE'LL MEET THAT WITHOUT ANY ISSUES. AND YOU CAN SEE OVER THE GRAPH THERE HOW THE PROGRESS
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HAS BEEN MADE IN THAT CRITICAL CALL RESPONSE OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS.MOVING ON TO DANGEROUS AND BITES. DANGEROUS DOG COMPLIANCE RATE INCREASED FROM 55% TO 82% IN FY2025. AND OUR GOAL FOR THAT IS 80%, SO WE EXCEEDED OUR GOAL BY ABOUT TWO PERCENT. WE KNOW THERE'S GOING TO BE A PERCENTAGE OF ANIMALS THAT WE'LL LOSE TRACK OF. THE OTHER THANS WILL MOVE.
THEY'RE PRETTY GOOD AT AVOIDING US WHENEVER THEY'RE NOT IN COMPLIANCE SO THERE'S ALWAYS THAT CERTAIN NUMBER THAT WON'T BE IN COMPLIANCE, BUT OUR GOAL IS 80, WE'RE AT 82, AND OUR TEAM ACTUALLY HAS ASSURED ME THAT THEY WILL DO EVEN BETTER THAN THAT THIS YEAR. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEE THAT PROGRESS THAT THEY MAKE. AND THEN THE NEXT NUMBER DOWN THERE FOR BITE CASES, 98.5% OF THE BITE CASES ARE WORKED AND 97% OF THE SEVERE CASES ARE WORKED.
VERY PROUD OF THE PROGRESS THEY'VE MADE IN THE BITE CASE WORK.
NEARLY EVERY SINGLE BITE IS BEING WORKED AND THE ONES THAT AREN'T, WHICH IS JUST A HANDFUL, ARE TYPICALLY DUE TO THE REPORTING PROCESS OF IT.
THERE'S 10 DAYS WITHIN A BITE NEEDS TO BE WORKED AND SOMETIMES THEY'RE EITHER REPORTED LATE IN THAT 10 DAYS OR SOMETIMES IT'S EVEN AFTER THAT 10 DAYS.
SO I THINK THE STAFF DOES A TREMENDOUS JOB RESPONDING TO OUR BITE CASES AND WE'VE EVEN HAD RESPONSE WHERE IT'S 100%. THEY'RE DOING A REALLY GREAT JOB IN THAT AREA. WE LOOK AT OUR ENFORCEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
THAT WAS A BIG PRIORITY FOR US THIS LAST YEAR. WE SAW A 98.8% INCREASE IN CITATIONS OVER 2024. AS YOU CAN SEE BY THE GRAPH DOWN THERE, WE WERE JUST UNDER 14 NOW, AT 13,074 FOR THE NUMBER OF CITATIONS WRITTEN LAST YEAR IN FY25, WHICH IS 180% INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CRIMINAL CITATIONS.
SO WE DID FOCUS MORE ON OUR CRIMINAL CITATIONS OVER THE CIVIL CITATIONS OVER THIS LAST YEAR AND YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THE DATA THERE.
ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON TO SPAY-NEUTER. WE INCREASED UNDERRING FOR THE SPAY-NEUTER COMMUNITY FUNDING IN 2024 AND 2025, A TOTAL OF 1.76 MILLION OVER 10 CONTRACTS. THOSE ALL STILL REMAIN AND WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON FINDING NEW WAYS TO PROVIDE SPAY-NEUTER TO OUR RESIDENTS.
WE OPENED UP THE TWO NEW ACS SPAY-NEUTER CLINICS IN 2025. 20 STAFF MEMBER POSITIONS WERE TO OPERATE THE CLINICS AND WE HAVE ABOUT 540,000 THAT IS ALLOCATED TO THE CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE. CURRENTLY WE HAVE ABOUT SIX VETERINARIANS THAT ARE CONTRACTED. WE HAD AS MANY AS EIGHT. WE RECENTLY LOST A COUPLE, BUT WE'RE CONTINUING TO FIND CONTRACTS IN NEW WAYS AND OVER THIS LAST WEEK ACTUALLY WE GOT SOME NEWS WE'LL BE WORKING WITH BISSELL TO PROVIDE EVEN MORE SPAY-NEUTER. LAST YEAR WE WERE OVER A LITTLE OVER 39,000 SPAY-NEUTER SURGERIES. WE BELIEVE WE'LL EASILY HIT OUR GOAL OF THE 41,459, AS LONG AS WE CAN GET VETERINARIANS. THEY ARE ALWAYS GOING TO BE THE BIGGEST STRUGGLE.
NATIONALLY THERE'S A VETERINARIAN SHORTAGE. SO AS LONG AS WE CAN KEEP THE CONTRACT VETERINARIANS, WE'RE IN A GOOD POSITION TO HIT OUR GOAL THIS YEAR.
HERE'S KIND OF A BREAKDOWN OF THE SPAY-NEUTER CLINICS. THE WESTSIDE CLINIC OPENED IN MARCH AND THE EASTSIDE A FEW MONTHS LATER IN JULY. LIKE I MENTIONED, THERE ARE SIX CONTRACT VETERINARIANS THAT ARE CONDUCTING SURGERIES OUT OF THOSE TWO CLINICS. SO FAR IN FY25 WE WERE AT 1725 AND THIS YEAR OUR GOAL IS TO DO 6,000 SURGERIES BETWEEN THE TWO CLINICS. AND AGAIN, AS LONG AS WE CAN KEEP OUR VETERINARIANS STAFFED, WE BELIEVE WE WILL HIT THAT TARGET.
BOTH CLINICS ARE FULLY OPERATIONAL, OPEN FOR SURGERY TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. WE DO ALSO ARE GOING TO BE OPENING UP IN JANUARY TO DO SOME SATURDAYS AS WELL. WE JUST RECENTLY RECRUITED ANOTHER VETERINARIAN WITH SOME SATURDAY AVAILABILITY FOR US. THE ANTICIPATE OF BOTH CLINICS IS VERY -- THE CAPITAL OF BOTH CLINICS ARE FULL.
THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE 30 AND SOME LESS THAN THAT NUMBER.
CURRENTLY WE'RE AVERAGING ABOUT 20 SURGERIES A DAY AND THEN THE APPOINTMENTS ARE ACTUALLY BOOKED THROUGH THE END OF FEBRUARY. ONE OF THE BIGGEST HURDLES THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IS THE LARGE NUMBER OF FEMALES. FEMALE SURGERIES TAKE LONGER THAN THE MALE SURGERIES, SO A VETERINARIAN CAN'T PHYSICALLY DO ALL FEMALE SURGERIES. SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO SCHEDULE THOSE ACCORDINGLY TO TRY AND ENSURE THAT THE VETERINARIAN CAN HANDLE THAT WORKLOAD.
TO THE RIGHT THERE YOU SEE THERE'S THAT SURGERY BREAK BREAKOUT AS FAR AS PERCENTAGE OF DOGS, MALE-FEMALE, AND CATS MALE AND FEMALE.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE MAJORITY OF THOSE ARE ABOUT 31% IS THE LARGEST NUMBER, WHICH IS MALE DOGS. WE ARE MUCH EASIER SURGERY FOR OUR VETERINARIANS TO
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PERFORM. MOVING ON QUICKLY TO OUR PLACEMENT.LAST YEAR WE FINISHED AT ABOUT 80.36%. THAT'S ABOUT A ONE AND A HALF PERCENT INCREASE OVER THE FIRE YEAR. AND THAT WAS R THAT WAS DESPITE AN INCREASE IN INTAKE. WE HAD AN ALMOST 2200 ANIMAL INTAKE INCREASE LAST YEAR AND STILL WE WERE ABLE TO RAISE THE RELEASE RATE.
THIS YEAR WE'RE AT ABOUT 88% FOR THE PETS ENTERING OUR SHELTER.
ADOPTIONS, AGAIN, WE DID JUST OVER 5900, ANOTHER INCREASE, ABOUT 8.7 INCREASE OVER FY2024. A LOT HAS TO DO WITH THE FOCUS ON LARGE SCALE EVENTS.
WE'RE DOING A LOT MORE SMALLER SCALE EVENTS AND THEN ALSO OUR ENHANCED MARKETING, OUR NEW MARKETING TEAM THAT WAS CREATED OVER THE LAST FISCAL YEAR HAS JUST DONE A TREMENDOUS JOB. HOPEFULLY YOU HAVE ALL SEEN THE DIFFERENCE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE OTHER MARKETING THAT WE'VE DONE WITH THAT TEAM.
AND THE OTHER GOOD NEWS THAT WE HAVE IS SHORTLY AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR WE WILL BE DOING REGULAR OFF SITE ADOPTION EVENTS AT PLACES LIKE PET SMART, PETCO AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AS W WE'RE HAPPY TO KICK THAT PROGRAM OFF SHORTLY AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR. OUR RETURN TO OWNERS, WE HAD JUST UNDER 8,000 RETURN TO OWNERS. AGAIN, ANOTHER 15% INCREASE OVER FY'24.
WE ACTUALLY JUST PET WITH [INDISCERNIBLE] TRYING TO INCREASE THAT NUMBER.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE FOUND OUT IN THAT MEETING IS WE ARE DOING BETTER THAN MOST PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY, WE ARE HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGE. WE'RE DOING A REALLY GOOD JOB ON RETURN TO OWNERS. IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE VERY PROUD OF.
ESPECIALLY HAVE A 29% INCREASE IN OVER THE COUNTER RTOS.
THOSE ARE THE HARDEST ONES. ONCE A ANIMAL ENTERS THE SHELTER THE CHANCE OF GETTING BACK TO THEIR OWNER IS NOT VERY GOOD. WE DID SEE A 29% INCREASE AND THAT TELLS US THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF STRAYS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR COMMUNITY AND ENTERING OUR FACILITY ARE OWNED. AND THEN THE TRANSFER NUMBERS. WE SAW ANOTHER INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF NUMBERS.
WE WERE JUST OVER 12,000 ANIMALS WERE TRANSFERRED IN FY2025 AND A 7.2 INCREASE OVER FY24. AND THEN OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH EFFORTS.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE REALLY RAMPED UP OVER THE LAST YEAR AND I'VE SPOKEN ABOUT THESE PROGRAMS A FEW DIFFERENT TIMES THROUGHOUT THE COUNCIL AND SOME OF THE SKIES AS WELL. THE PET CARE CONNECT PROGRAM IS OUR BOOTS ON THE GROUND OUT IN THE AREA. I THINK EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER HERE THAT WE'VE DONE ONE IN HAS BEEN PRESENT DURING OUR PET CARE CONNECT. AND DUE TO THE BLOCK WALKING, PROVIDING THE RESOURCES, AND REALLY THIS IS -- THIS IS REALLY A STAFF EFFORT. ALMOST EVERY PART OF DIVISION FROM OUR DEPARTMENT PARTICIPATES IN THIS IN SOME WAY WHETHER IT'S THE PREP FOR IT OR ACTUALLY OUT THERE PHYSICALLY DOING THE BLOCK WALKING. OUR RESIDENTS ARE VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THIS PROGRAM AND I THINK OVER THIS UNIQUE WE'RE WE'LL BE ABLE TO START TO COMPARE SOME DATA AND REALLY SEE THE DIFFERENCE THIS THAT THIS PROGRAM MAKES. OTHER THAN SPAY-NEUTER, IT'S REALLY ONE OF THE FEW PROACTIVE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE. AS YOU CAN SEE OVER 3900 HOMES WERE REACHED IN FY25. 669 DIRECT RESIDENT INTERACTIONS.
629 PEOPLE WE KNOCKED ON THEIR DOOR AND WERE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THEM AND PROVIDE SOURCES TO. INFORMATION TO KEEP ANIMALS CON DEFINED, UNLESS WE DID OVER 129 FREE MICROCHIPS DURING THIS PAST YEAR. 400 PLUS VACCINATIONS THAT WE PROVIDE IN PARTNERSHIP TO PROVIDE. AND 300 SPAY/NEUTER REFERRALS. SPAY/NEUTER NETWORK ACTUALLY GOES ON THESE BLOCK WALKS WITH US. THEY'RE THERE FOR OUR RESIDENTS TO PROVIDE BOOKING APPOINTMENTS RIGHT THERE ON THE SPOT FOR THEM. AND THEN THROUGH OUR PIP WITH DAISY CARES, OVER 100,000 POUNDS OF FREE PET FOOD WAS DISTRIBUTED.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO PARTNER WITH THEM ON DIFFERENT ITEMS, BUT EACH NEIGHBORHOOD WE GO INTO WE ALSO COME BACK AND DO A FOOD GIVEAWAY WHERE WE GIVEAWAY TYPICALLY ABOUT 30,000 POUNDS OF FOOD AT EACH NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WE'RE IN.
75 PETS RETURNED TO HOME. AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF IS SIX DOGS WERE FREED FROM CHAINS AND WE WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE PROPER RESOURCES SO THAT THEY CAN HOUSE THE ANIMAL IN A MORE APPROPRIATE MANNER AND GET THOSE ANIMALS OFF THE CHAINS. AND THE FOLLOW-UP -- TO WRAP-UP COMMUNITY OUTREACH WE HAVE OUR WELLNESS CLINICS. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS JUST I THINK OUR COMMUNITY SHOULD BE EXTREMELY PROUD OF.
THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU SEE IN EVERY COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE
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THIS MUCH WELLNESS TO OUR RESIDENTS. SO OVER 7700 ANIMALS RECEIVED -- WERE SERVED AT OUR WELLNESS CLINICS. THAT INCLUDED SOME LARGE SCALE EVENTS WHERE WE DID NEARLY A THOUSAND. WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE THAT WORK MOVING ON TO THIS NEXT FISCAL YEAR AS WELL. THE SERVICES INCLUDE THE MICROCHIPS, VACCINES FOR BOTH DOGS AND CATS. AND WE'RE SEEING ABOUT 33% OF THE ANIMALS THAT COME TO THOSE WELLNESS CLINICS ARE STERILIZED.SO THAT'S THE NUMBER WHERE OUR GOAL IS TO GET UP. WE WOULD RATHER SEE THAT NUMBER MUCH HIGHER THAN 33%, BUT THAT IS GIVING US SOMEWHAT OF AN IDEA THAT ABOUT A THIRD OF THE PETS ARE STERILIZED IN OUR COMMUNITY.
MARKING. OUR PET NETWORKING TEAM HAS DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB ON MARKETING. IF YOU LOOK AT OUR SOCIAL MEDIA, THEIR GOAL IS TO GET EVERY PHOTO TAKEN OF EVERY ANIMAL ON DAY ONE OR DAY TWO.
THEY DO FOCUS ON THE MOST AT RISK ANIMALS, THE LARGE MIXED TYPE BREED DOGS.
WE'VE FOUND ABOUT 87.7% OF THE ANIMALS THAT GET THAT PHOTO AND GET HIGHLIGHTED GET ADOPTED. AND SO WE ACTUALLY JUST RECENTLY APPLIED FOR A GRANT THAT WE'RE HOPING THAT WE GET TO ADD TO THAT TEAM BECAUSE WE WANT TO GET EVERY DOG FEATURED. IF WE CAN GET EVERY DOG FEATURED THAT WILL INCREASE THE ODDS OF THEM BEING PLACED. RIGHT NOW WE'RE ABOUT 70-80 ANIMALS PER MONTH THAT ARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. ABOUT 88 OF THE FEATURED PETS FOUND POSITIVE PLACEMENT. OUR GOAL IS TO INCREASE THAT WITH CURRENT STAFFING TO 100. WE BELIEVE IF THE GRANT COMES THROUGH AND WE'LL ABLE TO GET THE GRANT WE'LL ABLE TO INCREASE THAT EVEN MORE.
SO THAT IS THE END, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE
ABOUT WHAT WE WENT OVER TODAY. >> KAUR: THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE DO HAVE ONE INDIVIDUAL SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS 2 AND 34, BUT WE'LL GO AHEAD AND DO ITEM 2 RIGHT NOW.
JOHN, IF YOU WANT TO COME UP. WE'LL CALL YOU BACK UP FOR
ITEM 4. >> OKAY. I'VE JUST GOT A FEW THINGS.
I'VE PASSED AROUND A THING, A CALCULATION WHICH I'VE HANDED OUT BEFORE, WHICH BASICALLY JUST SHOWS WHAT WAS PROBABLY REALLY DOABLE FIVE, SIX, SEVEN YEARS AGO, NOW LOOKS LIKE IT'S PROBABLY UNDOABLE WITH OVER 350,000 DOGS AND 350,000 CATS AND 40% -- I GAVE THEM MORE CREDIT. 40% ARE SPAYED AND NEUTERED.
YOU WOULD HAVE TO DO ABOUT 200,000 SPAY AND NEWTERS A YEAR TO GET TO -- FOR THREE OR FOUR YEARS TO GET ZERO POPULATION GROWTH. WE KNOW THAT DOESN'T LOOK FEASIBLE NOW. AS FAR AS -- BECAUSE PART OF THAT IS GETTING VETS, FACILITIES, STAFFING TO SUPPORT VETS, AND I GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT IS THE EAST AND WEST THINGS THAT WERE OPENED. AND THOUGH THEY'RE HAPPY TO MAN THOSE WITH CONTRACT VETS WHO GET $1,350 A DAY, THAT'S EQUIVALENT TO ABOUT 350,000 A YEAR. SO -- BUT IF WE HAVE TO PAY THAT WE WOULD RATHER PAY THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE 10 STATIONS IN EAST AND WEST. BASICALLY THE NUMBERS SHOW THAT ESSENTIALLY THE EQUIVALENT OF TWO ARE ACTUALLY BEING USED.
SO IF WE COULD FILL THAT UP, THOSE CLINICS COULD DO PROBABLY 50,000 A YEAR.
THE OTHER THING IS THAT I'M SURE GLAD THAT A LOT OF THINGS ARE HAPPENING AT ACS.
ONE THAT WAS MENTIONED WAS THE MEGA ADOPTION EVENTS WHICH THERE'S ONE COMING UP SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, WHICH I'M SURE YOU ARE ALL INVITED TO, RIGHT? AND THAT'S BEEN A VERY GOOD POSITIVE AND THE OUTREACH IS LOOKING GOOD, BUT IT'S JUST THE SPAY/NEUTER THAT I WORRY ABOUT THAT -- BUT ALSO YOU'VE GOT TO START PLANNING ON THAT. THE NEW HOSPITAL WON'T BE FINISHED FOR TWO AT LEAST AND THEN PROBABLY A FEW MONTHS AFTER THAT TO GET OPERATIONAL.
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SO YOU'VE GOT TO NOW START BUDGETING AND PLANNING TO GET THE EQUIPMENT, TO GET THE PERSONNEL, TO GET PLANS IN PLACE OF FACTUALLY HOW THEY'RE GOING TO OPERATE, AND THAT'S THE LEAD TIME. THINGS ARE STARTING IN MARCH.THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> KAUR: THANK YOU, JOHN. WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO COUNCIL DISCUSSION. I'LL ASK MY COLLEAGUES IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO START.
COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, CHAIR AND JOHN AND JOHN FOR THE COMMENT AS WELL. WITH THE DATA I'M PLEASED SEE THAT THE ADOPTION RATE, LIVE RETURN RATE AND RETURN TO OWNERS WE'VE SEEN AN INCREASE.
ONE THING I THINK I HEAR FROM CONSTITUENTS IS Y'ALL'S SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE MARKETING TEAM AND GOOD GREAT WORK. TO SEE THAT 88% OF THOSE POSTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA HAVE FOUND A SAFE PLACEMENT IS A HUGE SUCCESS, RIGHT? SO I JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE WORK OF YOU AND YOUR TEAM ENSURING THAT THOSE FOLKS, THE DOGS THAT ARE PLACED ON SOCIAL MEDIA ARE GETTING A SAFE PLACEMENT, 88%, WHICH IS REALLY HIGH. AND TO JOHN'S POINT, RIGHT, I THINK IN TERMS OF PLANNING AND JUST THE OUTREACH THAT YOUR TEAM DOES WITH PET CARE CONNECT, I KNOW THESE ARE PILOTS, RIGHT? I GUESS MY QUESTION TO STAFF IS WHEN DO WE HAVE THIS PART OF ANIMAL CARE SERVICE AND NO LONGER A PILOT? AND I THINK THAT'S SHOWING THAT THE DATA IS SUCCESSFUL AND IT SHOULD BE INTEGRATED INTO DEPARTMENT BEYOND THE PILOT. AND START PREPARING IN TERMS OF BUDGETING AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO HAVE THAT LONG-TERM WITHIN ANIMAL CARE SERVICE.
