* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] UH, [CALL TO ORDER] I WILL CALL THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE TO ORDER. IT IS JUNE 2ND, 2025 AT EXACTLY 2:00 PM AND THIS MEETING, UH, THIS IS, UH, A MEETING OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE. WE ARE MEETING AT AUSTIN CITY HALL, LOCATED 3 0 1 WEST SECOND STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS. AND WE HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT. UH, OUR VICE CHAIR LANE COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN AND COUNCIL MEMBER QRI WITH THE MAYOR OF THE DAAS. UM, I WAS TOLD WE HAVE NO SPEAKERS TODAY, NO SPEAKERS. UH, THE FIRST ACTION ITEM [Approval of Minutes] WILL BE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CALLED PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING ON MAY 19TH. I WILL ACCEPT A MOTION TO APPROVE THOSE MINUTES. UM, DONE SO BY COUNCIL MEMBER QRI, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN. WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE MIN MINUTES ARE APPROVED. UH, COLLEAGUES, WE [2. Briefing on the progress and updates to the Austin Police Department data portal developed in response to Council Resolution No. 20230914-132. [Sheldon Askew, Assistant Chief - Austin Police Department].] HAVE A, UM, WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER TWO. WE HAVE A BRIEFING ON THE PROGRESS AND UPDATES OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT'S DATA PORTAL PORTAL. AND, UH, WE WILL NOW TAKE THAT UP. GOOD AFTERNOON. UH, MY NAME'S OZZY KATCH. I'M THE IT MANAGER FOR THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT. I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THE PROGRESS FOR THE A PD OPEN DATA PORTAL, WHICH IS A RESPONSE TO THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 20 23 0 9 1 4 DASH 1 32. UM, I WANNA BE MINDFUL THAT I WAS BROUGHT TO THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT AFTER THIS RESOLUTION WAS, UM, INITIATED AND PASSED. AND SO I'VE BEEN THE INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBLE FOR LEADING THE TEAMS THAT'S BEEN BRINGING THIS ABOUT. OKAY. SO AT THIS TIME, OUR IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS IS AT ABOUT 76%. UH, WE HAVE, UM, 21 DATA SETS THAT WERE REQUIRED PER THE RESOLUTION. AND WHEN WE SAY DATA SETS, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT LITERALLY LINES OF DATA, UM, FOR VARYING DEGREES OF, UM, OF INFORMATION. UH, THERE HAVE BEEN 16 DATA SETS SO FAR THAT HAVE BEEN MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE. AND FIVE DATA SETS ARE AWAITING CREATION AND IMPLEMENTATION ON THE OPEN DATA PORTAL. SO, UH, WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH THE FIVE REMAINING DATA SETS TO BE ADDED. UH, ONE IN PARTICULAR IS THE SWORN NON-SWORN ASSIGNMENTS. UM, WE ARE, FOR THE MAJORITY OF THESE THAT WE'RE STILL PENDING, WE ARE NOT THE AUTHORITATIVE SOURCE FOR THE DATA THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THIS. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, THIS ONE, WE'RE STILL WAITING FOR UKG DATA WAREHOUSES TO BE IMPLEMENTED SO THAT WE CAN ACCURATELY REPORT ON INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE THE NUMBER OF PERSONNEL, THE CATEGORY OF PERSONNEL, BUT IN PARTICULAR THE HOURS THAT ARE WORKED BY THOSE INDIVIDUALS. SO ALL OF THIS IS INFORMATION THAT'S CAPTURED IN THE HUMAN RESOURCES SYSTEM. AND AS SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW, BOTH, UM, HUMAN RESOURCES, UH, HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING TWO VERY, UH, CRITICAL IMPLEMENTATIONS. UH, THE FIRST OF WHICH IS UKG, AND THEN THE SECOND OF WHICH IS WORKDAY, WHICH IS GONNA BE GOING LIVE SHORTLY. SO BOTH OF THOSE SYSTEMS ARE CURRENTLY, UM, BASICALLY VERY CRITICAL IN WORKING ON WHAT THEY'RE WORKING ON. AND SO WE ARE KIND OF PAUSED AT THIS POINT WITH THESE DATA SETS IN ORDER TO, UH, AWAIT THE DATA WAREHOUSES FOR THESE DATA SETS, WHICH ARE NOW COLLECTING THE AUTHORITATIVE DATA. AND THEN WE CAN IMPLEMENT THAT DATA IN OUR DATA WAREHOUSE OR, ALL RIGHT. UH, SO I'M GONNA GO TO, I'M GONNA WATCH THIS NOT WORK ANYMORE. OKAY. UH, ALRIGHT. UM, SO OVERTIME HOURS BY INDIVIDUAL IS ANOTHER ONE. UH, THAT'S EXACTLY THE SAME STORY. SO I'M NOT GONNA BELABOR THE POINT. UM, THE OVERTIME EXPENDITURES BY ACTIVITY CATEGORY, AGAIN, THAT'S THE SAME SITUATION. WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT UKG IMPLEMENTATION AND A DATA WAREHOUSE THEREIN. AND THEN CITATIONS, THIS IS ANOTHER INTERESTING ONE AT THIS TIME. UH, THIS DATA SET WAS DESCRIBED BY A WARRANT SERVICE ARREST, OTHER ARRESTS AND WARNINGS BY LEAD CHARGE, AS WELL AS CITATIONS AND TICKETS. SO OUR CITATIONS AND TICKETS CURRENTLY AREN'T, ARE CAPTURED ON ANY CITATION DEVICE, AND THEY'RE GOING DIRECTLY INTO THE MUNICIPAL COURT SYSTEM. UM, WE ARE CURRENTLY UNDERGOING A PROJECT TO IDENTIFY A NEW E CITATION DEVICE, AND THEN, UM, IMPLEMENT THAT IN A WAY THAT WE ARE THE CO THE CUSTODIAN OF RECORD FOR THOSE TWO PARTICULAR DATA TYPES. UM, ALL RIGHT. AND THEN THE SITE AND RELEASE DATA SET. UM, ONE MAJOR IMPACT TO THIS IS THAT, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF UNSTRUCTURED DATA TO BE CAPTURED FOR THIS DATA SET. AND SO THE DOCUMENTED REASON FOR THE DISCRETIONARY ARREST IS, UM, IS CAPTURED WITHIN THE BODY OF THE RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. UH, IN APRIL OF THIS YEAR, WE GOT, OR OF LAST YEAR, UM, NO, I'M SORRY, APRIL OF 2024, WE FINALLY GOT ACCESS TO THE BODY OF OUR TEXT. BUT WE ARE ALSO GOING, UH, IN OUR DATA WAREHOUSE, BUT WE'RE ALSO GOING THROUGH, [00:05:01] UM, AND NOW STARTING TO MANUALLY EXTRACT THAT DATA AND CHARACTERIZE TO GET TO THAT DOCUMENTED REASON FOR THE DISCRETIONARY USE OF ARREST. SO WE HAVE PARTS OF THESE DATA SETS, BUT SOME OF THE CRITICAL IMPORTANT PIECES ARE PIECES THAT ARE EITHER IN UNSTRUCTURED DATA OR, UM, WE HAVEN'T HAD ACCESS TO UNTIL, UH, RECENTLY. SO I'LL, UH, I'LL GO INTO THE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK. SO SOME OF THE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE HAD IS FOR CRIME REPORTS, ADDING COLUMNS TO SHOW X AND Y COORDINATES LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE AND ADDRESS. UM, I CAN TELL YOU CANDIDLY, LIKE I'VE HAD A LOT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WHERE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT AND THE IMPACT TO THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT HAVE BEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, NOT VOLUNTEERED THEIR INFORMATION INTO OUR SYSTEM. RIGHT? UM, I CONSTANTLY CAUTION PEOPLE THAT THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF SOMEBODY'S LIFE AND WE WANNA BE REALLY CONSCIENTIOUS THAT WE'RE NOT, NOT COLLECTING THEIR INFORMATION BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO VOLUNTEER IT TO US. THEY CALLED US FOR HELP. NOW WE'VE GOT TO, WE'VE COME TO THEM AND WE NEED TO BE VERY COMPASSIONATE AND UNDERSTANDING ABOUT HOW WE PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY. UM, AND TAKING A VERY KEEN EYE AT THE ACTUAL XY COORDINATES AND THE ADDRESS. UM, SO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS HOW WE CAN JITTER THOSE IN A CONSISTENT WAY THAT STILL ALLOWS FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS AS WELL AS FOR, UM, THE, UH, EDUCATION FIELD TO EDUCATORS TO EXAMINE THAT INFORMATION AND USE IT FOR, YOU KNOW, STUDIES AND ET CETERA. SO, UH, I BELIEVE YOU ALL HAD A SPECIAL COUNSEL FOR THE USE OF FORCE. UM, THERE WAS A DESIRE FOR 2018 AND 2019 DATA, ROWS OF DATA, AND I BELIEVE DR. ENG WAS VERY, UH, KEY AND THOROUGH IN EXPLAINING THE, UM, STATUS OF USE OF FORCE. AND THEN, UH, PEOPLE ARE DEFINITELY WAITING FOR THAT TRAFFIC STOP DATA SET. UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH. UM, WE DO HAVE A APD OPEN DATA ASSETS@AUSTINTEXAS.GOV EMAIL ADDRESS THAT WE REGULARLY, UM, ALLOW PEOPLE TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS OR GIVE US FEEDBACK ABOUT IT, UM, OR EXPRESS, UH, QUESTIONS. OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE TO BALANCE THAT BETWEEN LIKE, WHETHER THEY'RE ASKING FOR, OH, CAN I GET THIS ON THE OPEN DATA PORTAL OR CAN I GET AN OPEN RECORDS REQUEST? SO, UM, I'LL, UH, MOVE INTO THE OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU ALL TO ASK ME SOME QUESTIONS. ALRIGHT, COLLEAGUES, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I HAVE A, I HAVE A COUPLE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. ABSOLUTELY. UM, UH, SO, UH, OF THE ITEMS THAT ARE MENTIONED IN THE, IN THE RESOLUTION, HOW MU HOW MANY OF, HOW FAR ALONG ARE WE IN TERMS OF IMPLEMENTING ALL OF THOSE? UM, IN THE OPEN DATA PORTAL, ABOUT 76%. 