[00:00:02]
MS. JACKSON, ANYTHING ELSE FROM YOU OR SHALL WE KICK OFF? I THINK YOU'RE GREAT TO KICK OFF.
[CALL TO ORDER]
MUCH.AND WELCOME TO THE MAY 3RD MEETING OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UH, THANK YOU GUYS FOR ATTENDING.
UM, TODAY WE HAVE A NUMBER OF NEW PANELISTS HERE WITH US.
NO NUMBER OF NEW COMMISSIONERS.
SO, UM, I HOPE I'M NOT GOING TO CALL YOU OUT TOO MUCH, BUT IF YOU WILL ALL JUST INTRODUCE YOURSELVES, I WOULD LOVE FOR US TO DO THAT PRETTY QUICKLY, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE DON'T HAVE CITIZENS COMMUNICATION TODAY.
SO BECAUSE YOU'RE THE FIRST PERSON, UH, THAT I SEE, UH, COMMISSIONER LEWIS.
I KNOW WE CALLED ON YOU LAST TIME, BUT, UH, LET'S, LET'S MAKE IT OFFICIAL THIS TIME, UH, SINCE YOU'RE ON FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING, IF YOU WOULD JUST TAKE A COUPLE SECONDS TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
I WAS ON THE, UM, STINTS COMMISSION FOR WOMEN FOR A LONG TIME WHERE I DID A LOT OF WORK AROUND, ESPECIALLY GENDER BASED VIOLENCE.
UM, AND I WORK FOR THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT, UM, AND HAPPY TO BE HERE.
THANK YOU AND MUCH, AND COMMISSIONER, UM, QUEEN AND YOGA OR QUEEN AUSTIN.
DO YOU MIND INTRODUCING YOURSELF, PLEASE? HELLO? WE CAN HEAR YOU.
UM, I'M A BORN AND BORN AND RAISED HERE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
UM, I'M THE FOUNDER OF AUSTIN QUEER CULTURAL CENTER.
I SERVE ON THE BOARD OF BLACK TRANSLATED SHIPS OF AUSTIN AND AS WELL, SEVERAL OTHER BOYS HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, THAT'S A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME AND YES, YOU PRONOUNCE MY LAST NAME CORRECTLY AND JOHA JUST TO SUM IT UP OFTEN.
UH, BEFORE AUSTIN, YOU GOT IT.
THE PLEASURE TO ME ON YOU ON THANKS FOR JOINING.
AND YOU ARE A DISTRICT TWO COMMISSIONER ALSO, IS THAT CORRECT? I THINK SO.
OR IF NOT, DISTRICT ONE DISTRICT ONE.
UM, COMMISSIONER KIRKOFF, WOULD YOU MIND INTRODUCING YOURSELF? ALL RIGHT.
OKAY, GREAT, GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE.
SOME OF THEM ON PHONE, A LAPTOP, JUST WASN'T COMPATIBLE WITH WHAT A WEBEX YET, BUT, UH, UH, I, UH, LIVE IN DISTRICT SIX, UH, LIVED THERE FOR 41 YEARS.
UH, BEEN INVOLVED IN THE FIRE SERVICE FOR 40 YEARS.
AND, UH, FIRSTLY WORKING AS THE ADMINISTRATOR FOR AN EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT, UM, JUST, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, OR COUNCIL, WOMAN KELLY ASKED IF I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN SERVING ON THIS COMMISSION.
AND, UH, I'M VERY INTERESTED IN LOOKING FORWARD TO, UM, TO WORKING WITH YOU ALL.
AND I DON'T BELIEVE COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ IS ON UNLESS SHE IS ON THE CALL IN COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ IS NOT ATTENDING THIS MEETING.
I THINK THAT'S ALL THESE DEDUCTIONS.
AND THOSE OF YOU RETURNING, UH, COMMISSIONER WEBER, COMMISSIONER BERNHARD.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR RETURNING.
WE ARE EXCITED TO HAVE YOU GUYS BACK.
UM, WE DO NOT SHARE A PAIR OF CHAIRS REAL QUICK.
UH, ROCKY'S STILL TRYING TO GET IT.
UM, THIS IS DAVE, YOU TOOK OUR CALL TO THE SCREEN, THEN THAT'S A DROPPED OFF.
I'LL KEEP AN EYE OUT THEM FOR SURE.
AND THEN ADD THEM IN IF THEY COME BACK ON.
I SEE SOME MORE CALL-IN USERS.
I DON'T KNOW IF ONE OF THOSE IS, UM, K.
I WAS JUST SENDING YOU ANOTHER TEXT.
I'M SO GLAD YOU WERE ABLE TO MAKE IT.
UM, AS I SAID TO, UH, COMMISSIONER KIRKOFF, IF YOU
[00:05:01]
ARE JUST ON THE PHONE, I CANNOT SEE YOU.IF YOU RAISE YOUR HAND TO MAKE A COMMENT.
SO COMMISSIONER AUSTIN, UH, COMMISSIONER KICKOFF AND COMMISSIONER LANEY.
DO YOU, UH, WANT TO MAKE A COMMENT, PLEASE UNMUTE YOURSELF AND LET ME KNOW, AND THEN I WILL.
I BELIEVE THAT, UM, UH, UH, THE NEW COMMISSIONER IS ALSO TRYING TO GET IN BY THE FARM.
SO I'M TRYING TO ASSIST WITH THAT.
I'M SORRY, WHICH, WHICH NEW COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONER LIKE SHE SHE'S GOING TO BE ON.
SO, UM, WE'LL START WITH OUR FIRST NEW BUSINESS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES BEFORE WE DO THAT.
COMMISSIONER GONZALES, COULD YOU PLEASE DO A ROLL CALL FOR TENDERS TODAY WAS SPENT IN SO DIFFICULTY.
I WANT TO BE SURE I HAVE AN ACCURATE ATTENDANCE FOR TODAY.
SO THIS WILL BE A VERBAL, UH, ROLL CALL.
SO AS I CALL YOU, JUST LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE HERE, PLEASE.
UM, COMMISSIONER RAMIREZ HERE, COMMISSIONER WEBER HERE.
COMMISSIONER HODSON FLOCK THERE.
COMMISSIONER KIRKOFF, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ, NOT PRESENT COMMISSIONER LEWIS HERE.
COMMISSIONER LANE HERE, COMMISSIONER SIERRA, OUR VOLO HERE AND COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT HERE.
SO WE GOT EVERYONE, BUT, UH, COMMISSIONER RODRIGUEZ IS PRECEDENT.
UM, SO BACK TO OUR FIRST APPROVAL
[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
OF MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 5TH MEETING, THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CLARIFICATIONS.IF THERE ARE NONE, I BELIEVE WE CAN ACCEPT, UH, THE MEETING MO THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES AS APPROVED.
IS THAT CORRECT? MS. JACKSON? YEAH.
THE MINUTES CAN BE DEEMED AS APPROVED.
IS WHAT DOES SOMEONE HAVE A COMMENT? WELL, YEAH, THIS IS JOHN KARA COUGH.
I DID WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE LAST MEETING.
I'VE READ OVER THE MINUTES AND IF YOU NEED SOMEBODY TO MAKE THE MOTION, I'LL MAKE THE MOTION TO APPROVE AS PRESENTED.
I JUST, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE TO DO THAT ANYMORE, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I CAN JUST DEEM THE MINUTES APPROVED.
SO MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 5TH, 2021 MEETING ARE APPROVED.
[2A. Public Safety Organizations Quarterly Report – Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services (sponsors: Commissioner Hausenfluck and Gonzales)]
ITEM IS OUR QUARTERLY REPORT FROM THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE, CHIEF BROWN.UH, WE'LL HAVE THE, UM, KTX INTERVIEW.
WE'LL PULL UP THE, UH, PRESENTATIONS AND I'LL START.
BUT THE, UM, QUARTERLY, UH, NUMBERS, UH, ALTHOUGH THOSE MONTHS OF, UH, DATA, JUST TO GO BACK A LITTLE BIT, THE LAST QUARTER DOES INCLUDE THE, UH, FEBRUARY NUMBERS OF, UM, THE STORM URI, UM, THE, UH, SNOW STORM IN FEBRUARY.
YOU CAN SEE OUR COMPLIANCE DROPPED, I'D SAY DRAMATICALLY DURING THE MONTH, I'LL DO TO THOSE FIVE DAYS.
[00:10:02]
UM, AND, UM, THINGS HAVE SOMEWHAT RECOVERED IN RESPONSE TIME PERFORMANCE, BUT THOSE THAT MONTH WILL AFFECT OUR OVERALL NUMBERS FOR THE, UH, WE DON'T CALL OUT ANY NUMBERS, UM, UM, AS, UH, EXCEPTIONS OR ANYTHING ELSE LIKE THAT.THAT'S JUST PART OF THE, OUR PERFORMANCE REPORTS.
IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS SPECIFICALLY, I'LL ANSWER THEM.
IF NOT, WE WILL MOVE TO THE NEXT, ANY QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE ON THOSE NUMBERS TO ACTUALLY SEE THE NUMBERS FOR THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF 2021, YOU CAN ONLY SEE THE NUMBERS FOR THEM.
IT SHOULD BE AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT PAGE, UM, THAT WAS SENT OUT TO YOU.
UM, AND THEY SWEPT PAPERS SHOWING UP THERE.
I MEANT FOR THE DISPLAY ON THE SCREEN, I'VE SEEN THE NUMBERS, BUT THEY'RE NOT DISPLAYED.
UH, OUR STAFFING NUMBERS RIGHT NOW, OUR AUTHORIZED SYNC STRENGTH IS 643 SWORN FTES.
CURRENTLY WE HAVE 534, THAT'S 109 VACANCIES.
UM, SOME OF THOSE VACANCIES ACTUALLY DON'T COME AVAILABLE TO US TILL LATER IN THE YEAR.
UM, BUT IT'S STILL, THERE'S 109 VACANCIES.
UM, 24 OF THEM WON'T BE FUNDED UNTIL JUNE OR JULY.
WE HAVE 23 CADETS GRADUATING, UH, THIS FRIDAY.
UH, SO MOVE OUT OF THE CADET PHASE INTO ACTUAL, UM, MEDIC PCNS, WHICH WILL, UH, TAKE UP SOME OF THOSE 109 VACANCIES.
AND WE CURRENTLY HAVE OUR NEXT ACADEMY SCHEDULED FOR JULY 19TH.
UM, WE'RE HOPING TO RUN ANYWHERE FROM FOUR AND 40.
OUR LAST TWO CLASS SIZES WERE ACTUALLY, WE LIMITED THEM DUE COVID RESTRICTIONS AND CLASSROOM AND SOCIAL DISTANCING.
UM, SOME OF THE CHANGES IN THE CDC GUIDELINES AND OTHER THINGS, UH, VACCINATIONS, AND, UH, BY BIONICS TESTING, WE CAN DO, UM, WE'RE HOPING TO PUT MORE PEOPLE INTO THE ACADEMY, SO THAT HELPS US IN OUR, UM, CONTINUE TO HAVE A FLOW INTO THE DEPARTMENTS, BUT IT'LL BE ANYWHERE FROM 24 40 IF NECESSARY.
WE DO HAVE ALTERNATE LOCATIONS.
WE CAN ALSO GO TO THAT'S A LARGER ROOM THAT WE STILL NEED TO MEET ALL THE OTHER GUIDELINES.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR STAFFING NUMBERS? WOW.
UM, TODAY 51 POSITIVE COVID CASES ON OUR SWORN SIDE SEVEN AND OUR CIVILIAN SIDE.
UM, THAT'S SIMILAR PERCENTAGE FROM LAST TIME, IT WAS ABOUT 89 TO, UM, PERCENT ALSO AT THAT TIME OR 88%.
UH, THAT TIME ALSO, UM, COVERED BY WORKERS' COMP IS 22 OF THOSE, UM, THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE WE'VE HAD 50, LET ME GET THE NUMBER OF 59, UM, REACTION TO THE COPE VACCINATION, WHICH DON'T SHOW UP IN THESE NUMBERS.
CAUSE THEY, THEY DON'T, AREN'T TRUE COVID CASES, BUT ALL 59 OF THE 20 THROUGH THE, UH, UM, WORKERS' COMP FILING AND THEY ALL WERE FILED FOR AS WORKMAN'S COMP CLAIMS, UM, FOR EACH OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS STILL ALL 59 OF THOSE WERE FILED UNDER WORKMAN'S COMP.
UM, THAT'S PROBABLY CHANGED SINCE THIS WAS UPDATED.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANYBODY OFF DUE TO COVID, BUT AT THAT TIME, UM, WE DID HAVE ONE, I THINK IT WAS AT THE END OF A, UH, UH, WHEN THIS REPORT WAS DONE ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, UH, TALL TOTAL WE'VE HAD ABOUT 375 TOTAL EMPLOYEES OFF DUE TO COVID AND OUR SWORN SIDE, AND, UM, EMPLOYEES RECEIVED EMERGENCY LEAVE OR EXPANDED FLAS, UH, SWORN SIZE 11 AND OUR CIVILIAN SITES THREE.
SO ARE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR COVID NUMBERS AND WE'RE ABOUT 86% VACCINATED.
UM, AND THAT'S BOTH FOR OUR WELLNESS CENTER OR THEY'VE LIVED IN STATED THAT THEY'VE GOTTEN A VACCINE, UM, AT ANOTHER LOCATION.
WE'RE STILL, UM, ASKING PEOPLE IF THEY'D LIKE TO GET THE LAST REMAINING BIT, UH, CONSTANTLY OR WANT TO GET VACCINATED.
UM, AND WE PROVIDE THOSE, UH, UH, THEY'RE WANTING TO GET VACCINATED.
SO WE'RE ABOUT 86% VACCINATED ACROSS THE FIELD, INCLUDING OUR COMMUNICATION CENTER.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR CHIEF BROWN? ALL RIGHT.
[00:15:01]
GREAT.WAS THERE SOMEONE THAT HAD A QUESTION? OH, I'M SORRY, THIS IS CHEAP BROWN.
I JUST WANTED TO ADD ONE ADDITIONAL THING.
UM, TONIGHT ON NIGHTLINE, UM, THEY'RE DOING A PIECE ON FIRST RESPONDER MENTAL HEALTH IN OUR PEER SUPPORT TEAM.
IT WILL BE AIRING AT 1130 TONIGHT ON ABC, IF ANYBODY'S INTERESTED TO WATCH.
SO WE ONLY HAVE ONE MORE ITEM.
WELL, OTHER THAN FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, WE ONLY HAVE ONE ITEM
[2B. Re-Imagining Public Safety Presentations (sponsors: Commissioner Webber and Gonzales) (Part 1 of 2)]
WHICH IS GOING TO BE THE BULK OF THE REST OF OUR MEETING.THAT IS THE REIMAGINE PUBLIC SAFETY PRESENTATIONS.
THIS IS AN ITEM THAT WAS BROUGHT FORWARD BY, UH, COMMISSIONER WEBBER.