OF COURSE WITH ENFORCEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY THERE'S JUST SO MUCH CONCERN.
I'M GRATEFUL OF THE WORK OF YOUR TEAM AND OF COURSE THE CITY FOR ENSURING THAT WE'RE HOLDING IRRESPONSIBLE PET OWNERS RESPONSIBLE AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE CONTINUE TO HEAR FROM OUR RESIDENTS. WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR THERE'S A CASE THAT WE CONNECT TO YOUR TEAM OR IF ACS IS PRESENT AND MEETING THEY ADDRESS THAT CONCERN FROM RESIDENTS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PROACTIVE ENGAGEMENT.
AND IT'S GREAT TO SEE -- I REMEMBER DURING MY FIRST TIME IT WAS TYPICALLY SPEAKER SMITH WHO WAS MAKING HER ROUNDS TO EVERY COMMUNITY MEETING, RUNNING BACK TO BACK. NOW ACS HAS ENOUGH STAFF TO WHERE THEY CAN SHARE THAT WORKLOAD AND IT'S NOT FALLING ON ONE ACO. SO JUST SAYING THAT TO TO EMPHASIZE THE NEED TO INVEST IN ACS SO THAT EMPLOYEES HAVE A MANAGEABLE WORKLOAD IN TERMS OF MEETING THE NEEDS OF OUR CONSTITUENTS. I APPRECIATE THAT YOU ALL ARE POTENTIALLY GOING TO EXPAND OR ARE GOING TO EXPAND TO PROVIDE SATURDAY SPAY AND NEUTER SERVICES IN OUR COMMUNITY. THAT'S ONE OF THE QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS THAT I'VE HEARD FROM RESIDENTS IS IT'S NOT ACCESSIBLE TO ME.
I HAVE TO WORK DURING THE WORK WEEK, HAVE TO PICK UP KIDS.
I'M GRATEFUL THAT YOU WILL PROVIDE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THAT.
AND OF COURSE, EXTREMELY GRATEFUL FOR RITA AND KAREN FOR THEIR SERVICE ON THE BOARD. AGAIN, PRESENT AT EVERY COMMUNITY MEETING, ACS MEETING AS WELL. A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS THAT I DO HAVE AND I'M HAPPY TO GET TOGETHER OFFLINE IN TERMS OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, BUT I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND IN TERMS OF PER DAY HOW MANY ANIMALS ARE ACO'S BRINGING TO THE FACILITY? AND I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND WHEN AN OWNER WANTS TO SURRENDER THEIR PET WHAT IS THE TYPICAL TIMELINE THAT THAT INDIVIDUAL HAS TO THE WAY, IF THERE IS A WAIT, TO GIVE THAT ANIMAL UP? I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE THAT NOW, BUT I'M HAPPY TO
DISCUSS AND GET THAT OFFLINE. >> YEAH.
I COULD ANSWER A LITTLE BIT OF THAT NOW. AS FAR AS THE SURRENDERS GOES. IT'S BASED ON NEED. OBVIOUSLY IF THE ANIMAL POSES A THREAT TO THE COMMUNITY OR THERE'S A MEDICAL CONCERN WE PRIORITIZE THOSE AND TRY TO GET THOSE IN AS QUICK AS WE CAN.
IF IT'S JUST AN OWNER NEEDING TO REHOME THEIR PET FOR WHATEVER REASON, IT'S NOT AN EMERGENCY, THEN TYPICALLY RIGHT NOW THEY'RE BOOKED OUT A COUPLE OF MONTHS. OUR GOAL IS TO TYPICALLY TRY TO WORK WITH THAT OWNER AND FIND OTHER PLACEMENTS SO IT DOESN'T HAVE TO COME TO THE SHELTER.
SO THAT IS REALLY THE BIGGEST POINT WITH THOSE OWNERS IS JUST WORKING WITH THEM. SOME OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT WE ACTUALLY HAD MEETINGS WITH TODAY WILL ALLOW THEM TO PLACE THE OWNER -- PLACE THE ANIMAL UP FOR ADOPTION OF THE OWNER -- THE ANIMAL UP FOR ADOPTION. [LAUGHTER].
AND THEY CAN REHOME IT ON THEIR OWN AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE WOULD PREFER.
THE SAFEST ANIMAL IS ONE THAT DOESN'T COME TO US TO BEGIN WITH AM AND I THINK THAT'S A PRIORITY FOR US THIS YEAR AND LOOKING AT WAYS AND SOME OF THE NEWER TECHNOLOGY AND THE WEBSITES AND SOME OF THE THINGS WE'RE ABLE TO USE TO HELP THAT OWNER BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH NOW AVAILABLE TO THEM THAT OUR STAFF CAN HELP THEM WORK THROUGH TO TRY TO FIND PLACEMENT OUTSIDE OF ACS. I'M SORRY, WHAT WAS THE
FIRST QUESTION? >> CASTILLO: I HAD A FOLLOW-UP QUESTION.
IN TERMS OF THE OWNER SURRENDER DOES ACS FOLLOW-UP ON THE SURRENDER.
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IS IT TRACKED AND WHAT DO THOSE BUCKETS LOOK LIKE? >> IT IS TRACKED.
I WOULD HAVE TO GET THE EXACT DATA. IT'S -- MOST OF THE TIME IT'S BEHAVIORAL. I CAN GET THE EXACT DATA AND BREAK THAT OUT FURTHER IF
YOU WANT TO SEE SOME OF THE OTHER ONES AS WELL. >> CASTILLO: MY LAST QUESTION WAS IN TERMS OF PER DAY IF ANY ANIMALS ARE -- ARE ACO'S PICKING UP IN THE
COMMUNITY, THE AVERAGE? >> SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 50 AND 70.
IT CAN VARY GREATLY DEPENDING ON THE DAY. SOME DAYS ARE LOWER THAN THAT IN THE 30 RANGE. TYPICALLY IT'S BETWEEN 50 AND 70 A DAY.
>> CASTILLO: IT'S A LOT. THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, JOHN.
THANK YOU, CHAIR. >> CHAIR: I CAN GO IF YOU GUYS NEED A FEW MORE
>> SPEARS: WHAT A CRITICAL CALL, HOW DO YOU DEFINE THAT?
>> REALLY A CRITICAL CALL IS ANYTHING -- IT'S PROBABLY EASIER TO LIST THE NON-CRITICAL CALLS THAN IT IS THE CRITICAL BECAUSE MOST OF OUR CALLS FALL IN THE CRITICAL CATEGORY. THE NON-CRITICAL ONES ARE GOING TO BE STRAYS, JUST THE LOWER PRIORITY. CRITICAL CALLS TYPICALLY FOCUS ON HUMAN OBVIOUSLY IS TOP OF THAT LIST WHERE PEOPLE MAY BE IN DANGER, SO THAT INCLUDES DANGEROUS BITES, AGGRESSIVES, ANY OF THOSE TYPE CALLS. AND THEN ALSO INCLUDES OUR ANIMAL SAFETY. SO OUR CRUELTY CASES IS PROBABLY THE TYPICAL ONE.
SICK OR INJURED ANIMALS THAT MAY BE A STRAY FALLS INTO THAT CATEGORY AS WELL.
SO REALLY IF YOU LOOK AT IT -- IF APPROXIMATE YOU LOOK AT BASICALLY WHENEVER IT BECOMES AN ISSUE, HEALTH OR SAFETY ISSUE FOR PEOPLE OR ANIMALS, THOSE ALL FALL
INTO OUR CRITICAL CALL RESPONSE CATEGORIES. >> SPEARS: OKAY.
DO YOU -- SO I HEARD THERE'S NOT AN X-RAY MACHINE RIGHT NOW.
IS THAT TRUE? >> THAT'S CORRECT. YEAH.
WE WILL HAVE ONE IN THE NEW HOSPITAL. >> SPEARS: HOW ARE YOU
HANDLING THAT? >> RIGHT NOW IF WE NEED AN X-RAY WE HAVE TO CONTRACT IT OUT. WE WORK WE ARE CLOSELY WITH THE ANIMAL EMERGENCY CENTER HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. THEY DO SOME FOR US WHEN WE NEED THEM, AND THEN WE HAVE OTHER PARTNERS THAT ARE ABLE TO. AND ACTUALLY ADL JUST RECENTLY VOLUNTEERED THEIRS TO US AS WELL. SO WE'LL START PARTNERING
WITH THEM TO DO SOME AS WELL. >> SPEARS: I GET THAT QUESTION SO OFTEN WE SEE A LOT OF TRAUMA SO IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT WE ADD IT IN
WHEN WE BUILT THE HOSPITAL. >> SPEARS: THIS IS OFF MY -- HOW MUCH IS AN X-RAY
MACHINE? >> THEY VARY QUITE A BIT, BUT TYPICALLY ANYWHERE FROM 40,000 UP TO 100,000, DEPENDING ON WHAT TYPE OF GET.
>> SPEARS: THAT'S A RANGE. OKAY. >> YEAH, YEAH.
THEY DO A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS NOW. SO THERE'S A PRETTY GOOD
RANGE FROM A VERY BASIC ONE TO A HIGH END ONE. >> SPEARS: WELL, I AM INTERESTED IN INTEGRATING Y'ALL MORE INTO DISTRICT 9. I THINK MAYBE OUR NEEDS MAY BE DIFFERENT AND I'D LIKE TO TALK MORE ABOUT WHAT THAT IS.
I THINK WE EXPERIENCE A LOT OF DUMPING OF ANIMALS OUT IN DISTRICT 9 AND I'D LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PET CARE CONNECT PROGRAM AND SEE HOW WE CAN BE MORE SUPPORTIVE AND HAVE Y'ALL COME TALK TO OUR DISTRICT MORE ABOUT WHAT RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERSHIP LOOKS LIKE AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP OUT IN DISTRICT 9.
I'M HAPPY TO SEE YOU APPLIED FOR THE GRANT FOR PHOTOS. THE MARKETING IS SUPER APPROXIMATE IMPORTANT AND I DO HEAR A LOT ABOUT THAT IN MY DISTRICT TOO THAT PEOPLE ARE SEEING THAT. SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY A GREAT EFFORT.
AND I DID HEAR ABOUT YOUR MEGA ADOPTION EVENT. I DO NOT NEED MORE ANIMALS IN MY HOUSEHOLD, BUT I'M HAPPY TO COME -- [LAUGHTER]. WE HAVE OUR LIMIT.
BUT I'M HAPPY TO COME BE SUPPORTIVE IN ANY WAY THAT WE CAN.
AND SO THIS IS A DIFFERENT QUESTION. DO YOU SEE ANY POTENTIAL PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE COUNTY THAT WE COULD BE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF IN THEIR
PROGRAMS? >> I THINK POTENTIALLY WE COULD.
THEY ARE CURRENTLY REVAMPING THE COUNTY AND THEY'VE GOT A NEW SHELTER, SOME NEW LEADERSHIP. SO I THINK THERE WILL BE SOME OPPORTUNITIES THERE TO
PARTNER WHEN WE CAN. >> SPEARS: MAYBE THEY HAVE AN X-RAY MACHINE WE CAN
BORROW. >> YEAH, I'M NOT SURE IF THEY DO THAT IN THEIR NEW
SHELTER OR NOT. >> SPEARS: OKAY. SO AN ISSUE THAT I DO HAVE A LOT OF CONCERN WITH IS THE DEER AND THE HOGS OUT IN OUR DISTRICT.
IS THERE ANYTHING WE DO WITH THE GAME WESTERN OR WHAT ARE OUR UN-- HOW ARE WE HANDLING
OUR NON-DOMESTICATED ANIMALS? >> AS FAR AS HOG CONTAINING,
[00:30:05]
WE DO HAVE A CONTRACT WITH A HOG TRAPPER THAT WE'LL GO OUT AND TAKE CARE OFSITUATIONS WHEN NEEDED. >> SPEARS: OKAY. AND THE DEER?
>> THE DEER IS ANOTHER ISSUE -- >> SPEARS: IS THIS A DEEP-DIVE SIT DOWN?
>> WE TYPICALLY DON'T DO WILDLIFE. THE HOGS ARE AN INVASIVE SPECIES SO WE WORK WITH A CONTRACTOR TO DEAL WITH THOSE.
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO WILDLIFE WE DEFER TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT.
YOU. >> SPEARS: OKAY. WELL, WE WOULD LOVE YOUR MEDIA KIT AND WOULD LOVE TO BE HELPFUL HOWEVER WE CAN TO PUSH FORWARD ADOPTIONS AND THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE AROUND DO THE PET CONNECT. I JUST SEE THIS TRENDING UP SO I THINK IT'S GOOD WORK AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
>> THANK YOU. WE'RE HAPPY TO COME TO YOUR DISTRICT AND TALK ANY TIME
THAT YOU NEED US TO. >> KAUR: THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN.
COUNCIL MEMBER, ARE YOU READY? >> RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU, CHAIR. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
CONGRATS ON THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR. WHEN DID YOU JOIN
OFFICIALLY? >> DECEMBER 30TH WILL BE A YEAR.
[LAUGHTER]. >> RODRIGUEZ: PERFECT. YOU'RE RIGHT THERE.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY. >> >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THERE ARE A FEW THINGS I WANTED TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS SITUATION.
WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO IN OUR CITY, AS WELL AS IMPROVING OUR LIVE RELEASE RATE TO BECOMING A TRUE NO-KILL SHELTER. THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW CHANGES OVER THE YEARS AND RIGHTFULLY SO. WHEN I FIRST TOOK OFFICE ANIMAL CARE SERVICES WAS A TOP PRIORITY FOR ME IN MY DISTRICT.
IT WASN'T QUITE THAT FOR EVERYONE, BUT ACS WASN'T EQUIPPED WITH THE RESOURCES THAT THE DEPARTMENT NEEDED TO DO THE JOB THAT OUR COMMUNITY EXPECTED OF THEM, ESPECIALLY IN THE THICK OF THE PANDEMIC. WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE. ONE IS ACS NEEDS TO HAVE A COMMUNITY PRESENCE AND BE RESPONSIVE. WE NEED TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF SPAY-NEUTER SURGERIES THAT HAPPEN, AND WE NEED TO IMPROVE PET OWNER BEHAVIOR.
THERE'S MORE, OF COURSE, BUT THAT'S THE BASIC THREE THAT WE'LL HEAR OVER AND OVER AGAIN. SO THIS PRESENTATION TAKES A LOOK AT SEVERAL OF THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE AND THE DATA SHOULD HE WILL TELL US IF WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK WITH THESE INVESTMENTS. WHAT I HEAR SOMETIMES IN PUBLIC COMMENT IS WE DON'T NEED ANYMORE BRICK AND MORTAR, DON'T NEED ANY MORE STAFF, ACS HAS THE RESOURCES THEY NEED. ENFORCEMENT IS THE MAIN ISSUE. WE KNOW THAT IN 2023 CRITICAL CALLS WEREN'T BEING RESPONDED TO, ONLY 44% OF THE TIME, NOT EVEN BEING RESOLVED, JUST THE RESPONSE RATE WAS 44%. AND WE'RE NOW ON OUR WAY TO 100% NEXT YEAR, WHICH IS INCREDIBLY EXCITING. WE KNOW CITATIONS THAT TRIPLED OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS. AND WHILE I WANT TO NOTE THAT CITATIONS ALONE ARE NOT ENOUGH, JUSTICE DOES REQUIRE ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF WRONGDOING AND THIS IS AN AREA WHERE PEOPLE ARE BEING HURT AND THERE HAS TO BE CONSEQUENCES FOR THESE ACTIONS, RIGHT? SO AT MUNICIPAL COURT AND AT THE MUNICIPAL COURT ADVISORY COMMITTEE WE'LL BE LOOKING DEEPER BEYOND ACS TO THE OUTCOMES OF THESE CASES AND WHEN WE'RE APPOINTING OUR MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGES IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS, WE WANT TO BE SURE THAT THEY'RE TREATING THE ISSUE WITH CARE, INNOVATION AND THOUGHTFULNESS, ESPECIALLY SUCH THAT THE ISSUE REQUIRES. BEYOND THAT WE NEED TO BE PROACTIVE AND STOP THESE CASES FROM HAPPENING IN THE FIRST PLACE.
SO WE LOOK AT YOUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH MICROCHIPS AND VACCINATIONS. WE SEE THE WELLNESS CLINICS, THE MEGA ADOPTIONS, ALL THE THINGS, AS WELL AS THE SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE THAT I FEEL HAS IMPROVED OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS, SEVERAL MONTHS. TIME IS A LITTLE JERKY RIGHT NOW. AND THE METRIC YOU SHADE WERE NICE TO LOOK AT, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO COMPARE THE FISCAL YEAR 2025 OUTREACH METRICS.
I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT WHAT HAS OUR REACH BEEN THIS YEAR VERSUS PREVIOUS YEARS, IS THIS A YEAR THAT WE'VE IMPROVED. I HAVE A LUNCH THAT IT HAS, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO SEE WITH NUMBERS COMPARED WITH HOW MANY PEOPLE WE HAVE REACHED, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH DIRECT CONTACT. YOU ALSO LOOK AT OUR SPAY AND NEUTER EFFORTS AND WE WERE INCREDIBLY SUCCESSFUL SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
WE KNOW BRICK AND MORTAR AREN'T THE SOLUTION, BUT THINGS LIKE A CLINIC AND MORE VETERINARY STAFF HAVE YIELDED RESULTS. IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS WE LOOK FORWARD TO DOUBLING THE SPAY AND NEUTER COMPARED TO 2023 AND THAT'S A DIRECT RESULT OF THE CLINICS AND THE VETERINARIANS WE HAVE. I EXPECT THAT THE VETERINARY CLINIC WILL BE A TREMENDOUS ASSET. I AM ALSO ECHOING WHAT COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO MENTIONED, I AM ANXIOUS TO EXPAND ON OUR PILOT PROGRAMS. TO ME A PILOT IS USED TO DETERMINE IF A PROGRAM CAN WORK AND SERVE AS A BASELINE FOR A MORE PERMANENT PROGRAM.
SO I LOOK FORWARD TO THE ONE IN 123 AND 5, WHAT IS IT CALLED?
[00:35:09]
>> PET CARE CONNECT? >> TO LOOK AT THAT EXPAND SOD THAT THE DISTRICTS 8, 9, 10, 4, 6, CAN BENEFIT. I LOOK FORWARD TO THE FEASIBILITY STUDY COMING FORWARD SHORTLY TO REALLY ASSESS THE OPPORTUNITY THAT AN EASTSIDE ACS CAMPUS COULD PROVIDE TO ACCOMPLISH GOALS THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER. ESPECIALLY IF I GO TO ANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETING, ANY TOWN HALL AND I ASK RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN TO THE ACS CAMPUS, THERE MIGHT BE, SAY, 200 PEOPLE IN THE ROOM, YOU MIGHT GET FOUR OR FIVE HANDS. SO WE REALLY WANT TO INCREASE THE NUMBERS AT ACS. WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE ADOPTING FROM STREET BREEDERS. WE DON'T NEED THAT. WE NEED THEM TO COME IN CONTACT WITH PET BEHAVIOR EDUCATION, THE SHELTER. AND WE NEED A PRESENCE.
WE NEED IT TO BE EASY FOR ANIMAL CARE OFFICERS TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY AND A PART OF THAT IS A PERMANENT PRESENCE. OVERALL I KNOW THIS IS BASICALLY AN UPDATE ON THE 2023 STRATEGIC PLAN AND WHERE WE'RE AT AND SOME OF THE METRICS THAT WE ESTABLISHED. SOMETHING THAT'S ALWAYS MISSED A LITTLE BIT FROM THESE CONVERSATIONS HAS BEEN AGAIN A COMMITMENT TO TRUE NO-KILL STATUS. SO FOR ME IT'S IMPORTANT THAT OUR PROGRAMS AND GOALS AND WE FIGURE OUT HOW TO MANEUVER THEM IN SUCH A WAY THAT WE CAN ACHIEVE THAT, BECAUSE WE CAN. WE HAVE A LOT OF RESOURCES, WE JUST HAVE TO USE THEM IN THE RIGHT WAY. I KNOW THAT MR. BACHMANN GIVES US A SHEET LIKE THIS ALMOST EVERY TIME HE COMES TO SPEAK.