76%. OH, OKAY. THAT WAS, THAT'S WHAT THAT NUMBER WAS REFLECTING. I APOLOGIZE, MY APOLOGIES. UM, WHAT HAS BEEN THE LEVEL OF, OF USAGE OR VI OR VISITS TO THE DATA PORTAL OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS? SO THAT'S REALLY HARD TO CONTEXTUALIZE BECAUSE THERE'S TWO OPPORTUNITIES. THERE'S SOME OF OUR DASHBOARDS, AND THEN THERE'S THE DOWNLOADS OF THE DATA SET AND THE VISITS. UM, I DID HAVE STATS ON THAT AT ONE POINT, BUT I'LL, UH, MAKE SURE THAT I GET THAT TO YOU PLEASE. AND, AND I SAW THAT WE, WE DON'T HAVE THE, THE PRESENTATIONS IN THE BACKUP. IF WE COULD GET THAT ON THERE, THAT'D BE GREAT. OKAY. UM, WHAT, UH, WHAT FEEDBACK HAVE Y'ALL RECEIVED ABOUT THE, UH, UH, ABOUT THE PORTAL AND HOW IT CAN BE IMPROVED AND WHAT IS ALREADY GOING WELL? SO AS WE DISCUSSED, THE, UH, A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS ARE VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN THAT EXPLICIT ADDRESS. UM, LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE REALLY WANNA KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN CONTEMPLATING IS TAKING THAT INFORMATION AND PROVIDING A COLUMN THAT DOES THE NEIGHBORHOODS. UM, SO THERE WAS A LOT OF, UH, SO ONE OF OUR CRIME REPORTS, UH, IT DID A QUERY AND IT WOULD SHOW LIKE WHAT THE COMMUNITY REGISTRIES WERE. BUT ONE OF THE COMPLEXITIES OF THAT IS THAT'S A, THAT'S KIND OF A SELF-IDENTIFIED NEIGHBORHOOD. SO WE'RE TAKING A LOOK AT HOW WE CAN IDENTIFY THE ACTUAL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS AND PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION. UM, THAT IS GOING TO REQUIRE SOME ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL HOOP JUMPING. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS TO UNDERSTAND IS WHEN WE IMPLEMENTED THIS, WE WERE IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DATA WAREHOUSE THAT WAS, UH, MANAGED BY THE CENTRAL CTM. AND NOW WE'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE THIS OVER TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY CTM. SO WE WERE IMPLEMENTING, AND NOW WE'RE GONNA TAKE SOME TIME AND GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE CAN STRATEGICALLY LOOK AT HOW WE CAN CONTEXTUALIZE THIS INFORMATION. SOMETHING AGAIN, THAT DR. ENGEL HAS DISCUSSED. WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY OF THESE POSITIONS HIRED. UM, WE RECEIVED FOUR POSITIONS TO HELP WITH THIS IMPLEMENTATION, WHICH WAS, UM, NOT ONLY [00:10:01] IT WAS, IT WAS LITERALLY BEING HIRED DURING THE WEEK THAT WE WERE IMPLEMENTING THIS. SO AT THIS MOMENT, WE, WE'VE REALLY JUST BEEN SETTING THE FOUNDATION AND TAKING IN THOSE, THOSE FEEDBACK ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE ARE WANTING. AND THEN WE'RE RACKING AND STACKING AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO NOT JUST PROVIDING WHAT IS AN ADOPTION OF THE RESOLUTION, BUT ALSO TAKING AND CONTEXTUALIZING THAT INFORMATION. LIKE DR. ENGEL SAID, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES IT MEAN IF IT'S, UM, THIS HOUR OF DAY, DAY OF THE WEEK, ET CETERA. OKAY. COLLEAGUES, ANYTHING ELSE? VICE CHAIR. SO I APPRECIATE THE, THE ENTIRE PRESENTATION GIVING ME UP TO SPEED. AND ALSO, UM, YOU'RE SHARING THAT YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT MAYBE BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY BY NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, BECAUSE THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS WONDERING AS WELL, IS IF WE'RE NOT PUBLISHING A SPECIFIC LOCATION, ARE WE LOOKING AT OTHER GEOGRAPHIC, UM, WAYS TO GROUP THAT DATA? SO IT'S MORE ANONYMOUS, CENSUS BOX, ZIP CODE. MM-HMM . UM, SO I HEARD YOU MENTION NEIGHBORHOOD, AND I JUST WANT TO ELEVATE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, MANY PARTS, LIKE MY DISTRICT HAS A LOT OF AREAS THAT AREN'T IN A NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, NOR EXACTLY THEY DO. THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, ANY OTHER KIND OF BREAKDOWN THAT'S PLANNING RELATED LIKE THAT MM-HMM . UM, AND SO I WOULD LOVE IT IF WE FOUND SOME SORT OF GEOGRAPHIC IDENTIFIER THAT IS, UH, EQUALLY APPLICABLE MM-HMM . ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY. AND I KNOW THAT THAT'S TRICKY. YEAH. AND I KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE DIFFERENT THINGS TO KNOW, BUT MAYBE SOMETHING LIKE CENSUS TRACTED OR EVEN, UM, YOU KNOW, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FEEDER PATTERN. 'CAUSE LIKE THAT TENDS TO BE A BOUNDARY MM-HMM . WHERE OTHER, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTERISTICS HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED PRETTY DEEPLY BEFORE IT'S IDENTIFIED, BUT I HOPE IS NOT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION SPEAKING AS SOMEONE WHO, UH, AFTER WINTER STORM URI, UH, MY STREET GOT LEFT OFF THE MAP FOR THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS BY AUSTIN ENERGY, BECAUSE WE ARE NOT PART OF A NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION. SO THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS THAT THAT CAN HAPPEN. AND SO I WOULD JUST REALLY ENCOURAGE NOT, UM, KIND OF PRIVILEGING THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAVE THESE, THESE STRUCTURES IN PLACE, BECAUSE THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHER SITUATIONS. ABSOLUTELY. SO ONE OF THE BEAUTIES OF THIS IS THAT IT WAS WRITTEN, UH, THE, THE INITIAL DRAFTERS BROUGHT IT TO THE LEVEL OF CENSUS BLOCK GROUP, WHICH I VERY MUCH LIKE MM-HMM . SO MOST OF THE DATA SETS, I CAN'T THINK OF ANY THAT DON'T HAVE IT. MM-HMM . UM, MAYBE COMPLAINTS. SO COMPLAINTS DON'T HAVE CENSUS BLOCK GROUP, BUT CENSUS BLOCK GROUP CAN TYPICALLY BE LOOKED AT AS ABOUT, UH, UH, 4,000 PEOPLE MM-HMM . UM, AND SO THE CENSUS BLOCK GROUPS ARE AVAILABLE ON THERE. UM, IT'S NOT AS USER FRIENDLY AS I WOULD LIKE. UM, AT THIS TIME, WE CURRENTLY HAVE THE MAP OF THE CENSUS BLOCK GROUPS, AND THEN ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, TYPICALLY OF THE DATASET ROW, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THAT CENSUS BLOCK GROUP IS THERE MM-HMM . UM, AND SO IF YOU KNEW WHAT CENSUS BLOCK GROUP YOU WERE, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID IS WE DID TRAINING AIDS. UM, AND SO YOU CAN GO TO IT AND YOU CAN BE LIKE, OKAY, THIS IS HOW YOU WOULD LOOK UP YOUR CENSUS BLOCK GROUP. SO IF YOU GO ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF OUR PAGE, UM, THERE'S A MAP WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE CENSUS BLOCK GROUPS, AND YOU CAN ZOOM IN AND PICK WHAT YOUR CENSUS BLOCK GROUP WOULD BE. AND THEN AT THAT POINT, AGAIN, IF YOU FELT THE NEED, YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO CONTINUE AND FILTER DOWN TO THE CENSUS BLOCK GROUP. BUT THAT WAS REALLY, UM, THE, UH, BARE MINIMUM VALUE. AND, AND I THINK THAT THERE IS A LOT OF REALLY INTENSE LOOK AT HOW WE CAN MAKE THAT MUCH MORE SEAMLESS. SO, UM, ESRI, WHICH DOES LIKE THE WE ALL BELONG MAPS, UM, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS ARE THINGS THAT WE ARE LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE, BUT THAT'S GONNA BE A MUCH MORE STRATEGIC APPROACH. UM, ONE MORE THING I'LL JUST THROW IN THERE AS A POSSIBLE PITFALL OF THINKING ABOUT IT IN TERMS OF NEIGHBORHOODS IS MM-HMM . SO MANY OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I GET FROM CONSTITUENTS AROUND PUBLIC SAFETY HAVE TO DO WITH, WITH CONCERN ABOUT SPECIFIC APARTMENT COMPLEXES. AND VERY FREQUENTLY WHEN NEIGHBORHOODS GET DEFINED BY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, THEY DON'T INCLUDE THOSE APARTMENT COMPLEXES. YEAH. UM, SO, UM, I THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU'RE DOING TO WORK ON THAT. YEAH. AND THAT'S THE DIFFICULTY EVEN WITH JUST ADDING AN XY, RIGHT? RIGHT. SO IF I ADD AN XY AND I MOVE IT A HUNDRED FEET TO THE WEST MM-HMM . THEN I'VE CREATED WHAT WOULD BE A MULTIFAMILY UNIT OVER THE TOP OF WHAT LOOKS LIKE A SINGLE FAMILY UNIT. AND JUST BY STATING, HEY, THIS IS, THIS IS JITTERED. UM, YOU CREATE THOSE THINGS. SO WE'VE BEEN HAVING REALLY COMPLICATED CONVERSATIONS LIKE, DO WE MOVE EVERYTHING TO AN INTERSECTION? DO WE MOVE EVERYTHING TO THE STREET SEGMENT? AND SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO OUR BUSINESS PARTNERS AND, AND TO, UM, PEOPLE LIKE DR. ENGLE TO HELP US MOUNT, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA MISREPRESENT OUR DATA EITHER, UM, FOR THE EXACT REASON THAT [00:15:01] YOU'RE DISCUSSING. RIGHT. YEAH. AND THAT ALSO HAS ITS OWN PITFALLS, BECAUSE I'VE SEEN A LOT OF STREETS WHERE IT'S LIKE, THE STREET IS THE BOUNDARY, BUT THEN HOW DO WE CATEGORIZE WHAT HAPPENED IN THE STREET? EXACTLY. SO I DON'T ENVY YOU, AND I HOPE, I HOPE YOU FIND GOOD SOLUTIONS. I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION TOO. UM, ONCE THE, THE HR SOFTWARE TRANSITION IS COMPLETE, UM, HOW LONG FROM THEN WILL IT TAKE TO GET THE HR DATA PUBLISHED? I DON'T HAVE A TIMELINE FOR YOU. MY APOLOGIES. UM, THAT'S JUST, OKAY. WE HAVE LESS CONTROL OVER THAT, IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO FO UH, FOLLOW UP WITH SOME SORT OF A RANGE. YEAH. I UNDERSTAND. IT'S VERY CHALLENGING TO PINPOINT, BUT I'M PRETTY NEW. YOU CAN GIVE ME THE BROADEST, ANY INFORMATION WILL BE HELPFUL TO ME. I WANNA GET DOWN. SO, YEAH. OKAY. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER DID. THANK YOU, CHAIR. UH, I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. ONE IS, UM, CAN, YOU SAID YOU HAD MOVED OUT OF CTM TO A SPECIFIC PUBLIC SAFETY CTM. CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHEN THAT HAPPENED AND WHAT THE CURRENT ORG CHART THEN IS FOR Y'ALL OVER? BECAUSE MY UNDERSTANDING IS THERE'S, WAIT, WAIT. I'LL JUST LET YOU ANSWER THAT QUESTION OR ASK YOU TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION. I APOLOGIZE. I WAS PROBABLY MIS, UM, MISREPRESENTING THE DATA SETS. SO OUR ACCESS TO THE DATA, UM, WAS MOVED SO THAT WE'RE BEING SUPPORTED BY C TM PUBLIC SAFETY. UM, AND SO THAT'S WHAT IT IS, IS WHEN WE STARTED THIS, WE WERE MIGRATING OUR DATA FROM BEING SUPPORTED BY CTM TO HAVING IT BE SUPPORTED BY CTM PUBLIC SAFETY. OKAY. CAN YOU CLARIFY THE DIFFERENCE THEN BETWEEN CTM AND CTM PUBLIC SAFETY? ABSOLUTELY. IT'S, IT'S FUNDAMENTALLY, IT'S GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A MUCH MORE, UM, FOCUSED APPROACH, UH, WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING. UH, CTM PUBLIC SAFETY HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADMINISTER NOT JUST THE, UH, DATA WAREHOUSE, BUT THEY ALSO HELP US ADMINISTER OUR, UH, OUR ACTUAL COLLECTION SYSTEMS. SO THERE ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO UNDERSTAND THE SX RMS SYSTEM AND HOW IT COLLECTS THE DATA, AS WELL AS THE, UH, 9 1 1 COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH SYSTEM FOR ALL OF, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY IS ADMINISTERED BY CTM PUBLIC SAFETY. AND SO IT ALLOWS US TO HAVE THAT MUCH MORE LASER FOCUSED APPROACH TO NOT JUST THE END STATE. SO THERE WAS A LOT OF US THAT WERE LIKE, OKAY, SO WE NEED EXACTLY THIS THING, AND WE WOULD HAVE TO BE VERY EXPLICIT IN DESCRIBING IT, WHEREAS NOW WE CAN MOVE INTO A MUCH MORE CONTEXTUAL CONVERSATION AS WELL AS NOT BE COMPETING AGAINST OTHER AGENCIES WHO HAVE ALSO EXTREMELY RELEVANT, UM, AND IMPORTANT REQUESTS FOR THAT TEAM. UM, SO, SO IS THAT DR. STONER? YEAH. OKAY. GOT IT. OKAY. THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT. AND I KNOW HE WANTS TO MOVE A LOT OF THAT. SO WE'VE TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS, AND I KNOW HE WANTS TO MOVE TO SNOWFLAKE. ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO CONTINUE TO GROW OUR CAPABILITY IN THIS AS WELL AS CONTEXTUALIZING WITH DR. ENGEL. GOT IT. UM, SECOND QUESTION. YOU MENTIONED THREE OF THE FIVE THAT HAVE YET TO BE ADDRESSED THAT ARE HR RELATED. UNDERSTAND THAT THE LAST TWO, UH, IS THE CHALLENGE TRYING TO AUTOMATE THOSE THAT YOUR PULLS NEXT TIME DON'T HAVE TO BE MANUAL? IS THAT KIND OF WHAT'S GOING ON? SO, FI UH, NUMBER FIVE, WHICH IS THE ARRESTS, UH, DISCRETIONARY ARRESTS. SO IDEALLY THE AUTOMATION THERE WOULD BE DOING SOMETHING IN THE NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING PERSPECTIVE. UM, SINCE IT'S BEEN A WHILE, WE, WE'VE STARTED TO DO THAT MANUALLY. UM, AND THEN THE, UH, FOURTH ONE WAS THE CITATIONS AND THE PROVISO IN THE RESOLUTION THERE WAS THAT WE WOULD DO IT WHEN WE WERE THE RECORD, UM, WHEN WE HAVE THE ACTUAL RECORD KEEPERS. AND SO THAT IS AWAITING A, A TECHNOLOGY CHANGE OKAY. IN THE COLLECTION. THAT'S THE GOAL THOUGH, IS TO GET THEM. GOT IT. THE GOAL IS TO GET ALL OF THESE IS JUST, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW. RIGHT. UH, UH, I THINK THAT THAT'S ALL I HAD. I APPRECIATE ALL YOUR, YOUR EFFORT ON THIS, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING THE, WHEN WE'RE AT THE COMPLETE RESULTS, I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION FROM, UH, VICE CHAIR. UM, I, I JUST ALSO WANTED TO ELEVATE, UM, ONE OF MY BIG CONCERNS SINCE TAKING OFFICE IS GETTING TO A MORE EFFICIENT WAY OF LOOKING AT GIS LAYERS OR OTHER VISUALIZATIONS OF INFORMATION IN PART SO THAT WE CAN SEE WHERE THESE BOUNDARIES ARE AND HOW THAT MIGHT BE IMPACTING OUR USE OF DATA. MM-HMM . AND SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE YOU HAVE IN THE MIX AS FAR AS DATA VISUALIZATIONS THAT MAY BE COMING, BUT I WANTED TO REALLY SPECIFICALLY ARTICULATE THAT. I HOPE THAT, UM, IT CAN MOVE TOWARDS SOME SORT OF AN INTERFACE WHERE WE CAN OVERLAY OTHER ALL THE, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, OTHER CONCERNS, LIKE EVERYTHING FROM AUSTIN ENERGY VERSUS PEC TO, IS IT THE, IS IT THE ETJ [00:20:01] OR IS IT LIMITED PURPOSE ZONING, OR IS IT FULL PURPOSE? OUR DISTRICT BOUNDARIES WITH AN ABILITY TO ADDRESS SEARCH AND BE ABLE TO SEE WHERE, WHERE IT LANDS. UM, SO ANYWAY, I JUST WANTED TO SAY, I HOPE, I HOPE THAT, UM, A VERY BIG PICTURE ABOVE THE A PD LEVEL, UH, THAT TYPE OF CONSIDERATION IS BEING GIVEN AROUND VISUALIZATION. SO I APPRECIATE THE FEEDBACK. OKAY. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN. SORRY, CHAIR. ONE MORE THING, JUST AS A SUGGESTION, SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW TO GET, UH, A WAY TO CLASSIFY BY NEIGHBORHOOD, I WAS JUST GONNA OFFER, UM, I THINK GOOGLE MAPS HAS A WAY TO CHARACTERIZE A SHAPE FILE BY GEOGRAPHY. AND SO THERE MIGHT BE A WAY FOR Y'ALL TO PULL THAT THAT'S NOT BY NEIGHBORHOOD OR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION OR THE, OR THE COMMUNITY REGISTRY. BUT, UH, I KNOW THAT WHEN YOU CAN, YOU CAN ALSO BACK OUT OF IT AND SEARCH BY NEIGHBORHOOD AND IT'LL GIVE YOU A DEFINED GEOGRAPHY OF A AREA THAT IT'S CALLING, SAY, NORTHWEST HILLS OR DOVE SPRINGS, OR WHATEVER THAT IS. YOU MIGHT LOOK INTO THAT AS A WAY TO SOLVE THAT PROBLEM. ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. AND, AND ONE OF THE, THE CONSIDERATIONS IS, IS THAT IT'S A BIT OF A TECHNOLOGY BARRIER RIGHT NOW, AT THIS MOMENT. WE HAVE ROWS OF DATA THAT HAVE TO HAVE A STATIC DATA, UH, A STATIC FIELD. UM, AND SO FOR EXAMPLE, ON THE COMMUNITY REGISTRY, ONE OF MY FAVORITE COMMUNITY REGISTRY, UH, BOUNDARIES IS THE ENTIRE CITY OF AUSTIN. AND IT'S THE HOMELESS. UM, IT'S THE HOMELESS NEIGHBORHOOD COMMUNITY. UM, AND THEN WHEN YOU OVERLAY THAT WITH, UH, ALL OF THE SUBSEQUENT SMALLER, UM, LAYERS, WE'VE REALLY LOOKED AT HOW WE CAN, UM, DO THAT IN A WAY THAT ALLOWS THOSE ROWS OF DATA TO BE STATIC. UM, AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE HIT THAT, THAT BARRIER. AND, AND SO THAT'S WHY WE'VE SWITCHED OVER. SO WE DIDN'T WANT, UH, PERFECT TO BE THE ENEMY OF GOOD. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE'RE LIKE, OKAY, WE CAN DO CENSUS BLOCK BECAUSE IT'S A VERY STANDARD THING. SO AT THIS MOMENT, WE HAD SIX MONTHS, UH, PROBABLY ABOUT SEVEN OR EIGHT MONTHS TO IMPLEMENT THIS DATA. UM, AND WE DIDN'T WANT TO ALLOW PERFECT TO BE THE ENEMY OF GOOD. UM, BUT THEN FLIPPING ALL OF THAT OVER TO A GEOSPATIAL COMPONENT IS SOMETHING THAT THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. AND SO THAT'S, YEAH, THAT'S, IT'S MY HEART SPACE. I WOULD LOVE THAT . NO, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAD A GREAT ROADMAP FOR THE FUTURE. YEAH. OKAY. ANYTHING ELSE FOR ME? THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME. APPRECIATE YOU. UM, COLLEAGUES, THE COMMITTEE WILL NOW [3. Briefing on Austin Police Department five-year agreement with the Austin Police Association on opportunities for implementation of programs or strategies for utilizing non-sworn personnel Resolution No. 20241024-084. [Sheldon Askew, Assistant Chief - Austin Police Department].] TAKE UP ITEM NUMBER THREE, A BRIEFING ON THE A PD FIVE-YEAR AGREEMENT WITH THE AUSTIN POLICE ASSOCIATION ON OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMS OR STRATEGIES, UH, FOR UTILIZING NON-SWORN PERSONNEL. GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYBODY. MY NAME IS JAMES MASON, AND I'M ASSISTANT CHIEF WITH THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO COME TODAY TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THIS VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC FOR ALL OF US. SO, AS WE ALL KNOW, THE REASON, UH, UH, LOOKING AT THIS WAS A RESOLUTION, UH, WAS DEVELOPED BY COUNCIL, UH, DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPLEMENT PROGRAMS, UH, AND STRATEGIES FOR USING NON-SWORN AND CRITICAL AREAS WHERE TYPICALLY IT'S BEEN A PEACE OFFICER THAT HAS, THAT HAS DONE THESE TYPE OF, UH, DUTIES. UH, AND THE TYPE OF AREAS I'LL COVER TODAY ARE, UH, VEHICLE CRASH REPORTS, LIKE AT OUR SPECIAL EVENTS, ALL OF OUR, UH, MULTIPLE WONDERFUL EVENTS WE HAVE AROUND TOWN THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO BE ABLE TO USE THAT FOR NON-ST STAFFING PURPOSES. UH, MENTAL HEALTH CALLS, WHICH IS ALSO, UH, EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO ALL OF US, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS THE CENTRAL TEXAS AND TEXAS ITSELF. LOOK AT OUR VEHICLE ABATEMENT UNIT, AS WELL AS OUR, OUR BURGLAR ARM AND OUR BURGLAR ARM UNIT. SO, AS WE ALL KNOW, UH, THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, UH, THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, AND NO, NOT ANY LESS TO A PD, THAT WE'VE HAD A STAFFING CRISIS, UH, WITH OUR SWORN PERSONNEL, UH, OUR SWORN PERSONNEL, UH, SINCE 2020 AND UNFORTUNATE INCIDENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY HAS, UH, HURT LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR PEOPLE WANTING TO APPLY AND BE PEACE OFFICERS. UH, SO IT'S, IT'S EVOLVED US TO BE ABLE TO REALLY LOOK AT, UH, HOW WE, HOW WE STAFF OUR, OUR DO OUR STAFFING, UH, HOW WE DO OUR TRAINING, UH, SEVERAL CLASSES. WE'VE, UH, NOW IMPLEMENTED NEW PROCEDURES, AND I'LL GET INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT, UH, WITH OUR STAFFING TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT HOW WE TRAIN INDIVIDUALS AND, UH, AND PRESENT THEM, UH, TO OUR COMMUNITY IN A, IN A POSITIVE WAY, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE POSITIVE INTERACTIONS, UH, WITH OUR PEACE OFFICER. UH, WE CONTINUE TO CONSTANTLY LOOK FOR NEW WAYS AND INNOVATIVE IDEAS. UH, I KNOW OUR RECRUITERS, UH, THEY GO TO CONFERENCES AND TALK TO OTHER RECRUITERS ALL OVER THE NATION OF HOW WE CAN GET MORE INDIVIDUALS, UH, FOCUSED AND INTERESTED IN A PD TO BE ABLE TO, UH, COME HERE AND WANT TO BE PEACE OFFICERS. SO SOME OF THE WAYS THAT WE, WE UTILIZE OUR NON-SWORN PERSONNEL AND, AND INCREASINGLY, UH, WE ARE ALWAYS OPEN FOR IDEAS. BUT SOME OF THE, UH, IMPORTANT PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED ALREADY, UH, KIND OF GO OVER THAT RIGHT NOW. BUT WE USE [00:25:01] A WIDE VARIETY OF FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES, UH, THAT DO A NUMBER OF JOB FUNCTIONS. UH, ONE, ONE AREA THAT THEY, WE DO WORK, THEY WORK IN IS OUR SEX OFFENDER. UM, SO UNIT, UH, WHICH THEY DO ALL THE REGISTRATION OF ALL THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE REQUIRED BY COURT TO, TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE WITH WHATEVER THEY'RE, UH, MANDATED BY, BY A JUDGE. UH, THEY DO ALL THOSE, UH, TYPE OF, UH, CHECKING THE BOXES TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE DOING WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING, LIVING WHERE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE LIVING, UH, ET CETERA. IF BY CHANCE THEY'RE NOT IN COMPLIANCE, THEY WILL TURN THAT OVER TO ONE OF THE FEW DETECTIVES IN THAT UNIT. AND THE DETECTIVES WILL REVIEW THAT INFORMATION, UH, MAKE SURE THERE IS ENOUGH IN, UH, ENOUGH REASON FOR A PROBABLE CAUSE AFFIDAVIT, UH, THE DETECTIVE WILL THEN PRESENT THAT TO THE, UH, TO A JUDGE. AND THEN, AND THEN A WARRANT WILL BE ISSUED IF THE JUDGE, UH, SEESO FIT, UH, THAT SAVES THE DETECTIVES. AND WE'RE ABLE TO HAVE LESS DETECTIVES IN THAT UNIT. UH, THEY ARE RETIRED PEACE OFFICERS. UH, THEY'RE ON THE CIVILIAN SIDE NOW, UH, THAT DO THIS, UH, HAVE ALL THE SEX OFFENDERS COME IN AND BE ABLE TO, SO THEY UNDERSTAND, UH, HOW A REPORT SYSTEM WORKS. THEY UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE PROCESS. UH, SO IT REALLY, UH, SAVES THE DETECTIVES, UH, A HUGE AMOUNT OF TIME. WE ALSO USE RETIRED POLICE OFFICERS IN OUR RECRUITING DIVISION. UH, THEY DO ALL THE BACKGROUND CHECKS, UH, AND THEY PUT, UH, A PACKET TOGETHER FOR THE RECRUITERS, WHICH WE HAVE, HAVE TO, WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE AS MANY RECRUITERS, RECRUITERS, BECAUSE THAT'S ALREADY DONE FOR 'EM TO BE ABLE TO REVIEW ALL THAT INFORMATION AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS PERSON IS OR IS NOT A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR THE, UH, CITIZENS OF AUSTIN. OUR SEX CRIMES, UH, DETECTIVES, EXCUSE ME, ALSO UTILIZE, UM, UH, RETIRED PEACE OFFICERS THAT ARE CIVILIANS FOR OUR SEX CRIMES UNITS. AND WHAT WHAT THEY DO IS THEY HELP AND DO ALL THE, UM, TRADITIONALLY WHAT WOULD WOULD'VE BEEN DONE BY A DETECTIVE IN THE SEX CRIME UNIT, UH, GOING TO THE DIFFERENT SUBSTATIONS, COLLECTING ALL THE, UH, EVIDENCE, UH, THAT WOULD MAY HAVE BEEN COLLECTED BY A POLICE OFFICER IN THE LOCKERS. AND THEN THEY TRANSPORT THAT EITHER TO THE LAB OR TO LONG-TERM STORAGE, UH, FOR, FOR FURTHER USE IN THE CASE. SO THAT SAVES THE, AND DO A LOT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE WORK. THAT SAVES A LOT OF TIME FOR THE DETECTIVES THAT ARE IN THE SEX CRIMES UNIT, AS WELL AS OUR, UH, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE UNIT. UH, THEY DO EXACTLY THE SAME TYPE OF WORK JUST ON THE DOMESTIC DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SIDE. UH, THEY'RE ABLE TO GET ALL THE INFORMATION FOR STAFFING, GET IT TOGETHER, SO THE DETECTIVE HAS, DOESN'T HAVE TO SPEND TIME DOING THAT. THAT IS ALREADY DONE BY, BY A NON-SWORN PERSONNEL. UH, WE WERE VERY EXCITED, UH, FROM THE CORE REPORT AND COUNCIL APPROVED THAT, UH, SEVEN NEW FTES, UH, HAVE, UH, WERE, WERE SLATED FOR THE TRAINING ACADEMY. UM, WE HAVE ALL SEVEN OF THOSE, UH, CIVILIANS, UH, WORKING AT OUR, UH, TRAINING ACADEMY NOW. UH, THEY, THEY HELP OUT WITH ALMOST EVERY ASPECT OF OUR FIELD TRAINING PROGRAM. THEY HELP WITH OUR CADET TRAINING PROGRAM. UH, THEY REVIEW AND UPDATE OUR LESSON PLANS, WHICH IS A CR CRITICAL PART TO MAKE SURE WE'RE IN, IN COMPLIANCE WITH, WITH, UH, TCO, WHICH IS OUR STATE LICENSING. AS WELL AS, UH, THERE ARE EVERY SINGLE DAY OFFICERS ARE GOING THROUGH TRAINING, UH, WHICH REQUIRES THOSE TYPE OF SUBMISSION AND THOSE TYPE OF RECORDS TO BE ABLE TO BE RECORDED, UH, REPORTED TO TCO. SO WE ALL GET THE CREDIT, UH, AND THEN MAKE SURE WE'RE, WE'RE STAYING UP WITH, UH, WITH STATE, WITH STATE LAW. SO, UM, WE ALSO, IN OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE, UH, OZZY TOUCHED ON A LITTLE BIT OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUESTS. UH, WE ARE NUMBER ONE IN THE CITY. WE, WE GENERATE THE MOST PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUESTS. UH, A LOT OF THEM GO TO OZZIE'S GROUP FOR BE ABLE TO, UH, PROCESSING, BUT THEY ALSO, THE, THE, THE MEDIA PUTS IN A LARGE AMOUNT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUESTS. AND OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE IS ABLE TO HANDLE THOSE. UH, WE, WE ALSO USE, UM, NON-SWORN INDIVIDUALS IN THOSE UNITS TO BE ABLE TO HELP WITH THE PROCESSING OF THAT. 'CAUSE WE ALL KNOW WE HAVE 10 DAYS, UH, TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE WE EITHER COMPLY WITH THE, THE, THE REQUEST OR WE DENY TO THE AG FOR SOME EX ETC. REASON, UH, 'CAUSE OF AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION OR WHATEVER. UH, WE'VE ACTUALLY, I KNOW WHEN I WAS IN THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE, IT WAS LARGELY MADE UP OF SWORN, THE PRIOR CHIEF, UH, WANTED ONLY SWORN IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA, WHICH WE SUCCESSFULLY STILL DO. BUT WE HAD SEVERAL, UH, UH, SWORN INDIVIDUALS IN THERE. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE JUST ONE CORPORAL THAT'S PERMANENTLY ASSIGNED TO PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT ONSET. AND THEN OF COURSE, THEY'RE ALL ROTATING, UH, HELPING WITH THE ON-CALL. UM, 'CAUSE WE'RE UNFORTUNATELY A 24 7 BUSINESS AND OUR REAL, REAL-TIME CRIME CENTER. IT USED TO BE LARGELY AND ALL MADE UP OF SWARM PERSONNEL THAT OPERATED THE HALO CAMERAS DOWNTOWN. UH, RIGHT NOW IT IS ACTUALLY THE OPPOSITE. WE USE, WE HAVE ONE LIEUTENANT THAT'S, UH, HE'S THE WATCH COMMANDER, OR SHE IS THE WATCH COMMANDER 24 7. BUT THE STAFF THAT RUNS THE CAMERAS TAKES CARE OF ALL THE REQUESTS ARE ALL CIVILIAN STAFF THAT WE'VE, WE'VE NOW SWITCHED OVER TO THAT. SO THAT'S, THAT WAS A LARGE, UH, TYPE OF, UH, SHIFT IN THAT TYPE OF PERSONNEL. UM, I WILL TELL YOU THAT MOST OF THE PERSONNEL THAT CAME OVER WHEN [00:30:01] THOSE POSITIONS WERE AVAILABLE ARE, UH, FROM OUR, UH, COMMUNICATIONS OR OUR DISPATCHERS. UM, WHICH IS A HUGE HELP BECAUSE THEY ALREADY KNOW HOW TO BE ABLE TO WORK THE POLICE RADIO. UH, THEY'RE ABLE TO GET ON THERE AND GIVE THE OFFICERS INFORMATION WHEN THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE CAMERAS. THEY'RE THIS SUCH AND SUCH SUSPECT, OR THIS TYPE OF, EXCUSE ME, THIS DISTURBANCE IS OCCURRING AT THIS LOCATION. AND THEY, THEY'RE ABLE TO DO THAT, UH, EFFICIENTLY AND, AND EFFECTIVELY. UH, OUR, OUR SPECIAL EVENTS, UH, WE'VE HAD A LARGE, UH, AND HUGE SUCCESS WITH OUR RESERVE OFFICER PROGRAM. WE GOT 30 PLUS OFFICERS THAT ARE CURRENTLY, UH, WORKING IN THAT CAPACITY. UH, WE DID STRUGGLE FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME WITH STAFFING TO, UH, TAKE CARE OF ALL OF OUR SPECIAL EVENTS, SOCCER STADIUM, ACL, UH, BUT WITH THE, UH, NON-SWORN PERSONNEL, THEY'RE ABLE TO HELP US OUT WITH BARRICADES, UH, AND ACCENTUATE THAT, WHERE WE NEED AN ACTUAL PEACE OFFICER TO BE ABLE TO, UH, TAKE THOSE TYPES OF SITUATIONS. SO THAT PROGRAM'S WORKED OUT REALLY WELL. OUR SPECIAL EVENTS TEAM DOES A GREAT JOB IN ALSO WORKING WITH TRANSPORTATION AND ANY OTHER TYPE OF, UM, DEPARTMENT WITHIN THE CITY. IF THERE'S A INTERSECTION OR A, UH, OR SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE COVERED, UH, WALKWAY, ET CETERA. THEY'RE REALLY GOOD ABOUT THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT IS TO BE ABLE TO GIVE US INDIVIDUALS OR THEIR CARS TO BE ABLE TO, UH, BLOCK A ROADWAY THAT IT'S NOT GONNA HAVE TO BE HEAVILY DIRECTED BY TRAFFIC. SO, UH, ONE THING WE ARE LOOKING INTO, AND, UH, WE'VE ACTUALLY WORKED WITH, UH, 3 1 1, UH, AT THE, AT THE TIME BEFORE THIS, WE WOULD 3 1 1 WOULD TAKE, UH, NON-EMERGENCY, AS WE ALL KNOW. UH, BUT THEY WOULD, IF, IF A PERSON REFUSED TO TAKE A REPORT ONLINE, THEY WOULD PUT 'EM INTO A QUEUE AND THEN THEY WOULD BE CALLED BACK BY A COMMUNICATION PERSONNEL. UH, AND THESE TYPE OF REPORTS WOULD STACK UP. UH, IT SOMETIMES WOULD TAKE WEEKS TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT INFORMATION INTO A REPORT. SO A DETECTIVE WILL GET ASSIGNED TO IT. SO NOW WE'VE WORKED WITH 3 1 1, UM, AND THEY ARE ACTUALLY, UM, PUTTING REPORTS DIRECTLY INTO I REPORT. UH, UH, THEY'RE DOING IT FOR THE INDIVIDUALS. SOME PEOPLE MAYBE NOT HAVE COMPUTERS, UH, ABLE TO DO THAT, OR THEY JUST FLAT OUT JUST DON'T WANT TO REDO THAT. BUT THAT GETS THE REPORT INTO THE SYSTEM RIGHT NOW TO BE ABLE TO, UH, UTILIZE IT GETTING TO A DETECTIVE, UH, FASTER. WE ALSO USE ON THE BACKEND, ONCE THE THE INFORMATION IS ENTERED, UH, OZZY'S GROUP DOES A GREAT JOB, WHICH IS NON-SWORN PERSONNEL, TO BE ABLE TO VERIFY THAT ALL THE REPORTS ARE TRUE AND ACCURATE. MAKE SURE WE HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION THAT WE NEED IN THE REPORT BEFORE IT GOES TO THE DETECTIVES. SO THEREFORE, IT, IT CUTS DOWN ON THE DETECTIVE TIME OF, OF WHAT THEY NEED. UH, WE'RE, WE'RE ALWAYS A PROPONENT FOR EXPANDING THE SYSTEM. UH, WE'VE ALSO KICKED AROUND THE IDEA OF HAVING A, UH, REPORT WRITING, UH, UNIT, WHICH WOULD CONSIST OF POTENTIALLY, UH, OFFICERS THAT ARE RETIRED, UH, TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THESE REPORTS ONLINE. UH, THEY'RE ALREADY KEEN TO WHAT THEY NEED, UH, AND TO BE ABLE TO, UH, PUT THIS INFORMATION TOGETHER AND GET IT TO A DETECTIVE. AND THEN THEREFORE, ULTIMATELY SAVING TIME FOR, FOR DETECTIVE. ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE KICKED AROUND. UH, BUT THAT'S WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW WITH THAT, WITH THAT PROGRAM. SO, A HUGE THING, AND I KNOW IT'S VASTLY IMPORTANT TO ALL OF US, IS OUR MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE. UH, WE DO, UH, OPERATE A PD AS WELL AS WE PARTNER WITH EMS AND THE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER AND HIS INTEGRAL CARE TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO SCENES OF THAT PEOPLE THAT ARE IN CRISIS THAT NEED HELP. I WILL SAY THAT ONE THING THAT WE HAVE DONE IN COMMUNICATIONS IS INTEGRAL CARE NOW SITS ON THE FLOOR WITH, UH, 3 1 1 UHM, SORRY, 9 1 1. AND OUR DISPATCH TEAM DISPATCHERS TO BE ABLE TO GIVE INDIVIDUALS HELP RIGHT NOW, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, INCIDENTS. THEY'RE ABOUT AROUND A THOUSAND A MONTH THAT TYPICALLY WOULD HAVE IN THE PAST GONE TO A POLICE OFFICER TO BE ABLE TO THEM TO RESPOND. UH, THAT INTEGRAL CARE TAKES THAT IN, TAKES THAT INDIVIDUAL AND BE ABLE TO GIVE THEM SERVICES, UH, APPOINTMENTS, WHATEVER, RIGHT THERE ON THE SPOT. AND THEN A POLICE OFFICER NEVER SEES IT. UH, I WILL TELL YOU, I KNOW THAT I TALKED TO CHIEF DAVIS THIS MORNING. UH, HER AND CHIEF LUCRE ARE, HAVE BEEN TALKING MORE AND MORE ABOUT THIS. 'CAUSE IT'S OBVIOUSLY A, A HUGE, UH, DISCUSSION WITHIN THE COMMUNITY AS IT SHOULD BE. AND EMS IS INTERESTED AND WANTS TO TAKE ON MORE OF A PART OF RESPONDING TO MENTAL HEALTH CALLS THAT WOULD NOT REQUIRE US AT ALL. UH, TAKING IT MORE TO THE MEDICAL SIDE. 'CAUSE WE KNOW WE ALL ARE STRUGGLING. IT'S, IT'S A VERY DIFFICULT SITUATION. NO ONE KNOWS WHO TO SEND OR WHAT TO DO. SO WHAT ENDS HAPPENING IS A PEACE OFFICER GOES THERE. AND SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT, NOT WHAT THEY NEED. THEY NEED HELP. THEY NEED SERVICES. UH, SO IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO PARTNER WITH EVERYBODY TO BE ABLE TO, UH, GIVE EVERYBODY THE HELP THEY NEED. UH, OBVIOUSLY ANY TYPE OF POTENTIAL VIOLENCE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WE, WE WOULD STILL RESPOND. UH, 'CAUSE WE DEFINITELY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS SAFE. SO, UM, I WILL TELL YOU THAT THERE ARE HAVE BEEN OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE COME, AND THEY HAVE LOOKED AT OUR MODEL, AND THEY HAVE ADOPTED, UH, WHAT WE DO WITH OUR COUNSELORS THAT, THAT SIT ON THE 9 1 1 FLOOR. THEY'VE ADOPTED THAT IN THEIR, THEIR COMMUNICATION CENTER. SO IT'S BEEN A HUGE SUCCESS. [00:35:01] UH, AND PEOPLE REALLY LIKE THE PROGRAM, AND IT'S, IT, WE'RE GONNA KEEP CONTINUING TO DO IT. UH, ANOTHER AREA THAT WE'RE EXPANDING RIGHT NOW, WE DO HAVE, UH, TWO DRONE PILOTS THAT ARE, UH, THAT ARE AFFILIATED WITH OUR SWAT TEAM. UH, THEY DO ALL, ALL TYPE OF, UM, INSIDE AND OUTSIDE PERIMETER, UH, VIEWING. ONE THING IS A DRONE. UH, AS A FIRST RESPONDER, UH, WE HAVE BEEN IN TALKS WITH SEVERAL COMPANIES TO BE ABLE TO, UH, HAVING DRONES THAT ARE LOCATED, UH, AROUND BUILDINGS, UH, AROUND DOWNTOWN. UH, THEY WOULD, UH, BE FLOWN BY NON-SWORN PERSONNEL UP IN OUR REAL TIME CRIME CENTER. UH, TH THOSE DRONES WOULD BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, SAY THERE'S SUMMER REPORTS, A CRASH OR DISTURBANCE, UH, IT'S EITHER GONNA BE ABLE TO GO THERE AND FIND THAT NO RESPONSES NEEDED BY A POLICE OFFICER, HOPEFULLY SAVING US TIME AND, AND SAVING RESOURCES. OR IT'S GONNA BE ABLE TO GIVE VITAL INFORMATION FOR AN OFFICER AS THEY'RE RESPONDING TO WHAT THEY'RE POTENTIALLY MIGHT GET INTO. SO, UH, THIS IS A, LIKE I SAY, THIS IS JUST IN THE VERY BEGINNING STAGES, BUT IT IS ONE PLACE WHERE WE'RE LOOKING FOR, WE'RE ABLE TO GET, UH, NON-SWORN PERSONNEL, UH, BEHIND THESE, UM, DRONES THAT WOULD DO DRONES AS A FIRST RESPONDER, AND ULTIMATELY, UH, REDUCING OR NOT NEEDING A SWORN PERSONNEL TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO A SCENE. SO, UH, AND WE'RE DEFINITELY NOT THE FIRST, THERE'S MANY, UH, CITIES THAT ARE LOOKING INTO THIS. UH, ACTUALLY MORE CITIES THAT ARE, THAT ARE ADVANCED, UH, ALONG THE PROCESS OF GETTING THEM. SO WE'RE KIND OF ALSO WATCHING AND LEARNING WHAT, WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE LESS OF A IMPACT WHEN WE, IF WE GO TO THE SYSTEM AND START, UH, STARTING UP THE SYSTEM. BUT I KNOW CHIEF DAVIS IS VERY INTERESTED IN THIS, AND THIS IS DEFINITELY, UH, USING THE FUTURE ALONG WITH AI AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT, THAT'S AVAILABLE COMING FOR US. UH, IF WE LOOK AT, UH, VEHICLE CRASH REPORTS, THIS IS ONE AREA THAT WE FEEL THAT, UH, WE CAN NOT, UH, BE ABLE TO PUT SWORN PERSON, UH, NON-SWORN PERSONNEL. UH, THERE IS A COMPANY THAT, UH, HAS APPROACHED US. ACTUALLY, THERE'S SEVERAL NOW. UH, WHAT THEY, THEIR ROLE IS, IS TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO A SCENE, TAKE THE INFORMATION, UM, OF A VEHICLE CRASH REPORT, AND, AND THEN, UH, SEND THAT IN. HOWEVER, RIGHT NOW, AND WE'VE TOLD THEM THAT, UM, IF, IF THEY CAN CHANGE STATE LAW RIGHT NOW, STATE LAW REQUIRES A PEACE OFFICER TO BE ABLE TO PUT THEIR NAME AT THE BOTTOM OF THE REPORT, SAY, AND BASICALLY SWEAR TO THIS INFORMATION THAT'S TRUE AND ACCURATE. SO WE FEEL AS WELL AS WE WORK WITH CITY LEGAL, WE FEEL THAT WE CAN'T COMPLY WITH THIS IN TEXAS. I KNOW THEY'VE HAD A HUGE SUCCESS FOR THIS IN LOUISIANA, BUT THEIR, THEIR STATE LAWS IS DIFFERENT THAN OURS. UH, BUT IF FOR SOME REASON THAT THE LAWS CHANGE AND WE'RE ABLE TO USE NON, UH, NON-SWORN TO BE ABLE TO SIGN THEIR OWN, UH, P OR UH, SD THREES, THE STATE COLLISION FORM, UH, WE'LL, WE'RE OPENING UP FOR IT. BUT RIGHT NOW IT JUST DOES, DOESN'T ALLOW US TO DO THAT. UH, IF WE LOOK AT OUR VEHICLE ABATEMENT AND, UH, OUR NON-SWORN, UH, WE HAVE NOT MOVED ANNIE'S NON-SWORN INTO THIS, UH, DEPARTMENT. A LOT OF THESE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE, ARE VERY ATTACHED TO THEIR VEHICLES. I UNDERSTAND I'M, UH, VERY ATTACHED TO MINE TOO. BUT THEY'RE VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THE CAR THAT THEY POTENTIALLY MIGHT REBUILD ONE DAY OR FIX UP OR WHATEVER. UH, AND OFFICERS GO TO SCENES TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, DO THE PROPER NUISANCE, UH, WORK WITH THE NUISANCE CODES. UH, AND THE, THE, THE INDIVIDUALS ARE VERY UPSET. SO WE DON'T WANNA PLACE ANY OF OUR NON-SWORN PERSONNEL IN THOSE TYPE OF DANGEROUS SITUATIONS. SO WE DO NOT FEEL, AND WE ARE NOT CURRENTLY, UH, SUPPORTING ANYBODY TO BE ABLE TO NON-SWORN TO BE ABLE TO GO INTO THAT TYPE OF SITUATION. 'CAUSE WE DEFINITELY DON'T WANT TO GET ANYBODY HURT. UH, OUR BURGLAR ALARM UNIT, OUR UNIT, UM, ENTIRELY THAT LOOKS AT FALSE ALARMS IS COMPLETELY CIVILIANS. UH, I KNOW THAT THEY USE ME AS A, UH, LIAISON TO BE ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS OR LEGAL TYPE OF QUESTIONS THAT THEY MAY COME ACROSS, UH, OR IF THEY NEED SOME TYPE OF COMPLIANCE, I'LL, I'LL HAVE AN OFFICER GO OUT THERE AND, AND CHECK ON HIM. BUT, BUT WE ALSO FEEL THAT IT'S NOT, THERE'S BEEN A DISCUSSION OF HAVING NON-SWORN PERSONNEL TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO BURGLAR ALARMS. UM, YOU KNOW, VAST MAJORITY OF ALARMS ARE NOT REAL, BUT THERE'S THAT ONE TIME WHEN IT IS REAL, AND WE DON'T WANNA PUT ANY TYPE OF, UH, NON-SWORN PERSONNEL INTO A, A SERIOUSLY SITUATION THAT THAT COULD BE DEADLY. AND WE, WE DEFINITELY DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO GET HURT. SO AT THIS TIME, WE, WE WE'RE NOT EXPLORING ANY OPTIONS TO BE ABLE TO PUT, UH, NON-SWORN PERSONNEL IN THE, UH, IN THIS TYPE OF SITUATION. WE DO, WE WILL LOOK AT, UH, UM, UH, USING NON-SWORN THROUGH THE REALTIME CRIME CENTER, UH, IF WE DO, UH, IMPLEMENT THE DRONE PROGRAM AS A FIRST RESPONDER, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THEM, HAVE THEM RESPOND, AND TO BE ABLE TO MAYBE POTENTIALLY GET INFORMATION FOR THE, FOR THE OFFICERS IN, IN THAT FORM. UH, ONE, UH, WHEN CHIEF DAVIS FIRST GOT HERE, WE WERE WORKING ON A BARRY DUNN, UH, UH, ANALYSIS. UH, SHE HAS SINCE ASKED THEM TO CONTINUE TO DO A WORKLOAD ANALYSIS. UH, AND THIS WILL ACTUALLY GIVE HER A COMPLETE PICTURE FROM AN OUTSIDER'S. UM, SINCE SHE'S BRAND NEW TO A PD, EXCUSE ME, GIVE HER A, A HUGE PICTURE OF [00:40:01] WHAT EXACTLY A PD, HOW EVERYTHING'S STRUCTURED AND WHERE THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE THAT WE CAN BETTER BE UTILIZED OF NOT ONLY NON-SWORN BUT BUT SWORN TYPE OF PERSONNEL WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT. SO THAT'S ONE THING THAT THAT'LL BE DONE. UH, THEY'RE, UH, WORKING ON THE FINAL REPORT NOW. THE DRAFT SHOULD BE HERE WITH US WITHIN SEVERAL WEEKS. AND THEN, UM, SEVERAL WEEKS AFTER THAT, WE SHOULD HAVE THE, THE FINAL REPORT. SO I THINK IN LATE SUMMER, WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE SOME IN GOOD INFORMATION FOR CHIEF DAVIS TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SOME REALLY TOUGH DECISIONS, BUT REALLY NECESSARY DECISIONS. SO, UM, I WILL BE GLAD TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT, UH, ANYBODY MIGHT HAVE. UH, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, COLLEAGUES. WE'VE BEEN JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, AND WE WILL OPEN IT UP TO HIM, SEE IF HE HAS ANY QUESTIONS TO START WITH. WHAT A HONOR TO GO FIRST. THAT'S NOT EVEN ON THE COMMITTEE. THAT'S HOW WE DO IT HERE. THAT'S HOW WE DO IT HERE. WELL, THANK YOU. UH, I DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS AND WANTED TO START WITH, UM, UNDERSTANDING JUST SOME OF THE BOTH PRACTICAL AND LEGAL LIMITATIONS THAT YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT, UH, PARTICULARLY THE CRASH REPORTS. SO HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE FORM THAT I KNOW ULTIMATELY A LICENSED PEACE OFFICER MUST SIGN WHAT'S ON THAT CRASH REPORT FORM? I, I ASSUME IT'S NAME OF THE PARTIES INVOLVED, BUT THEN WHAT ELSE IS THERE? UH, ALL KINDS OF INFORMATION. UH, THERE'S INSURANCE INFORMATION. THERE'S THE PERSON'S, UH, PERSONAL INFORMATION DRIVER'S LICENSE. UH, THERE'S, THERE'S MULTIPLE PLACES. THERE'S A DIAGRAM TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF GIVE A, A EXPLANATION OF WHAT HAPPENED AS WELL AS WORDS YOU PUT DOWN IN. UM, AND THEN THERE'S, UH, UP TO FOUR UNITS AND YOU USE MULTIPLE ONES, BUT DIFFERENT UNIT, UNIT ONE, UNIT TWO, UNIT THREE, UNIT FOUR. TYPICALLY IT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING. WE DON'T DETERMINE WHO'S AT FAULT, BUT WE TYPICALLY PUT THE PERSON THAT WOULD BE AT FAULT OR A TRAFFIC VIOLATION AS TO SAY, AS UNIT NUMBER ONE. UM, THAT IS VASTLY USED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANIES TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A DECISION IF THEIR CLIENT IS AT FAULT OR NOT, UH, FOR THE COLLISION. UH, BUT THAT'S THE TYPE OF INFORMATION ON THERE. THERE'S VEHICLE INFORMATION, UM, AND JUST A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF, OF WHAT HAPPENED IN, IN A DIAGRAM AS WELL AS INSURANCE AND STUFF LIKE THAT. AND I ASSUME, AND YOU CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT WHEN AN OFFICER'S GENERATING ONE OF THESE REPORTS, HE TALKS TO ONE PARTY, THE OTHER PARTY TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED, KIND OF WRITES DOWN THE STORY AS IT COMES FROM BOTH SIDES, AND HE EITHER PICTURES, DIAGRAMS, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, AND THEN SIGNS IT OFF. IS THAT PRETTY FAIR? YES, SIR. THEY'LL, THEY'LL TALK TO ALL THE PARTIES THAT WERE INVOLVED, UH, PASSENGERS, ET CETERA. UH, IF THERE'S ANY WITNESSES THAT STOPPED, UH, OR IF THEY STOP AND GIVE A PHONE NUMBER OR THEY'LL CALL THEM AND TRY TO GET A, A COMPLETE PICTURE, LIKE YEAH, THE, THE UNIT ONE, THE RED TOYOTA OR WHATEVER, UH, RAN THE STOPLIGHT. UH, AND YEAH, I CLEARLY OBSERVED IT WAS, IT WAS RED. UH, IF THEY BOTH SAY IT WAS, WAS GREEN, THEN IT'S A, IT'S A TOSS UP. AND THEN THE, THE INSURANCE COMPANIES HAVE TO MAKE THAT DECISION. SO YEAH. AND WHAT HAPPENS IF SOMETHING'S WRONG ON THAT FORM, THE POLICE OFFICER SIGNS IT, BUT THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG ON THERE. WHAT'S THE YEAH, ULTIMATELY, UH, IT'S, IT, IT COULD BE ALL BROUGHT TO COURT AND, YOU KNOW, C COLLISIONS ARE A CIVIL MATTER. SO IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD, YOU KNOW, AN OFFICER WOULD'VE TO GO UP THERE AND TESTIFY TO WHAT THEY, THEY SAW THAT DAY, THE, THE INFORMATION THEY COLLECTED. AND THEN IT'D BE UP TO THE JUDGE OR THE JURY IF IT GOES THAT FAR TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT DECISION ON, YOU KNOW, WHO, WHO WOULD BE AT FAULT OR NOT. YEAH. OR WHO RAN THE TRAFFIC LIGHT. AND THE REASON I'M ASKING IS, 'CAUSE I KNOW THEN