I WILL OPEN IT UP TO LET HER INTRODUCE IT AND THEN WE CAN, UM, MAKE SURE OUR SPEAKERS.
I KNOW WE'RE STARTING A LITTLE BIT EARLY, SO MAKE SURE OUR SPEAKERS ARE, UM, HERE AND AVAILABLE, AND THEN WE CAN GO FORWARD.
SO I THINK FARRAH WILL BE HERE AT, UH, THREE 30.
SO MAYBE WE JUST WAIT FIVE MINUTES TO GIVE HER THE TIME.
BUT, UM, YOU ALL, I BROUGHT THIS, UH, AGENDA ITEM TO YOU AFTER WATCHING THE RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE IS MEETING WHERE THEY PRESENTED THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS AND THIS WAS BEFORE THEY HAD A LISTENING SESSION.
SO POSSIBLY RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE CHANGED A BIT, BUT I BELIEVE WE'RE GOING TO GET TODAY ARE THE FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THREE OF THE WORKING GROUPS OF THE TASK FORCE.
SO WE'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM, WE'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM THESE WORKING GROUPS, THE RE-IMAGINING NINE ONE, ONE AND NON POLICE CRISIS RESPONSE, WORKING GROUPS, THE VIOLENCE, SURVIVOR SERVICES AND PREVENTION WORKING GROUP, AND THE POLICE STAFFING WORKING GROUP, WHICH LOOKED AT PATROL AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS.
AND SO JESSICA JOHNSON FROM THE TASK FORCE WAS GOING TO PRESENT TO US ON NINE 11 AND STAFFING AND AMANDA, WHO IS ALSO ON THE TASK FORCE AND IS NOW A COMMISSIONER WITH US IS GOING TO DO THE VIOLENCE SURVIVOR SERVICES.
AND, UM, I GUESS AMANDA COULD START, BUT I THINK MAYBE WE SHOULD WAIT FOR FARRAH.
WE, WE'VE ONLY GOT ABOUT FOUR MORE MINUTES TO WAIT.
I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT, WITH THOSE WAITING.
I'M WONDERING IF WE GO AHEAD AND
[Future Agenda Items]
PUT OUR FEATURE AGENDA ITEMS UP FIRST, INSTEAD OF, SO WE CAN GET THROUGH THAT AND THEN WE CAN USE THE REST OF THE TIME FOR OUR, UM, PRESENTATIONS.IS THAT OKAY WITH EVERYBODY? FANTASTIC.
SO SOME OF THE ITEMS AND, UH, COMMISSIONED RAMIREZ PLEASE, UH, FEEL FREE TO CHIME IN WHEN, UH, WE'VE WE'VE HAD THIS CONVERSATIONS.
UH, ONE OF THE ITEMS WE HAD ON AS SOMETHING THAT WE WANTED TO, UM, CONTINUE TO LOOK AT WAS THE CITY RESPONSE TO THE ICE STORM IN FEBRUARY.
DO WE FEEL LIKE THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN TACKLE IN JUNE? OR IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WE FEEL LIKE WE'VE ALREADY LOST A LITTLE BIT OF LUSTER ON? HOW DOES THE COMMISSION FEEL ABOUT THAT? JUST BECAUSE OF THE TIMING? I THINK I IMAGINE THAT THERE WILL BE REPORTS COMING OUT FROM WHAT WAS THE ANGLE ON IT? UM, I THINK ONE OF THE, I DIDN'T GET A FULL ANGLE.
WE JUST TALKED ABOUT ACTUALLY BRINGING IN SOME OF THE VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS THAT ACTUALLY FILLED IN CITY SERVICES AT THE TIME, UH, TO HAVE THEM TALK ABOUT KIND OF THE BREAKDOWN AND HOW THEY FILLED IN, UM, THAT WAS ONE OF THE ANGLES, BUT I'M OKAY.
I SEE CHIEF BROWN TURNED ON HIS CAMERA.
I WONDER CHIEF BROWN AND THE OTHER CHIEFS, IF YOU COULD TELL US, HAVE YOUR DEPARTMENTS COMPLETED A REVIEW OF EVERYTHING THAT WENT DOWN AND, UM, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN PRESENTED TO COUNCIL AND WOULD IT BE APPROPRIATE TO PRESENT IT TO US FOR EMS? WE HAVE NOT FINISHED IT.
OUR ASSOCIATION PROVIDES AAR THAT THEY HAVE, UH, DONE.
UM, WE'VE ASKED OUR SUPERVISORS COMMANDERS IN THE FIELD FOR INFORMATION FEEDBACK.
WE'RE MEETING WITH THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER THIS WEEK TO DISCUSS HOW THE, UH, UH, DEPLOYMENT AND, UM, AND WENT AS FAR AS, UH, THE, UH, THE SNOWSTORM.
AND I KNOW WE'RE PARTICIPATING IN THE HAYSOM REVIEW, WHICH IS ONGOING
[00:20:01]
THIS NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.ALSO THE CITY AUDITOR'S OFFICE IS DOING A, UM, A AUDIT OR RESPONSE TO, UH, THE CITY'S RESPONSE TO THE STORM.
SO WE'RE PARTICIPATING IN THAT.
SO I IMAGINE WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE ANYTHING BY JUNE EARLY JUNE, ALTHOUGH THE INITIAL ANGLE THAT I WANTED TO DISCUSS FROM, UM, OUTSIDE PARTICIPANTS HAVE A FOLDED INTO THE, UM, RESPONSE THAT MIGHT BE, UH, UH, INFORMATIVE.
BUT, UM, I KNOW FOR EMS, WE WON'T HAVE ANYTHING FOR AT LEAST, UH, JULY OR AUGUST, UM, AS A FINAL WRAP-UP, IS THAT WHEN THE CITY AUDITOR'S REPORT IS EXPECTED JULY OR AUGUST AS WELL, I'M NOT SURE WHEN THERE IS, DO THEY, UH, THERE'S A COUNCIL ACTION DO IT.
WE HAD OUR FIRST MEETING WITH THEM.
SO MAYBE WE COULD DO IN JUNE KIND OF THE COMMUNITY ASPECT AND THEN MAYBE JULY OR AUGUST, WE CAN DO THE CITY AUDIT REPORT.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? SO YOU GUYS THINK THAT'S A GOOD USE OF OUR TIME.
AND I, I'M NOT SURE WHETHER IT MAKES SENSE TO DO IT IN JUNE OR JULY, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM THE ASSOCIATIONS AND JUST FEEDBACK ABOUT WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEIR EMPLOYEES WENT THROUGH AS WELL.
SO I THINK WE HAVE THAT COVERED.
SO THE CITY RESPONSE AND THE COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO THE STORM IN FEBRUARY, ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT, UH, COMMISSIONERS WOULD LIKE TO SEE ADDED ON TO OUR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPERTY.
UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE NICE TO TALK WITH, UH, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND, UM, EMERGENCY SERVICES AND ANYBODY ELSE WHO'S GOING TO BE INVOLVED ABOUT HOW THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.
W W REAL QUICK CONDITIONAL LINE, IS ANYONE ELSE INTERESTED IN, UH, JOINING COMMISSIONER RICARD AND REQUESTING THAT I'LL DO THAT.
AND I KNOW WE'RE GETTING PACKED FOR JUNE, BUT I JUST WOULD LIKE AN UPDATE ON THE PROCESS FOR HIRING THE POLICE CHIEF, UM, AND THE REMAINING, UM, SORT OF PUBLIC INPUT PROCESSES THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE MAKING AVAILABLE BESIDES AN ONLINE SURVEY.
UM, AND, UM, JUST, I WOULD LIKE AN UPDATE ON THAT BECAUSE I KNOW THEY STARTED TAKING APPLICATIONS ACTIVELY ALREADY.
SO, UM, I DID HAVE MY CALL WITH, UH, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER ARIANO AND THAT IS ON THE AGENDA.
HE WILL DO A FIRST, UM, THE, THE TEAM WILL DO A FIRST REVIEW WITH US AT THE TIMELINE, AND THEN THEY WILL BE SOLICITING OUR INPUT INTO A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE PROCESS.
SO WE WILL, UH, DEFINITELY THAT'S ONE GOOD WAY.
CAN I SHARE LANE, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING? YES.
SHARON WAS JUST GOING TO ECHO MY AGREEMENT WITH, UM, WITH WHAT WAS JUST STATED, UH, ABOUT PROP D, BUT ALSO, UM, WANTED TO ASK IF WE COULD TALK ABOUT IT A QUICKER DEADLINE ON, UM, GETTING SOME ICE STORM INFORMATION.
SO WOULD THAT BE, OR CAN YOU TELL ME WHEN WE MIGHT START SEEING, UH, THAT INFORMATION? I THINK I HEARD JULY, BUT COULD WE GET AN ACTUAL DATE? YEAH, WE WILL.
UH, I WILL MAKE THE REQUEST OF THE CITY AUDITOR'S OFFICE TO FIND OUT WHEN THAT REPORT WILL BE COMING OUT.
MADAM CHAIR, UH, JOHN
UH, IT'S ACTUALLY A COUNCIL ITEM THAT IS, WILL ACTUALLY BE PRESENTED AT WORK SESSION TOMORROW, AS WELL AS ON THE COUNCIL AGENDA FOR THIS THIRSTY, UH, FOR THE, UH, BUDGET ITEM TO BE, UH, UH, POTENTIALLY APPROVED.
THAT WOULD START AN ACADEMY IN JUNE.
I WAS WONDERING IF, UM, LIKE, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANOTHER WAY THAT WE CAN GET MORE INFORMATION ON THE PROPERTY IMPLEMENTATION SINCE THAT'S HAPPENING.
THE BAND GOES BACK AND PLAYS THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH.
UM, I DEFINITELY FEEL LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF URGENCY TO UNDERSTAND HOW, YOU KNOW, SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS OR DIFFERENT GROUPS WHO ARE GONNA COME TOGETHER TO HELP ADDRESS, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT WILL MOST LIKELY BE A CRISIS WHEN THAT BAND COMES BACK INTO PLACE? YEAH,
[00:25:06]
UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE OF THE LIMITATIONS OF OUR MAKE MONTHLY MEETINGS AND THE, UM, OPEN MEETINGS REQUEST LAWS, UNFORTUNATELY WE KNOW WE COULDN'T GET ANYTHING TO BE ON THE CALENDAR FOR THIS, UH, MEETING.SO UNFORTUNATELY THE ONLY THING, I MEAN, WE CAN ASK FOR ALL THESE THINGS AND I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE, MAKE SURE WE HAVE THAT ON THE JUNE, UH, MEETING, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF THERE'S ANY OTHER ACTIONS THAT WE CAN TAKE BEFORE OUR JUNE MEETING.
I WILL SEE WHAT I CAN FIND OUT.
UM, I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD ADD, IS THAT THIS ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER COMING TO PRESENT TO US ABOUT THE POLICE CHIEF SEARCH, WILL HE ALSO UPDATE US ON THE EMS CHIEF SEARCH? I CAN ASK HER THAT TOO.
CHIEF BRANDON, I WONDERED, COULD YOU JUST, UM, GIVE US A QUICK UPDATE, IS THAT JOB POSTED THE SAME WAY THAT POLICE CHIEF JOB NOW IS? OKAY.
IT IS, IT IS NOT POSTED, UM, CHIEF DOESN'T RETIRE TO THE END OF THE MONTH.
SO I DON'T BELIEVE THEY WOULD IT PRIOR TO HIS DEPARTURE.
UM, I MEAN, OTHER, AS FAR AS POSTING IT, THEY PROBABLY HAVE OTHER THINGS GOING ON.
UM, AND, UM, I'VE, I'VE BEEN ASKED BY THE CITY MANAGER CITRUS, UH, INTERIM UNTIL THE PROCESS IS COMPLETED.
ANY OTHER FEATURE ITEMS? OKAY, CHAIR.
I UNDERSTAND THAT SARAH IS ON NOW.
[2B. Re-Imagining Public Safety Presentations (sponsors: Commissioner Webber and Gonzales) (Part 2 of 2)]
UM, I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER WEBER HAS ALREADY TEED UP THE ITEM.UM, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT TO BEGIN COMMISSIONER ROVER? WOULD YOU LIKE TO START IT? YEAH, JUST APPRECIATE FARAH.
SHE'S THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT HERE IN AUSTIN AND HAS BEEN A MEMBER OF THE REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE.
AND OF COURSE WE'LL HAVE A, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT IN HOW THESE RECOMMENDATIONS GET, I GUESS, SORTED OUT WHICH ONES WILL GET IMPLEMENTED, HOW THEY WILL GET IMPLEMENTED.
SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
UM, KARA AND I WAS HOPING YOU COULD JUST KIND OF REVIEW THE PROCESS TO DATE AND THEN TELL PEOPLE ABOUT NEXT STEPS AND WHAT WE CAN EXPECT.
GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYBODY FAIR, MEXICAN AND DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT CHAIR.
VICE-CHAIR THANK YOU FOR THE INVITATION TO PRESENT.
UM, AND SO AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE THE, UM, RE-IMAGINING CITY CITY COMMUNITY'S REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE PRESENTED THE RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL ON APRIL 20TH.
UM, SINCE THAT TIME I, UM, HAVE BEEN APPOINTED, UH CO-CHAIR WITH ACM RARE ARIANO AS THE, UH, FOR THE RPS TO BE HAMILTON PUBLIC SAFETY PORTFOLIO.
AND THE PART THAT I'M SPECIFICALLY GOING TO BE WORKING ON IS THE REVIEW AND EVALUATION OF ALL THE EIGHT WORKING GROUP, THE TASK FORCE WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND SO WHAT I'M LITERALLY IN THE PROCESS OF DOING IS WE HAVE CREATED, UM, EIGHT CROSS DEPARTMENTAL, UH, STRIKE TEAMS THAT CORRELATE DIRECTLY WITH THE EIGHT WORK GROUPS.
AND EACH TRIAL TEAM HAS A LEAD AND, UM, VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS THAT WILL SERVE ON THAT STRIKE TEAM.
IT'S A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT REPORT HAS BEEN EXHAUSTIVE.
THERE WAS A LOT OF BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS PUT IN THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, AND SO WE DO WANT TO REVIEW THEM AND I WILL BE HEADING UP THAT REVIEW.
WE WANT TO, UM, REVIEW IMMEDIATELY TO BE ABLE TO LOOK TO ASCERTAIN WHAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY IMPLEMENT NOW IN THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.
AND WHAT COULD YOU PROPOSE FOR FYI 22, THOSE FOUR, UM, WORK GROUPS FOR RIGHT NOW THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT? AND I'M ONLY SAYING RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE PROBABLY IN JUNE, WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT THE OTHER FOUR, SO THEY DON'T REALLY HAVE THAT LONG OF A BREAK.
