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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPSAC Agenda Item No. 7 CITY OF LAKE LSII`IO E L �- Z' '- DREAM EXTREME. CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE REPORT TO PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY COMMISSION TO: CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY COMMISSION FROM: JUSTIN CARLSON, REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY ANALYST DATE: FEBRUARY 8, 2012 SUBJECT: LAKE ELSINORE VOLUNTEER CITIZEN PATROL PROGRAM Background On December 21, 2011, the PSAC Chairman, on behalf of the Public Safety Advisory Commission Volunteer Citizen Patrol subcommittee forwarded a compiled list of Volunteer Citizen Patrol program and operational questions to the Lake Elsinore Police Department. The Lake Elsinore Police Department notified staff that they would be present at the regularly scheduled PSAC meeting of February 8, 2012 to discuss the answers to the submitted questions with the Commission. On January 30, 2012, the Lake Elsinore Police Department forwarded their responses to staff, so that the Commission can review the answers and be properly prepared to discuss the topic. Recommendation It is recommended that the Commission direct staff as deemed appropriate. Prepared By: Justin Carlson. Redevelopment Agency Analyst Agenda Item No. 7 City of Lake Elsinore Citizens on Patrol Program (COPS) The following questions were presented to The Lake Elsinore Police Department by PSAC regarding the implementation of a COPS program by the City of Lake Elsinore and the Police Department: 1. Who will staff from the LEPD? A) Staffing needed to oversee the Citizens on Patrol (COPS) program will be dependent on the size of the volunteer program. Minimally a deputy sheriff would be needed to administer the program. Although COPS is a non - confrontational program, its nexus is crime prevention and requires law enforcement. The person administering the program should have the powers of arrest. Incidents may occur that require law enforcement action take place. The deputy will also fall under the direction of a supervisor in the department's chain -of- command structure. Although the supervisor may not be actively involved in the day -to -day operations of the COPS program, a percentage of his time will be overseeing the deputy's performance. B) Additionally a COPS program will possibly generate a greater number of calls for service at the patrol level. It is department policy to respond to all calls for service. Patrol will respond to calls generated by COPS volunteers. Many calls generated by COPS volunteer, while suspicious in nature, may not be criminal acts. Patrol will be required to respond to these calls. Due to budgetary cuts to the police department by City Council, Patrol staffing levels have experienced coinciding cuts. The result has been increased response times to lower priority calls by the police department. 2. Can we fundraise to offset the cost`' The Police Department receives it's funding from the City of Lake Elsinore, which is approved by the City Council. The Police Department does not engage in fundraising. 3. Citizens patrol is successful in other communities doing: - Patrols of malls and heavy shopper areas - Assisting with accident scenes and MC incidents - Large event traffic and patrol duties Do you envision utilizing the LECP in these ways? The core concept of a Citizen's on Patrol program is to assist the police department by being the "eyes and ears" of the community. LEPD would utilize COPS to provide non- confrontational patrols throughout the city, provide traffic control and foot patrol at special events, provide traffic control at accidents and road obstructions, report city code violations to city code enforcement, report suspicious activity to the Police Department, preventing crime through observation, and conducting vacation, garage and home checks. 1 City of Lake Elsinore Citizens on Patrol Program (COPS) Currently the Lake Elsinore Police Department has the Sheriff's Posse and Explorer volunteer programs. These volunteer groups presently are utilized to provide non- confrontational patrols throughout the city, to provide traffic control and foot patrol at special events. 4. Uniforms and equipment can be expensive. Can the cost be shifted to the respective volunteer rather than be provided? Can the LEPD help volunteers in locating used uniforms and equipment? Any Police Department volunteers who represent the Police Department and the City of Lake Elsinore while in performance of their duties would have to dress in a uniform that meets the uniform standard of the Sheriff's Department. Some cost, such as footwear, fall directly on the volunteer. Other cost such as, pants and uniform shirts generally fall upon the Department, although if outlined in the initial start up of the program that volunteers pay for their own uniform as a condition of acceptance to the program then the cost could be shifted to the volunteer. The Sheriff's Department does have a Uniform Services Department which makes used uniform articles available to Department members at no cost. There is no guarantee that all sizes and uniform items would be available to all volunteers. Just a reminder, these people are volunteering their time to the City, ideally the City should try to minimize the cost to the volunteer to be part of the program. Providing uniforms would be one such way to minimize cost to the volunteer. 