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Home My WebLink About07/14/06� S A K E R S F I E L D Irma Carson, Chair Mike Maggard Jacquie Sullivan Staff: Alan Christensen SPECIAL MEETING OF THE SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE and Community Advisory Committee of the City Council - City of Bakersfield July 14, 2006 11:30 a.m. City Manager's Conference Room 1501 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, CA 93301 AMENDED AGENDA 1. ROLL CALL 2. ADOPTION OF JUNE 15, 2006 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS 4. DEFERRED BUSINESS a. Update regarding Gang and Graffiti Enforcement (Police Chief Rector) b. Discussion regarding Joint City/County Committee on Gang Violence c. Discussion regarding development plan for State of Emergency to Stop the Violence (Committee Chair Carson) d. Discussion regarding Resolution for Safe Parks (City Attorney Gennaro) e. Discussion regarding amending the Committee calendar 5. NEW BUSINESS 6. COMMITTEE COMMENTS 7. ADJOURNMENT S:\Council Committees\2006\06 Safe NeighborhoodsWgendas\July14 Amended Agenda.doc ! B A K E R S F I E L D Irma Carson, C Mike Maggarc Jacquie Sulliv� Staff: Alan Ch SPECIAL MEETING OF THE SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE and Community Advisory Committee of the City Council - City of Bakersfield July 14, 2006 11:30 a.m. City Manager's Conference Room 1501 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, CA 93301 AGENDA 1. ROLL CALL 2. ADOPTION OF JUNE 15, 2006 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS 4. DEFERRED BUSINESS a. Update regarding Gang and Graffiti Enforcement (Police Chief Rector) b. Discussion regarding Joint City/County Committee on Gang Violence c. Discussion regarding amending the Committee calendar 5. NEW BUSINESS 6. COMMITTEE COMMENTS 7. ADJOURNMENT � B A K E R S F I E L D AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Staff: Alan Christensen, Assistant City Manager Councilmember, Irma Carson - Chair Councilmember, Mike Maggard Councilmember, Jacquie Sullivan REGULAR MEETING SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS and COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE and Community Advisory Committee of the City of Bakersfield Thursday, June 15, 2006 11:30 a.m. City Manager's Conference Room The meeting was called to order at 11:40 a.m. il 2. ROLL CALL Present: Councilmember, Irma Carson - Chair Councilmember, Jacquie Sullivan Absent: Advisory member present: Councilmember, Mike Maggard Beverly Beasley Johnson, Kern County Department of Human Services; David Strong ADOPTION OF THE MAY 25, 2006 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Adopted as submitted. 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS Jack Smith, with Stop the Violence, proposed a gun buy-back program that would be financed by that organization. Committee Chair Carson recommended he work closely with the Chief of Police and City. Police Chief Rector indicated the department would look into the program. Teri Bjorn, of Kronick, Moskovitz u�dated the Committee about the Rockin' Rodeo facility. They closed their doors on June 1 S, and are in the process of moving out. The respective lawyers are working out claims. Karen Goh, of Garden Pathways, introduced Dave Gaspar and Carol Gordon with OJJDP, and Richard Ramos, Executive Director of the Latino Coalition. Safe Neighborhoods and Community Relations Committee June 15, 2006 Agenda Summary Report Page 2 Richard Ramos informed the Committee that his organization is funded by the Departments of Labor, and Health and Human Services. They coordinate with organizations that are working with Latino youth and their families, and provide funding for those organizations. They will be announcing awards soon that are focused on gang prevention and intervention. They are headquartered in Bakersfield, and are the lead agency coordinated by OJJDP and the project they represent, TCAP. Dave Gaspar with OJJDP spoke about their project, TCAP, which stands for Targeted Community Action Planning. It is a federal initiative sponsored by the Department of Justice, and is a partnership between the federal and state governments, and the local community to target the juvenile offender population. Consultants, such as he and Carol Gordon, look at the community over a period of 12 — 18 months, prepare an analysis about the environment and offer ideas on to readjust resource deployment and practices. Richard Ramos applied on behalf of the city of Bakersfield. They work through the statutory agencies dealing with juvenile offenders, such as juvenile probation, police and schools. Funding is provided for consulting services, not treatment or intervention. The analysis is provided to the city, who will then create a strategy to alter the path of youth who have been in legal trouble, but are not yet serious offenders. 