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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-31-07SANTA ANA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE PUBLIC SAFETY Minutes of Meeting July 31, 2007 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was convened at 5:40 p.m. at City Hall, 20 Civic Center Plaza, gcn Floor, Santa Ana, California. ATTENDANCE Council members present: Claudia Alvarez and David Benavides. Council member Sal Tinajero absent. Staff present: Assistant City Attorney Paula Coleman, Police Chief Paul Walters, Fire Marshal Lori Smith, Police Deputy Chief Pete Jensen, Police Deputy Director Mike Lewellen, Community Preservation Manager Bruce Dunams, Sr. Community Preservation Inspector Alvaro Nunez, Police Training Commander John Gableman, Sgt. Javier Esparza, Officer Tom Serafin, Asst. to the City Manager Mark Lawrence, and Recording Secretary Janet Chop. Public present: Doug Irvine, OC Register SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approved Minutes of the June 26, 2007 meeting with an addition to Item 3 to include the two specific sites of the 800 block of South Townsend and the 1000 block of East Bishop in the expanded areas of the original Weed and Seed sites. 2. SANTA ANA POLICE ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES LEAGUE (SAPAAL) Chief Walters introduced Officer Tom Serafin who is responsible for the new SAPAAL Program. Officer Serafin gave a power point presentation on the new program, which is a youth crime prevention program operating at the McFadden Library Learning Center. There are currently 45 children, age 7 to 12, participating in all types of activities such as sports, cooking, crafts, tutoring, etc. The purpose of the program is to encourage youths to stay in school, resist the temptation to join gangs, and to combat violence. It is believed that youth who are involved in supervised extracurricular activities are significantly less likely to participate in high- risk illegal behavior. Commander Gabelman and Sergeant Esparza reinforced the benefits of the program. 2 The Committee members inquired as to using other centers in the City for the program. The cost and hiring of additional part time staff will be provided to the committee at the next meeting. Chief Walters said that private funding will be sought to support the program. 3. USE OF CAMERAS ON WATER TOWERS FOR ENFORCEMENT Deputy Chief Pete Jensen reviewed the infrastructure hardening project that began in 2004 that involved securing critical well and tank sites throughout the City. Due to heightened priorities to protect our critical infrastructure from acts of terrorism, the Water Resources Division identified gaps in the overall security of the City's water supply. Improvements were made at the six critical sites using funding from the federal Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) grant. Cameras were installed at some sites. When cameras detect motion or a lock is tampered with, an alarm is immediately sent to the Control Center. The monitoring employee is able to then view and record whatever action is taking place at the site. In case the City power supply is interrupted, a back-up portable generator was also purchased using UASI grant funds. 4. AFTER-ACTION REPORT ON ILLEGAL FIREWORKS Fire Marshal Lori Smith reviewed any structural fires during the 4th of July holiday. Dep. Director Lewellen gave a report regarding the handling of illegal fireworks complaints and that this year they all came directly to the Police Department rather than the Fire Department. Illegal fireworks enforcement focused more on confiscating them when encountered rather than making arrests as in years past. This was a better use of manpower and was a more effective way to get as many illegal fireworks off the streets as possible. He also reviewed the educational campaigns and media coverage used by the Police and Fire Departments. 5. STOLEN SHOPPING CARTS ENFORCEMENT Deputy Chief Jensen reviewed the shopping cart enforcement procedure and the enforcement that has been occurring in the Downtown and Civic Center areas. Bruce Dunams reviewed what Code Enforcement is doing to assist the contractor for shopping cart retrieval. He said that abandoned shopping carts that need to be picked up can be reported to 714-667-2780. Stores can be cited if they do not meet criteria for prevention of theft of shopping carts, and he felt strides are being made to eliminate the problem. 6. ACQUISITION AND REHABILITATION OF 1002 N. FRENCH This item was continued until the next Public Safety Committee meeting. 3 7. CRIME TRENDS Deputy Director Lewellen reviewed the Part One crime comparing the years 2005 and 2006, which showed a 12.55% decrease, and also a comparison of the first six months of 2006 to the first six months of 2007. Part One crime includes homicide, rape, assaults, robbery, burglary, larceny-theft, and auto theft. Since January of this year, this dramatic drop in the crime rate has continued with a 7.65% decrease through June 2007. Committee member Alvarez requested a report for the first six months of 2005 also, in order to show athree-year comparison. Deputy Director Lewellen will provide the report to the Committee members. 8. POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS ASSESSMENT NEEDS There was nothing new to report on the assessment needs at this time. 9. PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments. 10. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS: There were no additional Committee Member comments. 11. ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING A. Top 10 Problem Locations in Each Policing District (includes Continued Item Concerning 1002 N. French) B. Graffiti Enforcement Update C. Update on 800 block of South Townsend and the 1000 block of East Bishop D. Fireworks Enforcement Comparison between Garden Grove and Santa Ana E. Profile of Homicide Victims for 2007 F. Proposed Massage Parlor Ordinance G. Expand SAPAAL to Other Community Centers H. Police and Fire Departments Assessment Needs 12. NEXT MEETING DATE: August 28, 2007, 5:30 p.m. ADJOURNMENT: 7:20 P.M. ~; j _~ ~ ~- PAUL M. WALTERS Chief of Police jc