UM, BUT FOR THIS MONTH, WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT THE, UM, SERVICES FOR SURVIVORS AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION WORK GROUP, THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT WORK GROUP, THE EQUITY INVESTMENT IN COMMUNITY WORK GROUP, AND THEN THE RE-IMAGINING NINE 11 AND NON-POLICE CRISIS RESPONSE.
SO THOSE FOUR, UM, WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT VERY CLOSELY THIS MONTH.
WE ARE MEETING WEEKLY, UM, AS THE STRIKE TEAMS BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO REPORT BACK THEIR PROGRESS,
[00:30:01]
UM, IN REVIEW OF THE ANALYSIS.AND THEY'RE ALSO GOING TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REACHING OUT TO THE WORKERS WHO ACTUALLY DID THIS WORK WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN WORKING WITH THEM MORE DIRECTLY.
UM, AND THEN SHORTLY BEHIND WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THE PATROL AND SURVEILLANCE PRINCE COLON INVESTIGATION AND, UM, MEANINGFUL COMMUNITY GETTING MEANINGFUL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND ALSO THE UNMUTING HARM.
UM, AND SO THAT WILL SHORT LEVEL HAPPEN.
IT'S HAPPENING SIMULTANEOUSLY, BUT WE'RE OBVIOUSLY PRIORITIZING THE FIRST FORM, BUT WE WILL BE MORE TARGETED WITH THOSE, UM, WORK GROUPS PROBABLY EARLY, EARLY TO MID JUNE.
UM, AND SO THAT'S REALLY THE PROCESS THAT WE HAVE DELINEATED RIGHT NOW.
UM, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE PUSHING PRETTY HARD AND PRETTY QUICKLY TO GET THE REVIEWS STARTED.
UM, I JUST NEEDED, YOU KNOW, TIME TO GET THE FOUNDATIONAL STUFF WORKING TOGETHER.
WHEN I, YOU KNOW, ADD UP EVERYBODY THAT'S GOING TO BE FROM THE CITY STAFF, THAT'S GOING TO BE REVIEWING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, IT'S OVER 35 PEOPLE.
SO, UM, IT IS A QUIET OF A TEAM THAT IS GOING THAT IS VERY BROUGHT TOGETHER TO LOOK AT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND ASSESS WHAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT.
AND JUST SO I WANT TO ADD EACH TEAM INVOLVES EACH, EACH DRIVE TEAM FOR THE EIGHT WORK GROUPS INVOLVES REPRESENTATION FROM AUTOMATIC, EVERY WORKER EQUITY, OFFICE, BUDGET AND LAW, BECAUSE WE DO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE THREE ARE CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT EACH WORK GROUP.
FANTASTIC ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, BUT THAT'S REALLY THE THING, THE MOST RECENT INFORMATION THAT I HAVE FOR YOU CAUSE WE'RE STILL WORKING ON IT, UM, LITERALLY EVERY DAY.
SO, SO I HAVE, I HAVE A QUESTION.
UM, SO WHO WILL ULTIMATELY DECIDE LIKE WHETHER THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE DOABLE AND YOU KNOW, WHETHER THE JUICE IS WORTH THE SQUEEZE, SO LIKE, IS THAT HAPPENING AT THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE OR IS HE, UM, OUTSOURCING THAT TO THESE WORKING GROUPS THAT YOU'RE PUTTING UP TOGETHER? YEAH, IT WILL BE AT THE SENIOR MANAGER LEVEL, THEN IT'LL ALSO BE, WE HAVE A RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY LEADERSHIP TEAM, EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM, AND WE MEET WEEKLY AS WELL.
AND SO THERE'LL BE CONVERSATIONS AT THAT LEVEL, BUT ESSENTIALLY WE HAVE SET A DEADLINE FOR THE END OF THE MONTH TO BRING FORTH RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY MANAGER.
UM, HOW DOES THE RE-IMAGINING WORK INTERACT WITH RESTARTING THE CADET CLASS? UM, SO IT'S INTERESTING.
UH, I THINK THE WORK IS PARALLEL.
UM, WE, UM, FOR THE TASK FORCE, WE HAD A PRESENTATION FROM THE VIDEO REVIEW PANEL.
UM, I WANT TO SAY IN JANUARY AND THE TASK FORCE DID TAKE VOTE, UM, NOT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH ANY CADET CLASSES UNTIL FIVE PARTICULAR AREAS WERE ADDRESSED.
UM, BUT THERE WASN'T A SPECIFIC WORK GROUP ON THE ACADEMY.
UM, BUT THE CAT AND THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS WERE, WERE, THEY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH THE CONSULTANTS DIRECTLY, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF PROVIDE FEEDBACK IN THAT WAY.
WE ALSO HELD A SESSION WITH THE COLON ASSOCIATES, THE CONSULTANT, TO BE ABLE TO JUST TALK AND REPORT OUT ABOUT THEIR FINDINGS THAT MANY OF THE TASKFORCE MEMBERS PARTICIPATED IN.
UM, SO IT'S, I WOULD SAY IT'S MORE PARALLEL THAN, UM, A PARALLEL PROCESS.
UM, BUT THEY DID HAVE A VOTE SPECIFICALLY ON THE ACADEMY.
I DO WANT TO MAKE THAT VERY CLEAR.
SO DOES THAT MEAN THE FOLKS ON THE TASK FORCE DON'T AGREE WITH MOVING FORWARD WITH THE CADET CLASS AS QUICKLY AS IT'S HAPPENING? I WOULD SAY THE MAJORITY OF THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS.
I CAN'T SAY ALL BECAUSE THERE WERE SEVERAL OF US WHO ABSTAINED AND I THINK THAT THERE MIGHT'VE BEEN SOME COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT HAVE STAINED, BUT THERE WERE PROBABLY 18 OF US ON THE TASK FORCE.
AND I WOULD SAY THE MAJORITY OF THEM VOTED TO NOT PROCEED WITH A CADET CLASS MORE THAN 50%.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR DIRECTOR MUSKEGON? OKAY.
SHALL WE MOVE FORWARD WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER LEWIS'S PRESENTATION? OKAY.
WELL, UM, I, I WANT TO, UH, JUST LIKE PREFACE THIS PRESENTATION THAT THIS, UM, WE WE'VE GIVEN THIS BEFORE COUNCIL
[00:35:01]
ALREADY, WE'VE ALREADY MADE A COUPLE OF CHANGES.UM, BUT THESE ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, THAT A GROUP OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, FROM REPRESENTATIVES OF THESE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, A LOT OF THE FOLKS HERE HAVE LIVED EXPERIENCES SURVIVORS OF VIOLENCE, UM, OR ARE PART OF, KIND OF COLLECTIVES OF, UM, PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED VIOLENCE.
UM, AND AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT FORMS OF, UM, SERVICE WORK FOLKS WITHIN VICTIM SERVICES.
UH, SO A GOOD RANGE OF, UM, UH, REPRESENTATIVES ON THIS WORKING GROUP, NEXT SLIDE.
UH, SO WE DID CREATE, UM, GUIDING VALUES FOR OUR WORKERS, THE GROUP THAT WE REALLY WANTED TO EMPHASIZE HOW IMPORTANT THE LARGER WORK OF THE RE-IMAGINED PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE WAS.
AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO TAKE FROM ASSISTANT THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT DIRECTLY IMPACTED PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE, OR FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN MARGINALIZED BY SYSTEMS AND PUT THAT MONEY TOWARDS, UM, COMMUNITY BASED SYSTEMS OR IDENTIFY IDENTITY, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, SOLIDIFYING AND EMPOWERING, YOU KNOW, FUNDS, IF WE PUT THOSE MONEY INTO THOSE TYPES OF THINGS, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S HEALING WORK AS WELL.
UM, AND SO WE'VE, WE DEFINITELY RECOGNIZE THAT WORK OF UPROOTING HARMFUL SYSTEMS, UM, ANTI-RACISM ANTI-OPPRESSION WORK, UM, AND THE OTHER WORK RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, FROM DIFFERENT WORKING GROUPS THAT REALLY KIND OF CENTERED DOING THAT HARD WORK OF, UM, ANTI-RACISM AND SYSTEMS REFORM IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, SO WE, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT SURVIVORS WERE CENTERED, UH, THAT WE HEARD FROM DIFFERENT FOLKS.
UM, BUT WE ALSO RECOGNIZED SURVIVORS AS BROADER THAN, UM, YOU KNOW, SEXUAL ASSAULT OR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, BUT ALSO LIKE, YOU KNOW, GUN VIOLENCE, PEER VIOLENCE, UM, UH, PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN HARMED, UH, BY SYSTEMS, BY POLICE, UM, BUT ALSO COMMUNITIES AND FAMILY MEMBERS OR PEOPLE IN PROXIMITY TO HARM.
SO WE REALLY HAD A BROADER VIEW, UM, OF FOLKS EXPERIENCING TRAUMA AND THE VALUE AND IMPORTANCE OF PEOPLE GETTING, UM, JUSTICE, WHICH IS WHAT HEALING JUSTICE IS REALLY ABOUT, THAT WE DON'T CENTRALIZE ONE PART OF ONE TYPE OF HEALING, BUT PEOPLE NEED DIFFERENT THINGS.
AND THAT INCLUDES, UM, HEALING FROM HISTORICAL TRAUMA AND DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRAUMA, UM, THAT THEY ARE EXPERIENCING, UM, AND THAT EVERYONE DESERVES ACCESS TO THAT.
UM, THERE'S ALSO JUST, UM, I'LL KIND OF RUSH THROUGH THESE SYSTEMS, ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT.
UH, AS I MENTIONED, KIND OF CULTURALLY AFFIRMING IDENTITY AFFIRMING SERVICES AND SUPPORT IS ALSO A PART OF HEALING.
AND THEN TRAUMA-INFORMED, I THINK THERE'S THIS UNDERSTANDING THAT WE ALL HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAUMA AT DIFFERENT TIMES OR AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF CRISIS.
AND THE WAY THAT WE TREAT PEOPLE IN CRISIS IS IMPORTANT.
WE SHOULD NOT ACT IN WAYS THAT RETRAUMATIZE, BUT INSTEAD, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THE RIGHT PEOPLE ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACES THAT ARE RESPONDING TO TRAUMA AND NOT DOUBLING DOWN ON THAT TRAUMA? UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO, UM, THE WORKING GROUPS ARE REALLY SET UP TO, UH, OR AT LEAST THE WORKING GROUP'S RECOMMENDATIONS TO THINK ABOUT SERVICES FOR SURVIVORS, UM, AS, YOU KNOW, MANY DIFFERENT PERSON, A PI, RIGHT? THAT, AND OFTENTIMES WE THINK ABOUT VICTIM SERVICES AS YOU KNOW, THIS BIG ORGANIZATION THAT DOES A LOT OF, UM, MEETS A LOT OF NEEDS.
AND WE REALLY WANTED TO MOVE AWAY FROM THAT FOCUSING ON THAT ONE ENTITY AND THINKING OF THEM AS A SMALL PART OF A MUCH LARGER PIE.
SO, UM, THE, THE IDEA IS THAT ONLY, YOU KNOW, 50% OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING VIOLENCE REPORT TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AND FOR A SEXUAL ASSAULT, THAT'S ABOUT 9%.
SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT JUST THE NEED FOR SO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF SERVICES, UM, TO TREAT TRAUMA.
SO THE FIRST, UH, RECOMMENDATION WE HAVE IS AROUND COMMUNITY ROOTED SAFETY GRANT PROGRAM.
WE REALIZED THAT THERE PROBABLY DOESN'T EXIST SOME OF THE GREAT IDEAS THAT COULD BE FUNDED.
SO WE, UM, ARE REQUESTING THAT THE CITY PUT PERMANENT MONEY TOWARDS KIND OF CREATING, SUPPORTING, UM, SOME OF THESE TYPES OF PROGRAMS THAT HELP WITH SAFETY AND IMMEDIATE WELLBEING, HEALING AND REPAIR FROM HARM.
SO THINKING ABOUT LIKE TRANSFORMATIVE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, UM, PREVENTION,
[00:40:01]
UM, THAT CAN BE PLACE-BASED, UH, OR A SCHOOL-BASED NEXT SLIDE RECOVERY CENTERS.THIS IS, UM, THIS IS COMING FROM CRIME SURVIVORS FOR SAFETY AND JUSTICE, UM, WHICH WAS REPRESENTED ON THE TOP, THE TASKFORCE WORKING GROUP, UM, AND TRAUMA RECOVERY CENTERS ARE ESSENTIALLY LIKE, UM, MENTAL HEALTH, UH, CLINICS, UH, THAT EXIST, UH, TO MAKE SURE TO PROVIDE FOLKS THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAUMA AND VIOLENCE WITH IMMEDIATE, UM, MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.
THOSE FREE OF CHARGE USUALLY LOOK CREATED WITHIN COMMUNITIES THAT THEY SERVE AND OUR BRAND BY THOSE COMMUNITIES.
UM, SO I KIND OF ENVISIONED THIS AS, YOU KNOW, THE CONSERVATIVES KIND OF OUTSIDE OF THE SYSTEM, BUT LIKE WITHIN A COMMUNITY, UM, THOSE ARE ABOUT A MILLION PER YEAR TO FUND, UM, IN OTHER PLACES WHERE THEY ARE FUNDED.
UM, WE WORKED WITH, UH, UM, SWAP ATX AS WELL AS, UH, BLACK TRANS LEADERSHIP OF AUSTIN, UM, TO KIND OF COME UP WITH A COUPLE OF RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, AROUND SEX WORK OUTREACH SERVICES, AND THEY HAD SOME REALLY, REALLY GREAT, UM, UH, IDEAS THAT THEY WERE ALREADY RUNNING THROUGH THE CITY, BUT SOMETHING THAT HADN'T BEEN, UM, KIND OF FUNDED OR RECOMMENDED.
AND SO, UM, WE WANTED TO DOUBLE DOWN OR KIND OF SUPPORT THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, AND REALLY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE FUNDING SERVICES OR FUNDING OUTREACH FOR COMMUNITY, THAT THE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE BEING OUTREACH TO OUR, UM, UH, THOSE ORGANIZATIONS DURING THE OUTREACH ARE OF THAT COMMUNITY AND THAT THOSE RESOURCES ARE GOING DIRECTLY TO THAT COMMUNITY.
SO, YOU KNOW, THEY DO THE SERVICING THEMSELVES, OR THEY'RE THEY'RE SURVEYING THEMSELVES.
THEY DO THE PEER SUPPORT PROGRAMMING, THE STREET OUTREACH.
UM, THOSE FUNDS ADJUSTING SAID MAT AND CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING AROUND SERVICE FOR PROVIDERS THAT ARE, UM, MEETING NEEDS OF DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES IN OUR, UM, IN AUSTIN.
UH, COMMUNITY-BASED ECONOMIC SERVICES.
WE, I THINK WITH A WINTER STORM AND JUST A LOT OF THE WORK THAT WE SAW, UM, HAPPENING THIS YEAR, UH, WITH COVID THAT THE THEY'RE SO IMPORTANT THAT THERE'S AN ATTACHED MONEY.
