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[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
UH, I AM.WHEN YOU CALL ROLL, PLEASE Y'ALL HEAR ME.
UM, DID ANYONE ELSE HEAR HER ANSWER? YOU DID HEAR HER.
THIS IS THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION WE'RE MEETING ON DECEMBER 7TH OF 2020.
WE'RE MEETING VIRTUALLY AND I'M CHAIRING TODAY BECAUSE I'M REBECCA MENTHOL WITH HAS A COVID EMERGENCY IN HER FAMILY.
SO SENDING HER BEST THE FIRST, UM, LET ME CALL US TO ORDER OFFICIALLY.
UM, THE FIRST ITEM THAT WE HAVE UP IS JUST CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.
MS. JACKSON, DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZENS? THERE ARE NO CITIZENS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TODAY.
SO NOW Y'ALL, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE MINUTES FROM LAST MONTH AND THEY WERE SENT TO YOU ON FRIDAY.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY COMMENTS CHANGES CORRECTIONS TO THE MINUTE? ALL RIGHT HERE, DOES ANYONE NEED MORE TIME NOW? OKAY.
HEARING NO CORRECTIONS, WE CAN DEEM THOSE APPROVED.
[2. Public Safety Organizations Quarterly Report – Austin Police Department]
AND SO THE NEXT ITEM WE HAVE IS SUBSTANTIVE AND IT IS THE QUARTERLY REPORT THAT WE RECEIVE FROM EACH DEPARTMENT.WE, WE HEAR FROM EACH DEPARTMENT, UM, AT EACH MEETING.
AND SO WE HEAR FROM EACH DEPARTMENT FOUR TIMES A YEAR, AND THIS MONTH, UH, DECEMBER, 2020, IT'S THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S OPPORTUNITY TO UPDATE US ON SOME USUAL DATA POINTS THAT THEY TELL US ABOUT, ABOUT VACANCIES AND RESPONSE TIMES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
AND THEN ALSO A, UH, EXTRA BIT OF QUESTIONS THAT WE HAD ABOUT COVID.
WELL, HOW ARE YOU DOING COMMISSIONERS? I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GREAT HOLIDAY, UH, AND, UH, THIS PARTICULAR, UH, QUARTERLY REPORT, UH, WE WERE GOING TO START OFF WITH SOMETHING NEW, WHICH IS OUR CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS, PROPERTY AND SOCIETY.
AS WE HAVE MOVED FROM A UCR REPORTING STRUCTURE TO A NEIGHBOR'S REPORTING STRUCTURE, UH, IS BY THE CHANCES DOCTOR CRINGING IN THE WAITING ROOM.
I SEE HIM ON THE PARTICIPANT LIST.
UH, WHAT I WANTED TO DO WAS ACTUALLY, UM, DR.
CRINGING HAS BEEN VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN OUR, UH, WITH OUR CHIEF DATA OFFICER WITH WORKING, UH, WITH OUR TRANSITION TO NEIGHBORS AND WANTED HIM TO START OFF BY GOING OVER OUR STATISTICS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT CRIME AND SORT OF EXPLAIN TO YOU GUYS THE DIFFERENCE IN HOW WE'RE REPORTING AND WHERE YOU CAN LOCATE THAT INFORMATION.
I JUST WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING, UM, AND SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT ARE COMING UP WITH REPORTING, UH, GIVEN THAT WE'RE IN THE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN THE NEIGHBOR'S TRANSITION PERIOD, UM, FOR ANYONE WHO'S NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT, UM, HISTORICALLY AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS CALCULATED ITS UNDERSTANDING OF CRIME USING THE UNIFORM CRIME REPORTING STANDARD OF THE FBI.
UM, AND THE FBI HAS, UH, AN INITIATIVE THAT'S ONGOING, UH, TO TRANSITION POLICE DEPARTMENTS TO USING
[00:05:01]
THE NATIONAL INCIDENT BASED REPORTING SYSTEM.AND SO I'LL JUST GIVE YOU A VERY BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT WE SEE HERE WHEN CRIME HAPPENS.
WE WOULD MAYBE THINK ABOUT THAT AS A CRIME INCIDENT.
UM, AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT HOW YOU MIGHT COUNT IT, THERE ARE A VARIETY OF WAYS UNDER THE OLD UCR RULES, THAT INCIDENT WAS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL OFFENSE THAT OCCURRED DURING THAT INCIDENT AND EVERYTHING ELSE BELOW THAT AS LOST IN THE UCR STANDARD.
RIGHT? SO IF WE MIGHT THINK ABOUT SOMETHING WHERE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN, UM, WHERE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN MAYBE A DRUG RELATED CHARGE ALONG WITH A VIOLENT CHARGE, THE VIOLENT CHARGE IS MORE SERIOUS, AND THAT IS WHAT THE INCIDENT WOULD BE COUNTED AS THAT UNDERLYING DRUG RELATED CHARGE WOULD NOT BE COUNTED.
NOW THE NATIONAL INCIDENT BASED REPORTING SYSTEM ACTUALLY COUNTS ALL DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES DURING AN INCIDENT.
AND SO THE RESULT IS THAT WHEN YOU COUNT THINGS, YOU'RE COMING UP WITH VERY DIFFERENT COUNTS, WE KNOW THE SAME, EVEN IF IT'S ON THE SAME DATA, RIGHT? SO WHEN THAT HAPPENS, UM, WHAT WE BEGAN TO DO IS BE ABLE TO, WITH THE NEIGHBOR'S DATA, THINK ABOUT THE NUMBER OF UNIQUE INCIDENTS, THE NUMBER OF UNIQUE VICTIMS, OR THE NUMBER OF UNIQUE SUSPECTS, UM, AND RECOGNIZING THAT ANY SINGLE INCIDENT CAN BE A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT CRIMES WITH POTENTIAL DIFFERENT NUMBER OF SUSPECTS IN DIFFERENT ENVELOPES VICTIMS. SO THE COMPLEXITY IS, IS, UH, ACTUALLY SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER, UM, AND IT DOES RELATE TO ISSUES AND COMPARE ABILITY.
UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEED EVERYONE TO BE AWARE OF.
UH, AGAIN, 2018 IS THE LAST YEAR THAT WAS REPORTED UNDER THE UCR STANDARD.
UH, 2019 WAS REPORTED UNDER THE NEIGHBOR'S STANDARD.
AND CURRENTLY FBI HAS NOT RELEASED NATIONAL NEIGHBORS NUMBERS.
SO WE HAVE A LIMITED ABILITY TO MAKE COMPARISONS TO WHAT'S GOING ON NATIONALLY.
WE ALSO HAVE A LIMITED ABILITY TO MAKE HISTORIC COMPARISONS HAVING SAID THAT WE CAN MANIPULATE DATA IN SOME WAYS TO GET COMPARISONS.
UM, BUT IT'S A MUCH MORE INVOLVED PROCESS IN DOING THAT.
THERE ARE A COUPLE OF KEY THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING, UM, RECOGNIZING THE OTHER ISSUE THAT HAPPENS IS THAT THE CATEGORIZATIONS ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT UNDER NEIGHBORS.
UM, THE VERY, PROBABLY THE BIGGEST EXAMPLE IS ROBBERY.
UM, UNDER THE UCR REPORTING SYSTEM, ROBBERY WAS TREATED AS A VIOLENT CRIME, UM, AND THE NATURE OF THE INTERPERSONAL ACTIVITY OF IT, UM, WAS USED TO SORT OF PLACE IT IN THAT CONTEXT UNDER THE NEIGHBORS STANDARD.
IT IS A PROPERTY CRIME, RIGHT? SO ANYTIME WE LOOK AT THINGS THAT ARE EVEN GENERIC, LARGER CATEGORIES LIKE PROPERTY CRIMES, THE WAY WE MIGHT CONCEPTUALLY THINK ABOUT THAT, UM, THEY'RE GOING TO BE DIFFERENCES AS WELL.
BASED UPON THAT CLASSIFICATION, NEIGHBORS ACTUALLY COUNTS THINGS AS CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS RATHER THAN VIOLENT CRIMES.
THAT'S LIKELY THE MOST CLOSELY RELATED TO VIOLENT CRIMES.
AND WHEN YOU COUNT UNDER NEIGHBORS CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS, YOU'RE COUNTING VICTIMS, NOT IN SENTENCE.
UM, THEY ALSO USE A CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY, WHICH IS THE EQUIVALENT TO PROPERTY CRIMES.
UM, AND WHEN YOU COUNT PROPERTY CRIMES, YOU'RE ACTUALLY COUNTING FENCES, NOT IN NOT INDIVIDUALS.
UM, THE FINAL CATEGORY UNDER NABERS IS CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY.
UM, AND THAT'S ALSO GOING TO ACCOUNT, UH, USING THE OFFENSE LEVEL COUNTING, UM, RATHER THAN THE, THE VICTIM OR SUSPECT LEVEL COUNTING.
SO WE HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENCES THAT WE NEED KIND OF BE, UH, KIND OF BE, YOU KNOW, PREPARED TO UNDERSTAND.
SO, UM, IN CRIME ANALYSIS WE CAN GO BACK AND, AND LOOK AT THESE THINGS, TRYING TO RENDER COMPARISONS.
AND WHEN WE DO, AND WE BASICALLY RECODE THE DATA BACK INTO THE UCR MODEL, THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT WE SEE THAT ARE COMING UP ACTUALLY DO RELATE TO, UH, INCREASES IN, UH, RELATED TO VIOLENT CRIME.
AND SO THE ONES WE WANT TO HIGHLIGHT ARE SPECIFICALLY THAT OUR CURRENT YEAR TO DATE COUNTS, UH, FOR MURDER ARE UP 50% FOR THE YEAR.
UM, AND COMPARING OCTOBER OF 2020 TO OCTOBER, 2019.
UM, WE ACTUALLY SEE A 400% INCREASE FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER.
WE HAD A WEEKEND WHERE THERE WERE A NUMBER OF MURDERS THAT OCCURRED ON THAT WEEKEND, AND IT HAS VERY MUCH SPIKED IN THE MEASURE.
