[00:00:01]
UH, OUR NEXT PRESENTATION IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH YOUR ADAPTIVE RESOLUTION FROM MARCH, 2020.UH, AND WE HAVE SCHEDULED THIS BRIEFLY AND AS AN UPDATE FROM
[B1. Inclusive Procurement Working Group Presentation]
THE INCLUSIVE PROCUREMENT WORKING GROUP, WHICH WAS CREATED BY THAT RESOLUTION.THIS IS THE FIRST OF SEVERAL PLANNED UPDATES TO COUNCIL FROM THE WORKING GROUP.
THE TASK OF THE WORKING GROUP IS TO REVIEW AND ASSESS PROGRAMMATIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES RELATING TO THE CITY'S MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED BUSINESS.
ENTERPRISE ORDINANCES ANSWER PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT.
THE WORKING GROUP INCLUDES COMMUNITY REPRESENTATION, REPRESENTATIVES AND IS SUPPORTED BY THE SMALL AND MINORITY BUSINESS RESOURCE DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS LED BY DIRECTOR EDWARD COMPOST, A COMPANY DIRECTOR COMPOST TODAY ARE TWO WORKING GROUP REPRESENTATIVES, CLEVELAND HAYNES, AND GENO MACIAS.
AND NOW I'LL HAND IT OVER TO DIRECTOR COMPOST WHO WILL BEGIN TODAY'S BRIEFING DIRECTOR MANAGER, IF I MAY REAL QUICK, JUST SO NOBODY ELSE MAKES THE MISTAKE.
MIRROR CITY, COUNCIL MEMBERS, MAYOR PRO TEM.
UH, THANK YOU FOR HELPING US TODAY.
WE ARE MAKING THE FIRST OF SEVERAL UPDATES ON THE WORK OF THE INCLUSIVE PROCUREMENT WORKING GROUP HERE.
YOU'LL HEAR ME, HEAR ME SAY WORKING GROUP QUITE A BIT SINCE INCLUSIVE PROCUREMENT WORKING GROUP IS QUITE A MOUTHFUL.
I AM JOINED AS MR. KROG MENTIONED, UH, WITH TWO OF OUR REPRESENTATIVES OF THE WORKING GROUP, CLO TL DAVIS HAYNES REPRESENTED THE AUSTIN AREA, BLACK CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION AND GENOME TO SEE US WITH THE AUSTIN MINORITY AND WOMEN ALLIANCE.
WE'RE HERE TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE AFTER OUR PRESENTATION.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE SHOULD BE ON SLIDE NUMBER THREE.
WE'RE GOING TO BE DISCUSSING A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE RESOLUTION, THE WORKING GROUP MEMBERS, INCLUDING COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND CITY STAFF, AS WELL AS THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE TODAY.
SO WHEN THE RESOLUTION, THERE WERE 11 AREAS OF IMPORTANCE AT COUNSEL OF ONE AT THE WORKING GROUP TO REVIEW, DISCUSS AND MAKE POTENTIAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE PROGRAM.
UH, WE PUT THEM INTO FOUR DIFFERENT BUCKETS, CERTIFICATION RESOURCES TO OUR MBES AND WDS AND LOCAL BUSINESSES, COMMUNICATION AND TRANSPARENCY, AND THEN BEST PRACTICES.
WE ALSO HAVE INCLUDED A SEPARATE BUCKET FOR THE DISPARITY STUDY.
THE WORKING GROUP MEMBERS WILL RECEIVE A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW FROM OUR DISPARITY DISPARITY STUDY CONSULTANT ON THE FINDINGS OF THE STUDY AS WELL, REVIEW THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND COME BACK TO COUNCIL WITH A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO THE FOUR BUCKETS, AS WELL AS TO THE DISPARITY STUDY.
SO THIS SLIDE HERE REPRESENTS THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT HAVE TAKEN THEIR TIME TO PARTICIPATE WITH US.
SINCE AUGUST ON THIS INITIATIVE, WE HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM OUR STAKEHOLDER ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS OUR MINORITY TRADE ALLIANCE MEMBERS AND OUR CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AS WELL, STAKEHOLDERS THAT HAVE WORKED WITH OUR DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS THE MPDB PROGRAM UP FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
WE ARE ALSO SUPPORTED BY OUR PARTNERS IN THE FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT, OUR LAW DEPARTMENT EQUITY OFFICE, AND, UH, HELPING US FACILITATE THESE MEETINGS IS OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE.
AND WE'VE BEEN MEETING WITH THEM SINCE, UM, EARLY LAST YEAR, UH, TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE A GOOD FRAMEWORK IN PLACE TO REALLY LISTEN AND UNDERSTAND AND, AND CAPTURE ALL THE GOOD COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FROM THIS WORKING GROUP.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANTED TO WORK ON, BECAUSE WE HAD SUCH A ROBUST ASK AS PART OF THE RESOLUTION WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE WAS ON THE SAME LEVEL PLAYING FIELD, IF YOU WILL, IN TERMS OF WHAT WAS THE INTENT OF OUR MISSION.
SO WE START OFF EVERY MEETING WITH A PRESENTATION ON THAT PARTICULAR AREA OF FOCUS.
WE MAKE SURE THAT WE COVER WHAT IS THE CURRENT PROCESS, UH, WITH OUR WORKING GROUP MEMBERS.
AND THEN WE SPEND THE REST OF THE TIME LISTENING TO THE WORKING GROUP MEMBERS, HAVING WHAT WE'D LIKE TO CALL CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM AND, AND REALLY JOTTING DOWN AND CONFIRMING THEIR COMMENTS AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS NEXT MEETINGS
[00:05:01]
THAT WE HAVE WITH THE WORKING GROUP OR A TIME FOR US TO REVIEW WHAT WE HEARD.WE ACTUALLY PUT TOGETHER PRESENTATIONS THAT CAPTURE ALL THE COMMENTS AND ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS WHO ENSURE THAT WE INCURRED CORRECTLY, UH, WHAT THE INTENT WAS OUT OF THAT COMMENT OR OUT OF THAT RECOMMENDATION.
THAT IS OUR FORMAT FOR EVERY MEETING.
SO, AS I DID MENTION, WE HAVE BEEN MEETING SINCE AUGUST WHERE WE DID A MEET AND GREET TO FAMILIARIZE OURSELVES WITH EACH OTHER, AS WELL AS TO OUTLINE WHAT OUR TENTATIVE SCHEDULE WAS.
UH, WE'VE HAD, EXCUSE ME, WE'VE HAD SEVERAL SESSIONS TO BAIT, UH, CERTIFICATION BEING ONE OF THE PRIMARY SESSIONS IN WHICH, IN WHICH WE'VE HAD THREE SEPARATE SESSIONS.
UH, WE HAD A SESSION ON RESOURCES ON PAYMENT POLICIES, AND THEN WE HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR, UH, MEETING AND TO COUNSEL.
SO LOTS OF GOOD WORK THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE SO FAR.
AND THIS SLIDE HAS SOME OF THE NEXT STEPS AND TENTATIVE DATES.
WE STILL HAVE LOTS OF WORK TO DO, INCLUDING, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, A BRIEFING ON THE DISPARITY STUDY, LOOKING AT WHAT BEST PRACTICES ARE OUT THERE IN THE COUNTRY, AS WELL AS LOOKING AT COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPARENCY.
UH, WE HOPE TO CONCLUDE THE WORK, UH, SOMETIME IN MAY, IF NOT EARLY JUNE, WHERE WE'LL COME BACK TO COUNCIL AGAIN WITH A FORMAL REPORT OF ALL THOSE COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO HELP IMPROVE OUR ADOBE PROGRAM.
AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
UH, WE ARE JOINED BY COTEEL DAVID SAYINGS, AS WELL AS JUNO MACIAS, AND WE ARE HERE TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
UM, BOY, A LOT OF WORK, UH, AND I'M LOOKING AT THE PAGE WHERE YOU'VE IDENTIFIED THE ISSUES, UH, THAT NEED TO BE ANSWERED.
AND I THINK THAT REALLY GOES TO THE THRUST OF WHAT WE WERE ALL HOPING, UH, WOULD COME BACK OUT OF THE, WHAT WOULD COME BACK OUT OF THE WORKING GROUP.
SO I GUESS IT'S A JEW THEN THAT WE WOULD START SAYING, UH, YOUR ASSESSMENTS OF THOSE ISSUES AND WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING AS A CITY TO MOVE FORWARD.
IS THAT CORRECT? DID I UNDERSTAND THAT CORRECTLY? THAT'S CORRECT.
THANK YOU FOR THAT COLLEAGUES.
UH, ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THIS PRESENTATION, COUNCIL MEMBER, HARPER, MADISON, THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING ME MAYOR AND THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR THE PRESENTATION AND FOR BEING PRESENT TO ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS, I WILL SAY THIS IT'S, IT'S DIFFICULT TO REALLY DO A COMPREHENSIVE JOB OF, OF COMPILING OUR QUESTIONS WHEN WE DON'T GET THE BRIEFINGS WELL IN ADVANCE.
UM, SO I'D JUST LIKE TO REMIND FOLKS WHEN, WHEN IT OUT POSSIBLE, GET US THE BRIEFING IN ADVANCE, AND THEN WE CAN PREPARE OUR QUESTIONS AND REALLY THINK THROUGH THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE WAY TO APPROACH HOW TO LAY OUT OUR QUESTIONS.
I WILL SAY THIS OVER THE YEARS, I'VE GOTTEN LOTS OF CALLS AND LOTS OF QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW, AND LOTS OF CONCERNS ABOUT THESE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE MAKING REFERENCE TO TODAY.
SO I REALLY DO LOOK FORWARD TO BEING ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, REALLY THOROUGHLY ANALYZE THIS BRIEFING AND LAY OUT MY QUESTIONS AND RECALL SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ASKED TO ME OVER THE YEARS.
AND I'LL, I'LL PUT TOGETHER, UM, I'LL PUT TOGETHER MY QUESTIONS IN WRITING.
I, I DON'T HAVE QUESTIONS, BUT I ALSO APPRECIATE Y'ALL BEING HERE AND PROVIDING THESE UPDATES ALONG THE WAY.
UH, I KNOW WHEN I WORKED FOR A WOMAN OWNED BUSINESS THAT WANTED TO DO WORK WITH THE CITY, UH, SOME OF THESE TOPICS CAME UP AND I'M REALLY GLAD TO SEE EVERYONE PUTTING THEIR HEADS TOGETHER AND IDENTIFYING WHERE SOLUTIONS CAN BE FOUND.
I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY HELPFUL FOR OUR COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE SMALL HISTORICALLY UNDER UTILIZED AND OWNED BY WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR.
AND SO I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING WITH THIS COLLEAGUES AT THE GOLF.
ALL RIGHT, STAFF, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND, UH, BOY FOR EDIT ANOTHER SERIES OF VOLUNTEER WORK, THANK YOU TO THE CAKE COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS PARTICIPATING.
[E. Executive Session]
UH, 1143.UH, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT, UH, WE, UH, UH, UH, JUROR WILL BE RECESSED TO THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HERE, AND THEN IT GOES STRAIGHT INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
WE'LL TAKE A BREAK FOR LUNCH AND WE'LL COME BACK OUT AND GET THE, UH, POLICE, UH, CADET CLASS, UH, BRIEFING.
I DO WANT TO A JURY, THE SPECIAL CALLED BEADING THAT I DID NOT DO, UH, EARLIER.
UH, SO HERE AT 1144, THAT SPECIAL CALLED BD, UH, IS, UH, IS A JUROR.
[00:10:01]
WE'RE GOING TO LEAVE HERE NOW, UH, GO BACK TO OUR, UH, OFFICES AND SIDE INTO THE EXECUTIVE SESSION.UH, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE UP WHAT IDA PURSUANT TO SECTION 5, 5, 1 0 7, 1 OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE.
WE'RE GONNA DISCUSS LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO LAWSUITS CLAIMS, UH, DURING THE, UH, PROTESTS THAT OCCURRED ON MAY 30TH, 31ST OF 2020, UH, WITHOUT OBJECTION.
LET'S TAKE FIVE MINUTES TO THE ROOM.
ACTUALLY, I WOULD SAY 10, RIGHT? IF YOU GIVE PEOPLE A CHANCE TO GO TO THE RESTROOM.
SO AT FIVE MINUTES TO 12 MINUTES TO 12, UH, WE'LL BE BACK ON EXECUTIVE SESSION.
AND WE WILL RECONVENE THE AUSTIN RECONVENED, THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL MEETING.
WE'RE OUT OF CLOSED SESSION IN CLOSED SESSION.
WE HAD, UH, DISCUSSED, UH, LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO ITEM E ONE CONTINUES TO BE, UH, FEBRUARY 15TH, 2022.
[B2. Update to Austin City Council Prior to Commencing Austin Police Department Academy 145th Cadet Class.]
WE HAVE THIS AFTERNOON IS THE, UH, BRIEFING FOR OUR BOOK CRAWL MANAGER.AND, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UH, TODAY IS A CONTINUATION OF A CONVERSATION WE'VE BEEN HAVING WITH, UH, OUR THIRD PARTY EVALUATOR, CROLL AND ASSOCIATES ON SPECIFICALLY THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS ACADEMY.
AND HERE YOU WILL BE GETTING, UH, ESSENTIALLY THEIR FINAL UPDATES, UH, REGARDING THEIR EVALUATION OF THE ACADEMY.
AND WE WILL BE HEARING BOTH FROM THE DEPARTMENTS ON HOW THEY HAVE IMPLEMENTED THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME FROM THEIR FINDINGS.
UH, AND THEN THE FINAL STEPS THAT CRO WILL BE TAKING IN ISSUING THEIR REPORT, WHICH IS FORTHCOMING.
WE DID POST AND BACK UP ON FRIDAY, UH, THE MEMO THAT CAME FROM ACM ARIANO, UH, DETAILING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE ACTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN BY THE DEPARTMENTS AS WELL AS THE PRESENTATION YOU'LL BE SEEN TODAY.
UH, BUT WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO CHIEF CHECON, WHO WILL WALK US THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU, CITY MANAGER AND, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR, UH, MAYOR PRO TEM AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, JOSEPH CHUCK ON, UH, CHIEF OF POLICE.
UH, I'M INCREDIBLY PLEASED TODAY TO BE STANDING IN FRONT OF YOU PRESENTING THIS REPORT ON OUR ACADEMY, THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE AND THE WORK THAT WE STILL HAVE LEFT TO DO, UM, MEMBERS OF THE CROWELL TEAM ARE ONLINE.
I BELIEVE MARK EHLERS WHO'S LED THE EFFORT IS ONLINE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS AS WELL AS SOME OF MY TEAM DR.
ANN CREGAN AND ASSISTANT CHIEF KATHERINE JOHNSON.
UH, IF THERE IS A QUESTION THAT COMES UP THAT, THAT, UH, I MAY NEED THEM TO WEIGH IN ON, UM, THIS IS A BIT OF A, OF A LONGER PRESENTATION, UH, BECAUSE WE WILL BE GOING THROUGH THE INDIVIDUAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND PROVIDING UPDATES ON, UM, THE PROGRESS I'M GOING TO DO MY BEST, NOT TO JUST READ TO YOU OFF OF A POWERPOINT.
I WANT TO PROVIDE GOOD CONTEXT AND, UH, AND CERTAINLY, UM, UH, BE READY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
UM, AND JUST, UH, IF I CAN GET THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, UH, AS AN INTRODUCTION, UH, THIS WAS THE 144TH PILOT ACADEMY CLASS.
UH, IT DID REPRESENT A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT IN THE WAY THAT WE DELIVERED, UH, ACADEMY INSTRUCTION, UH, MOVING FROM THAT PARAMILITARY STYLE TO ONE THAT IS MORE OF AN ADULT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT, MUCH MORE INTERACTIVE, UM, AND HAS RECEIVED, UH, GOOD REVIEWS FROM, UM, FROM THE CADETS THAT HAVE GRADUATED OR ARE NOW OFFICERS.
UH, WE WILL BE, I'M GOING TO BE MOVING THROUGH THE PRESENTATION AND I'LL JUST TELL YOU AS I GO THROUGH IT.
I APOLOGIZE BECAUSE THE, UH, THE NUMBERS THAT YOU WILL SEE ARE NOT NECESSARILY IN NUMERICAL ORDER, THEY REFER BACK TO THE RECOMMENDATION NUMBER, BUT ARE ACTUALLY CAPTURED IN THE PRESENTATION IN THE ORDER IN WHICH WE ACCOMPLISHED THEM.
SO THAT WILL HELP TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT ABOUT WHY SOMETIMES YOU'LL SEE US JUMPING AROUND IN THAT NUMBERED SEQUENCE.
UM, WHAT WE WILL BE GOING THROUGH IS BOTH, UH, YOU KNOW, IS IT STARTING OFF WITH A SHORT TERM RECOMMENDATIONS, MOVING ON TO THE LONGTERM AND THEN, UH, PROGRESS THAT WE, UM, THAT WE IMPLEMENTED, UH, MIDSTREAM DURING THE ACADEMY AND THEN OPENING UP FOR PRESENCE, UH, FIRST UNION FOR QUESTIONS AT THE VERY END, IF I CAN GET THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO AS I SAID, WE'LL BE GOING THROUGH, UH, TALKING FIRST ABOUT THE SHORT-TERM RECOMMENDATIONS, THEN MOVING ON TO THE LONG-TERM, UH, PRELIMINARY, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE MADE WERE MADE, UM, DURING THE ACADEMY, UM, OUR PROGRESS IN RECRUITING AND LOOKING AT DIVERSITY IN RECRUITING AND HOW WE'RE DOING ON THAT FRONT AND THEN MOVING
[00:15:01]
FORWARD.UH, AND WE WILL BE, UH, YOU KNOW, I'LL BE TOUCHING VERY QUICKLY ON THE PHASE B REPORT, UH, AS IT RELATES TO RECRUITING, UM, AND THEN PLAN EVALUATIONS AND ADDRESSING ANY CHALLENGES THAT WILL FEATURE IF I CAN GET THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO, AS YOU CAN SEE, I'M VERY HAPPY THAT THAT OF THE 18 SHORT TERM RECOMMENDATIONS THAT KROLL, UH, RECOMMENDED 17 HAVE BEEN COMPLETED.
AND WE ONLY HAVE ONE THAT IS LEFT IN PROGRESS, UM, AND THAT WILL BE COMPLETED BEFORE THE S UH, WELL, WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT THAT HERE IN JUST A SECOND.
UM, BUT AGAIN, ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE MADE BY KROLL, WE AGREED WITH AND AGREED TO IMPLEMENT, UH, NEXT SLIDE.
SO I'M GOING TO GO VERY QUICKLY THROUGH THE COMPLETED AND VERIFIED, UM, UH, UH, PARTS HERE.
THE FIRST TWO THERE HAVE TO DO WITH OUR, OUR STAFF, UH, AND DEAL WITH THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR CIVILIAN TEAM.
SO IT WAS, UH, HIRING A NEW DIVISION MANAGER, WHICH OF COURSE IS DR.
ANN CREGAN AND THEN HIRING A TRAINING SUPERVISOR, WHICH IS, UM, MR. PHIL AXLE ROD.
UM, THEY HAVE BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN, IN MOVING ALL OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS THROUGH AND MAKING SURE, UM, THAT WE ARE DELIVERING IN A, IN A MANNER THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THAT ADULT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.
THE THIRD ONE, YOU SEE, THEY'RE PROCURING AND, UH, IMPLEMENTING AN AUTOMATED LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
WE HAVE, UM, ENTERED INTO, UM, THE CONTRACT FOR THAT LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
IT IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING IMPLEMENTED AND WE FULLY ANTICIPATE THAT THAT WILL BE UP AND RUNNING BEFORE THE START OF THE 145TH CADET CLASS.
THE FOURTH, UH, RECOMMENDATION THERE IS, UM, CREATING AN INTERNAL CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE I'VE REPORTED ON THIS BEFORE.
UH, THE CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE HAS BEEN MEETING FOR MONTHS.
IT, IN ADDITION TO THE CIVILIAN TEAM THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, WE ESTABLISHED THIS, UH, COMMITTEE, WHICH CONSISTS OF LOCAL ACADEMIC EXPERTS, COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES, VICTIM SERVICES, STAFF, AND, UH, OUR ACADEMY STAFF.
THE COMMITTEE MET TWICE A MONTH THROUGHOUT THE 144TH CADET CLASS AND REVIEWED AND COMMENTED ON LESSON PLANS AND COURSE MATERIALS FOR APPROXIMATELY 21 DIFFERENT COURSES.
UM, THEIR WORK WILL CONTINUE AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING MORE ABOUT THEIR PROGRESS IN THE UPCOMING CLASSES THAT WE HAVE, AND, UM, THROUGH AS, UH, THROUGH THE REST OF THIS YEAR AND AS LONG AS IT NEEDS TO COME, UH, TAKES TO COMPLETE ALL OF THE COURSES, UM, BOTH WITHIN THE CADET CLASS, UH, IN OTHER WORDS, OUR PRE-SERVICE TRAINING, AS WELL AS IN OUR IN-SERVICE ONGOING TRAINING FOR OUR CURRENT OFFICERS.
UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE, UM, FOR RECOMMENDATION FIVE, UH, TO ESTABLISH AND FORMALIZE A PROCESS FOR A COMMUNITY VIDEO REVIEW PANEL.
UM, WE DID ESTABLISH THAT PANEL AND, UM, WE PLAN ON MOVING THE VIDEO REVIEW, WORK INTO THE CURRICULUM, A REVIEW COMMITTEE.
SO CONSOLIDATING THE EFFORTS AND ESSENTIALLY SUNSET SUNSETTING, THE, UH, THE VIDEO REVIEW PANEL.
UM, UH, I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW MOVING FORWARD, WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING SOME WORK TO MAKE SURE THAT ANY FUTURE VIDEOS THAT WE, UM, INSTALL INTO THE ACADEMY WILL HAVE BEEN, UH, EXAMINED THROUGH THAT DEI COMPONENT, UH, RECOMMENDATION SIX, WE REPLACED, UH, THE WILL TO WIN, UH, WHICH HAD FORMERLY BEEN REFERRED TO AS FIGHT DAY WITH A SELF-DEFENSE EXERCISE, WHICH OCCURRED, UH, LATER IN THE ACADEMY.
AND THE PURPOSE FOR DOING THAT WAS TEACHING THE DEFENSIVE TACTICS, TEACHING THE METHODS, UH, SO THAT IT IS NOT SIMPLY A, UM, UH, MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE WEREN'T GOING TO GIVE UP, BUT THAT THEY ACTUALLY HAD BEEN TRAINED, UH, AND HA ARE IMPLEMENTING THE WAYS THAT WE WANT THEM, UM, TO, UH, TO DEFEND THEMSELVES AND TO DEFEND OTHERS IN THE PUBLIC.
AGAIN, WITH THAT DEESCALATION COMPONENT, UH, WITHIN THE TRAINING RECOMMENDATION SEVEN, UM, I CAN JUST TELL YOU, IT WAS A RECOMMENDATION TO, UM, EITHER MODIFY OR ELIMINATE THE SANDPIT AND SANDBAG EXERCISES.
WE, THOSE HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED FROM THE ACADEMY AND, UM, WILL NOT BE IN OUR ACADEMY MOVING FORWARD, UH, RECOMMENDATION NUMBER EIGHT.
UH, WE SIGNIFICANTLY SIGNIFICANTLY EXPANDED OUR PHYSICAL FITNESS TRAINING IN THE, IN THIS ACADEMY.
THIS WAS ONE OF THE ACADEMIES AND WE HAVE MORE HOURS THAN, UH, IN ALMOST ANY ACADEMY IN THE PAST.
UM, MANY OF THE PARTICIPANTS WERE, UH, VERY, VERY RECEPTIVE TO THAT AND ACTUALLY SAID, IT'D BE GOOD IF WE HAD EVEN MORE.
SO WE ARE PLANNING FOR, UH, STILL SIGNIFICANT HOURS IN THE 145TH.
[00:20:01]
THE, THE HISTORY OF, OF POLICE AND RACING IN AMERICA COURSE, THIS WAS, UM, TAUGHT BY DR.KEVIN FOSTER, UM, WHO IS, UH, AN, AN INSTRUCTOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN.
UH, HE TAUGHT THE COURSE, UM, WITH, UH, VERY GOOD REVIEWS THAT WERE COMING BACK FROM, UM, FROM KROHL FROM STAFF AND FROM THE, UH, THE PARTICIPANTS.
AND HE WILL, HAS AGREED TO CONTINUE TO TEACH THAT FOR THE 145TH, UH, RECOMMENDATION 13.
UM, SO THIS IS TALKING ABOUT OUR ADJUNCT, UM, INSTRUCTOR, UH, BASE THAT WE HAVE WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND THIS, THIS REALLY GOES TO INCREASING THE DIVERSITY OF, OF OUR ACADEMY STAFF.
SO, UM, WE ARE, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF ADJUNCT INSTRUCTORS THAT SUPPLEMENT THE REGULAR FULL-TIME INSTRUCTORS WE HAVE AT THE ACADEMY, AND WE'RE LOOKING TO EXPAND THAT BASE, DIVERSIFY THAT BASE AND HAVE THEM PLAY A GREATER ROLE IN FUTURE ACADEMIES.
AND CROWELL HAS AGREED THAT WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED THAT RECOMMENDATION, THE NEXT ONE, INCORPORATING THE ANTI-RACISM AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY TRAINING AND WORKSHOPS.
UM, THIS OF COURSE WE, UH, ACCOMPLISHED BY, UM, BOTH OUR INCLUSION OF THE COMMUNITY CONNECT PROGRAM, WHICH WAS AT THE OUTSET OF THE ACADEMY THAT WILL CHANGE A LITTLE BIT.
I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT LATER FOR THE 145TH, AS WELL AS THE GROUNDWATER ANALYSIS COURSES, WHICH ARE BEING, UH, DELIVERED BY THE JOYCE JAMES CONSULTING GROUP, UH, HAVE BEEN A PART AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE A PART OF OUR ACADEMY LOOKING AT, UH, STRUCTURAL AND INSTITUTIONAL RACISM.
AND THAT'S NOT JUST WITHIN THE ACADEMY, WE ARE DELIVERING THAT INSTRUCTION, UH, WITHIN, UM, THE, THE CURRENT OFFICER BASE AS WELL.
SO REINSTITUTING, UH, THE NEXT ONE, NUMBER 15 REINSTITUTING, A PRACTICE OF FOLLOW-UP WITH A CADET WHO LEAVES THE ACADEMY FOR ANY REASON, WE CONDUCTED EXTENSIVE, UM, EXIT INTERVIEWS WITH OUR CADETS AS THEY WERE DEPARTING THE ACADEMY.
THIS WAS DONE, UM, BY A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FOLKS, INCLUDING OUR ACADEMY STAFF, UH, UH, THE CROLL TEAM AND THE JOYCE JAME CONSULTING GROUP.
SO WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING TO DO IS STREAMLINE THAT PROCESS IN THE FUTURE TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE KIND OF ONE INTERVIEW THAT ALL PARTIES ARE THERE CAN ASK QUESTIONS.
UH, WE, WE DO FIND A LOT OF VALUE IN GETTING THAT FEEDBACK, UH, BUT WE HAVE, UH, ACCOMPLISHED THAT RECOMMENDATION AS WELL.
AND THEN, UM, REVISING, UH, LESSON PLANS, UM, THAT ARE, THAT ARE GOING TO BE THAT WE ARE GOING TO CONSTANTLY BE LOOKING AT, UH, THE LESSON PLAN, THE COURSE CONTENT, UM, AND, AND RELATING THAT BACK TO CULTURAL COMPETENCY AS, UH, AS SUGGESTED IN THE REPORT, UM, THAT IS, IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IN PREPARATION FOR THE ONE 45TH AND FUTURE CLASSES.