SO THINKING LIKE MUTUAL AID, UM, THINKING ABOUT JUST THE NATURE OF CRISIS, HOW IMPORTANT IT IS THAT PEOPLE HAVE ACCESS TO FUNDS.
SO IF YOU'RE MAYBE AT LEAST LEAVING AN ABUSIVE HOME OR NEEDING TO TRAVEL TO, UM, FAMILY MEMBERS AT A TOWN, UM, THAT THERE IS, THERE ARE FUNDS AT THE CITY THAT PEOPLE CAN REQUEST THAT DON'T HAVE A BUNCH OF HOOPS THAT DON'T, YOU KNOW, AREN'T REIMBURSEMENT BASED.
UM, AND WE DO HAVE A PROGRAM LIKE THAT THROUGH BRIDGES TO SAFETY.
UM, THAT IS A FUND OF MONEY THAT, UM, ONE ORGANIZATION I THINK IS FUNDED TO KIND OF USE THAT MONEY, AN EMERGENCY, UM, FOR EMERGENCY NEEDS.
AND SO THE IDEA WOULD BE TO HAVE MAYBE FIVE ADDITIONAL, MORE COMMUNITY PARTNERS, UM, EXPAND THE FUNDS.
SO THERE'S MORE OF THAT FUNDING.
UM, BUT THERE'S DIFFERENT KINDS OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE ACCESS THAT ARE REALLY MEETING THE NEEDS OF DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES.
AND SO DIFFERENT FOLKS MIGHT BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT KIND OF FUNDING.
UM, AND OF COURSE THE IMPORTANCE OF, UM, CAP METRO AND, AND TRANSPORTATION, UM, TO FOLKS, UH, NEEDING ACCESS TO THESE TYPES OF SERVICES.
UM, SO COMMUNITY-BASED HOUSING, WE JUST UNDERSTAND THE INTERSECTIONS OF ALL OF THIS.
YOU CANNOT HEAL FROM THINGS IF YOUR BASIC NEEDS ARE NOT BEING MET.
I THINK YOU HAVE TO BE SAFE LIKE RIGHT IN YOUR BODY.
UM, THEY, BEFORE WE CAN REALLY ENGAGE WITH DIFFERENT HEALING MODALITIES, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PLACE TO LIVE AND BE STABLE.
SO, UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, HARM REDUCTION, LIKE PEOPLE ARE HARMED ALL THE TIME, THAT LACK HOUSING.
I MEAN, THAT'S A MAJOR RISK FACTOR.
SO, UM, WE WANTED THE CITY TO REALLY COMMIT TO SPENDING AT LEAST 16 MILLION A YEAR, UM, ON RED SUBSIDIES CRISIS EMERGENCY HOUSING.
UH, THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH LONG-TERM SUPPORTIVE HOUSING UNITS IN AUSTIN, RIGHT? THERE'S I MEAN, WE TALK A LOT ABOUT SHELTER, SHELTER, ISN'T SAFE FOR EVERYONE.
SO WE NEED A DIVERSITY OF HOUSING THAT INCLUDES VOUCHER PROGRAMS THAT, YOU KNOW, INCLUDES KIND OF A HOST OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT NEED TO BE INVESTED IN.
[00:45:01]
THEN OF COURSE, CREATING HOUSING, SUBSIDY AND VOUCHERS SPECIFICALLY FOR GROUPS THAT ARE LESS LIKELY TO HAVE ACCESS TO OTHER TYPES OF HOUSING.UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT AS A COMMUNITY HOUSING TRUST, UH, FOR BLACK TRANS INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE SURVIVORS OF STATE AND INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE THINK ABOUT FOLKS DEALING WITH IMMIGRATION ISSUES OR, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE THESE DIFFERENT, UNIQUE NEEDS FOLKS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, REENTERING AFTER PRISON OR JAIL.
UM, BUT TO BE VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT THESE KINDS OF, UM, OPPORTUNITIES FOR, FOR HOUSING, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, UM, COMMUNITY UPSTREAM PREVENTION, THE OFTENTIMES LIKE, YOU KNOW, I'VE WORKED IN THIS FIELD FOR A LONG TIME AND PREVENTION OFTEN IS ONE OF THE LEAST FUNDED, UM, PORTIONS OF THE WORK BECAUSE WE SPEND SO MUCH TIME DOWNSTREAM OF CRISIS THAT OFTENTIMES WE DON'T GET TO JUST DO AND SET ASIDE THAT MONEY SPECIFICALLY FOR PREVENTION AND PRIMARY PREVENTION, UM, WHERE WE'RE ACTUALLY GETTING TO, YOU KNOW, CHANGING CULTURE.
UM, SO WE, WE THOUGHT THAT THE CITY SHOULD PUT TOGETHER, UM, IN MAYBE COLLABORATION WITH AUSTIN, WITH, YOU KNOW, UM, WITH AUSTIN SCHOOL BOARD, I DON'T KNOW, I'M LOSING MY WORDS, BUT, UM, DIFFERENT ENTITIES THAT, UM, CAN COMMIT TO MAYBE AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMMING.
UM, SO THERE ARE A LOT OF GREAT PROGRAMS HERE IN AUSTIN INVOLVING YOUNG PEOPLE IN VIOLENCE, KIND OF PREVENTION, INTERVENTION.
UM, SO LIKE MAN IN THE MIRROR, NO.
OH MY GOSH, THEY ARE CALLED MAN AT ME.
I KEEP THINKING ABOUT MICHAEL JACKSON, BUT IT'S MAN IN ME.
UM, AND THERE'S EXPECT RESPECT THAT SAFE, BUT THERE'S ALL THESE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES.
I THINK, UM, LIFE A NEW ALSO DOES, UM, SCHOOL-BASED, UM, WORK.
SO REALLY KIND OF SETTING ASIDE TIME TO INVEST IN THAT KIND OF, UH, PREVENTION EDUCATION OR PLACE-BASED EDUCATION PLACE-BASED PROGRAMMING AROUND PREVENTION.
UM, SO INTERNAL IS CITY OF AUSTIN.
WE KIND OF SEPARATED FROM COMMUNITY-BASED TO INTERNAL FILL.
I'LL TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE INTERNAL, UM, PORTIONS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I'M TAKING TOO LONG, I'M HAPPY TO TRY TO SPEED IT UP.
UH, BUT, UH, WE DID ASK THE CITY TO COMMIT TO EXPANDING THE CURRENT EMDR PROGRAM FOR THOSE THAT DON'T KNOW, EMDR IS A CRISIS THERAPEUTIC, UM, INTERVENTION, UH, THAT OFTEN WORKS FOR PTSD.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S BETS OR SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE.
UM, BUT THE CITY FOR A COUPLE YEARS, YEARS NOW HAS FUNDED AN EMDR TRAINING PROGRAM FOR ABOUT 50,000 WHERE THEY TRAINED COMMUNITY-BASED THERAPISTS TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE, UM, THIS TRAUMA INTERVENTION THERAPY, UM, WHICH IS PRETTY GREAT.
IT HAS WORKED REALLY, REALLY WELL.
UM, BUT THE IDEA IS THAT IT SHOULD BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEALING, MODALITIES, PEOPLE NEED DIFFERENT THINGS, UM, AND TO INCLUDE REIMBURSEMENT FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEALING SERVICES, RIGHT? SO IF SOMEONE WANTS REIKI OR ACUPUNCTURE, THEN THE CITY CAN, UM, PAY FOR THAT.
AND THIS WOULD NOT REQUIRE, UM, A POLICE REPORT.
AND THAT I SHOULD JUST SAY THAT GENERALLY, NONE OF THIS, NONE OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS SHOULD REQUIRE REPORTING TO POLICE.
OH, IN THAT VICTIM SERVICES, AS WELL AS OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS HAVE ACCESS TO THAT.
SO THEY CAN ALSO, UM, PAY HEALERS DIRECTLY, UM, SAFETY FOR SEX WORKERS.
I THINK WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANT OUTREACH PIECE, THAT'S ONLY A PART OF WHAT'S NECESSARY.
UM, WE RE WERE COMMENDED THAT THE CITY STOPPED ARRESTING INDIVIDUALS FOR PROSTITUTION IN FORCED ROTATION.
AT LEAST THOSE CURRENTLY HELD ON THOSE CHARGES, DISMISSED CHARGES AND EXPUNGE THE RECORDS OF THOSE PREVIOUSLY CONVICTED.
UM, WE ALSO WANT THE CITY TO ADVOCATE TO END PHOENIX COURT AT TRAVIS COUNTY AND INSTEAD REFER INDIVIDUALS TO LOCAL SEX WORKER OUTREACH AND HARM REDUCTION PROGRAM WITH INCREASED FUNDING TO, UM, INCREASE CAPACITY OF ALTERNATIVE PROGRAM.
AND, UM, WE DID WANT TO RECOGNIZE THE BALTIMORE MODEL WHERE THEY REALLY STOPPED PROSECUTING MINOR CRIMES TO CREATE A SAFER ENVIRONMENT, UM, FOR THOSE
[00:50:01]
COMMUNITIES.NEXT SLIDE PLEASE, UM, PASSED.
SO WE'RE GOING TO PASS IT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT FOR VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS THAT, UM, NEED, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, NEED THAT SYSTEMS LEVEL ACCOUNTABILITY.
WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT HOW DIFFERENT SYSTEMS MIGHT IMPACT DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES, UM, NEGATIVELY.
AND ONE THING THAT APD POLICIES CURRENTLY DO IS MANDATE REPORTING, UM, TO DSPS, WHENEVER THEY RESPOND SPAWN TO SURVIVORS WITH CHILDREN, UM, OF COURSE, UH, THAT'S, THAT CAN BE VERY PROBLEMATIC OFTEN, ESPECIALLY FOR FAMILIES OF COLOR.
THOSE KIDS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE ENTERED INTO THAT SYSTEM.
UM, SO, UH, WE RECOMMEND THAT APD REVISE, THOSE MANDATED REPORTING POLICIES, UM, AND THEN MEANING TO, THEY ENGAGE WITH VICTIM SERVICES AND THE EQUITY OFFICE ON HOW TO DO THAT.
UM, AND, AND LEARNING WHAT THE IMPACT IS FOR, FOR SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE UM, THE OFFICE OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION.
UM, WE WORKED OF COURSE WITH THE, UM, GUN GUN VIOLENCE TASK FORCE RECONFIRM, OR SUPPORT THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OVP.
UM, THAT THE GOAL IS HOPEFULLY WHEN OVP IS FULLY FUNDED AND STAFFED, UM, THEY CONTINUE KIND OF THE WORK OF REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE GOING FORWARD.
UM, AND I THINK PART OF THAT IS MAKING SURE THAT THERE IS A CONVENING OF DIRECTLY IMPACTED FOLKS, UM, COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERS, DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY VIOLENCE THAT ARE KIND OF A PART OF PROGRAM DESIGN THAT IMPLEMENTATION.
UM, THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THERE'S A LOT OF PUBLIC AWARENESS ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING, WHAT TO DO.
UM, AND I THINK THAT INCLUDES MAKING SURE COMMUNITIES ARE AWARE OF ALL THE OPTIONS THEY HAVE OUTSIDE OF REPORTING.
UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE JUST DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT'S AVAILABLE.
AND I THINK AT LEAST IN MY FIELD, WHEN IT COMES TO SEXUAL ASSAULT, MOST PEOPLE ARE TOLD YOU CALL NINE 11, THAT'S ALL YOU DO.
AND THERE ISN'T A LOT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT THE WIDE RANGE OF OPPORTUNITIES AND SERVICES THAT EXIST WITHOUT, UM, GETTING, UH, LAW ENFORCEMENT INVOLVED BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE JUST ARE NOT GOING TO DO THAT, UM, WORK WITH DATA AND IT TO INITIATE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF INTEGRATED COST SECTOR DATA PLATFORM.
SO WE CAN KIND OF GET A BIGGER UNDERSTANDING OF THE PICTURE.
AND THEN, SO WE, WE PUT THIS GREAT, UM, SLIDE HERE JUST TO SIGNIFY THAT, YOU KNOW WHAT PLEASE SAYS, UM, WHAT OUR SYSTEMS DO IS ONLY A SMALL PART OF THE OVERALL KIND OF PUBLIC HEALTH FUNCTION OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION.
UH, AND WE NEED TO INVEST IN THESE DIFFERENT PIECES OF, OF THE, OF THE CIRCLES.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, THINKING ABOUT DIVERSE, SKILLED WORKFORCE WORKFORCE, THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE CAN DO IN THESE OTHER AREAS.
AND I THINK US IN, UM, THE HEALTH REINVESTMENT WORKING GROUP HAS A GREAT KIND OF SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS ON THOSE THINGS, BUT REALIZING THAT IT'S, THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT PIECES TO THIS PUZZLE.
NEXT SLIDE THEN, UM, OBP FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS.
I'LL JUST KIND OF RUN THROUGH THESE, UM, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THERE ARE FACILITATORS, UM, FOR THIS TA PROCESS OF OVP, UM, INTEGRATION WITH COMMUNITY THAT, UM, IS GROUNDED IN RACIAL JUSTICE AND MAKING SURE, UM, THOSE LEADERS HAVE THAT CAPACITY IN THAT BACKGROUND.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE THE IMPORTANCE OF, UH, DOING A LOT OF WORK TO CREATE MULTI-DISCIPLINARY REVIEW TEAMS, ESPECIALLY LIKE THE HOMOCIDE REVIEW TEAM, UM, SO THAT WE CAN BUILD OUR CAPACITY TO SEE CHANGE OVER TIME.
UM, AND THEN IMMEDIATE PLANS, UH, TO EVALUATE COMMUNITY BASED PROGRAM PILOT STRATEGIES, SUCH AS CURE VIOLENCE, UM, OR HOSPITAL-BASED VIOLENCE INTERVENTION, NEXT SLIDE.
AND THEN, UH, LASTLY WE HAVE VICTIM SERVICES RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO, UM, I THINK OVERALL, WE TALKED ABOUT THE ABILITY FOR VICTIM SERVICES
[00:55:01]
TO BE, UM, KIND OF DECOUPLED FROM, FROM APD AND A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT WAYS.SO WE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT, ADMINISTRATIVE DECOUPLING VERSUS A PHYSICAL DEEP COUPLING.
WE DIDN'T MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ON, WE DECIDED THAT THE PHYSICAL DECOUPLING WASN'T, UM, SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL OR USEFUL FOR SURVIVORS THAT ARE REPORTING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AND NEED THEIR GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT.
UM, THEY, VICTIM SERVICES PLAYS A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE WITHIN APD AND THEY NEED TO HAVE PROXIMITY.
THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO GO OUT ON CALLS WITH POLICE OFFICERS.