THE IMPLICATION IS THAT YOU MUST HAVE A TEPO CERTIFIED OFFICER TO SIGN ONE OF THESE. AND I, I THINK STATE LAW IS PRETTY CLEAR ABOUT THAT. BUT WHAT I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IS, RIGHT NOW, IT TAKES A LONG TIME, IF AT ALL, FOR AN OFFICER TO COME TO SOME OF THESE COLLISIONS. WE HAVE SYSTEMS IN PLACE SUCH AS, UH, PARAMEDIC PRACTITIONERS WHO PRACTICE UNDER SOMEONE ELSE'S LICENSE. RIGHT. THEY PRACTICE UNDER DR. ESCO'S LICENSE. WHAT IS STOPPING US FROM HAVING AN A INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE TRAINED IN CRASH REPORTS GO OUT TO THE SCENE, TAKE THE REPORT AND SUBMIT THAT TO AN OFFICER, ESSENTIALLY PRACTICING UNDER THAT OFFICER'S LICENSE, NOT, NOT ABLE TO SIGN THEIR NAME, BUT HAVE THE OFFICER THEN SAY, THIS PERSON IS TRAINED. I AM CERTIFYING THAT THIS INFORMATION IS TRUE AND CORRECT. I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA. IT'S JUST THE WAY THAT STATE LAW IS WRITTEN RIGHT NOW, WE, IT DOESN'T ALLOW FOR THAT. SO, UM, AND THEN WE'D HAVE TO JUST WORK WITH T COLE TO BE ABLE TO, IF THERE'S SOME TYPE OF CERTIFICATION PROGRAM FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. BUT I, I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA AND I CAN TALK TO THE, UH, THE OWNERS OF THE BUSINESS, UH, THE ONE THAT APPROACHED US, AND I KNOW THEY WERE GOING TO LOOK FOR CHANGING STATE LAW, BUT, UM, A GREAT IDEA, BUT I, I JUST DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT OF HOW, HOW THAT COULD BE POSSIBLE. RIGHT NOW, IT'S, IT'S A PEACE OFFICER. AND LIKE I SAY, WE'VE LOOKED AT IT WITH LEGAL AND LEGAL'S OPINION IS WE JUST, WE, THERE'S NO OTHER OPTION RIGHT NOW. SO WHEN I TALKED TO THE LAW DEPARTMENT, THEY'RE, WHAT THEY TOLD ME, AND WE CAN CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION LATER, BUT [00:45:01] WHAT I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT, AND, AND THIS IS A BIG ONE, IS THE HANGUP WAS THE SIGNATURE MM-HMM . RIGHT? TL HAS TO T CERTIFIED OFFICER HAS TO SIGN IT. IT DOESN'T SAY THAT A TL CERTIFIED OFFICER HAS TO FILL IN ANY OF THE OTHER INFORMATION. THEY JUST HAVE TO SWEAR TO THE FORM. I, I THINK WE, WE OFTEN JUST TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER. OKAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, THEY, HERE'S A BARRIER. TAKE THAT OFF THE, THE TO-DO LIST OR THE POSSIBILITY LIST INSTEAD OF TRYING TO WORK THE PROBLEM. AND SO HERE, I I WOULD JUST ASK THAT WE, AND WE'LL TALK MORE, BUT THAT AS WE GO FORWARD, I THINK, AND I THINK THIS FROM THE PUBLIC'S PERSPECTIVE, RIGHT? NOBODY SHOWING UP OR A NON-POLICE OFFICER SHOWING UP AND TAKING THE FORM AND THEN HAVING A POLICE OFFICER SWEAR TO IT, THE PUBLIC IS GOING TO BE MUCH HAPPIER WITH OPTION NUMBER TWO. AND SO, AND THAT'S WHAT THEY EXPECT OF US, RIGHT? LIKE THE NUMBER OF TIMES I HEAR PEOPLE SAY, WELL, THEY AP DIDN'T EVEN SHOW UP FOR YADA YADA ANYMORE. HERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO MEET THE NEED IF WE GET CREATIVE. AND SO I JUST WANT TO CONTINUE TO EXPLORE THAT. ABSOLUTELY. UM, AND SEPARATELY, I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT THE BURGLAR ALARM QUESTION. MM-HMM . SINCE WE KNOW THAT THAT'S A HUGE, I, I COULDN'T BELIEVE THE NUMBER OF AMOUNT OF TIME A PD IS SPENDING ON THIS, AND THEN THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THEY'RE FALSE ALARMS HAVE, HAVE Y'ALL THOUGHT AT ALL ABOUT DEPLOYING SOMEBODY? YOU GET A BURGLAR ALARM. AND ONCE AGAIN, MY UNDERSTANDING IS IN SOME OF THESE CASES, BECAUSE THEY'RE PRETTY LOW PRIORITY, OFTEN, YOU KNOW, MAYBE TWO HOURS BEFORE SOMEONE SHOWS UP, WHICH, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE TOO LATE, UH, BUT HAVING SOMEONE WHO'S NOT A POLICE OFFICER ESSENTIALLY, LIKE DRIVE UP, SEE ANYBODY OR DON'T SEE ANYBODY, IF THEY SEE SOMEBODY, OKAY, NOW I NEED TO ESCALATE THIS. BUT IF THEY DON'T SEE ANYBODY KINDA DO THAT PRELIMINARY SITE ASSESSMENT THAT HELPS EITHER DETERMINE THIS IS REAL OR NOT, BUT NOT, DOESN'T PUT THEM IN HARM'S WAY. YEAH. UH, GREAT IDEA. I THINK THAT THAT'S WHERE CHIEF DAVIS WANTS TO BRING IN THE DRUM FOR FIRST RESPONDER PROGRAM AND TO BE ABLE TO NOT EVEN USE A A, A BODY AT ALL, THAT'D BE AWESOME. SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE THING THAT SHE'S DEFINITELY LOOKING AT AND SHE'S VERY INTERESTED IN. AND YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S EXCITING 'CAUSE THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY AND WE'RE THE TECHNOLOGY CITY FOR SURE. SO YEAH. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. I, I LOVE IT. LET'S DO IT. OKAY. UH, AND, AND THEN THE LAST IS ON, UH, AND IT'S NOT ON YOUR PRESENTATION HERE, BUT ON, UH, I WANTED TO GET YOUR OPINION ON, UM, WELFARE CHECKS. ONCE AGAIN, THAT SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING THAT'S PRETTY HIGH ON THE NUMBER OF CALLS LIST, AND I KNOW SOMETIMES WE WILL SEND DMS SOMETIMES A PD, BUT JUST IF YOU THINK THERE'S ANYTHING THERE TO EITHER PUT THAT MORE ON EITHER THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OR EMS OR THERE ARE JUST SO MANY OF THEM, YOUR THOUGHTS. SO I KNOW ONE THING THAT HAS BEEN TALKED ABOUT AT LEGISLATIVE SESSION IS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, DOCTORS RIGHT NOW CAN COMMIT, PEACE, OFFICERS CAN COMMIT, BUT IT'S ALSO, IT'S BEEN LOOKED AT TO EXPAND IT TO EMS PERSONNEL FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO COMMIT SOMEBODY. SO IF THAT HAPPENS, THAT'LL BE A HUGE GAUGE GAME CHANGER FOR ALL OF US INVOLVED. UH, AND I REALLY HOPE THAT THAT DOES OCCUR. SO YEAH, ANYTHING WE CAN DO. I KNOW THAT, UH, I'M ON A BEHAVIORAL BOARD. UH, I HAVE, I'M OVER MENTAL HEALTH. UH, AND WE, WE MEET, UH, ONCE, ONCE EVERY MONTH. UH, AND IT'S A WIDE VARIETY FROM TRAVIS COUNTY DOCTORS, A MS, AND, UH, AND SWORN AS WELL AS ON INTEGRAL CARE SIDE COUNSELORS THAT WE MEET EVERY MONTH. AND WE'RE CONSTANTLY LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT WAYS TO BE ABLE TO, UM, NOT BE ABLE TO PUT PEOPLE BEHIND BARS FOR SOMETHING THAT WE'RE NEVER GONNA BE ABLE TO OCCUR IS MENTAL HEALTH. YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY NEED HELP, THEY NEED SERVICES. AND TO BE ABLE TO BE ABLE TO HELP ON THAT PART BESIDES JUST INCARCERATING THEM AND THEY GET OUT AND IT'S THE SAME THING OVER AGAIN. RIGHT. YOU KNOW, SO, UH, ANY IDEAS YOU HAVE, WE'RE, WE'RE WELCOME AND MEAN. WE'RE CONSTANTLY, LIKE I SAY, THIS GROUP GETS TOGETHER EVERY MONTH AND WE'RE CONSTANTLY BRAINSTORMING. AND LIKE I SAY, IT'S JUDGES, IT'S DOCTORS, AND IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A GOOD GROUP. IT'S, IT'S OPENHEARTEDLY. NO ONE, NO ONE GETS OFFENDED. YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE ALSO LOOKED AT OTHER, UH, CITIES THAT HAVE A, A DIVERSION PROGRAM WHERE IT, IT'S ACTUALLY LOCATED RIGHT NEXT TO THE JAIL AND THEY GO THERE AND THEY GET HELP AND THEY GET OUT AND THEY'VE HAD A HUGE SUCCESS FOR THAT. OFFICERS ARE ACTUALLY TRANSPORT, BUT THEY'RE OUT THERE BACK ON THE STREET BECAUSE THEIR REPORT IS SO MINIMAL THAT IT JUST MAKES IT SO FAST AND EFFICIENT AND THEY'RE ABLE TO GIVE THEM MEDICAL ATTENTION RIGHT AWAY WITHOUT JUST PUTTING 'EM BEHIND BARS BECAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE CRIMINAL TRESPASSING AND THEY WON'T LEAVE A BUSINESS OR SOMETHING. SO ANY AND ALL IDEAS WE, UH, LIKE THIS FORUM, WE'RE, WE'RE VERY OPEN TO HAVING IT. YES, SIR. WELL, I APPRECIATE IT. I CAN TELL Y'ALL ARE REALLY TRYING TO, I MEAN, I THINK THE DRONE THING IS REALLY COOL. I DIDN'T GET TO GO, BUT I HEARD REPORTS THAT IT WAS REALLY NEAT. I THINK THAT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY. BUT, UM, JUST WANT US TO TRY TO THINK A LITTLE MORE CREATIVELY AND, AND SEE IF THERE AREN'T WAYS WE CAN HELP ALLEVIATE THE NEEDS ON THE POLICE DEPARTMENT RIGHT NOW. SO, THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME CRASH YOUR COMMITTEE. NO PROBLEM AT ALL. COLLEAGUES. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? [00:50:02] QUESTION? UM, JUST CIRCLING BACK TO THAT QUESTION ABOUT REPORT WRITING, UM, VERSUS SIGNING, UH, I'VE HAD MANY OF THOSE SAME EXPERIENCES IN MY OWN PROFESSIONAL FIELD AS WELL AS THE EXAMPLES THAT COUNCIL MEMBER BALTER GAVE. AND SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I'M CLEAR ON WHERE WE LEFT THIS. ARE, ARE YOU GETTING ADDITIONAL CLARIFICATION ON THE POSSIBILITIES AND THEN COMING BACK TO SOMEONE, OR ARE YOU ALREADY CLEAR AND HAVE ALL THE CLARITY THAT YOU CAN GIVE US ABOUT STATE LAW NEEDING TO BE CHANGED BEFORE THIS TYPE OF PROBLEM SOLVING COULD BE INVESTIGATED? YEAH, WE'VE, WE'VE LOOKED AT IT SEVERAL TIMES AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO EXPLORE IT. UH, LAST WE LEFT IT, 'CAUSE I KNOW UNDER CHIEF JAHAN, WE LOOKED AT IT AS WELL AS NOW CHIEF DAVIS HAS LOOKED AT IT ALSO. UM, IT'S A GREAT IDEA. BUT WE JUST WORKING WITH LEGAL, WE, WE JUST, WE, WE'VE HIT A ROADBLOCK. WE'VE WENT BACK TO THE VENDOR, UH, AND THEY WERE GOING TO WORK WITH THE LEGISLATIVE TO BE ABLE TO GET IT CHANGED SO THEY COULD ACTUALLY COMPLETE THAT. IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT COMES THROUGH THAT IS A BREAKTHROUGH AND WE'RE ABLE TO ADVANCE ON IT, WE'RE, WE'RE MORE THAN HAPPY TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT IT. UM, BUT I'LL, I, I, I KNOW I TALK TO, UM, CITY LEGAL ALMOST EVERY DAY, UH, AND IF THERE'S SOMETHING WE CAN DO OR SOMETHING CHANGES, UH, WE CAN, WE CAN, COMES WITH A NEW INNOVATIVE IDEA, WE'LL BE, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO DO IT FOR SURE. OKAY. BECAUSE I'LL ALSO, UH, ADD MY VOICE TO THE, THE CHORUS THAT I HEAR FROM CONSTITUENTS IS ABOUT HOW LONG IT TAKES FOR AN A PD OFFICER TO BE AVAILABLE TO COME TO A CRASH. YES, MA'AM. UM, SO DEFINITELY CHALLENGING. UM, OKAY. SO I ALSO AM WONDERING, UM, IF THERE ARE ANY CATEGORIES OF 9 1 1 CRIME RELATED CALLS THAT YOU'RE CONSIDERING FOR CIVILIAN RESPONSE FOR WHICH CITY COUNCIL COULD HELP REMOVE ANY, THEIR PROCEDURAL OR, OR LEGAL BARRIERS? ANYTHING THAT WE CAN BE HELPFUL ON IN THIS AREA? WE, WE HAVE, UH, SINCE 2020 OPENED OUR EYES TO, YOU KNOW, NOT HAVING OFFICERS SUBJECTED TO THE VIRUS. UH, WE'VE, WE'VE REALLY WENT THROUGH THE ENTIRE, OUR ENTIRE CALL LIST AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT SENDING TO OFFICERS OR PUTTING 'EM AT, AT DUE RISK. UH, THINGS THAT EITHER CAN BE TAKEN OVER THE REPORT RIGHT AWAY OR SOMETHING WE JUST DON'T NEED TO RESPOND TO. SO AT THIS TIME WE, WE, WE BELIEVE WE GOT IT. UH, THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. UH, BUT RIGHT NOW I DON'T THINK THAT THERE'S ANYTHING THAT CAN COME FORTH WITH A SUGGESTION FOR CITY COUNCIL. OKAY. UM, WELL KEEP THAT IN MIND. THANK YOU. SURE. UM, FOR THE ALTERNATE RESPONSE MODEL PILOT PROGRAM FOR MENTAL HEALTH CALLS, UM, CAN YOU FILL IN A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THE TIMELINE AND WHERE THAT WILL BE DEPLOYED POTENTIALLY? CAN YOU GIVE ME A LITTLE BIT MORE TIMELINE ON POSSIBLE ROLLOUT OF THE ALTERNATE RESPONSE MODEL PILOT PROGRAM FOR MENTAL HEALTH CALLS, FOR MENTAL HEALTH CALLS. MM-HMM . UM, SO THAT'S ALMOST LIKE A DAILY TOPIC ON THE FIFTH FLOOR WITH CHIEF DAVIS. UM, AND OUR, OUR UNION, BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S DEFINITELY INVOLVED. WE'RE ALREADY IMPLEMENTING DAILY OF ANYTHING WE COULD DO TO BE ABLE TO REDUCE MENTAL HEALTH CALLS THAT AN OFFICER HAS TO RESPOND TO. UM, INTEGRAL CARE WAS, WAS ONE KEY FEATURE THAT I TALKED ABOUT TO BE ABLE TO REDUCE OFFICERS TO HAVE TO RESPOND TO THAT. UH, BUT, UH, DAILY WE'RE LOOKING AT AND OUR, OUR DISPATCHERS, OUR, OUR, OUR, OUR NINE ONE ONE, UH, CALL TAKERS ARE, YOU KNOW, GOING THROUGH A LIST OF WHAT CLASSIFIES WHAT, WHAT DOESN'T CLASSIFY, UH, A RESPONSE OR NOT A RESPONSE BY A PD. SO, UH, WE'RE CONSTANTLY LOOKING AT IT. UM, I KNOW WE JUST LOOKED AT IT RECENTLY, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RESPONDING APPROPRIATELY TO THE CALLS, UH, ASSOCIATED WITH IT. HOW ABOUT A LITTLE BIT, UH, ON THAT ONE COUNCIL MEMBER? 'CAUSE WE'RE KNEE DEEP IN IT. UH, EDDIE GARCIA, ASSISTANT MANAGER OF PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON BRINGING FORWARD THE PILOT PROGRAM TO THIS COMMITTEE HOPEFULLY WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS. I KNOW THAT, UH, DR. ESCO, UH, INTERAL CARE, UH, CHIEF DAVIS AND CHIEF, UH, LEITZ, UH, ARE WORKING ON THE PILOT PROGRAM. THE PILOT PROGRAM, MORE LIKE WE'RE UTILIZING DATA, UH, TO TELL US WHERE WE'RE GONNA PILOT IT, UH, UH, IN THE CITY. UH, LOOKING AT WHERE THE CALLS FOR SERVICE THAT IMPACT OUR OFFICERS, THE CALL FOR SERVICE WHERE MAYBE, UH, USE OF FORCE IS AN ISSUE WITH REGARDS TO DEALING WITH MENTAL HEALTH AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. UH, AND SO WE'RE WORKING OUT THOSE FINAL STEPS, BUT WE SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING BACK TO THIS COMMITTEE IN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS WITH THAT COORDINATED RESPONSE THAT COMBINES, UH, THE MEDICAL WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AND WITH, UH, COUNSELORS, UH, TO, UH, UH, TO HELP US WITH THAT ISSUE. SO HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS, I KNOW THEY'VE BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD FOR THEM. WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO BRINGING THAT UP. THANK YOU. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER DUCEY. THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU CHIEF FOR THE PRESENTATION, THE THOROUGH PRESENT. OH, FIRST OF ALL, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO GET THE PRESENTATION, UM, UH, INCLUDED BOTH AS BACKUP AS WELL AS TO THE, UH, THE COMMITTEE WHEN WE'RE DONE HERE? SURE. YES. YES SIR. UH, I HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU. I HAD KIND OF HIGH HOPES THAT WE MIGHT [00:55:01] BE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET, UM, OTHER FOLKS, MAYBE NOT NECESSARILY CIVILIANS, BUT MAYBE EMS OR FIRE TO HELP WITH EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE MENTAL HEALTH PROTECTION ORDERS. I THINK THE LEGISLATURE HAD OTHER IDEAS. SO THE OTHER IDEA I WANTED TO FOCUS ON WAS TO SEE IF YOU HAD ANY THOUGHTS ON, UM, TRYING TO IMPLEMENT A PROGRAM SIMILAR TO WHAT TXDOT HAS FOR HERO ON THE TXDOT ROADS, AND WHETHER YOU THINK THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET TRAIN CIVILIANS TO HELP RESPOND TO MINOR COLLISIONS AS A WAY TO HELP ALLEVIATE, UH, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN, UH, ALLEVIATE CALLS FROM, UM, OUR A PD OFFICERS. I UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, RIGHT NOW THEY'RE, I THINK ALREADY WORKING WITH A PD ON ABANDONED OF VEHICLES, BUT MAYBE THERE'S A WAY TO EXPAND THAT TO ALSO TO NONT ROADS WITH CIVILIANS THAT ARE, UH, WHATEVER CITY EMPLOYEES OR A SPECIALIZED PROGRAM LIKE THAT. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU GUYS HAVE DISCUSSED OR IS IN THE CARDS? UH, WE HAVE NOT DISCUSSED THAT. UM, HEROES IS AN AMAZING PROGRAM. I MEAN, THEY ARE, THEY'RE SO HELPFUL. I KNOW OUR COMMERCIAL VEHICLE UNIT, UH, IS JUST APPRAISES THEM CONSTANTLY ALL THE TIME. UH, THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY BRING OUT THE BOARDS AND BE ABLE TO GIVE US HIGH VISIBILITY TO BE ABLE TO KEEP EVERYBODY SAFE. UM, I WILL TELL YOU THAT WE HAVE WORKED WITH OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT. A LOT OF TIMES THE FIRE DEPARTMENT MAKES IT THERE BEFORE US, UH, AND THEY'RE ABLE TO CALL DISPATCH AND ONE OF OUR, UH, SERGEANTS APPROVES FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO START WRECKERS RIGHT AWAY WHEN THERE'S NO ONE INJURED. UH, AND SO ALL THAT INFORMATION IS ALREADY ON THE WAY AND WE CAN CLEAR ROADWAYS SOONER, BUT, UH, WE HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THAT TYPE OF PROGRAM, BUT AGAIN, INVOLVES THE CIVILIAN ASPECT. SO WE STILL HAVE TO WORK AROUND THAT, THAT, UH, UH, THAT TYPE OF, UM, TECHNICAL DETAILS. BUT ANYTHING'S OPEN AND I APPRECIATE THE IDEA WE DO IT. OKAY. WELL, I'D LIKE TO CERTAINLY FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ABOUT WHETHER THAT'S HAS ANY, UH, VIABILITY OR NOT. SURE. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU SO MUCH. APPRECIATE. THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH. UH, COLLEAGUES WILL NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE AND IT'S TO, UH, IDENTIFY ITEMS TO DISCUSS IN FUTURE MEETINGS. IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY RIGHT NOW, NOT, YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO EMAIL US OR CATCH US IN THE HALLWAY. UM, UH, WELL, WITH THAT COLLEAGUES, IT BEING THAT THERE IS NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE OF THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL WITHOUT OBJECTION, UH, THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 2:57 PM THANK YOU EVERYONE. I. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.