UM, I ALWAYS WANT TO ADVISE CAUTION WHEN THINKING ABOUT PERCENTAGES, WHEN WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THINGS WHERE THE COUNTS TEND TO BE QUITE LOW, RIGHT? SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CHANGES OF 50% OR 400% AND AN EVENT THAT WE MIGHT HAVE THOUSANDS OF, UM, THAT'S A MORE MEANINGFUL UNDERSTANDING OF A PERCENTAGE THAN WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT AT MURDER, UM, WHERE THE ACTUAL COUNT IS, IS QUITE LOW.
SO, BUT WE DO SEE IT IN OTHER CATEGORIES AS WELL.
UM, IN PARTICULAR AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, WHICH UNDER THE NEIGHBORS MODEL, WE ACTUALLY DO A LITTLE BIT MORE BREAKDOWN IN, WE REPORTED AS AGGRAVATED ASSAULT RELATED TO FAMILY VIOLENCE OR NON FAMILY VIOLENCE.
UM, YOU WANT TO NOTE THAT THAT'S UP BY ABOUT 32% FOR THE YEAR.
SO NON-FAMILY VIOLENCE, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT IS GOING UP.
UH, IT APPEARS, UM, AND VERY IMPORTANTLY, WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS A HIGH PREVALENCE OF GUNS AND A HIGH PREVALENCE OF GUN CRIMES, RIGHT? SO WE'RE UP ABOUT 43% IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 22, 2020, UM, FOR
[00:10:01]
VIOLENT CRIMES INVOLVING FIREARMS. AND IF YOU, UM, IF WE TAKE A LOOK AT IT, WE CAN SAY THAT, UH, IF WE GO BACK AND WE WANT TO COUNT THIS FOR COMPATIBILITY SAKE UNDER THE OLD UCR RULES, UM, IF WE LOOK AT SAY VIOLENT OFFENSES INVOLVING FIREARMS, UH, WE ARE ALREADY PAST YEAR TO DATE.AS OF THE END OF OCTOBER, WE WERE ALREADY PAST THE TOTAL NUMBER OF FIREARM-RELATED VIOLENT OFFENSES FOR 2019 AND ALL PREVIOUS YEARS SINCE GOING BACK AS FAR AS 2020.
SO WE WILL DEFINITELY END THE YEAR, MUCH HIGHER, DOES SEEM TO SUGGEST THAT THERE IS A REASONABLE INCREASE IN, UH, VIOLENT CRIMES RELATED TO FIREARMS AND IN PARTICULAR, UM, THAT IS PLAYING OUT WHEN WE BREAK THE DATA DOWN AND WE BREAK THEM DOWN INTO THE CATEGORIES OF THE VIOLENT CRIMES THAT FIT UNDER UCR OF MURDER, RAPE ROBBERY, AND AGGRAVATED ASSAULT.
UM, IT'S PRIMARILY HAPPENING IN THE AGGRAVATED ASSAULT CATEGORY, UH, THAT THE FIREARM USAGE IS, UM, GOING UP, UH, IN PARTICULAR THAT NON FAMILY VIOLENCE, UH, VARIANTS OF AGGRAVATED ASSAULT.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE SEEING THE SINGLE LARGEST INCREASE.
SO THOSE ARE THE KEY, UH, CRIME TRENDS THAT WE DISCUSSED IN OUR LAST COMPSTAT MEETING.
AND THOSE ARE THE ONES WHO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE AWARE OF.
CAN YOU MOVE THE SLIDE TO PROPERTY CRIMES NOW, DOES ANYONE HAVE QUESTIONS ON THE, THE CITYWIDE, THE FIRST SLIDE? OKAY.
I WOULD JUST RECOMMEND IT, YOU KNOW, AS YOU WERE SAYING, WHEN NUMBERS ARE REALLY SMALL PERCENTAGES, DON'T HAVE ANY MEANING.
I WOULD ALMOST ESTABLISHED LIKE A RULE OF THUMB BECAUSE SOMEBODY'S GOING TO LOOK AT THAT 400% AND THINK, OH MY GOD, WE'VE ALL GONE TO HELL.
UM, SO I, I JUST I'D RATHER SEE THAT BE A BLANK SET OF 400% THERE.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE WANT TO CONSIDER IT, IT IS HIGHLY ADVISABLE TO THE PARTICULARLY WHEN THINGS TEND TO BE UNDER ABOUT 10, WE THINK ABOUT THE VARIOUS PROPERTIES OF SMALL NUMBERS.
IF IT GOES FROM ONE TO TWO, IT'S A HUNDRED PERCENT INCREASE, RIGHT? SO THE OTHER ISSUE THAT WE HAVE, UM, THE TENDENCY IN, IN MOST REPORTING IS TO BREAK THINGS DOWN BY MONTHS, A WINCHING EFFECT, RIGHT, WHICH THE MONTH IS RELATIVELY ARBITRARY.
SO AS WE HAVE AN EVENT THAT MIGHT OCCUR ON THE LAST DAY OF THE MONTH THAN IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR, IT MIGHT'VE OCCURRED ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE NEXT MONTH, UM, THAT WILL SKEW THOSE PERCENTAGES, UM, SUBSTANTIALLY.
SO WE ALWAYS WANT TO THINK ABOUT REALLY CAN'T THINK OF OCTOBER WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT SEPTEMBER AND NOVEMBER.
UM, AND WE'LL HAVE OUR NOVEMBER DATA, UH, SITUATED IN THE NEXT WEEK.
SO THAT WE'LL HAVE A SENSE OF WHETHER WE SEE THAT CONTINUING INTO NOVEMBER OR WHETHER WE SEE A DROP OFF THERE.
CRIM ARE, ARE, DO YOU SEE A TREND HERE IN THIS SLIDE OR ARE YOU DRAWING ANY CONCLUSIONS FROM WHAT WE CAN SEE HERE IN THIS SLIDE? YEAH, SO IN OUR ANALYSIS AND OUR ANALYSIS, THE ONE THAT I WANT TO ACTUALLY, THAT'S HARDEST TO SEE, UM, YOU KNOW, IS ACTUALLY IN THAT AGGRAVATED ASSAULT CATEGORY.
UM, AND THAT IS THE CATEGORY THAT WE WANT TO PAY THE MOST ATTENTION TO, PARTICULARLY IT'S NOT DIS-AGGREGATED HERE, BUT IN THAT NON FAMILY VIOLENCE AREA.
UM, AND, AND WE SEE THOSE INCREASES THAT THAT 13% CHANGE THE YEAR TO DATE 19% CHANGE.
UM, AS WE BREAK THAT DOWN INTO THE FAMILY VIOLENCE AND NON FAMILY VIOLENCE, THAT'S PRIMARILY HAPPENING IN THE NON FAMILY VIOLENCE AREA.
AND AGAIN, IF WE THEN SUBSET THAT LOOKING ONLY AT THE FIREARM RELATED ONES, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE SEEING THIS VERY IMPORTANT INCREASE, UM, TREND ANALYSIS IS ALWAYS DIFFICULT WITH LIMITED TIME PERIODS.
UM, AND GIVEN THAT WE WERE IN THE PANDEMIC, IT MAKES IT MUCH MORE CHALLENGING TO ASCERTAIN WHERE THE THINGS ARE TRENDING OR WHETHER THAT'S SHORT-TERM VOLATILITY.
UM, BUT I WOULD SAY THE INITIAL INDICATION IS THAT IN THAT PARTICULAR CATEGORY, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, NON FAMILY VIOLENCE WITH A WEAPON, IT LOOKS TO BE A TREND AND SAFE TO SAY THAT YOU DO NOT SEE A TREND WITH REGARDS TO MURDERS, AND YOU'RE NOT DRAWING ANY CONCLUSIONS WITH REGARDS TO MURDER.
I WOULD SAY THAT GIVEN THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF MURDERS THAT OCCUR IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, THAT IS A NUMBER THAT WE WOULD RARELY EVER SEE A TREND WE'D HAVE EVER BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE AS A TREND.
UM, RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, IF WE THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER OF ACTUAL MURDERS, WE RECOGNIZE THAT, UH, IF YOU HAVE, AND I, I POINTED OUT TO THE FACT THAT WE HAD A BAD WEEKEND, UM, WHERE WE HAD SEVERAL MURDERS ON THAT PARTICULAR WEEKEND, UM, MORE, YOU KNOW, MORE THAN WHAT WE TYPICALLY SEE ON A WEEKEND.
AND THAT CREATED A VERY HUGE SHIFT IN THE PERCENT, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THE MONTH.
AND SO, SO WE, WE DON'T, WE DON'T WANT TO CALL THE MURDER CHANGE A TREND PER SE.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY STATISTICAL EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THAT.
UM, IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE CONCERNED
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ABOUT GIVEN THE GRAVITY, UM, AND WHATNOT.AND WE DO WANT TO MAKE EVERYONE AWARE THAT WE HAVE SEEN THAT THIS NUMBER IS HIGHER THAN IT WAS LAST YEAR.
AND SO ARE YOU DRAWING ANY CONCLUSIONS FROM THAT? I MEAN, 26 PEOPLE IS HORRIBLE AND 40 PEOPLE IS HORRIBLE.
UM, BUT ARE YOU DRAWING ANY CONCLUSIONS IN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 2019 AND 2020? NOT AT THIS POINT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE SEE THIS IN THE NEWS A LOT LOCALLY, EVERY TIME THERE'S A MURDER.
UH, WE HEAR, YOU KNOW, WE HEAR ALARM THAT THE, THAT WE'VE HAD MORE MURDERS THIS YEAR THAN LAST YEAR.
DO YOU THINK THAT THAT ALARM IS WARRANTED? SO I, I WOULD SAY, AND THAT'S, THERE IS A SUBSTANTIAL INTERPLAY BETWEEN THE GRAVITY OF MURDER AS A CRIME, UM, AND THE INTERPRETATION OF MURDER AND THE FREQUENCY OF MURDER.