UM, THEY NEED TO HAVE CASE DATA ACCESS, UM, BUT WHETHER OR NOT THEY CAN BE ADMINISTRATIVELY DECOUPLED AS IN MAYBE REPORTING TO THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER OR REPORTING, UM, TO, UM, APD LEADERSHIP, MAYBE THE CHIEF OF POLICE DIRECTLY.
UM, WE DEFINITELY SEE VALUE OF THE OFFICE BEING ELEVATED SO THAT THEY CAN BE IN DECISION-MAKING SPACES.
UM, I THINK THEIR WORK IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.
SO THERE'S AN INPUT, YOU KNOW, A PIECE OF THE RECOMMENDATION BEING THAT APD RECOGNIZE THE VALUE THAT THEY BRING IN ELEVATE, UM, THAT, THAT, UM, TO A PLACE WHERE THEY THEY'RE A PART OF MAKING DECISIONS.
UM, AND THAT INCLUDES OF COURSE, THINKING ABOUT THEIR SALARIES, HOW THEY REFLECT, UM, THE IMPORTANT WORK THAT THEY DO.
UM, THEY ALSO, UH, ANOTHER RECOMMENDATION IS, UM, THAT THEY DO MORE TRAINING, ESPECIALLY DURING THAT ACADEMY.
UM, AND WE HAVE KIND OF SOME GENERAL IDEAS OF, OF NUMBERS THAT WE THINK WOULD BE IMPORTANT.
I MEAN, JUST TO START, AND I, I THINK JUST GENERAL, RIGHT? IF, IF THE TRAINING THIS TRAINING SHOULD REALLY BE REVIEWED BY FOLKS, UM, SUCH AS VICTIM SERVICES THAT HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF TRAUMA HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF KIND OF ADULT LEARNING.
UM, BUT WE DO THINK 30 HOURS OF TIME NEEDS TO BE COMMITTED TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, TRAUMA, UM, THOSE TYPES OF ISSUES.
UM, AND THEN TWO HOURS YEARLY TRAINING FOR PATROL OFFICERS.
HONESTLY, I THINK THAT'S A REALLY LOW NUMBER, BUT I THINK WE'RE ALSO THINKING ABOUT CAPACITY OF VICTIM SERVICES TO DO MORE, UM, AND THEN, UH, FIELD TRAINING ON OFFER.
SO TRAINING RE-CERTIFICATION THAT THERE IS NOT JUST TRAINING, BUT IT IS EVALUATED TO ENSURE PEOPLE WERE ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, MEETING, UM, SOME CORE COMPETENCIES AROUND THESE ISSUES, UM, OR THESE AREAS NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
UM, UH, I HOPE THIS IS MY LAST SLIDE, BUT ANOTHER RECOMMENDATION IS MOVING TO A STRUCTURE WHERE, UM, SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT HAVE THE OPTION OF TELLING THEIR REPORT OR GIVING HER A REPORT TO YOUR VICTIM SERVICE COUNSELOR, UM, INSTEAD OF THE PATROL OFFICER.
UM, SO THE IDEA OF THE COUNSELOR BEING THE FIRST POINT OF CONTACT COULD BE REALLY HELPFUL, UH, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE NO LONGER IN CURRENT DANGER.
WELL, IF THEY'RE NO LONGER IN DANGER THAT THAT SHOULD BE AN OPTION THAT THEY HAVE.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE WE RECOMMENDED THAT THE EQUITY OFFICE, UM, OR THAT BRING SOME SERVICES PARTNER WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE TO GO OVER THE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE, UM, THROUGH THEIR, UH, COMMUNITY APD EQUITY ASSESSMENT SERIES THAT REALLY KIND OF, UM, GIFTS TO THEM TO A LEVEL WHERE, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE INCLUSIVE OF DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES.
UM, AND THAT THEY'RE KIND OF BEING INCORPORATED IN THE WAY THAT THEY NEED TO BE, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO TRAINING ORIENTATION, ONBOARDING, UM, RECRUITING, AND NEXT SLIDE, I THINK THAT IS OKAY.
WELL, THAT WAS ALL THAT I HAD.
THERE WERE A LOT OF RECOMMENDATIONS, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, BUT I, I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE ANY FEEDBACK Y'ALL HAVE, WHETHER IT'S NOW OR AT A DIFFERENT TIME, ANY QUESTIONS FOR COMMISSIONER LEWIS, COMMISSIONER WEBER, PLEASE, JUST TO COMMENT THAT, UM, SO I KNEW WHAT WAS IN THE RECOMMENDATION.
SO I WASN'T AS, UM, AUSTRAC THIS TIME AROUND, BUT I WAS SO IMPRESSED WHEN I FIRST, UM, WATCHED THEY'RE REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS.
THEY'RE SO CONCRETE AND I MEAN, AMANDA'S PRESENTATION IS CHOCK FULL OF EXAMPLES OF OTHER COMMUNITIES
[01:00:01]
WHO HAVE FRIED THINGS THAT WE SHOULD GO AHEAD AND BRING HERE.AND SO I JUST THINK IT'S AMAZING WORK AND I AM SO GRATEFUL THAT SO MANY PEOPLE GAVE TIME.
I WONDER, AMANDA, JUST, UH, I DON'T WANNA EMBARRASS YOU, BUT LIKE WHAT WAS INVOLVED IN THAT PROCESS? HOW MANY MEETINGS AND IT IS A LOT.
I MEAN, WE, YOU KNOW, UH, WE'VE HAD A VERY GOOD GROUP, YOU KIND OF SAW THE PAGE LONG.
UM, I MEAN THE WORKING GROUP ITSELF MET WEEKLY, BUT THEN WE HAD A LOT OF SIDE MEETINGS TO TRY TO, UM, WORK ON INDIVIDUAL RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, LOTS OF BRINGING OTHER FOLKS TO THE MEETING, TO GIVE PRESENTATIONS ABOUT WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE OR WHAT THEY'VE SEEN OR WHAT THEY'RE A PART OF.
UM, SO IT WAS HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS OF JUST LIKE WORK.
AND THEN OF COURSE WORKING WITH OTHER WORKING GROUPS ON THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUPPORT, UM, OR, YOU KNOW, JUST EDIT.
SO THERE WAS JUST, IT WAS A TON, IT WAS A LABOR OF LOVE.
UM, BUT I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS IT WAS VERY, UM, UH, INVOLVED A LOT OF DIFFERENT FOLKS.
AND JUST FOLLOWING UP ON THAT, DO YOU FEEL, UM, LIKE THE CITY APPRECIATES YOUR EFFORTS HERE AND DO YOU, ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC THAT, UM, WE'RE GOING TO SEE SOME OF THESE THINGS HAPPEN? I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY HOPEFUL.
I THINK THAT THERE ARE FOLKS IN THE CITY THAT SEEM REALLY INTERESTED.
UM, I THINK THERE ARE FOLKS ON COUNCIL THAT SEEM REALLY INTERESTED, BUT, YOU KNOW, JUST WANTING TO REITERATE THE IMPORTANCE OF KIND OF JUST THE WHOLE, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE TASK FORCE AND WHAT OUR AIM IS.
UM, AND HOPING THAT THERE IS COMMITMENT TO THAT LONG GAME, RIGHT? THAT, THAT LIKE AS A TASK FORCE, WE'RE NOT GOING TO, YOU KNOW, CHANGE ANYTHING IN SIX MONTHS LIKE THAT.
IT'S GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, YEARS OF WORK AND INVESTMENT.
AND EVEN JUST ASKING THE CITY THAT'S BEEN ASKING FOR, HEY, STOP, YOU KNOW, SHOOTING PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS, THERE, ALL THESE THINGS TO SUDDENLY, OKAY, HAVE A PLAN IN SIX MONTHS IS NOT RATIONAL.
I THINK IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LONG TIME FOR US TO REALLY BUILD UP, UM, WHAT WE DO WANT INSTEAD.
SO I THINK I'M HOPEFUL THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, THE CITY RECOGNIZES THE HARD WORK OF THE FOLKS INVOLVED IN THE TASK FORCE.
UM, BUT I THINK TIME WILL TELL, UM, AND WE'LL SEE BASED ON WHAT IS MAKES IT INTO THE PROPOSED BUDGET, UM, AND WHAT WE SEE, YOU KNOW, ADVOCATED FOR WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, YOU KNOW, THE BUDGET, MY NEW, WHATEVER WE CALL IT WHEN WE GET TO, UH, THE SUMMER BUDGET PROCESS.
WELL, I'M JUST THRILLED THAT YOU'RE ON OUR COMMISSION NOW BECAUSE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO, UM, HELP US KEEP AN EYE ON THAT BUDGET.
UM, UM, BUT MY QUESTION WAS, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT JUST FOR THE SAKE OF COMPARISON ABOUT WHAT INTERACTIONS, LIKE WHAT THE COMMUNITY'S INTERACTIONS IS WITH VICTIM SERVICES NOW, JUST SO THAT WE CAN SEE A CONTRAST OF WHAT YOU GUYS ARE LIKE WHAT'S AVAILABLE NOW.
VICTIM SERVICES, NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE REALIZE THAT THEY DO SERVE FOLKS THAT DON'T REPORT.
UM, THEY CAN PROVIDE CASE MANAGEMENT OR DIRECT TO RESOURCES IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, BUT THE VICTIM SERVICES RIGHT NOW IS ABOUT 45.
PROBABLY HAS A BETTER NUMBER, UM, 25 OR SO COUNSELORS AND THEN A MANAGER.
UM, I THINK A COUPLE OF, UM, FOLKS IN, UH, YOU KNOW, IN THAT MIDDLE KIND OF LEADERSHIP RANGE.
UM, BUT THEY DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE THE CAPACITY TO BE RESPONSIVE TO EVERY VICTIM THAT GOES TO THE POLICE.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, I DON'T NECESSARILY SEE IT AS A RE-IMAGINING CONVERSATION, BUT I DO, I DO THINK WHEN WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THE PRIORITIZATION OF, OF THE POLICE ITSELF, UM, LIKE WITHIN THE POLICE HAT, THAT THAT'S A UNIT THAT, UM, REALLY COULD BE TWICE ITS SIZE.
I MEAN, I MEAN, IT'S, SO, I MEAN, THAT'S AT LEAST THE VALUE THAT I SEE FOR THEM AS FOR FOLKS MOVING THROUGH THAT CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
[01:05:01]
RIGHT NOW THEIR MAIN FUNCTION IS, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING KIND OF THAT CASE MANAGEMENT, MAKING SURE SURVIVORS ARE GETTING THE INFORMATION THEY NEED FOR THEIR CASES.UM, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKING THOSE CONNECTIONS IN THE, UM, THEY DO, THEY PROVIDE DEATH NOTIFICATION.
UH, THEY DO, UM, THEY, THEY HAVE A TEAM OF FOLKS THAT GOES OUT ON CALLS.
UM, I'M, I THINK IT'S A CRISIS MOBILE RESPONSE TEAM.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY DO THAT, I THINK REALLY IMPORTANT TRAUMA-INFORMED PIECE OF INNER ENGAGING WITH PEOPLE IN CRISIS, UM, THAT, THAT I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
I'M PROBABLY GETTING IT WRONG.
LIKE I'M PROBABLY MISSING THINGS, BUT AT LEAST THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THEY DO NOW, BUT LIKE WHAT, WHAT WE WANT THEM TO DO, WHAT IT IS THAT THE QUESTION? NO, NO, NO.
I JUST, IT WAS JUST TO A CONTRAST TO SO THAT WE COULD HAVE, CAUSE I THINK RIGHT NOW, OR AT LEAST MY IMPRESSION IS THAT THE MAJORITY OF CASES THEY GET MANAGED THROUGH VICTIM SERVICES ARE COASTS REPORTING A CRIME.
IS THAT THE CASE? I MEAN, BECAUSE THERE ARE SYSTEMS ADVOCATES, THEY'RE, THEY'RE GOING TO BE, UM, YOU KNOW, LOOPED IN WHEN, WHEN SOMEONE REPORTS, BUT THERE ARE CASES WHERE, OR THERE MIGHT BE TIMES WHEN SOMEONE MIGHT REACH OUT TO VICTIM SERVICES JUST TO LIKE FOR INFORMATION, PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THEY CAN DO THAT.
BUT OFTENTIMES WHEN I WORKED LOCALLY, YOU KNOW, FOLKS MIGHT BE, WOULD HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT REPORTING OR A QUESTION OR A CONCERN AND THEY WOULD REACH OUT, WE WOULD TELL THEM, REACH OUT DIRECTLY TO VICTIM SERVICES AND THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO STILL HAVE ACCESS TO THE EMDR, YOU KNOW, FREE LIST OF THERAPY AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
SO, UM, YEAH, BUT THEY OFFER IT AND THAT'S AN ISSUE, RIGHT? LARGELY THINKING ABOUT THE POINT OF ENTRY TO PEOPLE GETTING CARE, UM, AROUND VIOLENCE IS OFTEN POLICE LIKE, BECAUSE WE REALLY HAVEN'T DONE A LOT OF COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND PUBLIC EDUCATION ON WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO.
UM, AND SO WHEN THAT'S KIND OF A STORY THAT MEANS THAT PEOPLE THAT ALREADY MAYBE DON'T FEEL SAFE DOING THAT, THEY DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE AN ENTRY POINT INTO ALL THE SERVICES THAT EXISTS AROUND, UM, VIOLENCE INTERVENTION.
SO I THINK THERE IS THIS IMPORTANT CONVERSATION ABOUT CHANGING, UM, LIKE CREATING MORE ENTRY POINTS AND TELLING THE STORY ABOUT THOSE ENTRY POINTS THAT, UM, IS AN IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATION.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED YOU TO TALK ABOUT THE POINT OF ENTRY AND EXPANDING ALL OF THE DIFFERENT XX ACCESS POINTS, BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE THAT'S ONE OF THE, WHAT I SAW IN A LOT OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS IS JUST, THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER TOUCH POINTS AVAILABLE.
AND I THINK, UH, WE DO HAVE, UH, JESSICA JOHNSON, WHO IS A MEMBER OF THE RE-IMAGINING NINE ONE, ONE AND NON POLICE CRISIS RESPONSE WORKING GROUP ON WE'D LOVE FOR HER TO GO OVER HER RECOMMENDATIONS AS WELL.
CAN I ASK COMMISSIONER LEWIS A QUICK QUESTION? I WOULD REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE TIME FOR THE SECOND PRESENTATION AND WE'RE DOWN TO 45 MINUTES, SO I HATE TO CUT IT OFF, BUT I REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ENOUGH TIME FOR THE SECOND DISTINCTION AS WELL.
JESSICA, ARE YOU ON, LET'S SEE YOU ON THE ATTENDEES.
I STILL SEE YOU ON MUTE, JESSICA.
IS IT POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO UNMUTE YOURSELF OR MAYBE CAN YOU UNMUTE THERE? SHE IS.
