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>> KAUR: ALRIGHT. THE TIME IS NOW 2:08 P.M. WE WILL CALL THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING TO ORDER. DANIELLE, IS THAT HER NAME? DESTINY, SORRY.
WELCOME. I KNOW IT'S YOUR SECOND MEETING AS CLERK.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL ROLL?
>> CLERK: CHAIR, WE HAVE QUORUM. >> KAUR: THANK YOU. FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 21ST, 2026 PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING.
ARE THERE ANY ADJUSTMENTS? IF NOT, I'LL TAKE A MOTION. WE HAVE A MOTION.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? MOTION AND A SECOND. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR FEEDBACK? ALRIGHT. ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? OKAY. MOTION CARRIES. THE SECOND ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS A BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE ANIMAL CARE SERVICES PERFORMANCE METRICS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026. WE DO HAVE AN INDIVIDUAL SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
SHOULD WE TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT FIRST? >> CLERK: SURE.
WE CAN DO THAT. >> KAUR: KATHY VAIL? >> GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR KAUR, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME BEFORE YOU SPECIFICALLY, MY COUNCIL MEMBER SUKH KAUR, WHO HAS GIVEN ME A LOT OF TIME AND WORKED WITH ME AND PERSONALLY INVITED ME TO BE HERE TO GIVE PUBLIC COMMENT. I AM HERE BECAUSE I AM THE PUBLIC FACE OF A SAN ANTONIO RESIDENT WHO HAS BEEN TRAUMATICALLY IMPACTED BY A LOOSE AND DANGEROUS DOG, BODILY INJURY RESULTING IN MY ARM BEING BITTEN AND MY DOG BEING SO MAULED TO DEATH ON GOOD FRIDAY THAT I HAD TO PUT HIM DOWN AT 3:00 ON GOOD FRIDAY.
I WROTE ANOP-EDTHAT THE SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS PUBLISHED ON APRIL 16TH.
I HAVE LEFT A COPY THERE FOR YOU. I'M GOING TO TRY AND KEEP MY COMMENTS FOCUSED. IT THRUST ME INTO MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH PERSONAL DANGER AND PUBLIC SAFETY AND TRAUMA REGARDING DOGS IN SAN ANTONIO. I HAVE NEVER HAD ANY EXPERIENCE WITH IT. NOBODY I KNOW IN MY FAMILY OR MY LARGE CIRCLE OF FRIENDS HAS EVER EXPERIENCED, SO I AM STILL LEARNING AND I'M NOT GOING TO READ THEOP-ED, JUST GIVE YOU A FEW HIGHLIGHTS. I LIVE IN D-1, IN THE RIDGEVIEW NEIGHBORHOOD, ON MY CHILDHOOD STREET WHICH WAS A REASON WHY I BOUGHT THAT HOUSE SIX YEARS AGO. I LIVED AS A LITTLE GIRL ON THAT SAME STREET FOR 12 YEARS, AND IT'S A BEAUTIFUL NEIGHBORHOOD. THESE WERE ALL HOMES THAT WERE BUILT IN THE 1950S, CLUSTERED AROUND THE INTERSECTION AND I LOVE LIVING THERE.
IT WAS A DREAM COME TRUE. ON GOOD FRIDAY, THAT DREAM WAS SHATTERED FOR ME.
I WAS WALKING MY DOG HOME, WE WERE TWO HOUSES AWAY FROM MY HOME AND A DOG THAT HAD BEEN ROPED IN THE FRONT YARD CARELESSLY ROPED, BROKE FREE, JUMPED ON ME, BIT ME ON MY ARM, KNOCKED ME TO THE GROUND, THEN WENT TO MY DOG, PICKED UP MY NINE-POUND DOG.
THAT DOG WAS A GREAT DANE MIX, HUGE. PICKED UP MY NINE-POUND DOG, THREW HIM UP IN THE AIR. HE FELL ON THE CONCRETE DRIVEWAY.
HIS BRAIN WAS DAMAGED, HIS SPINE WAS DAMAGED, HIS ABDOMEN WAS PUNCTURED AND NEIGHBORS IMMEDIATELY CAME OUT, CALLED 911. I'M RUNNING TO MY HOME TWO HOUSES AWAY. THAT DOG IS FOLLOWING ME ALL THE WAY TO MY FRONT DOOR, JUMPING ON MY BACK, RIPPING THE BACK OF MY SHIRT, AND I BARELY MADE IT INSIDE THE FRONT DOOR WITHOUT THE DOG COMING INTO MY HOUSE. AND I WANT TO RIGHT NOW TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECOGNIZE THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE THAT I RECEIVED WAS EXCELLENT. WITHIN FIVE MINUTES, THERE WERE THREE SAPD PATROL CARS, THERE WERE TWO ACS VEHICLES, THERE WAS AN EMS VEHICLE, ALL PROVIDING ME EMERGENCY TRAUMA CARE. MY ARM WAS BLEEDING, MY DOG WAS SEVERELY WOUNDED.
THAT DOG WHO ATTACKED ME WAS CONTINUING TO WALK BACK AND FORTH ON THE STREET.
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WHEN I WAS GIVEN THE MEDICARE I N -- IMMEDIATE CARE I NEEDED, GIVEN THE NUMBER FOR MY CASE, GIVEN THE SAPD NUMBER FOR MY CASE, I SAID I'M LEAVING, I GOT TO GET MY DOG TO THE VET. AND WHEN I RETURNED, THE ACS OFFICERS WERE STILL THERE, THEY TOLD ME THEY HAD CAPTURED THE DOG, THEY WERE TAKING IT INTO QUARANTINE I FOUND OUT THAT THE DOG WAS IN QUARANTINE FOR 10 DAYS, THE OWNER NEVER CAME TO IDENTIFY AND SHOW A DESIRE TO GET THE DOG BACK. THAT DOG WAS EUTHANIZED.IN THOSE IMMEDIATE DAYS, I SPOKE WITH MY OWN COUNCIL MEMBER, I SPOKE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER MUNGIA, COUNCIL MEMBER GALVAN, COUNCIL MEMBER GAVITO, PROBABLY HALF THE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.
THE CHIEF OF POLICE WAS CALLED. HE CALLED ME, I HAD SEVERAL CONVERSATIONS WITH HIM OVER THE IMMEDIATE THREE TO FIVE DAYS, AND HE CONNECTED ME WITH THE ACS DIRECTOR.
I HAD A TELEPHONE CONVERSATION WITH HIM. SO IN THE AFTERMATH, THE SERVICES I RECEIVED WERE EXCEPTIONAL, AND STILL, YOU KNOW, I WAS LEFT TRAUMATIZED AND GRAPPLING TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS PROCESS NOW WORKS. MY DOG IS DEAD, THERE IS A MUNICIPAL COURT PROCESS, THERE WERE FOUR CITATIONS ISSUED, THERE WAS AN ELDERLY GENTLEMAN WHO HAS IN CHARGE OF THAT HOME THAT WAS A RECENT SOBER LIVING HOME ON MY STREET, AND A MAN WHO WAS ONE OF THE RECENT SOBER LIVING RESIDENTS WAS NOW DOING ALL KINDS OF WORK PREPARING THE HOUSE TO BE SET FOR SALE. FOUR CITATIONS WERE ISSUED TO HIM.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THEY ARE ALL AT A MAXIMUM $2,000 FINE, GIVEN THE GRAVITY OF THE ATTACK, BUT YOU KNOW, MY FIRST RECOMMENDATION IS TO YOU AS A VICTIM, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY HELPFUL TO HAVE SOMEONE HAND ME A SHEET OF PAPER THAT SAYS OKAY, THIS IS -- THIS IS WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU NOW. THIS IS HOW THE CITATION PROCESS IS GOING TO WORK.
THIS IS, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS, THESE ARE THE RESOURCES THAT WE'RE MAKING AVAILABLE TO YOU TO HELP YOU NAVIGATE THIS PROCESS BECAUSE IT IS TRAUMATIC.
I CONSIDER MYSELF A VERY MATURE, WELL-EDUCATED WOMAN AND IT BROUGHT ME TO MY KNEES.
AND SO THIS IS WHY I HAVE MADE THE EFFORT TO WRITE THE OP-ED. I HAD TO TAKE MY ANGER AND GRIEF AND PUT IT SOMEWHERE. I WROTE THE OP-EDAND THE PAPER DECIDED TO PRINT IT AND I STILL WANT TO MAKE ANY EFFORT I CAN TO HIGHLIGHT FROM A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE REPRESENTING HUNDREDS OF RESIDENTS, NOT ONLY IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD BUT FROM NEIGHBORHOODS ALL OVER.
I HAVE HAD SO MANY PEOPLE CONTACT ME AFTER READING THAT OP-ED, SHARING THEIR STORY, THEIR FRUSTRATION. A LOT OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCE THESE TRAUMA WITH DOGS AND THEY DO NOT REPORT. SO WHATEVER NUMBERS YOU SEE BEFORE YOU ON ANNUAL REPORTS, THEY ARE NOT A TRUE REFLECTION OF THE SERIOUS WHAT I BELIEVE IS A RED FLAG PUBLIC SAFETY EMERGENCY IN SAN ANTONIO. SO THAT IS WHY I AM HERE TODAY. I WANT TO RECOGNIZE ALL THE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, THE CHIEF OF POLICE AND THE ACS DIRECTOR WHO WERE VERY CARING AND VERY HELPFUL IN THAT IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH, BUT I HAVE THRUST MYSELF INTO THIS WORLD OF UNDERSTANDING HOW IT ALL WORKS, WHAT DATA IS THERE, WHAT DATA IS MISSING, AND ONE OF THE STRONGEST IMPRESSIONS I HAVE IS THAT THERE IS NOT ENOUGH CONNECTION TO PUBLIC SAFETY WITH THE WORK OF ACS. IT'S ABOUT DOGS. YOU GO TO THE WEBSITE FOR ACS AND IT HAS ALL THE WONDERFUL INFORMATION ABOUT ADOPTIONS, VACCI VACCINATIONS, CHIPPING, MICROCHIPPING, AND THAT'S ALL GOOD WORK, AND IT ALL NEEDS TO CONTINUE, BUT WHAT'S MISSING IS THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMPONENT AND INFORMATION ON THE ACS.
THERE SHOULD BE A DASHBOARD BY DISTRICTS THAT ANYBODY COULD IDENTIFY AND SEE WHAT IS GOING
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ON IN DISTRICT 9, WHERE ARE THE HOT SPOTS, HAVE THERE BEEN ATTACKS, ARE THERE REPEATOFFENDERS. >> KAUR: I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT. THE TIME EXPIRED A BIT AGO.
I RECOGNIZE THAT PROBABLY YOU ALL DIDN'T HEAR IT, SO JUST PAST TIME.
PERHAPS SUBMIT THE REST FOR -- YOU CAN WRAP UP YOUR LAST THOUGHTS.
>> OKAY. MY LAST THOUGHTS ARE ONE VERY SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATION, I DID DISCOVER THAT AS COUNCIL MEMBERS, YOU ARE NOT RECEIVING A MONTHLY STATUS REPORT, A QUARTERLY STATUS REPORT, ON WHAT IS HAPPENING IN YOUR DISTRICT, AND A CITY-WIDE KIND OF OVERVIEW. YOU GET THE ANNUAL REPORT BUT I RECOMMEND TO YOU THAT YOU STRONGLY CONSIDER THE CITY MANAGER REQUESTING ACS PROVIDE YOU WITH A MONTHLY OR QUARTERLY STATUS REPORT SO YOU GET THAT INFORMATION IN FRONT OF YOU ON A VERY REGULAR BASIS, SO YOU CAN SEE EXACTLY WHAT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR DISTRICT. THE LAST THING I WANT TO SAY IS A FORMER COUNCIL MEMBER LIVES THREE BLOCKS FROM ME. HE'S A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE.
HE TOLD ME THAT WHEN HE SERVED, THERE WAS A PUBLIC CITIZEN POSITION ON THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT POSITION IS STILL ON THE COMMITTEE.
IF IT'S VACANT, IF IT IS, I PRESENT MYSELF AS BEING INTERESTED IN SERVING THAT.
IF IT HAS BEEN REMOVED, I ASK YOU TO CONSIDER REINSTATING IT. THERE IS A ROLE FOR PUBLIC CITIZENS TO BE SERVING ON THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE. AND THAT CONCLUDES MY CONTEXT
GIVEN THE TIME COMMITMENT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> KAUR: THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR STORY. WE ARE SORRY ABOUT YOUR LOSS. WE WILL TAKE ITEMS 2 AND 3 TOGETHER IF THAT'S OKAY WITH MY COLLEAGUES. ITEM 2 IS THE REPORT, PER PERFORMANCE METRICS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026 AND ITEM 3 IS THE BRIEFING OF WHAT HAPPENS IN DANGEROUS DOG CRUELTY CASES AND HOW DOES IT MOVE FROM ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE KIND OF PROCESS
THROUGH THE COURT SYSTEM. JOHN, WE WILL GO TO YOU. >> THANK YOU, COMMITTEE.
I'M DIRECTOR AT ACS AND WE WILL GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION. YOU ALL HAVE RECEIVED THE MEMO AND OBVIOUSLY, I WILL GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION ON THE DANGEROUS AND CRUELTY, THEN I WILL BE AVAILABLE AS WELL AS MUNICIPAL COURT. I HAVE A COUPLE SLIDES AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION THAT THEY WILL PRESENT SOME OF THEIR DATA ON CITATIONS.
SO JUST REAL QUICKLY, THIS IS KIND OF THE AGENDA FOR THE PRESENTATION.
FIRST WE WILL TALK ABOUT NEGLECT AND CRUELTY INVESTIGATIONS, DANGEROUS DOG INVESTIGATIONS, THEN AGAIN, WE WILL WRAP UP THE PRESENTATION WITH MUNICIPAL COURT TALKING ABOUT A COUPLE OF SLIDES OF THEIR DATA THAT THEY HAVE FOR THOSE CITATIONS. SO THIS FIRST SLIDE IS -- TALKS ABOUT CRUELTY INVESTIGATIONS TEAM. WE HAVE FIVE CRUELTY INVESTIGATORS, AND ONE SUPERVISOR OVER THAT TEAM. THIS SLIDE DEMONSTRATES KIND OF HOW WE SEPARATE OUT CRUELTY. I MEAN, I HATE TO SAY THERE'S TWO LEVELS OF ANIMAL CRUELTY BUT THERE REALLY IS. ONE FALLS UNDER NEGLECT WHICH WILL BE YOUR LESS SERIOUS TYPE CASES AND THEN OF COURSE, WE HAVE ACTUAL CRUELTY WHICH IS GOING TO TYPICALLY BE PHYSICAL ABUSE, TORTURE, DOG FIGHTING,COC FIGHTI FIGHTING,COCKFIGHTING. WE HAVE NEGLECT CASES. NEGLECT IS MORE CASES WHERE THERE'S MORE MINOR, SOMETHING SUCH AS LACK OF SHELTER, MINOR VETERINARY CARE, ABANDONMENTS, ANY OF THOSE COULD RISE TO THE LEVEL OF CRUELTY DEPENDING ON THE SEVERITY.
IF AN ANIMAL HAS BEEN ABANDONED FOR A LONG PERIOD, THAT RISES TO THE LEVEL WHERE NOW IT'S SUFFERED PHYSICAL HARM DUE TO ABAND ABANDONMENT, THAT RISES TO A DIFFERENT LEVEL. ANY NEGLECT DEPENDING ON SEVERITY COULD END UP BEING CRUELTY. SO AT THE BOTTOM THERE, IT'S KIND OF QUICKLY GIVING SOME DATA ON THE INFORMATION. AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS YEAR, WE HAVE ISSUED OUT ABOUT 898 NOTICE OF VIOLATION SO FAR. THAT'S SIMPLY JUST A PIECE OF PAPER THAT WE GIVE TO THAT RESIDENT STATING YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF THIS ORDINANCE AND THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO CORRECT THEM. WE TYPICALLY, NOTICES OF VIOLATIONS ARE FOR INSTANCES THAT ARE SOMETHING THAT THE RESIDENT CAN FIX. SOME OF THE MORE MINOR THINGS SUCH AS IMPROPER TETHERING, SHELTER, SOMETIMES FOOD, DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE RESIDENT, WE ARE ABLE TO ACTUALLY PROVIDE THOSE RESOURCES TO THE RESIDENT TO HELP THEM RESOLVE THE ISSUE ON THE MINOR THINGS. THE NEXT STEP IS OUR CIVIL CITATIONS. AS YOU CAN SEE, OUR CIVIL CITATIONS, WE DO QUITE A FEW
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LESS OF THOSE THAN WHAT WE DID. WE HAVE CRIMINAL CITATIONS, THIS YEAR WE ARE ABOUT 401 SO FAR, THEN CRUELTY CASES FILED WITH THE DA'S OFFICE, WE ARE AT ABOUT 36.SO AS YOU CAN SEE, WE ARE SEVEN MONTHS INTO THE YEAR, WE HAVE ALREADY SURPASSED THE NUMBER FROM LAST YEAR AND THEN EQUALLED THE NUMBER FROM THE YEAR PRIOR TO THAT.