4. DEFERRED BUSINESS a. Update regarding gang and graffiti enforcement and use of video cameras (Police Chief Rector) Police Chief Rector said that the department continues to get valuable information from a variety of sources regarding gang crimes. The department has performed the final demonstration of the video unit they believe they will purchase. It is a portable, wireless system that is very sophisticated. They are working with the Information Technology staff to ensure it is something easily operable, and that it will benefit the Department and community. Council will have final approval in an upcoming meeting. Committee Chair Carson said that cameras in Mexico had reduced the crime rate there. San Francisco also installed cameras in targeted areas and reduced their crime by 50%. Chief Rector informed the Committee that the Police Department was recently awarded a GREAT (Gang Resistance and Education and Training) grant from the Department of Justice that will help educate students on the dangers of gangs, in the approximate amount of $206,000. The plan is to place an officer into the existing school resource officer program, and integrate GREAT training within that program. Committee Chair Carson asked if there is any way that planning and research staff within the Police Department can track the reasons behind some crimes. Such a study could help the Committee write a plan. Police Captain Scott recognized Police Lieutenant Nurridin, who is in charge of the robbery/homicide division. Safe Neighborhoods and Community Relations Committee June 15, 2006 Agenda Summary Report Page 3 Captain Scott reported on the Special Enforcement UniYs accomplishmenYs year to date. There have been 457 felony arrests, 1,947 street checks in the field, 1,408 probation/parole searches, and they are actively patrolling Valley Plaza. The gang shootings to date total 20, whereas this time last year, there were 41. Committee Chair Carson asked that they look closer at large groups in parks and asked if any officers routinely patrol parks. City Attorney Gennaro responded that a program had been in place where designated staff was watchful; but due to budget constraints in recent years, the program was eliminated. Ms. Carson asked staff to look into reinstituting the program. b. Discussion regarding County involvement in Safe Neighborhoods and Community Relations Committee Assistant City Manager Christensen reported that Kern County Supervisor Rubio made a referral to the Board of Supervisors requesting a joint standing committee on gang violence. He proposes to have three members of the City Council, two County Supervisors, two law enforcement members, the Police Chief, County Sheriff, two faith- based members, two representatives from the High School District, two representatives from organizations such as Stop the Vio%nce, and five community members. The group would hold three meetings per year. Staff is still waiting for word from the County Board of Supervisors. Committee Chair Carson said that should the County agree to move forward, the item has to be submitted at a Joint City/County meeting for adoption. City Attorney Gennaro suggested placing it on the agenda for the Joint meeting scheduled for September. c. Report regarding school safe zones Information was distributed by the City Attorney. 5. NEW BUSINESS a. Discussion regarding summer recreation programs Assistant City Manager Alan Christensen reported on the variety of programs that are available at either low- or no-cost to the public, including Camp King. 6. COMMITTEE COMMENTS David Strong indicated that the Department of Fair Housing is interested in working with the Police Department to create a better environment and be more proactive. There is a community room for any group to use. Committee Chair Carson thanked everyone for coming. Safe Neighborhoods and Community Relations Committee June 15, 2006 Agenda Summary Report Page 4 7. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 p.m. Staff present: Assistant City Manager, Alan Christensen; City Attorney, Virginia Gennaro; Police Chief, William Rector; Capt. Tim Taylor, Capt. Archie Scott, and Lt. Hajir Nurridin, Bakersfield Police Department; Traci Belmore, City Attorney's Office. Others present: Jack Smith, Stop the Violence; Tom Dinnauer, Valley Plaza; Ricard Ramos, Latino Coalition, Faith and Community Initiative; Dave Gaspar and Carol Gordon, OJJDP; Karen Goh, Garden Pathways; Teri Bjorn, Kronick, Moskovitz, et al; and several members of the media. cc: Honorable Mayor and City Council