5. Can LECP potentially pair up with other local cities and train together (i.e. Hemet, Murrieta, and Temecula)? Minimum training requirements for COPS volunteers would be, but not limited to, a 40- hour Citizens Academy and an 8 -hour Driver's Training course to be held at Ben Clark Training Center. Additional training would occur on a monthly basis and the type of training would be determined by the program supervisor. If other cities' COPS program offered training and agreed to allow Lake Elsinore COPS program to take part it would be up to the supervisor's discretion if the training was feasible and beneficial to the department and volunteer members. 6. Beside staffing issues, are there any other concerns about initiating a Citizens Patrol that we may not have considered that we should? A) Civil liability. Once approved by the department, volunteers will be acting within the scope of the department in their duties. A volunteer's poor judgment could lead to a lawsuit against the city. An example would be a vehicle collision in which the volunteer injures or kills another person while performing volunteer duties. 2 City of Lake Elsinore Citizens on Patrol Program (COPS) B) Volunteer misconduct. Although volunteer duties and responsibilities will be clearly laid out in policies and procedures, some volunteers has been known to overstep their authority believing they are part of the police department and mistakenly act as a police officer without the legal authority to do so. This is why strict supervision and oversight is important, requiring a sworn deputy sheriff overseeing the program, who in turn is supervised by a sergeant. C) Resource prioritization. The loss of other vital resources to the police department. Recent budget cuts by City Council have resulted in cuts in patrol staffing levels, cuts in the traffic division, cuts in special teams, such as, the gang team and SET team, and reduction in the number of Community Resource Officers. The police department whole- heartedly supports the concept of a COPS program and would like to see one become viable. The police department would first like to see staffing levels restored to pre - recession cuts prior to the addition of another officer strictly to administer a COPS program. 7. Can we limit the amount of volunteers initially to keep the cost of the program to a minimum? Once we get the program up and running successfully, can we enlarge the program. Yes, we can limit the amount of volunteers to control cost of the program. Not all volunteers will be accepted into the program. Volunteer applicants would be required to complete an oral interview to determine if they are suitable for the program and then subject to a background check before being considered for the program. Many applicants will be disqualified at this point. These requirements may limit the pool of qualified applicants. The program can always be increased in size if the need exist. Just a reminder, this is a volunteer position. Many or most will have full time jobs that come first. A small core of volunteers may not adequately meet the staffing needs of the department to perform the functions outlined in question #3. The police department is a 24/7 operation and resources can be called upon at anytime. Volunteers' time may be limited by other personal responsibilities, so generally a larger pool of volunteers is highly desirable. 3 City of Lake Elsinore Citizens on Patrol Program (COPS) 1. Citizen Patrol Training: a. Cost of Training per volunteer? b. How many hours are recommended for training? c. How would Lake Elsinore Citizen Patrol training compare to what is highlighted on pages 1.4 -19 of the 'How to Start Citizen Patrol Program' guide (see guide attached)? Training is a re- occurring or continual cost. Minimally start up training requirement for a volunteer in a COPS program would be a 40 -hour Citizen's Academy and an 8 -hour driver's training course. Additionally, monthly training would be part of the program. The cost for the Citizen's Academy is $67.00 per student. The cost of a Driver's Training course is $118.00. Total cost- $185.00 per volunteer. Monthly training would be conducted in -house by station staff and/or the deputy sheriff assigned to administer the program. Hourly rate for a contract deputy is $125.37 if one is assigned to conduct in- house training. Our recommendation is if the City of Lake Elsinore would like to institute a COPS program, a deputy sheriff position is added