IT'S NOT COMPLICATED MATH. I KNOW THE MINDS AT ACS CAN TELL US WHAT ARE THE SHORTFALLS OF LOOKING AT IT IN SUCH A SIMPLE WAY OR IS IT REALLY THIS SIMPLE THAT WE CAN DO IT AND WHY DON'T WE? I WOULD LOVE TO GET US THERE. THAT WOULD BE MY FEEDBACK FOR TODAY AND I LOOK FORWARD TO MANY MORE CONVERSATIONS AND MANY MORE YEARS OF WORKING WITH YOU.
>> THANK YOU. >> KAUR: THANK YOU SO MUCH COURSE,.
I'LL START BY ECHOING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES SAID THAT I THINK THE MAJORITY OF US HAVE SHARED THE SAME SENTIMENT ON AND THE FIRST IS PET CARE CONNECT. WE WORKED WITH YOUR TEAM CLOSELY THIS YEAR ON THE DISTRICT 1, THE DELL VIEW NEIGHBORHOOD AND HAD VERY SIMILAR NUMBERS, HIT 1500 HOMES, WERE ABLE TO GIVE OUT 100 BAGS OF CAT AND DOG FOOD AND SERVE OVER 280 FAMILIES WITH 100 VACCINATIONS. SO I THINK IT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS FOR A CONCENTRATED EFFORT FOR TWO WEEKS IN THAT AREA. ALL TO SAY COUNCIL MEMBERS MENTIONED IT AND COUNCIL MEMBER SPEARS WAS LIKE I WANT IT TOO.
WE SHOULD -- I HOPE WE CAN BRING BACK IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS Y'ALL'S PLAN TO WHAT THE BUDGET WILL LOOK LIKE TO MAKE THIS A FULL-TIME PROGRAM SO THAT WE CAN INCORPORATE THAT FOR THE SUMMER SESSIONS. IT'S BEEN A HUGE SUCCESS AND YOU HAVE A GREAT TEAM LEADING THAT WORK AND THEY'RE ALSO BILINGUAL TEAM MEMBERS AND ALSO MEMBERS WHO UNDERSTAND THE COMMUNITIES AND THE CULTURE THAT THEY'RE GOING INTO. SO I THINK YOU HAVE GREAT PEOPLE THAT YOU CAN EXPAND ON TO BUILD CAPACITY THERE. THE SECOND THING THAT COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ MENTIONED, THE CITATIONS HAVE GONE UP. THANK YOU FOR GATHERING THIS DEFINITELY I HAVE A COUPLE MORE DATA QUESTIONS THAT I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO DO DUE DILIGENCE ON IF WE HAVEN'T. DO WE KNOW IF THE 180% INCREASE IN CITATIONS, HOW MANY OF THEM ARE ACTUALLY GETTING PAID OR SHOWING UP OR GETTING RESOLVED? IT'S ONE THING TO GIVE SOMEONE A CITATION? BUT ARE THEY REALLY FEELING THE FULL ACCOUNTABILITY OF IT. I KNOW YOU MENTIONED YOU WILL BE LOOKING INTO THAT IN MUNICIPAL COURTS, BUT DO YOU GUYS TRACK THAT AS WELL?
>> NO, THAT'S TRACKEDLY MUNICIPAL COURTS. >> KAUR: SO MAYBE IT WOULD BE GOOD GOOD IF WE COULD GET THAT DATA FROM THE MUNICIPAL COURTS JUST TO SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FROM HOW MANY OF THEM. AND MAYBE ALSO HOW MANY OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE GETTING CITATIONS ARE REPEAT CITATIONS SO WE CAN SEE IF THERE'S MULTIPLE [INDISCERNIBLE] AS WELL. THE SECOND PIECE OF DATA THAT I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT IS THE SPAY AND NEUTER SITES.
I'M SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THAT. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT AS TO BARRIERS. WHY ARE WE ONLY OPEN THE THREE DAYS A WEEK? AND COUNCIL MEMBER MENTIONED THE SATURDAY UPCOMING, BECAUSE OF VET SHORTAGE OR BECAUSE OF BUDGET SHORTAGE? OR I GUESS BOTH.
>> IT'S DEFINITELY VET SHORTAGE. WE'RE BUDGETED FOR FOUR DAYS A WEEK AT BOTH FACILITIES, BUT THE VETERINARIANS IS WHAT'S MADE IT CHALLENGING
TO NOT BE ABLE TO DO IT THE FOUR DAYS. >> KAUR: AS FAR AS DEMAND DATA, I KNOW YOU MENTIONED THAT THE FEMALE DOG WAS SOMETHING THAT YOU GUYS ARE HAVING A HARD TIME WITH. DO WE KNOW IF THERE IS DEMAND IF WE WERE ABLE TO FIND THE VETS OR PAY MORE, WHICH I KNOW TO THE POINT WE'RE ALREADY PAYING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT FOR THESE CONTRACT SURGERIES, BUT WOULD WE HAVE THE DEMAND TO
SERVE MORE? >> ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY, YEAH.
YOU CAN SEE THE CLINICS ARE BOOKED OUT FOR MONTHS. I THINK THE LAST COUNT I GOT
[00:40:02]
WE HAD AS MANY AS MAYBE 500 RESIDENTS THAT WE KNOW ARE WAITING FOR OUR SERVICES.WHEN YOU LOOK AT HOW FAR IN ADVANCE THEY'RE BEING BOOKED O WE ARE EXPLORING SOME OTHER OPTIONS, THOUGH, THROUGH SOME -- THERE'S SOME NATIONAL GROUPS.
BUSTLE IS ONE THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH.
THEY ACTUALLY GOT NEWS YESTERDAY THAT THEY HAD A COUPLE OF VETERINARIANS HERE LOCALLY THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO PARTNER WITH US. THEY'RE WILLING TO HELP US DO MORE SPAY AND NEUTER AS WELL. I THINK THERE ARE SOME OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT AND FOCUSING ON IN IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
>> KAUR: WE WERE LOOKING INTO AND WE ASKED A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO ABOUT WHAT WE COULD OFFER A VET INCENTIVE PROGRAM WHERE WE PAY BACK TUITION FOR FOLKS BUT WE DON'T EVEN HAVE ENOUGH VET SCHOOLS. THERE'S ONLY ONE IN ALL OF THE STATE OF TEXAS. I THINK THAT'S UTSA, WE HAVE A CHALLENGE FOR UTSA TO SET UP A VET VEAL SCHOOL FOR US. AND I'D LIKE TO SEE THE SURGERIES BEING DONE IN A MAP, LIKE A HEAT MAP, OF WHERE FOLKS ARE COMING FROM. I'M BASICALLY TRYING TO SEE IF THE WESTSIDE CENTER THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE COMBINED WITH THE LOCATION OF IT, IS IT GETTING TO THE FOLKS RIGHT AROUND IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS AROUND?
>> YEAH. ACTUALLY THAT'S JUST SOME DATA WE STARTED WORKING WITH OUR TEAM THIS WEEK ON. I SHOULD HAVE THAT. ACTUALLY, COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO'S DISTRICT ASKED FOR SOME DATA YESTERDAY. WE WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME PRELIMINARY DATA ON THOSE. SO WE'LL CONTINUE THAT WORK AND
I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO SHARE IT WITH THE REST OF YOU. >> KAUR: AS I WAS SEARCHING, I THINK WE DO A GOOD JOB ON OUR CITY WEBSITE OF LISTING OUT ALL THE DIFFERENT PLACES THAT YOU CAN GET A FREE SPAY AND NEUTER BUT YOU HAVE TO CLICK ON EVERY SINGLE ONE AND GO THROUGH EVERY SINGLE SET OF PROCESS.
SO ACS HAS A PROCESS, SNAP ON THE SOUTHSIDE HAS A SEPARATE PROCESS AND A SEPARATE WEBSITE. SO IT'S KIND OF CUMBERSOME. AND I WENT THROUGH THE ACS ONE AND IT'S LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION. YOU WOULD HAVE TO HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION READY TO GO TO BE ABLE TO EVEN GET ON THE REGISTRATION WAITLIST I GUESS IS WHAT IT IS. SO I JUST WONDER IF THERE'S AN EASIER WAY THAT WE COULD BUILD -- AN EASIER WAY TO DO A CONES CERTIFICATED EFFORT ON HOW TO MAKE A SPAY AND NEUTER APPOINTMENT ACROSS ALL OF OUR PARTNERS. I KNOW THERE WOULD BE A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT AND NEED TO BE TECH-BASED SOLUTION, BUT I THINK THAT
WOULD BE A GOOD THING TO EXPLORE. >> NO, ABSOLUTELY.
I AGREE WITH YOU. AND ACTUALLY ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE REACHED OUT TO OUR PARTNERS, WE'VE BEEN MEETING WITH THE SPAY AND NEUTER NETWORK TO SEE HOW WE DO A BETTER JOB OF THAT. THEY'VE ACTUALLY VOLUNTEERED TO WORK WITH US.
THEY ACTUALLY HAVE A NEW SYSTEM THAT THEY JUST LAUNCHED.
I THINK IT WILL HELP IMPROVE SOME OF THAT. THERE'S STILL A LOT OF WORK
TO BE DONE BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY OPTIONS OUT THERE. >> KAUR: ANOTHER ISSUE THAT WE HAD COME UP AND THAT ADVOCATES WILL ALWAYS TELL YOU, WE HAD A MOBILE SPAY AND NEUTER VAN BEFORE COVID AND I BRING IT UP EVERY YEAR BECAUSE FOLKS BRING IT UP TO US EVERY YEAR. I HAVE BEEN -- IT HAS BEEN SHARED CONSISTENTLY THAT IF WE CAN'T GET VETS TO WORK IN BUILDINGS, HOW THE HECK ARE THEY GOING TO WORK IN A VAN ALL DAY? IT WAS SHARED THAT TRANSPORTATION WAS BEING ADDRESSED WHERE IF SOMEONE NEEDS TRANSPORTATION TO ONE OF OUR CLINICS WE WOULD MAKE SURE THEY GET IT. DO WE HAVE RECORD OF HOW MUCH OR HOW MANY OF OUR CONSTITUENTS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT TRANSPORTATION FOR?
>> RIGHT NOW SPAY AND NEUTER NETWORK IS PROVIDING THAT SERVICE.
THEY DO TRACK THAT DATA SO IT IS SOMETHING WE COULD DEFINITELY GET.
I WOULD TELL YOU THAT'S WHAT I WOULD ADVOCATE FOR IS TRY TO PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION.
LIKE MOBILE SPAY AND NEUTER CLINICS ARE GREAT, BUT THEY'RE ALSO KIND OF INEFFICIENT, WHICH IS WHY A LOT OF -- WHY THEY'VE KIND OF GONE AWAY.
BUT I DO THINK THAT'S KIND OF WHERE OUR NEXT GOAL WOULD BE IS TRYING TO ENSURE THAT
PEOPLE THAT NEED OUR SERVICE CAN GET TO US. >> KAUR: OKAY.
IF WE CAN FIND OUT FROM THE NETWORK HOW MANY FOLKS ARE ACTUALLY GETTING ACCESS TO IT AND WHAT'S THE WAY THAT THEY PROMOTE IT, I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
BECAUSE I GET CONSTITUENTS ASKING ME ABOUT THAT SOMETIMES.
AND THEN JUST THE LAST THING, FOR THE BREAKDOWN OF WHICH CLINICS CAN YOU TELL ME WHICH ONES WOULD BE IN-HOUSE EASTSIDE OR WESTSIDE?
THERE WOULD BE SLIDE 6. >> ON SLIDE 6 OUR IN-HOUSE IS GOING TO BE THE ORANGE AND THEN THE CITY FACILITIES, WHICH IS OUR TWO OFF-SITE CLINICS AND OUR -- NOT JUST THE OFF SITE CLINICS, BUT ALSO THE ONE THAT WE OWN THAT ARE CONTRACTED AND RAN BY A SPAY AND NEUTER CLINIC IN SNAP IS THAT TEAL COLOR THERE IN THE MIDDLE. AND OUR FREE COMMUNITY SPAY AND NEUTER SERVICE THAT WE DO AS WELL IS A COMBINED JOINT EFFORT OF ALL OF THE FREE SPAY AND NEUTERS THAT WE OFFER TO ON OUR COMMUNITY, WHICH WOULD INCLUDE OUR TWO OFF-SITE
CLINICS. >> KAUR: YEAH. I'LL JUST DOUBLE DOWN ON THE POINT THAT I MADE EARLIER ABOUT MORE ALIGNMENT BETWEE ALL OF THOSE.
[00:45:03]
AND JUST LIKE THE BIG RED SIGN WHEN YOU OPEN SNAP'S WEBSITE OF BEWARE, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET AN APPOINTMENT ANY TIME SOON I THINK IS JUST SO DETERRING.AND LASTLY, THIS HAPPENS TO ME ON OTHER CITY WEBSITE, IT NOT JUST THE ACS PET ONE, BUT WE SHOULD LOOK INTO I.T. BECAUSE WHEN YOU'RE ON SA GUEST, SOME OF THE HIGHER BAND LIKE WHEN YOU NEED HIGHER SPEED INTERNET, THE WEBSITES DON'T WORK ON SA GUEST. SO I CAN'T SEE THE ADOPT A PET WEBSITE ON SA GUEST.
IT HAPPENS WITH SOME OF OUR OTHER GIS WEBSITES AS WELL, BUT IF IT'S NOT WORKING ON SA GUEST MAYBE IT'S ALSO NOT WORKING ON OTHER LOCAL COMMUNITY PROVIDERS AS WELL.
SO IF WE COULD LOOK INTO THAT WITH SA I.T. AND IT HAPPENS ON -- I THINK THERE'S SO MUCH ON OUR CITY WEBSITE, IF IT'S A LOT OF DATA IT SLOWS DOWN AND THEN IT BREAKS. BUT I COULD SEE ALL THE OTHER INFORMATION.
AND AS I WAS DOING A QUICK SEARCH BETWEEN US AND AUSTIN, WE'RE A LOT MORE AFFORDABLE TO ADOPT A PET THAN AUSTIN IS. WE'RE ABOUT HALF THE PRICE OF AUSTIN. AND THEY ACTUALLY HAVE A SEPARATE PRICE FOR -- A LOWER PRICE FOR BIG DOGS THAN THEY DO FOR PUPPIES, BECAUSE LIKE YOU MENTIONED, THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT ARE HARDER TO ADOPT. IT JUST MADE ME THINK ABOUT WHETHER WE NEED TO LOOK AT OUR PRICING, BUT AT THE SAME TIME WE WANT PEOPLE TO ADOPT SO WE'RE TRYING NOT TO MAKE IT TOO HIGH, RIGHT? I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU HAD ANY
THOUGHTS ON THAT THAT YOU WANTED TO SHARE. >> YEAH.
THAT'S BEEN ONE OF THE THINGS, OBVIOUSLY THIS LAST BUDGET YEAR, THAT WE LOOKED AT AND IT IS DIFFICULT. IF WE RAISE OUR ADOPTION FEES WE WILL PROBABLY LOWER THE NUMBER OF ADOPTIONS. THAT'S WHY YOU SEE SO MANY CREATIVE WAYS: WE DO A LOT OF FEE-WAIVED ADOPTIONS. IT IS, IS VERY TRICKY AND IN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT -- THERE ARE THOSE MORE HIGHLY ADOPTABLE ANIMALS THAT YOU CAN RAISE THE FEE ON AND YOU SEE THAT DONE. MOST OF THE ANIMALS IN OUR CASE ARE ACTUALLY TRANSFERRED TO OUR PARTNERS THAT ARE -- WOULD BE IN THAT CATEGORY.
SO WE WOULD HAVE VERY FEW THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO TRY TO OFFER THE HIGHER PRICE
FOR. >> KAUR: I KNOW I SAID LAST THING THREE TIMES, BUT LAST THING FOR REAL. MAYBE FOR A FUTURE SESSION WE COULD DO A LITTLE BIT OF A COMPARISON. I DON'T KNOW IF I'VE SEEN A CROSS-CITY COMPARISON ON LIKE ACS SERVICES PREVIOUSLY, AND JUST LIKE -- COUPLE CASTILLO MENTIONED OUTREACH STATISTICS ON OUTREACH SPECIFICS, AND ALSO THE STATISTICS IN GENERAL SOMETIMES WE DO IT FOR OTHER DEPARTMENTS SO WE COULD COMPARE AND CONTRAST.
AND ALSO AT SOME POINT WE'RE ALSO LITING THREE-WAY MARK FOR THE STRATEGIC PLAN SO COMING BACK AND SEEING WHAT THE NEXT PHASE -- THE NEXT PART, WHETHER WE NEED TO DO A REFRESH OR HOW WE'RE PERFORMING ON SOME OF THE METRICS.
>> I'D LOVE THAT BECAUSE I CAN TELL YOU IN THE STATE OF TEXAS WE'RE BEATING THEM AUTISM. IT'S AMAZING THAT WE'RE DOING.
IT'S IMPORTANT THAT OUR CITY RECOGNIZES AND COMMUNITY RECOGNIZES THAT I JUST MET WITH BEST FRIENDS LAST WEEK AND HONESTLY, HE'S OUR REGIONAL DIRECTOR AND HE SAYS YOU ARE DOING MORE HERE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE COUNTRY.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE RECOGNIZE THAT. ALSO HE REMINDED US WE ARE THE HIGHEST INTAKE SINGLE CAMPUS FACILITY IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY.
BARELY AHEAD OF DALLAS OF THAT NOT SO GREAT CATEGORY, BUT IT TELLS US A LOT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE. AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT. BEING IN THIS BUSINESS AS LONG AS I HAVE AND BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO TRAVEL ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, THAT'S WHAT GOT ME HERE WAS MAYBE WHEN IT COMES TO SAN ANTONIO IS THAT WE ARE DOING MORE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE COUNTRY. VERY PROUD OF THE TEAM AND HONESTLY, THANK YOU, COUNCIL AND THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE FOR SUPPORTING US IN THE WAY THAT YOU ARE BECAUSE THERE'S NO OTHER COMMUNITY SUPPORTING ANIMAL CARE
SERVICES LIKE SAN ANTONIO. >> KAUR: I THINK ALL OF US AGREE THAT WE APPRECIATE SEEING YOUR LEADERSHIP IN THIS ROLE AND WE THINK YOU'VE DONE A REALLY GREAT
JOB STEPPING IN. WE'RE GLAD YOU'RE HERE TOO. >> I APPRECIATE THAT.
>> KAUR: THANK YOU SO MUCH. I PASS IT OVER TO -- IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE THAT WANTED TO SAY ANYTHING ELSE? ITEM NUMBER 3.
>> THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN. ITEM NUMBER 3 IS THE CRIME STATISTICS FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. AND WE ARE DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT THIS TIME AROUND AT THE REQUEST OF THE CHAIR OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE.
SO WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE IS WHAT WE HAVE TYPICALLY DONE, WHICH IS JUST A VERY QUICK OVERVIEW OF OUR OVERALL CRIME IN SAN ANTONIO, PROPERTY CRIME, VIOLENT CRIME AND CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY, WHICH ARE THE NUMBERS THAT WE PROVIDE TO THE FBI ON A MONTHLY BASIS. ALSO THE DIFFERENT PART OF THE PRESENTATION IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A DEEP LOOK AT A COUPLE OF CRIMES WITHIN PROPERTY CRIMES, WHICH IS ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE HAVE SEEN SOME
[00:50:01]
IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, BUT WE WANT TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE WITH THE COMMITTEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEBODY CALLS 911 ALL THE WAY TO THE DISPOSITION OF THAT INVESTIGATION. SO WE CAN GET STARTED WITH CHIEF MCMANUS DOING THE OVERALL PRESENTATION JUST FOR CRIME STATISTICS AND THEN CHIEF SALAMID IS GOING TO DO THE IN-DEPTH REVIEW OF THESE CRIMES WITHIN PROPERTYCRIMES. SO CHIEF. >> THANK YOU.