SO, UM, WE, UH, ARE WORKING AGAIN IN CONCERT, UH, WITH ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS ON THIS, INCLUDING OUR CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE, UM, AND THIS EFFORT, UM, HAS BEEN, UH, HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED.
SO REQUIRING AN ONGOING, UH, INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE ACADEMY BY, UM, BY THE OUTSIDE EVALUATOR.
UM, THAT IS, IS WHAT WE'VE JUST, UH, ESSENTIALLY, UH, ACCOMPLISHED.
AND, UH, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT KROLL, UH, HAS PROVIDED A VERY COMPREHENSIVE REPORT ON THE 144TH TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE, UH, ACCOMPLISHED ALL THE, ALL THE THINGS THAT WERE NECESSARY.
UH, AND I, AND I BELIEVE THERE'LL BE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE IN THAT REGARD.
UH, THE NEXT ONE PROACTIVELY REACHING OUT COMMUNITY LEADERS, UH, ACTIVISTS, CRITICS, WHO ARE WILLING TO WORK PRODUCTIVELY WITH APD, UH, TO PROVIDE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES, UM, AND, AND KIND OF GETTING ENGAGED WITH THE PROGRAMMING.
SO WE DID THAT ON TWO DIFFERENT FRONTS.
THE FIRST IS THROUGH THE GROUNDWATER ANALYSIS COURSE IN WHICH WE INVITE COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS AROUND THE IDEA OF INSTITUTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL RACISM, UH, AND TO GIVE CADETS FROM THEM FROM THE GROUND FLOOR, UM, A PERSPECTIVE ON THAT, SO THAT THEY, UM, THEY ARE HEARING DIRECTLY FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
AND THE OTHER PART IS IN THE CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE ITSELF, WHICH, UM, UH, THEY HAVE PARTICIPATED IN REVIEWING, UH, THOSE THINGS.
AND AGAIN, THESE WERE, THESE ARE ACADEMICS.
THESE ARE, UH, PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT, THAT HAVE BEEN VERY ACTIVE, UH, AND PROVIDED, UM, THAT VOICE.
ONE OF THE THINGS I'LL ALSO BE TALKING A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IN THIS PRESENTATION IS THE CO-FACILITATION OF OUTSIDE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS TO COME IN AND CO-TEACH WITH ACADEMY STAFF, SO THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING GOOD PERSPECTIVE, UH, FROM OUTSIDE OF, UH, STRICTLY THAT, THAT ACADEMY CULTURE
[00:25:01]
THOROUGHLY REVIEWING ALL, UH, DEI RELATED COURSES.UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UM, WORKED PRETTY EXTENSIVELY IN THE AREA OF, UM, OF LOOKING AT ALL THE COURSES THROUGH A DEI LENS AND MAKING SURE THAT, UH, WHERE IT IS APPLICABLE AND REALLY IT'S NECESSARY, UH, TO, TO PROVIDE SOME CHANGES, UH, THAT INCLUDED THE VIDEOS THAT WE WERE SHOWING THAT INCLUDED, UH, A VERY STRONG EMPHASIS ON DEESCALATION AND THAT WE WERE MAKING SURE THAT, THAT THAT COMPONENT WAS BEING PUT IN THERE.
UM, AND WE WILL BE, UM, KIND OF CONTINUING THAT, THAT EFFORT AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UH, CROLL HAS, HAS AGREED THAT WE HAVE, THAT WE HAVE COMPLETED THAT TASK.
UM, AND THEN IMPLEMENTING FINALLY, THE LAST ONE, YOU SEE, THEY'RE IMPLEMENTING ADDITIONAL, UH, COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND IMMERSION STRATEGIES, UM, IS, IS ANOTHER THING THAT BOTH THE DIVISION MANAGER, THE, THE TRAINING SUPERVISOR, AND WE WILL BE BRINGING ON AN ORGANIZATIONAL AND, UH, AND TRAINING, UH, MANAGER POSITION THAT WILL ALSO RESIDE AT THE ACADEMY AND ADDITIONAL STAFF MEMBERS, CIVILIAN, UH, THAT WILL BE, UM, A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT IN THIS AREA AND IS GOING TO HELP US TO, UM, TO NOT ONLY DO THIS IN THIS ENVIRONMENT, IN THE ACADEMY, BUT AGAIN, ALSO WITHIN THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT.
AND IT WILL EXPAND, UH, AS THAT ROLE GROWS.
SO THESE ARE THE ONES THAT, UM, THAT, THAT HAVE BEEN COMPLETED IF I CAN GET THE NEXT SLIDE IN PROGRESS.
THIS IS THE, THE ONE, UM, SHORT TERM RECOMMENDATION, WHICH IS STILL IN PROGRESS, AND IT IS DEVELOPING A MENTORSHIP PROGRAM FOR ALL OF THE CADETS.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE A MENTOR MENTORSHIP PROGRAM FOR OUR FEMALE CADETS.
UH, WE ARE WORKING WITH THE JOYCE JAMES GROUP RIGHT NOW ON, UH, CREATING THE MENTORSHIP GROUP FOR OUR AFRICAN-AMERICAN EMPLOYEES.
UM, AND, UH, IMPORTANTLY, AS WE BRING ON THAT ORGANIZATIONAL AND TRAINING MANAGER POSITION, THAT PERSON IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO HELP WITH THIS EFFORT IN CREATING, UH, ESSENTIALLY ONE LARGE OVERARCHING, UH, MENTORSHIP PROGRAM FOR OUR DEPARTMENT, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, IS GOING TO KIND OF START HERE AT THE ACADEMY, BUT, UH, THAT WE WILL GROW THROUGHOUT THE DEPARTMENT.
SO TALKING ABOUT THE, UH, THE LONGER TERM RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF LONGER TERM RECOMMENDATIONS MADE, UM, THAT, UH, THAT, THAT CROLL, YOU CAN SEE 10 OF THEM WE HAVE COMPLETED, AND THEY HAVE BEEN, HAVE BEEN VERIFIED.
WE STILL HAVE FIVE THAT ARE IN PROGRESS, AND THERE IS ONE THAT WE HAVE NOT STARTED IN IS UNDER CONSIDERATION.
AND I'LL, I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT HERE IN JUST A MOMENT.
SO FIRST WITH REGARD TO HIRING A, A LITTER, UH, UH, MEDIA LITERACY EXPERT, UH, TO HELP US WITH DEVELOPING THE TEACHING VIDEOS, UH, WE HAVE A CONTRACT PENDING WITH, UH, RENEE HOBBS FROM THE MEDIA EDUCATION LABS, UH, WHICH SHE, UH, IS A NATIONALLY RENOWNED MEDIA LITERACY EXPERT, AND, UH, WILL BE HELPING US TO, UM, TO DELIVER ON THIS PARTICULAR, UH, RECOMMENDATION.
UM, IMPORTANTLY, WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING IN THE AREA OF VIDEOS IS ALSO, UH, REALLY DEVELOPING OUR OWN VIDEOS.
SO AS WE GET BETTER, UH, INSTEAD OF TRYING TO FIND THE VIDEOS THAT WE WANT TO SHOW OUR OFFICERS WILL BE, WE'LL BE SHOOTING AND REVIEWING, AND ULTIMATELY APPROVING OUR OWN VIDEOS THAT HAVE RELEVANCE HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO IF WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED IN THE PAST, THEN WE CAN SHOOT VIDEOS AND MAKE THAT, UM, THAT COME TO LIFE FOR OUR ACADEMY PARTICIPANTS.
UH, THE NEXT ONE THEY'RE REVISING ACADEMY CLASS SCHEDULES, UH, BY ELIMINATING THE 40 HOUR BLOCKS OF THIS REALLY DRY MATERIAL THAT WE HAVE SEEN THE CADET STRUGGLE WITH.
SO THESE ARE IN THE AREA OF PENAL CODE, TRANSPORTATION, CODE, ARREST, SEARCH, AND SEIZURE.
UH, THOSE HAVE BEEN BROKEN UP IN THE NEXT, UH, ACADEMY CLASS SO THAT WE'RE DELIVERING THEM IN SMALLER, MORE DIGESTIBLE BLOCKS.
AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL SEE A LOT OF IMPROVEMENT.
ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT TRIPS THE CADETS UP IS THAT THEY HAVE TO MAINTAIN A VERY HIGH GRADE POINT AVERAGE THROUGHOUT THE ACADEMY.
THEY CAN ONLY, UH, THEY HAVE TO MAINTAIN NOT JUST PASS, BUT GET, GET ABOVE AN 80 PERCENTILE, UH, AVERAGE OVER THE COURSE OF THE ACADEMY.
AND THEY CAN ONLY FAIL SO MANY EXAMS. SO, UM, BY BREAKING THIS UP, WE'RE HOPING THAT THAT CAN ACTUALLY SEE A CUT DOWN ON OUR ATTRITION RATE BECAUSE OF THE FAILURE, THE ACADEMIC FAILURES, UM, THE NEXT ONE THEY'RE FURTHER, UH, ANALYZING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN, UH, PRE ACADEMY ACADEMY AND POST ACADEMY, PHYSICAL FITNESS STANDARDS.
WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IS A, UM, THERE'S THAT ENTRANCE STANDARD WHEN WE
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HAVE THEM, UM, TRYING TO GET INTO THE ACADEMY, WE TEST THEM RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE ACADEMY.OF COURSE, THEY HAVE TO TEST, UH, THROUGHOUT, AND THEN THERE IS A FINAL, UH, PT TEST.
AND WE DO LOSE CADETS EVEN UP TO THE VERY END BECAUSE THEY CANNOT MEET THE STANDARD.
JONATHAN KRINGLE, WHO IS, UH, HELPING US TO LOOK AT THE DATA AROUND, UH, PHYSICAL FITNESS TESTING, AND TO DEVELOP A BETTER WAY OF DOING THAT.
AND WE ARE IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW OF TRANSITIONING OUR PHYSICAL FITNESS, UH, STANDARD TESTING, UH, SO THAT IT IS, UM, I WON'T SAY EASIER BUT MUCH MORE ACHIEVABLE FOR EACH ONE OF THE, UH, THE CADETS WHO MIGHT STRUGGLE OTHERWISE NEXT.
SO, UM, SO THIS IS, UM, PART OF, UH, INTEGRATING BASICALLY A PROGRAM FOR ALL OF OUR CADETS TO DO, UM, THE, UM, THE COMMUNITY CONNECT, UH, PART OF IT, WHICH IS THEY ARE SPENDING A LOT OF TIME WITH OUR NEIGHBORHOOD LIAISON OFFICERS, OUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES, UH, WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
UM, WE WILL BE CHANGING AND SHORTENING THE AMOUNT OF TIME DURING COMMUNITY CONNECT.
AND I'LL BE TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE DECISION TO GO AHEAD AND SHORTEN THAT TIME A BIT.
UH, THERE WERE OTHER CONSIDERATIONS THAT WERE, UH, WERE ASKED FOR BY KROLL, INCLUDING, UH, THE MORE PHYSICAL FITNESS, UH, TIME, AS WELL AS DOING REINSTITUTING, OUR RIDE OUTS FOR CADET.
SO HAVING OUR CADETS ACTUALLY RIDE WITH, UM, OFFICERS WHILE THEY'RE IN THE ACADEMY.
UH, SO THAT THEY'RE GETTING A VERY, VERY GOOD IDEA OF WHAT THE JOB ACTUALLY FEELS LIKE, WHAT IT ENTAILS, UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE SEEN IN THE PAST, THEY GO THROUGH THE WHOLE ACADEMY, THEY GET OUT THERE AND IN THE FIRST WEEK THEY REALIZE THIS IS NOT WHAT THEY THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE.
SO WE WANT THEM TO HAVE THAT REALLY GOOD EYES WIDE OPEN UNDERSTANDING.
UM, AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE, WE HAVE CHANGED THAT PART A LITTLE BIT, BUT, UM, BUT THE COMMUNITY CONNECT PART HAS, UH, REALLY DELIVERED ON, ON THIS PARTICULAR RECOMMENDATION AND COLE CONSIDERS IT ACCOMPLISHED, UM, THE ICAT, THE NEXT ONE IS OUR DEESCALATION TRAINING, UH, AND, AND REALLY REQUIRING THAT IT IS NOT JUST IN THE ACADEMY, BUT THAT IT'S PART OF MANDATORY AND SERVICE THOSE REFRESHER TRAININGS THAT WE HAVE ALL OFFICERS HAVE TO GO THROUGH UNDER T COLE EVERY TWO YEARS.
SO WE HAVE, UM, INSTITUTED THAT TRAINING ONGOING IN THAT PART.
UH, WE HA WE ARE CONTINUED TO LOOK AT ALL OF OUR POLICY, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, ARE, ARE INSTITUTING THE THINGS THAT WE'RE TRAINING INTO POLICY AND THAT THOSE MATCH, UH, AND THEN THE VIDEOS ARE THAT ARE SHOWN DURING THE ICAT TRAINING ARE CONSISTENT, UH, WITH THE WAY THAT WE WANT, UM, THE, THE VIDEOS TO, TO APPEAR IN OUR, IN OUR ACADEMY.
AND THEN FINALLY, UH, ON THIS SLIDE BUILDING RECOVERY TIME, UM, BETWEEN THE CLASSES FOR OUR INSTRUCTORS, UM, WE HAVE ABOUT A TWO MONTH BREAK, UH, BETWEEN NOW AND WHEN WE WOULD LIKE TO START, UH, THE ONE 45TH.
AND THAT WAS PRETTY INTENTIONAL TO BE ABLE TO GIVE OUR, OUR FOLKS SOME DOWNTIME, VERY, VERY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT WAS DONE BY ACADEMY STAFF, UM, TO GET US TO THIS POINT, IT WAS, IT WAS A VERY HEAVY LIFT.
AND, UH, FOR EACH ONE OF THEM PERSONALLY, I KNOW IT TOOK A TOLL, UH, BECAUSE WE HAD BEEN DOING THINGS, UM, THE SAME FOR SO LONG, AND NOW WE'RE ASKING THEM TO CHANGE AND TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY, UH, AND IN, IN MANY CASES TO DO THEM MUCH BETTER.
SO, UM, THAT REQUIRED THEM TO, UH, TO BE VERY, UH, VERSATILE AND INNOVATIVE DURING THE ACADEMY TO, TO ACCOMPLISH, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAD, WE HAD A COUPLE OF MISSTEPS, UH, BUT THEY, THEY QUICKLY RECTIFIED THOSE.
AND, UM, AND SO NOW THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF A BREAK FOR THEM.
WE ARE GOING TO TRY TO BUILD IN BREAKS AND, AND THE WAY TO DO THAT REALLY IS, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR FOLKS STILL ARE ABLE TO EXERCISE THEIR VACATION TIME, EVEN WHILE CLASSES ARE GOING ON.
AND I WAS TALKING ABOUT INCREASING OUR BASE OF ADJUNCT INSTRUCTORS THAT CAN COME IN AND KIND OF GIVE THEM A LITTLE BIT OF A BREAK WHEN THEY NEED IT.
SO, UM, SO THAT IS ALSO BUILT IN HERE.
AND AGAIN, HAS, HAS BEEN AN ACCOMPLISHMENT OF ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO, UM, ARE WITH REGARD TO COLLABORATIONS WITH OUTSIDE MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY GROUPS, UH, WE HAVE A VERY STRONG CONNECTION WITH INTEGRAL CARE.
THEY HAVE BEEN, UH, PARTICIPATE IN OUR CIT TRAINING, UH, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO WAS REALLY TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
UH, IN MANY RESPECTS, THE WAY THAT WE DID THIS WAS THROUGH OUR INCLUSION OF VICTIM SERVICE COUNSELORS AT
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THE, UM, AT THE ACADEMY AND BUILDING IN, UH, COURSES ON, UM, ON MENTAL HEALTH, ON E EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ON RESILIENCY.UH, SO THAT, UM, AS CADETS ARE GOING THROUGH NOT ONLY THE RIGORS OF THE ACADEMY, THIS IS GOING TO TRANSLATE AFTER THEY GRADUATE AND THEY'RE DEALING WITH THE RIGORS OF THE JOB AND, AND FINDING GOOD WAYS TO KEEP THEMSELVES MENTALLY HEALTHY.
UH, IN ADDITION TO THE OTHER MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING, UH, WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT, UM, WITH REGARD TO THE FTO STANDARD OPERATING, UH, STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES, THOSE ESSENTIALLY HAVE BEEN RETOOLED AND ARE DONE.
UH, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW DURING THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY OF GETTING IN FRONT OF EVERY SINGLE FTO ON THE DEPARTMENT, UH, TO SHOW THEM WHERE THE CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE IN THE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
UM, WE RECENTLY HAD OUR FTO COORDINATOR RETIRE.
SO, UH, WE ARE BRINGING ON A NEW FTO COORDINATOR, UM, TO, UH, TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP THE PROGRAM RUNNING AND WE WILL BE LOOKING, UH, AS AN ASIDE, WE WILL BE LOOKING TO REALLY RETOOL THE FTO PROGRAM SO THAT WE ARE ATTRACTING THE VERY BEST OFFICERS, SO THAT NOT ONLY DO I HAVE THE VERY BEST THAT WANT TO BE FTOS, I HAVE A WAITING LIST THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT IS THE, THE EFFORT RIGHT NOW AROUND OUR FTO PROGRAM, TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THAT WE'RE THERE, WE HAVE THE OFFICERS THAT ARE TRAINING OUR BRAND NEW OFFICERS IN THE RIGHT WAY.
ALL OF OUR FTS HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE GROUNDWATER ANALYSIS COURSE AS WELL.
UM, THE NEXT ONE REVIEWING, UM, SO THIS WAS REALLY ABOUT JUST MAKING SURE THAT ALL OF, UM, ALL OF THESE FOCUS GROUP SESSIONS, UM, WHERE EVERYTHING, ALL OF THE RESULTS ARE SHARED BACK WITH ME.
AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT I HAVE BEEN, UM, I'VE BEEN IN MANY MEETINGS WITH KROLL.
I'VE BEEN IN MULTIPLE MEETINGS, OBVIOUSLY WITH ACADEMY STAFF.
AND I DON'T NEED TO TELL YOU THAT THIS HAS BEEN AN AREA OF FOCUS FOR ME, UH, AS THIS ACADEMY HAS BEEN ONGOING.
UM, AND SO, UH, AGAIN, I THINK THAT CROWELL HAS RECOGNIZED, UM, THAT, THAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED THIS, UH, THE LAST ONE ON THIS SLIDE IS DEVELOPING AND WE DO HAVE, THIS WAS ACTUALLY THINGS THAT WERE ALREADY IN PLACE.
SO AS WE HAVE MEMBERS OF OUR DEPARTMENT THAT ARE IN THE MILITARY AND ARE DEPLOYED SOMETIMES INTO COMBAT SITUATIONS AS THEY RETURN, UM, THERE IS A RE-INTEGRATION PROCESS.
UH, THEY SPEND TIME AT THE ACADEMY AND, UH, MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY'RE SPENDING TIME WITH STAFF PSYCHOLOGISTS, UH, AND WITH OUR VICTIM SERVICES PERSONNEL, TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THEY ARE THEY'RE BEING DEBRIEFED, UH, THAT THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, MENTALLY HEALTHY AND, AND THAT THEY WERE GIVEN THE RESOURCES TO MAKE SURE THAT THE THINGS THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE EXPERIENCED, THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO WORK THROUGH THOSE.
AND, AND, UH, I KNOW THAT THAT, THAT COUNCIL IS VERY AWARE OF ALL THE DIFFERENT, UM, TOOLS THAT ARE NOW AVAILABLE, INCLUDING EMDR, UH, THAT ARE, UH, AVAILABLE FOR OUR FOLKS, NOT JUST FOR TRAUMA THAT THEY MIGHT SEE IN COMBAT OVERSEAS, BUT FOR THE THINGS THAT THEY SEE ON THE JOB HERE IN THE CITY.
SO THE ONE THAT I MENTIONED WE HAVE NOT STARTED, BUT IS UNDER CONSIDERATION.
UM, AND I, AND I BRIEFLY MENTIONED THIS IS, IS REALLY INCENTIVIZING, UM, THE FTO PROGRAM, UM, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW THE FTO PROGRAM, THE INCENTIVE TO BE AN FTO IS A STIPEND.
UH, WE ARE IN A CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS HAVE BEGUN FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND I THINK THAT IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE LOOK AT AND, AND THAT WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT, SO THAT, THAT WILL BE UNDER CONSIDERATION, UH, WITH REGARDS TO THOSE THAT ARE IN PROGRESS.
UM, THE LONG-TERM DIVERSITY OF OUR STAFF.
AND I'M TALKING ABOUT THE, THE STAFF MEMBERS THAT ARE ASSIGNED THERE ON A FULL-TIME BASIS.
WE'RE VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT IT.
IT'S THE ONLY, UM, UNIT IN THE DEPARTMENT THAT, UH, WELL, I WON'T SAY THAT, I THINK THERE'S, UH, ONE OR TWO OTHER UNITS ALSO WHERE I HAVE KIND OF THE FINAL SAY ABOUT WHO GOES TO WORK OUT THERE TO MAKE SURE THAT NOT ONLY ARE WE GETTING THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST, UH, BUT THAT WE ARE BEING INTENTIONAL ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UH, REALLY DIVERSIFYING THE STAFF, UH, ON, ON WITH RACE AND GENDER AS WELL.
SO, UM, SO I, YOU KNOW, I'VE TALKED ABOUT IT THAT THE ACADEMY IS A VERY DIVERSE, UM, UNIT, UH, THE TRAINING, OR EXCUSE ME, THE RECRUITING DIVISION IS ACTUALLY OUR MOST, UH, DIVERSE UNIT IN THE DEPARTMENT.
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FROM DAY ONE, I TALK ABOUT PROCEDURAL JUSTICE, AND I THINK YOU ALL SAW THAT IN THE REPORT, UH, THAT CURL JUST ISSUED.UM, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE TENANTS OF PROCEDURAL JUSTICE, AND WE, UH, CONTINUE TO, UH, TO LOOK AT, UH, THE TENANTS OF PROCEDURAL JUSTICE AND HOW THE, HOW W HOW THOSE INTEGRATE INTO ACADEMY COURSES, UH, WHERE WE SEE THAT THE MOST IS IN THE ROLE PLACE, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE GUIDING OUR NEW CADETS NEW OFFICERS, UH, IN THE RIGHT WAY TO TALK TO FOLKS AND MAKE SURE THEY'RE ANSWERING QUESTIONS THAT THEY'RE DEESCALATING, THEY'RE SLOWING THINGS DOWN WHEN IT'S APPROPRIATE.
UM, AND, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE, WE'RE BEING, UH, LIKE I SAID, VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT DOING THAT.
UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT HOW, UH, YOU KNOW, NOT TRYING TO REINVENT THE WHEEL OR OPERATE IN A VACUUM.
WE DO LOOK AT, UH, OTHER COURSES SUCH AS THE ONE THAT THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS PUT TOGETHER TO SEE HOW WE CAN USE ELEMENTS OF THOSE KINDS OF COURSES IN OUR OWN CO COURSEWORK.
UH, NEXT SLIDE, UM, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS, THIS IS, UH, ONE OF THE ONES THAT IS, WILL, WILL LIKELY NOT BE COMPLETED BY THE START OF THE ONE 45TH.
UH, IT IS, UH, INSTALLING, UH, ONE OF TWO PROGRAMS. THE ETHICAL POLICING IS COURAGEOUS PROGRAM KNOWN AS EPIC, UH, OR PROJECT ABEL.
UH, BOTH OF THEM ESSENTIALLY ARE ABOUT INTERVENTION.
AND, UH, MAKING SURE THAT AS IF WE HAVE OFFICERS, UM, THAT SEE SOMETHING THAT IS WRONG, THAT THEY ARE TAKING ACTIVE STEPS.
OF COURSE, WE HAVE POLICY THAT ADDRESSES THAT WE NEED TO BACK THAT UP WITH TRAINING.
AND SO THIS IS THE TRAINING THAT IS RECOGNIZED HERE IN TEXAS AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND, UM, WE'LL TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF, OF, UM, RESOURCE AND EFFORT TO GET AN INSTALLED.
AND WE EXPECT THAT THAT WILL BE DONE, UM, PRIOR, OR BY THE END OF , UM, CONTINUING TO RESEARCH WAYS ON COGNITIVE DECISION-MAKING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE.
UH, THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT I'VE KIND OF BEEN TALKING ABOUT, UH, WITH REGARD TO NOT JUST PROCEDURAL JUSTICE, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, BRINGING IN, UM, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE EXPERTS, UH, TO COLEEN AND THAT ARE EXPERTS IN THESE TYPES OF AREAS.
UM, AND AGAIN, I THINK CROWELL HAS AGREED THAT WE'RE MAKING, WE'RE MAKING STEPS IN THE RIGHT, IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
UM, WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT WAYS THAT WE CAN INCORPORATE OUR CURRENT ACADEMY INSTRUCTORS INTO THE FIELD TRAINING OFFICER PROGRAM.
SO THAT, THAT ONE IS STILL IN, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY STILL IN PROGRESS.
AND, AND, UM, WE ARE, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT WHEN I HAVE THEM TEACHING COURSES TO BE ABLE TO ALSO BE IN THE FIELD, THE FIELD TRAINING OR OUT ON THE STREETS.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN INCORPORATE THIS PARTICULAR RECOMMENDATION AND HAVE NOT LANDED ON A FINAL ANSWER ON IT.
SO WE HAD, UM, AGAIN, THIS WAS PART OF THE PRELIMINARY REPORT.
SO THIS IS THE ONE THAT WAS ISSUED.
I, UM, UM, PART ABOUT MIDWAY DURING THE ACADEMY, UH, AND IT HAD EIGHT RECOMMENDATIONS, SIX OF THEM, UH, WE HAVE, UM, WE HAVE COMPLETED AND THEY VERIFIED AND THEN TWO AGAIN ARE UNDER CONSIDERATION.
SO, UM, THE PROCESS, UH, OBVIOUSLY TO RECEIVE THAT COMMUNITY FEEDBACK, UM, HAS PRECLUDED TO A LARGE EXTENT IN THE 144TH, UH, CLASS, THE USE OF VIDEOS THAT WAS PROBLEMATIC.
AND WE HEARD THAT NOT JUST FROM STAFF, WE HEARD IT FROM THE CADETS THAT SAID THAT THEY WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE SEEN VIDEOS, UH, AS WE'VE DONE REPORT OUTS WITH THE CADETS, THEY SAID THAT THEY THINK THAT IT HURT THEIR LEARNING A LITTLE BIT, NOT TO HAVE VIDEOS THAT EXPLAIN THAT.
AND SO, UM, WE'RE FINDING, UH, AGAIN, I'VE TALKED ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO BE USING A MEDIA LEAD LITERACY EXPERT, MOVING THE VIDEO REVIEW INTO CURRICULUM REVIEW TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING IT, BUT REINSTITUTING VIDEOS INTO THE ACADEMY TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THAT WE, THAT WE USE THEM, UH, PERFORMANCE, ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES, UH, FORMERLY REFERRED TO AS BEHAVIORAL MODIFICATION, UH, MEASURES HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED MOVING FORWARD INTO THE ONE 45TH.
SO THAT WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CHANGED IT KIND OF, MID-COURSE THE ONE 44TH, AND WE'LL BE WHOLLY CHANGING IT IN THE ONE 45TH, SO THAT, UM, THERE STILL A, UM, UH, AN ENVIRONMENT OF ENCOUNTER ABILITY FOR THEMSELVES PERSONALLY, AND FOR THEM AS A TEAM, UH, BUT THAT IT DOES NOT DISRUPT THE INSTRUCTION.