MY SINCERE APOLOGIES, NOT ON VIDEO ONLY BECAUSE IN THIS VIRTUAL WORLD, OF COURSE, TECHNOLOGY LIKES TO THROW A TANTRUM WHENEVER YOU NEED IT.
SO THAT'S MY CURRENT SITUATION.
UM, BUT THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR TODAY.
I'M IN A FAIR DEFENSE PROJECT.
UM, I WAS PART OF THE NINE ONE ONE RESPONSE WORKING GROUP, AS WELL AS THE PATROL AND INVESTIGATIONS WORKING GROUP ON THE TASK FORCE.
UM, I DO WANT TO MENTION THERE WAS AN ADDITIONAL, SO THERE WERE TWO PATROL WORK GROUPS, THE OTHER ONE BEING PATROL AND SURVEILLANCE, AND SPECIFICALLY THEY WERE DOING A LOT OF REALLY DEEP WORK WITH FOLKS WHO WERE DIRECTLY HARMED BY THE SYSTEM.
SO I WOULD, I WOULD CERTAINLY RECOMMEND, UM, IF, TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK WITH THAT WORK GROUP AS WELL, BECAUSE I CAN'T SPECIFICALLY SPEAK TO THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS OTHER THAN WHAT'S IN THE REPORT.
[01:10:01]
TO THAT.UM, SO AS FAR AS THE TWO DIFFERENT WORKING GROUPS, SO THERE WERE 10 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NINE ONE, ONE AND NON POLICE PRICE RESPONSE WORKING GROUP.
AND I BELIEVE SIX FOR OUR PATROL AND INVESTIGATIONS.
SO I'LL DO THE FIRST, UH, NON-POLICE CRISIS RESPONSE NINE 11 RECOMMENDATIONS FIRST.
AND THEN I'LL PAUSE TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS AND THEN I CAN, UM, DO THE LAST SIX.
CAUSE I THINK THE PATROL WORKING GROUP ONES ARE A LITTLE BIT SHORTER.
UM, JESSICA, IS IT OKAY IF I HAVE ABY PULL UP THE REPORT? UH, SO AT LEAST WE HAVE SOMETHING ON THE SCREEN THAT YOU CAN TALK TO, OR I THINK IT'S PAGE, PAGE 51, IF I BELIEVE IS WHERE YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR.
PAGE 52 IS WHERE THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE.
UM, PERFECT THAT REPORT AND IT'S THE ONE ENTITLED TEST COMPLETED RPS TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATION.
IT'S UM, NO, I DON'T, IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ON YOUR SCREEN.
UM, OTHER DOESN'T GET PERFECT.
UM, SO I DO WANT TO SPEAK JUST A LITTLE BIT TO KIND OF HOW WE WERE GROUNDING THE NINE ONE ONE AND NON-POLICE CRISIS RESPONSE WORK GROUP AND SPECIFICALLY, AND THAT, UM, OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES, WE'RE AN OFFICER'S OF ADP HAVE CHOSE 28 PEOPLE OF COLOR AND, AND INJURED MANY OTHERS.
AND SO REALLY WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO GET AT IS THAT IN MANY NEIGHBORHOODS AND COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE CITY, UM, UH, A PHONE CALL FOR EMERGENCY HELP OF ANY KIND HAS BECOME A DANGEROUS RISK MAKING FOLKS UNWILLING OR UNABLE TO CALL NINE ONE ONE.
AND THAT WE FELT THAT OUR CITY AS A WHOLE IS LESS SAFE BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE IN AUSTIN FEEL THEY CAN'T COUNT ON SAFE HELP WHEN THEY NEED IT.
AND SO WITH THAT SAID, THERE ARE KIND OF FOUR PIECES TO THESE 10 RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND SO THE FIRST PIECE IS NON-POLICE CRISIS LINE AND A COMMUNITY RESPONSE TEAM.
THE SECOND PART IS DIVERSION OF THE MAJORITY OF NINE 11 CALLS AWAY FROM POLICE AND TOWARDS APPROPRIATE FIRST RESPONDERS, WHICH INCLUDES INCREASED CAPACITY FOR THE MENTAL HEALTH RESPONDERS, AS WELL AS TRAINING FOR NINE 11 DISPATCHERS.
UM, THE THIRD PIECE IS PUBLIC EDUCATION ABOUT EMERGENCY RESPONSE OPTIONS.
AMANDA KIND OF ALLUDED TO THIS AS WELL, IS THAT, UM, AS, ESPECIALLY AS YOU KNOW, HOPING SOME OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ALL OF THE WORK GROUPS GET IMPLEMENTED, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT THEIR OPTIONS ARE IN ADDITION TO JUST NINE ONE ONE, SO THAT FOLKS HAVE MEANINGFUL CHOICES WHEN THEY FEEL THEY NEED EMERGENCY HELP.
UM, SO PUBLIC EDUCATION PIECE, AND THEN THE LAST PART IS JUST ONGOING COMMUNITY ACCOUNTABILITY AND EVALUATION BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND AS WE'RE MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS AND POTENTIALLY IMPLEMENTING NEW PROGRAMS, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE ACTUALLY HELPING THE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED AND IN AUSTIN.
UM, SO THAT SAID, UH, NUMBER ONE IS SPECIFICALLY, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT ESTABLISHING A FULLY FUNDED MENTAL HEALTH, FIRST RESPONSE, AND REMOVING ANY BARRIERS THAT PREVENT COMMUNITY ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH FIRST RESPONSE.
AND SO WHILE WE WERE IN THE, THE RE-IMAGINED PROCESS, UM, WE WERE INFORMED THAT NINE 11 WOULD BE DECOUPLED.
WE DIDN'T HAVE A TON OF INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THAT ACTUALLY MEANS, BUT PRIOR TO RECEIVING THAT INFORMATION, UM, WE HAD A PRESENTATION FROM INTEGRAL CARE TALKING ABOUT THE MENTAL HEALTH FIRST RESPONSE AS IT WAS FUNCTIONING BEFORE THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT IT WOULD BE COUPLED, UM, OR SPEAKING THAT NINE 11 WOULD BE DECOUPLED AND MOVING TOWARDS THOSE FOUR OPTIONS.
WHEN SOMEONE CALLS NINE ONE, ONE, UH, FIRE, EMS, POLICE, MENTAL HEALTH.
AND SO WHEN WE ORIGINALLY GOT RECEIVED THAT PRESENTATION, UM, THERE WERE LIMITATIONS ON THE KINDS OF CALLS THAT MENTAL HEALTH FIRST RESPONDERS WERE ABLE TO RESPOND TO.
UM, AND SPECIFICALLY, UM, IN CASES THAT REGARDED CALLS THAT INVOLVE SUBSTANCE USE USE OF A WEAPON HARM TO SELF OR OTHERS AND CALLS THAT INVOLVE CRIME.
IT WAS OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT MENTAL HEALTH FIRST RESPONSE WAS NOT ABLE TO RESPOND TO THOSE AND BE A TRUE MENTAL HEALTH FIRST RESPONSE.
AND WE KNOW THAT OFTENTIMES THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF CASES WHERE WE END UP WITH SITUATIONS WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY IS THREATENING TO HARM THEMSELVES, SOMEBODY HAVING A MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE AND THEY NEED A MENTAL HEALTH FIRST RESPONDER AND NOT POLICE.
AND SO OUR FIRST RECOMMENDATION MOSTLY HAS TO DO WITH REMOVING ANY BARRIERS THAT EXIST AND HAVING A TRUE MENTAL HEALTH
[01:15:01]
FIRST RESPONSE.UM, IT WAS ALSO OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE WAS ANOTHER BARRIER AS FAR AS FUNDING BECAUSE, UM, IT WAS OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT THE DELAY IN BEING ABLE TO HAVE TRUE MENTAL HEALTH FIRST RESPONSE WAS THAT THERE WEREN'T ENOUGH MENTAL HEALTH, FIRST RESPONDERS, SHE PROVIDE 24 SEVEN AVAILABILITY.
AND SO THEY DIDN'T WANT IT TO BE SUCH THAT FOLKS WOULD BE CALLING, ASKING FOR MENTAL HEALTH FIRST RESPONSE AND THAT WASN'T MEANINGFULLY AVAILABLE ALL THE TIME.
AND THEN ALSO JUST SPECIFICALLY ABOUT A DETERMINATION OF THE APPROPRIATENESS OF POLICE INTERVENTION SHOULD BE MADE BY THE COMMUNITY, THE COMMUNITY, REMEMBER, EXCUSE ME, THE COMMUNITY MEMBER REQUESTING ASSISTANCE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE MENTAL HEALTH FIRST RESPONDERS.
SO AGAIN, THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE TRAINING OF COURSE, OF, OF THE DISPATCH SO THAT THEY'RE NOT MAKING DECISIONS THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE NOT DIRECTLY ASKING FOR.
UM, SO THAT'S PRETTY MUCH THE FIRST RECOMMENDATION.
UM, THEN THE SECOND RECOMMENDATION I KIND OF JUST ALLUDED TO IS JUST MAKING SURE THAT THE NINE 11 OPERATORS AND FIRST RESPONDERS RECEIVE TRAINING WITH AN EMPHASIS ON PRIORITIZING THE RESPONSE TO A NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES OVER RESPONDING TO NINE 11 NON-VIOLENT CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR.
UM, AND SO AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE FOLKS RESPONDING TO THE CALLS HAVE THE MINDSET TOWARDS HELPING COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND ADDRESSING AN UNMET NEEDS RATHER THAN TOWARDS PUNISHMENT.
AND AGAIN, FOCUSING ON MAKING SURE, UM, THAT WE HAVE MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS RESPONDING TO FOLKS WHO NEED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.
UM, IF YOU CAN SCROLL DOWN TO NUMBER THREE.
UM, THE THIRD RECOMMENDATION IS TO ADDITIONALLY HAVE, UM, A COMMUNITY RUN NON-POLICE FIRST RESPONSE OUTSIDE OF THE NINE ONE ONE SYSTEM, UM, THAT IT WOULD ALSO INCLUDE A COMMUNITY LED RESOURCE LINE, UM, AND RESPONSE TO SITUATIONS THAT DON'T INVOLVE, UH, OR DON'T APPEAR TO REQUIRE MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE LIKE LOUD MUSIC AND BLOCK DRIVEWAYS.
AND SPECIFICALLY WHAT THIS RECOMMENDATION IS GETTING AT IS TWOFOLD.
SO, AS I MENTIONED, KIND OF IN THE GROUNDING PRINCIPLES IS THAT THERE ARE SOME FOLKS THAT WILL NOT USE THE NINE 11 SYSTEM PERIOD.
AND WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY ARE SERVED, UM, AND THAT THERE'S AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE THAT CAN MEET THEIR NEEDS.
AND ALSO THAT, LIKE WE SAID, WE SHOULD NOT BE THE ENTITY TO RESPOND TO NON-CRIMINAL AND QUALITY OF LIFE COMPLAINTS.
AND THIS ALSO FREES THEM UP TO RESPOND TO ACTUAL CRIME.
UM, SO WHEN THERE ARE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ARE ASKING FOR OTHER RESOURCES IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, MAYBE THERE'S DEBRIS IN FRONT OF THEIR DRIVEWAY, MAYBE THEY'RE HAVING SOME SORT OF QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUE THAT THERE COULD BE COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONDERS THAT COULD RESPOND, UM, TO THAT.
AND TO OTHER SITUATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN DECRIMINALIZED IN THIS COMMUNITY.
UM, THIS CAME FROM A MODEL OUT OF SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA CALLED THE MENTAL HEALTH FIRST PROGRAM.
THAT'S LED BY COMMUNITY GROUPS MOST IMPACTED BY POLICE VIOLENCE.
AND CURRENTLY IN AUSTIN, UM, THIS SERVICE EXISTS THROUGH 10,000 FEARLESS FIRST RESPONDERS.
THAT'S, THAT'S BASED SIMILARLY ON THIS MENTAL HEALTH FIRST PROGRAM.
AND SO WE ALSO HAVE THE RECOMMENDATION THAT THE CITY SHOULD RESOURCE THIS GROUP AND OTHERS LIKE IT, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE, SELF-SUFFICIENT AUTONOMOUS, UM, ABLE TO BE SUSTAINED AND ACCESSIBLE FOR MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY.
SO IT'S KIND OF LIKE A BELT AND SUSPENDERS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE TRUE MENTAL HEALTH FIRST RESPONSE THROUGH THE NINE ONE ONE SYSTEM, AND THEN ALSO HAVE AVAILABLE RESOURCES FOR FOLKS WHO DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE USING THE NINE 11 SYSTEM.
UM, SO MOVING ONTO THE FOURTH RECOMMENDATION, UM, WE HAD OUR REPRESENTATIVE, UM, A MEMBER OF THE TASK FORCE WHO WAS SPECIFICALLY CONNECTED WITH THE ASIAN AMERICAN, UM, POPULATIONS AND ASIAN POPULATIONS HERE IN AUSTIN AND WAS HEARING FROM THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT OFTENTIMES FOLKS DON'T REALLY HAVE MEANINGFUL ACCESS TO THE NINE 11 SYSTEM BECAUSE THEY DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH.
AND SO, UM, ONE PART OF THAT IS MAKING SURE THAT THERE IS A STANDARDIZED WAY THAT, THAT PEOPLE WHO ENGLISH IS NOT THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE HAVE MEANINGFUL ACCESS TO THE NINE ONE, ONE SYSTEM, ONE OF THE WAYS TO DO THAT WOULD BE THROUGH TEXT MESSAGING AND THEN AS WELL AS, UM, COMMUNITY-BASED CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING AND THEN APPROPRIATE OUTREACH AND EDUCATION TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS HOW TO USE THE SERVICES.
UM, BECAUSE MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THERE ARE SITUATIONS WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, IF A FIRST OR A DISPATCHER IS, UH, TRYING TO ACCESS, UM, INTERPRETATION SERVICES, THAT THERE WOULD BE A CLICK AND IT WOULD SOUND AS IF THEY HUNG UP.
[01:20:01]
UM, BUT PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHAT EXACTLY IS GOING ON, WHAT THAT TRANSLATION SERVICE WOULD LOOK LIKE.SO MAKING SURE COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN THEY CALL NINE ONE ONE AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE MEANINGFUL ACCESS BASED ON, UM, YOU KNOW, CREATING LINGUISTICALLY APPROPRIATE OUTREACH AND LINGUISTICALLY APPROPRIATE SERVICES.
SCROLL DOWN, SCROLL THE, YEAH, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
UM, SO THEN THE NEXT PART HAS TO DO ALSO WITH EDUCATION IS TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT AGAIN, WE KNOW WHAT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE AND MAKING SURE OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS HERE IN AUSTIN KNOW WHEN TO CALL NINE ONE ONE AND WHEN TO USE OTHER RESOURCES.