SO THIS NEXT SLIDE JUST KIND OF WALKS US THROUGH HOW THE CRUELTY INVESTIGATIONS AND WHAT THOSE LOOK LIKE. FIRST, OBVIOUSLY FIRST THING IS WE WILL GET THAT CALL FOR SERVICE. IT'S GOING TO BE ASSIGNED TO AN OFFICER.
TYPICALLY, THAT FIRST RESPONSE IS GOING TO BE ONE OF OUR FIRST RESPONDER POSITIONS.
SO THOSE OFFICERS WILL THEN GO OUT, IF IT'S A MINOR INFRACTION, THEY WILL ISSUE THE NOTICE OF VIOL VIOLATION. IF IT'S GOING TO BE THE MORE SEVERE, THEN IT'S GOING TO THEN BE REFERRED TO OUR CRUELTY TEAM. IF AN NOV IS ISSUED, NOTICE OF VIOLATION, THEN THE OFFICER WILL THEN FOLLOW UP THE NEXT DAY, A CRUELTY INVESTIGATOR WILL, AND DETERMINE WHAT ROUTE GOES FROM THERE. SO AS YOU CAN SEE THROUGH THE PROCESS, IF WE GO AND THE COMPLAINANT IS NOT -- OR THE OWNER OF THE ANIMAL'S NOT COOPERATIVE, THEN THERE IS A SITUATION WHERE WE MAY HAVE TO GET A WARRANT IN ORDER TO REMOVE THE ANIMAL. IF IT COMES TO THAT POINT. IF IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN WORK WITH THAT RESIDENT ON IN FIXING. THEN IF CRUELTY IS DETERMINED DURING THAT -- ONCE WE'RE ABLE TO GET THE ANIMAL INTO OUR CUSTODY, WE CAN REQUEST A HEARING AND DURING THAT HEARING IS WHERE WE BASICALLY PRESENT EVIDENCE TO SHOW THAT A CRUELTY TOOK PLACE AND THEN WE'RE ABLE TO TAKE CUSTODY OF THAT ANIMAL. IF CUSTODY'S AWARDED DURING THAT OR CUSTODY CAN BE AWARDED TO US DURING THAT TIME, DURING THAT HEARING.
THE SECOND PIECE OF THIS IS WHERE WE ACTUALLY FILE THE CASE, THE CRUELTY INVESTIGATOR DETERMINES THERE'S ENOUGH EVIDENCE, THEY WILL COMPILE ALL THE EVIDENCE, THEY WILL ISSUE THE CITATION. WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO REQUEST A NUMBER FROM THE BEXAR COUNTY PORTAL. THE CASE IS FILED ELECTRONICALLY THROUGH THERE.
THEN DA'S OFFICE WILL MAKE A DETERMINATION WHETHER AN ACTUAL CASE AND THOSE ARE THE CASES THAT RISE TO THE LEVEL OF AS I SPOKE ABOUT EARLIER, THE FELONY LEVEL CRUELTY CASES.
ON OUR NEGLECT, AGAIN, THESE ARE OUR MORE -- LESS SEVERE INSTANCES, AND THESE ARE ONES THAT ARE TYPICALLY THE TYPE, THE ONES YOU SEE WHERE WE WORK WITH THE RESIDENT TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE. IF THEY'RE WILLING. SOME OF THE RESIDENTS ARE NOT AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, THERE IS A PROCESS WE FOLLOW AGAIN GOING THROUGH THAT WARRANT WHERE WE ISSUE, TRY TO GET CUSTODY OF THE ANIMAL, AND THEN GET IT BACK TO THE JUDGE IN FRONT OF A HEARING.
THE PROCESS FOR THAT IS BASICALLY A FIRST RESPONDER WILL BE DISPATCHED TO THE SCENE.
THE -- THEY WILL DETERMINE WHETHER IT'S GOING TO BE A MINOR OR SOMETHING THAT CAN BE HANDLED BY MUNICIPAL COURT, WHERE WE JUST ISSUE A CITATION. SOMETHING LIKE IMPROPER TETHERING, FOR INSTANCE, WE WOULD PROBABLY GIVE THEM THE PROPER TETHERING, ISSUE THE CITATION AND THEN IT WILL BE, IT WILL BE CLOSED OUT AND PUSHED ON TO MUNICIPAL COURT.
IF WE GIVE THEM THE PROPER TYPE OF TETHERING, THEN THERE'S NO FOLLOW-UP NEEDED.
THAT'S ONE EXAMPLE OF WHAT COULD HAPPEN THERE. IF IT CAN'T BE DONE ON SCENE, THEN NOV AGAIN IS ISSUED AND IT'S REFERRED TO THE CRUELTY TEAM TO FOLLOW UP.
AND THEN EACH MORNING, THE NOVS ARE ASSIGNED TO CRUELTY INVESTIGATORS AND AGAIN, THOSE CRUELTY INVESTIGATORS WOULD THEN GO OUT AND DETERMINE THE NEXT STEPS, WHETHER IT'S GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE OWNER AND WE CAN CONTINUE TO GIVE THEM NOTICE OF VIOLATIONS TO CORRECT THINGS, OR WHETHER IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO WORK WITH TO GET A WARRANT TO IMPOUND OR GO AHEAD AND BRING IN. SO MOVING ON TO OUR DANGEROUS DOG INVESTIGATIONS. OUR DANGEROUS DOG TEAM, WE HAVE FOUR DANGEROUS DOG INVESTIGATORS AND THEN ONE SUPERVISOR. ACTUALLY, TWO SUPERVISORS THAT SUPERVISE THAT TEAM THAT DOES BITES AND DANGEROUS, AND SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE STATS FROM OUR DANGEROUS DOG INVESTIGATIONS. SO FAR, YEAR TO DATE, WE ARE ABOUT 82 COMPLIANCE RATE, 82% COMPLIANCE RATE FOR DANGEROUS DOGS. OUR GOAL IS 80% SO WE ARE SURPASSING THAT AS OF RIGHT NOW. I WILL SAY THAT IS KIND OF A MOMENT IN TIME.
IT CAN CHANGE DRAMATICALLY DEPENDING ON THE TIME, EVEN FROM ONE WEEK TO THE NEXT.
BUT AS OF WHEN THIS WAS MADE THROUGH THE END OF APRIL, WE WERE AT 82%.
AND WE ARE ABOUT 348 DANGEROUS DOG CASES THAT HAVE BEEN WORKED SO FAR THIS YEAR.
AGAIN, THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF AN INCREASE THAN WHAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING.
WE'RE ON PACE RIGHT NOW TO DO JUST UNDER 600, WHICH WOULD SURPASS THE NUMBER OF DANGEROUS
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CASES WE DID LAST YEAR. THE NEXT FEW NUMBERS ACTUALLY BREAKS OUT WHAT THOSE LOOK LIKE.WE HAVE 88 THAT WERE DEEMED DANGEROUS, WE HAVE 68 THAT WERE DEEMED AGGRESSIVE, AND I WILL SAY THE DIFFERENCE, WE GET A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DANGEROUS AND AGGRESSIVE. DANGEROUS IS GOING TO BE AN ATTACK ON A PERSON, AND THE EASIEST WAY FOR ME TO DESCRIBE IS DANGEROUS WILL BE ATTACK ON A PERSON, WHERE AGGRESSIVE IS GOING TO BE AN ATTACK ON ANOTHER ANIMAL. THEN WE HAVE OUR SBI CASES, THE MORE SEVERE TYPE BITE CASES THAT CAN RISE TO THAT LEVEL OF SBI. THOSE CASES WILL GO TO THE COURT TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT IT'S SBI. THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S DEEMED THERE AT ACS. THOSE WILL ALL GO TO THE COURTS. AS YOU CAN SEE, WE ARE ABOUT 22 OF THOSE. THEN ABOUT 77 WERE UNFOUNDED OR INCOMPLETE.
SOMETIMES WE WILL GET AN AFFIDAVIT TURNED IN WHERE THIS IS LACKING ENOUGH INFORMATION, SO IT'S AN INCOMPLETE AFFIDAVIT AND THOSE INSTANCES, WE WILL REACH BACK OUT TO THE RESIDENT, GIVE THE OPTION TO PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION, FILL OUT A NEW AFFIDAVIT.
AND THEN WE HAD AGAIN, SOME OF THOSE WERE UNFOUNDED. CURRENTLY WE HAVE ABOUT 93 ACTIVE CASES. THAT'S 93 INDIVIDUAL CASES AND EACH DOG IS A CASE SO BASICALLY WE HAVE 93 DOGS THAT ARE ACTIVE RIGHT NOW. THOSE 93 ARE ACTUALLY IN 52 HOMES. SO WE HAVE 52 OWNERS, 93 DOGS THAT ARE CURRENTLY BEING INVESTIGATED. THIS AGAIN TALKS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT PROCESS.
SOME OF THE KEY LANGUAGE THAT I DO WANT TO POINT OUT IS IT UNPROVOKED ATTACK OUTSIDE THE DOG'S CLOSURE OR THREATENING BEHAVIOR. UNPROVOKED IS SOMETHING WE HAVE TO EDUCATE A LOT ON, BECAUSE IF NO ONE WITNESSES THE ATTACK, ESPECIALLY ON THE AGGRESSIVE TYPE DOGS, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR US TO DEEM THEM AGGRESSIVE, IF NO ONE SAW WHETHER THE ANIMAL WAS PROVOKED OR UNPROVOKED. SO SOMETIMES WHERE NO ONE SAW THE ACTUAL ATTACK, BUT WE DID HAVE AN ANIMAL THAT WAS KILLED AND WE WEREN'T ABLE TO DEEM THAT DOG AGGRESSIVE BECAUSE NO ONE SAW THE ATTACK ACTUALLY HAPPEN.
SO AFTER WE HAVE THE INCIDENT, OBVIOUSLY IT'S REPORTED TO 911 OR 311, THAT VICTIM OR WITNESS, OUR OFFICER GOES OUT, GIVES THEM THE OPTION TO FILL OUT THE AFFIDAVIT.
ONCE THE AFFIDAVIT IS FILLED OUT, WE WILL IMPOUND THE ANIMAL FOR PUBLIC SAFETY AND THEN THE OFFICER WILL BEGIN ALL OF THE INVESTIGATION THAT GOES ALONG WITH THAT, COLLECTING EVIDENCE, SPEAKING WITH THE OWNER, SPEAKING WITH ANY WITNESSES, OBTAINING PHOTOS OF THE ANIMALS, ALL OF THAT IS PART OF THAT PROCESS. AND THEN ONCE THAT'S DONE, IT COMES BACK AND AS ACS, I ACTUALLY REVIEW, EITHER MYSELF OR A DESIGNEE, THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, WOULD REVIEW THAT CASE AND DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT IF IT MEETS THE LEGAL DEFINITION OF DANGEROUS, THEN WE WOULD DEEM IT DANGEROUS. THEN THAT OWNER WOULD BE ISSUED A LETTER AS WELL AS THE COMPLAINANT, THE PERSON THAT FILLED OUT THE AFFIDAVIT, THEY BOTH RECEIVE LETTERS WITH WHATEVER THAT DETERMINATION CAN BE.
THAT OWNER THEN HAS 15 DAYS TO FILE AN APPEAL. IF THEY FILE APPEAL, THEY WILL HAVE A HEARING WITH THE COURT. IF THEY DON'T FILE AN APPEAL WITHIN THAT 15 DAYS, THEN THE DOG IS OFFICIALLY DEEMED DANGEROUS AND IT WILL GO ON TO OUR OFFICIAL REGISTRY OR AGGRESSIVE, DEPENDING WHICH THE CASE MAY BE. THOSE CASES ARE THEN UPDATED MONTHLY AND THAT'S WHAT GOES -- THEY GO TO OUR WEBSITE, THEY UPDATE ON THE 5TH OF EVERY MONTH. SO EVERY DOG DEEMED DANGEROUS FROM THE PRIOR MONTH WILL BE ADDED TO THAT REGISTRY ON THE 5TH OF THE FOLLOWING MONTH. IF THE OWNER DOES FILE AN APPEAL, THEN THE COURTS WILL GIVE IT A HEARING. THE COURT WILL DECIDE, IF THEY DECIDE THAT -- TO WITHHOLD THE ANIMALS ARE DEEMED DANGEROUS AND THEN THEY ARE REQUIRED TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE. IF THEY -- THE COURT COULD OVERRULE THE DETERMINATION.
IF THAT HAPPENS, THE ANIMAL'S NOT DEEMED DANGEROUS, THE OWNER GETS THEIR DOG BACK AND THEN THAT'S THE PROCESS. SO I DID WANT TO TALK ABOUT NON-COMPLIANCE A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE WE GET A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT NON-COMPLIANCE. IF AN OWNER FAILS TO COMPLY, WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY THEN TO REQUEST A HEARING AND DURING THAT HEARING, WE GET -- THE COURT WILL ISSUE A SEIZURE ORDER FOR THE DOG AND THE OWNER WILL HAVE 11 DAYS TO COMPLY WITH THAT. IF THE OWNER COMES INTO COMPLIANCE, THEN THE COURT WILL ORDER THE DOG CAN BE RETURNED TO THE OWNER. IF THEY DON'T COME INTO COMPLIANCE WITHIN THAT 11 DAYS, THE COURT HAS THE OPTION TO ORDER THE ANIMAL TO BE
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EUTHANIZED.DOGS OWNERS ARE REQUIRED TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE WITH PRIOR TO US RETURNING THE DOG TO THEM.
WHEN WE RETURN THE DOG TO THE OWNER, THEY ARE IN COMPLIANCE, SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT NON-COMPLIANCE, IT'S REALLY THAT YEAR FOLLOW-UP BECAUSE IT'S A LIFE-LONG DETERMINATION SO WE HAVE -- ANNUALLY, THEY HAVE TO MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS AND WE VERIFY THAT THEY MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS ANNUALLY. THIS SHOWS WHAT THAT AFFIDAVIT LOOKS LIKE AND WHAT THE PERSON IS REQUIRED TO FILL OUT AND TURN IN TO US IN ORDER FOR US TO INITIATE A DANGEROUS DOG INVESTIGATION. ANY DOG THAT'S INVOLVED IN A SEVERE BITE, THE OFFICER OFFERS THIS AFFIDAVIT TO THEM. SO THAT THEY HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY AND IT KIND OF GOES OVER THAT PROCESS WITH THE VICTIM. ONCE WE GET THAT AFFIDAVIT, THEN THAT'S WHEN WE START THAT PROCESS. AT THE BOTTOM THERE, IT TALKS ABOUT OUR WEBSITE THERE AND BASICALLY GIVES GUIDANCE ON OUR WEBSITE AS WHAT DEFINES A DANGEROUS DOG. THAT'S A LINK TO THE DANGEROUS DOG PREGISTRY AS WELL AS A LINK TO THE AFFIDAVIT FORM. WE ALSO HAVE A VIDEO THEY ACTUALLY CAN CLICK THAT THEY CAN WATCH THAT GOES OVER HOW TO FILL OUT THAT AFFIDAVIT THAT THEY NEED TO PROVIDE. THIS LAST PIECE OF OUR PRESENTATION, THIS IS ACTUALLY ON OUR WEBSITE, AND THIS IS REFERRING TO BITES. THERE WAS SOME QUESTION ABOUT THE BITE PROCESS AND WHAT THAT CAN LOOK LIKE. THESE ARE ACTUALLY EXCERPTS FROM OUR WEBSITE THAT YOU CAN GO TO WHERE BASICALLY, A BITE HAS TO BE REPORTED THROUGH 311.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT VICTIMS OF BITES ARE REQUIRED BY LAW TO REPORT THE BITE, AS WELL AS IF THEY GO TO A HOSPITAL FOR TREATMENT, THE HOSPITAL IS REQUIRED TO REPORT THAT BITE.
SO WE TYPICALLY WILL -- THE REPORT WILL COME FROM THE VICTIM BUT IF THEY RECEIVE HOSPITAL TREATMENT, THEN THE HOSPITAL WILL ALSO CONTACT US. ONCE AGAIN, WHEN THEY MAKE THE REPORT, THEY NEED TO INCLUDE ANY DESCRIPTION OF THE ANIMAL, ANY OWNER INFORMATION, REALLY ANYTHING THAT THEY HAVE AVAILABLE TO THEM THAT THEY CAN HELP US IDENTIFY THE ANIMAL THAT COMMITTED THE BITE AND THEN WE GO OUT, WE IMPOUND THE ANIMAL. THE ANIMAL IS REQUIRED TO HAVE A TEN-DAY QUARANTINE, AND THEN WE RECOMMEND THAT THEY CONSULT A PHYSICIAN TO LET THEM DETERMINE WHAT THE PROCESS IS FOR THEM AS FAR AS WHETHER THEY NEED THE ANTI-RABIES TREATMENT OR NOT.
THEN AGAIN, THE BITES OFFICER WILL DO THE INVESTIGATION. OUR GOAL IS TO GET THE ANIMAL INTO QUARANTINE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. AGAIN, IT HAS TO BE WITHIN THAT TEN-DAY WINDOW. SOMETIMES IT DOES TAKE A LITTLE BIT LONGER TO TRACK DOWN OWNERS BUT THE GOAL IS TO GET THEM IN THERE AS QUICK AS WE CAN TOWARDS THAT TEN-DAY.
AGAIN, ON THE RIGHT THERE IT KIND OF SHOWS ON OUR WEBSITE WHERE RESIDENTS CAN ACTUALLY GO OR VICTIMS CAN ACTUALLY GO TO LEARN MORE INFORMATION ABOUT IF THEY'RE BIT OR ATTACKED.
AND THEN I'M GOING TO HAVE MUNICIPAL COURTS COME UP AND THEY WILL GO OVER THE LAST
COUPLE OF SLIDES OF THE PRESENTATION. >> GOOD AFTERNOON.
SO WHEN AN INDIVIDUAL'S ANIMAL IS CONSIDERED -- HAS BEEN DEEMED AGGRESSIVE OR DANGEROUS, AND THEY ARE NOT COMPLYING WITH THOSE REQUIREMENTS, A CRIMINAL CITATION IS FILED IN THE COURT, AND THIS IS JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF JUST THOSE CASES THAT ARE FILED IN MUNICIPAL COURT. AS YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER ANIMAL CITATIONS THAT ARE FILED IN THE COURT BUT WE ARE JUST FOCUSING ON THESE THREE CITATIONS RIGHT NOW.
AND AS OF FY '24, THE MAJORITY OF THE CASES FILED AT MUNICIPAL COURT HAVE BEEN FILED CRIMINALLY INSTEAD OF CIVILLY. YOU WILL SEE THAT ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
I DO WANT TO POINT OUT BECAUSE IT PROBABLY LOOKS PRETTY CONCERNING ABOUT THE DISMISSALS UNDER FY '24 AND FY '25. A LOT OF THOSE ARE COMPANION CASES THAT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED AS PART OF A PLEA BARGAIN FOR AN INDIVIDUAL TO PLEA ON ONE TYPE OF OFFENSE, USUALLY THE AGGRESSIVE DOG REQUIREMENTS, AND THEN IN EXCHANGE, THE REMAINDER OF THOSE CASES WILL BE DISMISSED IN EXCHANGE FOR THE PLEA. IT ALSO INCLUDES CASES THAT ARE DISMISSED BECAUSE OF A MISSING WITNESS, MAYBE THE DOG HAS BEEN EUTHANIZED. JUST VARIOUS REASONS THAT THE
[00:30:03]
PROSECUTOR WILL RECOMMEND A DISMISSAL. N I KNOW THAT PROBABLY LOOKS CONCERNING TO YOU. USUALLY WHEN A PERSON RECEIVES A CITATION, IT'S NOT JUST ONE CITATION THEY CAN RECEIVE. THEY CAN RECEIVE FOUR OR FIVE CITATIONS AT A TIME. ON THE NEXT PAGE, YOU WILL SEE THE CIVIL CITATIONS.AS I MENTIONED, THE MAJORITY OF CASES SINCE FY '24 HAVE BEEN FILED CRIMINALLY.
THE CIVIL PROCESS IS MORE OF A COMPLIANCE DOCKET SO THE ACS OFFICER MAKES A RECOMMENDATION TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING OFFICER ON WHETHER THE CASE SHOULD BE DISMISSED, IF THEY SHOULD BE GIVEN MORE TIME TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE, OR IF AN INDIVIDUAL SHOULD BE FOUND LIABLE FOR WHATEVER REASON. SO AGAIN, IT'S JUST A SNAPSHOT OF THE CASES THAT -- OF OUTCOMES IN FY '24 AND FY '25 AND IT'S JUST A SMALL SNAPSHOT OF CASES, ANIMAL CASES THAT ARE ACTUALLY
FILED IN MUNICIPAL COURT. THANK YOU. >> OBVIOUSLY WE ARE BOTH HERE TO
ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE. >> KAUR: THANKS, JOHN.
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT PUBLIC AND NEXT TO THE WATER BOTTLES IN CASE ANYBODY WANTS TO SEE IT.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT FROM THAT MEMO?
WE ALL HAVE IT SO WE CAN ALSO JUST PROVIDE COMMENT ON IT. >> JUST REAL QUICK, YOU KNOW HOW OUR CRITICAL RESPONSE RATE A FEW YEARS AGO WAS ABOUT 40%. WHAT IS IT NOW?
>> RIGHT NOW WE ARE RUNNING AT 92%, JUST UNDER 93%. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU.
>> KAUR: WE HAD TWO OTHER PEOPLE SIGNED UP FOR SPEAKING ONLINE BUT DID NOT GET ADDED TO MY LIST. I WILL GO AHEAD AND GIVE THEM TIME IF THAT'S OKAY.
THEN WE WILL CONTINUE WITH COUNCIL DISCUSSION. L LE LEAHLLAPORTE? KELLY WALSH?
>> SEVERAL YEARS AGO, AT A PUBLIC TOWN HALL BUDGET MEETING, I SPOKE ABOUT ACS BASICALLY TURNING THE AVERAGE CITIZEN INTO DEFACTO ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICERS BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT RESPONDING TO THE MAJORITY OF AGGRESSIVE AND DANGEROUS DOG CALLS. I SAID AT THAT TIME, MARK MY WORDS, THERE WILL BE A FATALITY. SEVERAL MONTHS LATER, IT HAPPENED.
EVERY SINGLE FATALITY IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, THE DOGS HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO ACS.
THEY HAVE A HISTORY. SO EVERY TIME SOMEBODY'S KILLED, SOMEONE LOSES AN ARM OR A LEG, CITY COUNCIL IS REACTIVE. YOU BUY THE LIES THAT THE ACS DIRECTORS FEED YOU DURING THE PUBLIC SESSION. BUT AFTER THAT MEETING, FORMER ACS DIRECTOR SHANNON SIMMS CAME UP TO ME AND MISS VILLAGOMEZ WAS AT THAT MEETING AS WELL AS THE ACS CHAIR, BUT SHANNON CAME UP TO ME AND SAID KELLY, YOU AND I OFTEN DISAGREE ON HOW I RUN ACS, BUT I'M IN AGREEMENT WITH YOU ON DANGEROUS DOGS. AND HE SAID SO MUCH SO THAT I HAD A MEETING WITH ERIK WALSH BECAUSE MUNICIPAL COURT WAS TELLING US WE ARE ISSUING TOO MANY CITATIONS AND THEY WERE DISMISSING THEM AND ERIK WENT OR RATHER, SHANNON WENT TO ERIK AND SAID WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS, WHEN IT HITS THE FAN, ACS IS NOT GOING TO TAKE THE FALL FOR THIS. BASED ON SHANNON'S COMMENT, I SAT IN MUNICIPAL COURT DOCKET FOR WELL OVER A YEAR, OBSERVING THE PROCESS.
WHAT I WILL TELL YOU IS THAT A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF THESE CASES FOR DANGEROUS DOGS ARE DISMISSED AS NOTED HERE, AND THEY'RE KIND OF BUNDLED TOGETHER.
OFTENTIMES, THE SAME DANGEROUS DOG OWNERS APPEAR OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
THERE'S NEVER ANY ACCOUNTABILITY. THIS IS JUST ONE CURRENT CASE.
DARCY ABILOS. SINCE 2024, HAS REQUIRED MULTIPLE APPEARANCES AT MUNICIPAL COURT FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH DANGEROUS DOG REQUIREMENTS.
THE LAST ONE IN APRIL WAS ALSO A NO-SHOW. THERE'S MULTIPLE WARRANTS OUT FOR HIS ARREST OR TO HOLD APPEARANCE. NOTHING'S BEING DONE.
NOW WE FAST FORWARD WHERE JUST RECENTLY, ACS DIRECTOR JOHN GARY STATE THD THAT SERIOUS BITE
[00:35:09]
INJURIES ARE UP MORE THAN 50%. IF SERIOUS BITE INJURIES ARE INCREASING BY MORE THAN 50%, THEN THIS COMMITTEE SHOULD BE ASKING WHY ACS IS NOT USING EVERY ENFORCEMENT TOOL AVAILABLE TO PREVENT THESE ATTACKS. IF A DANGEROUS DOG OWNER CAN IGNORE COURT ORDERS FOR YEARS AND KEEP THEIR DOGS AND/OR OWN MULTIPLE DECLARED DANGEROUS OR AGGRESSIVE DOGS, THE DANGEROUS DOG LAWS ARE MEANINGLESS. IN A RECENT D-1 ATTACK, THE VICTIM SUFFERED SEVERE FACIAL LACERATIONS AS WELL AS LACERATIONS ON THEIR ARM. THE OWNER WAS KNOWN TO ACS.ACS NEVER SUCCESSFULLY QUARANTINED THAT DOG. ACS DID NOT HOLD A SERIOUS BODILY INJURY CASE. MORE RECENTLY, ACS KNEW ABOUT THE DOG THAT HAD ATTACKED A SMALL CHILD IN D-6. THAT DOG WENT ON TO ATTACK AND MAUL AN 80-YEAR-OLD WOMAN.
THE SAME THING. ACS FAILED TO QUARANTINE THE DOG AFTER IT ATTACKED THAT CHILD.
AS A CONSEQUENCE, THAT CHILD HAD TO UNDERGO THE RABIES SERIES. I KNOW FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WHEN ACS FAILED TO QUARANTINE THE DOG THAT ATTACKED ME, THOSE ARE VERY EXPENSIVE SERIES.
SO THE PATTERN IS CLEAR. ACS KEEPS IGNORING THE DANGEROUS DOG ISSUE IN CONJUNCTION WITH MUNICIPAL COURT. NONE OF Y'ALL CARE TO UNDERSTAND DOWN ON THE MICRO LEVEL WHAT THE REAL ISSUES ARE, AND UNTIL YOU DO THAT, THIS ISSUE IS NOT GOING TO BE RESOLVED.
THERE ARE GOING TO BE MORE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE MAIMED, MORE THAT ARE GOING TO BE KILLED, AND EACH TIME EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU WILL BUY THE LIES THAT ACS KEEPS TELLING YOU.
AND I WANT TO CLOSE BY STATING THAT WHEN YOU ASKED ABOUT THE RESPONSE RATE FOR THE CRITICAL CALLS, ACS IS NOW TELLING YOU IT'S 93%. THAT IS A MANIPULATION OF THE STATS. NUMBER ONE, NONE OF Y'ALL KNOW WHAT IS CONSIDERED TO BE A RESPONSE TO A CRITICAL CALL. THEY CAN CLOSE OUT A CRITICAL CALL BY SAYING ATTEMPTED TO CALL THE 311 CALLER BUT THE PERSON DIDN'T PICK UP THE PHONE, AND THEREFORE, THE CRITICAL CALL IS CLOSED OUT. OFTENTIMES, MOST OF THE CALLS ARE JUST CLOSED OUT
AUTOMATICALLY AND THE 311 RECORDS PROVE THIS. >> KAUR: THANK YOU.
>> HOPEFULLY Y'ALL WILL SHOW A LITTLE BIT OF INTEREST IN UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS INSTEAD OF ADVOCATING FOR THE CITY TO TRAP DOGS AND RELEASE THEM BACK TO THE STREETS TO MAUL
AND KILL HUMANS. >> KAUR: THANK YOU SO MUCH, KELLY.
OKAY. WE WILL GO AHEAD AND START WITH COUNCIL DISCUSSION.
IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO START? COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ? >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: OBVIOUSLY, BIG ISSUE HERE. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. THANKS FOR THE MEMO.
OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, I THINK WE HAVE RECEIVED TWO TYPES OF PRIMARY CONCERNS FROM RESIDENTS.
FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW, RESIDENTS HAVE PACKED PUBLIC COMMENTS, SPAMMED OR E-MAILS, CREATED AND JOINED NATIONAL FACEBOOK GROUPS AND MORE TO EXPRESS THAT SAN ANTONIO SHELTER NEEDS TO BE NO-KILL. FOLKS HAVE EMPHASIZED THAT ACS ISN'T DOING ENOUGH TO IMPROVE OUT COMES FOR HEALTHY ADOPTABLE ANIMALS THAT COME INTO THE SHELTER TO. FIX THIS, THEY HAVE EXPRESSED A NEED FOR SPAY AND NEUTER SERVICES AND MITIGATE THE POPULATION GROWTH OF ANIMALS AND EXPAND AWARENESS OF EXISTING SPAY/NEUTER LAWS, SERVICES AND RESOURCES.
TO THAT END, WE HAVE SINCE ESTABLISHED TWO NEW SPAY-NEUTER HUBS WHICH ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF SUGGESTS WE CAN DO AND BROKEN GROUND ON A NEW HOSPITAL WE HOPE TO OPEN NEXT YEAR. WE IMPLEMENTED CANVASSING EFFORTS AND DOOR-TO-DOOR OUTREACH TO CONNECT RESIDENTS WITH RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES TO FIX THEIR PET AND ALSO INCREASED THE AMOUNT OF KENNEL SPACE TO EXPAND CAPACITY A LITTLE BIT.
WE HAVE ALSO HEARD FROM RESIDENTS, PARTICULARLY IN RECENT YEARS, THAT LAWS ARE NOT BEING FOLLOWED OR ENFORCED. SO WHEN RESIDENTS CALL ABOUT ANIMAL ABUSE, NEGLECT, HOARDING OF ANIMALS, WE HAVE SEEN HOMES WITH 40 PLUS ANIMALS AND THEY JUST KEEP COMING BACK AND GETTING MORE ANIMALS. THAT REMOVAL OF THESE ANIMALS IS NOT HAPPENING.
AND THE BURDEN OF PROOF IS FALLING ON NEIGHBORS BUT EVEN WHEN THEY PRESENT PROOF, INCLUDING PICTURES AND VIDEOS OR SHARING TIMES THAT ACS OFFICERS SHOULD STOP BY, WHEN INCIDENTS ARE OCCURRING, THAT IS NOT BEING USED ULTIMATELY. IT FEELS AS THOUGH THERE'S A LIMIT ON ACS'S CAPACITY TO RESPOND TO THE NEED AND A BREAKDOWN BETWEEN WHAT ACS IS DOING AND HOW THE COURTS ARE HANDLING THE CASES. IT'S ALSO BEEN SHARED THAT
[00:40:03]
RECENTLY, ACS HAS STOPPED TAKING IN OR PICKING UP ANIMALS WHICH IS COUNTER TO OUR ANIMAL CONTROL GOALS EVEN IF IT'S IMPROVING OUR LIVE RELEASE RATE. I WILL ASK YOU TO ADDRESS THAT.THAT WAS NEWS TO ME WHEN I HEARD IT AT PUBLIC COMMENT. WE HAVE IMPROVED OUR RESPONSE RATE TO CRITICAL CALLS PRETTY DRASTICALLY AS WE HEARD, A FEW YEARS AGO WE WERE RESPONDING TO 40% OF CRITICAL CALLS, WHICH IS DISASTROUS. THAT'S AN F BY ANY METRIC.
THOSE ARE AGAIN, THE CRUELTY AND NEGLECT THAT PEOPLE ARE REPORTING.
RIGHT NOW WE ARE AT 92% WHICH WAS SHARED EARLIER. YEAH, 92%.
I'M ALSO HAPPY THAT WE ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT STUDY AND FEASIBILITY STUDY THAT WILL HELP US DETERMINE HOW WE MAY EXPAND ACS'S PRESENCE AND RESPONSE BY CREATING A SECOND CAMPUS ON THE EASTERN SECTOR OF TOWN. EVEN SO, WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO TO ADEQUATELY MEET OUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS A CITY WITH REGARD TO ANIMAL WELFARE AND OUTCOMES. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A MORE CONCERTED AND COORDINATED EFFORT WITH ACS, THE MUNICIPAL COURT AND THE DA'S OFFICE. I ALSO NEED TO KNOW EXPLICITLY WHAT DO YOU ALL NEED TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN? WHAT WE'VE HEARD, WE HAVE HEARD FROM THE SAME RESIDENTS, ACS DOESN'T NEED ANY MORE MONEY, THEY DON'T NEED ANY MORE BRICK AND MORTAR. I BELIEVE THAT'S CATEGORICALLY FALSE.
