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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/13/2004 MPD Quarterly Update MinutesI~ZINUTF,S OF MPD QUARTERLY' UPDATE 31~IARAh'A T01'~'N HALL JANUARY' 13, 2004 PLACE AND DATE Marana Town Hall, January 13, 2004 CALL TO ORDER By Mayor Sutton at 5:00 p.m. The Marana Police Department's presentation before the Council was held informally. Town Clerk Bronson called the roll and informed the Mayor that a quorum was present. Vice Mayor Kai was excused but all other Council members were present and seated at the dais. Several handouts were distributed. These materials have been made a permanent part of the record and included: • The Dove Mountain Citizens Patrol informational sheet • Pima County Regional Public Safety -Communications Network - Proposal to Town of Marana -dated December, 2003 • TASER International product informational sheets Chief Vidaurri addressed the Mayor and Council regarding the latest updates for the Marana Police Department (MPD). He began by introducing Lt. Paul Ashcraft who oversees the MPD Operations Division. Lt. Ashcraft provided a brief update on the mounted patrol unit and progress being made with the establishment of the MPD stables. He said that the horses would be residing at the former Post house barn by the end of January. He went on to give a brief statistical overview of the rise in calls for service which included security and vacation checks, business checks, and meeting and greeting the general public. He indicated that service calls rose approximately 25.9% which was in line with the 20% growth in the Town s estimated population. Officer Bill Derfus spoke to the Council about the Volunteers in Police Service (NIPS). He explained that residents from the Heritage Highlands development and the Dove Mountain Civic Group approached MPD with their keen interest in wanting to become more community involved. The officer went on to detail some initial problems with resources such as vehicle availability but said that the program finally formalized with a group of 23 participants who are currently going through the NIPS training program. He mentioned that residents from the Sunflower development were also interested in becoming involved with NIPS and that more resources would be needed as the program expanded. He predicted that once NIPS was firmly established the volunteers' role in the community policing effort could possibly expand to handling calls for private property accidents and past crimes. 1~11NUTES OF I~~1PD QUARTERLY UPDATE n~tARAnA TO~'~'N 1[ALL JANUARY 13, 2004 Council Member Comerford commented that Pima County had a similar program and that her past law enforcement employer in California had a volunteer program called SHOP, an acronym for Seniors Helping Our Police. She said that the program was very effective and had many positive results within the community as well as the law enforcement agency. Officer Derfus identified the main focus of interest in VIPS as coming from the retirement community. He predicted an expansion in the interest level as the program developed and, certainly, following any media coverage. Council Member Blake remarked that it was very important for MPD to provide the proper training for those residents wanting to participate in the volunteer program. Officer Derfus replied that Southwest Risk, the Towri s liability insurer, advised MPD on specific guidelines associated with the volunteers' training and specific procedures dealing with professional behavior, office misconduct, proper vehicle operations, and ethics. Council Member Blake also asked when the next MPD vehicle replacement program was scheduled. He said that when a police vehicle was retired from duty in San Diego, it was delegated to the law enforcement agency's volunteer group. Officer Derfus replied that MPD was not at a point where a pool of spare vehicles could be retired to the VIPS program. Mr. Reuwsaat interjected that the vehicle replacement program had been on hold for a while but was going to be reinstated soon. He added that at that time MPD would be able to schedule vehicle retirement to VIPS. Mayor Sutton inquired if there was any savings to MPD with the volunteers performing tasks that would free up officers. Officer Derfus replied that a significant return on the VIPS program would be realized once activity logs were established and an initial operation timeframe had occurred. He said that simply the alleviating the regular duty officers from routine construction site checks and simple service calls would result in a substantial savings in man-hours. Mr. Reuwsaat added that an immediate benefit was the relief provided in the service call load to the MPD officers. He stated that the VIPS program would allow the MPD officers to readily respond to more urgent calls in the community. MI.' 