Correspondence - #14 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Orozco, Norma From: Tim Johnson <tjohnson@jlkrllp.com> Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2023 1:57 PM To: eComment Cc: Bacerra, Phil; Penaloza, David; Phan, Thai; Hernandez, Johnathan; Amezcua, Valerie; Lopez, Jessie; Vazquez, Benjamin Subject: Item 14- Support and Seek Add'I Info Mayor, Mayor Pro-Tem, and Council ... as you consider item 14 tonight I am sure you will receive a lot of support for it from the community. I have to believe that you will take that support into consideration when discussing tonight. However, the staff report is essentially a "receive and file" and as such, it does not sound like action will be taken beyond that tonight. There will be no direction to our great men and women of the SAPD or its leadership. I believe that our city, and surrounding communities, have a problem with substance abuse- whether alcohol, prescription drugs, or illicit drugs. I believe that each of you would agree. The issue is about what we do with it. I urge you to support a multi -pronged approach that includes enforcement, treatment and prevention. Each of these is ultimately very important. Without one, the others will not succeed as envisioned. The focus is often on enforcement. The public sees abuses happening on the streets and we get frustrated. We want to see additional enforcement action taken... it is frustrating when we have laws on the books that are seemingly un-enforced. This should change. I support consistent enforcement and feel you should also. I also support treatment services including not only information but also medical necessities and remedies to help those that are struggling. Many of us have family members or friends who struggle with addiction and we know that there is no single answer but those that struggle need to know that someone cares. One of my frustration with this discussion though is that we even need to have it. Is there so much lee -way at SAPD that they get to choose which laws to enforce? Who decides which ones? Does SAPD need to take direction from the city council or the city manager's office on each law? Can they provide a list of which laws they are enforcing and which ones they are not enforcing? Does SAPD expect to receive law enforcement direction from the city council or city manager on each law enforcement action? What are they expecting from you? Specifically, what is beign communicated from with the PD to those that patrol in black and white vehicles? What are they being tasked with and who do they take direction from? What does the Chief and the SAPD expect to receive from the city council in terms of law enforcement direction? Additionally, the staff report does not seem to address what resources are needed in order to provide the enforcement services and what trade offs may be needed. Resources are thing and not seeming to get better. How do we measure success in this area? I would also like to point out that the Staff Report is very vague ... what exactly does "consistently detain individuals violating state laws related to public intoxication and substance abuse" mean? Lay it out in plain terms. Does a PD office have to see someone injecting drugs? What if someone is intoxicated? What are the actual actions to be taken here? I think half of our issue is a communication issue ... the public needs to know what the law is and what the consequences of such law would be. The section under Detention and Arrest is equally vague because of the discretion involved. Note that the report does not indicate what has happened in the past and what the public should anticipate would be different. This is very important... what will change? What should we expect? The Staff Agenda Report does not seem to provide answer to the above very important questions. I hope that you take your chance tonight to discuss this with the Chief and others. Ask pointed questions and expected concise responses. 1