AND THAT WAS, THAT WAS THE BIG, UM, KIND OF TAKE AWAY.
AND THE BIG CRITICISM WAS WE WOULD STOP THINGS RIGHT WHERE WE WERE, UH, THEY'D GO OUT FOR A PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY SESSION AND THEN COME BACK AND NOW WE'RE HAVING TO RUSH
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THROUGH THE MATERIAL.SO WE'RE BUILDING THOSE INTO THE, UM, PT SESSIONS, UH, WHEN THEY'RE PROPERLY WARMED UP, WE'LL, WE'LL SEE FEWER INJURIES AND WE'RE NOT TAKING AWAY FROM ANY KIND OF THE, UM, UM, INSTRUCTION TIME.
UM, THE NEXT, THE NEXT ONE ACTUALLY TALKS ABOUT MOVING COMMUNITY CONNECT AND, UM, WHAT, WHAT THE FEEDBACK THAT CROLL GOT AND, AND THE ACADEMY GOT WAS THAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN GOOD TO, UH, TO HAVE SOME, SOME KIND OF GROUND, UH, GROUND RULES THAT WERE SET, UH, AT THE OUTSET, SO THAT AS THEY STEPPED BACK INTO THE ACADEMY SETTING, THAT THEY, UH, KIND OF UNDERSTAND WHAT THE EXPECTATIONS WERE.
IT WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE CHALLENGING FOR OUR INSTRUCTORS AT THE OUTSET OF THIS ACADEMY, BECAUSE FOR TWO WEEKS IT HAD FELT LIKE, YOU KNOW, UH, VERY INTERACTIVE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE OUT WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND THEY CAME IN A LITTLE BIT MORE RELAXED THAN WE'RE USED TO HAVING CADETS WALK INTO THAT ENVIRONMENT.
AND SO SETTING, UH, SETTING A TONE, RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING OF KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THE DISCIPLINE THAT IS NECESSARY IN THE ACADEMY SETTING, UH, AND THEN INTRODUCING, UH, THE COMMUNITY CONNECT IN, UH, INDIVIDUAL SMALLER SESSIONS THROUGHOUT.
SO THEY'RE GOING TO BE, UH, NOT DOING TWO FULL WEEKS, UM, ALL AT ONCE RATHER IT'S GOING TO BE SHORTENED, UM, TO ONE WEEK, UH, BUT IT, INCLUDING THE GROUNDWATER ANALYSIS COURSES AS WELL.
AND SO, UM, WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE ORIGINAL COMMUNITY CONNECT, WE HAD TO GET THAT GROUNDWATER ANALYSIS PART IN THERE.
AND SO, UH, WE HAD SOME CADETS THAT MISSED PARTS BECAUSE THEY WOULD LOSE TWO WHOLE DAYS TO GROUNDWATER.
AND SO WE, WE HAD TO HAVE SMALLER, SMALLER CLASSES OF GROUNDWATER.
AND SO WE HAD THREE SESSIONS DURING THOSE FIRST TWO WEEKS, WHICH MEANT THAT EACH ONE OF THEM MISS LIKE 33%.
SO IN ORDER TO, TO KIND OF RECTIFY THAT WE HAVE, UM, ALL THE GROUNDWATER WILL BE CONDUCTED AT THE SAME TIME IN SMALL SESSIONS, BUT THAT WE WILL ALSO MAKE SURE THAT THEY DON'T MISS ANY PART OF THAT COMMUNITY CONNECT.
UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE TALKED ABOUT THE CADET RIDE OUTS.
UM, I THINK THAT THE, UH, THE CADETS HIMSELF SAID THAT, THAT, THAT THIS WOULD BE HELPFUL AND KROLL CERTAINLY SAID THEY THINK THAT IT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
SO WE HAVE RE-INSTITUTED OF 40 HOURS OF CADET RIGHT OUT INTO THE 145TH.
AND, AND WE'LL BE DOING THAT MOVING FORWARD.
UM, THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, THE AUTHORITY OF THE DIVISION MANAGER, WHICH IS DR.
ANNE KREEGAN HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED INTO POLICY INTO THE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE FOR THE ACADEMY THAT'S REFLECTED IN CROSS REPORT.
UM, AND THEY FELT THAT THE LANGUAGE IS VERY APPROPRIATE AND THAT HER ROLE HAS BEEN CLEARLY DEFINED.
SO, UM, SO AGAIN, A, AN ACCOMPLISHMENT ON, ON THAT RECOMMENDATION, UM, THE COORDINATION BETWEEN, UH, CADET TRAINING AND THE LEARNING SKILLS UNIT, UH, WHEN CREATING COURSE SCHEDULE, AS I TALKED ABOUT IT JUST VERY BRIEFLY RIGHT NOW THAT COORDINATION IS OCCURRING.
UH, WE HAVE DURING EACH SEGMENT OF, OF THE, UH, THE ACADEMY, UH, THOSE SEGMENTS, ALL OF THE INSTRUCTORS, UH, THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR SEGMENTS ARE SITTING DOWN WITH THE ACADEMY COMMANDER AND WITH DR.
CREAGAN TO WORK THROUGH IT, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE GOOD COORDINATION.
WE'RE NOT TEACHING ADVANCED FIRST AID BEFORE WE TEACH BASIC FIRST AID OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
WE'RE JUST MAKING SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS LINED UP AND THAT IT'S, UH, IT'S SEQUENCED PROPERLY AND IT'S LOGICAL.
SO, UM, SO THAT IS, IS OCCURRING, UM, IS OCCURRING RIGHT NOW.
UH, THE ONES THAT ARE UNDER CONSIDERATION SUPPLEMENTING THE LEARNING SKILL UNIT STAFFING, UM, I'VE TALKED ABOUT STAFFING STAFFING IS AN ISSUE RIGHT NOW FOR US.
SO WE, YOU KNOW, MANY OF OUR LEARN SKILLS, UH, TYPE OF INSTRUCTION SUCH AS FIREARMS PROFICIENCY IS TAUGHT, UH, SOMETIMES BY ADJUNCT INSTRUCTORS.
UM, SO WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO SUPPLEMENT OUR LEARNING SKILL STAFF WITH ADJUNCT INSTRUCTORS, BUT AT THIS MOMENT, I DON'T HAVE THE ADDITIONAL STAFF TO PUT OUT THE ACADEMY ON A FULL-TIME BASIS, SO THAT WHEN WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA LEAVE UNDER THE UNDER CONSIDERATION, UM, BANNER.
UM, AND THEN WITH, WITH REGARD TO THE FACILITIES, UM, THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE FOR A LITTLE WHILE.
WE SIT OUT AT THE PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING CAMPUS IN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN, SHARE SPACE WITH FIRE AND EMS WHO ARE VERY GOOD PARTNERS WITH US OUT THERE, UH, AND ALWAYS VERY RECEPTIVE TO, UH, COORDINATING SCHEDULES, ESPECIALLY FOR THE BIG CLASSROOMS. UH, BUT WE STILL SHARE THOSE SMALLER FACILITIES FOR SHOWERING BATHROOMS AND ALL THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
AND SO THAT CAN BE A PROBLEM WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO RUN A HUNDRED CADETS OUT FOR A BATHROOM BREAK, AND IT JUST SLOWS EVERYTHING DOWN.
WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THE MEANTIME IS, UH, LOOKING
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AT PORTABLE BUILDINGS, WHICH, UM, WE'VE ALREADY SECURED ONE PORTABLE BUILDING FROM FIRE THAT THEY WERE NO LONGER USING.AND WE'RE LOOKING AT A SECOND ONE.
SO, UH, PRIMARILY USING THOSE FOR LEARNED SKILLS SO THAT WE CAN KIND OF TAKE THAT, THAT PART OUT OF THE MAIN BUILDING AND, AND SPREAD IT ACROSS THE CAMPUS A LITTLE BIT.
UH, IT'LL HELP ALLEVIATE PRESSURE, NOT JUST FOR US, BUT FOR FIRE AND EMS AS WELL, LONGER TERM, OBVIOUSLY A PORTABLE IS NOT DESIRABLE.
AND I AM TALKING WITH THE MANAGER ABOUT LONGER-TERM, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE CAN MAKE ABOUT MAKING THE SPACE MORE USABLE OUT THERE, BUT THAT WILL, AGAIN, CONTINUE TO BE, UH, AN ISSUE.
WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS A RESOLUTION, A RESOLUTION, NEXT SLIDE.
SO TALKING ABOUT, UH, RECRUITING, I AM GOING TO HIT ON SOME PERCENTAGES HERE, BUT A FOLLOWUP SLIDE WILL GIVE YOU THE ACTUAL NUMBERS.
UM, SO THE, THE 144TH, UH, ACADEMY CLASS WAS THE MOST DIVERSE CLASS WE'VE EVER HAD IN OUR HISTORY.
AND I'M PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE 145TH IS ON TRACK TO BE EVEN MORE DIVERSE.
SO OUR BLACK REPRESENTATION CURRENTLY IN THE, IN THE APPLICANT POOL THAT WE STAT WE'LL STILL HAVE IS ALMOST 25% GREATER.
UH, THE HISPANIC REPRESENTATION, ALMOST 10% GREATER.
AND THEN, UH, ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER, UH, REPRESENTATION IS ABOUT 50% GREATER.
UM, OUR REPRESENTATION OF, OF, UH, BLACK AND HISPANIC APPLICANTS IN THE, IN THE ONE 45TH APPLICANT POOL CURRENTLY EXCEEDS, UH, THE 2020 CENSUS DATA FOR THE CITY.
UM, AND, UH, WHILE THE, UH, THE REPRESENTATION FOR, UH, UH, ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER DOES NOT.
I JUST MENTIONED THE GREATEST GROWTH, UH, OF ALL THOSE CATEGORIES FROM THE 1 44 TO THE ONE 45TH.
SO THIS IS, UH, I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE NUMBERS.
THIS GIVES YOU THE NUMBERS, AND YOU CAN SEE, UM, THE, THE APPLICANTS THAT WE HAD FOR THE ONE 44TH COMPARED TO THE APPLICANTS THAT WE HAVE FOR THE ONE 45TH ON A PERCENTAGE BASIS, UH, THAT OUR, OUR, UM, MINORITY APPLICANTS HAVE ACTUALLY INCREASED.
YOU DO SEE A SMALLER APPLICANT POOL.
AND WHAT WE SAW WAS THAT WE HAD SHUT DOWN OUR ACADEMY FOR A NUMBER OF MONTHS WHEN WE REOPENED IT, WE SAW A SURGE OF APPLICATIONS THAT CAME IN, WE'VE CONTINUED TO ACCEPT APPLICATIONS.
AND AS WE START TALKING ABOUT OUR TRANSITIONAL OFFICER PROGRAM AND THAT ACADEMY CLASS, WE WILL SEE SOME OF, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE APPLICANTS FOR THE BIGGER CLASSES WILL, WILL CONTINUE TO SHRINK A LITTLE BIT.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WITH ALMOST A THOUSAND APPLICANTS FOR THE ONE 45TH, UM, I THINK THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO FEEL THE CLASS, UM, HOPEFULLY BETWEEN 60 AND 80, UH, CADETS NEXT SLIDE WITH REGARD TO GENDER, UH, REPRESENTATION.
UM, IT, IT, IT'S, IT'S SLIGHTLY LESS GENDER DIVERSE, UH, THAN THE ONE 44TH.
UH, BUT THE DIFFERENCE IS PRETTY MARGINAL.
BUT ONE THING THAT I DO WANT TO MENTION IN THIS, IN THIS SPACE RIGHT HERE IS THAT, UM, I RECENTLY SIGNED THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT ON TO THE 30 BY 30 INITIATIVE.
SO IF YOU, IF YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK THAT UP, IT IS AN NYU, UH, LED, UH, EFFORT TO HAVE ALL POLICE DEPARTMENTS ARE THE ONES, AT LEAST THAT SIGN UP, UH, BE 30% FEMALE BY THE YEAR 2030.
SO WE HAVE SIGNED ONTO THAT, UH, WITH A VERY STRONG PUSH.
I HAVE MANY OF MY FOLKS THAT I, THAT I HAVE IN THE RECRUITING UNIT ARE FEMALE.
AND, UM, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO, TO, UH, RECRUIT VERY HEAVILY THE FEMALES INTO THE PROFESSION.
SO THIS REPRESENTS, AGAIN, THE NUMBERS OF FOUR FOR EACH ONE OF THE CLASSES.
AND YOU CAN SEE, UM, THAT AGAIN, I TALKED ABOUT THE MARGINAL DIFFERENCE.
IT IS, UM, UM, SLIGHT, SLIGHTLY MORE, BUT IT'S, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S PRETTY MARGINAL AND NOT, NOT A STATISTICAL DIFFERENCE.
SO, UM, MOVING FORWARD, NEXT SLIDE.
SO TALKING ABOUT THE, THE PHASE B, UH, THE PHASE B REPORT, UH, WHICH WAS, UH, RELEASED LAST MONTH AND, AND JUST TALKING ABOUT, UM, THE, THE GOALS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO HIT IN THE AREA OF RECRUITING, WE DO WANT TO, AND, AND COMPLETELY AGREE UPON INCREASING RECRUITMENT AND HIRING, UH, FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO RE REPRESENT A DIVERSITY OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THIS HAS LONG BEEN OUR STANDARD.
WE WILL CONTINUE WITH THAT PARTICULARLY, UH, FOR HISPANICS AND FEMALES, AND THEN ACHIEVE A HIGHER THAN PROPORTIONATE REPRESENTATION OF OUR POPULATION, UH, FOR BLACKS IN APD.
UH, WE'VE ALSO AGREED UPON STRATEGIES, UH, FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, DOING FOCUSED RECRUITING OF, OF WOMEN, INCLUDING, UM,
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CONCENTRATING ON WOMEN'S GROUPS, RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS, UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS.UM, WE HAVE, UM, AGAIN, IMPROVED, UH, THE MANNER IN WHICH WE, UM, COMMUNICATE WITH OUR RECRUIT SO THAT WE KEEP THEM IN THE PROCESS LONGER, AND WE DON'T LOSE THEM ALONG THE WAY, BECAUSE MANY TIMES WE'VE SEEN RECRUITS THAT ARE KIND OF SHOTGUNNING THEIR APPLICATIONS OUT TO MANY DIFFERENT, UM, MANY DIFFERENT AGENCIES, HOPING TO, TO GAIN EMPLOYMENT.
WE WANT TO BE THE ONE THAT THEY LAND ON, AND WE FEEL THAT COMMUNICATION IS THE WAY TO GET THAT DONE.
UM, AND THEN, UM, WE'RE STILL WORKING ON THE WAY, UH, JUST, IT'S JUST A BANDWIDTH ISSUE ON HOW WE CAN ASSIST APPLICANTS IF THEY'RE HAVING PROBLEMS SUBMITTING THEIR DOCUMENTS.
SO SOMETIMES THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS, UH, THAT OUR APPLICANTS HAVE.
WE TRY TO BE VERY RESPONSIVE TO THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, WHEN I JUST SHOWED YOU A SLIDE WHEN WE HAD 2000 APPLICANTS AND ALL THOSE QUESTIONS ARE KIND OF FLOODING IN, UH, SOMETIMES THERE CAN BE A DELAY.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO IMPROVE THAT PROCESS.
UM, BEEN TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS, THE EVALUATIONS THAT ARE ONGOING FOR, UM, OUR, OUR DISQUALIFICATION FACTORS.
UM, I KNOW THAT HAS BEEN, UH, SOME QUESTIONS THAT HAVE COME FROM, UH, FROM COUNCIL BEFORE, UM, THE, THE RACIAL DISPARITIES THAT WE SEE IN THE ENTRY LEVEL, UH, COGNITIVE TESTING, UH, AS WELL AS, AND I, AND I TOUCHED ON THIS A MOMENT AGO, OUR PHYSICAL FITNESS REQUIREMENTS AND HOW WE CAN MAKE THOSE MORE EQUITABLE AND HOW BETTER OUTCOMES AND HOPEFULLY MORE PEOPLE THAT CAN ACHIEVE, UH, THE, THE, NOT JUST THE ENTRANCE STANDARD, BUT OBVIOUSLY THE EXIT STANDARD AS WELL.
UM, WE FULLY RECOGNIZE THE ISSUES THAT WE HAVE WITH DATA COLLECTION.
UM, THIS IS, UH, IT IS NOT JUST OBVIOUSLY IN THIS ARENA, BUT IN MANY DIFFERENT ARENAS BECAUSE OF, OF THE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES, WHETHER IT'S A CAD DATABASE VERSUS OUR RECORDS MANAGEMENT DATABASE, UH, YOU KNOW, CITY DATABASES, AND THEY ALL CONTAIN DIFFERENT INFORMATION THAT IS NOT, UH, EASILY EXCHANGEABLE, AND SOMETIMES WILL PRODUCE A DIFFERENT OUTCOMES WHEN WE ASK THE SAME QUESTIONS TO EACH ONE THAT'S NOT GOOD.
SO, UH, WE ARE IN THE, IN THE, UM, RIGHT NOW, UH, DR.
JONATHAN KLINGON OR OUR CHIEF DATA OFFICER IS WORKING ON THE SOLUTIONS TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF STREAMLINE AND MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR DATA IS CONSISTENT, THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE PUTTING IT IN THE RIGHT PLACES THAT IS GOING TO HELP WITH, UM, LINKING PROGRAM DATA, UH, TO APPLICANT AND ACADEMY PERFORMANCE DATA, UM, COLLECTING INFORMATION ON WHY APPLICANTS, UH, SEPARATE DURING THE HIRING PROCESS.
AND, UM, AND THEN HOW, HOW WE CAN DO BETTER AT, UM, YOU KNOW, DISTRIBUTING INFORMATION RECRUITING AND DOING THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
SO THIS IS, UM, IT IS STILL A CHALLENGE, UH, AND IT IS ONE THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO HAVING, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE STILL WORKING ON AND, UM, REALLY BRINGING THE, UH, THE KIND OF SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS TO BEAR IN THIS IS HOW CAN WE DO A BETTER JOB OF MAKING THAT, THAT JOB PREVIEW VERY REALISTIC FOR FOLKS.
I MENTIONED, WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT GO ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE ACADEMY, AND THEN THEY GRADUATE AND THEY'RE OUT FOR A FEW WEEKS AND THEY REALIZE THIS IS NOT WHAT I THOUGHT IT WAS.
HOW CAN I, HOW CAN I OVERCOME THAT? AND AGAIN, THIS IS A CHALLENGE THAT WE HAVE NOT REALLY OVERCOME YET, UH, BUT THAT WE ARE ACTIVELY LOOKING AT TO SEE HOW CAN WE, UM, JUST, JUST REALLY PROVIDE THAT GOOD INSIGHT FOR OUR APPLICANTS, THAT THEY KIND OF KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GETTING INTO.
UM, THE OTHER ONE IS THE EXPLORER PROGRAM.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, I'VE HAD TO TRIM BACK THE EXPLORER PROGRAM, UH, AND, AND GO AHEAD AND PUT IT ON HIATUS PENDING OUR STAFFING ISSUES, BECAUSE I HAD OFFICERS ASSIGNED TO EXPLORERS FULL-TIME, WHICH I I'VE HAD TO MOVE BACK TO PATROL AT THIS TIME.
UM, SO WE WILL BE LOOKING TO REINSTATE THAT AS SOON AS I CAN, UM, MOVE THROUGH OUR STAFFING ISSUES.
AND THE OTHER THING IS THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM, WHICH WE ARE, UH, ACTIVELY WORKING ON, UM, ALL OF OUR INTERNS, WHETHER, UH, IT'S, UH, WE'RE GOING THROUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THOSE ARE WORKING, UH, THROUGH SOME TYPE OF LEARNING INSTITUTION, SOME OF THEM HIGHER LEARNING INSTITUTIONS.
SOMETIMES WE'RE LOOKING AT THE HIGH SCHOOL KIDS, BUT TRYING TO INSTILL THIS DESIRE, UH, THROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF THE POLICE PROFESSION SO THAT THEY, UH, YOU KNOW, AS THEY MOVE THROUGH THEIR ACADEMIC CAREER, THEY'RE KEEPING THAT IN THE BACK OF THEIR MIND.
AND HOPEFULLY, UH, WE'RE DOING THAT.
SO THAT IS A, THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING ON AS WELL.
UH, NEXT SLIDE, AND THIS IS KIND OF THE ENDING SLIDE.
UH, JUST SOME IMAGES FROM, UH, THE GRADUATION.
IT WAS A DAY OF JOY FOR THESE FOLKS AND CERTAINLY A DAY OF JOY
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FOR ME, UH, TO BE ABLE TO ADMINISTER THE OATH THAT DAY.SO, UH, PENDING ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COUNCIL.
UH, I AM READY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH ONE 45TH.
AND I KNOW WE DO, AS YOU NOTED, UH, HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL FOLKS ON LINE.
AND SO BEFORE I OPENED UP THE QUESTIONS, I DON'T KNOW DR.
CRAIG, YOU WANTED TO ADD ANY COMMENTS OR, UH, UH, MR. ELLERS FROM CRAWL UP, THERE'S SOME, UH, REMARKS THAT YOU WANT TO MAKE BEFORE WE ASK COUNSEL FOR ANY QUESTIONS, DR.
UM, I'LL KEEP MINE PRETTY BRIEF.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE INSTRUCTORS HAVE WORKED INSANELY HARD TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS.
UM, WE'VE ALSO BEEN ABLE TO WORK WITH OUR CURRICULUM COMMITTEE, WHICH I REALLY ADMIRE, UM, THE WAY IN WHICH SOME OF THEM HAVE WORKED ON THE PREVIOUSLY, UM, THE PREVIOUS VIDEO REVIEW AND ARE NOW DOING CURRICULUM COMMITTEE, UM, AND THEY'VE REALLY STUCK WITH US THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS.
UM, AND SO I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO SEE WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE CAN ACCOMPLISH TOGETHER.
SO I JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, DEMONSTRATE OUT HOW GREAT OUR INSTRUCTORS HAVE BEEN WORKING THROUGH THIS ONE 44TH AND WORKING WITH KROLL, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN, UM, YOU KNOW, LIVE UP TO THE EXPECTATIONS, UM, THAT THE CITY RESIDENTS DESERVE.
UM, AND I JUST WANT TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WE JUST TO CLARIFY SOMETHING CHIEF TACAN SAID ACTUALLY OUR, OUR A, I KNOW CHIEF CHICONE AND DR.
CRAIGEN AND A FEW OTHERS OF APD, UH, LEADERSHIP AND EXECUTIVE STAFF HAVE, HAVE SEEN OUR, UM, FINAL REPORT, OR AT LEAST THE DRAFT VERSION OF OUR FINAL REPORT.
WE HAD A FINAL, UM, FEEDBACK SESSION THIS MORNING, UH, WITH THE CHIEF AND A FEW OTHERS.
AND, UM, THAT REPORT WILL BE FINALIZED AND I BELIEVE SHOULD BE SUBMITTED NO LATER THAN TOMORROW TO CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, WHICH WILL THEN, UH, PRESUME IT WOULD BE DISTRIBUTED TO COUNCIL.
SO, UM, JUST IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING WHY YOU HADN'T SEEN THE REPORT YET, BUT IT JUST HASN'T BEEN FINALIZED.
SO, BUT IT WILL BE, UH, COMING TOMORROW.
WE CONCUR WITH, UH, WITH WHAT THE CHIEF SAID WITH RESPECT TO WHERE, UH, THE ACADEMY IS, UM, AND THE PROGRESS THEY MADE ON, ON THE SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM RECOMMENDATIONS, THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS WE HAD SUBMITTED BACK IN APRIL, UM, OF 2021 WHEN WE DID OUR INITIAL ASSESSMENT REPORT.
UM, WE THEN ADDED AS THE CHIEF MENTIONED, UH, SOME ADDITIONAL PRELIMINARY RECOMMENDATIONS IN OUR INTERIM REPORT IN OCTOBER.
UM, AND, UH, AS THE CHIEF INDICATED, UM, THE VAST MAJORITY OF, OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND COMPLETED WE'VE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED TO NOVO'S, UM, RECOMMENDATION IMPLEMENTATION OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE COURSE OF OUR ROLE AS INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR.
UM, I THINK OUR REPORT WILL HAVE, YOU KNOW, SOME NUANCE, UH, THERE'S STILL THINGS THAT WE BELIEVE THE ACADEMY AND APD NEEDS TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON, AND THERE'S STILL MUCH ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
UM, BUT, UH, THEY PUT TOGETHER A, YOU KNOW, REALLY OVERALL AN EXCELLENT TRAINING PROGRAM THAT LASTED EIGHT MONTHS AND INCLUDED A LOT OF, UH, ENHANCED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION, UM, UH, AND EXPANDED, UH, DIVERSITY EQUITY, INCLUSION CONTENT, UM, AND MADE A NUMBER OF OTHER CHANGES, UH, ADDRESSING, YOU KNOW, ACADEMY CULTURE AND SO FORTH.
THEY DID IT ALL UNDER VERY DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES, TIME PRESSURES COVID, UH, AND, AND THROUGH IT ALL, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY I THINK WE HAVE TO COMMEND THEM FOR DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB AND GRADUATING, UH, WHAT APPEARED TO BE A VERY IMPRESSIVE GROUP OF YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN, UM, 66, UH, IN ALL THAT ARE NOW SWORN OFFICERS.
UM, SO WE, UH, DAN LINSKEY IS ON AS WELL.
SO WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY, ANY QUESTIONS, UM, COUNSEL HAS, UM, THAT YOU, YOU MAY HAVE FOR US.
AND, UH, ALSO ONCE WE'VE SUBMITTED THE FINAL REPORT, UM, TOMORROW WE'RE, WE'RE HAPPY TO COME BACK AT A FUTURE DATE AS WELL TO, TO MAKE A MORE FORMAL PRESENTATION.
CREAGAN, UH, BUT CHEAP, THANK YOU.
I MEAN, YOUR LEADERSHIP AND COMMITMENT TO THIS EFFORT TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE AN ACADEMY THAT IS IN LINE WITH THE VALUES OF THIS COUNCIL AND OUR COMMUNITY HAS BEEN CRITICAL.
AND SO THE DEDICATION, THE SUPPORT AND RESOURCES THAT YOU PROVIDED TO, UH, MOVING FORWARD WITH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS IS INCREDIBLY COMMENDABLE.
WHAT THAT ALTERNATIVE BACK TO YOU MIRROR, AND JUST A QUICK QUESTION, BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO, UH, TO COLLEAGUES ON THE COUNCIL CHIEF, UH, UH, WHEN THIS PROCESS STARTED, UH, YOU, YOU STOOD UP AND,
[01:05:01]
AND, AND EMBRACED THE, UH, THE MOVE TO MAKE A, UH, REFORMS IN HOW WE DO THE PLACE ACADEMY.AND I THINK THAT WAS VALUABLE FOR THE COMMUNITY.
AND I LIKE A PROCESS WHERE AT THE BEGINNING WE IDENTIFY WHAT IT IS WE'RE GOING TO DO AND EXPLAIN WHY IT IS.
WE NEED TO DO THOSE THINGS THAT WE SET ABOUT TO DO THEM.
WE MONITOR THE WORK, AND THEN WE CAN REPORT AT THE END ON HOW WE'VE ACHIEVED, OR THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE.
DO YOU THINK THAT LOOKING BACK AT IT NOW, DO YOU LOOK, THINK THAT THIS WAS A GOOD THING FOR THE COMMUNITY TO GO THROUGH FOR THE DEPARTMENT TO GO THROUGH IT? IF SO, WHY? OH, ABSOLUTELY.