UM, GENERALLY SPEAKING, AND THIS IS, THIS HAS BEEN SORT OF ONE OF THE KIND OF INFORMAL POLICIES ABOUT IT AS A DEPARTMENT.
IT'S ACTUALLY MORE FUNCTIONAL TO LOOK AT THE COMBINATION OF MURDER AND AGGRAVATED ASSAULT AND ROBBERY.
TRADITIONALLY, WHEN ROBBERY IS, IS PLACED IN AS A VIOLENT CRIME, UM, GIVEN THAT PARTICULARLY IF THOSE INVOLVE USE OF A FIREARM, BECAUSE FRANKLY, AND SCIENTIFICALLY IT'S UNDERSTOOD THAT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MURDER AND AN AGGRAVATED ASSAULT WITH A FIREARM HAS A VERY RANDOM PROCESS ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
IF THERE IS A GUNSHOT IN THAT CIRCUMSTANCE, WHETHER IT IS A MURDER OR NOT BECOMES A LEGAL CLASSIFICATION AND SOMETHING THAT MAY HAVE HAPPENED BASED UPON TIME TO HOSPITAL, YOU KNOW, THE FACILITIES THAT WERE THERE, ET CETERA.
UM, AND SO IT'S, IT'S BETTER TO PUT ALL OF THE VIOLENT CRIMES SORT OF TOGETHER AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS AS A TREND RATHER THAN TO PARSE OUT ANY INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY LIKE MURDER.
WHEN WE DO THAT AGAIN, WE'RE, WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE INCREASES, PARTICULARLY BEING DRIVEN BY NON-FAMILY VIOLENCE, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, LOSING FIREARM, THOSE ARE EVENTS THAT COULD VERY WELL BE MURDERS, UM, HAD THEY HAPPENED SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY, IF THAT MAKES SENSE DOES.
AND THEN, UM, JUST, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WAY THAT THIS ISSUE, UM, YOU KNOW, CRIME DATA POINTS HAS BEEN LAID OVER THE ISSUE OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT OUR CITY COUNCIL FUNDS, AS FAR AS PUBLIC SAFETY AND WHAT ITS PRIORITIES ARE.
A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT TO TAKE 400% MURDER, UH, UPTAKE FOR INSTANCE, THAT YOU HAVE PUT HERE ON THIS SLIDE AND RELAYED THAT TO THE CITY COUNCIL'S DECISION TO REPRIORITIZE HOW IT PAYS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY.
ARE YOU DRAWING ANY CONCLUSIONS BETWEEN THE CITY COUNCILS? UM, IT'S CHANGE IN PRIORITIES AND THE CRIME STATISTICS? SO I WOULD SAY SCIENTIFICALLY THAT'S THE, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THERE'S A RELATIONSHIP OR NOT, TO ME AS A, AS A SCIENTIFIC QUESTION AT THIS POINT, WE ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH DATA TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THAT IS OR NOT IS NOT THE CASE.
UM, SO I WOULD BE HESITANT TO, TO RENDER SOME KIND OF CONCLUSION.
IT WOULD LARGELY JUST BE AN OPINION.
UM, AND SO I DO THINK THAT THERE ARE CONCERNS RELATED TO WHAT HAPPENS WITH PREDOMINANT WITH PARTICULARLY POLICE PATROL IN THE CITY.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT MAKING A STATEMENT THAT SAYS THAT IS CAUSAL, UM, OR RELATED TO WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN TERMS OF, UH, CHANGES, PARTICULARLY GOING BACK AND POINTING OUT THAT 400%.
UM, AND IT IS A TERRIBLE SERIES OF EVENTS, BUT 400% IN MURDER RELATES TO FOR PARTICULAR INDIVIDUALS.
UM, AND SO IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO DRAW, UM, YOU KNOW, A CONCLUSION THAT THERE, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THOSE TWO THINGS, AS WE HAVE MORE DATA, WE WILL BE EXPLORING IT.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S OF GREAT CONCERN TO US, AND WE'LL BE DEDICATING SOME RESOURCES TO UNDERSTANDING HOW THE FUNCTIONAL OPERATIONS CHANGE AS A RESULT OF CHANGES IN PERSONNEL AND BUDGET, UM, AS WELL AS HOW CRIME PATTERNS CHANGE.
AND OVER TIME, WE'LL HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING.
AND YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU HAVE YOUR OWN OPINION ON IT.
DO YOU MIND SHARING THAT WITH US? UH, MY EX MY, MY SENSE IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S, NON-SCIENTIFIC, UM, MY SENSE IS, IS THAT OVER TIME YOU WILL LIKELY SEE WITH LESS POLICING, YOU WILL LIKELY SEE MORE CRIME.
AND SO, UM, AND YOU'RE PARTICULARLY TALKING ABOUT LESS, UH, HOURS PATROLLING, UH, PARTICULARLY IT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, SCIENTIFICALLY WHAT I CAN SAY IS THAT EARLY KIND OF RESEARCH INTO PATROL SAID, LOOK, THERE WAS NO EFFECT PATROL DOESN'T DO ANYTHING.
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE MAINTAINED THAT PERSPECTIVE KIND OF LATER MORE SCIENTIFICALLY VALID RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT ACTUALLY A WELL-ORGANIZED PATROL CAN BE VERY EFFECTIVE IN DETERRING CRIME AND REDUCING LEVELS OF CRIME.
UM, AND SO THE ISSUES THERE ARE, THOSE ARE PRIMARILY RESOURCE ISSUES TO RUN
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A LARGE SCALE, STRONGLY SUPPORT, EVIDENCE SUPPORTED, DIRECTED PATROL PROGRAM.YOU NEED A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF ANALYSIS.
UM, YOU NEED A SUBSTANTIAL INFORMATION DISSEMINATION SYSTEM, AND YOU NEED THE PATROL RESOURCES TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
IN ADDITION TO WHAT WE PRIMARILY DO AS AN AGENCY, WHICH IS RESPOND TO CALLS FOR SERVICE.
UM, SO THE CALL FOR SERVICE DEMANDS ARE ALWAYS CHALLENGING, UM, IN ANY POLICE ORGANIZATION.
AND SO THAT'LL NECESSARILY CREATE AN INTERPLAY BETWEEN WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH PROACTIVE PATROL.
UM, SO, SO MY, MY, MY OPINION IS THAT BASED UPON MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OVER TIME, IF YOU REDUCE RESOURCES FOR PATROL, IF YOU REDUCE RESOURCES FOR ANALYSIS TO SUPPORT PATROL, YOU WILL LIKELY SEE CHANGES IN THE LEVELS OF CRIME.
I THINK, UM, THIS IS NOT A SLIDE THAT WE HAD REQUESTED, AND IT'S NOT PART OF OUR QUARTERLY, UH, REQUESTS TO YOUR DEPARTMENT.
I, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S TELLING THAT YOU DECIDED TO PUT IT AS THE FIRST SLIDE ON YOUR PRESENTATION.
DO YOU WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHY YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO START WITH? WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO ANSWER THAT JONATHAN? IT WAS, IT WAS MY DECISION TO PUT THAT ON THE SLIDE.
I FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO LET YOU UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NEIGHBORS AND, UH, UCR DATA.
THIS WAS MORE OF AN INFORMATIONAL, UH, UH, SLIDE, AS YOU CAN TELL THAT OUR OVERALL PERSONS, AND THEN AGAIN, OUR PROPERTY ARE DOWN 1%, SORRY, I'M GETTING SOME FEEDBACK, BUT IT WAS JUST MORE OF A, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE TOOL AND HOW TO LOOK AND, UH, READ THE, THE DATA BETWEEN NEIGHBORS AND UCR.
I DON'T SEE ANYTHING ABOUT UCR ON THIS, IS THAT ON HERE? AND I'M JUST MISSING IT.
WE HAVE HISTORICALLY REPORTED ON UCR FOR THE LAST MANY, I DON'T KNOW, 20 YEARS OR SO.
SO THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY SINCE WE WERE TRANSITIONING TO REPORTING, UH, USING NEIGHBORS, THIS WAS MORE OF A OPPORTUNITY AND AN INFORMATIONAL TIME TO BE ABLE TO SHARE WITH YOU THE, THE CHANGES.
I'LL JUST, I THINK THAT IT'S, UM, IT COULD, IN SOME WAYS BE MISCONSTRUED AND JUST BY DR.
KELLY'S, UH, ADMONITION THAT WE BE CAREFUL ABOUT TRENDS.
I THINK THIS, I DON'T KNOW, I WOULD BE DISAPPOINTED IF WE SAW SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN THE FUTURE, WITHOUT AT LEAST SOME OF THAT CONTEXT IN IT.
UM, AGAIN WAS JUST TRYING TO GIVE YOU A, A VERY ROBUST OVER, UH, IN THIS QUARTERLY REPORT.
UM, BUT IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT US TO REMOVE AND NOT TO REPORT ON, THEN I WILL REMOVE IT FOR FUTURE PRESENTATIONS.
I THINK, I THINK IT IS VERY APPROPRIATE CHIEF TO HAVE WHAT WE TYPICALLY HAVE, WHICH IS A YEARLY, LONGER DISCUSSION ABOUT THE CRIME FROM THE YEAR BEFORE, TYPICALLY IN FEBRUARY OR MARCH.
I DO NOT THINK THAT THIS IS VERY INFORMATIVE, BUT I WOULD NEVER ASK YOU TO NOT GIVE US INFORMATION.
SO I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE TO INCLUDE IT.
AND THEN I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE CAN CONTINUE TO PUT THE CAVEAT ON IT.
UM, IS THIS, IS THIS AVAILABLE TO US AND CITIZENS, UH, ON TO LET GO AND SEE THE OTHER MONTHS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, DR.
SO WE MAKE ALL OF OUR MONTHLY REPORTS AVAILABLE.
UM, THEY'RE ALL DISSEMINATED VIA THE WEBSITE.