AND THIS AGAIN IS STEMMING DIRECTLY FROM, UM, SITUATIONS WHERE COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE BEEN KILLED SUCH AS MIKE RAMOS AND DAVID JOSEPH THAT HAD, UM, THE DECISION OF WHO TO CALL AND WHAT RESOURCE TO USE BEEN MADE DIFFERENTLY THAN IT WOULD HAVE SPARED LIVES OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
AND SO, UM, WE THINK EDUCATING FOLKS ABOUT APPROPRIATE EMERGENCY SERVICE USE AS WELL AS ADDING ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, UH, FOR FOLKS TO USE WOULD BE A HELPFUL WAY TO INCREASE PUBLIC SAFETY IN AUSTIN.
UM, NUMBER SIX IS AGAIN TALKING ABOUT, UM, MAKING SURE THAT ONCE THESE CHANGES AND ANY CHANGES REALLY ARE IMPLEMENTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S AN ONGOING AUDIT OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE CALLS TO MAKE SURE WE KNOW WHO IS ACTUALLY GETTING SERVED, WHO IS GETTING MISSED AND WHETHER IT'S WORKING FOR THE COMMUNITY SO THAT IT CAN BE WORKSHOPPED.
IF THERE ARE THINGS THAT NEED TO CHANGE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT TRULY WORKS.
UM, NUMBER SEVEN, BEN, I THINK I DID I SKIP ONE? NO, I THINK I'M I'M RIGHT.
SO NUMBER EIGHT, I COULD SCROLL DOWN.
SO EIGHT, NINE AND 10 SPECIFIC TYPICALLY HAVE TO DO WITH, UM, ALLOWING CONTINUED COMMUNITY INPUT INTO THE RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE NEXT STEPS IN THE RE-IMAGINE PROCESS.
AND SO NUMBER EIGHT HAS TO DO WITH BUILDING COMMUNITY TRUST INTO THE PROCESS AND RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY NOT RETURN ANY OF THE RE-IMAGINE OR DECOUPLING FUNDS TO APD AND AS WELL, ASKING FOR THE CITY TO, UM, FOLLOW THE TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS AND NOT FALL FUND IN APD CADET CLASS.
AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MONEY THAT WAS PUT INTO THE REIMAGINE IT, THAT REIMAGINE FUND, UH, BE PUT TOWARDS HOLISTIC COMMUNITY SAFETY OF THE TASK FORCE, WORKING GROUPS IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
UM, AND THEN WITH KIND OF THAT SHOW OF, OF, UH, TRANSPARENCY AND SUPPORT OF THIS PROCESS, THEN WE RECOMMEND THAT THERE BE A SECOND PHASE OF THE REIMAGINE TASK FORCE WITH A LONGER TIMELINE FOR INPUT THAT LEADS TOWARDS TRUE SYSTEMIC CHANGE.
AND AMANDA SPOKE TO THIS AS WELL, JUST BECAUSE THE, THE SHORT, YOU KNOW, SIX TO EIGHT MONTH TIMELINE MADE IT, UH, OUR RECOMMENDATIONS SOMEWHAT LIMITED BASED ON THE TIME AND RESOURCES THAT WE HAD TO, TO RESEARCH.
AND SO, UM, WE CERTAINLY SUGGEST THAT SHOULD THOSE FIRST THREE THINGS BE, UM, BE IMPLEMENTED THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT THAT WORK TO REIMAGINE PUBLIC SAFETY CONTINUES IN A MEANINGFUL WAY.
UM, AND NUMBER NINE EMPHASIZES THE NEED FOR ONGOING PUBLIC INPUT AS WELL AS ACCESSIBILITY TO THE PROCESS.
AND SO SPECIFICALLY THINKING THROUGH IF THERE IS ADDITIONAL RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY PROCESSES TO THINK THROUGH MAKING THEM ACCESSIBLE THROUGH COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION, UM, FUNDING, EDUCATION, AND TRAINING CHILDCARE, TRANSPORTATION INTERPRETATION, ET CETERA.
AND, YOU KNOW, WHILE WE UNDERSTAND THAT MANY OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE INVOLVED ARE DOING OUR BEST TO REPRESENT THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE.
IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE CONTINUED INPUT FROM FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN DIRECTLY HARMED BY THE SYSTEM.
AND SO MAKING SURE THAT THIS, THIS ACCESS, THIS PROCESS IS ACCESSIBLE AS AN IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATION.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, NUMBER 10 HAS TO DO WITH MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S A BUDGETED ROLE FOR THE EQUITY OFFICE IN ASSESSING PLANS FOR AN IMPLEMENTATION OF NON POLICE CRISIS RESPONSE.
UM, AND THE IDEA BEHIND THIS IS JUST
[01:25:01]
TO ENSURE, LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, UH, THAT PEOPLE OF COLOR AND COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN UNDERSERVED BY COMMUNITY PROGRAMS AND CITY RESOURCES ARE FULLY SERVED BY ANY NON-POLICE CRISIS RESPONSE THAT'S IMPLEMENTED.UM, SO THOSE ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE NINE ONE ONE GROUP.
I'M HAPPY TO PAUSE AND TAKE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT BEFORE I GO ONTO PATROL AND INVESTIGATIONS, IF THAT'S GOOD WITH YOU ALL.
UM, IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER WEBBER, GO AHEAD.
UM, SO BOTH YOU AND JESSICA AND AMANDA USED, UM, THIS TERM COMMUNITY LED, AND I WAS HOPING ONE OF YOU COULD JUST KIND OF FLUSH THAT OUT FOR US.
WHAT IS THAT? UM, AND HOW DOES IT WORK? YEAH, SO I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE RAN INTO OVER AND OVER IS THAT THE TIMELINES THAT WE WERE ON WERE DECIDED ON, UM, THE NEEDS AND THE TIMELINES OF THE CITY.
SO SPECIFICALLY WE WERE BOUND BY THE BUDGET PROCESS.
UM, AND SO BECAUSE WE HAVE SPECIFIC DEADLINES, IT'S HARD TO GET THE FULL AMOUNT OF COMMUNITY INPUT.
AND SO, ESPECIALLY TOWARDS THE VERY END OF THE PROCESS, UM, WE, EACH WORKING GROUP HAD BEEN WORKING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE, UM, GETTING FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY FROM EACH, FOR EACH OF THE WORK GROUPS.
AND SO IN ADDITION TO WE HAD A LISTENING SESSION, UM, FROM THE, FROM THE COMMUNITY TO HEAR WHAT THEY THOUGHT ABOUT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS KIND OF IN TOTAL AND IN SOME, AND SOME WORK GROUPS WERE ABLE TO HAVE, UM, DIFFERENT PROCESSES TO TALK DIRECTLY TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS, WHETHER IT'S, I KNOW AMANDA'S GROUP DID SOME, UM, ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS WITH SURVIVORS.
UM, I KNOW OTHER GROUPS DID SURVEYS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT BECAUSE AGAIN, BECAUSE OF THE TIMELINES WE WEREN'T REALLY ABLE TO DO AS ROBUST, UM, OF A COMMUNITY INPUT PROCESS.
AND SO I THINK MOSTLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE GIVEN THE FULL TIME TO REALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, WE ARE INCLUDING THE VOICES OF THOSE THAT ARE THE MOST IMPACTED, UM, TO BE ABLE TO BE PART OF THIS PROCESS.
HOPEFULLY THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION.
ANYONE ELSE WITH QUESTIONS BEFORE WE GO ON TO THE FINAL PRESENTATION, I HAVE ONE MORE, I WAS JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THE PROCESS LIKE, SO AMANDA IS, UM, WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS CAME WITH, WITH LOOKS LIKE REALLY SPECIFIC PRICE TAGS, AND THEN IT LOOKS LIKE THIS WORKING GROUP, JESSICA MADE THE DECISION NOT TO TRY TO, UM, YOU KNOW, ESTIMATE THE COSTS.
I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU COULD TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT.
YEAH, I THINK SO IT WAS PRETTY MUCH UP TO EACH WORKING GROUP, WHAT THE FORMAT LOOKED LIKE, UM, AND, AND DECIDING WHETHER WE COULD PUT A PRICE TAG ON DIFFERENT THINGS BY WORKING GROUP, JUST DIDN'T, WASN'T ABLE TO DO THAT IN A MEANINGFUL WAY IN THE TIME THAT WE HAD.
UM, SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE DECISION WAS INSTEAD OF MAKING UP A NUMBER THAT MIGHT NOT TRULY BE BASED IN FACT, AND LIMITING, YOU KNOW, CAUSE WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, WE SHOULD BE AUDITING THE PROCESSES OF NINE ONE, ONE AND NON POLICE CRISIS RESPONSE TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS CAN ACCESS IT, PUTTING A PRICE TAG ON SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS, WE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE NUMBERS AND WHAT EXACTLY IT WOULD TAKE.
SO, UM, SOME OR SOME WORK GROUPS WERE REALLY ABLE TO DRILL ON A PROPOSED PRICE TAG AND THE WORK GROUPS THAT I WAS INVOLVED IN JUST WAS NOT ABLE TO DO THAT IN THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT WE HAD.
AND MS. JOHNSON, YOU SAID THE NEXT ONE YOU WANTED TO REVIEW WAS THE PATROL, IS THAT RIGHT? YES.
THE PATROL, UH, SO NOT PATROL IN SURVEILLANCE.
IT SHOULD BE PATROL AND INVESTIGATIONS AND IT MIGHT TAKE POLICE STAFFING.
LET ME FIND WHERE THAT ONE IS.
UM, THERE'S, I'M TRYING TO SEARCH BY, UM, I'M TRYING TO SEARCH BY WORD AND THE WORD CONTROL SURE DOES COME UP A LOT.
IT'S PAGE 33 IS THE PATROL STAFFING PATROL AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS.
AND THAT'S PAGE 33, THE RECOMMENDATIONS,
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I THINK START ON THAT PAGE AS WELL.THAT'S THE BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT, I THINK THAT'S IT.
SO, UH, AB CAN YOU GO TO PAGE 33 PLEASE? OF THAT SAME PDF? THANK YOU.
SO AS FAR AS THE PATROL AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS WORK GROUP, UM, WE WERE, IT WAS, IT WAS TRICKY BECAUSE IN THE TASK FORCE ITSELF, UM, THE UNDERLYING IDEA WAS TO NOT FOCUS SO MUCH ON POLICING SINCE WHAT WE ARE DOING IS TRYING TO REIMAGINE PUBLIC SAFETY AND NOT OVEREMPHASIZE POLICING, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO HAVE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEN THAT ACKNOWLEDGE KIND OF THE STATUS QUO AND HOW WE CAN, UM, GROW IN A POSITIVE WAY.
AND SO THE FIRST THING IS THAT OUR FIRST RECOMMENDATION IS, UM, THAT LAKE PATROL SHOULD BE HANDLED BY EMS. AND SO THIS RECOMMENDATION COMES FROM THAT CURRENTLY IN LAKE AUSTIN.
THERE'S CONCURRENT JURISDICTION BETWEEN AN APD TRAVIS COUNTY, SHERIFF'S OFFICE, LAKE PATROL, LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY, RANGERS, LCRA, AND TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE.
AND SO IT'S OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT NOISE COMPLAINTS AS WELL AS SAFETY.
SO PULLING DANGEROUS DEBRIS, STRANDED VOTERS, BATIKS SWIMMERS, ET CETERA, UM, REALLY MAKE FOR THE MAJORITY OF WHAT THE LAKE PATROL IS DEALING WITH.
AND SO INSTEAD HAVING EMS PRIVATE PRESENCE WOULD ALLOW THEM FOR A QUICKER RESPONSE TIME FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THERE IS THIS OVERLAPPING JURISDICTION AND THERE ARE OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES THAT HAVE PRESENCE AT THE LAKE.
UM, SO HAVING MEDICAL PRESENCE THERE WOULD ALLOW FOR A QUICKER RESPONSE TIME RATHER THAN EMS HAVING TO GET ALL THE WAY OUT TO LAKE AUSTIN.
AND SO FOR THIS ONE, WE'RE SUGGESTING THAT THE $1.4 MILLION THAT'S SPENT ON APD LAKE PATROL, UH, BOTH BOATS IN STAFFING GO TO EMS, WHICH WOULD PROVIDE FOR, UH, FIVE FULL-TIME POSITIONS AS WELL AS TWO AMBULANCE BOATS.
UM, AND THEN IF YOU'LL SCROLL DOWN, UH, OUR SECOND RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THE USE OF THESE DOGS SHOULD BE DISCONTINUED, UM, MYSELF AND KATHY MITCHELL OF JUST LIBERTY.
UM, DID A DEEP DIVE REVIEW INTO DOG BITES, UM, CASES FROM 2015 TO 2019.
AND IT REVEALS SOME START SOME STARTLING EQUITY ISSUES.
SO, UM, ONE THAT THE INCIDENTS PRIMARILY INVOLVE HISPANIC AND BLACK MEN, UM, THAT IT IS LIKELY THAT SOME INVOLVES CHILDREN AND THAT HAS TO DO THE WAY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO FIGURE THAT OUT.
IS THERE ARE SOME INCIDENTS WHERE, UM, THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE INCIDENT IS LIMITED, PRESUMABLY BECAUSE IT IS A MINOR THAT IT'S INVOLVED.
UM, AND THERE'S LESS ACCESS OF COURSE, TO THOSE RECORDS, UM, THAT ONLY TWO AND 55 CASES, THE PERSON THAT WAS BITTEN HAD A GUN AND 35% OF CASES APPEAR TO INVOLVE NO CRIME.
SO NO ADDITIONAL, UM, CRIME WAS CHARGED AT ALL.
AND THEN LASTLY THAT PEOPLE WILL NATURALLY EVADE OR RESIST INSTINCTIVELY AS A SURVIVAL RESPONSE TO BEING ATTACKED BY A DOG.
SO THIS ALSO MEANS THAT SOME PEOPLE RECEIVED SERIOUS, ADDITIONAL CRIMINAL CHARGES RELATING TO RESISTING FOR RESISTING, UM, BEING ATTACKED BY A DOG.
UM, AND SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE APD WEBSITE, TYPICALLY THE CANINE INDICATES THAT THE CANINE TEAMS ARE TYPICALLY USED TO LOCATE SUSPECTS WHO HAVE FLED THE SCENE OF A CRIME.
AND, UM, SPECIFICALLY THE WORDING ON THE WEBSITE INDICATES THAT THE SUCCESS OF THESE TEAMS HAVE TO DO WITH THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN ARRESTED USING THE, THE, THE DOGS, UM, RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, THE SEARCH AND RESCUE FUNCTION, WHICH IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S NOT REALLY THE PRIMARY FUNCTION OF THESE DOGS, UM, AND THAT THEY'VE BEEN TRAINED TO ATTACK AND BITE PEOPLE AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT THEY'VE DONE.
SO WE SUGGEST OUR RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THOSE DOGS SHOULD BE RETIRED TO A GOOD HALL.