IT WAS A GOOD THING, UH, TO GO THROUGH.
DO I LIKE THAT THE PRESSURES THAT, THAT MARK TALKED ABOUT AND HOW WE GOT IT DONE, UH, YOU KNOW, IT, IT COULD HAVE IT, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO HAVE HAD A LITTLE BIT, A LITTLE BIT LESS THAT PRESSURE, BUT I CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND WHY THE PRESSURE EXISTED AND WHY WE NEEDED TO DO IT THE WAY THAT WE DID AND WE DID ACCOMPLISH IT.
I THINK IT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT WAS, THAT WAS WHAT WE HEARD.
THAT WAS WHAT WAS VOICED BY OUR COMMUNITY WAS THAT THEY WANTED US TO, TO REALLY CHANGE, UH, THIS MINDSET FROM ONE OF A WARRIOR TO ONE OF A GUARDIAN.
AND THIS IS HOW WE'RE ACCOMPLISHING IT.
SO, UM, IT, BECAUSE I THINK THAT WE HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL, I THINK THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE, UH, JUST, JUST AN OFFICER WHO IS COMING WITH A HEART TO, UH, YOU KNOW, EVEN GREATER TO, TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY AND IS WE'VE SET THEM UP FOR SUCCESS.
UH, QUESTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, LET'S GO START WITH THE MAYOR PRO TEM.
AND I MAY ASK A FEW QUESTIONS AND THEN LET OTHER FOLKS ASK TOO, BUT I WANT TO START, UM, BY ACKNOWLEDGING, UM, CHIEF THAT YOU HAVE LEANED INTO THIS PROCESS.
UM, I THINK IT'S BEEN REALLY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO, TO OWN IT.
AND, AND I, I MUST CONFESS, I WAS A LITTLE CONCERNED WHY WE WERE NOT HEARING FROM CROWELL TODAY ON THEIR, THEIR REPORT.
AND, UM, OBVIOUSLY THE REPORT'S NOT HERE, BUT I THINK THERE'S VALUE IN YOU OWNING THIS AND HAVING TO UNDERSTAND IT FULLY AND THOROUGHLY TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT IT TO US AND TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS, BECAUSE I THINK IT DEMONSTRATES YOUR COMMITMENT TO THIS WORK.
UM, YOU, YOU NOTED THAT IT WAS SORT OF A HERCULEAN TASK THAT WE'VE PUT FORWARD AND THAT YOUR ACADEMY STAFF ROSE TO THAT OCCASION.
AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE ALL THE WORK THAT HAS GONE INTO IT.
UM, BUT I ALSO WANT US TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE'RE NOT DONE.
UM, THIS PROCESS OF RETHINKING OUR ACADEMY IS ONE THAT WE NEED TO BE CONTINUALLY ENGAGED IN, AND THERE'S STILL VERY MUCH WORK TO BE DONE.
UM, WE HAVE DONE A LOT, UM, AND YOUR STAFF AND YOUR CADETS AND YOUR OFFICERS HAVE MADE SOME SIGNIFICANT CHANGES.
UM, BUT I BELIEVE THERE'S STILL IMPORTANT WORK TO BE DONE.
UM, SO I DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS, UM, AND I WANT US TO, YOU KNOW, AS WE MOVE FORWARD CITY MANAGER, I THINK WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ITERATING AND, AND I, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS I APPRECIATE ABOUT THE CHIEF IS HIS WILLINGNESS TO TRY SOMETHING.
IF IT DOESN'T WORK OR TRY SOMETHING ELSE, UM, WE DON'T HAVE THIS PERFECT YET.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE EVER WILL HAVE IT PERFECT.
AND THERE'S WHOLE AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM THAT WE NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT HAVE NOT BEEN CHANGED.
WE'RE NOT CHANGED FOR THE ONE 44TH, HAVE NOT SOME THAT HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN LOOKED AT AND IMPORTANT ONES LIKE THE DEESCALATION TRAINING WASN'T FULLY CHANGED AND OTHER PIECES, THERE ARE OTHER PIECES WHERE THEY WERE, SO THIS IS NOT, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE NEXT CLASS, WHICH I'M ASSUMING THAT WE WILL DO THIS IS NOT DONE YET.
THIS IS A PROCESS OF A REALLY, REALLY BIG CHANGE THAT I THINK IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT.
UM, SO AS I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR AND I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROGRESS, AND THEN I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR WHEREVER WE'RE GOING.
UM, SO MY FIRST QUESTION IS ACTUALLY, UM, FOR CROLL, UM, FOR EITHER OF THE GENTLEMEN WHO'S WITH US, UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT THE COMMITTEE REVIEW COMMITTEE, THE COMMITTEE, UNITY REVIEW COMMITTEE HAS SHARED THEIR VIEWS ON SOME OF THE PROGRESS, UM, WHICH WE DIDN'T HEAR TODAY.
AND WE DON'T HAVE THE BENEFIT OF YOUR REPORT.
CAN YOU SHARE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING FROM THE COMMUNITY REVIEW PANEL ABOUT THEIR ASSESSMENT, OF WHERE WE'VE BEEN AND WHERE WE STILL NEED TO GO? I'LL TAKE THAT MARK, IF YOU WANT YOU CONTROL, IF I DON'T HIT IT, UM, WE HEARD THAT THE, THE CURITY REVIEW PANEL AGREES THAT GOOD WORK HAS BEEN DONE, BUT JUST AS YOU SAY, MUCH MORE IS TO BE DONE, RIGHT.
UM, ESPECIALLY WE FOCUS A LOT ON CADETS AND WE HAVEN'T GONE THROUGH AND DONE EVERYTHING WITH THE CADETS IS STILL WORKING THROUGH SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE PROGRESS ON THAT.
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BUT THE BIGGER PICTURE IS THE COMMITTEE IS CONCERNED ABOUT ONGOING TRAINING, RIGHT? WHAT'S THE FTO TRAINING, LIKE WHAT'S THE SERGEANT TRAINING, LIKE WHAT'S THE, THE LEADERSHIP TRAINING, LIKE WHAT'S THE, AND HOW DO WE TAKE A PROGRAM LIKE THE PERF, UH, ICAP PROGRAM, WHICH WAS DESIGNED TO CHANGE LAW ENFORCEMENT THAT HAD TRADITIONALLY DIDN'T USE DEESCALATION, RIGHT? WE, YOU KNOW, IT'S LEGAL AND HIS, THE LAW HAS THE TRAINING AND HOW YOU PUT HANDCUFFS ON, HE HAS A TRAINING ON HOW TO USE A STICK OSI SPRAY, UM, AND I CAN'T AND LAW ENFORCEMENT THAT WAS ALREADY DOING THOSE THINGS, TRAINED OFFICERS TO, TO TRY AND THINK OF ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS BEFORE THEY USE USE OF FORCE.UM, THE CHALLENGE THAT IN THE COMMITTEE POINTED THIS OUT RIGHTFULLY SO IS HOW DO WE MAKE ICAT THAT FOUNDATION AND THE CULTURE OF ALL USE OF FORCE, AND THEN THE ACTUAL TOOLS AND SKILLS THAT WE TEACH CADETS ARE ENTREES, YOU KNOW, THAT WE, WE TEACH, BUT HOPEFULLY, UH, IT'S USED AS A LAST RESORT AND THERE WAS SOME TENSIONS WITH THOSE.
AND, UM, I THINK IN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BEST WORK THAT TOGETHER, THE COMMITTEE ALSO EXPRESSED SOME CONCERNS ON THE, UM, THE STAFF AT THE ACADEMY.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FOLKS WHO WERE WORKING WITH THEM TO GET THEM INFORMATION, UH, ARE ALSO CHALLENGED TO DO A LOT OF OTHER THINGS AND WEAR SEVERAL DIFFERENT HATS AND, UM, A NEED TO MAYBE HAVE, UH, EVEN ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS OF STAFF RESOURCES TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT GETTING THE CURRICULUM A WEEK OR TWO WEEKS BEFORE CLASSES ARE GOING ON.
HOPEFULLY, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH A BREAK BETWEEN CLASSES, THEY CAN KIND OF MOVE FORWARD, BUT THERE WAS SOME CONCERN THAT THERE HAS TO BE, UH, ADDITIONAL RESOURCES PUT IN BY APD TO CONTINUE THE GOOD WORK AND THAT THE WORK FOCUS ON MORE THAN JUST THE CADETS AND THE RECRUIT CLASSES.
UM, MARK, DID I MISS ANYTHING OR ANYTHING YOU WANT TO ADD? WELL, I WOULD JUST SAY AGAIN, IN LOOKING AT THE COMMUNITY VIDEO REVIEW COMMITTEE, UM, I THINK THAT THERE WAS A FEELING THAT PERHAPS THIS COMMITTEE DID NOT, UH, ACCOMPLISHES AS MUCH AS IT WOULD'VE LIKED.
UM, BUT FRANKLY THERE WERE PROCESS ISSUES, UM, AND OTHER THINGS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS THAT REALLY PREVENTED THEM FROM REVIEWING AND COMMENTING ON A LARGE NUMBER OF VIDEOS, UM, PARTLY AND PARTLY DUE TO DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE EARLIER.
UM, LAST YEAR BY PRIOR ACADEMY, INSTRUCTORS WERE ESSENTIALLY FORCED TO TEACH MANY COURSES IN THE 140 FIFTH CADET CLASS WITHOUT INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS.
UM, AND THAT NEGATIVELY IMPACTED, UM, SOME OF THE TRAINING YOU COULD, THAT'S, WE'RE VERY VOCAL ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
UM, THAT BEING SAID, HOWEVER, WE DID OBSERVE A LOT OF POSITIVE DIALOGUE BETWEEN COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, AND ACADEMY STAFF, UM, AS THEY, AS THEY, YOU KNOW, INDIVIDUALLY WOULD LOOK AT VIDEOS AT VARIOUS SESSIONS AND SO FORTH, THE PROBLEM WITH THE VIDEO REVIEW COMMITTEE, HOWEVER, WAS THAT THE REVIEW PROCESS REALLY DIDN'T ENABLE THEM TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT AND PURPOSE OF THE TRAINING VIDEOS THEY VIEWED OR PRECISELY HOW THE VIDEOS WOULD BE PRESENTED IN CLASS.
UH, THEY DIDN'T REALLY HAVE THE FULL CONTEXT.
UM, AND SO ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH MAYBE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, THE PROCESS KIND OF SHIFTED TO FOCUS A LITTLE LESS ON VIDEO CONTENT AND A LITTLE MORE ON THE PROCESS, OR WHAT ARE THE FACTORS, WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA THAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS APD TO CONSIDER WHEN, UH, USING TRAINING VIDEOS, UM, FOR INSTRUCTIONAL PURPOSES.
AND I THINK THERE WAS A LOT OF POSITIVE WORK ON THAT, UH, DONE AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, AND I BELIEVE THEIR LAST MEETING IS NEXT WEEK.
UM, BUT THE, UH, PROCESS WOULD WORK WAS BEING MADE TO DEVELOP A PROCESS, DEVELOP CRITERIA, TO DEVELOP WORKSHEETS THAT WILL GUIDE INSTRUCTORS INTERNALLY AND SUPERVISORS ON WHAT TRAINING VIDEOS TO, UM, APPROVE FOR FUTURE INSTRUCTION.
AND, UH, AND THEN MOVING THAT, THAT FUNCTION INTO THE CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE WILL ALLOW THE, UH, ACADEMY CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE TO ESSENTIALLY BE THE, UM, COMMUNITY AND OUTSIDE, UM, EYES AND EARS AND, AND INPUT INTO TRAINING VIDEOS.
BUT THERE'LL BE ABLE TO DO IT IN WHEN THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE ENTIRE CURRICULUM OF A CLASS THAT THEY'RE REVIEWING.
SO THEY'RE GOING TO RE RE THERE'LL BE REVIEWING LESSON PLANS, UH, MATERIALS THAT ARE GOING TO BE PRESENTED TO CADETS, HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO THE INSTRUCTORS THAT WILL TEACH THAT CLASS.
AND THEN THEY WILL BE ABLE TO SEE WHICHEVER VIDEOS ARE PART OF THAT CURRICULUM.
SO THEY'LL SEE HOW THAT THOSE VIDEOS ARE GOING TO BE USED IN THE CONTEXT OF A CLASS.
SO I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE A MUCH IMPROVED PROCESS, UM, GOING FORWARD.
SO, UM, THAT WOULD BE THE, I THINK THE,
[01:15:01]
KIND OF THE OVERALL, UH, VIEW OF THAT PROCESS AND THAT COMMITTEE.AND, UM, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THE REVIEW COMMITTEE COMMENTING ON SOMETHING LIKE 21 COURSES.
HOW MANY COURSES ARE THERE? UH, GOOD.
YEAH, THE, THE CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE CON UH, I THINK HEADS DID A FULL REVIEW OF ABOUT 21 COURSES OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE TOTAL NUMBER IS.
UM, I WOULD SAY THERE'S, AT LEAST IT'S GOTTA BE AT LEAST DOUBLE THAT, UM, IF NOT, AND THE THEY REVIEW COMMITTEES AND WHERE THE CHANGES MADE BEFORE THE 140 FOURTH, UM, WAS TAUGHT.
THOSE ARE AFTER THE COURSES WERE TAUGHT AND WILL THE COMMUNITY RECOMMENDED CHANGES BE MADE BEFORE THE COURSES COURSES ARE TAUGHT TO THE 140 FIFTH? MY UNDERSTANDING IF, UH, MAYBE DR.
IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WITH RESPECT TO THE CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE, UM, THEY TRIED TO REVIEW A NUMBER OF COURSES BEFORE THEY WERE TAUGHT PARTICULARLY EARLY ON IN THE ACADEMY.
UM, PROBABLY HAD TO KIND OF RUSH THE PROCESS A LITTLE BIT, I THINK, EARLIER ON.
UM, BUT THE, THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO REVIEW THOSE COURSES, PROVIDE INPUT AND FEEDBACK TO ACADEMY STAFF AND INSTRUCTORS, AND THEN HOPEFULLY TO GET THAT FEEDBACK INTO THE CURRICULUM.
SO THAT BY THE TIME OF COURSE IT WAS TAUGHT THAT INPUT WOULD BE ADDRESSED.
UM, I THINK I'D HAVE TO, I'D HAVE TO DEFER TO DR.
YOU KNOW, TO WHAT EXTENT THOSE CHANGES WERE IMPLEMENTED.
IT WAS OUR UNDERSTANDING, HOWEVER, THAT AS MANY, UH, AS POSSIBLE AND WERE DEEMED APPROPRIATE BY STAFF WERE IMPLEMENTED, UM, AND THAT THE PROCESS GOING FORWARD WILL CONTINUE TO BE, TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT ALL OF THE INPUT AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE AND FURTHER REFINING AND REVISING CURRICULUM GOING FORWARD.
AND I THINK THE PLAN IN PLACE FOR 2022 IS TO TAKE IT A LITTLE BIT SLOWER SO THAT THERE COULD A LITTLE BIT OF A DEEPER DIVE BY THE COMMITTEE LOOKING AT IT, MAYBE FEWER COURSES PER MONTH, BUT, UH, IN MORE DEPTH.
SO THAT, AND, AND FURTHER IN ADVANCE OF WHEN THEY'RE GOING TO BE TAUGHT SO THAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS WILL THEN BE ABLE TO BE MORE FULLY CONSIDERED, UM, THAN THEY PROBABLY COULD BE WHEN THINGS ARE RUSHED.
JUST TO ADD TO THAT, UM, TO WHAT MARK WAS SAYING, UM, HE'S CORRECT THAT WE MADE AS MANY CHANGES AS POSSIBLE BEFORE THE CLASSES WERE TAUGHT.
UM, AT THE LAST CURRICULUM COMMITTEE MEETING LAST WEDNESDAY, WE HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW THEY'D LIKE MORE ACCURATE ACCOUNTING FOR WHAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE.
UM, SO WE SAID WE WOULD GO BACK THROUGH ALL OF THE CURRICULUM.
UM, WE HAVE THE CURRICULUM THAT WE DID TEACH OFF OF IS POSTED, UM, TO THE DRIVE.
SO THE COMMITTEE CAN SEE IT AND THEY CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THE CHANGES, AND THEN THIS IS THE DIFFERENT CURRICULUM.
UM, BUT WE UNDERSTAND THAT THEY WANT SORT OF MORE OF A HERE'S WHAT THE RESPONSE IS.
HERE'S WHAT WE'VE ACTUALLY DONE, HERE'S WHERE YOU CAN LINK TO THE CHANGES, UM, WHICH HASN'T HAPPENED YET.
UM, SO WE SAID WE WOULD START WORKING ON THAT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, UM, SO THAT THEY CAN LOOK AT WHAT THE RECOMMENDATION IS.
UM, WE ALSO AGREED THAT IN THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE MEETINGS, THE RECOMMENDATIONS AREN'T AS CLEAR.
SO AT THE END OF EVERY SINGLE MEETING, WE'LL RECAP, WHAT ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR? UM, A LOT OF TIMES WE'VE HAD THE MEETINGS WHERE WE'VE HAD A LOT OF FRUITFUL DISCUSSION.
UM, WE'VE LANDED ON UNDERSTANDING WHAT SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE, BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE LIST.
SO THEN WE CAN BE ABLE TO ANSWER OUT ACCORDINGLY.
AND FOR THE DEESCALATION SEGMENT, IS THAT ONLY NEWLY FOR THE 140 FIFTH? IS THAT CORRECT? REVISED, I'M SORRY.
COUNCIL MEMBER, DO YOU MIND REPEATING YOUR QUESTION? I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE DEESCALATION UNITS WERE REVISED FOR THE HUNDRED AND 44TH VERSUS THE 140 FIFTH.
AND I BELIEVE THAT THE COMMUNITY REVIEW PORTION OF IT HAPPENED AFTER THE HUNDRED AND 44TH WAS TAUGHT THAT.
UM, BUT I'M ASSUMING THAT THAT WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE 140 FIFTH.
IS THAT THEY HAD THE INFORMATION ON THE 1 44, THE ONE 44TH.
UM, THEY RECEIVED BEFORE THE CLASS WAS TAUGHT, BUT NOT IN TIME FOR US TO ACTUALLY MAKE ANY SORT OF REVISIONS.
UM, SO THEY WILL BE T THEY WILL BE LOOKING OVER VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS AND, UM, I CAP, WHICH IS THE DEESCALATION COURSE, AND THOSE CHANGES WILL BE MADE PRIOR TO THE ONE 45TH.
AND, AND THE REASON THAT I'M BRINGING THESE UP IS THAT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, UM, FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT BEEN IN THE WEEDS OF WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON WITH THE ACADEMY, YOU KNOW, EIGHT UNDERSTAND
[01:20:01]
THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CHANGES THAT WERE BEING THAT WE'RE ASKING TO HAVE DONE.UH, BUT BEAD UNDERSTAND THERE WERE A LOT OF PROCESS THINGS THAT HAD TO HAPPEN, NOT EVERYTHING HAPPENED FOR THE 140 FOURTH CLASS, AND THIS IS STILL VERY MUCH A WORK IN PROGRESS AND THAT WE AS COUNCIL STILL NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF WHAT'S GOING ON.
WE NEED TO, TO HAVE OUR OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS PROCESS CONTINUES.
I BELIEVE THAT THE PIECES ARE THERE IN TERMS OF THE LEADERSHIP AND THE COMMITMENT.
UM, I'M NOT SURE ABOUT WHETHER THE RESOURCES ARE THERE YET.
UM, AND THAT'S A CONVERSATION, YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE TO CONTINUE TO HAVE.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THIS IS AN ONGOING GROWING PROCESS.
AND I JUST, I JUST THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, THAT WE HAVE THAT.
UM, I HAVE SEVERAL OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT I'M GOING TO SEED IT OVER TO OTHER FOLKS FOR NOW.
KATHERINE AND KELLY, THANK YOU.
BEFORE I GET STARTED WITH MY QUESTIONS, I WANT TO THANK YOU CHIEF FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP.
AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND CHANGES THAT WILL IMPROVE THE CADETS OVERALL EXPERIENCE, AS WELL AS THEIR TRAINING FOR WHEN THEY GO OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY TO SERVE US.
AND IT IS IMPORTANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE DIDN'T GET TO WHERE WE ARE OVERNIGHT, AND THAT THIS IS A CONTINUING PROCESS.
THIS IS A CULMINATION OF MANY DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT A BRIGHT AND SHINING EXAMPLE OF THE STANDARD OF HOW POLICING SHOULD BE DONE.
YOU MENTIONED EARLY IN YOUR PRESENTATION THAT THIS WAS THE LONGEST ACADEMY IN TERMS OF HOURS, HOW DOES THAT AFFECT YOUR DEPARTMENT AND WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO BUDGET FOR IN FUTURE BUDGETS FOR THE ACADEMIES? I CAUGHT EVERYTHING EXCEPT IN TERMS OF WHAT, I'M SORRY, WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO BUDGET FOR FUTURE ACADEMY? NO, YOU SAID IT WAS THE MOST IN TERMS OF HOURS, HOURS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT A 32 WEEK IN DR.
CRINNION, IF I'M INCORRECT, PLEASE CORRECT ME, BUT WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT A 32 WEEK, UM, ACADEMY FOR THE FULL ACADEMY AND I'M GETTING THE THUMBS UP FROM HER.
UM, SO WE HAVE HAD TO, BECAUSE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN ASKED TO INCREASE, WE'VE GOT TO FIND TIME, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DECREASE? AND, UM, AND SO THERE HAVE BEEN SOME TRADE OFFS IN THERE.
WE DID, UH, YOU KNOW, ABSOLUTELY CONCUR WITH, UH, THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE MADE BY CROLL.
WE SAW IMPROVEMENTS IN MANY AREAS, WHETHER IT WAS PHYSICAL TRAINING, THE COMMUNITY CONNECT, UM, INSTITUTING THE, THE ADDITIONAL COURSES AROUND RACISM, UM, AND, AND BIAS IMPLICIT BIAS.
UM, AND, AND SO, BUT WE STILL WANT, WE DON'T WANT TO INCREASE THE LENGTH OF THE ACADEMY AT THIS POINT, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S JUST LONGER TO GRADUATE, UH, CADETS RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE, WE CERTAINLY ARE GOING TO MEET THE STANDARDS THAT HAVE BEEN SET, UH, THROUGH THE CURL RECOMMENDATIONS AND BY T COLE.
UM, AND THEN CAN LOOK IN THE FUTURE IF WE WANT TO ACTUALLY INCREASE HOURS.
I'M HOPING I'M ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION.
I'VE HEARD SOME OF APD REFER TO THE ACADEMY AS IF THEY WERE BUILDING AN AIRPLANE, MID FLIGHT, AND OBVIOUSLY WHAT YOUR TEAM HAS UNDERTAKEN.
IT'S CERTAINLY A CHALLENGE, BUT I'M CONCERNED WITH EVERYTHING NEW, THE INSTRUCTORS MIGHT FEEL OVERWHELMED.
DO YOU SEE ANY UNMET NEEDS THAT MAY ASSIST WITH THIS FEELING OF UNCERTAINTY FOR THE INSTRUCTORS? YEAH.
OH, IT'S I, I'M GOING TO TELL YOU A COUNCIL MEMBER.
IT'S BEEN INCREDIBLY TOUGH FOR OUR, UH, YOU KNOW, FEELINGS OF UNCERTAINTY, ANXIETY FROM OUR STAFF MEMBERS, JUST MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE MEETING THE EXPECTATIONS.
UM, AND EVEN AS WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS AND WE WERE MEETING WITH KROLL, YOU KNOW, WEEKLY, DAILY, SOMETIMES TO TALK ABOUT HOW INDIVIDUAL CLASSES WENT AND THE FEEDBACK THEY'VE BEEN INCREDIBLY RECEPTIVE TO THAT FEEDBACK AND WANT TO IMPROVE, YOU CAN SEE THE DESIRE THERE TO, TO REALLY MAKE THIS A WORLD-CLASS ACADEMY.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT WHAT I TALKED ABOUT, THE RESILIENCE PIECE FOR THEM IS THIS BREAK THAT WE'RE GIVING THEM RIGHT NOW.
THEY'RE STILL DEVELOPING THEIR LESSON PLANS AND, AND DOING, BUT IT CERTAINLY FEELS LIKE THEY GOT A LITTLE BIT OF DOWNTIME RIGHT NOW.
THEY DON'T HAVE ANY, THEY'RE NOT ACTUALLY TEACHING ANY CLASSES.
UH, WE'RE MAKING THE ADJUSTMENTS AND THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE ONE 45TH, BECAUSE IT TO THE MAYOR PRO TEMPS, UH, COMMENTS, THIS IS AN ITERATIVE PROCESS WE ARE NOT DONE.
UH, AND I CAN TELL YOU WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU RECEIVE THE REPORT, UH, AND I'M SORRY, I REFER TO HIS REPORT.
I ACTUALLY MEANT TO REFER TO THE MEMO THAT Y'ALL RECEIVED.
SO MY APOLOGIES FOR THE CONFUSION, BUT WHEN YOU ACTUALLY SEE THE REPORT, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE, WE DID NOT GET IT PERFECT.
UM, THERE, THERE WERE BUMPS ALONG THE, ALONG THE WAY.
I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT IS THAT WHEN WE, WHEN WE EXPERIENCED THOSE SETBACKS, HOW WE RESPONDED TO THE, TO THE SETBACK TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ADDRESSED IT, APPROACH THAT WE ADDRESSED IT APPROPRIATELY, UH, IMMEDIATELY, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DID NOT HAVE A REPEAT.
UM, SO, UM, I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, JUST, UM, THE BIGGEST THING RIGHT NOW, UH, BECAUSE WHAT I KNOW WHAT I NEED AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THE, SOME OF THE ONES THAT ARE STILL PENDING ARE GONNA BE AROUND STAFFING.
[01:25:01]
THAT WE, UH, REALLY GET THIS, GET THIS ROLLING, I THINK IS, IS GOING TO BE THE BIGGEST THING THAT'S GOING TO HELP.I APPRECIATE YOU EXPLAINING THAT.
I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT RIGHT AFTER OUR MOST RECENT GRADUATION, THAT JUST HAPPENED SEVERAL OFFICERS LEFT APD TO GO WORK FOR OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
CAN YOU HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH OF AN INVESTMENT OF TIME, MONEY AND RESOURCES IT IS TO TRAIN A CADET AND ANY WAY YOU THINK WE MAY BE ABLE TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING IN THE FUTURE? YEAH.
UM, SO, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT IMMUNE, UH, OTHER DEPARTMENTS HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUES WHERE WE'RE A WORLD-CLASS ACADEMY AND, UH, TO, TO, UM, BE ABLE TO GET IN THE DOOR, YOU'RE PAID FOR IT.
AND THEN RIGHT NOW THERE IS NO RETENTION MECHANISM THAT SOMEBODY COULD, COULD ACTUALLY RESIGN AND THEN GO WORK FOR ANOTHER DEPARTMENT, HAVING GAINED THEIR TICO LICENSE AND ALL THE TRAINING THAT WE PROVIDED FOR THEM.
IT'S IN THE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, UH, FROM EVERYTHING FROM THE, THE, THE TIME AND RESOURCE, UH, INVESTED TO, TO THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE PAY THEM WHILE THEY'RE IN THE ACADEMY, UH, IS IN THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.