COUNCIL MEMBERS, GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M GOING TO GO OVER FBI REPORTING REQUIREMENTS, CRIME STATS FOR 2025. AND I'M ALSO GOING TO TOUCH ON RESPONSE TIMES AND CALLS FOR SERVICE. AND AS MARIA MENTIONED, I'M GOING TO FLIP IT OVER TO ASSISTANT CHIEF SALAME AND HE WILL TALK ABOUT PROPERTY CRIMES AND MATTERS PERTAINING TO THAT. SO FBI USES FOR NATIONWIDE CRIME REPORTING THEY USE THE NIBRS OR NATIONAL INCIDENT BASED REPORTING SYSTEM.
NATIONAL INCIDENT-BASED REPORTING SYSTEM, AS OPPOSED TO WHAT THEY USED TO USE, WHICH WAS UCR, UNDER THE UCR PROGRAM. AND THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT UP TO 10 OFFENSES IN ONE EVENT ARE RECORDED, AND NOT JUST THE MOST SERIOUS CRIME AS UNDER THE UCR PROGRAM. AND OFFENSES ARE SPLIT INTO GROUP A AND GROUP B CATEGORIES. GROUP A IS THE MOST SERIOUS. THEY ARE CRIMES AGAINST PERSON, PROPERTY AND -- OR SOCIETY. AND THERE ARE 24 CATEGORIES AND 50-PLUS TYPES OF CRIME. AND GROUP B OFFENSES ARE ONLY REPORTED IF AN ARREST OCCURS. SO AN OFFENSE CATEGORY WOULD BE ASSAULT, FOR EXAMPLE.
AND THE OFFENSE TYPES WOULD BE AG ASSAULT, SIMPLE ASSAULT OR INFORMATION UNDER THAT HEADING OF ASSAULT. AND THAT GOES FOR ALL OF THE 24 CATEGORIES.
AND OVERALL OUR CALL VOLUME HAS DECLINED OVER THE YEARS, PAST FEW YEARS.
EMERGENCY CALLS DECLINED FROM 2023 TO 2025 FROM JANUARY THROUGH NOVEMBER.
IN 2023 WE HAD 1.4 MILLION. 20,241.2 MILLION. AND IN 2025 JANUARY THROUGH NOVEMBER, 1.1 MILLION. EMERGENCY CALLS ALSO DROPPED IN 2025.
IN 2025 TOTALS REFLECT ONLY JANUARY THROUGH NOVEMBER, YET IT STILL SHOWS A CLEAR DOWNWARD TREND. EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIMES HAVE IMPROVED EVERY YEAR.
2023 THEY WENT FROM SIX MINUTES, 20 SECONDS. 2024 THEY WENT DOWN TO FIVE MINUTES, 56 SECONDS. AND 2025 IT'S PRETTY SIGNIFICANT DECREASE, DOWN TO FIVE MINUTES AND 29 SECONDS. AND THAT'S NEARLY A ONE MINUTE IMPROVEMENT SINCE 2023. NON-EMERGENCY TIMES ALSO TREND -- ARE TRENDING DOWNWARD. 2025 YEAR TO DATE EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIME IS 18 MINUTES AND 35 SECONDS. ARTIST HAS REMAINED STABLE YEAR OVER YEAR. IN 2024 OUR ARRESTS INCREASED OVER 2023 BY ALMOST 1400 ARRESTS. 2025 FIGURES COVER JANUARY THROUGH NOVEMBER ONLY, NOT QUITE A FULL YEAR. EVEN WITHOUT DECEMBER 2025 -- WITHOUT DECEMBER 2025 IT'S ON PACE TO MEET OR EXCEED PRIOR YEARS.
AND THE REASON I TALK ABOUT THAT IS THAT IT SHOWS THAT PATROL OFFICERS AND SPECIALIZED UNITS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENTLY PROACTIVE. SO NIBRS CRIME STATS JANUARY THROUGH NOVEMBER COMPARISON LOOKS LIKE THIS: OVERALL CRIME IS DOWN 13.4%.
CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS DECLINED BY NINE PERCENT. PROPERTY CRIMES SAW THE LARGEST DROP, DOWN 18.1%. CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY INCREASED BY 15%, DRIVEN BY PROACTIVE ENFORCEMENT. SO THESE FIGURES REFLECT REPORTED INCIDENTS, NOT FINAL TOTALS, AND MAY ADJUST AS CASES ARE REVIEWED. I'M GOING TO TURN THIS OVER TO SAN ANTONIO CHIEF SALAME RIGHT NOW TO TALK ABOUT PROPERTY CRIMES.
>> GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE.
[00:55:01]
I'M EXCITED TO TALK TO YOU TODAY AND DO A DEEPER DIVE INTO BURGLARIES AND ROBBERIES. BEFORE WE GET STARTED I'LL START WITH A DEFINITION BUT I WANT TO MAKE IT -- BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT, OFTEN I'VE HEARD PEOPLE SAY MY HOUSE GOT ROBBED. HOUSES DON'T GET ROBBED, PEOPLE GET ROBBED.HOUSES GET BURGLARIZED. SO WE'LL START WITH A COUPLE OF DEFINITIONS FIRST.
IN THE TEXAS PENAL CODE A ROBBERY IS A PERSON COMMITS A ROBBERY IF WHEN COMMITTING A THEFT OR INTENDING TO OBTAIN OR KEEP PROPERTY, THEY CAUSE BODILY INJURY TO ANOTHER PERSON OR THEY THREATEN OR PLACE ANOTHER IN FEAR OF IMPLEMENT BODILY INJURY OR DEATH. ROBBERY IS A VERY SERIOUS CRIME FOR US.
IT'S A VIOLENT CRIME. WE'LL CALL IT A SIMPLE ROBBERY IS PUNISHABLE AS A SECOND DEGREE FELONY. WHEN YOU START ADDING AGGRAVATED CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN YOU CAUSE BODILY INJURY TO SOMEONE OR USE A DEADLY WEAPON THAT GOES TO A FIRST DEGREE FELONY WHICH MEANS UP TO LIFE IN PRISON. AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BURGLARY, A PERSON COMMITS BURGLARY IF WITHOUT CONSENT THEY ENTER A BUILDING OR A HABITATION WITH INTENT TO COMMITTEE A FELONY THEFT OR ASSAULT.
THEY CAN SOMETIMES REMAIN CONCEALED WITH A CRIMINAL INTENT.
THAT, IF YOU COMMIT BURGLARY OF A BUSINESS OR A BUILDING, THAT IS A STATE JAIL FELONY, WHICH IS UP TO TWO YEARS IN STATE JAIL. IF YOU COMMIT BURGLARY OF A HABITATION WITH THE INTENT OTHER THAN THEFT, YOU CAN GET UP TO LIFE IN PRISON.
SO THAT IS A FIRST DEGREE FELONY. LOOKING AT BOTH IN COMPARISON, THIS IS INTERESTING TO ME AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS CHANGED SINCE THE TIME I CAME ON. ROBBERY NOW AND THE CHIEF ALLUDED IT, ACCORDING TO NIBRS, IS A CRIME AGAINST PROPERTY. UNDER THE OLD UNIFORM CRIME REPORTING, ROBBERY WAS A PART 1 VIOLENT CRIME OFFENSE, IT WAS A CRIME AGAINST PERSON, SO IT WAS CONSIDERED A CRIME AGAINST PERSON AND IT WAS BECAUSE A PERSON WAS ROBBED. NIBRS CATEGORIZES IT OR CLASSIFIES IT AS A PROPERTY CRIME BECAUSE THE GOAL IS TO OBTAIN PROPERTY AND THAT DISTINCTION FROM A ROBBERY TO A BURGLARY IS THERE'S A REQUIREMENT OF FORCE OR A THREAT OF FORCE AGAINST A VICTIM IN ORDER TO BE A ROBBERY. AND A BURGLARY IS AGAINST A LOCATION OR PROPERTY AND IT REQUIRES THE UNLAWFUL ENTRY WITHOUT CONSENT.
AGAIN, THOSE ARE THE BIG DIFFERENCES, BUT I THINK THE KEY -- THE THING TO REMEMBER IS ROBBERY IS ESSENTIALLY A VIOLENT METHOD OF COMMITTING A PROPERTY CRIME.
SO NOW THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BURGLARY AND ROBBERY I'LL WALK YOU THROUGH THE PROCESSES OF HOW BOTH CASES ARE HANDLED FROM THE TIME WE GET CALLED TO THE SCENE, WHEN A DETECTIVE WOULD GET INVOLVED, HOW CASES ARE ASSIGNED, HOW THEY ARE INVESTIGATED AND HOW WE USE DATA AND TECHNOLOGY TO ASSIST OUR CASE SOLVING AND CRIME PREVENTION EFFORTS. WE'LL START AT THE VERY BEGINNING, A CALL FOR SERVICE AS RECEIVED FROM DISPATCH.
SOMEBODY CALLS IN AND SAYS I JUST GOT HOME FROM WORK TODAY AND IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEBODY HAS BROKEN INTO MY HOUSE. THE OFFICERS WILL RESPOND TO THE SCENE. THEIR FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS TO MAKE SURE THE SCENE IS FACE. THEY WILL CONTACT THE VICTIM OR WITNESS AND CONFIRM WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED AND THEN THEY DO AN INITIAL INVESTIGATION.
THEY MIGHT TAKE SOME PRELIMINARY STATEMENT, THEY'LL DOCUMENT THE THINGS THEY OBSERVE, DOCUMENT ANY PIECES OF EVIDENCE AND ASSIGN A FOLLOW-UP UNIT.
ANOTHER DISTINCTION IN ROBBERY AND BURGLARY CASES IS THE ROLE OF THE CSI, THE CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATORS. IN ROBBERY CASES CSI IS DISPATCHED WHEN THERE IS A NEED TO PROCESS, RECOVER AND DOCUMENT EVIDENCE. THAT'S AN AUTOMATIC DISPATCH. IN BURGLARY CASES CSI IS DISPATCHED ONLY WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE PROPERTY OWNER OR THE AGENT. THERE'S A NUMBER OF REASONS WHY MANY PEOPLE DO NOT WANT CSI TO COME OUT, SOME OF WHICH IS THAT THEY DON'T WANT ANY MORE INTRUSIONS INTO THEIR PERSONAL PROPERTY.
THEY ADOPT WANT TO DEAL WITH THE PAPERWORK. THEY DON'T FEEL THE LOSS WAS SUBSTANTIAL AND THEY PREFER TO DOCUMENT AND DEAL WITH ON THEIR OWN WITH INSURANCE AND SOME PEOPLE QUITE FRANKLY DON'T FEEL CONFIDENT THAT THERE WILL BE A SOLUTION AND THEY DON'T WANT TO WASTE THEIR TIME. THE SECOND PART OF THE PROCESS IS WE TALK ABOUT CASE SCREENING AND ASSIGNMENT.
LIKE I MENTIONED, ROBBERY CASES BECAUSE THEY ARE VIOLENT PROPERTY CRIME THEY ARE AUTOMATICALLY ASSIGNED TO A DETECTIVE FOR FOLLOW-UP.
SO WE'VE GOT 21 DETECTIVES AND A CRIME ANALYSTS THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO THE ROBBERY TASK FORCE UNIT THAT GET AN AVERAGE OF ABOUT SIX CASES, SIX ROBBERY CASES A MONTH.
WHEN IT COMES TO PROPERTY CRIMES, AGAIN, BURGLARY IS INCLUDED IN THAT THROUGH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT THEY INVESTIGATE, THOSE ARE ASSIGNED BASED ON SOLVEABILITY FACTORS. AGAIN, WE'VE GOT TWO COMPETING REALTIES.
[01:00:03]
EVERY BURGLARY CASE MATTERS. IF YOU'RE VICTIMIZED, YOU WANT TO FEEL LIKE THERE'S JUSTICE, BUT THE REALITY IS OUR INVESTIGATIVE RESOURCES ARE NOT INFINITE.WE HAVE FINITE INVESTIGATIVE RESOURCES. SO THE PROPERTY CRIMES ARE SCREENED BY A SUPERVISOR AND ASSIGNED BASED ON SOLVEABILITY FACTORS.
SO WE TALKED ABOUT IS THERE A SUSPECT, IS THERE AN ABILITY TO IDENTIFY A SUSPECT? IS THERE A FAMILIAR MO, METHOD OF OPERATION? DO WE HAVE VIDEO EVIDENCE, DO WE HAVE FORENSIC EVIDENCE? DOES THE VICTIM WANT TO COOPERATE? WE'VE GOT 54 DETECTIVES THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO THE PROPERTY CRIMES TASK FORCE UNIT, AND THEY HANDLE ABOUT 12 CASES A MONTH, THAT'S THEIR CASELOAD, AND SO THE ABILITY TO CASE SCREEN IS DETECTIVES FOCUS THEIR TIME ON CASES THAT HAVE A REALISTIC PATH TO RESOLUTION.
AND THIS IS NOT UNIQUE TO THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT.
THIS IS AN INDUSTRY STANDARD ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR EVERY MAJOR CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT. THE NEXT STEP IS THE PROCESS IS DETECTIVE FOLLOW-UP.
SO THE DETECTIVE WILL BE ASSIGNED TO THE CASE, WHEN THEY ARE ASSIGNED TO THE CASE, AND THEY GO BACK AND THEY EITHER TAKE SWORN STATEMENTS FROM VICTIMS OR WITNESSES. THEY WILL DO RECANVASSING, THEY WILL PROCESS, COLLECT AND IDENTIFY DIGITAL AND FORENSIC EVIDENCE. ALL OF THAT IS, AGAIN, USEFUL IN TRYING TO HELP IDENTIFY A SUSPECT. AND THERE'S A NUMBER OF TECHNOLOGY AND DATABASES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO US THROUGH THE FLOCK CAMERA SYSTEM, SMARTPHONE DATA, MARK 43, AXON, THE LICENSE PLATE READERS.
OUR BIGGEST THING STILL IS, AND THANKFUL TO THE FACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO POST ABOUT THEIR CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, WE THANK THEM VERY MUCH.
IF IT'S EASY FOR US, WE'LL TAKE IT. WE'D RATHER BE LUCKY THAN GOOD SOMETIMES. SO THERE'S TWO OUTCOMES. THE ONE THAT WE REALLY WANT IS WE WANT TO IDENTIFY A SUSPECT, WE WANT TO MAKE AN ARREST OR GET A WARRANT AND SEND THE CASE TO THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SO WE CAN PROSECUTE THAT PERSON. SOMETIMES DESPITE OUR BEST EFFORTS WE GET OUTCOME 2, WHICH IS WE DON'T HAVE A SUSPECT. WE'VE GONE AS FAR AS WE CAN.
THAT CASE GOES INTO WHAT'S CALLED PFI STATUS, WHICH IS PENDING FURTHER INVESTIGATION. THAT MEANS THAT IT'S NOT POSSIBLE TO SOLVE THE CASE WITH THE CURRENT EVIDENCE AND INFORMATION. IF NEW EVIDENCE OR INFORMATION COMES TO LIGHT WE CAN ALWAYS REOPEN IT AND RE-EXAMINE THAT.
I WANT TO TALK ABOUT OUR CRIME ANALYSTS BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY KIND OF WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD FOR US IN A LOT OF WAYS. SO IF YOU THINK OF OUR DETECTIVES AS THE BRAUN, YOU THINK OF OUR CRIME ANALYSTS AS THE BRAIN WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING THE INVESTIGATIONS WORK. THEY EXAMINE THE WHO, THE WHAT, THE WHEN, THE WHERE AND THE WHY. THEY HELP US UNCOVER TRENDS, THEY IDENTIFY REPEAT OFFENDERS, HOT SPOTS AND OTHER CONTRIBUTING FACTORS BEHIND THE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY THAT ARE IMPORTANT FOR US TO IDENTIFY THE PATTERNS AND THE DRIVERS OF THE CRIME. THEY REALLY SUPPORT OUR INVESTIGATIONS AND OUR CRIME-FIGHTING STRATEGY BY TURNING RAW DATA INTO INTELLIGENCE PRODUCTS.
THEY CREATE TIMELINES, MAP, SUSPECT LINKS, THAT REALLY HELP US TO PRIORITIZE OUR CASES AND GUIDE OUR ENFORCEMENT AND PREVENTION EFFORTS.
THEY'RE WORKING ON A NUMBER OF THINGS THIS YEAR, AUTOMATED -- THE ATM ROBBERIES AND THEFTS, ARMORED CAR ROBBERIES, BURGLARIES, JUGGING INCIDENTS, THEY DO EVERYTHING FOR US. HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE PRODUCTS THAT THE ROBBERY ANALYSTS DID. IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE SNAPSHOT, THIS IS FOR 2024, AND SOME AREAS OF NOTE HERE IS THAT JUST LOOKING AT THE DATA WE CAN SEE THAT THE INDIVIDUAL ROBBERIES MAKE UP THE LARGEST SHARE FOLLOWED BY INDIVIDUAL AGGRAVATED ROBBERIES IN 2024. BUSINESS ROBBERIES, BOTH AGGRAVATED AND NON-AGGRAVATED ARE SMALLER, BUT STILL SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE TOTAL ROBBERIES. I THOUGHT THIS WAS REALLY INTERESTING. SHOPLIFTING RELATED ROBBERIES.
MORE THAN HALF OF BUSINESS ROBBERIES, 54%, STEM FROM SHOPLIFTING INCIDENTS THAT ESCALATED. 38% OF THE SHOPLIFTING ROBBERIES WERE AGGRAVATED, MEANING TA THERE WAS THREATS, FORCE OR INJURIES. HALF OF THOSE OCCURRED AT CONVENIENCE OR DISCOUNT STORES, WHICH TELL US THAT THERE'S A REPEATED RISK AT THOSE PARTICULAR RETAIL LOCATIONS. AGAIN, THE BIG TAKEAWAY FROM THIS IS THAT MANY OF THE BUSINESS ROBBERIES, THEY'RE NOT THE PLANNED STICKUPS.
THEY'RE THE SHOPLIFTING INCIDENTS THAT ESCALATED WHEN THERE'S A CONFRONTATION WHEN SOMEBODY IS TRYING TO LEAVE WITH SOMETHING AND AN EMPLOYEE OR CUSTOMER STOPS THEM. THAT'S IMPORTANT TO US WHEN WE NETWORK WITH OUR BUSINESS AND RETAIL ASSOCIATES TO HELP THEM FOR TALK TO THEIR EMPLOYEES AND GIVE US SOME MORE INFORMATION TO SHARE BACK ON WHAT THEY'RE SEEING. LOOKING AT 2025, THE BIG
[01:05:02]
THING HERE AND I'LL SHOW YOU ANOTHER SLIDE HERE IN A SECOND IS THE ROBBERIES OVERALL ARE TRENDING DOWNWARD. THIS IS THROUGH NOVEMBER 30TH SO WE HAVE A MONTH LEFT. IS THE START OF THE MONTH WE WERE 253 INCIDENTS BELOW THE TOTAL OVERALL FOR NEXT YEAR. WE EXPECT THAT TO CONTINUE TO BE UNDER AT THE END OF THE YEAR. AGGRAVATED BUSINESS ROBBERIES HAVE ALSO DECLINED SHOPLY. THEY'VE DROPPED FROM 267 IN 2024 TO 134 THIS YEAR. AGAIN, WE HAVE A MONTH TO GO BUT WE DON'T EXPECT TO MEET THAT NUMBER THANKFULLY. SHOPLIFTING-RELATED ROBBERIES STILL REMAIN HIGH.THAT'S STILL AN ISSUE THAT WE NEED TO WORK THROUGH. AND THEN THIS LAST CHART AGAIN WAS CREATED BY THE ANALYST. IT JUST SHOWS THAT THE TOTAL ROBBERY OFFENSES ARE LOWER IN 2025 THAN IN 2024 FOR EVERY MONTH FROM JANUARY TO OCTOBER. IT LOOKS LIKE NOVEMBER LAST MONTH WAS THE FIRST MONTH THAT WE WERE HIGHER THIS YEAR THAN WE WERE ALL OF 2024 FOR THE MONTH.