ACS HAS NEVER HAD THE RESOURCES THAT IT'S NEEDED TO RESOLVE THESE ISSUES AND JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, 2021, ACS'S BUDGET WAS $15 MILLION. IT'S NOW ABOUT $30 MILLION BECAUSE WE AS A COUNCIL ASKED TO MORE ADEQUATELY RESOURCE THE DEPARTMENT EVEN THOUGH THE DEPARTMENT ITSELF WAS SAYING NO, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T THINK WE CAN HIRE THIS MANY PEOPLE.
WE ARE STILL NOT WHERE WE NEED TO BE. SO ACS HAS, I WANT TO EMPHASIZE, ACS HAS HARD-WORKING, COMPASSIONATE EMPLOYEES WHO PUT UP WITH NAME-CALLING, YELLING, AND THEY'RE JUST TRYING TO DO THEIR JOB AND THEY CARE ABOUT THESE ANIMALS JUST AS MUCH AS THE REST OF US, BUT THEY THEMSELVES ARE LIMITED. SO DO WE NEED HIGHER PAY FOR ACS OFFICERS, WILL THAT HELP WITH RETENTION RATES, IF WE HAVE A SECOND FACILITY ON THE EAST SIDE, WILL THAT IMPROVE OUR RESPONSE IN THE INNER CITY, AND I REALLY WANT TO KNOW SIMILARLY TO HOW WE HAVE EXPLORED HOW WE GET TO A 60/40 GOAL WITH SAPD AND WHAT RESOURCES ARE NECESSARY TO DO THAT, IT'S UNCLEAR WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES AT ACS.
SO I NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE ADVOCACY FROM THE DEPARTMENT ON THAT FRONT, ESPECIALLY AS WE GET INTO THIS UPCOMING BUDGET CYCLE. TO THAT END ALSO, WHAT DO THE COURTS NEED, WHAT DOES THE DA NEED AND HOW DO WE HELP ACS PROVIDE THAT? SO THAT WE CAN IMPROVE THESE CASE OUTCOMES. THEN TO THE EARLIER POINT, HOW DO WE IMPROVE OUTCOMES AT THE SHELTER AND HOW DO WE ACCOMPLISH ALL OF THOSE GOALS AND CHALLENGES THAT RESIDENTS ARE NOT JUST DEMANDING OF US BUT EXPECTING AND ARE OWED. SO I GUESS I MADE SEVERAL POINTS THERE THAT I WOULD LIKE YOU TO RESPOND TO. NUMBER ONE, STARTING WITH ARE WE NO LONGER TAKING ANIMALS AT THE SHELTER AND WHY DOES THAT MISCONCEPTION EXIST IF IT IS
ONE? >> WELL, I WILL SAY THERE HAS BEEN NO EXCHANGE AS FAR AS INTAKE PROCESS IN A NUMBER OF YEARS. I'M NOT SURE HOW FAR IT GOES BACK. IT GOES BACK PRIOR TO ME. SO I THINK WHEN PEOPLE OR RESIDENTS ARE MAKING THAT COMMENT, THEY ARE REFERRING TO WHEN WE DON'T HAVE KENNEL SPACE TO BRING AN ANIMAL IN, AND THAT ANIMAL IS NOT SICK, INJURED, POSE ANY PUBLIC SAFETY THREAT, WE ARE NOT BRINGING THEM IN EVERY TIME. OUR OFFICERS' NUMBER ONE GOAL IS TO GET THEM BACK TO THEIR OWNER WHEN POSSIBLE. IF IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO, OBVIOUSLY. THERE ARE CERTAIN SITUATIONS, ESPECIALLY IF AN ANIMAL HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN ATTACK OR THINGS LIKE THAT, WHERE THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DO THAT BUT THAT'S THEIR NUMBER ONE GOAL TO TRY TO GET IT BACK. THEN ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE IMPLEMENTED OUR PET CARE CONNECT PROGRAM WAS TO TRY TO GET INTO THESE AREAS OF HIGH CALL VOLUME, HIGH INSTANCES OF INTAKE AND GET RESOURCES THERE PRIOR TO THOSE INSTANCES HAPPENING.
SO LOWER THE NUMBER OF ANIMALS THAT ARE RUNNING FREE IN THOSE PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE WE RUN THAT PROGRAM AT. WE DO HAVE CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS AND THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT.
SO THERE ARE INSTANCES WHERE IF SOMEONE CALLS IN A STRAY DOG, FOR INSTANCE, RIGHT NOW WE COLLECT THOSE FOR DATA PURPOSES AND THEN ONCE WE USE HEAT MAPS TO RECOGNIZE WHEN THERE'S PARTICULAR AREAS THAT, WHERE THERE'S A HIGH NOTICEABLE CALL VOLUME FOR STRAY ANIMALS.
SO WHAT WE DO IS WE TAKE THAT INFORMATION, THAT TELLS US WHERE MAYBE PET CARE CONNECT NEEDS TO GO, OR OUR SWEEPS TEAM MAY NEED TO GO. WE HAVE A SWEEPS TEAM THAT ACTUALLY WILL ALSO GO INTO THOSE AREAS OF HIGH CALL VOLUME. THOSE ARE PARTICULARLY JUST SOMEONE CALLED IN AND SAID I JUST SAW A ROAMING DOG, NOT THIS DOG WAS ATTACKING ANYONE.
THOSE INSTANCES, WE RESPOND. SO IT DOES DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, OUR RESPONSE IS DETERMINED BY
THE COMPLAINT THAT WE RECEIVE. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: I THINK IT WOULD BE RESOLVED OR THE PERCEPTION WOULD BE A LITTLE BETTER, WHAT IS IT THAT BECAUSE AGAIN, RESIDENTS ARE FEELING AS THOUGH THEY ARE DE FACTO ACS OFFICERS. IF A RESIDENT CALLS IN, SAYS
[00:45:06]
THERE'S AROAMING OFFICER, WHAT IS ACS DOING TO GET THAT ANIMAL BACK AT THEIR HOME? IS THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENING, OR ARE THEY OFTEN JUST BEING LEFT THERE, LEFT TO WANDER THESTREETS AND THEN ACS GOES, HANDLES A MORE PRESSING CONCERN? >> AT THIS POINT IN TIME, OUR FOCUS HAS BEEN ON CRITICAL CALL RESPONSE. WHEN ADDITIONAL OFFICERS WERE ADDED A FEW YEARS AGO, IT WAS TO ADDRESS THE CRITICAL CALL RESPONSE WHICH IT HAS.
AGAIN, WE ARE ABOVE 90% AND HAVE BEEN NOW FOR QUITE SOME TIME. SO THERE ARE INSTANCES WHERE ANIMALS ARE REPORTED AS STRAY THAT WE DON'T -- WE DO NOT RESPOND.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: I THINK THAT'S WHERE THE PROBLEM IS. A FEW YEARS AGO, FINALLY, THE COUNCIL SAID HEY, WE WANT TO PRIORITIZE ACS AND IT WAS LARGELY BECAUSE OF A MAULING THAT HAPPENED. THAT'S NOT HOW WE SHOULD BE RESPONDING TO THINGS.
THAT'S NOT HOW WE SHOULD DETERMINE OUR FOCUSES. WE DO OBVIOUSLY WANT TO PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING BUT IT STARTS MUCH SOONER THAN THAT. WHEN THOSE DOGS ARE ROAMING, IF THEY ARE UNFIXED, WHAT ARE THEY DOING? THEY ARE EXPANDING THE POPULATION. THEN WHEN THOSE ANIMALS START TO CONGREGATE AND BECOME PACKS, THEN THEY BECOME DANGEROUS ANIMALS. SO THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM IS MUCH FURTHER DOWN AND IT STARTS AT THOSE LOW LEVEL CALLS AND SO WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE FOR ACS TO RESPOND TO THOSE BEFORE THEY BECOME BIGGER ISSUES? WHAT IS IT THAT ACS NEEDS? IT SOUNDS LIKE WE NEED THE ACS OFFICERS WHO ARE GOING TO BE RESPONDING TO THE CRITICAL CALLS BUT WE ALSO NEED ACS OFFICERS TO RESPOND TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE CALLS THAT ARE BEING RECEIVED.
>> YES. THAT WOULD BE CORRECT. OFFICERS WERE TO ADDRESS THE CRITICAL CALLS. THAT IS -- WHAT YOU JUST SAID IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
WE WOULD NEED ADDITIONAL OFFICERS TO RESPOND TO EVERY ONE OF THE CALLS THAT WE RECEIVE, AND IF WE PICKED UP EVERY SINGLE STRAY DOG THAT WE GOT CALLED IN, WE DON'T HAVE ANYWHERE TO PUT THEM. IT WOULD TAKE US A MATTER OF DAYS TO FILL THE SHELTER UP TO CAPACITY AND WE COULDN'T EVEN EUTHANIZE OUR WAY OUT OF IT BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF EVERYBODY, ALL THE DOGS WOULD BE ON STRAY HOLD. THAT'S A PARTICULAR ISSUE THAT WE HAVE, TOO. WE ONLY HAVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF CAPACITY TO HOLD ANIMALS.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THE CHALLENGE THERE IS IT'S NOT JUST ACS THAT HAS THAT PROBLEM.
IT'S RESIDENTS WHO ARE BEING ASKED TO ESSENTIALLY FOSTER OR HOLD ANIMALS IN THEIR HOME UNTIL ACS HAS SPACE OR UNTIL ONE OF OUR PARTNERS HAS SPACE. I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY THERE, A GAP, IN CONNECTING RESIDENTS WITH OTHER SHELTERS, WITH OTHER NON-PROFITS, WITH ORGANIZATIONS AND THEN FOR US TO PLAY A SUPPORTIVE ROLE IN EXPANDING THEIR CAPACITY AS WELL. I UNDERSTAND WHAT IS IT, ANIMAL DEFENSE LEAGUE HAS A PROJECT THEY'RE WORKING ON, THEY WOULD LIKE TO EXPAND THEIR SERVICES AND I THINK WE WOULD DO WELL TO PLAY A SUPPLEMENTARY ROLE IN THAT. IT'S JUST CONCERNING TO ME, I HAD TO KIND OF GOADYOU INTO WE NEED MORE OFFICERS TO RESPOND TO THOSE THINGS.
WHAT DO YOU NEED? I KNOW IT MAY BE A HARD POSITION FOR YOU AS DIRECTOR WHO ULTIMATELY ANSWERS TO ERIK WALSH, WE ARE NAVIGATING A BUDGET DEFICIT AND DEPARTMENTS ARE BEING ASKED TO MAKE CUTS AND BE READY FOR THAT AND TO REALLY MINIMIZE YOUR ASK, BUT THIS IS AN AREA OF CONCERN THAT WE CAN'T AFFORD TO SKIMP OUT ON. SO WHAT IS IT ULTIMATELY THAT YOU NEED IN ORDER TO PREVENT THE PROBLEMS THAT WERE BEING NAMED EARLIER BY RESIDENTS AND HAVE
BEEN NAMED BY DOZENS AND DOZENS OF RESIDENTS PRIOR? >> WELL, I MEAN, AGAIN, I THINK IT WOULD TAKE ADDITIONAL OFFICERS AND WE WOULD HAVE TO RUN SOME DATA TO SEE WHAT THAT NUMBER WOULD LOOK LIKE. BUT ALSO, IT WOULD TAKE ADDITIONAL STAFFING TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THAT LARGER NUMBER OF ANIMALS COMING IN. I THINK THAT'S A BIG CONCERN, TOO. AGAIN, IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT WHERE WE PUT THEM BUT THERE HAS TO BE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE INVESTED A LOT IN BRINGING ANIMALS INTO THE SHELTER BUT THERE ARE STILL RESOURCES NEEDED TO GET ANIMALS OUT OF THE SHELTER, SO ADDITIONAL ADOPTION STAFF, ADDITIONAL PLACEMENT TEAM, THOSE TYPES OF RESOURCES, MEDICAL IS ANOTHER BIG ISSUE.
OBVIOUSLY THE HOSPITAL'S COMING ALONG AND WE'LL HAVE SOME NEEDS WHEN IT COMES TO THE HOSPITAL AS
WELL TO BE ABLE TO DO EVERYTHING IT WAS DESIGNED TO DO. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, CHAIR. >> KAUR: THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER.
COUNCIL MEMBER WHYTE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO NEXT? >> WHYTE: THANK YOU, CHAIR.
THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION. I ECHO A LOT OF THE COMMENTS OF MY COLLEAGUES, MY COLLEAGUE COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ. RESPONSE TIMES ARE ONE THING BUT I THINK THAT RESIDENTS STILL DON'T FEEL SAFE IN A LOT OF THESE NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE THESE ANIMALS ARE ROAMING AROUND.
I APPRECIATE ACS BRINGING THIS LEVEL OF DETAIL TO THE COMMITTEE TODAY.
I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF QUES QUESTIONS.
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CRIMINAL CITATIONS NEARLY DOUBLED FROM '24 TO '25. WHAT WAS THAT DUE TO?>> ADDITIONAL OFFICERS. >> WHYTE: ADDITIONAL OFFICERS BEING OUT THERE?
>> WE WERE ABLE TO RESPOND BETTER TO THE CALLS, CITATIONS WENT UP.
>> WHYTE: WHAT IS THE AVERAGE TIME FROM AN INITIAL REPORT ON ONE OF THESE INSTANCES AND A
DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S DECISION? WHAT'S THE LIFE CYCLE THERE? >> OH, THAT VARIES QUITE A BIT DEPENDING ON WHAT THE CHARGE IS, HOW QUICKLY WE ARE ABLE TO GET THE ANIMAL.
THERE'S A LARGE -- A PRETTY GOOD GAP OF HOW LONG THAT CAN BE. >> WHYTE: DO YOU ALL TRACK THE DA'S RATE OF ACCEPTING THESE THINGS, PROSECUTING THEM VERSUS DECLINING THE CASES?
>> NO. IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE TRACK BUT I CAN DEFINITELY LOOK INTO THAT.
>> WHYTE: THE DANGEROUS DOG AFFI AFFIDAVIT, HAVE WE NOTICED ANY ISSUES THERE WITH ELDERLY FOLKS OR PEOPLE NOT BEING ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, GET A NOTARY TO SIGN ONE OF THOSE THINGS? ANYBODY HAVING DIFFICULTIES THERE?
>> WE DO OFFER RESOURCES FOR THAT. WE ACTUALLY, OUR OFFICERS, WE HAVE PEOPLE ON OUR STAFF THAT ARE NOTARIES SO WE CAN ACTUALLY HELP DO THAT FOR THEM, IF THEY NEED TO. AS WELL AS WALK THEM THROUGH FILLING IT OUT IF THEY ARE A
RESIDENT THAT NEEDS THAT ASSISTANCE. >> WHYTE: OKAY.
WELL, I'M GLAD WE ADDED THE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES THAT WE DID A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
I THINK WE ARE CERTAINLY MAKING IMPROVEMENTS THERE BUT THERE'S MORE TO BE DONE.
THIS IS MOST DEFINITELY A PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE. I ALSO AGREE WITH THE COUNCILMAN ON THE NEED FOR AT LEAST A SATELLITE ACS FACILITY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN.
THE COUNCILMAN AND I, I GUESS WE DID A CCR LOOKING AT THAT A YEAR AGO OR SO AND WE WOULD LOVE TO FIND A SPOT TO DO THAT. I THINK WE JUST NEED TO KEEP PUSHING IN THIS AREA BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF IMPROVEMENT WE CAN STILL MAKE. THANKS, CHAIR.
>> KAUR: THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER SPEARS? >> SPEARS: THANK YOU, CHAIR.
I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS HERE. I APPRECIATE THAT THIS IS A COMPLICATED ISSUE AND IT'S NOT EASILY SOLVED. MONEY'S IMPORTANT. IT CAN'T BE THE ONLY ANSWER.
THERE'S A LOT OF PRONGS TO THIS ISSUE AND I KNOW YOU WORK REALLY HARD.
ARE YOU WORKING AT ALL WITH THE COUNTY ON ANYTHING TO DO WITH DANGEROUS DOGS?