AND I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND, UH, TO TRAIN ONE CADET.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I WOULD, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO, I'VE SEEN OTHER CITIES DO IS, IS TO PUT A RETENTION CLAUSE IN THERE THAT WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE THEM, SHOULD THEY DECIDE TO SEPARATE FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN AN INJURY, OR, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO GO WORK FOR ANOTHER DEPARTMENT, UH, THAT THERE WOULD BE A REPAYMENT POTENTIALLY OF THE, UM, THE TIME AND MONEY INVESTED INTO EACH ONE OF THOSE, THOSE FOLKS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT MIGHT BE, THAT MIGHT BE AN IDEA THAT YOU BROUGHT THAT UP BECAUSE THAT WAS SORT OF WHERE MY MIND WAS HEADED AS FAR AS A POSSIBLE SOLUTION, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW HOW YOU FELT ABOUT IT.
MY LAST QUESTION HERE IS THAT, UM, SUPER EASY, MAYBE.
UM, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WAS MISSING FROM THE PRESENTATION THAT YOU'D LIKE TO ELABORATE ON OR DAYLIGHT FOR US THAT WE HAVEN'T BROUGHT UP YET? WELL, I THINK THAT I WAS NOT STRONG ENOUGH IN SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, I, I'M VERY PROUD OF THE FOLKS IN THE WORK THAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED, BUT WE'RE NOT DONE.
UM, AND THIS IS GOING TO CONTINUE, UH, TO THE MAYOR PRO TIM'S POINT.
I THINK THAT, UM, WE CANNOT SAY THAT WE'VE ARRIVED.
UH, W W W WE, WE DEFINITELY DIDN'T GET THIS PERFECT.
THERE'S STILL A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT AREAS THAT WE NEED TO IMPROVE UPON.
WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING TOWARDS THOSE IMPROVEMENTS.
UH, I'LL BE WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE MANAGER AND, AND WITH ALL OF YOU AND THE STAKEHOLDERS IN OUR COMMUNITY AND MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THIS RIGHT.
UH, I WANT TO BE AS TRANSPARENT AS I CAN, UH, REALLY, UM, HAVE GOOD REPORTING.
UM, AND, UH, AND JUST, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO KEEP ON MOVING FORWARD, YOU KNOW, I'M FINISHED.
SO I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT WHAT YOUR GENERAL SENSE OF SOME OF THE REASONS PEOPLE WERE LEAVING OR DID LEAVE, UM, WHERE I KNOW I IMAGINED WE'RE GETTING MORE DETAILED INFORMATION, BUT I THINK I WANT TO STOP WHERE, I MEAN, I WANT TO START WHERE COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, UM, ENDED.
IS IT ACCURATE THAT THERE ARE CADETS WHO FINISHED THE ACADEMY AND THEN TOOK JOBS ELSEWHERE? SO I'M GOING TO LOOK BACK TO MY STAFF, UH, TO SEE IF THEY CAN PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THAT, BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE INFORMATION ON THAT COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, DR.
CAN YOU ADVISE, I DON'T HAVE EXACT NUMBERS RIGHT NOW.
I'M ASSISTANT CHIEF OVER A RECRUITING IN THE ACADEMY, BUT I'LL BE HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU, BUT IS IT ACCURATE THAT AT LEAST THAT, THAT THERE ARE EXAMPLES FROM OUR RECENT GRADUATES WHO, WHO ARE NOT NOW AUSTIN? YEAH.
AND I'M NOT EITHER COUNCIL MEMBER.
SO WHEN, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY SAID THAT AT THAT THAT'S TAKEN ME A LITTLE BIT BACK.
UH, I'M NOT GONNA, I'M NOT GONNA SAY THAT IT'S NOT CORRECT, BUT WE NEED TO INVESTIGATE, AND I WOULD WANT TO FIND OUT MYSELF THE REASONS BEHIND THAT.
AND I'M REALLY, I'M REALLY CONCERNED IF WE DON'T HAVE SOME KIND OF, WHAT DID YOU CALL IT? UM, A RETENTION RETENTION POLICY, A RETENTION CLAUSE.
I MEAN, THAT'S SO STANDARD IN SO MANY FIELDS.
UM, SO THANK YOU FOR, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WOULD REQUIRE, WOULD BE REQUIRED TO HAPPEN THROUGH OUR CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS THAT ARE, ARE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN CHANGE, BUT YOU CAN CHANGE WITHOUT ANY FURTHER ACTION FROM, I DON'T THINK IT WOULD REQUIRE ANY CONTRACT NEGOTIATION BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT CONTRACT EMPLOYEES UNTIL THEY GRADUATE.
AND SO, UM, I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE A DISCUSSION WITH HR AND CITY LEGAL TO DETERMINE HOW WE MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
WELL, I WOULD SAY IF YOU NEED ANY ACTION FROM THE COUNCIL, I WOULD SUPPORT HAVING THAT HAPPEN JUST AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
BUT, UM, THAT SEEMS TO ME BEFORE OUR NEXT, BEFORE OUR NEXT CADET ACADEMY IS SOMETHING THAT I WOULD, I WOULD CERTAINLY LIKE TO SEE IN PLACE.
UM, ESPECIALLY GIVEN AS YOU RAISED COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, THANK YOU FOR RAISING THAT ISSUE.
THERE IS SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENT AND EXPECTATION, UM, FOR THOSE WHO ARE COMPLETING THAT ACADEMY.
UM, AND THERE'S A LOT HERE TOO, TO GO THROUGH AND I HAVE, I WILL LIKELY HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT I DID WANT TO TALK FOR A MINUTE ABOUT
[01:30:01]
THE EXPLORERS PROGRAM AND, YOU KNOW, I'M VERY, VERY SUPPORTIVE OF YOUTH PROGRAMS. THAT ONE I DON'T, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'M OBVIOUSLY FAMILIAR WITH IT, BUT I WONDER WHEN I'D LIKE YOU TO SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHETHER YOU ARE INVESTIGATING OTHER KINDS OF YOUTH PROGRAMS. DO WE HAVE ANY EVIDENCE OR HAS THERE BEEN ANY, UM, DATA OR ANALYSIS OF THAT PARTICULAR PROGRAM AND WHAT KIND OF OUTCOMES THERE ARE IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, I ASSUME IT WAS STARTED IN PART AS A RECRUITMENT, UM, AS A DIVERSITY RECRUITMENT PROGRAM, WAY BACK WHEN, AND SO I, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE OTHER WAYS OF ACHIEVING THAT TOO.I KNOW THE FIRE, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR A WHILE HAD A HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMY, WHICH WAS, UH, UH, I THOUGHT A REALLY NEAT PROGRAM BECAUSE IT HAPPENED IN ONE OF OUR HIGH SCHOOLS AND, AND STUDENTS WHO PARTICIPATED WERE GETTING HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT AS WELL AS PARTICIPATING IN EXPERIENCE.
AND I I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN SEEING THAT KIND OF A PROGRAM AT LEAST BE EXPLORED.
SO NOT TO USE, NOT TO MAKE A UNINTENTIONAL PUN THERE, BUT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I THINK THERE WAS VALUE FROM WHAT I EXPERIENCED AND INTERACTING WITH THE EXPLORERS THROUGH THE YEARS, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THAT'S EXACTLY THE RIGHT YOUTH PROGRAM FOR ACHIEVING OUR AIM.
SO, SO SORRY, THAT'S A LOT OF, A LOT OF, UM, COMMENTARY, BUT I GUESS WHAT I'M INTERESTED IN KNOWING IS WHEN THAT PROGRAM WAS LAST, WAS LAST EVALUATED, WHAT THE INTENTIONS AND PURPOSE WERE WHEN IT WAS CREATED, HAVE THOSE CHANGED OVER TIME.
AND WHAT OTHER KINDS OF INITIATIVES HAVE YOU EXPLORED THAT MIGHT, THAT MIGHT FILL THAT MISSION, UM, AS WELL OR BETTER? SURE.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I'LL TELL YOU COUNTS.
REMEMBER I, I SHARE YOUR SENTIMENTS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT, IT REALLY CONNECTED YOUNG PEOPLE, UM, TO THE PROFESSION AND TAUGHT THEM WHAT POLICING WAS ALL ABOUT.
IT WAS THAT REAL JOB APPLICATION THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SO THAT THEY KIND OF GET A FLAVOR FOR WHAT POLICE WORK REALLY IS, IS ALL ABOUT.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY BECAUSE OF THE STAFFING ISSUES, WE'VE HAD TO MOVE THOSE FOLKS BACK TO PATROL, UH, WHAT HAS BEEN, UM, I HAD TO, YOU KNOW, FIRST OF ALL, STAYING WITH THE EXPLORER PROGRAM WE'VE REFERRED, WE HAD, UH, PEOPLE THAT WERE GETTING READY TO, TO START OUR EXPLORER PROGRAM, WHICH WE REFERRED OUT TO OTHER AGENCIES THAT ARE STILL, UM, DO YOU KNOW WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT? UM, I KNOW THEY WERE DOING IT IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY AND, AND SOME OTHER, UH, DEPARTMENTS THAT STILL HAVE AN ACTIVE, UH, EXPLORER PROGRAM SO THAT THEY CAN STILL HAVE THE EXPERIENCE, BUT OF COURSE WE WANT THEM HERE.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE WANT THEM REALLY GETTING, UM, AN IDEA OF WHAT THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT IS ALL ABOUT.
WE STILL HAVE THE POLICE ACTIVITIES LEAGUE OR THE PAL PROGRAM.
UM, WE'VE HAD TO TRIM THAT DOWN AS WELL.
UM, AND WE RUN THAT KIND OF ON AN ADJUNCT BASIS, MUCH LIKE I'M TALKING ABOUT OUR ADJUNCT INSTRUCTORS.
WE BRING BACK OUR PAL OFFICERS THAT HAVE THE PAL TRAINING FOR SPECIAL EVENTS WHEN WE HAVE A PAL ACTIVITY, UH, WHETHER IT'S BOXING OR WHETHER IT'S FIELD GAMES OR, UM, WHATEVER IT PROVIDES THAT REALLY GOOD INTERACTION BETWEEN OUR YOUTH IN THE COMMUNITY AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
SO THAT IS ONE OF THE AREAS WHERE WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THAT THE OTHER AREA WHERE I'M HOPING TO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, HELP TO, TO FILL THE VOID A LITTLE BIT IS WITH, UM, WITH REGARDS TO THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AND GETTING, UM, FOLKS THAT, YEAH, THEY'RE NOT QUITE AS YOUNG.
AND I REALLY, REALLY DO LIKE GETTING TO THEM WHEN, WHEN THEY'RE, WHEN THEY'RE YOUNGER LIKE THAT TO, TO GET THAT INTEREST GOING.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, STILL HAVING AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET THEM, UM, INTERESTED IN THE PROFESSION.
I THINK WHAT I'M ASKING REALLY IS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN TREMENDOUS CHANGES IN, IN HOW WE, HOW WE WRIT LARGE THE COMMUNITY DELIVERS YOUTH PROGRAMS AND WHAT WE'VE LEARNED ABOUT YOUTH PROGRAMS OVER TIME.
AND I'M NOT SURE HOW, HOW MA HOW MANY CHANGES HAVE HAPPENED IN THE EXPLORERS PROGRAM THROUGH THE YEARS THAT REFLECT KIND OF OUR, OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT ARE THE MOST EFFECTIVE SORTS OF YOUTH PROGRAMS. SO I THINK WHAT I'M REALLY ASKING, AND MAYBE IT'S A CONVERSATION OUTSIDE OF THIS, THIS ONE HERE TODAY.
UM, I SEE THAT, I UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S, IT'S NOT GOING ON RIGHT NOW AND THAT YOU HAVE A GOAL OF REINSTATING IT.
AND I GUESS BEFORE YOU REINSTATE IT I'D REALLY WANT TO UNDERSTAND, IS THAT THE BEST USE OF RESOURCES FOR YOUTH PROGRAM, OR WOULD WE BE BETTER OFF LOOKING TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UM, WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY AND SEEING IF THERE'S A PARTNERSHIP THAT MIGHT BE MORE AS EFFECTIVE OR MORE EFFECTIVE, BUT I THINK IT REALLY TAKES, I THINK I WOULD ENCOURAGE A STEP BACK AND SAY, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS, WHY, WHY WERE WE DOING THIS PROGRAM? WAS IT ABOUT RECRUITING FUTURE OFFICERS? WAS IT ABOUT BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH COMMUNITY? THOSE ARE DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT MODELS THAT, THAT WE WOULD WANT TO CONSIDER.
I THINK PAL IS ABOUT BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS.
UM, SO WHEN WE WERE TRYING TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT TO CONSIDER, CONTINUE THE FIRE ACADEMY, WHICH I WISH WE HAD DONE, BUT IT WAS PRIMARILY RECRUITMENT TOOL, AS I UNDERSTOOD IT, INCLUDING, I MEAN, IT OBVIOUSLY HAD OTHER BENEFITS TO THE PARTICIPANTS, TO THE YOUTH PARTICIPANTS, BUT YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T NETTING A LOT OF NEW, UH, NEW RECRUITS INTO THE, INTO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IN PART, BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE OBSTACLES, UM,
[01:35:01]
CONTRACTUAL AND OTHER OBSTACLES OF, OF PRIORITIZING THOSE GRADUATES.SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY HERE.
I'D LIKE TO SEE A REALLY GOOD STRONG YOUTH PROGRAM.
I JUST DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT LOOKS LIKE EXPLORERS PROGRAM OR IT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING ELSE.
AND I WOULD WANT TO HAVE BE DELIBERATIVE ABOUT, ABOUT THAT AND HAVE SOME ANALYSIS AND SOME CONVERSATION.
AND, AND WHAT I'LL TELL YOU IS THAT, UM, I W I HAVE SOME OFFICERS THAT WERE, THAT DID THIS PROGRAM VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT IT AND CAN PROVIDE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THE EVOLUTION OF THE PROGRAM, BECAUSE IT DID CHANGE OVER THE YEARS, UM, AND WHAT, WHAT ITS GOAL IS, WHAT ITS MISSION IS, UH, THAT I'M GLAD TO SHARE WITH YOU AND OTHER COUNSELOR.
I MEAN, I'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET LOTS OF THEM THROUGH THE YEARS, INCLUDING AT THE BLUE SANTA'S DELIVERY, AND THEY SEEM VERY ENTHUSIASTIC AND CAN TALK REALLY COMPELLINGLY ABOUT WHY THEIR, WHY THEY REGARD IT AS VALUABLE.
SO I'M NOT, I DON'T MEAN TO SUGGEST IT'S NOT, I JUST WANT TO, I WANT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THAT.
UM, DID YOU HAVE ANY FIRST KIND OF FIRST ROUND IMPRESSIONS OF, OF WHY, WHAT ARE THE, WHAT WERE THE PRIMARY REASONS THAT CADETS LEFT THE ACADEMY THIS YEAR? IS IT, IT DID GO FROM, YOU KNOW, DOWN TO 66, WHICH I WAS A LITTLE SURPRISED TO SEE, OR WOULD YOU PREFER TO WAIT FOR THE, NO, I MEAN, IT, UH, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE 34 THAT SEPARATED DURING THE ACADEMY.
SO, UM, IT, IT KIND OF RAN THE NORMAL SPECTRUM OF REASONS WHY WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT, THAT LEAVE, UM, EVERYTHING FROM ACADEMIC FAILURES TO, UM, NOT BEING ABLE TO PASS THE PHYSICAL, UM, UH, REQUIREMENTS TO, UH, SOMETIMES PERSONAL REASONS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE EVEN LOST ONE, UH, VERY LATE IN THE ACADEMY DURING ROLE-PLAY, UH, WHEN, WHEN WE REALIZED THAT THEY WERE NOT UP TO THE TASK OF ACTUALLY EMPLOYING ALL THE SKILLS, THEY HAD PASSED THE EXAMS AND THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY HAD THE KNOWLEDGE BASE, BUT THE APPLICATION IS DIFFERENT.
AND SO THAT'S WHY WE SPEND SIGNIFICANT PORT PART OF THE ACADEMY DOING, UH, DIFFERENT TYPES OF ROLE-PLAY WHERE THERE'S TRAFFIC, ROLE-PLAY CRIMINAL LAW.
ROLE-PLAY HAVING THEM EMPLOY THOSE SKILLS.
WHEN WE REALIZED, EVEN AS WE WORKED WITH THIS INDIVIDUAL, THAT, THAT THE INDIVIDUAL WAS NOT RISING TO THE TASK OF BEING ABLE TO DO THE WORK.
AND SO WE HAD TO SEPARATE THAT PERSON, BUT, UM, SO THERE'S A VARIETY OF REASONS.
AND, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF MY STAFF WANT TO ADD, UH, DR.
CRINNION OR ANYONE ELSE WANT TO ADD ABOUT, UM, UM, AND, AND I CAN CERTAINLY BREAK IT DOWN.
WE HAVE THAT ALL THAT INFORMATION IS BROKEN DOWN.
I REMEMBER MAYBE SEEING SOME IN A PREVIOUS CONVERSATION, I'D BE INTERESTED TOO, IN HOW IT COMPARED TO PREVIOUS ACADEMIES, IS IT ABOUT, IT SEEMED A LITTLE HIGHER THAN SOME PREVIOUS ACADEMIES, BUT I MAY BE REMEMBERING THE DATA WRONG.
NOT THE HIGHEST WE'VE EVER HAD, BUT CERTAINLY ON THE HIGHER END OF THE, OF THE SCALE.
GOT SOME MEMBER, UH, UH, UH, ELLIS HAS A COUNSELOR FOR KITCHEN.
I ALSO WOULD BE IN SUPPORT OF SOME SORT OF RETENTION CLAUSE.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT ELEVATES TO A COUNCIL NEEDING TO WEIGH IN ON THAT THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT CAN HAPPEN ADMINISTRATIVELY, BUT IF WE'RE COUNTING VOTES ON THIS IDEA, I THINK AFTER ALL THE WORK THAT GOES INTO TRAINING AND RECRUITING AND GETTING PEOPLE THROUGH THE CLASSES, IT WOULD BE NICE TO KNOW THAT THERE IS A COMMITMENT TO SERVE THIS CITY.
UM, AS FAR AS THE, I THINK YOU'RE CALLING IT A TRANSFER CLASS.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE GOING TO CALL THAT THE 140 FIFTH OR IF IT WOULD HAVE A DIFFERENT NAME, BUT HOW DO YOU SEE THESE IN PROGRESS ITEMS THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON, UM, HINDERING OR HELPING THAT TRANSFER CLASS, WHICH FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T BEEN FOLLOWING ALONG IS ESSENTIALLY PEOPLE WHO ARE TRAINED OFFICERS FROM, FROM OTHER REGIONALITIES THAT CAN COME HERE AND JUST GET CAUGHT UP TO SPEED ON WHAT, WHAT RULES ARE DIFFERENT ABOUT AUSTIN AND TEXAS.
SO DO YOU SEE THAT HELPING OR HURTING ANY, ANY OF YOUR PLANS FOR THAT TRANSFER CLASS? YEAH, SO, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE REFERRING TO IT AS A TRANSITIONAL OFFICER, UH, PROGRAM OR THE TOP PROGRAM.
UM, AND I KNOW I DON'T SEE IT HURTING THAT CLASS, UM, BECAUSE THE SAME, ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE'VE DONE IS, IS TRIMMED DOWN A LOT OF THE DIFFERENT, UM, COURSES, BECAUSE THEY'VE ALREADY DEMONSTRATED A PROFICIENCY, UH, IN THOSE PARTICULAR COURSES, BUT WE'RE STILL DELIVERING THE SAME COURSEWORK THAT HAS BEEN THROUGH THE SAME VETTING PROCESS, UM, THAT, THAT THE REGULAR CLASS HAS BEEN THROUGH.
SO, UH, DON'T SEE IT, DON'T SEE IT SLOW IN THAT CLASS.
CAUSE I KNOW AS WE HAVE THIS CONVERSATION AND NOT, NOT EVERY CITY IS GOING THROUGH A PROCESS LIKE THIS, SO I WOULD WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE OFFICERS THAT ARE COMING THROUGH AND GRADUATING, UM, ARE UP TO THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES THAT, THAT WE'VE BEEN SETTING FORTH OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
UM, I W I APPRECIATED GETTING TO ATTEND THE GRADUATION OF THE 140 FOURTH CADET CLASS.
UH, THERE WERE A LOT OF SMILES THAT DAY.
IT WAS GREAT TO SEE EVERYONE'S FAMILY EXCITED ABOUT THEIR JOURNEY INTO PUBLIC SAFETY FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND EVEN SOME OF THEM HAD SIBLINGS IN THE DEPARTMENT, AND IT WAS GREAT TO SEE A SISTER OFFICER PUT A PIN ON HER SISTER
[01:40:01]
AND TO SEE THEM JOINING THAT TOGETHER.SO THAT WAS A REALLY GREAT MOMENT.
YEAH, WE'RE COMING YOU TO HAVE A KITCHEN.
UM, THIS IS, THIS IS A VERY, UH, INTERESTING AND, AND REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR, YOU KNOW, YOUR INVESTMENT AND COMMITMENT TO THIS.
UM, I WANTED TO DRILL DOWN A LITTLE BIT ON THE MENTAL HEALTH, UH, TRAINING, MORE SPECIFIC, JUST MORE SPECIFICALLY, AND I'M NOT CERTAIN IF THIS IS THE APPROPRIATE PLACE FOR TRAINING, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF THE ACADEMY, BUT I'M WONDERING HOW, AND IF DURING THE, THIS INITIAL TRAINING OF OFFICERS, THERE'S A DISCUSSION OF, OF THE INNOVATION THAT YOU ALL ARE ENGAGED IN WITH AUSTIN CARES IN TERMS OF THE, UH, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS BECOMING, OR IS NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED IN TERMS OF, OF, UH, MENTAL HEALTH OPTION IN THE NINE 11 CALL CENTER.
SO MY QUESTION IS, DO YOU, DO YOU INCLUDE IN YOUR TRAINING, THAT PARTICULAR PROGRAM, UM, AND THEN RELATED TO THAT IS, UM, WAS IT'S RELATED TO THAT AND OTHER THINGS ALSO IN THIS TRAINING WITH REGARD TO THE USE OF TELE-HEALTH, UM, AND WHERE, AND HOW DOES THAT TRAINING OCCUR AND IT, AND IS THERE A TRAINING ELEMENT FOR THESE NEW OFFICERS RELATED TO THAT? SO, PART OF THE, PART OF THE QUESTION, I'M GOING TO REFER BACK TO MY STAFF TO, TO, UM, PROVIDE SOME CLARITY, BUT I CAN TELL YOU, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CRISIS INTERVENTION TRAINING THAT EVERY OFFICER GOES THROUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY THEY'VE ALL RECEIVED THE SAME TO THE SAME LEVEL OF TRAINING.
UM, AND, AND SO THEY ALL ARE QUALIFIED, UH, COMING OUT OF THE ACADEMY TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE MENTAL HEALTH CALLS ARE, ARE TRAINED TO THE LEVEL THAT IS REQUIRED BY T COLE.
UM, THEY HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE TELE-HEALTH PART.
SO I HAVE I TO THIS DAY, I STILL HAVE INCUMBENTS THAT HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE TELE-HEALTH PART.
UH, THE TELEHEALTH RIGHT NOW IS STILL IN JUST THREE SECTORS IN OUR CITY AS PART OF A PILOT PROGRAM.
AND WE'RE TRYING TO INCREASE THE USAGE OF THE TELE-HEALTH PROGRAM.
AND SO WE'RE KIND OF WORKING ON THAT JOINTLY.
SO THAT PART, I CAN TELL YOU, THEY, THEY HAVE NOT RECEIVED IN THE ACADEMY WITH REGARD TO THE AUSTIN CARES AND THE, AND THE CHANGE THAT WAS MADE IN THERE.
KRINGLE, CAN YOU ADVISE IF THAT PART IS TAUGHT IN THE ACADEMY YET? I'M GOING TO BE HONEST, I CAN'T CITE CURRICULUM THAT QUICKLY.
UM, SO I'LL HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT.
I'M TRYING TO PULL IT UP CURRENTLY.
UM, NOT THAT I KNOW OF OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT, UM, THAT ISN'T ACTUALLY FACTUALLY.
SO WE'LL GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT ONE COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND OF COURSE, THAT, THAT YOU ALL ARE DEVELOPING CURRICULUM, AND THIS IS A, YOU KNOW, RELATIVELY NEW PROGRAM HAS BEEN IN THE WORKS FOR JUST A FEW YEARS, BUT MY THOUGHT IS THAT IN THAT IT'S SO PART AND PARCEL OF MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE, THAT IN TRAINING ON CIT AND MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE, I WOULD HOPE THAT ALL OF OUR OFFICERS ARE FAMILIAR WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING THROUGH AUSTIN CARES.
SO, UM, SO YES, JUST LET ME KNOW WHICH I WAS THINKING IS IF IT'S NOT PART OF THE CURRICULUM, NOW, WHAT YOU'RE THINKING IS IN TERMS OF, UM, MAKING SURE THAT ALL OF OUR OFFICERS ARE FAMILIAR AND TRAINED WITH HOW, HOW THAT RESPONSE WORKS, BECAUSE I'M UNDERSTANDING, OF COURSE THE CIT TRAINING IS IMPORTANT AND IT'S IMPORTANT FOR EVERYONE TO HAVE.
AND I'M UNDERSTANDING ALSO THAT, THAT ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THAT IS SO OFFICERS ARE PREPARED TO RESPOND.
SO I THINK THEY ALSO NEED TO BE PREPARED TO RESPOND AND UNDERSTAND HOW THE NINE ONE ONE CALL SYSTEM IS WORKING.
UM, TELEHEALTH OF COURSE, IS ANOTHER, ANOTHER ISSUE IT'S MUCH NEWER.
SO THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT I'D LOVE TO TALK WITH AT SOME POINT ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, ABOUT HOW THAT WILL ROLL OUT IN THE FUTURE.
AND TO PICK UP THE THREAD THAT COMES FROM HER KITCHEN, UM, HAD JUST STARTED, YOU KNOW, I WAS ABLE TO VISIT THE TRAINING FACILITIES, WHICH IS LOCATED IN DISTRICT TWO AND, UH, AND SEE FIRSTHAND, UH, THE CADET ACADEMY IN PROGRESS.
AND I CAN TESTIFY THAT WE CERTAINLY NEED TO CONSIDER DOING SOME UPDATES TO OUR FACILITIES.
UM, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, AS YOU MENTIONED, HAVING, UM, EXPANDED AND NEW FACILITIES WILL HELP US TRAIN OFFICERS, CURRENT OFFICERS.
AND SO TO THE EXTENT THAT THAT IS A NEED, I SUPPORT IT AND WOULD LIKE TO BE INVOLVED IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
UM, BECAUSE AS YOU MENTIONED, THIS IS A WORLD-CLASS CADET ACADEMY, AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR FACILITIES MATCH TO THAT LEVEL, BECAUSE WE ARE DOING SOME PRETTY TRANSFORMATIVE WORK THERE.
UM, KIND OF ALONG THAT LINE, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT WE ARE TRANSITIONING FROM A WARRIOR LIKE TRAINING PROGRAM TO A GUARDIAN STYLE PROGRAM.
JUST WANTED TO GET YOUR, YOUR THOUGHTS CHIEF ON HOW THAT CULTURAL CHANGE IS GOING, BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S NOT EASY TO QUANTIFY, BUT WE'D JUST LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU, UM,
[01:45:01]
ON, ON THE PROGRESS WITH THAT FORM FORMAT, I'LL TELL YOU I'M DOING THAT IN THE ACADEMY FOR BRAND NEW FOLKS COMING ON AND SETTING THE CULTURE IS MUCH EASIER THAN CHANGING CULTURE WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS EXISTED FOR A REALLY LONG TIME.AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I AM STILL WORKING ON.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SURE WHETHER YOU'RE ASKING SOLELY IN THE, IN THE, IN THE ASPECT.