AND SO CITIZENS HAVE ACCESS TO THESE, UH, FOR EVERY MONTH.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, WE PROVIDE OUR END OF MONTH REPORTING IS GENERALLY REPORTED ABOUT THE 15TH OF THE FOLLOWING MONTH.
AND SO THOSE GO UP, UH, AT THAT POINT, SO THIS INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE, UM, TO THEM.
AND WILL YOU JUST TELL PEOPLE WHAT THAT WEBSITE IS? I'LL HAVE TO ACTUALLY PULL THE LINK FOR YOU IT'S THROUGH THE DATA PORTAL.
SO, UM, SO IT'S TO GO TO THE APD WEBSITE AND THEN FIND THE DATA PORTAL.
SO IF YOU JUST GO TO THE APD, UH, WEBSITE, AND THEN ON THE RIGHT HAND CORNER, IT SAYS, UH, CHIEFS MONTHLY REPORT.
SO YOU, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO, UH, GATHER ALL THE REPORTS, UH, FROM THAT LINK.
AND I'LL JUST REITERATE TO GATE, I WOULD NEVER ASK YOU TO NOT GIVE US INFORMATION.
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IN FORMATION, YOU KNOW, BE GIVEN US THE PROPER CONTACT.CRINGING HAS DONE A VERY, UH, GOOD JOB AT PROVIDING THAT, UH, YOU INFORMATION AND PUTTING IT INTO THE CONTEXT THAT IS DESERVING.
ARE YOU READY TO GO TO PROPERTY CRIMES? I HAD ONE QUICK QUESTION, IF THAT'S OKAY.
UM, UH, THERE WAS SOME DISTINCTION MADE OR SOME PARSING OF THE AGGRAVATED ASSAULT THAT GLORIOUS, NOT NON-FAMILY VERSUS FAMILY VIOLENCE.
IS THAT SORT OF PARSING ALSO AVAILABLE FOR THE MURDER CATEGORY? UM, THE MURDER CATEGORY, WE, THE, THE MURDER CATEGORY HAS NOT PARSED THAT WAY.
UM, AGAIN, AS WE MOVE INTO THE NEIGHBORS, UM, MODEL, WE HAVE ADDITIONAL WAYS OF, WE HAVE ADDITIONAL WAYS OF DOING SOME PARSING, GENERALLY SPEAKING, BECAUSE MURDER IS SUCH A RARE EVENT.
UM, WE DO A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF, UH, DO A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF FOLLOW UP INTO EACH MURDER, UM, SO THAT WE HAVE, UH, UH, A LARGER UNDERSTANDING.
UM, I THINK THAT THERE ARE IN MANY JURISDICTIONS, I WILL SAY IT THIS WAY.
UM, THERE ARE REASONABLE CONCERNS ABOUT GIVEN THE LOW SAMPLE SIZE, GIVEN THE FEW EVENTS THAT THERE ARE ABOUT WHAT YOU ACTUALLY REPORT, UM, RELATED TO MURDER.
UM, AND OTHER WORDS, IT'S MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN AVENUE ANONYMITY IN A MURDER THAN IT IS, UH, IN ANY OTHER CRIMINAL EVENTS.
SO THE ONLY OTHER CATEGORY THAT REALLY FALLS INTO THAT REGULARLY AND DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE KIND OF ACROSS THE COUNTRY, UM, WOULD BE SORT OF SEXUAL ASSAULT, RIGHT? AND SO THOSE TWO AREAS WERE PURPOSELY, UH, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERED ABOUT WHAT'S ACTUALLY GOING TO BE RECORDED THERE INTERNALLY.
UM, WE DO A SUBSTANTIAL DIVE INTO WHAT THE FACTORS ARE RELATED TO EACH MURDER, OBVIOUSLY.
UM, THE, UH, THE ONLY OTHER THING THAT COMES UP IN IT, WHICH IS WORTH UNDERSTANDING IS THAT FROM TIME TO TIME, YOU WILL ENCOUNTER.
AND THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO REALLY WORK ON FROM A COMMUNICATION STANDPOINT, UM, TO GETTING PEOPLE WHO ARE THE PRIMARY USERS OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S DATA, UM, TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT THE MURDER NUMBER ACTUALLY CAN GO DOWN FROM TIME TO TIME.
UH, THE REASON IT CAN GO DOWN IS THAT THERE, THERE IS ALSO A LEGAL ASPECT ABOUT WHAT THE DETERMINATION IS.
AND SO AT TIMES WE WILL COUNT MURDERS AT A CERTAIN NUMBER.
UM, AND THEN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL COME IN.
ONE OF THE VERY COMMON ONES IS ACTUALLY THE ROAD RIGHT BELOW.
IT IS THAT IF IT IS LEGALLY DETERMINED THAT IT'S NOT MURDER AND IT DID INVOLVE PERHAPS A GUNSHOT, IT DID INVOLVE SOMEONE, UH, YOU KNOW, IT DIDN'T INVOLVE A DEATH.
UM, BUT IF IT LEGALLY SHIFTS AWAY FROM BEING MURDERED WILL ACTUALLY COME OUT OF THAT CATEGORY.
SO WE DO SEE TIMES WHERE THE NUMBER ACTUALLY GOES DOWN.
UM, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE AWARE OF.
DO YOU WANT TO SHIFT THE SLIDE TO PROPERTY CRIMES? GO AHEAD, JOHN.
SO AS WE LOOKED INTO CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE IS THAT WE'RE SEEING THE CATEGORIES THAT WE SEE THE LARGER PERCENTAGES IN.
AGAIN, UM, YOU MIGHT NOTICE AN EXTORTION FOR EXAMPLE, UM, THOSE ARE CATEGORIES THAT HAVE VERY, VERY FEW EVENTS COMMONLY.
UM, SO WE'RE NOT SEEING A LOT THERE, RIGHT? PER SNATCHING, YOU MIGHT NOTICE IS A HUNDRED PERCENT INCREASE.
UM, WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE SEEMS TO BE MORE INDICATIVE OF WHAT WE WOULD JUST CATEGORIZE AS TEMPORAL VARIATION, RIGHT? WE DON'T SEE ANYTHING HERE THAT IS, UH, JUMPING OUT AS A SUBSTANCE IT'S, YOU KNOW, SUBSTANTIAL, UH, INCREASES.
IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME FOR US LAST QUARTER OF THE YEAR END.
UM, AND THIS'LL BE SOMETHING THAT WILL BE GENERALLY MORE INFORMATIVE AT THE YEAR END.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE DO FOR THE PURPOSE OF UNDERSTANDING WHAT'S HAPPENING FOR THE PURPOSE OF PATTERNS THAT ALLOW THAT ASSIST WITH SORT OF MANAGEMENT AND THE ORGANIZATION.
WE DO A LOT OF THE COMPARISONS LIKE OCTOBER OF 2020 TO OCTOBER, 2019.
UM, AS WE STRETCH THOSE TIME PERIODS OUT AND LOOK AT WHOLE YEARS, IT GIVES US A BETTER PICTURE.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT PROPERTY CRIMES? CAN WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE? THIS IS A NEW SLIDE THAT, UH, WE, UH, IS INCLUDED NEIGHBORS.
AND SO THIS IS SORT OF A NEW AREA.
I JUST WANTED TO JONATHAN QUICKLY TO, UH, TALK TO HIM ABOUT THAT.
SO CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY IS, IS USEFUL AND THE NEIGHBORS MODEL, IT'S A VERY HELPFUL, UM, GENERALLY SPEAKING, THESE ARE THE SORT OF SOCIAL ORDER VIOLATIONS, UM, THAT WE WOULD DEAL WITH.
UM, BUT THEY, THEY GIVE US ONE OF THE REASONS THAT THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT AND THE NEIGHBOR'S MODEL IS THAT MANY OF THESE ARE THINGS THAT WOULD, UH, LEGALLY WHAT WE MIGHT REFER TO AS
[00:30:01]
A LESSER INCLUDED.UM, OFTENTIMES THESE ARE THINGS THAT WOULD COME UP WHERE THERE'S ANOTHER CRIME INVOLVED THAT UNDER THE UCR ACCOUNTING RULES WOULD BE A HIGHER LEVEL CRIME.
AND SO A LOT OF THIS ISN'T COUNTED VERY WELL IN THE UCR MODEL, RIGHT? UM, AGAIN, THE EXAMPLE THAT I GENERALLY USE IS THAT IF YOU HAVE AN EVENT INVOLVING DRUGS, AS WELL AS VIOLENCE UNDER THE UCR MODEL, IT'S GOING TO REPORT THE VIOLENCE, BUT NOT THE DRUGS.
AND SO THIS, UH, CATEGORY OF, OF CRIMES, UM, WILL BE, SHOULD BE VERY USEFUL, PARTICULARLY AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND BEGIN TO ESTABLISH SOME BASELINE DATA.
UM, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE, UH, THAT IS IMPORTANT IN THE NEIGHBOR'S MODEL.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT DOES GIVE US A LOT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS AND PARTICULARLY, AND I WOULD SAY THIS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE DRUG RELATED OFFENSES, UH, AND PARTICULARLY THINGS THAT MIGHT BE RELEVANT TO SITUATIONS IN WHICH HIGHER ORDER CRIMES MAY OCCUR.
THANK YOU, JONATHAN, ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THE CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY AND JUST FOR YOUR, UH, INFORMATION, UH, AS YOU CAN TELL A LOT OF THESE PARTICULAR, UH, CRIMES, THERE'S A LOT OF THEM, SO YOU MAY NOT KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE DEFINITIONS ARE ON OUR WEBSITE.
WHEN YOU GO TO, UH, THE REPORTS, WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE DEFINITIONS LINED OUT.
SO IF YOU'RE CURIOUS OF WHAT THE LEGAL DEFINITIONS ARE FOR THOSE PARTICULAR CRIMES, YOU CAN FIND THOSE ON OUR WEBSITE ATTACHED TO THE REPORT.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO A CITY-WIDE RESPONSE TIMES AND CALLS FOR SERVICE.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, OUR TARGET IS A 10 FOR PRIORITY ZERO AND ONE, BECAUSE THESE ARE THE MOST URGENT, UH, CALLS THAT, UH, EITHER PROPERTY OR LIVE FOR, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO RESPOND TO QUICKLY FOR JUNE, JULY, AND AUGUST.