>> JUST OCCASIONALLY IF WE HAVE YOU KNOW, CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL THINGS WHERE WE HAVE ANIMALS
OVER THERE. OTHER THAN THAT, NO. >> SPEARS: SAME WITH SUBURBAN
CITIES, TOO? >> YES. >> SPEARS: I FEEL FRUSTRATED WITH IT BECAUSE I DON'T -- IT'S NOT AN EASY ANSWER. LET ME ASK YOU THIS, TOO.
IS IT TRUE WHAT MISS WALLS SAID ABOUT THE FATALITIES ALL BEING LINKED TO DOGS WE KNEW WERE
PRIOR OFFENDERS? IS THAT TRUE? >> I MEAN, THERE ARE SOME INSTANCES, I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT LIKE HOW MANY HAD PRIORS, HOW MANY DON'T OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. THERE ARE SOME INSTANCES WHERE IT IS TRUE.
YES. >> SPEARS: I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE TO THINK OF INNOVATIVE THINGS WE'RE NOT DOING. I KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF LAWS ON THE BOOKS.
WE PUT A LOT OF MONEY HERE AND HOW WE CAN BETTER SUPPORT YOU. I COULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF A REGISTRY SHOWING WHERE THESE DANGEROUS DOGS ARE BY DISTRICT SO WE KNOW.
I USE THE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY BECAUSE OF MY KIDS. I WOULD LIKE TO DO THE SAME IF THERE'S A DANGEROUS DOG, I KIND OF TEND TO KNOW WHEN I'M WALKING.
REALIZING MY DISTRICT HAS DIFFERENT URGENCY IN THIS AREA AND KNOWING THAT SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE MORE URGENCY IN THIS. I THINK THAT COULD BE EXTREMELY HELPFUL. I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT WOULD BE TERRIBLE TO SET SOMETHING LIKE THAT UP, TERRIBLY DIFFICULT, BUT -- AND I FEEL LIKE AS MUCH AS I LIKE CARROTS, I THINK THIS IS A STICK SITUATION WHERE MAYBE WE LOOK AT REALLY HIGH MANDATORY INSURANCE IF YOU'VE GOT AN AGGRESSIVE DOG, LIKE $100,000. DID I SAY 100,000? YEAH.
$100,000. TO HAVE THAT DOG. I MEAN, I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU WOULD WANT A DOG LIKE THAT AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN AGGRESSIVE AND DANGEROUS.
THERE'S NO -- MAYBE I LACK AWARENESS, WHY YOU WOULD WANT TO KEEP THAT DOG.
BUT IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM LIKE -- I DON'T KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS. I'M VERY OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS HERE. I CAN'T SEE A WAY WHERE WE JUST THROW A TON OF MONEY AT IT
[00:55:03]
BECAUSE WE DO -- I WANT US TO DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO BUT I WANT TO SEE MORE COLLABORATION WITH THE COUNTY, BECAUSE THEY'RE DOING THEIRS, TOO. IT SHOULDN'T BE INDEPENDENT OF EACH OTHER AND SUBURBAN CITIES. WE NEED TO SUPPORT YOU, I SEE THAT, BUT I JUST FEEL A LOT OF FRUSTRATION HERE BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW THAT WE REALLY -- I DON'T KNOW WHAT ALL WE CAN DO TO MOVE THE BALL FORWARD HERE BEYOND -- I MEAN, I THINK THE REGISTRY WOULD BE HELPFUL.I THINK IT WOULD HELP ME PERSONALLY JUST TO KNOW, AND OTHER PEOPLE WALKING.
I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF COMMENTS BUT I DO NEED MORE INFORMATION HERE.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE HEAT MAP. I THINK WE JUST REALLY NEED TO STRENGTHEN OUR ORDINANCES AND STRENGTHEN ENFORCEMENT AND MAYBE EXPEDITE HEARINGS IF WE HAVE TO, JUST REALLY HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE BECAUSE IT'S SO SERIOUS.
WE KEEP HEARING ABOUT THESE KIDS AND IT'S SUMMERTIME NOW, IT'S GOING TO BE EVEN WORSE.
IT'S HARD ON Y'ALL. Y'ALL WORK REALLY HARD. I KNOW YOU DO.
SO I APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION. I KNOW YOU'RE DOING A LOT AND I APPRECIATE THAT. WE HAD A GOOD TOUR OF ACS. I JUST THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GET EVERYONE TO THE TABLE, ALL JURISDICTIONS, AT THE TABLE FOR THIS.
IF WE NEED TO GO TO THE LEGISLATURE, THEN MAYBE WE DO. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
>> I DID WANT TO MENTION THAT WE ACTUALLY DO HAVE A REGISTRY. YOU CAN GO ON OUR WEBSITE AND LOOK. IT ACTUALLY SHOWS, THE LITTLE DOTS ON THE MAP THAT SHOWS YOU WHERE THE ANIMALS LIVE BOTH FOR DANGEROUS AND AGGRESSIVE AND ALSO, IF A DOG IS DEEMED DANGEROUS, THE OWNER IS REQUIRED TO GET A $100,000 INSURANCE POLICY.
>> KAUR: I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A WAY IN THE BACK WE CAN PULL IT UP.
I'M NOT SURE IF YOU CAN GO TO THE WEBSITE AND PULL UP THE DANGEROUS DOG REGISTRY WHILE WE
GO THROUGH COMMENTS. >> THERE IS A SLIDE THAT SHOWS YOU HOW TO DO THAT.
>> SPEARS: IS THIS AN EDUCATION PROBLEM, LIKE WE NEED TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT WHAT ALL IS
HAPPENING AND WHAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO THEM? >> I THINK, YEAH, WE CAN PROBABLY DEFINITELY DO A BETTER JOB OF THAT. MAYBE WE NEED TO DO, I CAN GET WITH OUR TEAM AND MAKE IT MORE PROMINENT ON THE WEBSITE SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO CLICK FOUR PLACES TO GET TO IT. YOU CAN GO DIRECTLY TO IT. SO I CAN WORK WITH OUR TEAM ON
THAT FOR SURE. >> SPEARS: OKAY. HOWEVER WE CAN BE HELPFUL, MEDIA KITS OR PROMOTING THAT, COME TO MEETINGS WE HAVE, WE ARE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU.
THANK YOU. >> KAUR: THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER.
JUST TO THAT POINT, I'M GOING TO GO TO COUNCILMAN CASTILLO, THE POINT THAT WAS BROUGHT UP ABOUT HOW TO GET THIS INFORMATION, EVEN THE SLIDE SHOWS, SCREEN SHOTS OF HOW TO GET THERE, BUT IT'S NOT WHERE YOU LAND. WHEN YOU LAND ON THE ACS WEBSITE IT'S VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES, THIS IS THE POINT THAT WAS BEING MADE, VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES, MEET OUR ADOPTABLES, SPAY AND NEUTER, FREE VACCINATION. IT TOOK ME SEVERAL LIKE -- I HAD TO FIGURE OUT WHERE TO GO BECAUSE WHEN YOU CLICK ON THE MENU TAB, I DIDN'T INITIALLY THINK THE BITE WOULD BE UNDER ANIMAL CONTROL. SO I HAD TO CLICK THROUGH ALL OF THEM AND I WAS LIKE I DON'T SEE WHERE THIS WOULD BE. I WAS TRYING TO GO BACK AND FIND THAT.
AND I COULDN'T FIGURE IT OUT. I HAD TO CLICK ON ALL THE TABS TO THEN GET TO OH, THIS IS WHERE BITES LIVE. IT LIVES UNDER ANIMAL CONTROL. SO I THINK THAT SHOULD COME TO THE FRONT PAGE SO THAT SOMEONE THAT IS EXPERIENCING THAT, AND I ALSO THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO CLARIFY THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN -- I UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DANGEROUS AND AGGRESSIVE, BUT WHEN YOU CLICK ON THE DANGEROUS DOG, IT JUST TALKS ABOUT ANIMAL BITES FOR HUMANS. SO THERE'S NOT REALLY A PROCESS THAT IT SAYS OH, YOUR DOG HAS BEEN ATTACKED, THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD DO. I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE A MORE CLEAR, THAT IT SAYS LIKE RIGHT NOW, IT GIVES YOU DANGEROUS DOG AND THEN THIS IS WHAT THE PROCESS IS, BUT I THINK WE COULD EVEN MAKE IT EVEN MORE CLEAR AND BULLETED WHERE IT SAYS WAS YOUR DOG JUST ATTACKED OR WAS YOUR ANIMAL JUST ATTACKED OR WERE YOU JUST ATTACKED AND THEN A PROCESS FOR EACH OF THOSE, RATHER THAN JUST DEFINING WHAT THOSE TWO DIFFERENT CATEGORIES ARE.
DAVID, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING? >> HI.
I'M DAVID MCCARY, ASSIST SNT CITY MANAGER. A KUFBL THINGS I WANT-- COUPLE THINGS I WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AS A TAKE-AWAY, STARTING OFF WITH THE CHILD THAT WAS BITTEN AND ATTACKED BY THE DOG AND LATER ON, IT WAS AN 80-YEAR-OLD LADY, SAME DOG A WEEK LATER. WHAT'S IMPORTANT FOR Y'ALL TO KNOW IS THAT THE OWNER OF THE DOG IS THE GRANDDAUGHTER TO THE 80-YEAR-OLD LADY, THE LADY THAT WAS ATTACKED.
[01:00:03]
WHAT YOU HEARD IS TRUE ABOUT THE SAME DOG ATTACKING THE WEEK BEFORE.THE OWNER OF THE DOG TOOK THE DOG INTO THE COUNTY TO HIDE THE DOG.
WE ACTUALLY WENT TO THE MEDIA, MADE CERTAIN THAT WAS SHARED AS WELL, THAT NOT ONLY DID THEY HIDE THE DOG BUT ON THE 80TH BIRTHDAY OF THE GRANDMOTHER, THE GRANDDAUGHTER BROUGHT THE DOG OVER TO THE HOME AND THE DOG ATTACKED THE GRANDMOTHER, IN HER OWN HOUSE.
IT WASN'T ON THE STREET RUNNING LOOSE. IT WAS IN THE BACKYARD.
COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I THINK ARE GOOD TAKE-AWAYS FOR YOU. ONE IS AS WE TRACK ON OUR SIDE WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH ACS, WE NEED TO ALIGN WHAT THE OUTCOMES ARE IN MUNICIPAL COURTS SO WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF FIGURING THAT OUT TOGETHER. ALSO, WE HAVE TO ALSO FIGURE OUT THE BEST WAY TO BRING THE COMMUNITY IN BECAUSE THEY'RE OUR EYES AND EARS AND CAPACITY IS A PREMIUM. KENNEL CAPACITY IS A PREMIUM. WHAT JOHN SAYS, VERY ACCURATE THERE. I WANTED YOU TO KNOW THAT. WHAT HE HASN'T SHARED WITH YOU YET IS THAT HE'S CURRENTLY WORKING ON A DASHBOARD. THAT DASHBOARD IS GOING TO, PROBABLY THE NEXT 90 DAYS, FOR DRAFT, WE'RE LOOKING FOR REALITY CHECKS FOR EACH OF YOUR COUNCIL DISTRICTS AND WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH CALLS, BE IT AGGRESSIVE CALLS, PRIORITY CALLS, CRITICAL CALLS. BUT WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS THAT THE NUMBER OF CALLS ARE TRENDING DOWN. EACH OF YOU SHOULD HAVE HAD A MEMO THAT WAS SENT OUT LAST WEEK WITH THAT LATEST UPDATE. AS A PART OF THAT, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT THAT WE RECOGNIZE THAT EVEN DEAD ANIMALS ON STREETS, THOSE CALLS ARE GOING DOWN, BUT THE IMPACT OF REGULAR CALLS THAT ARE STILL COMING, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND AND MANAGE THAT. SO WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO LOOK FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE OUR QUA QUALITY, RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE, WE HAVE UTILIZED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT. THERE IS STILL DATA, THINGS THAT WE CAN HELP THE COMMUNITY BETTER UNDERSTAND THAT I THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, WOULD BE EXTREMELY HELPFUL TO ALL OF US. SO EXPECT SOME MORE THINGS TO COME.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH ACS TO GET THAT TIMELY RESPONSE TO ALL CALLS AND YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO LOOK THE OTHER WAY.
WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK IT AND TRY OUR BEST TO IMPROVE IT.
>> KAUR: THANK YOU FOR THOSE COMMENTS, DAVID. JUST REALLY QUICK, WHILE THIS WEBSITE IS UP AND THEN WE CAN GO BACK TO THE PRESENTATION, COULD YOU JUST CLICK ON ONE OF THOSE DOTS SO THAT YOU CAN SEE, AND IF YOU CLICK ON THE THREE, THE LABEL ON THE SIDE, YOU WILL SEE THE FILTER SO THAT EACH CALLER REPRESENTS A DIFFERENT LEVEL. THOSE ARE, WHERE YOU ARE RIGHT NOW, YOU CAN FILTER BY A TYPE OF LEVEL, AGGRESSIVE LEVEL 1, 2, 3, DANGEROUS, THEN IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT ONE, YOU CAN FILTER BY COUNCIL DISTRICT AND BY NEIGHBORHOOD.
THEN IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE ACTUAL MAP, THERE'S THREE DOTS ON THE RIGHT SIDE WHICH ALSO JUST GIVES YOU THE LABELS OF WHAT THE CALLERS ARE IF YOU WANT TO JUST LOOK AT THAT.
BUT SORRY, IF YOU COULD CLICK ON A DOT AGAIN, THE THING I WAS GOING TO ASK IS, IF THERE WOULD BE A WAY TO SAY IF YOU SCROLL DOWN ON THEIR PROFILE, TO SAY LIKE WHAT WAS THE LAST, WHY ARE THEY LABELED, LIKE WAS THERE A BITE CASE, LIKE IS THAT LEGAL TO BE ABLE TO SAY, YOU KNOW, BIT, LIKE THE DETAILS ABOUT DOG BITE OR DOG BITER, DOG ATTACKER, DOG ON DOG, WITH THE DATES? THAT WAY, WE COULD SEE OH, THIS ONE HAS HAD MULTIPLE ISSUES ON IT.
JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S AN
OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE THAT. >> I CAN DEFINITELY WORK WITH OUR TEAM, WITH LEGAL, TO MAKE SURE WE ARE ONLY PUTTING THINGS WE'RE ALLOWED TO PUT. I THINK WE CAN PROBABLY DEFINITELY GIVE YOU MORE INFORMATION THAN WHAT'S THERE NOW FOR SURE.
>> KAUR: WE CAN ALSO FILTER BY MULTIPLE ATTACKS SO WE CAN VERIFY SOME OF THAT INFORMATION.
I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ALSO A WAY TO SAY WHERE. FOR EXAMPLE, IT MIGHT BE WHERE THIS PERSON LIVES BUT THEY MAY HAVE ATTACKED SOMEONE SOMEWHERE ELSE SO I DON'T KNOW IF IT CAN -- AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S RELEVANT INFORMATION. BUT MIGHT BE ALSO GOOD TO LOOK
AT. COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO? >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, CHAIR.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. DURING PUBLIC COMMENT, WE'VE HAD A DISTRICT 5 CONSTITUENT COME AND RAISE A COUPLE OF CONCERNS AND OFFER A FEW SOLUTIONS. FOR EXAMPLE, ON SLIDE SEVEN,
[01:05:04]
WHAT SHE SHARED AT PUBLIC COMMENT IS THAT THERE'S NO ANIMAL CARE WITHOUT ANIMAL CONTROL. AND WHAT SHE'S ASKING IS THAT IF WE CAN EXPLORE HOW TO TRAIN IF THEY'RE NOT OUR 311 OPERATORS, ON WHAT NEXT STEPS COULD BE FOR FILING A DANGEROUS DOG AFFIDAVIT. SO FROM HER EXPERIENCE, SHE'S CALLED 311 AND WASN'T OFFERED THE OPTION OR WHAT NEXT STEPS WOULD BE TO FILE A DANGEROUS DOG AFFIDAVIT SO CAN YOU SHARE A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT IS THE PROCESS IN WHICH SOMEONE CALLS 311, THEY'RE CONCERNED ABOUT AN AGGRESSIVE DOG, AND WHAT IS 311 WALKING THE CONSTITUENT THROUGH IN TERMS OF WHAT NEXT STEPSWOULD BE WITH FILING THE APPROPRIATE DOCUMENTATION? >>>> CURRENTLY, WHAT THEY'LL DO TAKE THE TYPE OF CALL AND IT'LL COME IN AS AGGRESSIVE OR POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS AND THEN IT'S REFERRED TO US AND WE CONTACT THE RESIDENTS TO PROVID THE INFORMATION.
BUT I COULD WORK WITH 311 TO SE IF THEY'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION DEP DEPENDING ON WHAT THE RESIDENT SASAYS. BUT THEY WOULD TYPICALLY DEFER TO US TO MAKE SURE THE RESIDENT IS MAKING INFORMATION THAT'S ACCURATE?