I DON'T THINK YOU ARE ABOUT THE ACADEMY, BUT AS A DEPARTMENT OVERALL, HOW ARE WE, UM, MOVING THE NEEDLE WHEN IT COMES TO CULTURE? UH, OVERALL IT'S ABOUT HAVING REALLY HARD CONVERSATIONS.
UM, AND SO WE WE'RE DOING THAT RIGHT NOW THROUGH OUR LEADERSHIP TRAINING.
UH, WE'VE, WE'VE EMPLOYED AND, AND, UH, THIS IS WHERE, UM, ON ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, WE'RE ACTUALLY ACTUALLY, UH, EMPLOYED WITH, UH, A TRAINING MODULE CALLED A DEEPER WAY, UH, WHICH IS ABOUT EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE.
IT'S ABOUT, UM, REALLY, UH, UNDERSTANDING YOURSELF SO THAT YOU CAN BE A BETTER LEADER OR YOU, YOU KNOW, AND I, AND WE, WE LOOK AT SERVANT LEADERSHIP AND I'VE, AND I'VE ROLLED OUT.
I'VE TALKED ABOUT MY VISION FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF BUILDING A CULTURE OF LEADERSHIP.
UM, SO LOOKING AT THAT, UM, THE TOUGH CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'RE HAVING IN THE GROUNDWATER ANALYSIS COURSES, UM, WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED BY OUR EMPLOYEES, UM, THERE'S BEEN, UH, THERE'S BEEN SIGNIFICANT PUSHBACK.
AND SO I'VE, I, I FEEL LIKE IT'S MY JOB TO PUSH THROUGH AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE, UH, ON THAT PATH BECAUSE IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
UM, SO, UM, IT, IT HAS NOT BEEN, IT'S NOT AS EASY, CERTAINLY AS IT IS IN LAYING OUT THE RULES AND THE EXPECTATIONS FOR BRAND NEW CADETS AS IT IS FOR MY OFFICERS, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN OPERATING, UH, A, IN A, YOU KNOW, IN A MANNER FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
AND, AND WE'RE ASKING THEM NOW TO MAKE A SIGNIFICANT, YOU KNOW, A SHIFT IN THE WAY THAT THEY THINK, AND THE WAY THAT WE OPERATE, I'M GOING TO KEEP ON CONTINUING AND I'M COMMITTED TO DOING THE WORK.
THAT'S VERY ENCOURAGING TO HEAR, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, JUST WANTED TO OFFER MY COMMENTS ON TODAY'S PRESENTATION.
I REALLY APPRECIATE HAVING THIS UPDATE AS TO THE PROGRESS THAT'S BEING MADE AND TO SEE IT, THE MAJORITY OF CROW'S RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED AND KNOWING THE COMMITMENT THAT YOU HAVE AS THE LEADER OF OUR DEPARTMENT, TO ENSURE THAT THE COMMUNITY WILL CONTINUE TO BE INVOLVED IN THE ITERATION OF THE CADET ACADEMY.
I THINK THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT AND CRITICAL PIECE FOR US IN THIS RE-IMAGINING, UM, ALSO LOOKING AT THE DATA COLLECTION, THANK YOU FOR TOUCHING BASE ON THAT AND COMMITTING TO IMPROVING OUR DATA EFFORTS, AS WELL AS OUR DIVERSITY EFFORTS.
I WAS THRILLED TO HEAR ABOUT THE 30% BY 2030 OF COURSE, WOULD LOVE TO HEAR IT BE A LITTLE HIGHER, BUT CERTAINLY NO, THAT'S A GOOD BENCHMARK TO, UH, IMPROVE OUR GENDER DIVERSITY.
UM, AT OUR TERM, DID YOU WANT TO GO FIRST? I ALREADY ASKED.
UM, SO CHIEF, I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT THE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR THE TRAINING ACADEMY, UM, APPRECIATED RATIO, AND THOSE WITH ME, AND PERHAPS THOSE SHOULD BE SHARED WITH THE WHOLE, UM, COUNCIL.
UM, I WANT TO PARTICULARLY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND, UM, THE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES WITH RESPECT TO THE DIRECTOR OF THE ACADEMY.
UM, ONE OF, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WAS HIGHLIGHTED, I THINK, IN THE INTERIM WAS SOME RESISTANCE, UM, AND A NEED TO CLARIFY THE AUTHORITY.
SO CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT HAS BEEN DONE IN THE SOP IN THAT REGARD? CERTAINLY.
UM, SO PART OF THE ISSUE WAS NOT HAVING IT CLEARLY DEFINED EXPECTATION FOR STAFF ON DR.
CREAGAN'S ROLE AS THE DIVISION MANAGER, THE RECOMMENDATION WAS TO INSTALL IT INTO OUR STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
AND I BROUGHT THE LANGUAGE SO THAT I CAN READ IT TO YOU VERBATIM EXACTLY WHAT IT IS THAT WE PUT IN HERE.
SO, UH, UNDER HER JOB DESCRIPTION.
AND SO THIS GOES TO EVERY SINGLE EMPLOYEE THAT WE HAVE IN THE DIVISION CURRICULUM COURSE MATERIALS AND INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES UTILIZED IN TRAINING MUST BE APPROVED UNDER, UNDER REQUIREMENTS ESTABLISHED BY THE DIVISION MANAGER, ANY AND ALL REQUESTS FROM THE DIVISION MANAGER TO ANY TRAINING STAFF TEAM MEMBER SHALL BE TREATED WITH THE URGENCY WITH URGENCY AND COMPLETED IN A TIMELY MANNER, CONSISTENT WITH THE DIVISION MANAGERS, REQUESTS REQUESTS FROM THE DIVISION MANAGER TO TRAINING STAFF WILL BE TREATED AND ACTED UPON AS IF THEY WERE GIVEN BY THE COMMANDER OVER-TRAINING.
SO THE, UM, THE, THE DIVISION MANAGER IS ON AN EQUAL FOOTING WITH THE COMMANDER OVER THE TRAINING.
THEY ARE, THEY ESSENTIALLY COLI THE TRAINING DIVISION AND THE TRAINING DIVISION MANAGER IS A DIRECT REPORT TO THE ASSISTANT CHIEF.
UM, THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, REALLY, THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS
[01:50:01]
THE ROLE THAT DR.CRINNION IS PLAYING IN THIS EFFORT AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS, AND THAT SHE HAS THE AUTHORITY TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THE CHANGES THAT ARE NECESSARY OUT THERE.
SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE, UH, ESSENTIALLY ARTICULATED THAT IN POLICY AND, UH, AND THAT HAS BEEN, UM, THAT HAS BEEN VERBALIZED TO ALL OF HIS STAFF.
I THINK, I THINK THAT'S SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS.
UM, IF THE COMMANDER AND DR CRINNION DISAGREE, HOW DOES THAT GET RESOLVED IF THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO RESOLVE IT THEMSELVES, WHICH OBVIOUSLY WOULD BE THE FIRST CHOICE.
JU JUST LIKE WE WOULD WITH ANY OTHER, UH, POTENTIAL DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN SAY TWO DIFFERENT COMMANDERS.
THEY, THEY ESCALATE IT TO THE ASSISTANT CHIEF WHO WILL MAKE THE ULTIMATE DECISION.
AND SO, UH, CHIEF JOHNSON IS THE CHIEF OVER THAT DIVISION AND, UH, FORMER TRAINING COMMANDER.
AND THEN, UM, I'M GONNA HAVE A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TACK, UM, FOR PAGE 23, IT TALKS ABOUT RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND SPECIAL REPORTING.
UM, AND IT'S TALKS ABOUT RELEASE OF TRAINING RECORDS, AND OBVIOUSLY THERE'S THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO KEEP CONFIDENTIAL FOR INDIVIDUAL CADETS AND THEIR PARTICULAR RECORDS.
UM, I'M A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT THE LANGUAGE FOR LESSONS PLANS AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THE CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE, UM, IS THAT INCLUDED MOSTLY TO ALLOW LESSON PLANS, TO BE SHARED WITH OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT, AS OPPOSED TO LIMITING WHO THOSE CAN OTHERWISE BE SHARED WITH.
SO, YOU KNOW, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE FOCUS THERE? I I'M ACTUALLY GONNA TURN, UH, TO DR.
CRINNION ON THIS ONE AND TO, BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THAT, UM, THAT WE'RE ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION APPROPRIATELY.
UM, SECTION NINE, THE NUMBER TWO ON PAGE 23, IT SAYS THE LESSON PLANS MAY BE RELEASED TO OUTSIDE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WHEN APPROVED BY THE CADET TRAINING SERGEANT OR THE CADET TRAINING LIEUTENANT WHEN APPROVED BY THE, YEAH.
AND I THINK THIS WAS REALLY OLDER LANGUAGE PRIOR TO THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE.
UM, AND SO THE WAY THAT I SEE IT IS THAT WITHIN THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE, WE DECIDE WHAT ARE THE CLASSES THAT WE WANT TO REVIEW, AND WE RELEASE IT TO THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE.
UM, AND SO I'VE NEVER BEEN DENIED OR REQUEST TO RELEASE CURRICULUM, UM, TO THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE.
UM, AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO MAP OUT FOR 2022, UM, WHAT WE'LL BE REVIEWING, AND THEN WE WILL THOSE, UM, LESSON PLANS.
UM, SO I DON'T SEE THAT THIS IS NECESSARILY INHIBITING THAT, UM, BECAUSE I CAN JUST DO A DIRECT ASK FOR IT.
AND IF THEY WANTED TO SHARE, THEY HAD A CONCERN AND THEY SHARED IT WITH A COUNCIL OFFICE, THEY'RE NOT VIOLATING SOMETHING.
FOR INSTANCE, IF THEY WERE TO SHARE THAT CURRICULUM WITH US, IF CURRICULUM COMMITTEE SHARED IT WITH, WITH Y'ALL.
YEAH, NO, I THINK WE ACTUALLY, UM, FOR THE MOST PART, SORT OF SEE IT AS THE CURRICULUM, WELL, WE PREFER THAT IT STAYED WITHIN THE COMMITTEE.
UM, WE, WE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE A NONDISCLOSURE OR ANYTHING THAT ALLOWS THEM TO NOT BE ABLE TO SHARE IT.
THANK YOU FOR, THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT A GOOD CHUNK OF THE ACADEMY IS ACTUALLY TIKO MANDATED TRAINING.
UM, HOW HAS T COLE RESPONDED BROADLY TO THIS PROCESS THAT WE'VE BEEN UNDERGOING AND WHAT IS YOUR ASSESSMENT OF, UM, CHANGES THAT MIGHT HAPPEN AT T COLE DOWN THE LINE? AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S FOR THE CHIEF OR DR.
CREAGAN OR THE COMMANDER THAT'S PROBABLY BEST ANSWERED BY, UH, BY EITHER DR.
UM, AND I, AS A MATTER OF FACT, I WAS TALKING WITH CRUEL ABOUT THIS VERY ISSUE EARLIER.
SO, UM, UH, MAYBE, MAYBE WE START WITH, I DON'T CARE WHO ANSWERS.
I, I, I'M NOT SURE WHO WOULD BE THE PERFECT, UM, SURE.
UM, IS THAT WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH T COLE.
UM, THEY'VE COME OUT TO THE ACADEMY.
THEY'RE EXTREMELY INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING WHAT WE'RE DOING OUT THERE.
UM, AND IN THE END OF 2011, UM, THEY REVAMPED THEIR BASIC POLICE OFFICER'S CLASS, UM, TO 720 HOURS.
SO THEY UPPED THE NUMBER OF HOURS.
UM, BUT THEY HAD A SMALL WINDOW OF TIME, I THINK, 10 DAYS WHERE THEY, UM, WERE WILLING TO ACCEPT COMMENTS.
UM, SO WE ACTUALLY TOOK ALL OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE, UM, AND THEN TRIED TO FIGURE OUT WHICH ONES WERE ACTUALLY DOABLE AND THEN SENT IT OFF TO THEM.
UM, AND THEY SAID THOSE THEY'LL SPEND THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, UM, LOOKING AT THIS AS SORT OF A TEMPLATE ON SOME OF THE THINGS.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE TALKED TO THEM ABOUT SHARING THE THINGS THAT WE CHANGE.
[01:55:01]
OUR LESSON PLAN FORMAT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE CONTENT ON ONE SIDE, THE LEFT SIDE, UM, AND THEN THE INSTRUCTOR NOTES AND THE ACTIVE LEARNING AND THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE, UM, LOOKING AT KIND OF MOVING TOWARDS BEST PRACTICES ON HOW TO ACTUALLY DO THE ACTIVE LEARNING, UM, COMPONENTS AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THE INSTRUCTORS HAVE THAT DELINEATED IN THEIR LESSON PLANS.UM, AND SO WE'LL ALSO BE SHARING THAT WITH EM WITH THEIR NEW TRAINING COORDINATOR THAT THEY HIRED.
AND THEY'RE ALSO HIRING ABOUT MAYBE FIVE OR SIX CURRICULUM SPECIALISTS AS WELL.
UM, SO I SEE THAT THEY PROBABLY, WHERE WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SUBSTANTIAL REVISIONS TO THEIR STATE CURRICULUM OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, WHICH IS, UM, WHICH IS REALLY GREAT.
AND I'M HOPING THAT OUR RELATIONSHIP, UM, MEANS THAT WE'LL BE PART OF THE PROCESS.
I THINK THAT'S A TESTAMENT TO THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS WORK AND THE, AND THE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT TRAINING AND IN NEW WAYS.
UM, I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED THE ACTIVE LEARNING.
UM, MY LAST TWO QUESTIONS ARE FOCUSED ON THAT AND THE LAST THEM TOGETHER, ONE IS, UM, THERE WAS A NOTE THAT THERE WAS RESISTANCE FROM THE EXISTING STAFF TO CO-TEACHING.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW THAT'S BEING ADDRESSED? AND THEN, UM, I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO SPEAK WITH ONE OF THE FOLKS FROM OUTSIDE, UM, AND THEY DID COMMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, THE CADETS WERE GREAT, BUT IT IS REALLY DIFFICULT TO LEARN IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHEN YOU'RE DOING SOME TOUGH TOPICS.
UM, WHEN YOU HAVE A HUNDRED OF PEOPLE AT ONCE, IT IS NOT THE BEST SCENARIO TO BE LECTURED AT.
UM, AND IT'S CHALLENGING WITHIN THE ENVIRONMENT TO HAVE SOME SMALLER GROUPS THAT MIGHT BE BETTER FOR ACTIVE LEARNING.
SO CAN YOU SPEAK TO HOW WE MIGHT BE TRYING TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALLER INTERACTIONS? SURE.
I'M GOING TO ANSWER THE FIRST PART OF YOUR QUESTION AND THEN TURN IT OVER, UH, PERHAPS TO DR.
GREEN ON WHAT AVAILABILITIES OR POSSIBILITIES THERE MIGHT BE FOR, YOU KNOW, BREAKING THE CLASSES UP TO MAKE THEM A LITTLE BIT SMALLER, YOU KNOW, WITH REGARD TO, UM, THE, THE CO-TEACHING, UH, PART OF IT.
IT IS, UM, I THINK THAT THAT IS PART OF THE THAT'S, THAT'S PROBABLY PART OF THE CULTURE, UH, AND, AND THE FACT THAT THAT OFFICERS FEEL THAT.
AND I, AND, YOU KNOW, TO A LARGE EXTENT, I DO FEEL THAT IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR SWORN STAFF TO BE IN THE ROOM, EXPLAINING, UH, PRINCIPLES AND, AND THEY HEAR IT DIRECTLY FROM OFFICERS IT'S IMPACTFUL.
UM, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU CAN'T HAVE FOLKS THAT ARE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS IN A PARTICULAR AREA THAT COME IN AND HELP CO-FACILITATE, UH, THE MATERIAL.
UM, AND SO THIS AGAIN IS AN AREA WHERE WHILE THERE MIGHT BE RESISTANCE IN THE END, UM, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, UH, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THAT RESISTANCE TO, UM, TO, TO FIND EVEN MORE PEOPLE THAT ARE ABLE TO, TO, TO CO-FACILITATE THOSE, AND THEN I'LL TURN IT OVER TO DR.
CORINGA AND TO TALK ABOUT, I DON'T KNOW, I, YOU KNOW, THAT THE TOUGH PART IS, IS THE TIME CONSTRAINTS AND, AND, AND THE NUMBER OF INSTRUCTORS THAT WE HAVE.
THAT, THAT IS A LIMITING FACTOR.
I CAN TELL YOU THAT, BUT I DON'T KNOW, TO WHAT EXTENT WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SPLIT THE CLASSES UP AND MAYBE ANNE, YOU CAN SPEAK TO THAT.
UM, YEAH, THE NICE PART IS, IS THAT WE HAVE, UM, IN THE LARGER CLASSROOM THAT THEY DO TEACH IN, THERE IS AN ARTIFICIAL WALL THAT CAN BE UTILIZED.
UM, SO IF WE WANTED TO SPLIT THE CLASS UP, UM, BUT THAT DOES GO BACK TO STAFFING AS CHEAP AS TALKING ABOUT.
UM, SO, UM, FOR OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS, WE ARE GOING TO ACTUALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SPLITTING THE CLASSES UP SO THAT WE CAN DO ACTIVE LEARNING.
AND WE'RE GOING TO START DRILLING DOWN TO MAKING SURE WE THINK MORE ABOUT WHAT ARE THE CLASSES THAT NEED TO BE IN SMALLER SIZES.
UM, BECAUSE I THINK YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT HAVING A HUNDRED CADETS, UM, IN ONE ROOM WITH, YOU KNOW, ONE INSTRUCTOR TEACHING.
UM, WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF WE CAN DO LIKE A TA MODEL WHERE SOMEONE CAN HELP, UM, WITH THE ACTIVE LEARNING COMPONENTS, UM, BY, BY FACILITATING IN THAT WAY.
UM, I THINK ALSO THE UNFORTUNATE PART IS, UM, AS CHIEF ALREADY DISCUSSED, WE MIGHT HAVE A SMALLER CLASS SIZES, UM, FOR THE ONE 45TH ANYWAYS.
UM, SO WE'LL BE LOOKING AT, UM, HOW THOSE ACTIVE LEARNING ACTIVITIES TRANSLATE TO PERHAPS A CLASS SIZE THAT'S AS SMALL AS 60.
I DO HAVE ONE LAST QUESTION FOR THE CITY MANAGER.
UM, I DO BELIEVE THAT, YOU KNOW, IT IS APPROPRIATE FOR US TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE NEXT CLASS, WITH THE PROVISOR THAT THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS AND THAT WE STILL HAVE MORE INVESTMENTS, UM, IN THIS LEARNING ENVIRONMENT TO MAKE AND IN THE BROADER TRAINING.
UM, BUT I'M NOT FULLY CLEAR ON THE PROCESS TO GET US FROM THERE, FROM HERE TO THERE.
YEAH, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER OR MAYOR PRO TEM.
AND CERTAINLY THIS IS ANOTHER STEP ALONG THAT JOURNEY AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE UPDATES TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL AND TO THE COMMUNITY AS WE MAKE ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS.
AS CROWE MENTIONED, WE'LL BE ISSUING THAT REPORT,
[02:00:01]
UH, SHORTLY, UH, THEY WILL BE AVAILABLE, UH, SHOULD THERE BE A NEED FOR THAT PRESENTATION? WE'D LIKE TO PROBABLY HAVE THEM COME BACK, UH, AT A FUTURE DATE.UM, BUT WE WILL, AS THE CHIEF SAID PENDING ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS, WE WILL BE PROCEEDING WITH THE COMMENCEMENT OF THIS NEXT CLASS.
I HAVE A QUESTION FOR MR. HELLER IS MR. LYNSKEY, UH, GONNA COME BACK TO THE, TO THE, TO THE CHIEF, I THINK, UH, THE WHOLE COUNTRY HAD REAL SERIOUS CONVERSATIONS ABOUT POLICE, UH, THAT WERE REALLY FOCUSED AND, AND, AND ELEVATED DURING THE SUMMER OF, UH, GEORGE PLOY KILLING.
UH, AND THESE CONVERSATIONS OCCURRED ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND, AND, UH, IN, IN LOOKING AT HOW OTHER CITIES REACTED OR WHAT OTHER CITIES TRY TO DO, THERE WAS KIND OF AWFULLY WIDE RANGE OF, OF WHAT DIFFERENT CITIES DID IN DIFFERENT PLACES IN THIS CITY.
UH, WE, WE TOOK A LOOK AT THAT MOMENT AND SAID THAT, UH, WE WANTED TO HAVE A CITY WHERE NOT ONLY WERE PEOPLE SAFE, BUT EVERYBODY, THE COMMUNITY FELT SAFE.
AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT THAT REQUIRED US TO, TO CHANGE HOW WE DID THINGS.
AND AS THE CHIEF WAS TALKING ABOUT HER EARLIER REQUIRED US TO MAKE CULTURAL CHANGES, INSTITUTIONAL CHANGES, WHICH ARE MUCH HARDER THAN THEN THE CHANGES WHERE YOU'RE JUST MAKING A CHANGE IN A BUDGET OR A CHANGE IN, UH, MOVING DOLLARS OR STARTING A NEW PROGRAM TO REALLY SAY, WE WANT TO FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE HOW WE THINK AND HOW WE ACT AND HOW WE REACT.
AND IN WAYS THAT WILL RIPPLE THROUGH TAKES TIME.
AND IT TAKES, UH, LEADERSHIP, UH, INVESTED IN IT, IT TAKES A FORCE THAT'S WILLING TO, TO, TO EMBRACE THOSE KINDS OF IDEAS.
UM, AND I CAN REMEMBER, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR WHERE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT HAVING ANOTHER CADET CLASS STARTING HERE IN MARCH, UH, THERE WAS A WARNING AT THE TIME THEY CAME FROM, UH, MR. LRS AND MR. LECKY AT THE TIME WHERE THEY SAY, YOU WEREN'T READY FOR THAT YET.
UH, BUT THEY WOULD CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE ACADEMY TO SEE IF WE COULD BE READY TO GO TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT.
AND I APPRECIATE THE REPORT EVERYONE'S EFFORT THAT INDICATES NOW WE, WE CAN, BUT MY QUESTION FOR MR. ELLIS WAS LINDSAY, IS, ARE THERE OTHER CITIES THAT, THAT, UH, THAT YOU KNOW OF THAT REACTED TO THE SAME TIMEFRAME WE DID AT, OR TRIED TO DO SOMETHING THAT IS EQUALLY DISRUPTIVE, I GUESS, OR, OR CHANGE AGAIN, A AT A CULTURAL EDIT INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL, UH, THIS WORK THAT, THAT WE COULD BE LOOKING TO AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THIS, TO SEE HOW THEY'RE FARING WITH THE SAME THING, ARE THERE OTHER CITIES DOING THIS KIND OF BASED CULTURAL INSTITUTIONAL WORK IN THE SAME OR DIFFERENT WAY? I'LL TAKE THE FIRST STAB AT THAT? I PROBABLY IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS, I'VE BEEN ON TWO WEBEX'S, UH, WHERE POLICE LEADERS AROUND THE COUNTRY ARE HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE TAKE IT IN A COUPLE OF THEM WERE ONE WAS SPONSORED BY PERF.
UH, WE WERE ABOUT A THOUSAND POLICE OFFICIALS WERE ON TALKING ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF ICAT.
UH, LEWISVILLE HAS HAD SOME SUCCESS.
AND, AND, UH, THE, THE GOOD THING ABOUT THE ICAT TRAINING IS IT'S ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT WOULD BE A GOOD PROGRAM.
IT MAKES SENSE WHEN YOU HEAR IT, BUT OFTENTIMES WE HAVE PROGRAMS THAT SOUND GOOD, BUT THE DATA AND THE RESEARCH FROM THE ACADEMICS, DON'T BACK IT UP AS BEING SOUND PROGRAM, FOR EXAMPLE, THE DARE PROGRAM, IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD PROGRAM FOR COPS TO GET IN FRONT OF KIDS IN SCHOOLS AND TALK ABOUT THE DANGERS OF DRUGS.
AND THE RESEARCH ACTUALLY SHOWS THAT IT ACTUALLY ENHANCE KIDS' DESIRE TO GO TRY STUFF, BECAUSE THEY WERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT.
SO I CAT IS JUST RECENTLY BEEN PEER REVIEWED AND TEST AGAIN BY ACADEMIA AS SHOWING RESULTS WHERE THERE IS ACTUAL DECREASE USES OF FORCE.
UM, THERE ARE DOZENS OF DEPARTMENTS AROUND THE U S THAT ARE TRYING TO BRING IKAT IN, UM, PROBABLY ONE OF THE, UH, THE PREMIER DEPARTMENTS THAT HAS BEEN DOING THIS TYPE OF WORK EVEN BEFORE, UH, GEORGE FLOYD IS IN NEW JERSEY.
UM, THEY COMPLETELY GOT RID OF THEIR POLICE DEPARTMENT, CAMDEN, UM, UM, COUNTY WITH SCOTT, UH, IS THE CHIEF OUT THERE YOU ARE.
WHAT DOES THE CHIEF OUT THERE? UH, THEY GET RID OF THEIR POLICE DEPARTMENT, REWROTE THE WHOLE, UH, PROGRAM, UH, RAILROAD CONTRACTS, AND THEN FOCUSED ON A COMMUNITY-BASED,
[02:05:01]
UH, INITIATIVES.AND THEY HAD SOME AMAZING RESULTS FOR IT.
AND FOLKS ARE TRYING TO REPLICATE THAT AROUND THE COUNTRY, POLICE CHIEFS, UM, ALL HAVE ONE CHARACTERISTIC.
THEY ARE ALL WILLING TO GO OUT AND STEAL GOOD PROGRAMS FROM OTHER AGENCIES THAT ARE OUT THERE.
I CAN TELL YOU, WE'VE RECEIVED SOME CALLS FROM FOLKS SAYING, HEY, WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING IN AUSTIN? HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE TAKE THAT AND DO THAT HERE? UM, I HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THE MICHIGAN STATE POLICE ABOUT, THEY WANT TO BRING A CIVILIAN, UH, DIRECTOR TO THE ACADEMY TO, UH, LOOK AT CURRICULUM AND, AND DO WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING AT THE ACADEMY SIDE OF THE HOUSE.
SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF FOLKS THAT ARE OUT THERE.
UM, ONE OF THE CONVERSATIONS WE HAD WITH CHIEF CHACONE AND, UH, UH, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER ON THE SMALL ONE.
AND WHAT WAS THE POSSIBILITY OF PRESENTING, UH, WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE LAST YEAR PLUS IN AUSTIN AT THE IECP CONFERENCE IN DALLAS, IN THE FALL, UH, TO SHOWCASE KIND OF, HEY, THIS IS WHAT WE'VE DONE.
THIS IS THE INVESTMENT THE CITY'S MADE.
THIS IS WHAT WORKED AND WHAT DIDN'T WORK.
UM, BUT I CAN, I CAN SEND, UH, THE CHIEF, UH, YOU KNOW, A NUMBER OF OTHER, UH, THE NAMES OF DIFFERENT AGENCIES THAT HAVE BEEN ON THESE CALLS AND HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS.
UH, I DON'T KNOW THAT ANYONE HAS INVESTED AS HARD, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT IT'S GOTTEN AS MUCH, UH BUY-IN FROM THE COMMUNITY AND FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UH, EVERYONE'S TRYING, AND THE MAIN FOCUS, A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS OF CHEWING ARE TRYING TO BRING IN THAT THE ESCALATION TRAINING, UH, HOW WE DEALING WITH PEOPLE IN MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS, HOW ARE WE DEALING WITH TRANSIENT, UH, FOLKS WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH, UH, HOUSING ISSUES AND HOW DO WE DEAL WITH VETERANS WHO MIGHT BE DEALING WITH SOME POST TRAUMATIC STRESS ISSUES WHO SOMETIMES ARE WINDING UP IN OUR, OUR, UM, ENGAGEMENTS WITH POLICE OFFICERS.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD TO THAT? UH, NO, I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING DAN SAID.