UH, YOU CAN TELL THAT WE WERE A LITTLE BIT OVER OUR RESPONSE TIME, UH, GOALS.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, FOR OUR RESPONSE TIMES, IF WE WOULD GO AHEAD AND I KNOW THAT THE NEXT TWO SLIDES ARE JUST BROKEN OUT SPECIFICALLY IN AREAS, UH, WERE THERE ANY AREAS THAT ANYONE HAD ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ON REGARDING OUR CALL VOLUME AND RESPONSE TIMES? OKAY.
CAN YOU GO TO SLIDE EIGHT? UH, OVER TIME SPENT IS YOU CAN TELL OUR OVERTIME BUDGET IS ABOUT 3.5 MILLION, UH, UH, TO DATE.
UH, WE ARE AT 53% SPENT OF 1.9 MILLION.
I'VE BEEN TRYING TO ASK A QUESTION.
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO ADD TO THIS REPORT, THE RATE THAT, THAT PROPERTY CRIMES CRIMES AGAINST PEOPLE AND CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY ART ARE BEING SOLVED? YES, WE DO HAVE THAT INFORMATION AND WE'LL MAKE SURE WE INCLUDE IT.
IF NO QUESTIONS ON OVERTIME, WE'LL GO TO STAFFING.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, OUR AUTHORIZED STRENGTH IS 1809.
UH, THIS REPORT WAS, UH, GATHERED OR AT LEAST OUR NUMBERS ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE DAYS AGO.
I BELIEVE WE'RE AT 43 NOW, UH, FOR OUR CURRENT VACANCIES, UM, FOR OUR CIVILIANS, UH, WE DID HAVE 76 VACANCIES FOR OUR CIVILIANS.
UH, WE WERE GIVEN THE APPROVAL TO GO AHEAD AND FILL SOME OF THOSE POSITIONS.
WE'RE STILL CARRYING ABOUT 31 CIVILIAN VACANCIES THROUGHOUT THE DEPARTMENT.
AND THEN AS WE, UH, ARE MEETING OUR COST SAVING MEASURES, WE'LL BE FILLING THOSE POSITIONS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
WE DID HAVE A GRADUATING CLASS, THE ONE 43RD, UH, UH, FIT.
UH, THEY ENDED WITH 42 AND OCTOBER, AND THEY WILL BE RELEASED ON JANUARY 17TH.
UH, AND AT THAT POINT WE WILL HAVE THE NO CADET CLASSES AT THAT TIME WRITING OUT.
UH, EVERYBODY WILL BE, UH, ON THE FULL SERVICE.
THAT IS THE END OF THIS PARTICULAR PRESENTATION, UH, BEFORE WE TRANSITIONED TO THE COVID, UH, PRESENTATION.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN FUTURE,
[00:35:01]
UH, QUARTERLY REPORTING OR ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS, UM, PRESENTATION? I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION ON THE, UM, ON THE GRADUATES FROM THE ACADEMY, ANY IDEA WHY YOU LOST FOR THE ATTRITION THERE FROM 58 TO 42 IS 70% ABOUT TYPICAL FOR WHO PASSES FOR THE PASSING RATE.DID YOU SAY, WHAT, WHAT PERCENTAGE DID YOU HAVE? WE USUALLY LOSE LOSE BETWEEN, UH, 18 TO 20%, UH, EACH, EACH YEAR.
SO THIS IS ABOUT HAVING COURAGE, UH, BUT IT'S FOR VARIOUS REASONS OF EITHER THEY CHOSE TO RESIGN, OR IT WAS ACADEMIC OR PHYSICAL FITNESS REASONS TO WHERE THEY, UH, THEY WERE REMOVED FROM THE ACADEMY AND OCCASIONALLY IT'S THROUGH INJURY AND THEIR, UH, THEIR INJURY.
THEY'RE USUALLY PROCESSED INTO THE NEXT ACADEMY, WHICH I BELIEVE WE HAVE ONE RIGHT NOW THAT IS, UH, BEING REPROCESSED DUE TO AN INJURY.
I ACTUALLY WOULD, UM, REALLY LIKE TO SEE, AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO LIKE, CROSS-REFERENCE THIS DATA THIS WAY, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE WEAPONS LAW VIOLATIONS IN RELATION TO THE VIOLENT CRIMES INVOLVING FIREARMS FOR ARMS. UM, IT WOULD BE REALLY NICE TO SEE HOW THAT DATA CORRELATES TO EACH OTHER.
AND HOW MANY OF THOSE CRIMES ARE COMING FROM LAWFUL WEAPON, UM, OWNERSHIP VERSUS NON LAWFUL.
WE WILL SEE IF WE CAN TRY TO INCORPORATE THAT.
ANYTHING ELSE, DOCTOR, THANK YOU.
AND, UH, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE, UH, RICK RANDALL.
HE IS OUR DIVISION MANAGER OVER OUR EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND WELLNESS.
HE HAS TAKEN THE LEAD ON OUR COVID EFFORTS AND I BELIEVE THAT HE WILL PROVIDE YOU A, UH, THE, THE BEST PRESENTATION REGARDING, UH, OUR COVID, UH, EFFORTS IN OUR DEPARTMENT.
HOPE EVERYONE'S HAVING A GOOD DAY AND STAYING SAFE AND HEALTHY.
UH, I'M GONNA THE NUMBERS THAT I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FROM THE NUMBERS THAT YOU'LL SEE ON THE SLIDE.
AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS WE PUT THESE NUMBERS OUT TO 10 30 THIS MORNING, AND I HAVE A LIVE SHEET THAT UPDATES ME CONSISTENTLY THROUGH THE DAY, UH, WITH THE LATEST NUMBERS.
SO IT'S NOT BIG DIFFERENCES, BUT YOU WILL NOTICE THERE'S A COUPLE OF DIFFERENCES IN TERMS OF OUR POSITIVE COVID CASES.
WE'VE BROKEN OUT THE SWORN VERSUS THE CIVILIAN.
WE HAD S WE HAVE TO DATE GOING BACK TO MARCH.
WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 78 POSITIVE COVID CASES AMONG OUR SWORN PERSONNEL AND 35 AMONG OUR CIVILIAN PERSONNEL.
UM, SO ROUGHLY THAT REPRESENTS ABOUT 69% OF OUR CASES HAVE BEEN ON THE SWORN SIDE, UH, ABOUT 30% OR SO, UH, HAVE BEEN ON THE CIVILIAN SIDE, UH, PARTICULARLY IN THE COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS, UM, THE, UH, POSITIVE COVID CASES THAT WERE COVERED BY WORKERS' COMP.
SO THAT WOULD BE, YOU GET PEOPLE THAT ARE COVID POSITIVE BECAUSE THEY WERE, THEY GOT AN EXPOSURE AT WORK AND YOU HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE COVID POSITIVE BECAUSE THEY HAD EXPOSURE OUTSIDE OF WORK, FAMILY, FRIENDS, ET CETERA.
SO WORK RELATED, UH, WE HAD 57 OF OUR CASES ON THE SWORN SIDE WERE, UM, COVERED BY WORKERS' COMP.
SO THAT'S LIKE 73% OF OUR, UH, SWORN CASES AND THEN 24 OR, UH, 69% OF OUR, UH, CIVILIAN CASES.
SO IN BOTH CASES, THE MAJORITY OF THE POSITIVES WERE COMING FROM WORK-RELATED AS OPPOSED TO, UH, FAMILY RELATED.
NOW I'LL PUT THIS CAVEAT ON THERE.
IT LOOKS LIKE FOR ABOUT THE LAST FIVE WEEKS OR SO.
WE WE'VE SEEN THAT KIND OF TURN A LITTLE BIT WHERE WE'RE GETTING MORE CASES THAT ARE CAUSED BY FAMILY EXPOSURE AND ARE CAUSED BY A WORK-RELATED EXPOSURE, LOOKING AT THE EMPLOYEES THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY OFF, UH, THAT ARE, UM, DUE TO COVID-19.
UH, WE HAVE 40 SWARM THAT ARE OFF, UH, 14 CIVILIAN AND CUMULATIVELY.
UH, WE'VE HAD, WE HAD A LITTLE GAP THROWING MY GLASSES ON, UH, BEFORE TAKING ONES OUT THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY EXPOSED, WHICH IS 358 SWORN AND 119 CIVILIAN THAT PREVIOUSLY WERE POSITIVE.
THAT GIVES US A TOTAL OF 398 OF OUR SWORN PERSON CHANEL HAVE, UH, HAD COVID OVER OUR, OUR TESTED, UM, OR OFF
[00:40:01]
DUE TO COVID.AND 123 OF OUR CIVILIANS WERE OFF DUE TO COVID.
AND THAT WOULD COVER NOT JUST PEOPLE THAT TESTED POSITIVELY FOR COVID, BUT WHO WERE OFF WITH CHILDCARE ISSUES BECAUSE OF COVID-19 OR A SPOUSE SPOUSAL RELATED.
UH, SO EMPLOYEES THAT WERE GIVEN ADA ACCOMMODATIONS DUE TO COVID, WE HAD NINE OF OUR SWORN PERSONNEL AND NINE 18 OF OUR CIVILIAN PERSONNEL THAT SOUGHT ADA ACCOMMODATION DUE TO COVID.
I KNOW ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL HAD WERE HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE TELEWORKING BECAUSE OF COVID AND WE'VE MADE TELEWORKING, UH, SO AVAILABLE.
WE HAVEN'T KEPT TRACK OF THAT IN RELATION TO COVID, UH, EXPOSURES.
SO PRETTY MUCH ANYBODY THAT WAS ABLE TO WORK WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE WORKING, UH, WITH, UH, EITHER FROM HOME OR, UM, BY TAKING TIME OFF.
SO EMPLOYEES WHO RECEIVED, UH, CITY EMERGENCY LEAVE, WE HAD 136 ON THE SWORN SIDE, RECEIVED THE EMERGENCY CITY, LEAVE 110 ON THE CIVILIAN SIDE, AND, UH, EMPLOYEES WHO RECEIVED CITY EMERGENCY LEAVE, UH, DUE TO, UH, AN EXPOSURE THAT WAS RELATED TO WORK WOULD HAVE BEEN 113 OF THAT, 136 ON THE SWORN SIDE AND 60 OF THE 110 ON THE CIVILIAN SIDE.
AND THOSE WHO RECEIVED A CITY EMERGENCY LEAVE AND EXTENDED, UH, FMLA FOR, OF THEIR CHILDREN.
WE HAD 114 ON THE SWORN SIDE AND 45 ON THE CIVILIAN SIDE.
UM, ESSENTIALLY THE DEFAULT IN OUR MECHANISM HAS BEEN, WE ASSUME THAT THE EXPOSURE IS WORK-RELATED UNLESS WE GET SPECIFIC INFORMATION OTHERWISE.
SO THE ONLY NO ONE HAS HAD TO USE PERSONAL SICK LEAVE TO COVER, UM, THEIR COVID ILLNESS.
IT'S EITHER BEEN COVERED BY EMERGENCY LEAVE, EMERGENCY CITY LEAVE OR EMERGENCY CITY LEAVE, PLUS SOME EXTENDED FMLA.
SO THAT'S PRETTY MUCH OUR NUMBERS, IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, IT WAS ACTUALLY JUST ABOUT ANY ATTRITION.
HAVE YOU GUYS HAD ANY ATTRITION JUST STRAIGHT UP, UM, YOU KNOW, VERIZON RESIGNS BECAUSE OF COVID? NO, WE HAVEN'T HAD NONE.
AND WE HAVE, WE HAVE HOWEVER HAD CASES WHERE PEOPLE HAVE APPLIED FOR SPECIAL CONSIDERATION AS WE'VE HAD TO DO OUR STAFFING ADJUSTMENTS AND WHERE WE HAVE BEEN ABLE, UH, AT, UP TO THIS MOMENT TO ACCOMMODATE EVERYONE WHO HAD, WHO NEEDED TO GET A WORK, A SPECIAL WORK ASSIGNMENT DUE TO COVID CONCERNS LIKE A FAMILY MEMBER WHO HAD COVID OR THEY HAD A FAMILY MEMBER WHO HAD, UH, WHO WAS A HIGH RISK AND THEY WANTED TO BE SURE THAT THEY COULD TAKE CARE OF THEM.
SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO FORTUNATELY UP TO THIS MOMENT TO ACCOMMODATE ALL OF THOSE, ANYONE ELSE HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THAT? OKAY.
MY LAST THING, AND IT'S, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE DEPARTMENT FOR NOT MAKING PEOPLE KNOW FOR ALLOWING PEOPLE TO USE THESE EMERGENCY LEADS AND NOT MAKING THEM USE THEIR ACCRUED LEAVE.
WELL, WE, WE TRY, PARTICULARLY SINCE UNDER CHIEF MANLEY'S LEADERSHIP, WE CREATED THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS DIVISION AND BROUGHT OUR PHYSICIAN, OUR MENTAL, PHYSICAL, AND SPIRITUAL HEALTH COMPONENTS ALTOGETHER.
WE HAVE MADE EVERY EFFORT TO TAKE CARE OF OUR PEOPLE, UM, BECAUSE WE DO BELIEVE THEY'RE OUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET.
AND TO THAT END TO DATE, WE HAVE TESTED ALMOST 1100 OF OUR FOLKS, UM, FOR COVID.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO STAY ON TOP OF THIS AS BEST WE CAN I ASK ABOUT, UM, UH, THE COVID, UM, POTENTIAL FOR GETTING THE IMMUNIZATIONS, HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED INTO ANY OF THAT.
IS THERE ANY PLAN ON HOW, UM, HOW THAT MIGHT LOOK IF WE GET THAT OFFER FROM, UM, OUR PUBLIC SAFETY FOLK? YES.
AND THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
UM, SO THE STATE HAS DESIGNATED IN THE FIRST ROLLOUT OF VACCINATIONS, A ONE, A ONE B ONE A WILL BE THOSE WHO WORK IN HOSPITALS, NURSING, UH, PATIENTS IN NURSING HOMES, MORTUARY CARE WORKERS WHO ARE DOING EMBALMING ON FOLKS THAT ARE COVID POSITIVE, THEY'LL GET THE FIRST DOSES.
SO IT DEPENDS ON HOW MANY DOSES WE ARE DELIVERED AS TO WHETHER WE MOVE INTO ONE B, WHICH IS THE FIRST RESPONDERS.
AND, UH, WE HAVE TIERED OUR WORKFORCE SO THAT WE HAVE A LEVEL ONE, WHICH IS EVERYONE WHO'S INTERACTING
[00:45:01]
WITH THE PUBLIC LEVEL.TWO IS EMPLOYEES WHO ARE INTERACTING WITH EMPLOYEES WHO ARE INTERACTING WITH THE PUBLIC AND LEVEL THREE IS THOSE WHO ARE COMPLETELY TELEWORKING.
SO WE'RE READY TO PHASE IN TO ROLL OUT IN PHASES FOR VACCINATION TO TAKE CARE OF OUR MOST AT RISK EMPLOYEES, JUST AS SOON AS WE GET THE GREEN LIGHT, THAT LIBEL THAT IS LIKELY TO BE NOT UNTIL THE END OF JANUARY OR END OF FEBRUARY, WE THINK THERE'S NO WAY FOR US TO, TO TRY OUR BEST TO GET, UM, THIS PERSONNEL MOVED INTO ONE 80 CATEGORIES, I GUESS WE JUST KIND OF HAVE TO WAIT, RIGHT? YES, SIR.
IT'S, IT'S COMPLETELY DEPENDENT UPON THE, UH, UPON THE STATE.
THAT'S THE WAY THE STATE IS ALLOCATED AND PRETTY MUCH ALMOST EVERY STATE HAS DONE THAT, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE CDC FOR HOW TO ROLL OUT THE NEXT.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONCERN FOR OUR FOLKS.
THANK YOU, JACQUELINE RANDALL, ALWAYS NICE TO HAVE HIM.
UH, ANY DISCUSSION BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM? SO A QUICK TIME CHECK, WE ARE EIGHT MINUTES BEHIND, BUT I HAVE EVERY CONFIDENCE THAT WE'LL MAKE IT UP.
[3. Anti-Transgender Violence Discussion]
SO NEXT STEP WE HAVE, UH, AN AGENDA ITEM SPONSORED BY ME AND MISSIONARY LANE.IT'S ABOUT ANTI TRANSGENDER VIOLENCE.
AND, UM, MR. LANE, DO YOU WANT TO INTRODUCE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO BE SPEAKING WHILE I TEE UP THE VIDEO? YEAH.
YOU KNOW, I JUST, UH, I'M GOING TO LET THEM INTRODUCE THEMSELVES WHEN THEY GET ON HERE, BUT I DID BLINK Y'ALL SOME OF THE, UM, SOME OF THE TOP MINDS, SOME OF THE TOP PEOPLE THAT ARE DOING GRASSROOTS WORK RIGHT NOW.
UM, I WANTED TO UPDATE YOU ALL THAT, UM, THIS, UM, IS A COALITION OF PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING TOGETHER AND THEY SENT IN A GRANT.
RE-IMAGINING HOW WE MIGHT PROVIDE CARE AND, UM, SUPPORT TO THIS COMMUNITY THAT IS EXPERIENCING INCREASING LEVELS OF VIOLENCE DUE TO ANTI-TRANS RHETORIC.
UM, AND SO I THINK THAT BY THEM TALKING TO YOU ALL A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE SEEING AND WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN, THIS WILL HELP, UM, ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS THAT I HEAR MAJORLY BROUGHT UP.
WHENEVER WE TRY TO TALK ABOUT THIS.
UM, AT THE CITY LEVEL, I HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN PUBLIC SAFETY SPECIFICALLY ASKING ME FOR ACCESS TO PROPS, TO TALK THROUGH SOME OF THESE IDEAS THEY HAVE.
I THINK THE CITY IS INTERESTED BECAUSE THEY AWARDED A GRANT, UM, FOR WHAT SOME OF THIS WORK IS THAT'S HAPPENING THEN IS HOUSING FIRST AND SOME OTHER VERY IMPORTANT WORK.
SO WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO GIVE YOU ALL ESSENTIALLY A BRIEFING, UM, AND ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS IF WE CAN.
BUT I TRIED TO BRING YOU ALL PEOPLE THAT I THOUGHT COULD ANSWER SOME, SOME OF THESE MAJOR QUESTIONS THAT WE'RE SEEING BREAKDOWN FOR THIS COMMUNITY.
UM, AND I WANTED TO WELCOME YOU ALL IF WE RUN OUT OF TIME TO JUST MESSAGE ME AFTER, AND I'LL TRY TO GET YOU FOLLOW UP DETAILS, UM, TO SUPPORT WHAT'S GOING TO BE HEARD TODAY AND I'LL PASS IT OVER TO CHAIR FOR THE VIDEO.
SO, UM, CAN Y'ALL GIVE ME A THUMBS UP IF YOU CAN SEE THIS VIDEO AND CAN YOU HEAR THE MUSIC STARTING? GIVE ME A THUMBS UP PLEASE NOW.
I AM GOING TO SPIRIT WITH ME ONE SECOND.
HOW ABOUT NOW? COULD YOU ALL HEAR THE SOUND NOW? NO.
MIGHT BE BETTER TO JUST SEND IT OFF FOR THEM TO WATCH IT LATER AND LET THEM GET STARTED.
WOULD THAT WORK? GIVE ME ONE MINUTE TO SEE IF I CAN SOLVE THIS ROCKY.
CAUSE IT'S A REALLY GOOD VIDEO.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAD EVERYBODY.
AND ON THE OTHER SIDE HERE, I THINK, UM, IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE ALMOST EVERYONE THAT'S NOT DOING IT.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE THE AUDIO IS NOT GOING TO GO, UH, TO US FROM YOUR MACHINE.
UM, SO IF THERE WAS, UH, A BETTER WAY FOR US TO GET, UH, TO SHOW THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD SEND IT TO US DIRECTLY, OR IF YOU THINK THAT WOULD BE TOO MUCH TIME.
I THINK IT'S GOOD TO PROBABLY LET THEM TRY TO WORK ON IT ON THE TECH SIDE AND LET THEM START THE PRESENTATION IF THAT'S OKAY.
[00:50:01]
UM, CITY HALL, AB ONE, MAY I, WHAT SHOULD I, WHO SHOULD I SEND IT TO? YOU WANT THEM TO SEND IT TO ME? OH, TO MS. JACKSON? YEAH, GO AHEAD.SEND IT TO ME, MS. WEBER, PLEASE.
THANKS VERY MUCH, MS. JACQUELINE.
UM, ROCKY, UM, I SEE YOUR PEOPLE HERE.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT I NEED TO DO TO GET THEM ON CAMERA? OH, I, WE WEREN'T SURE IF THEY WOULD BE ALLOWED TO SHOW THEIR CAMERAS.
SO I TOLD THEM TO JUST BE PREPARED FOR AUDIO.
UM, UH, DO YOU NEED THEM TO TAKE THEM ON CAMERA? SOME FOLKS THEY WANT? I THINK COOL.
I THINK, UM, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT MATEO, UM, YOU CAN UNMUTE AND THAT WE HAVE EVERYBODY IN ON THIS SIDE.
UM, AND THEY SAID THEY WANT YOU TO JUST SHOW THE VIDEO AFTER THEY PRESENT.
UM, BUT MATEO, CAN YOU TRY TO UNMUTE AND TELL ME IF EVERYBODY IS IN AS FAR AS YOU CAN TELL? UM, I CAN SEE SEMINARIAN.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND JUST, UM, IF YOU DON'T MIND, LET'S GO AHEAD AND JUST BEGIN THE PRESENTATION, EVERYONE THAT IS SPEAKING IN ORDER TO JUST INTRODUCE YOURSELF BRIEFLY.
SO WE HAVE TIME IF THAT'S OKAY.
I NEED TO KNOW THE NAME SO THAT I CAN GIVE THEM THE ABILITY TO UNMUTE.
I'VE GOT A LOT OF PEOPLE ON THE ATTENDEE SIDE THAT I DON'T KNOW WHO'S SUPPOSED TO BE SPEAKING FOR THIS ITEM.
UNDERSTOOD IF WE CAN, UH, DO A ROLL CALL.
UM, THEY CAN EVEN THEY'RE TELLING ME AND, UH, UM, AND A CHAT WHO IS SPEAKING FIRST, I CAN CALL THEM UP.
WOULD THAT HURT? WOULD THAT HELP 81? UM, I MEAN, YOU CAN DO A ROLL CALL.
I MEAN, THE ONLY ONES I HAVE FOR SURE ARE, UH, DEVIN HARRIS AND MATEO DELATORRE YEAH.
AND THEN FIRST UP IS RAINEY FRASER.
UM, THEN CC B A N AND THEN DEVIN, THEN I BELIEVE LISTED AS I'M NOT SURE, BUT LIST AS MISS AMAZING HEAD IS THE FINAL.
AND THEN, UH, NINE ON THE FEN.
SO RAINY IS FIRST RANDY FRASER.
UM, I'M ONLY SEEING A RAINY DEVIN AND MATEO.
SO I WILL WORK ON GETTING THE OTHERS, BUT WE'LL LET RAINY GO FIRST.
I'M UH, I'M GETTING THEM OVER.
I THINK THEY WERE CONFUSED ON WHICH PLACE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE.
SO IF WE CAN LET RAINY START, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
AND JUST TO LET YOU ALL KNOW, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE'VE BROUGHT PEOPLE FROM THIS COMMUNITY TO SPEAK TO YOU.
ALSO, SOME OF THEM WERE PRETTY NERVOUS AND SOME OF THEM HAVE NEVER HAD ACCESS.
AND THAT'S LARGELY WHAT I'M TRYING TO BRING TO THIS COMMISSION'S ATTENTION.
SO THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE THAT DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW TO ACCESS Y'ALL AND TELL YOU WHAT THEY NEED.
SO I'D LIKE TO LET RAINY BEGIN, AND I WILL TRY TO GET THE OTHERS OVER TO TECH ASAP.
Y'ALL UM, ALL RIGHT, I'LL GO AHEAD.
CAN EVERYONE, WE CAN HEAR YOU RAINY AND NOW WE CAN TRY AGAIN.
I AM A TRANSGENDER WOMAN AND DECADE LONG RESIDENT AND SOCIAL WORKER HERE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
I'VE COME TODAY TO SPEAK TO THIS COMMITTEE AS PART OF A COALITION OF LOCAL TRANSGENDER LEADERS, ORGANIZERS, AND ACTIVISTS, ADVOCATING FOR THE SAFETY AND NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
AND OF COURSE, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND ALSO MASS UPRISINGS AGAINST POLICE VIOLENCE, UM, AS TRANS NON-BINARY AND GENDER NONCONFORMING PEOPLE FROM BIRTH THROUGHOUT CHILDHOOD AND INTO ADULTHOOD, WE FACE SYSTEMIC TRANSPHOBIC DISCRIMINATION IN ALL AREAS OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE.
AS YOUTH WE'RE OFTEN SUBJECTED TO SOCIAL ISOLATION, FAMILY REJECTION, AND ABANDONMENT CRIMINALIZATION OF OUR VERY EXISTENCE IN THE PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM, PHYSICAL SEXUAL, MENTAL ABUSE, MEDICAL PATHOLOGIZATION INVASIVE VIOLENT, AND NON-CONSENSUAL SURGERIES IN THE CASE OF INTERSEX INDIVIDUALS AND EVEN SUBJECTION TO CONVERSION THERAPIES.
ACCORDING TO THE WILLIAMS INSTITUTE, APPROXIMATELY 40% OF HOMELESS YOUTH IN THE UNITED STATES IDENTIFY AS LGBT A STAGGERING NUMBER THAT REFLECTS THE MONUMENTAL ADVERSITIES WE WERE PRESENTED WITH ESSENTIALLY FROM BIRTH.
THESE EARLY CONDITIONS ARE FOLLOWED INTO ADULTHOOD BY PERSISTENCE, SOCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL TRANSPHOBIA, CREATING BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT, HEALTHCARE AND HOUSING.
ACCORDING TO THE 2015 US TRANSGENDER SURVEY IN TEXAS, 15% OF OUR COMMUNITY FACED UNEMPLOYMENT AND 34% WERE LIVING IN POVERTY.
30% OF TRANSGENDER TEXANS REPORTED EXPERIENCING
[00:55:01]
HOMELESSNESS.AND AMONGST THAT PORTION, 30% REPORTED AVOIDING STAYING IN A SHELTER DUE TO FEAR OF MYSTERIES THAT TREATMENT ON THE BASIS OF BEING TRANS IN ORDER TO GET BY OUR COMMUNITY IS OFTEN FORCED INTO UNDERGROUND ECONOMIES TO SUBSIST AND PERSIST FROM DAY TO DAY.
AND OFTEN ARE VERY ACTS OF SURVIVAL ARE CRIMINALIZED, REGARDLESS OF THEIR NECESSITY TO US AND CRITICALLY THEIR HARMLESSNESS.
WHEN YOU FACTOR IN RACISM, SEXISM, ABLEISM, AND XENOPHOBIA, THE VARIOUS INTERSECTIONS OF OUR INDIVIDUAL IDENTITIES CAN CREATE A GAUNTLET OF OPPRESSIONS THAT THREATEN OUR LIVES.
WE EXIST IN EVERY GROUP WITHIN THE SOCIETY, BUT BLACK INDIGENOUS AND MIGRANT TRANS WOMEN ARE PARTICULARLY TARGETED AND DISENFRANCHISED BY THE INSTITUTIONS OF POLICING AND THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX.
AND THEY ALSO FACE AN EPIDEMIC OF DEADLY DOMESTIC AND INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE.
60% OF TRANS PEOPLE IN TEXAS WHO REPORTED INTERACTION WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED EXPERIENCING MISTREATMENT RANGING FROM HARASSMENT, PHYSICAL ASSAULT AND SEXUAL ASSAULT OR COERCION, AND 60% REPORTED.
THEY WOULD FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE ASKING FOR ASSISTANCE FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT, PERHAPS MOST APPALLINGLY, THE NATIONAL INCARCERATION RATE FOR BLACK TRANS PEOPLE IS A HARROWING 47% COMPARED TO 12% FOR WHITE PEOPLE.
AND THAT'S FROM THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR TRANSGENDER EQUALITY AS A MEMBER OF THE TRANS COMMUNITY HERE IN TEXAS, I CAN UNFORTUNATELY SHARE THAT THESE STATISTICS ARE AFFIRMED BY COUNTLESS ANECDOTAL CASES.
I KNOW FROM BOTH PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, TESTIMONIALS OF FRIENDS AND PEERS, AND FROM MY DIRECT EXPERIENCE, WORKING WITH CLIENTS IN BOTH THE NONPROFIT SECTOR AND STATE HEALTH SERVICES, AS A COALITION, WE SUPPORT ECHO AND WISH TO ELABORATE ON VARIOUS ABOLITIONISTS DEMANDS THAT HAVE BEEN PRESENTED BY FELLOW AUSTIN, COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND ORGANIZATIONS, SUCH AS COMMUNITIES OF COLOR UNITED.
WE JOINED THE COFFERS OF FUNDING, THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND REINVESTING IN ALTERNATIVE CIVIC AND COMMUNITY BASED INITIATIVES THAT SERVE PUBLIC HEALTH.