>> CASTILLO: WHAT'S CATHRYN ALS OFFERED IS A PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN THAT SHARES THAT THERE DOESN'T NECESSARILY NEED TO BE BODILY INJURY FOR SOMEONE TO SUBMIT AN AFFIDAVIT, AND OFTENTIMES THERE'S AN ACCIDENT IF SOMEONE FILES IT, BUT IF YOU SEE CHARACTERISTICS OR BEHAVIOR WITH AN ANIMAL THAT MAY QUALIFY FOR THAT, SO THAT'S SOMETHING SHE'S OFFERED, I DO BELIEVE THERE'S VALUE IN EXPLORING THAT BUT I WANT TO GO BACK TO 911 OR 311.
A GENERAL CONCERN AS WELL IS WHAT HAPPENS AFTER 311 HAS CLOSED AND THERE'S BEEN INCIDENTS IN WHICH THEY CALL 9-1-1 BUT THERE'S A BACK AND FORTH. CAN YOU WALK ME THROUGH IN PRACTICE, WHAT SHOULD THE PRACTICE BE, 311 IS CLOSED, TASK 5, THERE'S AN AGGRESSIVE DOG, CALL CALL 9-1-1, WHAT SHOULD BE THE CONSTITUENT'S EXP EXPECTATION NEXT STEPS
FOLLOWING CALLING 911. >> IF IT HAPPENS AFTER 311 IS CLOSED, EMER EMERGENCY, AGGRESSIVE DOG, THEY NEED TO CALL 9-1-1 AND THEN WE WORK WITH POLICE TO GET OUR OFFICERS OUT. IF IT'S NONEMERGENCY THEY COULD USE THE 311 APP TO FILL IT OUT OR THEY CAN CALL THE
FOLLOWING DAY DURING BUSINESS HOURS. >> AS THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, THEY COULD HELP WITH THAT QUESTION IN TERMS OF WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEBODY CALLS 911 OR THE NONEMERGENCY NUMBER AFTER ACS IS CLOSED BECAUSE WE HAVE ACOS THAT ARE WORKING AFTER HOURS, AND OF COURSE WE HAVE OUR POLICE OFFICERS AS WELL THAT CAN RESPOND.
>> SURE, ROBERT BLANDEN, ASSISTANT CHIEF WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AFTER ACS IS CLOSED, IF IT'S A DANGEROUS SITUATION OR SOMEONE IS IN DANGER, THEN PATROL RESOURCES WILL RESPOND TO THAT CALL.
AGAIN, WE'RE KIND OF IN A HYPOTHETICAL, BUT -- YOU KNOW, THEY COULD -- I BELIEVE YOU HAVE AFTER HOURS, RIGHT, DON THAT WE COULD CALL?
>> YEAH. THAT'S TYPICALLY HOW IT WORKS.
IF THEY CALL 9-1-1, A POLICE OFFICER WILL RESPOND, AND THEN THEY'LL CONTACT -- WE DO HAVE OFFICERS THAT WORK 24 HOURS A DAY, SO WE
WILL HAVE AN OFFICER THAT RESPONDS WITH PD. >> CASTILLO: OKAY.
I APPRECIATE THAT. AND THEN I KNOW THERE WAS DATA FROM MUNICIPAL COURTS, BUT DO WE KNOW WHAT THE PERCENTAGE OF OWNERS SEEK AN APPEAL WITH THE COUNTY CASES WITH THE DISTRICT APPEALS.
I KNOW MARC ASKED THAT QUESTION, SO IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD GET, THAT'S SOMETHING WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE. BUT IF I'M REMEMBERING CORRECTLY. SOME OF THE DOCUMENTS FROM ACS ARE PHYSICAL DOCUMENTS THAT ARE MANUALLY ENTERED BY THE CLERK, IS THAT STILL THE
CASE IN TERMS OF GOING TO COURT? >> NO IT'S A MANUAL PROCESS, WE HAVE TO TAKE THEM DOWN AND TURN THEM IN, OUR OFFICERS DO.
>> CASTILLO: AND WE SHOULD PRIORITIZE THAT IN TERMS OF THE BUDGET CONVERSATION IN TERMS OF HOW TO DIGITIZE THOSE DOCUMENT BECAUSE IT IS LABORSOME TO MANUALLY ENTER THE DOCUMENTS, AND I UNDERSTAND FOLKS AT THE CLERK'S OFFICE HAVE A LARGE CAS LOAD SO IT WOULD STREAMLINE THA PROCESS AND THEN ACCOUNTABILITY AS WELL, SO I'M HOPEFUL DURING THE BUDGET CONVERSATION THAT WE PRIORITIZE PUBLIC SAFETY AND LOOKING AT INVESTING IN TECHNOLOGY TO STREAMLINE CASES FROM ACS TO MEW MIS PEOPLE COURTS. BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, I WANT TO THANK KAREN AND RITA WHO KEEP MY TEAM UP TO DATE IN TERMS OF THE ANIMAL CARE SERVICE BOARD AND WO WORKING WITH DISTRICT 5 CONSTITUENTS IN TERMS OF WHAT ARE THE NEEDS, THE GAPS AND SO FORTH, AND RECENTLY, THERE WAS AN UNFORTUNATE STORY OF ANIMAL CRUELTY IN
[01:10:01]
DISTRICT 5. WALK ME THROUGH WHAT THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH PD LOOKS LIKE, I BELIEVE THIS INDIVIDUAL WAS, LIKE, KILLING ANIM ANIMALS; RIGHT? SO THE REPORTS MADE, IS IT ANIMAL CARE SERVICE OFFICERS AND PD GOING TO THE HOME, ACS FIRST AND THEN PD? CAN YOU WALK ARE WALK ME THROUGH WHAT THAT PROCESS LOOKS LIKES?>> SO THAT PARTICULAR INCIDENT, WHICH I HATE TO SPEAK TOO MUCH ON BECAUSE IT IS AN ACTIVE INVESTIGATION BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
>> CASTILLO: UNDERSTOOD. >> BUT I CAN TELL YOU THE OWNER DID CONTACT A ACS TO SURRENDER THE PUPPIES, DID NOT MAKE ANY MENTION OF THE ANIMALS BEING SICK OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. SO WE WERE WORKING WITH THEM TO GET AN APP APPOINTMENT TO BRING THE PUPPIES IN AT A LATER
DATE. >> CASTILLO: OKAY. I APPRECIATE THAT.
>> KAUR: THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER. I'LL CONCLUDE THE COMMENTS BY THANKING YOU FOR THE INFORMATION. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE MUNICIPAL COURT STUFF BECAUSE I DON'T SIT ON THAT COMMITTEE, BUT I KNOW SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES D DO, SO THEY GET TO USE SOME OF THIS INFORMATION A LITTLE BIT MORE. THE THING I HAVE A HARD TIME DOING, LIKE, FOLLOWING THE WHOLE CASE IN MY HEAD; RIGHT? SO IF I -- AND BECAUSE OF THE FISCAL YEARS -- WE TALKED ABOUT THIS LAST TIME. THE WAY YOU TRACK FISCAL YEAR DATA IS NOT NECESSARILY -- SO FISCAL YEAR 25 COULD BE CASES THAT WERE ACTUALLY CITED
IN FISCAL YEAR 24. >> EXACTLY. >> KAUR: SO IS THERE A WAY TO SHOW THE ACTUAL CASES VERSUS, LIKE, THE FISCAL YEAR DATA INFORMATION.
I DON'T KNOW IF I'M BEING CLEAR ON KIND OF WHAT I'M ASKING.
>> SO YOU WANT TO -- >> KAUR: I WANT TO SEE THE RESULTS OF -- INSTEAD OF JUST SAYING, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THE NUMBER OF -- LIKE THE CASE -- ACTUALLY FOLLOWING THE CASE CYCLE. RATHER THAN JUST THE -- THAN THE NUMBERS.
SO THESE DISMISSAL AFTER PROBATION. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH AGGRESSIVE DOG, THOSE CASES, HOW LONG WERE THOSE IN THE CYCLE, WHERE DID THEY START? HOW LONG DID THE WHOLE PROCESS TAKE FOR THOSE
TO BE DISMISSED? >> DO YOU WANT TO SEE ALL FIVE OF THOSE?
OR JUST KIND OF RANDOM CASES? >> KAUR: ANYTHING THAT WOULD GE US BETTER ANYTHING OF WHAT THE CASE CYCLE LOOKS LIKE. WHAT I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IS IF WE DO WANT TO BE BETTER AT COMMUNICATING WITH RESIDENTS THAT ARE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SITUATION; RIGHT? WE BETTER NEED TO UNDERSTAND, HEY, YOU'RE CALLING ABOUT AN AGGRESSIVE DOG, THIS IS HOW LONG IT'S GOING TO TAKE FOR AN AGGRESSIVE DOG AFFIDAVIT TO GET INTO PLACE. AFTER THAT, IT'S GOING TO GO TO COURT, POTENTIALLY; RIGHT? THIS -- AND SO ALL OF THE OPTIONS, WHAT WOULD BE THE TIME FRAME SO WHEN I'M ON THE FRONT END OF IT, I CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS WHOLE CYCLE LOOKS LIKE IN THAT POTENTIALLY THESE ARE ALL THE OPT OPTIONS YOU WOULD GO THROUGH AND THIS IS HOW MUCH TIME IT TAKES, AND IF I'VE GOTTEN ATTACKED BY A DOG AND IT'S DANGEROUS, WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, HOW LONG, AND WHAT DO WE THINK THE OUTCOMES ARE GOING TO B BE.
KIND OF WHAT DAVID WAS MENTIONING ABOUT OUTCOME ALIGNMENT.
WHAT I'M TRYING TO BETTER UNDERSTAND. >> OKAY.
SO VERY GENERAL GOFER VIEW. SO IF ACS TURNS CITATION TO PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE. THEY'LL REVIEW IT. SEE IF THERE'S ENOUGH TO
FILE CASE WITH COURT. >> KAUR: WHAT PERCENTAGE -- ARE THOSE DISMISSAL PROSECUTOR --
ARE THOSE WHAT'S DISMISSED. >> THOSE ARE AFTER THE CASES ARE FILED.
SO WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS PREFILING. SO ACS IS WRITING A CITATION, HANDWRITTEN, JUST AS COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO HAD MENTIONED, HANDWRITING A CITATION, TURNING IT OVER TO CITY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE, THEY ARE REVIEWING IT. IF IT NEEDS ANY ADDITIONAL DATA, THEY GET WITH ACS IF THEY FEEL THERE'S ENOUGH THERE, THEY TURN IT OVER TO COURT, TO DATA ENTRY SESSION, WHICH ENTERS THE CASE INTO THE SYS SYSTEM. SO WE PLACE PRIORITY ON ANIMAL CASES -- THERE'S A LOT OF CASES THAT ARE HANDWRITTEN, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE PLACE PRIORITY ON. AFTER THAT, WE GIVE INDIVIDUALS ABOUT 30 D DAYS TO APPEAR IN COURT BECAUSE WHEN IT IS A CRIMINAL FILING, AS SOON AS THAT CASE IS FILED, ALL THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS ATTACH.
YOUR RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL. YOUR RIGHT TO BE REPRESENTED BY AN ATTORNEY. YOUR RIGHT TO FACE YOUR ACCUSER. ALL OF THOSE ATTACH. SO WE GIVE AN INDIVIDUAL 30 DAYS TO COME TO CO COURT. IF THEY DON'T COME TO COURT, WE ARE REQUIRED BY LAW TO GIVE THEM A R RESET.
IF THEY DON'T COME IN WITH THAT TIME. WE ISSUE A WARRANT FOR THEIR ARREST. SO IF THEY DO COME -- WE HAVE OPENED UP MORE DOCKETS SO WE CAN SEE PEOPLE TIMELY. I DON'T WANT TO WAIT 60 DAYS BEFORE SOMEBODY HAS TO APPEAR IN COURT. SO WE ARE CONSTANTLY MOVING DOCUMENTS AROUND TO SEE IF WE COULD GET FOLKS TO COME IN COURT BECAUSE THAT IS ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WE HAVE. WE HAVE CHALLENGES G
[01:15:01]
GETTING PEOPLE TO COME TO COURT. WE -- THEY RECEIVE THE CITATION. IF WE HAVE A GOOD CELL PHONE NUMBER, IF WE HAPPEN TO HAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS, WE WILL CONTACT THEM ELECTRONICALLY, BUT IF WE DON'T, WE HAVE TO USE WHATEVER PHYSICAL ADDRESS WE HAVE.>> KAUR: GOT IT. SO I THINK MY -- YOU HAD SOMETHING.
>> ISMS WANT TO SAY, THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS YES, AND THE OFFICE OF INTEGRATED COMMUNITY SAFETY OFFICE IS WORKING WITH THE COURT AND ACS AND CODE ENFORCEMENT TO GET THOSE OUTCOMES THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY, I MENTIONED BY COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO, THIS IS PART OF THAT E CITATION PROCESS THAT WE PRESENTED TO COMMITTEE.
SO WE ARE LOOKING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE COULD GET THOSE CITATIONS BY ACS IN COURTS ELECTRONICALLY IN COURTS SO WE ELIMINATE THAT
DATA ENTRY. >> KAUR: OKAY. COUNCILMEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ IS SAYING WE NEED TO MOVE ON. I'LL END BY SAYING -- SO SLIDE 3 IT SHOWS THOSE VIOLATIONS, THOSE ARE ALL OF THE THINGS THAT ARE OCCURRING, IN MY MIND, I WOULD LIKE IT TO SEE THIS IN MY DISTRICT TIED TO SLIDES 11 AND 1 12. SO THEY'RE NOT TWO SEPARATE DATA SETS IN MY MIND THAT I CAN'T FOL FOLLOW, BUT I CAN FOLLOW IT ALL THE WAY FROM THIS IS THE AMOUNT OF CITATIONS THAT WERE PROVIDED, THESE WERE THE TYPES OF CITATIONS THAT WERE PROVIDED, THESE CITATIONS BROKEN UP, HOW MANY WERE TAKEN, HOW MANY NOT FOR WHAT REASONS, AND THEN FROM THOSE, WHAT WERE THE RESULTS OF THAT.
I'M THINKING A FLOWCHART IN MY MIND TO FOLLOW THE WHOLE PROCESS FROM BE
BEGINNING TO END. >> OKAY. BUT FOR SPECIFIC CASES
OR -- >> KAUR: WHATEVER WAY THAT COUL BE PRESENTED RIGHT NOW.
JUST MAKING AN ASK TO SEE -- BECAUSE THESE TWO -- WHE THIS INFORMATION, IT'S IN TWO FORMATS, I'M G GETTING WHAT ACS IS DOING AND WHAT THE
COURTS ARE DOING. >> OKAY. AND OUR NUMBERS WILL NEVER MATCH. OUR NUMBERS WILL NEVER MATCH WITH ACSS
NUMBERS. >> KAUR: BUT WE COULD TRACK -- LET'S THINK ABOUT WITH MARÍA'S TEAM HOW WE COULD TRACK THE CASES TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THEM FOLLOW BECAUSE RIGHT NOW YOU'RE PULLING NUMBERS FROM FISCAL YEA VERSUS ACTUALLY TRACKING THE CASES.
>> OKAY. >> KAUR: WE'LL GET TOGETHER TO GET CLARIFICATION TO GET EXACTL WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND COUNCILWOMAN
CASTILLO. DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING. >> CASTILLO: I WANTED TO ADD IF THERE WOULD BE VALUE IN AN ANIMAL CARE SERVICE STRATEGIC REFRESH, WHAT'S BEEN ACCOMPLISHED WITH THE FRAMEWORK WHAT'S MOVED, AND WHAT'S THE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO R RECALIBRATE. FOR EXAMPLE, I WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND IN TERMS, WHAT'S THE AVERAGE WEIGHT TOO -- THIS IS FOR JOHN.
THANK YOU. WHAT IS THE AVERAGE WEIGHT TO SURRENDER ANIMAL CURRENTLY, WHAT'S THE GOAL, AND WILL IT TAKE MORE SPACE.
SO WHAT'S THE GOAL TOWARDS REDUCING THE COST AND THEN WHAT IS THE COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION. LIKE I'M THINKING ABOUT WITH THE SAFE OFFICERS, THEY WEAR SO MANY HATS AND OFTEN TIMES THEY ARE RESPONDING TO ANIMAL CARE CALLS AND CON CONTAINING ANIMALS, AND WHAT'S THE RESPONSE FOR THAT SAFE OFFICER TO TRANSPORT THE ANIMAL, WHATEVER THE CASE MAY B BE, SO 1, WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP, WHAT IS THE AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME, AND HOW COULD WE STRENGTHEN THAT BECAUSE OFTENTIME, AGAIN, OUR SAFE ANI OFFICERS ARE FILING ANIMALS AS WELL AND WA WAITING ON RESPONSE, SO I WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND THAT RELATIONSHIP, HOW TO STRENGTHEN IT AND THEN REDUCE THE WEIGHT FOR SURRENDERING THE ANIMAL BECAUSE THE CONCERN IS IF FOLKS ARE TRYING TO GO TO A PLACE THAT SHOULD BE SAFE FOR AN ANIMAL IN THE COMMUNITY AND THEY'RE TOLD THE WAIT IS 30 DAYS, 6 MONTHS A YEAR, THEY'LL DUMP IT IN A CREEK IN AN APARTMENT COMPLEX NEAR BECAUSE STOP.
SO SOMETHING WE SHOULD EXPLORE. DID A YOU ARE KAUR THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO. ECHO HER ON REFRESH.
HAPPY TO SUPPORT. WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER -- THOSE WERE FOR BRIEFING. SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE POLICE SAFETY PLAN, AND I KNOW WE HAVE A FEW SLIDES TO GO THROUGH AND THEN WE'LL GET TO COUNCIL DISCUSSION.
CHIEF. >> GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR, CAN YOU HEAR ME ALL RIGHT? SAY IT AGAIN? GOOD. GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR, COUNCILMEMBERS, DEPUTY MANAGER. MY NAME IS ROBERT BLANDEN ASSISTANT CHIEF WITH SAPD, AND I'LL PROVIDE THE BR BRIEFING AND OVERVIEW ON THE STAFFING PLAN. WE'LL START WITH AN OVERVIEW HERE.
WE'LL PROVIDE SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION, INFORMATION RELATED TO THE VARIOUS STAFFING MODELS THAT ARE OUT THERE FOR POLICE AGENCIES, WHAT WE'VE CON CONDUCTED WITH SAPD, FI FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS WERE ON THAT ANALYSIS, AND THEN OUR PROGRESS TO DATE AND MANAGING CURRENT DEMAND. SO FOR BACKGROUND ON MAR
[01:20:01]
MARCH 11, COUNCILMEMBERS WHITE, ALDERETE GAVITO AND SPEARS SUBMITTED A REQUEST FOR RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE SAPD STAFFING RECOMMENDATIONS.THE NEXT DAY, MARCH 12, COUNCILMEMBERS MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
CASTILLO AND GALVAN SUB SUBMITTED A RESPONSE MEMO THAT THEY ADDRESSED DURING THE FY27 PROCESS, AND ON APRIL 7, A SUBSEQUENT A SESSION THE STAFFING RESOLUTION WAS DIRECTED FOR FURTHER REVIEW AND DISCRETION AT THE MAY PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING, WHICH HERE WE ARE TODAY. SO WHEN WE UNDERTOOK THIS ANALYSIS, WE HAD SOME GOALS THAT WE SET OUT IN THE BE BEGINNING TO DETERMINE SOME OPTIMAL OFFICER WORKLOAD, APPROPRIATE NUMBER OF SWORN PERSONNEL WITHIN THE DIVISION, EMPLOYMENT DEFICIENCIES IN THE DIVI DIVISION, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND DEPLOYMENT STRATEGIES, AND INCREASING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITHIN THE PATROL DIVISION. WE DID THIS RECOGNIZING WE HAD TO STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN SOME CONSIDERATIONS HERE, WHICH IS INCREASING POPULATION AND A GROWING COMMUNITY HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, HEIGHTENED PUBLIC EXPECTATIONS AS IT RELATES TO PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES, AND OF COURSE BEING FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE WITH THE EXPENDITURE OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS. SO THERE ARE SEVERAL METHODS OUT THERE RELATED TO POLICE STAFFING. KIND OF ONE OF THE OLDEST IS THE CRIME TRENDS MODEL, AND IT'S BASIC AND LACKS REAL STRATEGIC THOUGHT OR QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS. IT'S JUST USING CRIME RATES AND TRENDS TO DETERMINE POLICE STAFFING. SIMILARLY, THE PER CAPITA APPROACH ALSO LACKS ANY STRATEGIC CONSIDERATION, AND IT'S TYING OFFICERS TO THE RATIO OF A POPULATION OF THE AREA THEY SERVE. THERE'S A MINIMUM STAFFING MODEL, THIS IS THE MODEL S SAPD USED PREVIOUSLY, WHICH IS AN SUMM AN ESTIMATION OF OFF NEEDED ON DUTY.
WE DIVIDE THE CITY INTO 115 PATROL DISTRICTS, AND PREVIOUSLY WE WOULD STAFF EVERY DISTINCT WITH ONE OFFICER, SO FULL STAFFING, FULL MINIMUM STAFFING THAT WAY. ANOTHER METHOD IS AUTHORIZED LEVEL, WHICH TIES IT TO THE DOLLARS, WHAT THE BUDGET CAN AFFORD, I GUESS, IS -- AND YOU FUND THE NUMBER OF OFFICERS BASED ON THAT. AND THEN FINALLY, THERE'S A WORKLOAD-BASED APPROACH, AND THIS IS A DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH THAT LOOKS AT WORK TIME AND IS THE PREFERRED METHOD BASED ON THAT QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS. SO THE METHODOLOGY OUR CONSULTANT USED WAS, FIRST, YOU WOULD LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF CALLS, WHAT'S COMING IN, AND THOSE CALLS SPECIFICALLY WE TRY TO REMOVE THE P PROACTIVE CALLS, AND THESE ARE CALLS COMING DIRECTLY FROM THE COMMUNITY, YOU BREAK THOSE DOWN BY PRIORITY AND YOU HAVE A TEMPORAL ANALYSIS RELATED TO THE HO HOUR, DAY, AND DAY OF THE WEEK. SUBSEQUENTLY WE LOOK AT TIME ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE CALLS.
AND YOU HAVE A COUPLE OF TIMES HERE. YOU HAVE THE RESPONSE TIME, WHICH IS THE TIME THE OFFICER IS EXPENDING TO GET TO THE LOCATION, AND THEN THE TIME ON CALL, THE AVERAGE TIME THEY SPEND ADDRESSING THE CALL, AND YOU BREAK THAT OUT BY THE CALLS FOR SERVICE BY SHIFT IN THE SERVICE AREA OR SUBSTATION IN THE CITY. AND THEN YOU LOOK AT THOSE SHIFTS, THE NUMBER OF OFFICERS ASSIGNED TO THOSE SHIFTS, THE MAXIMUM WORK HOURS PER OFFICER TAKING INTO ACCOUNT RELIEF DAYS AND OTHER TIME OFF FOR TRAINING OR PERSONAL LEAVE TYPE SITUATIONS, AND THEN YOU FINALLY END UP WITH THE NUMBER OF OFFICERS NEEDED TO ACHIEVE WHATEVER YOUR STANDARD, YOUR GOAL, AND OURS WAS A 40/60 ON CALL/OFF CALL PROACTIVE TIME CALL. SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT P PROACTIVE TIME, WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS RELATED TO THAT. IT BOILS DOWN TO ENHANCED PRESENCE AND PRODUCTIVITY.
WE HAVE A CRIME BENEFIT WHERE WE CAN ADDRESS -- IT'S THE BASIC FUNCTION OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TRYING TO PREVENT CRIME SO WE HAVE A COUPLE WAYS TO DO THAT THAT ARE PILLARS, VIOLENT CRIME PLAN AND PROPERTY DETER DETERRENCE.
THERE'S OPPORTUNITY TO DO MORE TARGETED ENFORCEMENT RELATED TO QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES, TRAFFIC LAWS, ENFORCEMENT, AND OTHER PRIORITY CRIMES.
INCREASED VISIBILITY. THIS IS SOMETHING WE HEAR FROM RESIDENTS, THEY FEEL MORE SAFE WHEN THEY SEE MORE OFFICERS. THERE'S A CUSTOMER SERVICE ASPECT TO THAT. WHEN -- WHEN THE CALLS START STACKING UP, THAT'S WHEN WE START TO SEE PROTRACTIVE HOLDING OF CALLS, AND NOW THEY'RE BACKING UP AND RESIDENTS ARE WAITING LONGER FOR POLICE TO RESPOND BECAUSE EVERYBODY IS TIED U
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UP. ALSO, ON THE PROBLEM-SOLVING END, DURING THOSE PEAK VOLUME TIMES WHEN CALLS STACK UP, YOU KNOW, OFFICERS WILL TRY TO RESOLVE THOSE CALLS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE SO THEY CAN GET ON TO THE NEXT CALLS, AND SOMETIMES THAT DOESN'T PROMOTE THE ROBUST PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH.A LOT OF CALLS THAT WE DEAL WITH AREN'T NECESSARILY CRIME CALLS, BUT THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, SORT OF DISAGREEMENTS OR DISPUTES OVER VARIOUS THINGS, AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF PROB PROBLEM-SOLVING THAT GOES O ON.
AND THEN SIMILARLY, WITH OFFICER WELL BEING AND QUALITY OF WORK LIFE, WHEN OFFICERS GET BACKED UP AND HAVE TO RESPOND CALL TO CALL TO CALL, THERE'S A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF STRESS AND PRESSURE THAT GOES WITH THAT KIND OF WORKING ENVIRONMENT, AND, YOU KNOW, THE OFFICERS FEEL THAT, AND THEY TRY TO MOVE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE TO RESOLVE THOSE CALLS. SO RELATED TO OUR STAFFING ANALYSIS AND THE RESULT, THE RESULTS WERE AN ESTIMATED 360 NEW PATROL OFFICERS NEEDED TO ACHIEVE A 40/60 SPLIT BETWEEN TIME ON CALL AND PROACTIVE TIME. THOSE RESULTS OF THAT STUDY WERE PRESENTED TO COUNCIL ON APRIL OF 2023 ALONG WITH THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION OF A ADDING OFFICERS OVER A 3 TO FIVE YEAR TIME FRAME. SINCE THEN, OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, WE'VE ADDED 205 OFFICER POSITIONS TO PATROL, AND TODAY OUR CURRENT STATE IS ROUGHLY -- WE'RE APPROXIMATELY 50/50 AS FAR AS TIME ON CALL AND P PROACTIVE POLICE OR TIME OFF CALL TIME. AND WE REVIEW THIS CONSISTENTLY AS WE HAVE CHANGE WITHIN THE DEPAR DEPARTMENT, TRANSFERS, P PROMOTIONS, ET CETERA, AND WE LOOKED AT SHIFTS -- WE LOOK AT -- EACH TIME WE DO THOSE, WE LOOK AT SHIFT AVERAGES, SOME DEPLOYMENT ANALYSIS, AND TRY TO RIGHT SET THAT AS BEST AS WE CAN TO ACHIEVE THAT MARK OF IMPROVED TIME -- PROACTIVE TIME.
AND LASTLY HERE, WE'LL TALK ABOUT SOME IMPROVEMENTS AND DEMAND MANAGEMENT.
I KNOW OBVIOUSLY THE CITY AND THE POLICE OFFICER ASSOCIATION ARE ENGAGED IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, THOSE DISCUSSIONS INCLUDE SOME EXPANDED 8-HOUR AND 10-HOUR SHIFT CONFIGURATIONS. THAT WILL ALLOW US TO ALIGN OUR STAFFING ACROSS ALL THREE SHIFTS TO COVER NOT ONLY TRANSITION PERIODS WHEN WE'RE CHANGING FROM ONE SHIFT TO ANOTHER, BUT ALSO TO IMPROVE DEPLOYMENT DURING OUR BIG DEMAND PERIODS THAT WE'LL SEE, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE TIME OF DAY AND THE DAY OF THE WEEK.
CHAIR, I ALSO WANT TO BRING TO ATTENTION A CCR THAT THE OFFICER INNOVATION WAS REVIEWING AND PRESENTED ON AND IT WAS SORT OF SOME ALTERNATIVE POTENTIAL FOR HANDLING MINOR ACCIDENTS, FOUND/LOST PROPERTY AND NOISE COMPLAINTS, ALL WITH THE GOAL OF REDUCING THE WORKLOAD TO PATROL. IMPROVE OUR RESPONSE EFFICIENCY, AND GIVE OUR OFFICERS TIME TO FOCUS ON HIGHER-PRIORITY PUBLIC SAFETY CALLS. AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS. >> KAUR: THANK YOU, CHIEF.
>> YOU'RE WELCOME. >> KAUR: COUNCILMEMBER WHYTE, I'LL GO TO YOU FIRST ON THIS.
>> WHYTE: THANK YOU CHAIR, CH CHIEF. >> SIR.
>> WHYTE: THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. >> YES, SIR.
>> WHYTE: SO I WANT TO JUST R RESET HERE FOR A MINUTE. 2023, THE CITY PAYS $140,000 FOR THIS STUDY. AND IT SAYS WE NEED TO ADD THESE 360 NEW OFFICERS BASED ON THIS DATA-DRIVEN WORKLOAD MODEL, WHICH I THINK I IS -- WAS CLEARLY THE RIGHT MODEL TO USE HERE. SINCE THAT TIME -- AND I WANT TO READ THESE NUMBERS. SINCE THAT TIME, FROM JULY 23 TO JULY 24, SAN ANTONIO WAS THE FOURTH FASTEST GROWING CITY IN THE UNITED STATES, A ADDING ABOUT 24,000 RESIDENTS, AND THEN FROM JULY 24 TO JULY 25, WE WERE THE SECOND FASTEST GROWING CITY IN TEXAS ADDING OVER 14,000 RESIDENTS. WE'VE ALSO MOVED -- DURING THAT TIME I GUESS WE'VE HIRED ALMOST 200 OFFICERS OUT OF THE 360 THAT WAS RECOMMENDED, AND WE'VE MOVED FROM A 40% REACTIVE, 60% P PROACTIVE TO A 50/50 SITUATION. THE METHODOLOGY THAT WAS
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USED HERE, AND I POINT EVERYBODY TO SLIDE 8, IT SHOWED THAT WE NEEDED TO ADD THESE EXTRA OFFI OFFICERS, AND THE NUMBER ONE BENEFIT HERE WAS ENHANCED PRESENCE AND PROACTIVITY, AT LEAST IT'S SLIDE 8 IN MY PACKET -- CRIME PREVENTION, WHICH, AG AGAIN, I WOULD ARGUE IF PUBLIC SAFETY IS A NUMBER ONE PRIORITY AS A COUNCIL, PREVENTING CRIME SHOULD BE THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF THIS COMMITTEE AND OF THIS CITY COUNCIL AND OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY EFFORTS. TARGETED ENFORCEMENT, QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES. WE TALK ALL THE TIME THAT OUR JOB IS TO P PROMOTE THE HIGHEST QUALITY OF LIFE POSSIBLE FOR THE RESIDENTS IN OUR CITY. SO WE MADE THE COM COMMITMENT THAT WE WERE GOING TO ADD THESE 360 OFFICERS. OUR CITY IS GROWING FA FASTER THAN OUR POLICE FORCE CAN KEEP UP WITH, AND WE HAVE ALSO SEEN THAT THE INCREASED POLICE PRESENCE ON THE STREET WORKS.BECAUSE WE HAVE NOW MOVED FROM THE 40/60 TO THE 50/50, SINCE THAT TIME, WE HAVE HAD A 13% DROP IN TOTAL CRIME, A 37% DROP IN HOMICIDES, AND A 43% DROP IN CAR THEFTS. IT WORKS.
WE ALSO HAVE THE UTSA HOT SPOT DATA THAT, AGAIN, SHOWED US WHEN YOU PUT OFFICERS ON THE STREET, VISIBLE, IN HIGH CRIME LOCATIONS, CRIME GOES DOWN. AND SO, CHIEF, I'LL JUST ASK YOU, IS THERE ANY DOUBT IN YOUR MIND THAT IF WE ADD ADDITIONAL OFFICERS TO PATROL THE STREETS OF SAN ANTONIO, IS THERE ANY DOUBT IN YOUR MIND THAT WE'LL
CONTINUE TO SEE CRIME GO DOWN? >> NO.
I MEAN, I THINK IT'S MUCH LIKE THE DISCUSSION PREVIOUSLY WITH THE R RESOURCES IN ACS. I MEAN, IF WE HAVE MORE RESOURCES, WE CAN DO
MORE. I THINK THAT'S A FACT. >> WHYTE: I JUST -- IT BOTHERS ME THAT WE'RE EVEN HAVING TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, THIS CONVERSATION AGAIN.
AND I UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE IN TOUGH BUDGET AREA TIMES, BUT IF WE CAN STOP MORE OF OUR CITIZENS, PREVENT MORE OF OUR CITIZENS FROM BEING PHYSICALLY INJ INJURED, IF WE CAN STOP THEM FROM SUFFERING LOSS OF PROPERTY, WHY -- WHY ARE WE HESITATING TO ADD MORE DOLLARS IN OUR BUDGET TO DO SO? AGAIN, IT JUST -- REALLY TO ME, IT'S GOVERNMENT MALPRACTICE NOT TO ADD MONEY TO GET MORE OFFICERS PATROLLING THE STREETS. THE SAFETY OF OUR CITIZENS DEPEND ON IT.
CHIEF, I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION. I DON'T -- I DON'T HAVE MUCH MORE TO ADD OTHER THAN WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING TO THIS POINT IS WORKING. WE HAVE THE DATA TO SHOW IT, AND -- OH, THERE IS ONE MORE THING I WANTED TO ADD ACTUALLY. IS ANOTHER BENEFIT OF INCREASING THE FORCE IS WHEN OUR OFFICERS ARE STRETCHED TOO THIN AND MAMARÍA, YOU AND I TALKED ABOUT THIS TOO, ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF THE 6 60/40 RATIO WE WERE MOVING TO IN THIS MODEL WE USED WAS THE MENTAL
HEALTH OF OUR EXISTING POLICE FORCE; RIGHT. >> YES, COUNCILMAN.
>> WHYTE: AND IF YOU LOOK -- I'VE GOT AN ARTICLE HERE, IT WA FROM THE SAN ANTONIO CURRENT FROM MARCH OF THIS YEAR, AND IT TALKS ABOUT THESE STUDIES DONE IN WASHINGTON STATE AND PHOENIX AND NEW YORK AND HOW OFFICERS THAT HAVE TO WORK ADDITIONAL OVERTIME IN THESE CITIES HAVE A HIGHER PERCENTAGE CHANCE TO BE INVOLVED IN USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS, DISCIPLINARY ACTION, GET INJURED MORE. SO THERE'S A BENEFIT, NOT JUST TO THE CITIZENS TO ADD POLICE, BUT ALSO TO THE MEMBERS OF OUR CURRENT SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT. SO I WOULD, AGAIN, THANK YOU, CHIEF FOR THE
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PRESENTATION, AND I WOULD ASK MY COLLEAGUES TO REALLY CONSIDER AS WE TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET OVER THE NEXT THREE OR FOUR MONTHS, REALLY CONSIDER THIS INFORMATION AND LET'S GET SOME FUNDING FOR SOME ADDITIONAL OFFICERS IN THE '27 BUDGET. THANKS, CHAIR.>> CHAIR, IF I MAY, I JUST WANT TO ADDRESS THE COMMENT OF THE COUNCILMAN. I THINK WE APPRECIATE THE COMMENTS TO THIS STAFFING PLAN, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE FOR THE PUBLIC THAT ARE WATCHING THIS SECTION, THERE'S NO GOVERNMENT MALPRACTICE GOING ON AT
THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. THANK YOU, CHAIR. >> KAUR: THANK YOU, MARÍA.
COUNCILMEMBER RODRIGUEZ? WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO NEXT?
NO. COUNCILMEMBER SPEARS. >> SPEARS: THANK YOU, CHAIR.
MY COLLEAGUE SAID IT -- EXACTLY THE THINGS THAT I FEEL AS WELL.
I'M -- AT A LOSS TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS IS THE CORE FUNCTION OF OUR CITY, AND WITHOUT THIS, NOTHING WORKS, WITHOUT IT, NOTHING ELSE WORKS, AND I JUST MAINTAIN THAT MY RESIDENTS ARE TELLING ME THAT THEY WANT MORE POLICE PRESENCE. THEY'RE SUPPORTIVE OF YOU.
THEY KNOW THAT THEY FEEL SAFER WHEN YOU'RE ARO AROUND.
GREAT AT DETERRING CRIME TO HAVE MORE POLICE PRESENCE, AND TO COUNCILMAN WHYTE'S PO POINT, WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO YOU TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR WORKLOAD IS LIVABLE. AND SO THE WORKLOAD MODEL -- I THINK IT MAKES SENSE. AND ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD WAS HAVE WE -- IS THERE A WAY TO SEE IF STAFFING INCREASES AT SUBSTATIONS HAS IMPROVED THE RESPONSE TIMES? HAS THAT -- HAS THAT
IMPROVED RESPONSE TIMES IN THOSE AREAS? >> SO OVERALL -- OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, OUR CITYWIDE RESPONSE TIME HAS IMPROVED.
I HAVEN'T LOOKED AT IT BY SUBSTATION. I'M PRETTY SURE, GIVEN THE IMPROVEMENT, THAT IT WOULD LIKELY IMPROVE BY SERVICE AREA AS WELL,
BUT WE COULD LOOK AT THAT. >> SPEARS: OKAY.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE TH THAT. HOW DOES THIS STAFFING PLAN COMPARE TO OTHER PEER CITIES -- AND WHEN I UNDERSTAND THAT, I
MEAN NATIONALLY AND THEN ALSO REGIONALLY. >> I'M NOT REAL FAMILIAR WITH HOW OTHER AGENCIES HAVE ENGAGED THEIR ST STAFFING PLAN.
YOU KNOW, WE HIRED A CONSULTANT, OBVIOUSLY, THAT DEVELOPED OURS.
I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS THAT USED HIM PRIOR TO US. MARÍA, I SEE YOU MAYBE WANTED TO ADD SOMETHING.
>> YES. HERE IN TEXAS, COUNCILWOMAN GALVESTON AND HOUSTON INTRODUCED SIMILAR MODELS IN SAN ANTONIO SO WE COULD FOLLOW UP IN TERMS OF WHERE THEY ARE IN THEIR PROGRESS, BUT THOSE ARE THE TWO CITIES WE KNOW, AND WE INCLUDED IN THE BACKUP MEMO, THE CITY OF ALBA WE ARE QUESTION CURRENTLY HAS A SIMILAR MODEL TO WHAT WE HAVE.
>> SPEARS: I JUST DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF THEM ARE EXPERIENCING TH SAME AMOUNT OF GROWTH WE ARE, I
THINK THAT'S MAYBE THE DIFFERENTIATION THERE. >> SURE.
AND WE'LL PROVIDE THAT ANALYSIS. >> SPEARS: OKAY.
SO AND THEN ALSO, DOES THIS MODEL ACCOUNT FOR INFRASTRUCTURE EXPA EXPANSION, SINCE WE HAVE SO MUCH GROWTH IN TRAFFIC ON THE PATROL
SIDE? >> I MEAN, YES. IT ACCOUNTS FOR -- AS WE REFRESH THE MODEL, ALL OF THOSE FACTORS ARE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.
I THOUGHT YOU WERE MAYBE GOING TO MENTION ALSO THE DEPARTMENTAL INFRASTRUCTURE, AND SO THAT'S -- THAT'S IMPORTANT AS WELL, WE HAVE A NEW SUBSTATION COMING ONLINE, AND AS WE ADD THESE AIR FORCES, WE NEED THAT CAPACITY TO -- TO ASSIGN THEM AND WHATNOT.
>> SPEARS: AND THEN DO YOU THIN WE'RE HIRING OFFICERS QUICKLY ENOUGH TO KEEP PACE WITH
ATTRITION AND RETIREMENTS? >> YES. WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ADD OFFICERS YEAR OVER YEAR, EACH YEAR. SO I DON'T -- WE DON'T
SEE ANY ISSUES WITH TH THAT. >> AND COUNCILMAN, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION, BUT IN TERMS OF COMPARING OURSELVES TO OTHER CI CITIES, WE HAVE LESS VACANCIES THAN OTHER
POLICE DEPARTMENTS IN TEXAS. >> SPEARS: THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW.
THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW, THAT PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE HERE.
THAT'S IMPORTANT WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO WORK ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT T TOO. IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. IT'S -- IT'S COME UP IN
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EVERY CONVERSATION I'VE HAD IS HOW SAFE IS YOUR CITY, AND WHAT ARE YA'LL DOING. SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE FUTURE AND OPPORT OPPORTUNITIES, AND EVEN ATTRACTING MORE OFFI OFFICERS, I THINK THAT WHAT WE -- THE MESSAGE WE'RE SENDING AND THE WAY WE TALK ABOUT OUR POLICE OFFICERS AND THE SUPPORT THAT WE SHOW OUR POLICE AND FIRE AND EMS IS PARAMOUNT. SO KNOW THAT I'M FULLY SUPPORTIVE.I WAS DOWN -- I DID A GREAT TIKTOK THIS MORNING WITH YA'LL, AND I JUST CAN'T -- I JUST AM VERY SUPPORTIVE OF ANYTHING THAT YOU SAY YOU NEED IS WHERE I'M GOING TO SAY LET'S DO IT BECAUSE YA'LL ARE THE EXPERTS, AND YOU KNOW WHAT WE NEED TO DO IN THIS CITY TO MOVE US FORWARD, KEEP US SAFE, MAKE OUR RESIDENTS FEEL MORE SAFE.
YOU INTERACT WITH OUR RESIDENTS -- I MEAN, I INTERACT WITH THEM ALL THE TIME, BUT YOU SEE THEM ON THEIR WORST DAY. AND YOU -- YOU HANDLE A LOT OF MENTAL HEALTH CASES AS WELL. I MEAN, WE -- I THINK WE HAVE TO LISTEN TO WHAT YOU SAY YOU NEED TO DO, WHICH IT'S OBVIOUS TO M ME, AND WE'VE GOT TO CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD ON STAFFING AND THE WORKLOAD WORKS FOR ME. YA'LL SHOULD GO CHECK OUT THAT TIKTOK BY THE
WAY, THANKS. >> KAUR: THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN CASTILLO.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD COMMENTS? >> CASTILLO: YES.
THANK YOU CHIEF FOR THE PRESENTATION. I DON'T HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS. I JUST WANT MORE QUESTIONS FOR MY COLLEAGUES TO THINK ABOUT, RIGHT, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHERE WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE INCREASES TO THE BUDGET, RIGHT, I THINK WITH THE UPCOMING BUDGET SESS SESSIONS, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR IN TERMS OF HOW WE'RE GOING TO FINA FINANCIALLY SUPPORT TH THAT; RIGHT? IS IT INCREASED PROPERTY TA TAXES, CUTS TO SPECIFIC DEPARTMENTS, IF SO, WHICH DEPARTMENTS, WHICH PROGRAMS, I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND, TO NAME THE DEPARTMENTS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE STAFF
REDUCTIONS IN. THANK YOU. >> KAUR: THANK YOU.
AND THANK YOU, CHIEF, AND THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES FOR THIS PRESENTATION. I JUST THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE THINK ABOUT DATA. YOU CAN REALLY MAKE DATA LOOK ANY WHICH WAY YOU WANT IT TO, AND IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT NOT TO JUST ASSUME CORRELATION FOR CAUSATION, IT'S LIKE ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS YOU LEARN IN STATISTICS WHERE YOU MIGHT SEE TWO THINGS HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT ONE IS CAUSING THE OTHER; OTHER; RIGHT? IT'S THE BASIC PRINCIPLE OF STATISTICS, SO JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN OFFICERS DOESN'T MEAN THAT'S THE REASON WHY OUR CRIME IS GOING DOWN. SO I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, I THINK WE ALL AGREE, PREVENTION SHOULD BE OUR NUMBER ONE GOAL BUT I THINK WE DIFFER ON OPINIONS ON HOW TO GET THERE AND TRULY WHEN YOU L■OOK AT CRIME PREVENTION, IT'S NOT JUST ENFORCEMENT, THERE HAS TO BE A BOTH AND SOLUTION, ENFORCEMENT IS SUPER IMPORTANT, WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR THE WORK YOU DO AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BUT WE HAVE TO THINK ON A LARGER SCALE, AND THT IS WHY I THINK KEEP COMING BACK TO, UNTIL WE CAN TRULY OVERLAY ALL OF THE SUPPORTS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN COMMUNITIES THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHY CRIMES IN CERTAIN COMMUNITIES ARE DECR DECREASING, CAN WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE FACTORS ARE, AND HOW MUCH LOOK AT THE HOT SPOT CRIME PREVENTION PLAN, HAVE WE LOOKED AT THE WORK THAT GARDOPIA WAS DOING IN THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN SPACE THERE TO SEE WHAT THE IMPACT OF THAT WAS IN COMPARISON TO THE OTHER WORK HAPPENING WHILE ALSO HAVING HOT SPOT POLICING THERE.
AND SO WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT THINGS GOING ON IN A COMMUNITY THAT ARE TRULY PROVIDING THAT FULL SUPPORT, WHICH SH SHOWS WHY OUR CRIME IS DECREASING. SO I JUST THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT -- WHEN WE LOOK AT NUMBERS, WE'RE HESITANT TO JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS. AND OF COURSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE -- AND THIS GOES DOWN TO -- I LOOKED AT DATA. I LOOKED AT COMPARISONS TO OTHER CITIES, AND HOUSTON IS ACTUALLY NOT EVEN CLOSE TO 50/50.
THEY ARE WAY FAR, AND THEY HAVE MORE OFFICERS PER CAPITA -- LIKE MORE OFFICERS PER POPULATION THAN WE DO. SO MORE OFFICERS PER POPULATION THAN WE DO. NASHVILLE HAS MORE OFFICERS PER POPULATION THAN WE DO, AND AGAIN NOT THE MODEL WE USE, BUT I JUST USE IT AS A COMPARISON, AND THEY STILL HAVE MORE CRIME THAN WE DO.
AND SO IF WE LOOK AT IT, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT OF -- I THINK WE COULD DO A LITTLE BIT MORE ANALYSIS TO WHAT COUNCILMEMBER SPEARS ASKED ABOUT CORRELATING CITIES TO SEE WHAT THEY'RE STRUGGLING WITH AND ALSO MAKING SURE THAT WE COULD COMPARE SOME DEMOGRAPHIC FACTOR, ECONOMIC MOBILITY FAC FACTORS, ALL OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE KNOW THAT AFFECT CRIME AND SEE WHERE WE ACTUALLY SIT BECAUSE IF WE JUST LOOK AT ONE NUMBER OR METRIC, I DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING TO GET TO WHAT OUR COMMUNITY REALLY IS ASKING US TO DO.
SO I THINK THERE IS -- I MEAN, FOR EXAMPLE THERE IS A TIKTOK VIDEO THAT CAUSED CAR THEFT TO GO UP NEXT YEAR; RIGHT. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT.
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SOCIAL MEDIA INCREASING CRIME. LET'S CANCEL SOCIAL MEDIA. JUST KIDDING, THAT WOULD HELP US IN A LOT OF WA WAYS. OBVIOUSLY ON THE LAST SLIDE THE ALTERNATIVE TO SLIDE WAS MENTIONED I KNOW IT WON'T GET AS MUCH TRACTION BUT AS MUCH AS WE CAN DO TO REDUCE WORKLOAD TO BETTER SUPPORT OFFICERS, I KNOW ALL OF US WOULD BE IN FAVOR FOR -- TO HELP SUPPORT OUR OFF OFFICERS AS MUCH AS WE CAN. THANK YOU, CHIEF.THANK YOU. THAT'S OKAY. I KNOW HE HAS TO GO TOO.
SO I KNOW -- WE STILL HAVE QUORUM. IN CASE ANYBODY HAS.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: I HAVE TO LEAVE IN SIX MINUTES, TO MAYBE WE DEFER ITEM 5.
>> KAUR: OH, I'M SO SORRY, WE CAN DO THAT NEXT TIME IF THAT'S OKAY WITH YOU.
I WANTED TO MENTION BEFORE WE LOST THEM THAT OUR NEXT -- SORRY ABOUT THAT, CHAIR -- OR COUNCILMEMBER. OUR NEXT MEETING I'M EXCITED ABOUT IN JUNE IS GOING TO BE HELD AT THE FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION SHELTER, SO SOME OF US ARE ON THE INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE COMMITTEE, AND WE'LL DO A LITTLE EXERCISE WITH THE LEADERSHIP OVER THERE, TAKE US THROUGH WHAT -- THE EXPERIENCE OF WHAT BEING A SURVIVOR LOOKS LIKE AND THEY HAVE CARDS WHERE YOU WALK AROUND AND EXPERIENCE ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH THE SURVIVOR EXPERIENCES THE SYSTEM WE'VE CREATED AND THEN A SHORTER AGENDA, I PROMISE, AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THIS GETS ON THERE AS WELL AND DO OUR SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTOUTS TOO. ALL RIGHT. COOL.
TIME IS NOW 3:55:0 3:55:00 P.M., AND ME MEETING IS
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.