to contracted services with the sheriff's department to oversee the program. The rate for a fully supported deputy sheriff is $227,998.00 per year. The training program would mirror program guide. The Citizen's Academy mentioned above is structured around the recommended training of the program guide. The 40 -hour Citizen's Academy provides basic skills and knowledge in the following areas: Introduction to Riverside County Sheriff's Department/ Lake Elsinore Police Department, Ethics, Emergency Management/NIMS /SEMS certificate, Radio Operation/ Procedures, Laws of Arrest/Courtroom Testimony, Traffic Control, Crime Scene Protection/ Preservation, Crowd Control, Dealing with the Public, Press Relations, Uniform Wear and First Aid & CPR. Any station specific training such as, Orientation and Knowledge of Area, would be conducted in house. 2. Funding and Staffing: a. What is the annual cost per volunteer? b. What is the start -up cost for the Citizens Patrol to begin with 10 volunteers? The estimated start up cost per volunteer would consist of, but limited to: recruitment, interview, background check, Live Scan, training (listed above) and uniform would be $1,480.00. Cost for 10 volunteers start up would be $14,800.00. The rate for a fully supported deputy sheriff is $227,998.00 per year. Our recommendation is if the City of Lake Elsinore would like to institute a COPS program, a deputy sheriff position is added to contracted services with the sheriff's department to oversee the program. This is part of the start up cost and annual cost. Once a volunteer is in the program annual cost per volunteer would be minimal. 1 City of Lake Elsinore Citizens on Patrol Program (COPS) Just a reminder, this is a volunteer position. Many or most volunteers will have full time jobs that come first. A small core of volunteers may not adequately meet the staffing needs of the department. The police department is a 24/7 operation and resources can be called upon at anytime. Volunteers' time may be limited by other personal responsibilities, so generally a larger pool of volunteers is desirable. The police department recommendation would be a larger volunteer pool than 10 volunteers for start up. The police department would recommend a start up pool of 25 volunteers for the City of Lake Elsinore COPS program. 3. What would be our average annual savings to the law enforcement budget from the use of the Lake Elsinore Citizens Patrol? The intent of any COPS program is to supplement law enforcement patrol services. COPS volunteers serve as the "eyes and ears" of the community. COPS volunteers cannot perform law enforcement duties only observe and report suspicious or criminal activity. COPS volunteers can also increase law enforcement visibility in a certain area to serve as deterrent to crime. The tenet of the COPS program is non - confrontational patrol. When criminal or suspicious behavior occurs COPS volunteers summon law enforcement to investigate. A COPS program is intended to supplement or enhance law enforcement, it should not be considered as a replacement to sworn police officers on the street, only an aid. A COPS program will not reduce law enforcement budgets, but can be vital in quality -of -life issues within a community, such as graffiti, code enforcement and the fear of crime. 4. How much money would we save using the attached Citizens Patrol Policy and Procedure Manual vs. recreating such manual? Citizens on Patrol in a nationally recognized program and is used by many agencies across the nation. The Citizens Patrol Policy and Procedure Manual mentioned is the model used by most agencies as a guideline. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department has developed its own COPS manual mirroring the national model for contract agencies to use as a guide. Lake Elsinore Police Department will use the RSO department approved manual and edit it to station specific information pertaining to a LEPD COPS program. The saving will be minimal; much of the work is already done. 5. In forming our Citizens Patrol, what areas could the Public Safety Advisory Commission do to help reduce start -up costs (i.e. Edit Policy and Procedure Manual, Assist with hiring process)? PSAC could assist in recruitment of applicants by providing them with program information and requirements. PSAC could provide a police department background packet to applicants and refer them to return it to the police department. This would save staff time in dealing with a constant influx of citizens with inquiries about the program. 2 City of Lake Elsinore Citizens on Patrol Program (COPS) The interview process for potential volunteers consists of an interview with a three - person panel. The interview panel would consist of a city official, a police sergeant and police officer. If the city did not have a representative available, with and only with, the expressed permission of the city, a PSAC member could substitute for the city official for the interviews. 3