I THINK THE ONE THING THAT MAYBE SETS AUSTIN APART TO SOME EXTENT IS THE PROACTIVE NATURE OF, OF THE INITIATIVES AND THE HOLISTIC NATURE OF HOW IT'S BEEN APPROACHED.
I MEAN, CERTAINLY, UM, IT'S, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE ACADEMY IS, IS TAKING, UH, YOU'VE BEEN TAKING A LOOK AND WITH OUR ASSISTANCE AND WORKING IN COOPERATION WITH THE CITY AND STAKEHOLDERS AND AN ABD, UM, MAKING, YOU KNOW, REALLY JUST A COMPLETELY, YOU KNOW, COMPREHENSIVE HOLISTIC LOOK AT HOW YOU TRAIN, UH, CADETS AND HOW YOU INCLUDE THE COMMUNITY IN THAT TRAINING AND HOW YOU MAKE DEESCALATION THE DEFAULT MECHANISM.
BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, YOU'RE ALSO LOOKING AT MANY OTHER ASPECTS OF, OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND, YOU KNOW, JUST EVEN JUST OUR RECENT PHASE B REPORT EFFORTS AND LOOKING AT, UH, YOU KNOW, USE OF FORCE AND, UH, ARREST AND STOP THAT, UH, AND HOW TO GET BETTER DATA AND HOW TO HAVE BETTER REPORTING MECHANISMS AND HOW TO INCREASE YOUR DIVERSITY THROUGH BETTER RECRUITMENT PROMOTION AND SO FORTH.
I MEAN, THESE ARE VERY COMPREHENSIVE, UH, HOLISTIC MEASURES THAT YOU'RE TAKING.
AND I DON'T OTHER, OTHER THAN PERHAPS CITIES THAT MAY BE UNDER OR HAVE BEEN UNDER CONSENT DECREES.
I DON'T SEE TOO MANY, UH, CITIES DOING IT AS COMPREHENSIVELY AS AUSTIN PASSES.
AND I APPRECIATE THAT BECAUSE THAT'S, THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH MY OBSERVATIONS OF I CONVERSATIONS WITH PEER, UH, UH, CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY, REAL THREE BIG TAKEAWAYS FOR ME HERE TODAY.
THE FIRST ONE IS, IS THAT, UH, THERE'S STILL A LONG WAY FOR US TO GO, BUT SECOND, WE'VE ALSO DONE SOMETHING HERE THAT'S THAT IS TRUE TO THE GOALS THAT WE SET TWO YEARS AGO.
UH, MAKING REAL INSTITUTIONAL CULTURAL CHANGE IS NOT EASY.
AND DID, YOU'VE TALKED CHIEF HERE TODAY ABOUT SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES THAT, HOW IT'S EASIER TO DO WITH THE GODETTE CLASS, THAT WITH, UH, THE FORCE THAT'S BEEN THERE, UH, FOR, FOR, FOR A WHILE.
UM, AND I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WITH THE CADET CLASS OR WHAT ARE THEIR FIRST DAYS, UH, WHERE THEY WERE OUT MEETING THE, THE, THE PUBLIC AND THE, IN THE PARK, AND THEN WITH MY COLLEAGUES TO BE WITH THE CADET CLASS ON THEIR LAST DAY, IF THEY GET IT SCORED, I HAVE SUCH GREAT EXPECTATIONS AS DOES THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, THAT THIS IS A CADET CLASS THAT WILL HELP MOVE OUR WHOLE FORCE, UH, TO, TO, TO A NEW PLACE, UH, TO TAKE A FORCE THAT IS ALREADY, UH, ONE OF THE BEST, IF NOT THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY AND MAKE IT EVEN BETTER AND EVEN STRONGER IN A WAY THAT MAKES IT ENTIRE COMMUNITY FEELS SAFE.
ADD WE'RE DOING THE HARD WORK.
I APPRECIATE CHIEF, UH, I THINK YOU AND I ARE GOING TO BE AT A PHONE CALL WITH A WHITE HOUSE LATER THIS WEEK, UH, WITH A HANDFUL OF OTHER CITIES AND THAT, UH, THE CONFERENCE WITH UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF MAYORS, I THINK YOU, AND I'LL BE THERE TOGETHER
[02:10:01]
AGAIN, UH, IN, IN MIAMI.AND IT, A COUPLE OF WEEKS, I THINK THIS COMMUNITY SHOULD FEEL PROUD OF THE EFFORTS THAT'S ONGOING AND THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE.
UH, REAL TRANSFORMATIVE WORK IS NOT EASY.
AND I, AND I, AND I HATED EVERY TIME I CRINGE EVERY TIME I SEE IN OUR POLITICAL WORLD, WE LIVE IN TODAY, THIS GETTING REDUCED TO A CONVERSATION ABOUT A DELAY CADET CLASSES AS IF THERE WAS NO BENEFIT IN DELAYING A CADET, CERTAINLY THERE'S COST ASSOCIATED WITH THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE NOW MORE UNFILLED VACANCIES.
WE WOULD HAVE IF WE DIDN'T DELAY THE CADET CLASS AND WE'RE WORKING NOW TO, TO, TO, TO REMEDY THAT SITUATION.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE WEREN'T READY TO HAVE THE CLASSES GO FORWARD.
UH, AND THAT'S PART OF THE DISRUPTIVE NATURE OF THIS.
AND HOPEFULLY WE COULD REACH THAT, THAT, THAT EQUILIBRIUM POINT HERE QUICKLY, UH, WITH PHILLY, UH, OUR CADET CLASSES AND FILLING OUR FORCE WITH PEOPLE THAT ARE BUYING INTO A CULTURE AND A PHILOSOPHY, UH, THAT THAT REALLY DOES HAVE EVERYBODY IN OUR COMMUNITY FEELING SAFE, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR WORK.
ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE WE MOVE ON? UH, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON.
I AM, I HAVE SEVERAL QUESTIONS ACTUALLY, AND I'LL TRY TO KEEP THEM BRIEF FUNDING.
UM, CHIEF, YOU TALKED ABOUT RENEE HOBBS.
UM, I THINK YOU WERE MAKING REFERENCE TO HER EXPERTISE WITH MEDIA LITERACY.
UM, AND I WAS JUST, I WAS HOPING THAT YOU COULD EXPAND ON THAT, UM, WHAT HER ACTUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS ARE.
I MEAN, WHILE I CAN APPRECIATE, SOMETIMES PEOPLE ARE, ARE WELL KNOWN.
UM, BUT I WANNA MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOU KNOW, THAT THERE ARE SOME TANGIBLE, UM, SUCCESS THAT WE CAN, UM, HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, DUPLICATE HERE IN AUSTIN.
AND THEN AS AN EXTENSION OF THAT, UM, I WANT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT I'M UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY.
WHEN YOU SAY MEDIA LITERACY, ARE YOU SAYING SPECIFICALLY, YOU KNOW, LIKE VIDEO CONTENT THAT WE PRODUCE FOR CONSUMPTION EDUCATIONAL CONSUMPTION? YES, THAT'S CORRECT.
BECAUSE IT GOT ME THINKING ABOUT HOW FREQUENTLY I WISH THINGS WERE COMMUNICATED DIFFERENTLY AS THEY COME OUT OF THE DEPARTMENT AND GO OUT INTO THE PUBLIC.
UM, AND SO I, THAT'S WHAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT.
SO I GUESS MAYBE THAT'S MORE OF A PIO ISSUE, UM, WHICH I'D LIKE FOR US TO, SOMETIMES WE MISS THE MARK WITH HOW WE COMMUNICATE THINGS TO FOLKS WHEN IT COMES OUT OF THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND I'D LIKE FOR US TO IMPROVE UPON HOW WE COMMUNICATE THINGS TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, UM, DO, UH, UH, UH, I THINK IT WAS MR. ELLERS THAT SAID WHILE HE CAN APPRECIATE THAT WE'VE MADE GREAT STRIDES.
I AM, UH, YOU SAID THERE'S STILL MUCH ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
I'D LIKE VERY MUCH FOR YOU TO ELABORATE ON THAT.
YOU COULD EVEN JUST, YOU KNOW, TO BE SUCCINCT, LIKE BULLET POINTS, WE STILL NEED TO DO THIS, THIS, THIS, AND THIS, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR ME, OR, UM, WELL, SO I, I THINK, UH, AND WE'LL HAVE OBVIOUSLY A LOT, A LOT MORE IN OUR REPORT.
UM, HOPEFULLY TOMORROW THAT YOU CAN LOOK AT, WHICH WILL HAVE MORE EXPLANATION FOR, FOR SOME OF THIS, BUT, UM, WHAT WE MEAN BY ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
SO A COUPLE OF THINGS, I MEAN, UM, YOU KNOW, THE OVERALL QUALITY OF TRAINING DELIVERED TO THE 140 FOURTH CADET CLASS WAS EXCELLENT.
UM, BUT AT, AT TIMES SUFFERED FROM A LACK OF DELIBERATE PLANNING AND COORDINATION.
UH, IT RESULTED IN SOME PROBLEMS WITH LOGICAL TRAINING PROGRESSION, UH, CADETS WERE OCCASIONALLY FACED WITH COMPLEX TOPICS BEFORE RECEIVING THE FOUNDATIONAL MATERIAL.
UH, THERE WAS A LACK OF INTERCONNECTEDNESS AT TIMES BETWEEN MODULES THAT, THAT SILOED COURSE CONTENT FROM, UH, YOU KNOW, RELATED MATERIAL IN OTHER COURSES.
SO THIS WAS ESPECIALLY TRUE WHEN TALKING ABOUT, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, DEESCALATION AND USE OF FORCE.
UM, AND IT WAS A CONSTANT THEME IN HOW COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMMING WAS PRESENTED.
UH, WE FOUND IN MANY CASES, INSTRUCTORS, YOU KNOW, MADE LITTLE OR NO ATTEMPT TO, TO MAKE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SOME OF THAT PROGRAMMING, UH, AND THE BROADER LEARNING OBJECTIVES OF POLICE TRAINING, UM, NOW TO ITS CREDIT.
AND WE POINT THIS OUT IN THE REPORT, AND IT WAS TALKED ABOUT A LITTLE BIT TODAY.
THE ACADEMY HAS RECENTLY REVISED ITS STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES TO ENSURE A PROCESS OF CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT.
IT'S GOING TO INCLUDE PEER AND SUPERVISORY REVIEW QUALITY CONTROL OVER TEACHING METHODS AND COURSE INSTRUCTION, UM, WHILE ENCOURAGING BETTER INTEGRATION OF DEESCALATION PRINCIPALS AND COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS IN EACH FORCE.
[02:15:01]
JUST HAVING THE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES IN PLACE NOW THAT CLARIFY THE ROLE OF, UH, AN AUTHORITY OF THE DIVISION MANAGER, UM, AND THE ROLE OF THE TRAINING SUPERVISOR WHO WORKS UNDER THE DIVISION MANAGER.WE BELIEVE TO SUSTAINING, UM, THE REFORM EFFORTS GOING FORWARD AND, AND MAKING IT, UM, MORE LIKELY TO HAPPEN.
SO, UH, AND EVEN WITH, WITH, UH, SCHEDULING COORDINATION, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WAS AN ISSUE.
I THINK APD THE ACADEMY FULLY ACKNOWLEDGED WAS A PROBLEM IN THE 140 FOURTH.
UM, BUT THEY'VE ADDRESSED IT GOING FORWARD IN THE 140 FIFTH.
THEY'VE ALREADY IMPLANTED OUT THE SCHEDULE FOR THE 140 FIFTH.
I HAD MUCH BETTER COORDINATION THIS TIME BETWEEN LEARN SKILLS UNIT AND CADET TRAINING UNIT, UH, SUPERVISORS AND INSTRUCTORS, TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, ALL THE FOUNDATION COURSE MATERIALS WERE GOING TO BE TAUGHT BEFORE, UM, THE MORE COMPLEX SUBJECTS AND THAT THE SCHEDULING WAS, WAS REALLY THOUGHT OUT AND PLANNED AND NOT AS RUSHED, BECAUSE I THINK TO SOME EXTENT, WHEN THEY, WHEN THEY PUT TOGETHER THE 140 FOURTH SCHEDULE, THERE WAS A FEELING THAT THEY HAD TO KIND OF RUSH THE PROCESS A LITTLE BIT.
UM, AND SO I THINK THOSE THINGS HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED.
UM, WE WE'VE HAD, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE, UH, THE CHIEF MENTIONED CO-FACILITATION OF, OF COURSE CONTENT, UH, HAVING OUTSIDE INSTRUCTORS COME IN, WE'VE BEEN BIG PROPONENTS OF, OF HAVING TO SEE MORE, UH, OUTSIDE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS COME IN, PARTICULARLY IN DIVERSITY EQUITY, INCLUSION COURSES, CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING, BUT ALSO IN LAW RELATED CLASSES, FOR EXAMPLE.
UM, AND SO THE ACADEMY HAS RECENTLY HIRED A PART-TIME COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST WHO IS WORKING TO IDENTIFY, UH, ADDITIONAL OUTSIDE INSTRUCTORS, SUCH AS LAW PROFESSORS TO HELP COME IN AND TEACH SOME OF THOSE LAW RELATED CLASSES OR CO-TEACH.
CRAIG COULD PROBABLY TALK MORE ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
UM, THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS WHERE I THINK THERE'S BEEN A LACK OF BUY-IN BY INSTRUCTORS HAVE BEEN SOME PUSHBACK IT'S, IT'S NOT SURPRISING IN A, IN A POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT THAT'S THE CASE, BUT, UM, I THINK GIVEN THE LEADERSHIP THAT'S BEING SHOWN BY THE CURRENT COMMANDER BY DIVISION MANAGER, DR.
KRAGAN BY CHIEF JACOME, UM, IT, IT APPEARS THERE THEY'RE KIND OF MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND THEY'VE NOW GOT PROCESSES IN PLACE SUCH AS THESE REVISED STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES THAT ARE GOING TO ADDRESS THAT ADDRESS, THAT ISSUE, UM, OTHER CULTURAL ISSUES.
AND WE, WE, WE DO POINT OUT IN OUR REPORT, YOU'LL SEE THERE, YOU KNOW, WE HAD SOME CONCERNS ABOUT SOME OF THE MESSAGING THAT WAS TAKING PLACE, UM, COULD THAT SURVEYS SHOWED ABOUT MIDWAY THROUGH THAT IN SOME OF THE, UH, PERFORMANCE, ACCOUNTABILITY, OR COLLECTIVE DISCIPLINE SESSIONS.
THERE WAS ALLEGEDLY SOME INSTRUCTORS WHO HAD KIND OF MOCK THE ME A RE-IMAGINING PROCESS AND MAKE COMMENTS TO THE CADETS AS THEY WERE GETTING THEM TO DO THOSE THINGS THAT WAS ADDRESSED.
I KNOW BY, UH, ACADEMY LEADERSHIP, UH, MIDWAY THROUGH, UM, THERE WAS ANOTHER INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED LATER ON THAT WAS, UH, CAUSED SOME CONCERNS.
UM, BUT ON THE WHOLE, I THINK THESE THINGS ARE BEING ADDRESSED.
THAT BEING SAID, YOU KNOW, WE'D LOVE TO SEE MORE POSITIVE MESSAGING IN ACADEMY FACILITIES, JUST, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S A PROCEDURAL JUSTICE OR, UM, COMMUNITY ORIENTED, POLICING TYPE MESSAGING ON THE WALLS OF THE ACADEMY, UH, BANNERS, WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A BANNER IN THE GYM THAT THAT'S GOT IN OUR VIEW KIND OF A PROBLEMATIC US VERSUS THEM MESSAGE THAT'S BEEN UP THERE.
IT'S PROBABLY THE MOST PROMINENT BANNER, YOU KNOW, IN THE FACILITIES.
IT'S, UM, AND IT WAS A GIFT, I THINK, FROM A PRIOR CADET CLASS MANY YEARS AGO.
UM, BUT IT'S PROBABLY NOT SENDING THE RIGHT MESSAGE, UH, GIVEN WHAT, YOU KNOW, THE ACADEMY IS TRYING TO PRESENT.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S THESE CULTURAL THINGS.
THERE'S STILL OBVIOUSLY SOME ASPECTS OF A MILITARY STYLE ACADEMY.
THESE ARE THINGS THAT I THINK CONTINUE TO BE, CAN BE CONTINUED TO BE TWEAKED AND WORKED ON.
AND, UM, AND, AND, AND I THINK ARE BEING WORKED ON BY, BY THE LEADERSHIP THAT'S IN PLACE.
I APPRECIATE THOSE RESPONSES AS I DO LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THE REPORT AND WHAT SOME OF THOSE GAPS ARE, I THINK, BECAUSE THIS HAS TAKEN SO LONG THIS FAR, UM, THAT WANT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE ARE PUTTING THE NECESSARY RESOURCES IN PLACE.
AND, YOU KNOW, TO THE MAYOR'S POINT, I'M SO HAPPY TO GET FINALLY GET THIS REPORT, UM, BECAUSE THERE WERE REAL COSTS TO HALTING CADET CLASSES.
AND I DON'T JUST MEAN FINANCIAL.
UM, THERE WERE A LOT OF US WHO TOOK A LOT OF HEAT.
AND SO RECOGNIZING THAT, YOU KNOW, THE FOREMOST EXPERTS IN THE COUNTRY THAT OTHER STATES ARE CALLING OUR LITTLE BITTY CITY AND SEXES TO ASK,
[02:20:01]
HOW DO WE DO IT? WHAT DID WE DO? AND THEN JUST REMEMBERING HOW HARD IT WAS DURING THAT TIME.AND CERTAINLY DON'T FEEL VINDICATED SO MUCH AS I FEEL INSPIRED.
YOU KNOW, I FEEL PROUD THAT WE, THAT WE STUCK IT OUT.
WE DID WHAT WAS RIGHT, AND WE MADE IT THIS FAR AND WE'RE ONLY GETTING BETTER.
AND I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO KEEP GETTING BETTER, BUT NOT JUST SAY THE WORDS.
I THINK SOMEBODY SAID THE ACT IN ACTION EARLIER.
I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH OF MY COLLEAGUES SAID THAT, BUT I MEAN, WE NEED TO ACT, I DON'T WANT TO KEEP TALKING, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE AT SOME POINT REALLY GOT TIRED OF US TALKING AND TALKING TO, AND SO I APPRECIATE SEEING ACTION, UH, COME TO FRUITION.
HOW HAVE A FEW OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT I THINK THESE ARE FOR THE CHIEF.
SO CHIEF, YOU KNOW, TO YOUR POINT, AND YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE RESEARCH THAT I'VE DONE ABOUT, UM, THE MAKEUP OF OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM, JUST THE FACT THAT SO MANY OF THEM ARE VETERANS, UM, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN BROUGHT UP THE MENTAL HEALTH COMPONENT EARLIER, BUT I WANT TO ASK IT FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.
I WANT TO ASK IT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF HOW ARE WE TAKING CARE OF THOSE VETERANS.
UM, AND I HAVE SOME SPECIFIC QUESTIONS AROUND SUICIDE PREVENTION, SOME SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT TYPE OF THERAPIES.
THEY HAVE ACCESS TO SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT TYPES OF ALTERNATIVES TO, YOU KNOW, STANDARD WESTERN MEDICINE.
I WANT TO, I'D REALLY LIKE TO DIG DEEP INTO, AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THIS IS A QUESTION FOR, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, IF WE CAN'T ADDRESS IT, YOU KNOW, TODAY SUBSTANTIVELY, BUT THOSE ARE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE AROUND MENTAL HEALTH AND, AND SPECIFICALLY AS IT PERTAINS TO THE VETERANS COMMUNITY, UH, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, AND I'LL BE GLAD TO, TO BRIEF IT OUT MORE FULLY IN A, IN A PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, EITHER COMMISSIONER COMMITTEE MEETING, UM, W THE, THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS, UM, IN THE AREA OF EMPLOYEE WELLNESS IS, IS REMARKABLE.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, INCREASED, WE CREATED A PEER, YOU KNOW, A FULL-TIME PEER SUPPORT UNIT THAT, UM, IS AND CREATED A PROCESS REALLY FOR EMPLOYEES, ONE IN CIVILIAN TO BE ABLE TO REACH OUT FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, UH, WITHOUT FEAR OF, HEY, AM I GOING TO LOSE MY JOB? IF SOMEBODY FINDS OUT THAT THE PROCESS IS ANONYMOUS AND WE, I CAN TELL YOU, I'VE SPOKEN WITH THOSE FOLKS.
I KNOW THE NAMES, AND IT'S BETTER THAT I DON'T KNOW THE NAMES.
I KNOW SOME OF THE STORIES, AND I CAN TELL YOU, WE HAVE SAVED LIVES.
UM, YOU KNOW, HEARD OFFICERS TELLING THE STORY THAT THEY WERE THIS CLOSE TO ENDING IT, AND, AND THAT NOW THEY ARE, AND WE'VE EVEN HAD SOME OFFICERS THAT HAVE COME FORWARD AND ARE, YOU KNOW, TELLING THEIR STORY, UM, IN VARIOUS, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE, UH, HAD ONE AT OUR LAST, UH, IN SERVICE TRAINING THAT TOLD AN IMPACTFUL STORY.
UM, AND REALLY IT'S ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKING CARE OF OURSELVES AS EMPLOYEES.
SO GLAD TO BRIEF THAT OUT AND, UH, AND DO THAT IN A, FOR YOU IN A FUTURE, IN A FUTURE MEETING AND, AND BRING THE, KIND OF THE EXPERTS ON THE DEPARTMENT ON THAT.
AND THEN JUST TO, TO THAT POINT, YOU KNOW, WHEN SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I'D LIKE FOR Y'ALL TO HAVE PREPARED, YOU KNOW, THE CONVERSATION AROUND CRISIS MAPPING, FOR EXAMPLE, THOSE OBJECTIVES ARE TO ASSESS AND IMPROVE, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY CRISIS CARE SYSTEMS AND SERVICES.
I THINK WHILE THAT'S SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT VETERANS WHO ARE NOT POLICE OFFICERS, I THINK, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT APPLIES, UM, OUTSIDE OF SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT, UM, POLICE OR, UH, VETERANS WHO ARE, ARE STRUGGLING.
UM, ANOTHER OBJECTIVE IS TO STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIPS AMONG MILITARY AND CIVILIAN COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS.
IN WHICH CASE I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT AGENCIES ARE WE WORKING WITH, YOU KNOW, THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
ARE WE WORKING SPECIFICALLY WITH OUR LOCAL VETERANS COMMISSION? UM, I KNOW THERE'S A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT VETERANS, SPECIFIC ORGANIZATIONS I'D LIKE TO, I THINK IT'D BE PRUDENT FOR US TO, TO HAVE THEIR, UM, THEIR PARTNERSHIP AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, IT WAS ANOTHER ONE INTERAGENCY PROTOCOLS AROUND SUICIDE PREVENTION.
UM, NO, WHAT, WHAT DO WE DO? HOW DO WE SPOT THE SYMPTOMS AND THE SIGNS AND, YOU KNOW, AND HOW DO WE INTERVENE SUBSEQUENT TO RECOGNIZING THAT THE SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS.
AND I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO ANSWER THAT NOW I'M SAYING THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I REALLY LIKE TO DIG INTO WHEN WE DO BRING THAT FORWARD, UM, FROM THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION, I'LL, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY TALK TO MY, UH, CO-CHAIR AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION, BUT I THINK IT'S A GOOD ITEM TO PUT, TO PUT FORWARD FOR ONE OF OUR NEXT MEETINGS.
UM, ANOTHER QUESTION I HAVE, I APPRECIATE THAT YOU SAID THE THING ABOUT, UM, YOU TALKED ABOUT A BETTER WAY.
YOU TALKED ABOUT, YOU WANT TO BUILD A CULTURE OF LEADERSHIP, I THINK IS WHAT YOU SAID.
AND ONE OF MY QUESTIONS THAT I HAD WAS ABOUT LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING, UM, IS I WANNA KNOW HOW MUCH EMPHASIS WE'RE GOING TO PUT ON.
[02:25:01]
I THINK YOU MORE OR LESS SAID WHAT YOUR INTENTION IS, BUT I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF YOUR INTENTION STUFF.THAT'S A, THAT IS A LITTLE BIT OF A DEEPER CONVERSATION JUST TALKING ABOUT, BECAUSE IT, IT ISN'T LIKE I'M, I DON'T SEE IT FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF, WE'RE GOING TO GIVE SOME LEADERSHIP CLASSES AND, AND CALL IT A DAY.
IF YOU HAVE TO FORGIVE ME, I'M LISTENING, BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, I KEEP MOVING IN.
THE SUN KEEPS FOLLOWING ME, SO I'M LISTENING, BUT I'M GOING TO MOVE.
SO IT IS, IT IS ABOUT, UM, MAKING SURE THAT, UM, THAT WE ARE WALKING THE WALK AND, AND NOT ONLY ARE WE PROVIDING THE LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR EMPLOYEES, BUT THAT IMPORTANTLY WE'RE PROVIDING MENTORSHIP, UM, FOR OUR EMPLOYEES.
AND THEY ARE ABLE TO, UM, TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT, UH, WHATEVER THAT GOAL MIGHT BE.
SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS NOW OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHEETS FOR ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES DEPARTMENT WIDE, SO THAT, UM, SUPERVISORS HAVE AN IDEA OF ALL THEIR EMPLOYEES AND WHAT THEIR, WHAT THEIR CAREER GOALS ARE.
AND THEN THAT STARTS THE MENTORSHIP PROCESS.
AND THEN, AND THEN, UH, PROVIDING FORMAL TRAINING A DEEPER WAY IS ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE BIG COURSES THAT WE'RE USING RIGHT NOW, BUT OTHER, UH, LOOKING AT LEADERSHIP COMMAND COLLEGE, AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, WE HAVE NOT BEEN DELIVERING CONSISTENTLY FOR HIGHER LEVELS OF LEADERSHIP THAT WE'RE BRINGING THOSE BACK AND, UH, GIVING, UH, GIVING OUR FOLKS THE RIGHT TOOLS TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN LEADING THE DEPARTMENT.
AND IT REALLY, YOU KNOW, IF WE BUILD A WHOLE DEPARTMENT OF, OF LEADERS, THEN, THEN SERVANT LEADERSHIP BECOMES, YOU KNOW, IT BECOMES REAL, AND THIS IS, THIS IS THE WAY THAT WE'RE INTERACTING WITH THE PUBLIC.
AND THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, UM, THAT, THAT WE WERE WALKING THE WALK.
I BRING FORWARD AN ITEM THAT OFFERS SOME DIRECTION AROUND COMING BACK TO COUNCIL AND, YOU KNOW, GIVING US MORE INFORMATION AS THOSE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS, UM, DEVELOP FURTHER.
UM, SO, UM, THERE'S THAT, UH, I ECHO BY, UM, MY COLLEAGUES SENTIMENT AROUND THE RETENTION CLAUSE.
UM, BUT IT ALSO GOT ME THINKING ABOUT INCENTIVES, UM, FOR RETENTION.
AND I WONDER WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
SO CURRENTLY I'M THE ONLY INCENTIVES THAT WERE, AND I THINK I WANT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT INCENTIVES TO BRING NEW EMPLOYEES ONTO THE DEPARTMENT, CORRECT.
AND INCENTIVES IT TO THAT'S RECRUITMENT.