'ES OF I~~IPD QUARTERLY UPDATE l1'[ARANA TOWN HALL JANUARY 1:i, 2A04 Mayor Sutton said that he would be interested in seeing benefit statements regarding the savings in actual man-hours and response times. He agreed with Officer Derfus that the VIPS program would take off following the expected news coverage and the initial establishment of the program. Council Members Comerford, Honea, and McGorray also agreed that the immediate benefits would be in the freeing up of MPD officers to handle more serious criminal activity in the community. Mr. Reuwsaat pointed out that the increase of 14,000 additional service calls in one year was phenomenal. He said that VIPS was key to enabling MPD to continue maintaining the highest standard of customer service in the region. Council Member McGorray inquired about the number of training hours involved in the program. Officer Derfus answered that each volunteer would receive approximately 24 hours of training and that the training was based on the specific tasks each volunteer would be performing. He noted that, as the volunteers' roles expanded, the group would be meeting monthly for training purposes. He emphasized that the training would be ongoing and would keep pace with the duty levels. Council Member Honea asked how the VIPS participants would be dispatched. Officer Derfus replied that the MPD VIPS vehicles would be equipped with radios as well as cell phones. Mayor Sutton asked to have the opportunity to speak to the first VIPS graduating class before the end of the training. Officer Derfus commented that the graduating class would be appearing before the Council as part of the graduation process. Council Member Blake commented that the City of San Diego had a similar volunteer program and that the participants were required to commit to a minimum number of hours per month. He said that volunteers were not allowed to do their own scheduling but that this task was done by an official law enforcement employee. Officer Derfus pointed out that after the program was in full operation then particular modes of operation could be scrutinized as issues arose. He said the VIPS program might qualify for grant funding under the Homeland Security act. 11~1NUTF.S OF ~1PD QUARTERLY L1PllATE I1'fARANA TO~'~'1~ IiALG JANUARY 13, 2!)0~ Chief Vidaurri acknowledged that VIPS was an exciting program that would eventually generate a multitude of benefits to the community as well as the Town and its law enforcement agency. He congratulated Officer Derfus on his hard work organizing VIPS. The Chief again addressed the comparison of service calls from 2002 to 2003. He noted that the calls went from 41,000 to 53,000, an increase of 12,000 calls and this included a number of violent perpetrators calls. He informed the Council that Officer James Paul, MPD Training Officer, and Sgt. Jose Alvarez, Patrol Sergeant, would be presenting information regarding the newest law enforcement technologies used in dealing with violent individuals refusing to cooperate with police officers. He said that the technologies and equipment not only kept police officers safe but also the person being arrested. Officer Paul began the presentation on the benefits of TASER gun utilization in the line of duty. He listed the benefits as being the reduction in officer and suspect injuries by stopping threats from a safe distance, the ability to avoid hands-on contact with violent suspects, higher safety levels for first responder officers during traffic stops, and a documented medical safety record. During a video presentation of actual events, the Council members questioned Officer Paul about different features and operational techniques of the TASER equipment such as areas of the body best affected, optimal distances for discharge, failure rates, safety rates, electrical output, and deployment tactics. He said that the success rate of the equipment was approximately 95%. He continued the presentation by detailing the options available with the particular weapon that MPD was interested in obtaining. Some of the features he listed included a newer compact model with a trigger thumb lock, a digital power magazine with a 10- year shelf life and lithium energy cell, illuminated central information display, and digital memory and upgrading capabilities. Officer Paul also provided the Council with an actual demonstration using a practice target. Chief Vidaurri gave an overview of the costs associated with outfitting the patrol officers with TASER equipment. He explained that it would be approximately $42,000 to outfit the entire department. Chief Vidaurri continued the quarterly report by introducing Lt. Dale Bradshaw and Communications Supervisor Sheila Blevins. Both of these MPD employees addressed the Council regarding police communications. 1~11NUTES OF 1~1Pn QUARTERLY UPDATE l1'iARAh'A T01~N HALL JANU'ARY' 13, ?004 Lt. Bradshaw spoke to the Council about the current analog radio system. He outlined several points associated with the outdated communications system including problems with the repeater site in the Tortolita Mountains, eminent domain, issues with antiquated parts, "dead" areas inside of commercial buildings, channel limitations, and the lack of inter-jurisdictional connections. He continued by commenting on a $105M bond issue, Project 25, being proposed before the public by Pima County for a regional public safety voice and data communications network to serve 19 fire districts, 9 police agencies, and Pima County Office of emergency Management & Homeland Security. Lt. Bradshaw explained that this project, if accepted by the voters, would not be viable for at least three to five years and that Marana needed something more immediate to help solve communications issues. A portion of the presentation when Ms. Blevins explained an in-vehicle communication system recently acquired by MPD was inaudible. A general discussion followed and focused on communication upgrades, new systems costs, and outside funding sources including bonding. The update concluded at 6:40 p.m. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing are the true and correct minutes of the Marana Police Department Quarterly Update held on January 13, 2004. I further certify that a quorum was present. a t~s'~~s8~ ~ ~;,~~ UaRPORAT~`~°v '' -~' a ~- ~ ~ ~ celyn onson Town Clerk ~ s