THESE INCLUDE THE DOMAINS OF PUBLIC HEALTH, EMS, HOSPITALS, MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, COMMUNITY, HEALTH WORKERS, ET CETERA, LOW INCOME AND PUBLIC HOUSING RISE FUNDS AND THE EQUITY OFFICE.
WE ALSO ADVOCATE FOR THE DE-STIGMATIZATION AND DECRIMINALIZATION OF SEX WORK, RECOGNIZING THAT PUNISHMENT FOR SUBSISTENCE METHODS OF SURVIVAL IS INHERENTLY VIOLENT.
PARTICULARLY WHEN THIS LABOR IS OFTEN COERCED DUE TO SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION IN ORDER TO SERVE THE TRANS COMMUNITY FROM A PLACE OF INFORMEDNESS.
WE PROPOSE ONGOING CULTURAL ADAPTATION OF BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROGRAMS THROUGH THE CITY INCLUSION OF US IN POSITIONS OF LEADERSHIP AND MEMBERSHIP IN DECISION DECISION-MAKING ADVISORY BODIES, SUCH AS THE RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE CAN HELP BEGIN TO PROMOTE THIS AS WELL AS THE ADAPTATION OF EXPLICIT INSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS, POLICIES AND ACCOMMODATIONS FOR TRANS PEOPLE.
FURTHERMORE, DIRECT SUPPORT FOR OUR OWN COMMUNITY-BASED INITIATIVES, SUCH AS THE HOUSING CRISIS FUNDING AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS OF BLACK TRANS LEADERSHIP OF AUSTIN IS ESSENTIAL.
AND THROUGHOUT THIS WORK, WE AS A COMMUNITY AND A CITY MUST CENTER THE NEEDS OF BLACK INDIGENOUS AND OTHER TRANS PEOPLE OF COLOR.
I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME, AND I CAN ALSO GIVE, UH, CITATIONS FOR THOSE STATISTICS IF NEEDED.
I THINK THAT IS A HORRIFYING PICTURE OF, OF WHAT IT'S LIKE.
UM, YOU WOULD YOU HAVE NEXT COMMISSIONER CHAIR? UM, I HAVE SOME PEOPLE THAT ARE STUCK.
UH, THEY'RE RAISED, THEY'RE TRYING THE NAOMI AND THE NEXT ONE IS SEEDS TO FULFILL YOUR FLORES IS NEXT TO SPEAK AND I'M PRETTY SURE THEY ARE IN THE, UM, LIKE ATTENDEES LIST AND NEED TO BE BROUGHT INTO THEM.
I'VE GOT, UH, CECILIA FLORES FLORES AND, UH, NAOMI WILSON.
SO, UH, CECILIA, UM, I'M NOT ABLE TO BRING YOU OVER TO THE PANELIST SIDE, BUT YOU ARE ABLE TO SPEAK NOW.
MS. NAOMI, YOU ARE ALSO FREE TO SPEAK WHEN YOU'RE READY.
IS THIS NAOMI? NO, THIS IS CC.
I AM A NON-BINARY PERSON OF COLOR AND I USE THEY THEM PRONOUNS.
I WORK AT OUT YOUTH ON THE TRANSGENDER WELLNESS TEAM OUT YOUTH HAS SERVED THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS.
IT IS A PLACE WHERE YOUTH ARE FREE TO EXPLORE THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITIES, A PLACE WHERE YOUTH ARE ACKNOWLEDGED AND ACCEPTED FOR EXACTLY WHO THEY ARE
[01:00:01]
ON ANY GIVEN DROP-IN CENTER DAY, YOUTH SNACK, LISTEN TO MUSIC AND MAKE NEW FRIENDS.OTHER HANGOUT OUTSIDE STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS ARE PRESENT THROUGHOUT PROGRAMMING AND ARE AVAILABLE FOR CHECK-INS.
HOW YOUTH HAS DEVELOPED A TRAINING WITH STRATEGIES FOR DEESCALATION OF MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.
THIS TRAINING WAS GROUNDED IN THE FRAMEWORKS OF TRANSFORMATIVE AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE WHILE ALSO HIGHLIGHTING VERBAL DEESCALATION AND MENTAL HEALTH.
FIRST AID RECENTLY WE'LL DROP IN CENTER WAS HOLDING IN-PERSON SERVICES, BUT YOUTH MADE AN OUTCRY TO STAFF DO YOUTH EXPRESS EMINENT SUICIDALITY, AND MADE A CONCURRENT REPORT OF ABUSE IN THE HOUSEHOLD, MAKING THIS AN INSTANCE WHERE CALLING NINE ONE ONE WAS THE ONLY CURRENT OPTION THE YOUTH IDENTIFIED AS TRANSGENDER.
SO OUR STAFF MADE EXPLICIT TO THE OFFICERS, THE CLIENT'S NAME AND PRONOUNS, AND ASKED TO BE PRESENT DURING THE INTERACTION, GIVEN THE CLIENT'S FEAR AND MISTRUST.
IN THIS CASE, THE INTERACTION WITH THE SUICIDAL YOUTH WENT RELATIVELY SMOOTHLY.
HOWEVER, THE PRESENCE OF THE POLICE MADE IT DIFFICULT FOR OUR STAFF TO CONTINUE TO CREATE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE OTHER YOUTH.
THE YOUTH REPORTED TO STAFF THAT THEY FELT EXTREMELY DISTRESSED WHEN THE POLICE ARRIVED.
AND THIS STORY IS ONE DEMONSTRATION OF THE NEED FOR ALTERNATIVES TO POLICE AND MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS INTERVENTION.
AND THEY, AND THEY 2013 WILLIAMS INSTITUTE SURVEY FELT THAT 48% OF LGBTQ PLUS VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE, REPORTEDLY EXPERIENCED POLICE MISCONDUCT.
AUSTIN'S LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY DESERVES ALTERNATIVES TO POLICE BEING INVOLVED IN MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.
I SAYS THERE ARE COMMUNITY MEDIATION AND INNER PREVENTION PROGRAMS THAT ARE RISING IN DIFFERENT FORMS. THERE ARE ALREADY CITIES DOING THIS.
CAN YOU, GENE OREGON COMMUNITY SERVICE CLINIC HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR 30 YEARS.
MAKING CRISIS WORKERS SHOW UP TO SITUATIONS IN CASUAL APPEARANCE WITH DEESCALATION CRISIS TRAINING AND THE KNOWLEDGE OR RESOURCES, SAN FRANCISCO AS AMENDMENTS.
PELLADY JUST COMMITTED TO A PILOT PROGRAM.
WE'RE GOING TO TEAM UP CRISIS WORKERS, PEER SPECIALIST PARAMEDICS ARE DIRECTED TO NON-VIOLENT AND NON-CRIMINAL CALLS.
INSTEAD OF POLICE, WE CAN LEARN AND STUDY THE DIFFERENT MODELS OUT THERE.
I LOST THE CELIA DOL STILL HERE, CC.
I THINK CC'S HAVING A LITTLE TECH ISSUE.
SEE, SEE IF YOU CAN HEAR US, UM, WE HEARD YOU TO SAY THAT WE SHOULD, OUR CITY SHOULD BE LOOKING AT OTHER CITIES WHO HAVE MODELS THAT ARE DOING THIS BETTER AND I AGREE COMPLETELY.
SO, UM, WE CAN LEARN AND STUDY THE DIFFERENT MODELS OUT THERE TO SEE HOW THOSE PROGRAMS ARE WORKING FOR THOSE COMMUNITIES, BECAUSE THOSE COMMUNITIES ARE DIFFERENT FROM AUSTIN'S POPULATION AND HISTORY OF RACIAL DYNAMICS.
WE'RE ASKING FOR THE CITY OF BOSTON TO COMMIT TO ALTERNATIVES, TO MENTAL HEALTH DEPUTIES FOR MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND ALSO FOR YOUR WORK WITH YOUTH THAT'S.
UH, COMMISSIONER LANE, WHO DO WE HAVE NEXT NEXT? WE HAVE DEVIN HARRIS, I BELIEVE ON THE NEXT.
AND I THINK WE MAY HAVE LOST SOMEONE.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING FOR LISTEN FACING HEAD TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE IN, UM, FOR THE AFTER THAT, BUT SO NEXT UP SHOULD BE DEVIN HARRIS.
DEVIN, WE'RE EXCITED TO HEAR FROM YOU.
UM, SO HI, MY NAME IS DEVIN HARRIS.
SHE, THEY PRONOUNCE AND I WORK AT THE CFO ALLIANCE AND A RAPID REHOUSING PROGRAM.
I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH PEOPLE LIVING ON THE STREETS IN AUSTIN AND VARIOUS PROGRAMS, UM, SAFE AND OTHERWISE FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS.
AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE ON AUSTIN'S COC EQUITY TASK FORCE, STRIVING TO MAKE HOUSING INITIATIVES IN THE CITY, MORE INTENTIONALLY INCLUSIVE FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS.
ACCORDING TO THE POINT IN TIME, COUNT THE RATES OF TRANSGENDER AND NON-BINARY PEOPLE LIVING ON THE STREETS ARE INCREASING AT AN ASTONISHING RATE.
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE LIVING ON THE STREETS INCREASED 113% SINCE 2016 AND THE NUMBER OF ADULT TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS LIVING ON THE STREET INCREASED BY 88% DURING THE SAME PERIOD, TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY
[01:05:01]
ON THE STREETS.63% ARE LIVING IN THESE SITUATIONS FOR COMPARISON ABOUT 49% OF CISGENDER PEOPLE ARE LIVING ON THE STREETS AND LIMITED AN INFORMATION EXISTS ABOUT THE NUMBER OF TRANSGENDER AND NON-BINARY PEOPLE LIVING ON THE STREETS HERE IN AUSTIN.
THERE ARE VERY FEW DATA SETS FOR THESE POPULATIONS, BUT NATIONALLY, ALL THE DATA TELLS A SIMILAR STORY, TRANSGENDER, AND NON-BINARY PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE UNSHELTERED THAN THEIR CISGENDERED PEERS.