I'M THINKING MORE ALONG THE LINES OF STICKING AROUND AND INCENTIVES TO, TO RETAIN EMPLOYEES WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT.
SO WE, WE DID SOME, SOME THINGS LAST YEAR THAT, UH, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REPLICATING MOVING FORWARD, INCLUDING, UM, UH, FINDING WAYS TO RETAIN EMPLOYEES SPECIFICALLY THAT ARE ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE AND, UM, AND ALLOWING THEM, UH, SOME FINANCIAL BENEFITS, UH, THAT WE WORKED OUT THROUGH, UH, THE SICKLY PROGRAM, UH, IN RETURN FOR ESSENTIALLY A PROMISE THAT THEY WERE GOING TO STAY ON THE DEPARTMENT ONE, TWO OR THREE YEARS, UM, MORE PAST THEIR RETIREMENT, UM, THEIR RETIREMENT, UM, WHEN THEY WERE ELIGIBLE.
UH, WE CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE REST OF THE DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS NOT ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO RETAIN THEM.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THAT FINANCIAL INCENTIVES ARE ONE AND, AND I RECOGNIZE THAT THEY'RE IMPORTANT, BUT I THINK IT ALSO IS ABOUT CREATING A WORKPLACE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CULTURE AND WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW WE SHOW UP EVERY SINGLE DAY, UH, THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE PEOPLE THAT WANT TO SHOW UP HERE EVERY SINGLE DAY AND THEY LOOK FORWARD TO COMING TO WORK.
AND THAT IS ANOTHER AREA THAT I'M PUTTING, UH, QUITE A BIT OF EFFORT INTO RIGHT NOW.
UM, I ALSO THINK, AND THIS MIGHT BE MY LAST QUESTION YOU MADE REFERENCE TO THE TRANSITIONAL OFFICER PROGRAM.
CAN YOU EXPAND ON THAT? MAYBE I DIDN'T QUITE HEAR THE ENTIRE EXPLANATION.
UH, YEAH, I REALLY DIDN'T EXPLAIN IT VERY MUCH.
SO, UM, THE TRANSITIONAL OFFICER PROGRAM ESSENTIALLY IS WE'RE LOOKING AT OFFICERS THAT WORK FOR OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
THE DEPARTMENT HAS TO BE OF A CERTAIN SIZE.
IT CAN'T BE, YOU KNOW, LIKE A SIX OR SEVEN MEN DEPARTMENT.
UM, IT HAS TO, THEY HAVE TO HAVE BEEN A PEACE OFFICER FOR CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME, AND THEY STILL HAVE TO MEET THE SAME QUALIFICATIONS AS A REGULAR, UM, YOU KNOW, CADET WOULD, WOULD, AS FAR AS THEIR BACKGROUND HISTORY AND, AND ALL THE OTHER, OTHER THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT.
WE DO LOOK AT THEIR, UM, YOU KNOW, THEIR INTERNAL AFFAIRS HISTORY WITH THEIR CURRENT DEPARTMENT AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE, UM, THE PERSON WHO'S APPLYING, YOU KNOW, WE, WE REALLY WANT THEM TO COME ONTO THE DEPARTMENT, BUT WE ARE LOOKING TO INCENTIVIZE.
AND THAT IS ONE OF THE ONES WE DO OFFER A FINANCIAL INCENTIVE FOR, UH, FOR THE TOP PROGRAM, UH, TO BRING OTHER OFFICERS OVER HERE TO AUSTIN.
I APPRECIATE THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT BRINGS ABOUT ONE
[02:30:01]
OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE WERE ASKING EARLY ON, WHICH WAS, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH RESEARCH DID WE DO ABOUT OFFICERS AS WE WERE RECRUITING THEM.AND IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, THERE WAS A CLAUSE WHERE THERE ARE CERTAIN TYPES OF OFFENSES THAT AREN'T DETECTABLE AFTER A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME.
I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT THAT'S CALLED, BUT, UM, I HOPE THAT IN OUR OBSERVATION OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS RECORDS AND ADMIN RECORDS, I HOPE THAT THERE'S NOT OUT, THAT WE DON'T SAY WE DID IT.
WE TOOK A DEEP DIVE AND WE, AND WE LOOKED AT EVERYTHING, BUT NOT ACKNOWLEDGED TO US IN THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
WE LOOKED AT EVERYTHING WE COULD, THERE WAS SOME STUFF WE COULDN'T LOOK AT IF THAT'S THE CASE.
IS THAT THE KIND OF THING THAT YOU GUYS GENERALLY DISCLOSE, OR IS IT SOMETHING THAT YOU COULD ADD TO THE, YOU KNOW, HOW WE REPORT ON, ON OUR FUTURE SUCCESSES WITH THE, UM, WITH THE TRANSITIONAL OFFICER PROGRAM? SO, UM, WITH REGARD TO, YOU KNOW, UH, THEIR INTERNAL AFFAIRS RECORDS, IT DEPENDS ON WHETHER THEY'RE A CIVIL SERVICE, UH, CITY OR NOT.
UM, BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES, CHAPTER 1 43 WILL COVER THAT.
AND, AND THE ADMISSIBILITY OF, OF US HAVING VISIBILITY INTO IT.
WE, UM, WE'LL ALWAYS, UH, EVEN, EVEN IN THOSE AREAS WHERE, UM, THAT THEY HAVE CIVIL SERVICE WILL, WILL OBTAIN A, SIGNED A CONSENT FORM FROM THE APPLICANT THAT WE CAN SHOW TO THE DEPARTMENT THAT THEY'RE COMING FROM TO SAY THIS, THIS, THIS INDIVIDUAL HAS AGREED TO, FOR YOU TO DISCLOSE ALL OF THE MATERIAL TO US.
SO, UH, WE DO OUR VERY BEST TO, TO DIG INTO THOSE RECORDS.
I APPRECIATE KNOWING THAT, AND MY HOPE IS THAT THAT'S A REQUIREMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO SIGN THE CONSENT FORM IF YOU'D LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR DEPARTMENT.
I THINK I HAD, GIVE ME ONE SECOND, ONE NOTE, THAT'S NOT ON MY NOTEBOOK.
CREAGAN TALK ABOUT, UH, TA CENTERS OR, YOU KNOW, USING THE TA CENTER APPROACH.
UM, UH, DID I HEAR THAT CORRECTLY? YEAH.
USING SORT OF A TA SYSTEM IN TERMS OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER, RIGHT.
JUST TO MAKE SURE I'M THINKING TEACHING ASSISTANT.
SO LIKE HAVING BEEN AN INSTRUCTOR AND THEN MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE SOMEONE WHO'S AVAILABLE TO ASSIST THEM IN THE ACTIVE LEARNING SO THAT IF THEY NEEDED TO DIVIDE INTO SMALLER GROUPS OR WHATNOT, THEY COULD DO IT EASIER.
UM, SO AT LARGE UNIVERSITIES, LIKE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, YOU HAVE ONE PROFESSOR AND LIKE THREE WEEKS TO ACTUALLY ASSIST.
UM, SO IF WE HAD TO KEEP OUR CLASSES AT A HUNDRED, UM, THAT WE WOULD BE EMPLOYING A SYSTEM THAT WOULD ALLOW THEM TO HAVE IT FEEL LIKE A SMALLER CLASSROOM.
WELL, I'M GLAD I ASKED BECAUSE I COMPLETELY MISUNDERSTOOD WHAT YOU WERE SAYING.
I THOUGHT YOU WERE SAYING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, HAVING A REP FROM, UM, SO LET'S SAY FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAD THE CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW TO RESPOND TO MENTAL HEALTH CRISES.
SO HAVING SOMEBODY FROM INTEGRAL CARE BE A PART, YOU KNOW, A DIRECT PART OF THE CURRICULUM, UM, TALKING ABOUT HOW TO DEAL WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, HOPEFULLY SOMEBODY FROM THE ADA COMMUNITY WOULD HAVE THAT DIRECT RELATIONSHIP WITH, YOU KNOW, THE TRAINING ACADEMY.
UH, I THINK WE SPOKE BRIEFLY ABOUT, I THINK CHIEF SPOKE BRIEFLY ABOUT SOME OF THE MODULES THAT ARE JUST MORE WEIGHTY AND HAVING SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS COME AND HELP WITH THAT.
SO I THOUGHT WHEN YOU WERE SAYING, TA, I THOUGHT YOU WERE SAYING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ASSISTANCE.
SO TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, THE CURRICULUM IS BEING IS AIDED AND BEING TAUGHT BY PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPERTS IN THEIR FIELDS AS YOU'RE TEACHING THAT MODULE.
WE USE THE TERM CO-FACILITATION, UM, FOR THAT SAME EXACT COMP CONCEPT.
AND SO YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT, IS THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND WE HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE ROOM TO SORT OF ASSIST ON, YOU KNOW, HOW THIS MAY HAPPEN WITHIN A PRACTICAL, UM, ATMOSPHERE.
UM, AND THEN WE STILL HAVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HOURS, UM, WHERE WE'LL HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, INDIVIDUALS FROM THE COMMUNITY COMING AND TO THE CADETS.
BUT IN, IN CONTRAST TO THE WAY THAT WE DID IT FOR THE ONE 44TH, IT WOULDN'T JUST BE PRIMARILY LECTURE, BUT ALSO ENGAGING IN, UM, KIND OF MORE PARTICIPATORY ACTIVITIES WITH THE CADETS.
FORGIVE ME, IT'S COME HOME FROM SCHOOL TIME SOMETHING'S HAPPENING.
I THINK I HEARD WHAT YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT CO-FACILITATION.
I THINK THAT ANSWERS MY QUESTION.
UM, ALONG THOSE LINES, I THINK THE ONE OTHER QUESTION I HAD CHIEF MIGHT'VE ANSWERED IT WHEN HE WAS AT, UH, ANSWERING SOMEBODY ELSE'S QUESTION.
UM, AND THEN, UH, I DON'T KNOW THAT ANYBODY ANSWERED MY QUESTION ABOUT RENEE HOBBS
[02:35:01]
AND SPEAKING TO ACCOMPLISHMENTS, YOU KNOW, INSTANCES OF SUCCESS, OTHER CITIES, WHERE THERE WAS, UM, MEASURABLE SUCCESS.UM, I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THE CONTRACT WITH RENEE HOBSON.
I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH HER, UM, A LOT LEADING UP TO THE CONTRACT BECAUSE I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT HER EXPERIENCE, UM, SHE WAS RECOMMENDED FROM THE CROLL TEAM.
UM, SHE'S OUT OF UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND.
UM, SHE IS INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN FOR THINKING ABOUT MEDIA LITERACY EDUCATION.
SO SHE ALREADY HAS A TRAINING IN PLACE.
UM, HOWEVER, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DISCUSSED WITH HER IS THIS IS VERY UNIQUE, RIGHT? NO ONE CAN, THE COUNTRY HAS DONE SOMETHING SIMILAR TO OUR VIDEO REVIEW COMMITTEE.
UM, AND I REMEMBER READING THAT REPORT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT I WAS STILL AT AND MY ACADEMIC UNIVERSITY JOB AND SAYING, THIS IS REALLY WELL DONE, AND THIS IS REALLY INTERESTING, BUT WE HAVEN'T SEEN THIS TYPE OF WORK BEFORE.
UM, AND SO SHE'S MAKING SURE THAT SHE IS GOING TO TALK AND MEET WITH SOME OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS FROM THAT PREVIOUS VIDEO REVIEW THAT SHE SEES HOW OUR PROCESS IS GOING TO PLACE SO THAT SHE UNDERSTANDS, HOW ARE WE TRANSLATING, WHAT WE WOULD SEE AS MEDIA LITERACY IN SORT OF A GREATER, UM, KIND OF SCOPE TO SPECIFICALLY WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, SO SHE'S GOING TO COME OUT TO AUSTIN FIRST TO TALK TO THE INSTRUCTORS, TO TALK TO POLICE OFFICERS ABOUT SPECIFICALLY THEIR JOB, TO ALSO LOOK AT SOME OF THE BODY-WORN CAMERA FOOTAGE AND SOME OF THE VIDEOS THAT WE HAVE BEEN UTILIZING TO SORT OF DIAGNOSE WHAT OUR NEEDS ARE.
UM, AND ALSO ANOTHER ASPECT OF HER CONTRACT IS A PROFESSIONAL PAPER TO REALLY BE DISCUSSING HOW WE'RE DOING THIS DIFFERENTLY.
UM, SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WAS A DELIVERABLE IN LINE WITH BEING ABLE TO RECORD OUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS THE SUCCESS, UM, FROM THIS PARTICULAR TRAINING.
I WAS SHUTTING DOWN SOME NOTES, UM, AND IT DEFINITELY ANSWERS MY QUESTIONS ALONG THOSE LINES.
AND I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, THAT PROCESS, THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS, THE, YOU KNOW, GETTING THAT CONTRACT DONE, UM, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
I ALSO WANTED TO MAKE NOTE, I THINK IT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PRODUCING OUR OWN VIDEOS.
UM, I THINK IT JUST MAKES SENSE THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN SPECIFIC TRAINING MATERIAL.
I DO WONDER BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN WHAT THE COST OF PRODUCING FILM AND EDITING FILM, AND, YOU KNOW, I, I DO WONDER DO WE HAVE THE CAPACITY WITHIN THE CITY TO HAVE IT STAY IN HOUSE? ARE WE GOING TO HAVE TO GET A FILM CREW AND THE WHOLE BIT, LIKE, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE PRACTICALLY? YOU KNOW, THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND AS SOON AS I HAVE THE ANSWER, I WILL BE GLAD TO PROVIDE IT.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, W WE'RE BRAINSTORMING HERE AND WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO COME UP WITH SOME GOOD, INNOVATIVE, UH, WAYS OF GETTING, AND THAT JUST MADE COMPLETE SENSE TO ME WHEN I HEARD THAT IDEA, I'M IN FULL SUPPORT OF IT, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ATX IN HERE, WHICH, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE VERY CAPABLE, BUT THEY'RE ALSO VERY TASKED WITH OTHER THINGS AND MAY NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY AND WE MAY NEED TO GO OUTSIDE.
UH, SO, UM, SO WE'LL BE EXAMINING THAT AND I'LL BE GLAD TO REPORT OUT IN THE FUTURE.
AND AS YOU'RE, AS YOU BRING US THAT REPORT, AND AS YOU'RE MAKING THAT ANALYSIS, I WONDER IF SOMETHING TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION IS THAT THERE ARE SO MANY MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY WHO ARE SO COMMITTED TO SEEING US BE SUCCESSFUL WITH THIS PROCESS THAT I, I SORT OF WONDER IF WE HAVE, I MEAN, WE'RE A CITY FULL OF ARTISTS, A CITY FULL OF MUSICIANS AND FILMMAKERS.
AND I WONDER IF WE HAVE THE CAPACITY WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, UM, EVEN IF WE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THE CAPACITY WITHIN THE CITY, I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE IMPORTANCE OF IT, BUT I WOULDN'T, YOU KNOW, I, I WOULD BE VERY CURIOUS TO SEE WHAT THAT NUMBER WOULD LOOK LIKE IF WE DID HAVE TO GO OUTSIDE OF THE CITY TO PRODUCE SUCH A VIDEO OR A SUCH A SERIES OF VIDEOS.
UM, AND EVEN THAT, LIKE THE SCOPE JUST SOUNDS LIKE IT COULD BE A BIG NUMBER.
WE'LL CERTAINLY KEEP, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL KEEP YOU AND THE CITY MANAGER APPRISED OF THAT PROCESS AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AND I'LL GO AHEAD AND CLOSE Y'ALL.
I APPRECIATE ALL THIS WORK THAT CROWE HAS DONE TO HELP US ON THIS JOURNEY OF RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, YOU KNOW, IT'S KINDA HARD TO BELIEVE THAT IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS, YOU KNOW, THEIR INSIGHTS HAVE BEEN INVALUABLE.
I'M SUPER GRATEFUL THAT CHIEF CHUCK COHN AND THE DEPARTMENT ARE TRULY TO COUNCIL MEMBER ALTARS.
MAYOR PRO TEM WALTER'S POINT ABOUT APPRECIATING THE WILLINGNESS TO TRY IT, THE WILLINGNESS TO PIVOT, YOU KNOW, THAT REALLY DOES REQUIRE COMMITMENT.
AND I APPRECIATE THAT COMMITMENT.
I THINK WE CAN ONLY GO UP FROM HERE.
UM, I APPRECIATE THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE EXCITED ABOUT HOW MANY OF THOSE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN ACCOMPLISHED, BUT RECOGNIZING THAT WE STILL HAVE SO FAR TO GO, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT US TO TOOT OUR OWN, OUR OWN HORN TOO LOUD.
YOU KNOW, I, I APPRECIATE THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
WE ALL SHOULD APPRECIATE THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS, BUT I DON'T WANT TO GET COMPLACENT BECAUSE WE, YOU KNOW, WE CHECKED OFF
[02:40:01]
A BUNCH OF BOXES, BUT THEN WE ADDED A WHOLE BUNCH MORE BOXES.SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CAREFUL NOT TO GET COMPLACENT.
WE HAD A, A BIG PUBLIC DEBATE LAST YEAR ABOUT HOW TO DETERMINE, I MEAN, THE, THE DEBATE CONTINUES.
I I'M SEEING IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
I'M HEARING PEOPLE TALK ABOUT IT, HOW TO DETERMINE HOW MANY POLICE OFFICERS A CITY NEEDS.
YOU KNOW, THIS EXPERT SAYS, THIS IS THE WAY TO, TO COME UP WITH THE FORMULA.
ANOTHER EXPERT SAYS THE EXACT OPPOSITE THINGS.
YOU HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS THAT SAY THIS, AND THEN YOU HAVE THESE ORGANIZATIONS THAT REPRESENT POLICE DEPARTMENTS THAT SAY, NO, THAT'S NOT IT AT ALL.
AND SO I REALLY, I WANT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT AS THE DEBATE CONTINUES, YOU KNOW, THAT WE, THAT WE ALL TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, AT THE VERY LEAST MEET ONE ANOTHER IN THE MIDDLE, YOU KNOW, OUR VOTERS OVERWHELMINGLY SAID, NO, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GIVE ME SOME ARBITRARY RATIO OF HOW DO WE GET OFFICERS TO RESIDENTS? WHAT THEY SAID WAS WE HAVE ENOUGH POLICE RIGHT NOW, OR, BUT THEY DIDN'T SAY RIGHT, WAS THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH POLICE RIGHT NOW.
I THINK ALL OF US RECOGNIZE THAT WE'RE SHORT-STAFFED.
I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S A FACT, THAT'S NOT AN OPINION.
WE NEED TO FILL AS MANY POSITIONS AS WE NEED, UM, THAT WE BUDGETED FOR.
AND I THINK IT'S ALSO CLEAR THAT WE NEED TO FILL THOSE POSITIONS RESPONSIBLY.
TO YOUR POINT, YOU, YOU SAID IT WAS HARD, YOU WISH IT WASN'T SO MUCH PRESSURE, BUT YOU DID RECOGNIZE THAT IT WAS NECESSARY.
AND, YOU KNOW, CHANGE IS HARD AND GROWTH IS HARD.
AND, AND I, I HOPE WE KEEP GOING THROUGH THE NECESSARY PAIN TO DO IT RIGHT AND RESPONSIBLY.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T FORGET AS A COUNCIL.
WE, WE VOTED TO PUT THAT PAUSE ON CADET CLASSES FOR A REASON, FOR MULTIPLE REASONS, FOR A LIFETIME OF, OF WRONG AND LAW ENFORCEMENT REASONS.
YOU KNOW, WE OPTED TO BE THE CITY TO GET IT RIGHT, TO GET IT RIGHT.
AND I, I JUST, I FEEL SO PROUD THAT WE'RE MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION.
WE HAD, YOU KNOW, WE HAD SOME ALLEGATIONS THAT WE HAD TO ADDRESS, AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MADE IT SO THAT NOBODY COULD DENY I'M NECESSARY.
UM, WITH THIS PROCESS, I THINK, YOU KNOW, SUBSEQUENT TO HEARING THOSE REPORTS ABOUT, UM, CADET ACADEMY AND HOW THEY WERE BEING TRAINED, YOU KNOW, I REALLY, I ALSO, YOU KNOW, TO MY COLLEAGUES' SENTIMENT, IT, IT REALLY DID FEEL GOOD.
YOU KNOW, WATCHING THOSE PEOPLE, ASCEND THE STAIR AND, AND TAKE THEIR FAMILY UP THE STAIRS WITH THEM.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, SEEING THE PRIDE IN THEIR FAMILY'S FACES, I WANT THEM TO BE PROUD OF THEM.
YOU KNOW, I THINK I WANT US ALL TO BE PROUD OF THEM.
I THINK A, A LOT OF WHAT WE'VE SEEN WITH THE 140 FOURTH CLASS HAS BEEN SO PROMISING, AND WE COULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN THERE WITHOUT CROW, WITHOUT COLLABORATIVE COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP.
WE, WITHOUT ADEPT, UH, WE OWE OUR COMMUNITY A TON OF GRATITUDE.
THEY HAVE POURED SO MUCH OF THEMSELVES INTO THIS PROCESS, EVEN FOLKS WHO, YOU KNOW, HAD TO GET BEYOND FEELINGS OF FRUSTRATION AND FRANKLY ANGER AND, AND KEEP ON, CONTINUE WITH THE PROCESS AND DEDICATE THEIR TIME, THEIR EFFORT, THEIR ENERGY, THEIR INTEGRITY, AND THEY'RE STILL DOING IT.
SO TO THE COMMUNITY, I MEAN, THE BIGGEST, THANK YOU FROM MY COLLEAGUES AND I, THAT THAT WE COULD POSSIBLY OFFER FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
WE ALL OWE YOU A DEBT OF GRATITUDE FOR CONTINUING TO DO THE HARD WORK AND A LOT OF FOLKS ON A VOLUNTEER BASIS.
SO IN MY MIND'S EYE THAT THIS IS THE PATH TO A SAFER AUSTIN.
I AM SO GLAD WE'RE STICKING TO IT.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE FUTURE.
I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO SEEING WHAT THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT LOOKS LIKE WHEN I HAVE A BIG FAT GRANDBABY BOUNCING ON MY KNEE AND I'LL SMILE BIG.
CAUSE I DON'T KNOW THAT THIS COUNCIL WAS A PART OF MAKING THAT HAPPEN.
SO COLLEAGUES, I THINK WE ALL OWE OURSELVES A LITTLE PAT ON THE BACK AND LET'S JUST KEEP DOING THE WORK.
I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO GET READY TO BRING HIM THE COMMISSION HERE.
I THINK THAT WAS THE LAST HAND WE HAD RAISED A CROSSOVER OFF A VERY PRO TAB.
I'LL BE, I'LL BE REALLY QUICK.
I JUST WANTED TO BUILD OFF OF SOMETHING THAT COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON SAID BEFORE.
UM, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE NEED FOR LEADERSHIP TRAINING AND YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVING THE BACKGROUND CHECKS, ET CETERA.
UM, THAT JOG MY MEMORY BACK TO WHEN WE WERE WORKING IN DECEMBER OF 2019, WHICH IS WHERE A LOT OF THIS WORK FOR THE ACADEMY STARTED.
WE SHOULD NOT FORGET THAT THIS STARTED LONG BEFORE GEORGE FLOYD, UM, THAT RESOLUTION, I HAD AN AMENDMENT THAT HAD ASKED FOR THIS PROCESS TO YIELD RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR EVALUATOR ON HOW TO DO LEADERSHIP TRAINING, THAT WOULD BENEFIT THE APD ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE, UM, AS WELL AS FOR IMPROVING BACKGROUND CHECKS AND SCREENING.
[02:45:01]
THAT THE CITY MANAGER AND THE CHIEF, UM, LOOK BACK AT THAT AMENDMENT AND SEE IF THERE ARE OTHER PIECES TO THIS PROCESS, UM, THAT WE NEED TO INCORPORATE INTO OUR NEXT STEPS.UM, CAUSE I THINK THERE ARE SOME OTHER PIECES JUST LOOKING BACK AT THAT.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT'S, THERE ARE REAL OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO INVEST IN OUR POLICE OFFICERS, UM, ALONG THE WAY HERE THAT ARE IMPORTANT FOR ACHIEVING ACHIEVING OUR GOALS.
AND THANK YOU MAYOR FOR LETTING ME MENTION THAT SOUNDS GOOD.
AND WITH THAT HERE, AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MY APOLOGIES, BUT COULD WE HAVE KIND OF A STANDING AGENDA ITEM OF TOPICS THAT WE WANT TO DISCUSS AT THE NEXT WORK SESSION? CAUSE THERE ARE A COUPLE THAT WE, THAT WE JUST KEEP MISSING.
ONE IS, UM, MAYOR THE, THE CONVERSATION THAT YOU AND I HAVE HAD ABOUT HAVING A WORK SESSION AND I APOLOGIZE THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH APD, BUT I, WHERE YOU ABOUT TO WRAP UP FOR THE DAY.
SO YOU AND I HAVE TALKED A FEW TIMES, YOU HAD DONE SOME REALLY GOOD BUDGET DIRECTION IN LAST YEAR'S BUDGET THAT RELATED TO DOING, TO HAVING HR DO HUMAN RESOURCES, DO A STUDY OF COUNCIL OF, UM, LET'S SEE MARKET RESEARCH AROUND COUNCIL, STAFFING, SALARIES AND WHATNOT.
AND THEN I HAD SPOKEN WITH YOU AND I BELIEVE THAT THE MANAGER AS WELL ABOUT LOOKING, GETTING A CONVERSATION, GOING WITH HR AND OUR MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE FOLKS ABOUT SOME OTHER PROVISIONS RELATED TO COUNCIL STAFF THAT I THINK ARE IMPORTANT TO DISCUSS.
I WON'T GO INTO IT CAUSE WE'RE NOT POSTED, BUT I WOULD, I DON'T THINK IT'S A LONG DISCUSSION, BUT I DO THINK WE NEED TO PROVIDE SOME DIRECTION TO STAFF.
AND I DON'T KNOW THAT IT NEEDS TO BE AN IFC.
AND SO IF WE COULD EMBED THAT WITHIN OUR NEXT WORK SESSION, I THINK THAT'D BE GOOD.
UM, WHEN, ON THE DAY THAT WE HAD OUR COUNCIL MEETING, UM, AND IT WAS INCLEMENT WEATHER AND UM, THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS WERE FOR THE MOST PART CLOSED ALL AROUND THIS AREA.
I MENTIONED THAT I WANTED TO TALK AT OUR NEXT WORK SESSION ABOUT, UM, APPROVING A POLICY THAT IF, IF MOST OF THE LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE CLOSED, IF IT'S NOT AN EMERGENCY REASON THAT WE NOT HAVE OUR COUNCIL MEETING EITHER.
AND SO I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN HAVING THAT COME UP ON OUR WORK AGAIN.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S A LONG CONVERSATION.
I THINK IT'S JUST, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN PROBABLY DO AS A DISCUSSION RATHER THAN AS AN IFC.
I THINK YOU'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE THOSE WITHOUT IFC.
WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE GET, AND CAN WE DO THIS LIKE EACH WORK SESSION IF WE THINK WE HAVE TIME JUST TO SAY LIKE FUTURE ITEMS IS THAT MY IN TROUBLE AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT, BUT WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT TOO, JUST TO LIST THAT IS GIVE PEOPLE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SURFACE THINGS THEY WANT TO DISCUSS.
ALL RIGHT, WITH THAT, THEN AT 4 35, A LOT OF GOOD WORK DONE TODAY.
A LOT OF REALLY GOOD STAFF, PREVIOUS MANAGER.
THIS WOULD BE THESE ADJURED WE'RE RUNNING BEHIND, BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULDN'T MATTER.