BOTH YEARS NOT SURPRISINGLY, OR MAYBE IT WAS SURPRISING, APRIL WAS THE HUGHEST NUMBER OF REPORTED ROBBERIES. THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF GOING ON IN APRIL, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT AND ABOUT. THAT'S KIND OF TO BE EXPECTED.
SO OVERALL WHAT DOES THIS TELL US? IS THIS DECLINE THE RESULT OF SOME OF OUR TARGETED INITIATIVES? IS THIS A BROADER LOOK AT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH CRIME ACROSS THE COUNTRY? THE REALITY IS THERE'S NEVER REALLY ONE FACTOR THAT POINTS TO CRIME GOING DOWN, THERE'S OFTEN A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT REASONS WHERE IT GOES DOWN OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR.
I'LL TALK ABOUT THIS TREND ANALYSIS. THIS IS A PRODUCT THAT ONE OF THE ANALYSTS DID FOR THE PROPERTY CRIMES TASK FORCE. WE HAD A SERIAL BURGLAR THAT WAS TARGET THE LIQUOR STORES. WE'VE GOT 54 DETECTIVES SPREAD ACROSS TWO SHIFTS. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS IT'S LIKE HOW DID NOBODY NOTICE THIS? THEY'RE ASSIGNED TO DIFFERENT DETECTIVES ACROSS BOTH SHIFTS SO I'M NOT NECESSARILY TALKING TO THE DETECTIVE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM ABOUT THE TWIN LIQUOR STORE BURGLARY THAT HE GOT AND THE ONE THAT I GOT. BUT THIS CHART IS WHAT FIRST ALERTED US THAT A SINGLE OFFENDER WAS LIKELY RESPONSIBLE FOR A SPIKE IN THESE BURGLARIES, SO THE ANALYSTS WERE ABLE TO PUT THAT TOGETHER AND THERE WAS A CLEAR PATTERN.
IT WAS SIMILAR BUSINESSES, STARTED LATE AT NIGHT ALONG THE SAME CORRIDOR.
SO THIS ENABLED US AND THE PROPERTY CRIMES TASK FORCE TO LAUNCH A COORDINATED INVESTIGATION AND THROUGHOUT ALL THEIR WORK THAT I SHOWED YOU EARLIER, THE WITNESS STATEMENTS, THE SURVEILLANCE COMBING AND LOOKING BACK AND DOING RESEARCH ONLINE, THEY WERE ABLE TO FIND A SUSPECT AND HE HAD THE SAME WAY OF GETTING IN.
HE WOULD BREAK THE BOTTOM PANEL OF THE FRONT DOOR, HE WOULD RUN INSIDE, STEAL HIGH END LIQUOR AND HE WOULD BE GONE WITHIN A MINUTE OR TWO. IT WAS VERY QUICK.
SO WE TIED HIM TO 14 OF THESE BURGLARIES. ADDITIONAL ANALYTICAL WORK FOUND THAT HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR 10 MORE BURGLARIES, LIKE BATH AND BODY WORKS AND HALLMARK STORES. WE HAD HIM ON 24 BUSINESS BURGLARIES. HE WAS ARRESTED AND CONVICTED AND HE'S NOW DOING SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON FOR THIS. AGAIN, THE ANALYSTS PUT THAT TOGETHER FOR US AND REALLY ALLOWED US TO HONE IN ON THIS INDIVIDUAL.
I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT TECHNOLOGY. AND WE TALK ABOUT LIKE THE ONLINE DATABASES AND THIS IS PARTICULARLY HELPFUL WHEN IT COMES TO PAWN SHOPS.
SECONDHAND DEALERS, SOME ONLINE MARKETPLACES. SO THE PAWN SHOPS ARE REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS. SO BACK IN THE DAY BEFORE THIS TECHNOLOGY WAS AVAILABLE, YOU HAD LIKE A CRUSTY OLD DETECTIVE THAT WOULD GO TO EACH AND EVERY PAWN SHOP AND LOOK AT PAWN SHOP TICKETS AND COMPARE THOSE TO INVENTORY THAT WAS THERE. AND OFTEN YOU WOULD JUST -- IT WAS A TIME-CONSUMING PROCESS. THE PAWN SHOPS YOU WOULD HAVE TO GO DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS AND IT MEANT THAT STOLEN PROPERTY WAS SOLD BEFORE THEY EVEN LOOKED AT IT OR IT WASN'T RECOVERED AT ALL.
SO WITH LEADS ONLINE, THIS HAS BEEN A GAME CHANGER FOR US IN THE PROPERTY CRIMES WORLD. IT LETS US SEARCH THOSE RECORDS ELECTRONICALLY.
THE PAWN SHOPS ARE REQUIRED TO ENTER EVERYTHING THAT THEY TAKE IN THERE TO INCLUDE THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE PERSON THAT IS SELLING THAT OR PAWNING THAT ITEM. THE DETECTIVES CAN ALSO ENTER INFORMATION INTO THEIR SERIAL NUMBERS AND THAT 60 DAY MANDATORY HOLD GIVES US ENOUGH TIME TO RECOVER THAT -- TO RECOVER THOSE ITEMS BEFORE THEY'RE SOLD. SO THAT IS A REQUIREMENT THAT TEXAS FINANCE CODE REQUIRES THAT PAWN SHOPS PARTICIPATE AND THAT'S REALLY BEEN HELPFUL IN TERMS OF GETTING PEOPLE THEIR PROPERTY BACK.
AND LASTLY, I JUST WANT TO TALK ABOUT, AGAIN, HOW DATA DRIVES OUR CRIME REDUCTION INITIATIVES. YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT CRIME TRENDS TO THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE TARGET THESE TRENDS. IT'S PLACE-BASED STRATEGIES.
[01:10:04]
SPECIFIC AREAS OR THE HOT SPOTS WHERE WE'RE SUE SEEING A LOT OF BURGLARIES, A LOT OF ROBBERIES. AND THEN WE LOOK AT OFFENDER-BASED STRATEGIES.THERE'S OFFENDERS GOING OUT THERE, THE GUY THAT DID 24 BURGLARIES THAT, WASN'T HIS FIRST, IT WAS JUST THE 24 THAT WE CONNECTED HIM WITH. THIS FOCUS CLOUDS ALLOWS US TO INCREASE OUR RESOURCES AND QUICKLY IDENTIFY, MANAGE AND REDUCE THE PROBABILITY OF FURTHER VICTIMIZATION. WE HAVE TWO BIG TASK FORCES THAT FOLLOW CRIME PATTERNS.
WE HAD A HOLIDAY TASK FORCE THAT STARTED BEFORE THANKSGIVING AND WILL GO THROUGH THE NEW YEAR. AND WE HAVE A SUMMER TASK FORCE AND THAT'S OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE WE HAVE AN INCREASED NUMBER OF PEOPLE SHOPPING, THERE'S A LOT OF TRAVEL, WE HAVE A LOT OF TOURISTS, SPECIAL EVENTS. ALL THOSE CREATE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO BECOME VICTIMS OF A THEFT OR A ROBBERY.
SO THE NUMBERS ON THE SUMMER PROPERTY CRIMES TASK FORCE ARE REALLY IMPRESSIVE.
THESE ARE INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE ACTIVE. WE TOOK 17 FIREARMS FROM CRIMINALS THAT SHOULDN'T HAVE HAD THEM AND RECOVERED 88 STOLEN VEHICLES THAT HAD A NET RECOVERY OF 170 MILLION OF RECOVERY VALUE.
SO THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
>> SUKH KAUR: THANK YOU SO MUCH. I APPRECIATE YOU ALL WORKING WITH ME TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT FORMAT FOR THESE CRIME STATISTICS.
THOSE PREVIOUS PRESENTATIONS JUST WERE TOUGH FOR ME TO FIGURE OUT, SO WHAT. SO I JUST THOUGHT WE WOULD DO THIS AS A TEST CASE TO SEE IF IT HELPS TO DIVE INTO A SPECIFIC AREA WE COULD DIVE INTO AND ASK SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT. I'LL COME BACK TO MY SET OF QUESTIONS, BUT OPEN IT UP -- WE DON'T HAVE PEOPLE ASSIGNED TO SP SPEAK, SO OPEN UP TO MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO START WITH ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS. OKAY.
COUNCILMEMBER SPEARS. CASTILLO. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, CHIEF, FOR THE PRESENTATION. ON SLIDE 3. CAN YOU WALK ME THROUGH WHAT SOME OF THE 10 CATEGORIES ARE FOR GROUP B.
>> WE HAVE A BACKUP SLIDE THAT HAS THE BR BREAKOUTS SO SLIDE 23.
AND THIS IS FOR CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY RIGHT COUNCILWOMAN.
>> CASTILLO: UH-HUH. OKAY. AND THEN THIS KIND OF TIES INTO MY OTHER QUESTION, IN TERMS OF DETECTIVE WORK, I APPRECIATE YOU BREAKING IT DOWN IN TERMS OF HOW MANY DETECTIVES ARE RESPONSIBLE, YOU SAID ROUGHLY ABOUT 12 CASES, WITH THOSE CASES, DO WE KNOW HOW MANY RESULTS IN THE RETURN OF WHATEVER WAS STOLEN OR REPORTED STOLEN DURING THE BURGLARLY AND/OR ROB ROBBERY.
>> I DON'T. SO OF THE CASES THAT ARE ASSIGNED OF THE 12 CASE LOADS THEY SOLVE ABOUT 70% OF THOSE, AND SO SOLVING MEANS WE'VE IDENTIFIED A SUSPECT, DOESN'T MEAN WE'VE RECOVERED THE PROPERTY, BUT WE DID HOLD SOMEBODY ACCOUNTABLE, SO WITH THE PUNISHMENT I DESCRIBED TO YOU EARLIER, THERE'S ALSO A MON MONETARY RANGE THAT THE COURT KIM POSE ON THE INDIVIDUAL TO TRY TO MAKE THE VICTIM WH WHOLE.
>> CASTILLO: AND DO YOU TRACK WHEN SOMETHING IS RETURNED TO THE VICTIM.
>> YES. THAT SHOULD BE TRACKED ON THE DETECTIVE REPORTS OR ON THE DATA BASE, THERE'S A WAY FOR US TO LOOK INTO THE ONLINE
SYSTEM AND TRACK THAT. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU FOR THAT AND THEN ON SLIDE 20 WITH THE 8
VEHICLES THAT WERE RETURNED. 88 OUT OF HOW MANY? >> I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE
NUMBER OF STOLEN IS. IS THAT ON HERE. >> I THINK ON THE SAME
SLIDE, 23. >> YEAH. SHOULD BE ON THERE.
>> THE NUMBER OF STOLEN VEHICLES IN NOVEMBER WAS 8794.
>> CASTILLO: OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT.
AND THEN I DID -- ONE PLACE TO SEE THERE'S BEEN A DECREASE ON MANY OF THE CRIMES, AND I THINK YOU HIT IT ON THE HEAD, CHIEF, THERE'S A NUMBER OF MOVING PIECES IN TERMS OF THAT TREND, BUT I DID HAVE A QUESTION REGARDING SOME OF THE AWARE WE HAD, AND THIS MAY BE AN OFFLINE CONVERSATION BUT WITH THE FLOCK TECHNOLOGY BEING USED, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT WHETHER THAT CONTRACT IS UP FOR RENEWAL, I KNOW HAYES COUNTY, COUNTY COMMISSIONER COURT ENDED THAT DOCTOR, AND SAN MARCOS DID BECAUSE THERE WERE CONCERNS AROUND PRIVACY, SO I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE AN OFFLINE CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT WHEN THAT ENDS AND THEN WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES TO THAT SOFTWARE. COULD YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND, EITHER OF YA'LL CHIEFS IN TERMS OF WHAT ROLE THE FUSION CENTER PLAYS INTO THIS WORK, AND HOW DOES IT GET ASSIGNED TO THE FUSION CENTER? IS IT DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT? OR HELP ME UNDERSTAND
THAT RELATIONSHIP. >> SO THE FUSION CEN CENTER -- THE
[01:15:04]
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FUSION CENTER PRIMARILY, RELATES TO THE ANALYSTS ASSIGNED TO THE FUSION CENTER THAT ASSIST WITH THE PROPERTY CRIMES UNIT AND THE ROBBERY UNIT, SO THERE IS SOME COHESION THERE IN TERMS OF THE PRODUCT THEY PUT OUT, BUT THE FUSION CENTER IS NOT TYPICALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR FOLLOW UP INVESTIGATIONS OF THIS TYPE, WE HAVE THE DEDICATED UNITS, BUT THEY DO PLAY A ROLE IN TERMS OF THE ANALYSTS THAT ARE -- THAT IS THEIR PARENT UNIT, BUT THEY'RE ON LOAN OR A ASSIGNED OUT TO THE RESPECTIVE PROPERTY UN UNIT.>> CASTILLO: OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT UNDERSTANDING, AND THEN A TREND THAT'S INTE INTERESTING, FOR EXA EXAMPLE, THE STEALING OF FOOD. I'M CURIOUS IF THAT'S STOLEN TO BE, LIKE FLIPPED OR STOLEN BECAUSE OF NEED, AND I'M SURE MAYBE IT'S A COMBINATION OF BOTH, BUT THE TREND OF WHAT THAT MAY LOOK LIKE.
>> YEAH. YEAH. AND I THINK MOST OF THAT IS RELATED TO -- THEY LUMP THAT ALL INTO CONSUMABLE PRODUCTS, A LOT OF THAT IS BEER AND ALCOHOL, THE CIGARETTES, THOSE ARE SEPARATES, BUT WE DO HAVE -- TRY TO BUY STEAK THIS WEEKEND -- BUT PEOPLE DO TAKE THAT AND RESALE IT. I WOULDN'T DENY THAT THERE ARE SOME FOLKS TAKING IT OUT OF NEED, BUT I DON'T HAVE A NUMBER FOR YOU ON THAT
OR WHAT THAT PERCENTAGE WOULD LOOK LIKE. >> CASTILLO: OKAY.
I APPRECIATE THAT. THOSE ARE ALL OF MY QUESTIONS FOR NOW, THANK
YOU, ALL, THANKS, CHAIR. >> SUKH KAUR: THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN.
COUNCILWOMAN SPEARS. >> SPEARS: THANK YOU, CHAIR. AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO HAVE MUCH FOR ALL YOU'RE DOING. I'M PARTICULARLY GRATEFUL AND PROUD OF THE -- THE DATA THAT YOU PRESENTED TODAY.
YOU -- I SAW WHERE IT'S SHOWING YOU WANT THE RESPONSE TIMES TO DECREASE NEXT YEAR, HOW ARE YOU APPROACHING TH THAT?
>> SO I'VE MENTIONED BEFORE THAT THERE'S TWO WAYS TO REDUCE RESPONSE TIMES, AND ONE OF THEM IS TO ADD MORE OFFICERS, AND THE SECOND WAY IS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF TYPES OF CALLS THAT WE RESPOND TO.
SO OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, WE'VE ADDED MORE POLICE OFFICERS, AND WE'VE SEEN THE NUMBERS GO DOWN AS THOSE OFF OFFICERS GET ADDED.
>> AND, COUNCILWOMAN, IF I MAY, YOU MAY RECALL THAT WE DISCUSSED A CCR THAT WAS PUT FORWARD BY COUNCILWOMAN KAUR AS FAR AS POTENTIALLY ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO ADDRESSING SOME OF THE POLICE CALLS, SO WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO THIS COMMITTEE PROBABLY IN FEBRUARY TO TALK ABOUT SOME POSSIBILITIES, THAT COULD BE A WAY TO ALSO REDUCE THOSE RESPONSE
TIMES. >> SPEARS: OKAY. I HEARD YOU SAY, TOO, ON SLIDE FIVE THAT THAT DECLINE IS A LOT IN PART -- OR TO THE PROACTIVE ENFORCEMENT, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
>> RIGHT. SO CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETIES TYPICALLY DON'T GET REPORTED UNLESS THERE'S AN ARREST MADE, SO OFFICERS -- ON THE CRIMES, THE NUMBERS INCREASE, BUT IT SHOWS THAT THERE'S MORE P PROACTIVE ENFORCEMENT THAT'S HAPPENING, BUT IF THEY WERE STALE WITH THOSE NUMBERS, THEN IT WOULD MEAN THERE'S NOT A LOT OF ARRESTS HAPP
HAPPENING. >> SPEARS: OKAY. AND THEN SLIDE 16.
16. SORRY. SO SHOPLIFTING, I WAS HAPPY TO SEE THAT HOLIDAY TASK FORCE, TOO, I JUST HAD -- OUR TEAM ATTENDED A MEETING FROM THE TARGET OUT AT TPC, THEY'RE SEEING A HUGE INCREASE IN SHOPLIFTING, AND PARTICULARLY VEHICLE ROBBERIES BY U UNACCOMPANIED MINORS. SO OUR SAFE OFFICERS CAME, THEY WERE A BIG PART OF, THAT AND SO I THINK THEY'RE WORKING WITH THE ENTIRE CENTER ON WHAT WE CAN DO TO MITIGATE SOME OF THAT. BUT I WAS GLAD TO SEE THAT YA'LL HAVE THE HOLIDAY TASK FORCE. IS THAT SOMETHING TH THAT -- I MEAN, IS IT -- WE JUST SEE THAT MUCH MORE SHOPLIFTING AROUND THE HOLIDAYS, OR IS THIS SOMETHING YOU THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL ALL
YEAR. >> WITH WELL, WE DO IT AROUND THE HOLIDAYS BECAUSE TYPICALLY VEHICLE BURGLARIES AND ROBBERIES PICK UP DURING THOSE TIMES. SO WHAT WE DO, WE DO A COUPLE THINGS.
WE TARGET SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE PROLIFIC CAR BURGLARIES AND OTHER FOLKS THAT ARE WANTED, AND WE WORK TO TRACK THEM DOWN AND ARREST THEM, THE ONES THAT HAVE WARRANTS, AND THE OTHER ONES,
[01:20:01]
SOMETIMES WE SURVEIL, BUT MOSTLY, WE ARE -- WE DON'T -- THIS ISN'T JU JUST, LIKE -- LIKE, GOING OUT AND HOPING WE CATCH SOMEBODY, WE SPECIFICICALLY -- TYPICALLY HAVE A TARGET IN MIND WHEN WE GO OUT.AND OTHER TIMES, WE DO COME ACROSS FOLKS WHO ARE BREAKING INTO VEHICLES WHILE WE ARE OUT THERE, BUT IT DOES INCREASE DURING THE
HOLIDAYS. >> SPEARS: OKAY. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE COULD BE DOING IN OUR DISTRICTS TO EDUCATE, LIKE, OUR HOHS OR -- ON BEST PRACTICES OR EVEN BUSINESSES THAT WE COULD SHARE WITH THEM, ESPECIALLY -- WELL, I GUESS IT'S KIND OF LATE TO BE DOING IT RIGHT NOW ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS, BUT, YOU KNOW, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE COULD BE DOING WITHIN OUR DISTRICT TO TALK TO OUR BUSINESSES AND THEN ALSO -- I M OUR SAFE OFFICERS DO AN AMAZING JOB WITH THAT TOO, AND, I MEAN, I PARTICULARLY APPRECIATE MY SAFE OFFICERS, BUT IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO HELP WITH THAT OR TRAINING OR BEST PRACTICES, WE WOULD LOVE
TO DO THAT. >> WE COULD ALWAYS ATTEND A SPECIAL SESSION THAT YOU MIGHT CALL FOR THAT SPECIFIC TOPIC, A AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THINGS ONLINE THAT ARE EDUCATIONAL IN NATURE, AND, YOU KNOW, WE CAN PROVIDE INFORMATION FOR NEWS LETTERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND, AGAIN, YOU MENTIONED THAT SAFE OFFICERS COME OUT AND SPEAK TO THESE TOPICS
ALL THE TIME. >> SPEARS: THEY DO. OKAY.
GREAT. WELL, I'M JUST REALLY GRATEFUL FOR ALL YA'LL
ARE DOING, SO THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. >> THANK YOU.
>> SUKH KAUR: THANK YOU COUNCILMEMBER. COUNCILMEMBER MCKEE
RODRIGUEZ. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU. YES.
WOULD YOU MIND GOING TO SLIDE 4. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATIONS, I REALLY LIKED THE DEEP DIVE INTO BURGLARIES AND ROBB ROBBERIES, I WILL ADMIT, I DID NOT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO TERMS NECESSARILY, SO GOOD INFORMATION FOR ME AND SO MANY OTHERS.
I AM INTERESTED IN -- SO THE CALLS RECEIVED BY S SAPD HAVE DECREASED OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS IT LOOKS LIKE -- CAN I -- JUST TO BE SURE, IS -- SO IS 2023 -- OH, CALENDAR YEAR. OKAY.
SO WE STILL HAVE ONE MONTH TO GO -- IS THAT ALL OF NOVEMBER OR PART
OF NOVEMBER. >> PART OF NOVEMBER -- NO.
ALL OF NOVEMBER. I'M SORRY. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: ALL OF NOVEMBER. OKAY SO ONE MONTH TO GO, BUT IF EVERYTHING FROZE DECEMBER 1, THEN THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A IT 1% DECREASE, ALTHOUGH I ANTICIPATE THAT DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON -- I DON'T WANT TO SPECULATE.
DO YOU SEE A RISE IN CALLS DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON AND DECEMBER THAT MAKES UP A -- THAT MIGHT CATCH US BACK UP TO WHERE WE WERE IN 2024.
>> IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THAT MAY HAPPEN, COUNCILMEMBER.
I'M SPECULATING, BUT, YEAH IT GETS BUSIER DURING THE HOLIDAY
SEASON. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: AND WE'VE SEEN THAT EVERY YEAR.
>> I'LL HAVE TO GO LOOK. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THAT WOULD BE GOOD INFORMATION TO HAVE BECAUSE IF I WERE TO LOOK AT THAT AS IS AND ADD A COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSANDS -- NOT A COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSANDS, TENS OF THOUSANDS, IT SEEMS AS THOUG WE'VE BEEN ON A STEADY DECREASE FOR CALLS RECEIVED BY SAPD, AND THAT WOULD MAKE ME WONDER WHY. ARE THERE LESS CRIMES TAKING PLACE, AND THE STATS SHOW THAT IT LOOKS LIKE THERE IS A DECR DECREASE, BUT I'M WONDERING, ARE PEOPLE CALLING, DO WE HAVE EVIDENCE THAT FOLK AREN'T, OR IS IT TRULY A DECREASE IN CRIME.
>> HI, MARÍA VARGAS DIRECTOR OF INTEGRATED COMMUNITY SAFETY, I'M GOING TO TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLUG THE PUBLIC SAFETY DASHBOARD ONLINE, THAT CAN SHOW YOU THE CALLS FOR SERVICE VOLUME, AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE YEAR OVER YEAR PAGE, IT COMPARES THE PAST THREE YEARS OF CALLS BY MONTH, IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE HOW CALL VOLUME IS SEASONAL, AND WE DO SEE REGULAR PEAKS AND VAL VALUES.
AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT DECEMBER OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS OF DATA, WE HAVE TWO YEARS, AND 2025 IS YET TO BE UPLOADED, YOU DO SEE A DIP IN NOVEMBER AND UPTICK IN DECEMBER FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS CONSISTENTLY, AND YOU CAN CLICK ON THAT AND CLICK ON THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CALLS AND SEE WHAT'S CHANGING. YOU GET A LOT OF NOISE COMPLAINTS IN DECEMBER WITH THE MIX OF LOUD MUSIC, AND FIREWORKS, AND GUNFIRE, AND WE CONSISTENTLY SEE THAT GO UP AS WELL, SO I JUST KIND OF WANTED TO PIPE THAT IN THERE, ANYBODY CAN LOOK AT THAT AS WE WELL, AND YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THAT DATA AND ANALYZE THE CALLS AND SEE WHAT KINDS OF THINGS PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT OR CALLING THE POLICE ABOUT.
JUST WANTED TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY THAT. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU.
AND STAY NEARBY BECAUSE I'LL ASK, GENERALLY, HOW THIS -- HOW THE DATA
[01:25:05]
THAT'S BEEN PRESENTED TODAY, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY VIOLENT IN NATURE, HOW DO THOSE RELATE TO, I GUESS OUR HOT SUPPORTING EFFORTS AND OUR LONG-TERM CRIME PREVENTION STRATEGY.I'LL ASK YOU THAT. SPEAKING OF WHAT WAS MENTIONED EARLIER WITH REGARD TO THE CCR THAT'S GOING TO COME FORTH THAT WILL HOPEFULLY ALLOW US TO DECREASE THE CALLS THAT OFFICERS ARE RESPONDING -- UNIFORMED OFFICERS ARE RESPONDING TO A FEW YEARS AGO, I KNOW WE CHANGED WHERE SOME OF THE -- SOME CA CALLS WERE DISPATCHED, INCLUDING NOISE, THERE WAS -- THAT WAS THE MAIN ONE I RECALL. WHAT WERE THEY?
>> YEAH. WE DID SEVERAL ONE, COUNCILMAN.
WE INCLUDED FIREWORKS, WE INCLUDED NOISE, ANIMAL CARE AFTER HOURS, AND ALSO MENTAL HEALTH. THOSE WERE THE FOUR THAT WE FOCUSED ON AT THAT TIME. WE TRIED FIREWORKS, WE SEND THOSE TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR THAT YE YEAR, BUT WE DIDN'T SEE A DECREASE, PLUS THE CAPACITY OF FIRE DEPARTMENT, IT WASN'T THE SAME AS HAVING PD ADDRESS IT, SO THOSE ARE BACK WITH THE PD. FOR CODE, WE DID CODE ENFORCEMENT, A PILOT, 6 TO 8 MONTHS, AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE FOUND FOR THOSE NOISE COMPLAINTS THAT WERE COMING AFTER HOURS OR AT NIGHT, THEY IDENTIFIED THAT THE VIOLATION WAS HAPPENING, BUT THEY CALLED SAPD TO ISSUE THE CITATION, EITHER BECAUSE THERE WAS ALCOHOL INVOLVED OR THE EMPLOYEE DIDN'T FEEL SAFE ISSUES THAT CITATION.
SO THOSE ARE BACK WITH SAPD. AND THEN FOR MENTAL HEALTH, WE ADDED SA CO CORE, AND THAT RESPONSE CONTINUES TO DO WITH THE TEAMS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE 24/7. SO THAT'S WHAT WE DID BACK THEN. WHAT WE'RE DOING DIFFERENT THIS YEAR WITH THE CCR IS WE'RE LOOKING AT TRAFFIC AS A POTENTIAL AREA, AND BASED ON THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR, IT'S LOOKING PROMISING ON SOME CHANGES THAT WE COULD DO USING TECHNOLOGY.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO LO LOOKING AT PARKING CITATIONS AND NOISE AS WELL TO SEE IF WE CAN COME UP WITH SOME DIFFERENT RECOMME RECOMMENDATIONS. AND ALSO, YOU'VE SEEN WHAT WE'VE LEARNED PROBABLY ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO WHEN WE DID THOSE PILOT PROGRAMS FOR
NOISE AND -- AND FI FIREWORKS. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: GOTCHA.
GOTCHA. I GUESS GOING BACK TO -- I GUESS LOOKING AT FI FIREWORKS BECAUSE THAT WAS SOMETHING MENTIONED FOR DECEMBER IS WHY WERE -- WHY ME -- WHY WAS THE FIRE DEPARTMENT CHOSEN TO RESPOND TO FIREWORKS.
>> SO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS AN ARSON UNIT, AND THEY'RE LAW ENFORCEMENT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THEY HAVE THE SAME TRAINING THAT A POLICE OFFICER DOES, SO WE FIGURED THAT WE WOULD HAVE SOME CAPACITY.
HOWEVER, IT JUST -- DUE TO THE NUMBER OF CALLS AND THEY'RE SPREAD OUT, THOSE CALLS ACROSS THE CITY, IT DID NOT PROVE TO BE AN EFFECTIVE WAY
OF ADDRESSING THOSE CA CALLS. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: I WOULDN'T THINK SO. I WOULDN'T THINK SO. LET'S THINK ABOUT THAT SOME MORE OVER THE NEXT YEAR ESPECIALLY THE FOURTH OF JULY AND NEXT HOLIDAY SEASON, I'D BE INTERESTED IN WAYS WE CAN -- I DON'T WANT T TO -- I DON'T WANT TO RESIGN OURSELVES TO THE FACT THAT PEOPLE WILL ILLEGALLY FIREWORK THE SKY AND WHATNOT, BUT IT DOES FEEL THAT WAY SO HOW COULD WE BE SMARTER SO IT'S NOT A BURDEN ON OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT, HOW DO WE FACILITATE IT IN MAYBE A SMARTER WAY. I DON'T KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING I'LL BE TH THINKING ABOUT FOR A LITTLE WHILE.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT, AND THEN ECHOING COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO'S POINT ABOUT FLOCK AND BEING INTERESTED IN THAT DISCUSSION, BUT I WOULD INVITE MARÍA TO COME BACK TO DISCUSS, I GU GUESS, THE -- WHAT IS THIS INFORMATION -- HOW IS THIS INFORMATION UTILIZED WITHIN YOUR DEPARTMENT AND THEN THE
STRATEGIES THAT WE'RE USING TO PREVENT CRIME? >> SO FOR THE SPECIFIC VIOLENT CRIME REDUCTION PLAN, WE LOOK AT THE SPECIFIC VIOLENT CRIMES AND HOW THEY'RE OCCURRING ACROSS THE CITY, AND THAT'S ON THE MICRO LEVEL, THOSE HOT SPOTS FOR THE VIOLENT CRIME PLAN SPECIFICALLY ARE THE PLACE BASED 100 BY 100-METER GRIDS, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT THE CALLS FOR SERVICE AND THE OFFENSES ON THAT MICRO LEVEL RESPECTIVE TO THE AREA. BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT TO COMPARE ONE MICRO SPOT TO THE CITY BECAUSE THAT MIGHT NOT BE APPROPRIATE, AND SO WE'RE ABLE TO PRODUCE THE HOT SPOT VIOLENT CRIME LOCATIONS FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT EVERY QUARTER FOR THEM, AND THAT'S ONE ASPECT, AND
[01:30:01]
THAT'S -- IT'S REACTIVE TO CRIME HAPPENING, BUT IT'S A PREVENTIVE TREATMENT TO PREVENT IT FROM CONTINUING TO HAPPEN, AND THAT'S ONE ASPECT WE USE IT SPECIFICALLY. WE ALSO USE IT FOR GOOD NEIGHBOR, WHICH IS THE CHRONIC NUISANCE CALLS, SO NOT LOOKING AT VIOLENT CRIME, PER SE, LOOKING AT THE LOW PRIORITY CALLS THAT KIND OF FLY UNDER THE RADAR, AND WE USE THE CALL FOR SERVICE DATA FOR THAT AS WELL. LET ME THINK OF SOMETHING.WE'RE GOING TO USE IT FOR FOCUS DETERRENCE WHICH IS OFFENDER BASED, SO CRIMINAL HISTORY SPECIFICALLY, AND THE FUSION IN THE SAPD WILL BE A BIG PART OF THAT, AND THE CRIME ANALYSTS THEY SPOKE TO YOU ABOUT, THERE ARE CRIME ANALYSTS THAT WILL SPECIFICICALLY IDENTIFY THE OFFENDERS IN THE COMMUNITY BASED ON CRIME DATA ANDS OF DATA AND ARREST DATA.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU. JUST A QUICK QUESTION. THE METRO HEALTH DEPARTMENT USED TO HAVE A DIVISION OF THEIR DEPARTMENT FOCUSED ON
VIOLENT CRIME, IS THAT STILL ACTIVE? >> YEAH.
SO THEY HAVE A UNIT THAT FOCUSES ON INTERPERSONAL VIOLENT, AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE THINKING THE VIOLENT INTERRUPTERS THAT THEY --
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: NOT NECESSARILY. BUT THEY'RE A PART OF
THAT; CORRECT? ARE THEY? >> YES. THEY ARE.
SO THEY STILL HAVE THAT COMPONENT. AND ANOTHER PIECE THAT MARÍA AND HER TEAM ARE, WHOING ON IS ONE IS A LOCATION TO IDENTIFY FROM THE HOTSPOTS WHERE WE WERE NOT ABLE TO REDUCE CRIME, THEN WE HAVE THAT IN INTERDEPARTMENTAL RESPONSE THAT INCLUDES N A HSDHS TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS CRIME SPECIFICATIONS.
WE'VE DONE TWO PARTICIPANT COMPLEXES SO FAR, WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HO UH TO EXPAND THAT PROGRAM EVEN MORE BECAUSE THAT BECOMES -- THAT ADDRESSES THE ROUTE OF WHY VIOLENT CRIME IS HAPPENING THROUGH SERVICES AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS OTHER THAN
THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU. I GUESS THE REASON I ASK THAT QUESTION IS WHEN I ENVISION THE OFFICE OF INTEGRATED COMMUNITY SAFETY, IT FEELS -- HMM. I APPRECIATE THE FACILITATION OF THE MANY PILOT PROGRAMS, AND I SEE YOUR WORK AND THE WAY THAT YOU'RE INTE INTERACTING WITH SAPD, AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT AND WONDERFUL.
WHAT I WOULD ENVISION IS MAYBE AN EXPANDED SCOPE BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT PROPERTY CRIME, AND WE SEE IT'S DECR DECREASING A LITTLE BI BIT; RIGHT? BUT STILL HAPPENING AT SUCH A WIDE LEVEL IN AN AMOUNT THAT I WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT WE BEGIN LOOKING AT HOW CAN WE LOOK AT PROPERTY CRIME IN THE SAME WAY THAT WE'RE VIEWING VIOLENT CRIME FROM PREVENTATIVE LENS, AND WHAT ROLE COULD MARÍA'S DEPARTMENT PLAY INTO THAT AND HOW DO WE DO THAT SOONER RATHER THAN
LATER. >> LET US THINK ABOUT THAT.
WE HAVE BEEN FOCUSING HEAVILY ON VIOLENT CRIME ON MOST OF THE EFFI EFFICIENTIVES THAT WE'RE HANDLING. WE CAN USE THAT, AND PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER AND COME BACK TO THIS COMMITTEE WITH SOME
RECOMMENDATIONS. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE YA'LL.
>> SUKH KAUR: THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER. >> I WILL HIGHLIGHT THAT WE FUNNEL AUTOMATED DATA FOR VIOLENT CRIME TO THE GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION FOR THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TEAM AS WELL, AND SO THE AUTOMATED FLOW HAS REALLY CUT DOWN ON THE ADMINISTRATIVE TIME TO GET THAT DATA SO THEY COULD GO BACK TO THE RESIDENTS THAT ARE POTENTIAL VICTIMS OR WHO
ARE POTENTIAL FUTURE OFFENDERS AS WELL. >> SUKH KAUR: THANK YOU.
COUNCILWOMAN CAST TEE YOU, YOU HAD ONE MORE THING.
>> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, CHAIR. I HAD ONE MORE QUESTION REGARDING THE TREND ANALYSIS, SUPER FASCINATING, BUT HELP ME UNDERSTAND IN TERMS OF IF THERE'S A TREND, HOW IS IT ESCALATED, IS THIS SOMETHING BASED ON PERSPECTIVE DETECTIVES SAYING WE'RE IDENTIFYING THIS TREND OR SOMETHING SAFE OFFICERS COULD SHARE WITH THE LEADERSHIP OR SOMETHING
IN THE ALGORITHM THAT TRACKS THE TREND. >> ALL THE ABOVE, BUT THE MAIN THING COMES DOWN TO BEING ABLE TO COMMUNICATE.
SO SAFE IS GOING TO SEE THINGS, IF THEY'RE NOT ESCALATING THAT TO THE FOLLOW UP UNIT, THE FOLLOW UP UNIT MIGHT TAKE -- MIGHT FIGURE IT OUT EVENTUALLY, BUT HOW MANY CASES HAPPEN BEFORE THEY DO, SO THAT'S AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT, BUT THERE'S -- IT'S TECHNOLOGY, IT'S COLLABORATION ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT, AND THEN IT'S EVERYTHING -- YOU KNOW, SO THE ANALYSTS ARING LOOING AT THAT, THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH INFORMATION FOR THEM BECAUSE EVERYTHING THEY CAN PUT INTO THEIR SYSTEM TO FEED THEIR ALGORITHM WILL SPIT OUT THE BEST PRODUCT FOR US.
>> CASTILLO: NO. THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL, AND AGAIN IT'S FASC FASCINATING, AND YOU ANSWERED MANY QUESTIONS IN THE PRESENTATION WITH THE SPECIFIC CASES THAT WERE LISTED BUT JUST REALLY INTERESTING WORK, AND I THINK TO THE POINT ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA, THERE'S A QUICK ANEC ANECDOTE, I LOOK AT INDIVIDUALS, AND SOMETIMES YOU SEE THEM
[01:35:01]
WITH WHAT THEY'RE CAUGHT DOING, AND I GO, OH, M MAN, CAUGHT SHAKING MY HEAD. BUT JUST APPRECIATE YOUR WORK.>> THANK YOU. >> SUKH KAUR: THANK YOU. CHCHAIR.DO YOU GUYS HAVE A HARD 4:00 P.M. CUTOFF. I CAN GO UNTIL 4:15. SO I THINK WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO -- THE NEXT ITEM IS 16 SLIDES, AND I DON'T WANT TO SHAFT THEM FOR TIME UNLESS YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD AND LEAVE AND YOU CAN FINISH.
I WANT TO BE RESPECTFUL. THE NEXT ITEM IS MENTAL HEALTH -- IT WAS BROUGHT TO US BECAUSE THERE WERE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING TO SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH FOR OUR FIRST RESPO RESPONDERS, SO SAPD AND FIRE -- OKAY. SO WE JUST KEEP IT GO GOING.
OKAY. WE'LL SEE HOW IT GOES. SORRY I DIDN'T -- IF WE WERE GOING TO LET THEM GO. I DIDN'T WANT THEM TO WAIT AN EXTRA TEN MINUTES. SO THE REASON I WANTED TO BRING THIS CASE UP WAS ACTUALLY FROM A CONSTITUENT CALL WHO CAME IN AND TOLD ME AND MARÍA AND I GOT TO SIT WITH HER, HER WHOLE EXPERIENCE ABOUT NOT BURGLARLY, BUT ROBBERY, AND SO I LEARNED THAT TODAY TOO, AND SHE HAD A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE, AND FOR HER, IT WAS JEWELRY BASED, AND I KNOW A LOFT FOLKS GO THROUGH JEWELRY THEFT, AND SHE WANTED TO EXPLAIN WHAT HER EXPERIENCE WAS WITH THE ENTIRE PROCESS AND THINGS THAT SHE WISHED WOULD BE DIFFERENT.
AND SO BASED ON THAT. I'M GLAD WE DID A DEEP DIVE INTO THIS.
I THINK FOLLOWING COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO'S POINT, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE SPECIFICITY AROUND THE RESULT FROM THE DETECTIVES.
SO I CALCULATED -- YOU SAID 54 DETECTIVES, ABOUT 12 CASES A MONTH
OR A YEAR. >> A YEAR. >> SUKH KAUR: SO WHEN I CALCULATED THAT NUMBER IN COMPARISON TO THE SLIDE FOR THE NUMBER OF CASES FOR 24 AND 25.
I GOT DIFFERENT NUMBERS, SO ARE THERE 54 CASES, 12 A MONTH IS A LITTLE OVER 7500 A YEAR, A LITTLE UNDER 7500 A YE YEAR, BUT THE SLIDE
SHOWED ABOUT 1600 A YEAR FOR 24 AND 25. >> I'M SORRY IS THAT THE ROBBERY OR BURGLARY. I THINK IN ROBBERY WE'VE GOT ABOUT 1500 CASES A
YEAR. >> SUKH KAUR: OH. I SEE.
SO 12 CASES OF ROBBERY. >> NO. 12 CASES OF PROPERTY CRIMES. WHAT SLIDE IS THAT? 12?
>> SUKH KAUR: SLIDE 17. >> AND I JUST PULLED THE CRIME STATISTICS IF THAT'S HELPFUL. THAT INCLUDES THE ROBBERY AND THEFT
OFFENSES. >> SUKH KAUR: SO WHEN WE SAY 12 CASES A MONTH, WHICH OF THESE
ARE INCLUDED IN THOSE 12 CASES? >> THAT'S GOING TO BE YOUR BURGLARY, YOUR BREAKING AND ENTERING, YOUR DESTRUCTION, DAM DAMAGE, VANDALISM, LARCENY, THEFT OFFENSES, THOSE ARE ALL LUMPED TOGETHER BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL -- THERE'S ALSO SOME ANIMAL CRUELTY THAT THEY INVESTIGATE.
>> SUKH KAUR: IT COULDN'T BE LARCENY, THAT'S 40,000 A YEAR. OH THERE'S NOT -- NOT
ALL OF THEM, BUT SOME OF THEM. >> SO ROUGHLY -- WITH THE NUMBER OFS THAT I GOT, WE HAD THE UNIVERSAL PROPERTY CR
CRIMES IN 2024 WAS A LITTLE OVER 87,000. >> SUKH KAUR: RIGHT.
>> SO BASED ON THE ANALYSIS THAT I TALKED ABOUT, THE SOLVABILITY FACTORS, WE ASSIGNED ABOUT 11% OF THOSE CASES OUT TO DETECTIVES, WHICH WAS ABOUT 69% 79% SO SOLVABILITY OF THE CASES ASSIGNED.
>> SUKH KAUR: GOT IT. SO BASED ON THE ONES THAT WERE ASSIGNED, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO GET AN ACCURATE COUNT OF HOW MANY WERE ACTUALLY -- AND IF WE COULD GET IT BROKEN DOWN BY, LIKE, IDENTIFIED SUSPECT AND ACTION TAKEN OR, YOU KNOW, PUNISHMENT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT WORD, PROVIDED FOR THAT PERSON. AND THEN PROPERTY RET
RETURNED. >> OKAY. >> SUKH KAUR: OR, LIKE, MONETARILY WISE. AND THEN THE OTHER THING THAT -- THE THING THAT CAME UP A LOT IN THIS INDIVIDUAL'S CASE WAS JUST THE LACK OF CONSISTENT INFORMATION AND TRIAGELATION OF DA DATA, AND I APPRECIATED THE SLIDE THAT SHOWED -- AND THIS WAS A JEWELRY CASE, AND PAWNSHOPS, WE STARTED LOOKING, GOING INTO A DEEP DIVE OF PAWNSHOPS, WHICH I REALIZE NOW IS STATE LEGISLATIVE, BUT I WISH WE COULD PUT PICTURES ON THEM BECAUSE I KNOW THEY JUST DO DESCRIPTIONS, AND DESCRIPTIONS ARE HARD, BUT FOR THIS CASE SPECIFICALLY, THERE'S NOT REALLY ANY -- EVEN WHEN I GO ONLINE AND I'M LIKE I'M ONLINE, I'VE BEEN ROPED, WHAT DO I DO SAPD, THERE IS THE PACT YOU GET OF ALL THE INFORMATION YOU HAVE TO FILL OUT, BUT THERE'S NOT THE ONCE YOU'VE SUBMITTED A CLAIM, HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT NEXT, YOU CAN EXPECT A TOUCHPOINT FROM THIS PERSON EVERY THREE WE WEEKS, JUST SOME KIND OF INFORMATION FOR THE VICTIM SO THAT THEY'RE CONSISTENTLY GETTING COMMUNICATION.
IN THIS CASE, SHE WAS CALLING BACK, AND DIFFERENT PEOPLE -- I KNOW IT'S REALLY HARD TO TRAIN FOLKS, BUT DIFFERENT PEOPLE GIVING HER DIFFERENT INFORMATION, SOME PEOPLE TOLD HER JEWELRY, YOU'LL NEVER GET ANYTHING BACK, WE DON'T DO THAT. AND I UNDERSTAND WHY THAT PERSON MIGHT SAY THAT, BUT IT'S ALSO -- WHEN YOU'RE A VICTIM AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU CAN DO, SO I JUST THINK TRYING TO
[01:40:03]
HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE CLARITY FOR THE FOLKS ON WHAT THEY CAN EXPECT, HOW OFTEN THEY CAN EXPECT COMMUNICATION, AND THEN ALSO MAKING SURE THAT THE INVESTIGATORS ARE COMMUNICATING WHAT WE'RE DOING. SO, LIKE, I GIVE THIS -- AND I'LL JUST GIVE AN ANALOGY WITH WHAT I DO WITH MY TEAM BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I CAN THINK OF. WHEN WE'RE WORKING ON A LONG-TERM CASE, HEY DO YOU HAVE AN UPDATE ON THIS, DO WE HAVE AN U UPDATE ON.IF WE DO GO BACK AND TELL THE CONSTITUENT AND TELL THEM THE UPDATE, THEY DON'T THINK WE'RE DOING ANYTHING. SO WE HAVE TO COMMUNICATE BACK, SAYING THIS IS HOW MANY PEOPLE WE'VE INVESTIGATED, THE PAWNSHOPS WE'VE LOOKED AT, THE DATA FROM THE WEBSITE YOU MENTIONED THAT WE HAVE SEEN OR THE PAWNSHOPS THAT WE HAVE VISITED.
SO I JUST THINK -- FOR ME, IT GOES BACK TO COMMUNICATING, AND THEN MAKING SURE WE'RE DOING OUR VERY BEST -- AND I APPRECIATE IT, THE 11% OF CASES, THEY'RE OVERWHELMED, BUT I JUST WANT TO REITERATE A PROCESS WE CAN MAKE. SO IF YOU GUYS WOULD LOOK AT A YOU'VE BEEN ROBBED NOW WHAT KIND OF GUIDE. I KNOW THAT'S NOT -- BUT SOME KIND OF GUIDE THAT WE COULD INFORM RESIDENTS ABOUT.
I WOULD APPRECIATE THAT. >> YES, MA'AM. WE'LL LOOK INTO THAT.
THANK YOU. >> SUKH KAUR: THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND I THINK THE LAST QUESTION. THIS IS A QUICK QUES QUESTION, GOING BACK TO COUNCILMEMBER C CASTILLO, SLIDE 16. CAN YOU GET AN UPDATE ON -- WHA HERE IS 41% OF -- SO 45% OF SHOPLIFTINGS ARE THESE FOLLOWING, AND OF THOSE 45%, 41% OF THEM ARE RELATED TO FOOD. CAN I READ THAT .
>> YEAH SO OF THE BR BREAKDOWN 45% INVOLVE ALCOHOL, FOOD, TOBACCO, SO THEY BROKE DOWN THE NUMBER, AND IT LOOKS LIKE 41 OF THAT
UNIVERSAL -- >> SUKH KAUR: SHOULDN'T THOSE SUBGROUPS TOTAL UP TO 100.
>> NO BECAUSE IT'S JUST THE NUMBERS. >> SUKH KAUR: OH.
THOSE ARE NOT PERCE PERCENTAGES. >> NO MA'AM, JUST NUMBERS. THE CATEGORIZATION OF WHAT WAS TAKEN.
>> OKAY. THANK YOU. >> AND THEN WHAT DOES I
IND STAND FOR. INDIVIDUAL? >> INDIVIDUAL YES, MA
MA'AM. >> SUKH KAUR: OH. ONE LAST QUESTION.
YOU MEN MENTIONED 54 DETECTIVES, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ANALYST WORK, HOW MANY ANALYSTS DO WE HAVE THAT
WORK ON THIS. >> SO WE HAVE ONE FULL TIME ANALYST THAT IS A ASSIGNED THERE, BUT THERE ARE OTHER ANALYSTS IN THE FUSION CENTER THAT WOULD PROVIDE ADDITIONAL WORK PRODUCT AND BACKUP WHEN THERE'S A BIGGER CASE OR A SPECIAL INVESTIGATION THEY'RE LOOKING INTO.
>> SUKH KAUR: OKAY. SO, AGAIN, COUNCILWOMAN MENTIONED THIS, BUT THE TREND ANALYSIS IS SO IMPORTANT TO US; RIGHT? BECAUSE THIS IS LIKE THE SO WHAT, THIS IS WHAT WE CAN FIGURE OUT AND HOW WE TRIAGE LATE DATA, SO IT MIGHT BE GOOD FOR US OR A FOLLOW UP TO SAY HOW MANY CASES LIKE THIS IS THE CRIME ANALYST ABLE TO SOLVE, AND IS THAT SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE DOUBLING DOWN ON IN TERMS OF RESOURCES, IF THEY ARE ABLE TO FIND MORE INFORMATION LIKE THIS BY DOING, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THAT ANALYSIS.
>> YES, MA'AM. >> SUKH KAUR: OKAY. I THINK THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU SO MUCH, CH CHIEF.
>> THANK YOU. >> SUKH KAUR: THANK YOU, ALL FO THE PRESENTATION WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND BLAZE THROUGH ITEM 4 OR 5. THANK YOU.
NO, IT IS 4. >> OKAY. SO VERY QUICKLY.
THE NEXT PRESENTATION IS CHIEF MCMANUS WHO IS GOING TO PROVIDE A QUICK PRESENTATION ON MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS PROGRAMS THAT ARE OFFERED TO OUR POLICE OFFICERS AND OUR FIREFIGHTERS.
TO CHIEF. >> THANK YOU. HELLO, AGAIN.
SO WE'RE GOING TO GO OVER THE WELLNESS PROGRAMS. SIKE SERVICES. PERFORMANCE RECOVERY. OPTIMIZATION, CRITICAL RESPONSE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT AND COMPLIANCE, AND WITH ME TODAY ARE DR. BRANDY BERK WHO IS THE -- NOT FOUNDER, BUT THE INVENTOR, I GUESS, I'LL CALL IT OF THE PERFORMANCE RECOVERY OPTIMIZATION PROGRAM, AND SERGEANT TINA BARON WHO WAS THE SUPERVISOR IN THE WELLNESS UNIT WHO DID MOST OF THE HEAVY LIFTING WHEN IT CAME TO PUTTING THAT PROGRAM TOGETHER. DR. BERK AND SERGEANT BARON RIGHT HERE IN THE FRONT RIGHT. SO THE DEPARTMENT OFFERS SEVERAL PROGRAMS AND SERVICES TO PROMOTE OFFICER WELLNESS.
WE OFFER COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT BEYOND THAT INDICATIONAL MODELS AND PROVIDE FAMILY ASSISTANCE FOR OFFICERS AND HOUSEHOLDS.
THERE ARE DEDICATED OFFICER WELLNESS R RESOURCES.
THERE IS PEER SUPPORT TO REDUCE STIGMA AND ENCOURAGE HELP SEEKING.
THERE IS VOLUNTEER CHAPLAINSY FOR SPIRITUAL AND EMOTIONAL CARE, AND ACCESS TO PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES WHEN THEY ARE NEEDED.
AND WE WERE RECOGNIZED BACK IN 2019 BY DOJ FOR OUR WELLNESS PROGRAMS.
[01:45:07]
I MENTIONED DR. BERK IS THE FOUNDER, I GUESS I'LL CALL IT OF THE PERFORMANCE RECOVERY OPTIMIZATION PROGRAM OR PRO, AND THIS IS ALL ABOUT PERFORMANCE RECOVERY OPTIMIZATION, AND PRO IS A SCIE SCIENCE-BASED PERFORMANCE AND WELLNESS MODEL THAT DR. BERK SPEAKS AT ON A NATIONAL LEVEL ABOUT, IT FOCUSES ON IMPROVING READINESS, RESILIENCE, AND RECOVERY UNDER STRESS. ITS PRIMARY FOCUS AREAS ARE TACTICAL, MENTAL, PHYSICAL, SOCIAL, SPIRITUAL, FINANCIAL, AND IT ADDRESSES A FULL RANGE OF OFFICER NEEDS, NOT JUST FITNESS.THE GOAL IS HEALTHIER OFFICERS, BETTER DECISION-MAKING, AND PERFORMANCE BY THOSE OFFICERS. FAO ARE SWORN VOLUNTEERS AND THEY PROVIDE FAMILY SUPPORT WHEN A LINE OF DUTY DEATH IS INVOLVED.
ACTIVE OFF DUTY DEATH ASSISTANCE, CATASTROPHIC INJURY, ILLNESS, SUP SUPPORT, AND RETIREE DEATH SUPPORT. WE'LL TALK ABOUT EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL WELLNESS SUPPORT. CRISIS NAVIGATION.
PROACTIVE OUTREACH. LONG-TERM CARE, AND ADMINISTRATIVE OR INJURY LEAVE SUPPORT. OUR PEER VOLUNTEERS ARE SWORN VOLUNTEERS, AND THEY PROVIDE ACCEPT STANCE, UNDERSTANDING, VALIDATION TO AN OFF OFFICER'S SITUATION. PLAQUE CAL GUIDANCE, AND IDENTITY SUPPORT DURING CAREER TRANSITIONS. WE HAVE OUR CHAPLAINSY PROGRAM, WHO ARE CIVILIAN VOLUNTEERS, AND THEY PROVIDE EMOTIONAL, MORAL, AND SPIRITUAL SUPPORT. THEY ARE AVAILABLE REGARDLESS OF YOUR FA FAITH, AND CONFIDENTIAL, NONJUDGMENTAL PRESENCE. AND FINALLY, OUR PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES, DOCTORS, THEY WORK CL CLOSELY WITH THE WE WELLNESS UNIT, THEY PROVIDE CLINICAL AND PROFESSIONAL MENTAL HEALTH CARE AND REFE REFERRAL-BASED CONFIDENTIAL SUPPORT.
PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES UNIT PROVIDES COMPREHENSIVE FOR OFFICERS AND FAMILIES, AND FOCUSES ON EARLY INTERVENTION, RESIL RESILIENCE, AND OPERATIONAL READINESS. THE SERVICES THEY PROVIDE ARE THERAPY SERVICES FOR OFFICERS AND THEIR FAMILIES.
CLEARANCE AND RETURN TO DUTY EVALUATIONS, P PREEMPLOYMENT PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSES ASSESSMENTS, ACADEMY INSTRUCTION, CONSULTATION WITH UNITS, PEER SUPPORT, AND FAMILY ASSISTANCE, AND CRISIS INTERVENTION WITH SHI SHIFTS, UNITS, SUPERVISIONS, AND COMMAND STAFF, AND THEY TRAIN AND WORK WITH OUR HOSTAGE NEGOTIATORS.
THESE TYPES OF REFERRALS ARE PROVIDED FOR OFF OFFICERS EXPERIENCING CRITICAL INCIDENTS AND PERFORMANCE CHANGES, NOTICEABLE BEHAVIORAL SHIFTS, ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE OR FITNESS FOR DUTY CONCERNS WHO ARE NAVIGATING PERSONAL CRISISES, BURNOUT, STRESS OVERLOAD OR CUMULATIVE STRESS EFF EFFECTS AND WORK-RELATED CONFLICT.
>> SUKH KAUR: AND FOR THE NEXT SLIDES, YOU CAN HIGHLIGHT ANYTHING YOU WANT.
BECAUSE WE CAN READ THE TEXT. JUST BEING MINDFUL OF
TIME. >> SO WE ALSO PROVIDE CRITICAL INCIDENT RESPONSE INTERVENTION. IF THERE'S AN OFFICER THAT'S INVOLVED IN AN CRITICAL INCIDENT, THOSE SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM.
COVERS OIS, OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS, SHORT-TERM RECOVERY OR LONG-TERM IMPAIRMENT, THERE'S DIFFERENT OPT OPTIONS FOR EACH OFF OFFICER, ONE ON ONE CONTACT, STAND BYES, SMALL GROUP CHECK INS, AND TARGETED ROLL CALL INTERVENTIONS. AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT COMPLIANCE. THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES WITH THE DOCTORS INCLUDE A VARIETY OF THINGS TO INCLUDE RETURN TO DUTY FITNESS, OFFICER CONCERN PROGRAM, THEY COORDINATE WITH SAPD IN PROCESSING, AND THEN LASTLY, ADMINISTER AND INTERPRET ALL EXAMS FOR OFFICERS.
AND LASTLY, OUR SERVICE UTILIZATION DECREASED FROM YEAR TO DATE COMPARED TO 2024, YOU SEE THE NUMBERS IN FRONT OF YOU, AND A RECRUITING APPLICATION PROCESSING REMAINS HIGH, BUT SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR. AND FINALLY, WE HAD 6 OR FEWER CRITICAL INCIDENT CALLOUTS, AND THAT'S THE END OF MY PRESENTATION. THANKS.
>> SUKH KAUR: THANKS, CHIEF. >> GOOD AFTERNOON. WITHOUT HESITATION, I'M GOING TO GO OVER -- LET'S SEE, THE NEXT SLIDE IS THE BACKGROUND.
[01:50:05]
OH THE PRESENTATION. SO I'LL FIRST GO OVER THE BACKGROUND, AND THEN GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE. WE WILL COVER THE TYPES OF CRISIS RESPONSE OR THE TYPE OF REFERRALS THAT WE'RE SEEING, AND THE INCIDENT STRESS SUPPORT AS WELL AS OUR GOAL AND COMMITMENT. SO WITH REGARD TO THE BACKGROUND, WE KNOW THAT FIREFIGHTERS AND PAIR MEDICS, THEY'RE EXPOSED TO THINGS MOST PEOPLE NEVER EXPERIENCE, AND THIS IS REPEATEDLY, YOU KNOW, OVER THE COURSE OF THEIR CAREERS, NATIONAL RESEARCH, AS YOU CAN S SEE, THE NATIONAL FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS FOUNDATION SHOWS HIGHER RATES OF P PTSD AND SUICIDE IN OUR PROFESSION COMPARED TO THE GENERAL POPULATION, AND YOU'LL SEE THE STATISTICS IN THE SLIDE. THE JOB BRINGS LONG HO HOURS, INTERRUPTED SL SLEEP. DRAMATIC CALLS AND SOMETIMES THE LOSS OF C COWORKERS, AND ALL OF THAT STRESS ADDS UP AND WILL OFTEN RESULT IN PROBLEMS AT HOME OR PROBLEMS ON THE JOB WITH THEIR PERFORMANCE. SO THAT'S WHY HAVING ACCESSIBLE TRUSTED MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. THE NEXT SLIDE, MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, CURRENTLY WE HAVE TWO PSYCHOLOGIST POSITIONS THAT ARE AUTHORIZED. TODAY I HAVE DR. V DR. VILLEGAN HERE TODAY.SHE HELPS BY PROVIDING COUNCILLING CONFIDENTIAL SERVICES.
CRISIS RESPONSE, CADET SCREENINGS, OUTREACH, AND OVERSIGHT OF OUR PEER SUPPORT PROGRAM. ONE OF THE PSYCHOLOGISTS POSITIONS IS VACANT RIGHT NOW, SO RATHER THAN LET SERVICES LAPSE, WE TEMPORARILY FILLED THAT GAP WITH A UNIFORM FIREFIGHTER WHO'S ALSO A SERT PAID CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY COUNSELOR, AND HE'S AN INTERN AT THIS TIME, BUT THIS ALLOWS US TO MAINTAIN CONTINUITY OF CARE WHILE WE CONTINUE RECRUITING FOR THE PSYCHOLOGIST POSITION OR OR POSSIBLY EVEN IN LIEU TO A COUNSELOR JUST TO GET THE POSITION FILLED. MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVES, YOU'LL SEE LISTED ON THIS SLIDE, WE OFFER MULTIPLE ACCESS POINTS BECAUSE EVERYONE REACHES OUT DIFFERENTLY, THERE'S NOT A ONE SIZE FITS ALL WHEN IT COMES TO MENTAL HEALTH, AND IN JUST THE LAST SIX MON MONTHS, CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY, COUNSELING, AND PEER SUPPORT ALONE GENERATED OVER 580 O OUTREACH CONTACTS, WHICH SHOWS THAT UTILIZATION IS UP AS WELL AS TRUST. WE ALSO OFFER CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS DEB DEBRIEFING CHAPLAINSY, A RETIRED MEMBER PAL HOTLINE, THE EAP, AND THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CAREENINGS, WHICH ARE ANNUAL.
ALL OF THESE WORK TOGETHER AS A LAYERED SUPPORT SYSTEM.
WITH REGARD TO THE TYPES OF REFERRALS AND ACCESSIBILITY, THE MOST COMMON WAY MEMBERS ARE ACCESSING SERVICES ARE THROUGH SELF-REFERRAL, AND THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE, AGAIN, IT TELLS US THAT PEOPLE ARE BECOMING MORE COMFORTABLE WITH ASKING FOR HELP.
REFERRALS CAN ALSO COME FROM PEERS, SUPERVISORS OR FOLLOWING MAJOR INCIDENTS. EVERYTHING IS CONFIDENTIAL AND VOLUNTARY. WE REGULARLY COMMUNICATE ABOUT THESE RESOURCES SO MEMBERS KNOW WHERE TO GO WHEN THEY NEED SUPPORT, AND THAT INCLUDES BRIEF REMINDERS, WELLNESS EVENTS, STATION LEVEL MATERIALS, WE ALSO HAVE POSTERS AND OTHER ITEMS JUST TO HELP JOG THEIR MEMORY THAT THESE SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE. I ALSO KNOW THAT THE FIRE SHIFT COMMANDERS AND MEDICAL SHIFT COMMANDERS ARE OFTEN INCLUDING THOSE RESO RESOURCES ON THEIR DAILY MESSAGES. THE INTENT IS TO MAKE HELP VISIBLE, NORMAL, AND EASY TO REACH. THE PEER SUPPORT TEAM IS OFTEN WHERE FIREFIGHTERS START. THE FIRST AND MOST TR TRUSTED POINT OF CON CONTACT. THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO TALK TO SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS THE JOB AND HAS WALKED IN THEIR SH SHOES. PEER SUPPORT HELPS ADDRESS STRESS, TRAUMA, AND EVEN SUICIDAL THOUGHTS EARLY. WHEN NEEDED THEY CONNECT MEMBERS TO PROFESSIONAL HEALTH, AND THIS IS BEST RECOGNIZED IN PUBLIC HEALTH SAFETY. THESE ARE SOME OF THE MORE COMMON EXPERIENCES WE'RE ADDRESSING. OUR PROGRAM FOCUSES ON THE REAL EXPERIENCES FIREFIGHTERS FACE WHICH ARE REPEATED EXPOSURE TO TRAUMATIC CALLS, CUMULATIVE STRESS, LACK OF SLEEP, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND FAMILY STRAIN, WE ALSO PROVIDE SUPPORT AFTER SERIOUS INCIDENTS OR LINE OF DUTY DEATHS. ADDRESSING THESE ISSUES EARLY HELPS PROTECT BOTH
[01:55:01]
THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE DEPARTMENT AS A WHOLE. WE'RE FOCUSED ON BEING PROACTIVE, NOT JUST RESPONDING AFTER SOMETHING GOES WRONG, THAT INCLUDES EARLY O OUTREACH AFTER CRITICAL INCIDENTS AND REIN REINFORCING PEER SUPPORT THROUGH TRAINING AND EDUCATION.LEADERS ARE TRAINED TO RECOGNIZE WARNING SIGNS AND STEP IN EARLY.
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH EDUCATION IS EMBEDDED INTO OUR REGULAR TRAINING. SO THESE ARE JUST -- COVER THE PROACTIVE MEASURES THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY TAKING. MOVING FORWARD, WE'LL CONTINUE STRENGTHENING AND EXPANDING THESE SERVICES, OUR FOCUS IS INCREASING AWARENESS, REDUCING STIGMA, AND NORMALIZING HELP SEE SEEKING. WE WANT MEMBERS TO KNOW HELP IS AVAILABLE, ACCESSIBLE, AND SUP SUPPORTED AT EVERY LEVEL IN THIS DEPARTMENT.
THIS WORK SUPPORTS FIREFIGHTER HEALTH, RETENTION, AND OPER OPERATIONAL READINESS, IT ALSO ALIGNS, LIKE I SAID WITH THE PUBLIC SAFETY BEST PRACTICES, AND NEW STATE LEGISLATION, WHICH IS H HB35. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS IS ABOUT TAKING CARE OF THOSE THAT TAKE CARE OF OUR COMMUNITY.
I WOULD JUST LIKE TO THANK OUR PEER SUPPORT LEAD WHO IS -- HE'S BEEN COORDINATING WITH THE PEER SUPPORT TEAM FOR PROBABLY ABOUT FIVE YEARS, AND THAT'S OUR LIEUTENANT WESTERHOF, HE HAS FILLED THAT POSITION AND DONE IT WITH PASSION AND DEDICATION, SO I WANTED TO RECOGNIZE HIM FOR HIS EFFORTS AS WELL AS THE COUNSELOR THAT STEPPED UP, WHICH IS THE UNIFORMED FIREFIGHTER. THANK YOU, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL BE
AVAILABLE TO ANSWER THOSE. >> SUKH KAUR: THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AND I BROUGHT THIS UP BECAUSE I WAS TALKING WITH SOME OF THE FIREFIGHTERS SPECIFICALLY, AND THEY WERE MENTIONING CHALLENGE INVOLVING THE COUNSELOR PSYCHOLOGIST POSITION, AND LOOKING FOR ALTERNATIVE SOLU SOLUTIONS, AND WE HAD THE CONVERSATION BROUGHT UP WITH THE CLINIC DURING BUDGET SESSION, SO I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO FOLLOW UP WITH MAKING SURE WE'RE PROVIDING ADEQUATE SUPPORT WITH OUR FIRST RESPONDERS FOR MENTAL HEALTH. SO REALLY QUICK NOW BEFORE I PASS IT OVER, CAN YOU DOUBLE DOWN ON THE POINT THAT HAVE WE LOOKED -- THE FEEDBACK I RECEIVED IS THERE ARE FOLKS IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WHO ARE TRAINED TO BE AN EYE FOR THIS, HAVE THEY PROVIDED
THAT OR LOOK TO SEE IF THEY CAN FILL THAT ROLE. >> THEY HAVE BEEN PROVIDING IT OR THE TWO INDIVIDUALS THAT I SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED, WHICH IS OUR PEER SUPPORT COORDINATOR AS WELL AS THE COUNSELOR THAT HIS -- HIS SPE SPECIALTY IS CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY.
>> SO THE PEER SUPPORT COORDINATOR ABLE TO FILL THAT ROLE IF THEY WERE
INTERESTED. >> YOU SAID THE PEER SUPPORT COORDINATOR?
>> SUKH KAUR: ARE THEY AT THE QUALIFICATION LEVEL. >> YES, MA'AM.
HE'S ACTUALLY BEEN FILLED -- HAS FILLED THAT POSITION FOR THE
LAST FIVE YEARS. >> SUKH KAUR: OKAY. >> ON A PERMANENT BASIS, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY MAYBE THE LAST THREE YEARS.
>> SUKH KAUR: OKAY. SO AN EXTRA VACANCY ABOVE THOSE TWO THAT ARE
CURRENTLY IN THOSE ROLES RIGHT NOW. >> COUNCILWOMAN, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE PSYCHOLOGIST POSITION THAT'S STILL VACANT, WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF MEETINGS WITH THE -- WITH UT SAN ANTONIO, WE'RE STILL EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM TO FILL THAT GAP, SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE CONVERSATIONS CONTINUE WITH THE GOAL OF HAVING A RESOLUTION THAT IS SOON, BUT ALSO NOT ONLY TO FILL THAT GAP, BUT ALSO MAYBE HOW THEY CAN HELP US FILL THE PI PIPELINE TO DO EITHER INTERNSHIPS OR SOMETHING WITH THEIR STUDENTS THAT CAN HELP WITH THE CRITICAL POSITIONS BOTH IN THE POLICE OR FIRE
DEPARTMENTS. >> SUKH KAUR: OR INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE FIRST RESPONDERS THAT WANT TO TRANSITION INTO THAT ROLE AND WORK WITH THEM; RIGHT? LIKE WE COULD BE EXPLORING THAT
AS WELL. >> WE CAN EXPLORE THAT, I THINK THE CONSIDERATION THERE IS OPERATIONAL CAPACITY, BECAUSE IF WE PULL THEM OUT -- OUT OF -- YOU KNOW, FROM THE FIELD, THEN WE WOULD HAVE GAPS
OUT ON THE FIELD. >> SUKH KAUR: OKAY. >> BUT DEFINITELY
SOMETHING WE CAN CONTINUE TO EXPLORE. >> SUKH KAUR: OKAY.
THAT'S ALL REALLY I HAD. COUNCILMEMBER SPEARS. >> SPEARS: THANK YOU, CHAIR.
THIS TOPIC IS REALLY VERY, VERY IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE IT'S ESSENTIAL WE TAKE CARE OF ALL OF YOU THAT ARE TAKING CARE OF US, AND I TOO WAS TALKING WITH THE FIREFIGHTERS AND I HA HAVE -- I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IS TWO EVEN ENOUGH, AND WHAT IS THE BARRIER TO HIRING FOR THIS POSITION? WHY HAS THIS BEEN SO HARD DO YOU THINK?
IS IT -- AND THEN HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN VACANT? >> I WOULD HAVE TO GET
[02:00:01]
YOU THE -- AS FAR AS HOW LONG IT'S BEEN VACANT. I DON'T HAVE THAT ANSWER RIGHT NOW, BUT I CAN CERTAINLY GET THAT. IN TERMS OF IF IT'S ENOUGH, I THINK THE PROTOCOLS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO RESPOND IN A TIMELY MANNER, ALL OF OUR MEMBERS ARE WELL TAKEN CARE OF, I THINK THE PEER SUPPORT TEAM, YOU KNOW, THANKS TO THE COORDINATION THAT -- NOT ONLY THROUGH DR. VILIGAN BUT THE TEAM LEAD, THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO HANDLE A LOT OF INCI INCIDENTS, PLUS WE HAVE A LOT OF OUTSIDE PAR PARTNERS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO LEVERAGE AND GET THEM REFERRED TO A HIGHER LEVEL OF CARE, SO I THINK WE'VE DONE A GREATJOB WITH WHAT WE HAVE. YES. >> SPEARS: NO.
I AGREE THERE. CHIEF MCMANUS, DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE ENOUGH
PROFESSIONALS IN PLACE? >> I KNOW THAT OUR PSYCHOLOGISTS ARE SW SWAMPED AND THEY'RE BO BOOKED CONSTANTLY. DR. BERK, DO YOU WANT TO
COME UP AND TALK TO TH THAT. >> YES.
I THINK THAT WITH THE AMOUNT OF REFERRALS WE GET, I MEAN, WE ARE REALLY BUSY, AND THERE'S THREE OF US AS FULL TIME PSYCHOLOGISTS, WE'RE ALSO SEEING -- WE'RE COORDINATING WITH THE WELLNESS UNIT, WE'RE ALSO SEEING THE APPLICANTS AS WELL AS THE ASSESSMENT, I SAID IF I COULD HAVE TWO L LPCS ALL T THEY DO ARE THE COUNSELING SERVICES, THAT WOULD HELP US OUT TREMENDOUSLY, WE HAVE A GREAT OUTSIDE NETWORK PROVIDERS WE REFER TO BUT WE HAVE TO FIND PEOPLE CULTURALLY COMPETENT WORKING WITH MILITARY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND THAT'S A NICHE, BUT PEOPLE THAT REALLY WANT TO DO THIS TYPE OF WORK, AND TO HAVE A COUPLE MORE LPC MASTER LEVEL THERAPISTS WITH US WOULD TREME TREMENDOUSLY HELP US O OUT. STIGMA HAS BEEN GREATLY REDUCED. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE STIGMA IN MENTAL HEALTH, BUT GIVEN THE FACT THAT STIGMA IN MENTAL HEALTH ACROSS THE COUNTRY BECAUSE YOU HAVE NFL, YOU KNOW, CELEBRITIES COMING FORWARD ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH, THE STIGMA HAS BEEN REDUCED TO THE POINT WHERE AN ARTICLE CAME OUT A FEW YEARS AGO WHERE THERE ISN'T ENOUGH MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS IN THE COUNTRY TO ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS, I WOULD SAY WITH THE WE WELLNESS UNIT AND THE OUTREACH WE'VE DONE, I'VE NOTICED A DECREASE IN THAT FOR FIRST RESPONDERS, AND I THINK A LOT OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE OUTREACH WORK THAT OUR WELLNESS TEAM HAS DONE AND OUR PEER SUPPORT TEAM AND OUR FAMILY ASSISTANCE, SO THE TRUST WITHIN PSYCH SERVICES HAS INCREASED SO MUCH THAT, YOU KNOW, TO GET AN APPOINTMENT SOMETIMES CAN BE VERY CHANCHALLENGING BECAUSE OF
THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE WE SEE PER WEEK. >> SPEARS: THANK YOU FOR THAT.
THAT GIVES ME A LOT TO THINK ABOUT BECAUSE I DO WANT TO THINK ABOUT OUR SOLUTIONS. WHEN YOU SAY -- I HEAR YOU WHEN YOU SAY THE STIGMA IS DOWN BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE ANY SOLUTIONS WE COME UP WITH DON'T CREATE ANY REAL OR PERCEIVED BARRIERS THAT WOULD D DISCOURAGE PARTICIPATION IN ANY WAY. I THINK WE GIVE YOU AS MANY AS YOU WANT AND NEED AND FIND A WAY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN BECAUSE JUST RETAINING THE GOOD OFFICERS AND -- THAT WE HAVE IS GOING TO BE KEY SINCE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN THIS SITUATION WHERE IT'S HARD FOR US TO KEEP ACTINNING MORE -- WE'VE GOT TO KEEP WHAT WE'VE GOT AND I THINK ADD MORE BUT KEEP WHAT WE HAVE AND MAKE SURE THEY'RE BEING TAKEN CARE OF, AND THEIR FAMILIES; RIGHT? SO THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU'RE DOING TO SUPPORT THAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND YOU MENTIONEDS SOMETHING, CHIEF, ABOUT SLEEP, AND WE KNOW SLEEP IMPACTS MENTAL HEALTH HUGELY. SO I'M EXCITED TO ADDRESS THIS IN OUR RISK ASSESSMENT, RIGHT, MA MARÍA, HOW WE CAN -- WE CAN HELP WITH MENTAL HEALTH THROUGH SLEEP AND CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS AND HOW DISRUPTIVE IT COULD BE FOR BOTH THE SAPD AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TOO. SO KNOW THIS IS TOP OF MIND FOR ME AND WHATEVER YOU NEED MY OFFICE TO DO WE'RE IN TO HELP AND ADVOCATE FOR YOU. AND THEN I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT EVEN DECOMPRESSION SPACES AND JUST -- I KNOW YA'LL ARE DOING EDUCATION PROGRAMS ON HOW TO CALM DOWN AND CLEAR YOUR MIND, AND I KNOW THEY DO A LOT OF THOSE THINGS TOO. AND THANK YOU, TOO, TO LIEUTENANT WESTERHOF AND THE COUNSELOR THAT'S BEEN IN PLACE, WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL, AND I
THINK THE UTSA -- AM I SAYING THAT RIGHT JAIME. >> UT SAN ANTONIO HEA
HEALTH. >> SPEARS: I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SAY IT, SORRY.
[02:05:02]
UT SAN ANTONIO IS A GREAT WAY, AND, YOU KN KNOW, YOU MENTIONED MILITARY SUPPORT, TOO, THERE MAY BE SOME CRO CROSS -- SOME THINGS WE COULD DO SINCE THERE'S SO MANY CORRELATIONS BETWEEN THE TRAUMAS THAT YOU GO THROUGH WHEN YOU'RE SAVING LIVES LIKE YOU DO AND WHAT YOU'RE GOING THROUGH, SO MAYBE THERE'S SOME OPPORTUNITIES TO LOOK AT WAYS TO ENGAGE SECOND CAREER VETERANS TO HELP TOO.SO ANYTHING YOU NEED, I'M FULLY SUPPORTIVE OF, AND I THINK WE'VE GOT TO FIND A WAY TO FILL THOSE POSITIONS WITH EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAY YOU NEED
FROM US. SO THANK YOU, CHAIR. >> THANK YOU.
>> SUKH KAUR: THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, CHAIR, AND THANK YOU TO BOTH CHIEFS FO THE PRESENTATION, AND I'VE HEAR FROM OFFICERS AND FIRE EMS ABOU THE IMPORTANCE AND THE NEED TO FILL THE GAP ON THE WEIGHT WE'R SEEING ON PDS AND GETTING AN APPOINTMENT, AND THEN OF COURSE THE NEED FOR MORE SUPPORT WITH FIRE.
AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE COULD POTENTIALLY BE A GAP CREATED, BUT I DO BELIEVE THERE'S VALUE IN THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF SOMEONE WHO'S BEEN IN THE BOOTS OF WHETHER IT'S PD OR FIRE DEPARTMENT TO HAVE THOSE EMPLOYEES CONVENE AND SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS EASIER FOR US TO SAY MORE POLICE OFFICERS, BUT IT'S HARDER TO ADVOCATE FOR THE NEEDS IN TERMS OF THE MENTAL HEALTH AND OVERALL QUALITY OF WORK EXPERIENCE, AND I THINK IN TERMS OF HEARING THE NEED FOR TWO ADDITIONAL LPCS I'M HOPEFUL FOR THE MID YEAR BUDGET ASSESSMENT OR UPCOMING BUDGET, WE IDENTIFY THE NEEDS TO SUPPLY SUPPORT FOR FIRE AND PD BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON WHAT WE'RE SEEING, A DECREASE IN CRIME YEAR AFTER YEAR THAT WE FOCUS ON QUALITY OVER QUAN QUANTITY; RIGHT? TO MAKE SURE THE FOLKS OUT IN THE FIELD ARE RECEIVING THE CARE THAT THEY NEED, PARTICULARLY, RIGHT, I'M THINKING ABOUT OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTINGS, AND WHAT DOES THE AFTER-CARE LOOK LIKE AND THE INTAKE PROCESS FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES RIGHT AND THOSE IMPORTANT KEY PIECES, BUT JUST WANT TO IMTHAT SIZE AND ADD WHAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE HIT ON, THE PRIORITY FOR US IS TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE FILLING THAT GAP WITH FIRE, AND DOING THE BEST WE CAN TO POTENTIALLY RECRUIT FROM OTHER CI CITIES TO PROVIDE THOSE PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES, AND THEN, OF COURSE, WORKING -- CONTINUING TO WORK WITH JAIME AND UT HEALTH AND PD AS WELL, AND AS COUNCILWOMAN MENTIONED, THE PROPOSED NOW CLINIC, THERE'S A NEED TO INVEST IN THE CARE, THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CARE OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY FOLKS, SO I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THAT, AND OF COURSE AS WE TALK ABOUT BUDGETS, THIS WILL BE A PRIORITY FOR US AS
WELL. THANK YOU, CHAIR. >> SUKH KAUR: THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AND I JUST WANT TO CONCLUDE BY SAYING, LI LIKE, AS MUCH AS WE CAN DO TO DESTIGMATIZE THE NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH IN THESE GENERALLY MALE DOMINATED FIELDS, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE E ENSURING THAT THERE ARE NO BARRIERS WHETHER IT'S THE AMOUNT OF CASES WE'RE DEALING WITH OR THE TYPES OF CASES THAT AS MUCH AS WE CAN AS POSSIBLE WE'RE SHARING THAT MENTAL HEALTH IS GOOD -- ASKING FOR MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT IS GOOD FOR EVERYONE, AND I HOPE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT THE EDUCATION AWARENESS AROUND THAT IN SOME FUTURE SESSIONS AS WELL. LAST THING, WE DIDN'T DO A HOLIDAY PRESENTATION BECAUSE I JUST THINK WE CAN WATCH THOSE VIDEOS ON OUR OWN, BUT CHIEFS IF YOU ALL WOULD SEND OUT THE CUTE HOLIDAY VIDEOS THAT YOU DO TO PROTECT EVERYONE DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON WITH ALL OF THE LIGHTS AND SUCH, THAT WOULD BE GREAT FOR US, EVERYONE STAY SAFE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. AT 4:14:00 P.M., PUBLIC SAFETY IS ADJOURNED THANK YOU ALL.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.