UM, UH, NUMBER THREE IS SIMILAR ABOUT THE USE OF POLICE FORCES AND SO MANY OTHER CITIES LIKE BALTIMORE, WASHINGTON, DC, BOSTON TULSA, LAS VEGAS, KANSAS CITY, AND ST.
PAUL HAVE ALSO DISBANDED THEIR UNITS.
UH, CURRENTLY THEY'RE USED PRIMARILY FOR
[01:35:01]
CROWD CONTROL, WHICH CAN BE HANDLED IN OTHER WAYS WITHOUT HORSES.AND THEN THEY'RE ALSO USED FOR CEREMONIAL USE.
AND SO THEY'RE LIMITED USE IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO THE CONTINUED EXPENSE, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE HORSES ARE VERY EXPENSIVE TO MAINTAIN, ESPECIALLY IN AN URBAN AREA.
AND IT'S ALSO MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE WAS A BOND COST, UM, SEVERAL YEARS BACK FOR NEW STAPLES, BUT BECAUSE OF THE INCREASING COST, THE BOND WOULD NOT ACTUALLY COVER THE STAPLES.
AND SO, BECAUSE IT'S JUST GETTING MORE AND MORE EXPENSIVE, UM, WE SUGGEST THAT, YOU KNOW, THE USE OF POLICE FORCES SHOULD BE CONTINUED DISCONTINUED.
SO OUR FOURTH RECOMMENDATION HAS TO DO WITH OFFICER'S SELF-INITIATED CALLS.
AND SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SELF-INITIATED, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN, UM, AN OFFICER DECIDES TO, UM, STOP AND TALK TO SOMEBODY BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE A CRIME HAS HAPPENED.
NOT THAT THEY'VE BEEN CALLED OUT TO THE SCENE.
AND SO THESE INSTANCES, ESSENTIALLY AMOUNT TO PATROLLING, LOOKING FOR CRIMES, WHICH LEADS TO STOP AND PRAISE TYPE CRIMES, AS WELL AS EQUITY ISSUES REGARDING WHO IS SUSPECTED OF A CRIME.
UM, AND THE EQUITY OFFICE RELEASED A REPORT, UM, IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS THAT TALKED ABOUT DISPARITIES AND POLICE STOPS.
AND SO, UM, SELF-INITIATED CALLS, OF COURSE THERE ARE SOME EQUITY ISSUES, BUT THOSE, AND SO SELF-INITIATED AND CAUSES ISN'T REALLY THE RIGHT TERM, BUT IT'S A TERM THAT WE'VE BEEN USING, BUT, UH, THESE STOPS REPRESENT 35% OF PATROL OFFICER TIME.
THEY TAKE LONGER THAN OTHER CALLS AND THEY SOMETIMES RESULT IN USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS.
UM, SO WE THINK THAT THE TIME COULD BE BETTER SPENT THROUGH NINE ONE, ONE CALL RESPONSE WHEN COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE ASKING FOR POLICE TO RESPOND, UM, TO AN ANSWER BENT.
AND THEN IF YOU'LL SCROLL DOWN IN FACT, TWO MORE, OKAY.
NUMBER FIVE IS JUST THAT THERE SHOULD BE A FULL COMMUNITY CURRICULUM REVIEW OF THE CADET ACADEMY.
UM, IT'S OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE IS GOING TO BE A COMMUNITY GROUP OR A COMMUNITY REVIEW OF THE CADET ACADEMY, BUT, UM, THAT THEY'RE ONLY GOING TO BE SEEING AS A VERY SMALL PORTION OF THE CURRICULUM.
AND SINCE THERE HAVE BEEN SEVEN REPORTS COMMISSIONED BY THE CITY TO PROVE THE CADET ACADEMY AND MANY INCLUDE STARTLING DETAILS SUCH AS THE USE OF THE WARRIOR MENTALITY AND AN US VERSUS THEM MINDSET, INSTEAD OF THE PROTECT AND SERVE MINDSET, THE ONLY WAY TO ENSURE TRUE CHANGE IS TO ENABLE A REVIEW OF THE ENTIRE CADET CURRICULUM AND TO, UM, REBUILD TRUST AND TO BUILD IN TRANSPARENCY WOULD BE TO ALLOW ALL TRAINING MATERIALS TO BE RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC.
UM, AND THEN THE LAST, THE LAST RECOMMENDATION HAS TO DO WITH PRE ARREST DIVERSION PROGRAMS AND ESSENTIALLY THAT THERE ARE, UM, THERE ARE FOLKS WHO RECOMMEND USING PRE-ARREST DIVERSION.
AND SO IF A PERSON, UM, SO IT MEANS THAT AN OFFICER, IF AN OFFICER STOPS SOMEBODY OR IS GOING TO, UM, CHARGE SOMEBODY WITH A CRIME THAT THEY, THAT OFFICERS WOULD THEN INITIATE A PRE-ARREST DIVERSION PROGRAM, THAT THEY WOULD BE THE ONES TO DECIDE, UM, WHEN FOLKS WOULD QUALIFY FOR SOME SORT OF PRE-ARREST DIVERSION.
AND ESSENTIALLY WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT IF YOU KNOW, THE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS OF VARIOUS WORK GROUPS, SUCH AS THE EQUITY RE-INVESTMENT WORK GROUP AND THE COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH REINVESTMENT WORK GROUPS, LIKE IF THOSE ARE IMPLEMENTED, THEN THERE WOULDN'T BE A NEED FOR ANY SORT OF PRE-ARREST OF BROOKLYN PROGRAM.
UM, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OFTEN, EXCUSE ME, THAT'S MY DOG BISCUIT.
HE WANTS TO BE INVOLVED IN THE MEETING APPARENTLY.
UM, SO A LOT OF TIMES WITH THESE PRE-ARREST DIVERSION PROGRAMS, UM, THEY FOCUS ON DECRIMINALIZATION OF HOMELESSNESS, MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, SEX WORK, SUBSTANCE USE, AND POVERTY THAT TENDS TO BE THE FOCUS.
AND SO WE THINK THAT RESOURCES WOULD BE BETTER SERVED OR THAT THE COMMUNITY WOULD BE BETTER SERVED AND THAT THESE ISSUES COULD BE ADDRESSED THROUGH COMMUNITY BASED NON POLICE INITIATED INTERACTIONS BY PEER RUN, HARM REDUCTION AND OTHER OUTREACH PROGRAMS. UM, AND THE ISSUE IS SPECIFICALLY THAT THESE PROGRAMS DO NOT DECREASE POLICE CONTACTS WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO COULD BENEFIT FROM COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE.
SO THOSE ARE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THEM.
JESSICA, I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION.
UH, JUST IN THE FORMATTING, I NOTICED IN YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS SPECIFICALLY AROUND THE SECOND, BUT PATROL YOU LISTED OUT, WHICH,
[01:40:01]
UM, MEMBERS SUPPORTED THE RECOMMENDATIONS.IS THAT JUST DUE TO THE FACT THAT NOT ALL BOARD MEMBERS WERE ON, UM, IN AGREEMENT, OR CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, THE FORMATTING AND WHY YOU GUYS CALLED IT OUT THAT WAY? YEAH.
SO IN THE TWO WORK GROUPS THAT I WAS INVOLVED IN, WE DECIDED TO, UM, TO FORMAT IT THAT WAY.
SO THAT KNOWING THAT THERE WERE, THERE WOULD BE FOLKS WHO WOULD, WHO MAY NOT AGREE WITH SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND MAKING IT SO THAT, YOU KNOW, WE COULD INDICATE THAT WE HAD A MAJORITY OF FOLKS THAT WERE IN SUPPORT WITHOUT BASICALLY ERASING THAT SOMEBODY IS ESSENTIALLY ABSTAINING OR SAYING THAT THEY'RE NOT IN AGREEMENT.
SO WE JUST THOUGHT THAT THAT WOULD BE THE BEST WAY TO SHOW, UM, THAT WE HAVE THE SUPPORT, BUT THAT THERE WERE, WHO WERE NOT, WHO WERE PART OF THE GROUP, BUT WEREN'T NECESSARILY SUPPORTING INDIVIDUAL RECOMMENDATIONS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UM, I JUST HAVE A QUICK ONE.
IT'S YOUR BOTH MS. JOHNSON AND COMMISSIONER LEWIS.
UM, WHAT, IF ANYTHING, DO YOU, CAN WE, AS A COMMISSION DO TO SUPPORT Y'ALL'S RECOMMENDATIONS BEFORE CITY COUNCIL? THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
AMANDA, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS? DO YOU WANT TO GO FIRST? I'LL TAKE A, I'LL TAKE A TRY.
UM, I JUST, YOU KNOW, WANTING TO MAKE SURE WE KEEP THE ENERGY AROUND, UM, THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND ASKING FOR UPDATES.
UM, I AM WORKING WITH DIFFERENT FOLKS IN THE WORKING GROUP AROUND A STRATEGY FOR, YOU KNOW, TALKING TO COUNCIL MEMBERS OR DIFFERENT COMMUNITY GROUPS ABOUT THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO, YOU KNOW, UM, BE COMMUNICATING, ASKING ABOUT, AND I THINK ABOUT IT AS LIKE WHEN WE SEE ISSUES IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, REALLY BEING ABLE TO FRAME, UH, THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AS OPPORTUNITIES TO GET AHEAD OF SOME OF THESE ISSUES THAT WE'RE SEEING, YOU KNOW, UM, IF WE COULD HAVE IMPLEMENTED MORE HARD ANTIOCH, YOU KNOW, LIKE HOMELESSNESS INTERVENTION STAFF, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE ACTUALLY THE SOLUTIONS, NOT PROBABLY AS, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY WE'RE WHERE WE ARE, BUT, UM, I DO THINK, YOU KNOW, CONNECTING THE DOTS BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, THESE KINDS OF LIKE PUBLIC HEALTH, LIKE SHIFTING FROM POLICING TO MORE OF A PUBLIC HEALTH MODEL OF ADDRESSING COMMUNITY ISSUES, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST KIND OF KEEPING THAT ENERGY AND, AND KEEPING THAT RECOMMENDATIONS UPFRONT.
AND THEN OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, IF WE GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR FROM OTHER WORKING GROUPS, BECAUSE I THINK THESE, LIKE JESSICA SAID, THESE, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS GO TOGETHER WOULD BE GREAT TO KIND OF GET THE FULL PICTURE.
UM, YEAH, I THINK, I THINK THAT'S THE BIGGEST THING AND HAS BEEN KIND OF THE WORRY AMONG THE GROUP, UM, AMONG THE PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, RE-IMAGINED TASK FORCE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WHILE WE WERE ALL PUTTING OUR BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS INTO THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, THERE WERE DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE THAT MADE IT SEEM AS IF, YOU KNOW, IT WAS UNCLEAR WHETHER WE WERE GOING TO BE TRUE, THAT HE LISTENED TO.
UM, AND SO THAT HAS BEEN KIND OF THE CONCERN IS JUST TO CONTINUE, LIKE AMANDA SAID, BRINGING THAT ENERGY TO CITY COUNCIL AND REMINDING THEM, YOU KNOW, THAT EACH OF US REPRESENTS OR ARE DOING OUR BEST TO RECOMMEND TO REPRESENT THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE.
AND SO, UM, WE REALLY DO FEEL LIKE THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, INDICATE WHAT A LOT OF FOLKS FROM MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES WANT.
AND SO WE'RE JUST HOPING THAT IT WILL BE GIVEN EQUAL WEIGHT TO SOME OF THE OTHER VOICES THAT WILL BE AT THE TABLE.
SO JUST DEFINITELY SUPPORTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THAT WAY.
UH, COMMISSIONER LEWIS, MS. JOHNSON, WE APPRECIATE YOU GUYS COMING, UH, TO SPEAK TO US AND, UM, DIRECTOR MUSCULAR.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE STILL ON, I DON'T HAVE THE PARTICIPANTS, UM, MIGHT HAVE LOST HER.
UM, WELL THANK YOU ALL FOR, FOR DOING THIS.
AND WE REALLY WOULD LOVE TO KEEP THIS AN
[01:45:01]
OPEN DIALOGUE MOVING FORWARD, ESPECIALLY AS WE FIGURE OUT WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS ARE TRULY BEING MOVED FORWARD.AND I THINK THIS WOULD BE A GREAT THING IF WE HAVE A STANDING, EVEN IF IT'S LIKE WE USED TO HAVE, UM, SAVE, COME IN AND GIVE US UPDATES IN OUR PUBLIC, UM, IN OUR CITIZENS COMMUNICATION, I WOULD LOVE FOR US TO ESTABLISH SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
IF WE HAVE LIKE A, A RE-IMAGINING, UH, UPDATE, I THINK THAT WOULD BE SUPER VALUABLE AND I WILL MOVE FORWARD WITH THE, UM, OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT.
UM, AND SEE IF WE CAN HAVE, WE DO HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE ON THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT STAFF THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING WITH US.
SO LET ME CIRCLE BACK WITH HER AND COMMISSIONER RAMIREZ.
I MIGHT NEED YOUR SUPPORT ON THIS, UM, TO, TO MAKE SURE WE CAN DO THAT BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING EXACTLY WHAT YOU ASK, UM, TO KEEP THESE ISSUES AT THE FOREFRONT AND TO NOT ONLY YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT THE REACTIONS AND THE FOLLOW-UPS MAKE SURE THAT IF AS THESE THINGS ARE BEING ACCEPTED BY COUNCIL, THAT WE ARE CONTINUING TO FOLLOW UP ON THE IMPLEMENTATION.
UH, WE HAVE FIVE MINUTES LEFT, BUT I BELIEVE WE ARE DONE WITH OUR, UH, AGENDA ITEMS. SO, UH, UM, MS. JACKSON, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I'VE MISSED? THAT WOULD BE COVER.
I'M GOING TO TAKE THAT AS A NO.
SO, UH, WITH THAT, I WILL TAKE A MOTION TO SO MOVED MR. WEBER, MAY I HAVE A SECOND? THANK YOU.
UM, AND AS YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO DO A ROLL CALL FOR, UM, OUR SIGN OFF AS WELL.
SO LET'S START, THIS WILL BE A VERBAL CONFIRMATION.
PLEASE PULL UP THE LIST, MAKE SURE I DON'T FORGET ANYONE.
UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, VICE CHAIR.
UH, COMMISSIONER WEBER AND HAAS AND PLUCK HAVE A FIRST AND SECOND, UH, COMMISSIONER AUSTIN.
I SEE YOU'RE ON MUTE COMMISSIONER ASPEN.
CAN YOU UNMUTE YOURSELF? I NOT UTOPIAN APOLOGIZE.
I BELIEVE YOU'RE ON MUTE COMMISSIONER KICKOFF.
UH, COMMISSIONER SIERRA ARREVALLO YES.
I'M GONNA COME BACK TO YOU AND COMMISSIONER LANE.
WELL, WE WILL COUNT THAT AS A TWO ABSTENTIONS, BUT I I'M OFFICIALLY CALL OUR MEETING OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION.