13-A
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
ATTENTION: Jeffrey L. Stewart, City Manager
FROM: Joel Hockman, Director of Public Safety
SUBJECT: Consideration and possible action to seek direction on current Code Enforcement procedures, current Southwest Patrol deployment, and potentially hiring a part-time Sheriff’s Liaison position.
DATE: March 13, 2023
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Public Safety Department Staff is looking for direction on three components of their operation: Code Enforcement, Southwest Patrol services, and potentially adding the part-time position of Sheriff’s Liaison. Having moved the City’s Code Enforcement Division over to the Substation six months ago, giving a progress report and receiving direction from Council is well-timed. The same is true for reviewing the large increase of Southwest Patrol services at the beginning of this year. And, in response to some concerns about oversight of the City’s Sheriff’s patrol services, the potential value of hiring a retired member of that department to analyze the performance of current patrol personnel has merit.
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL
1) Direct staff whether to modify the existing direction of Code Enforcement, modify the current deployment level of Southwest Patrol, and initiate the hiring of a part-time Sheriff’s liaison position; or
2) Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.
FISCAL IMPACT
The annual cost of adding a part-time Sheriff’s Liaison position at $94 per hour providing 15 hours of service per week is $79,000 including taxes. There would be no fiscal impact from providing direction on Code Enforcement and Southwest Patrol, unless the City Council recommended changing staffing or service levels (armed guard is $55 per hour and unarmed guard is $38 per hour).
1 Staff Report – Options for Increasing Public Safety Services March 13, 2023
DISCUSSION
1) CODE ENFORCEMENT: Transitioning the Code Enforcement Division over to Public Safety turned out to be a smoother process than many suspected. The enforcement culture of personnel already working in the Substation has been a good fit based on Council’s direction for Code Enforcement to take on a more assertive posture with some of its caseloads. Also, the department is continuing to make progress on cross-training the field duties of code enforcement inspectors and community service officers, which greatly expands the City’s ability to expand both services. Some of the specific highlights include:
Year-to-date case and administrative citation comparison between 2022 and 2023.
DATE RANGE OPENED CLOSED Admin Citations
Jan 1-Mar 6, 2022 105 92 4
Jan 1-Mar 6, 2023 232 100 37
Enhancements to Code Enforcement services, based on the recent merger:
Community service officers (CSOs) serve as extra eyes in the field to spot and report visible violations more readily.
CSOs assist with performing numerous re-inspections of minor violations, during the performance of their other duties – which frees up time for code enforcement inspectors.
Recently expanded weekend and evening coverage for both CSOs and code enforcement inspectors (currently going through additional cross-training). More Substation office support to assist citizens in person and on the phone. Daily interaction with and support from Sheriff’s personnel regarding problem properties, vendors, etc.
City Hall front counter has been freed up from numerous Code Enforcement contacts.
Although it already has been six months since the merger began, the department is still looking to expand its ability to deliver service with further cross-training, door hanger violation notices, possible enhanced program management software, support from the City Attorney’s office, and other strategies to get more compliance on a variety of code violations – especially those visible from the street-view.
2) SOUTHWEST PATROL: The City has made fairly extensive use of Southwest Patrol’s services in recent years to provide better support to its parks, parking structure, and commercial and residential corridors – both day and night-time shifts. In addition to being a visible deterrent, the armed officers have been engaging suspicious and/or criminal persons to a limited degree (e.g., illegal campers, people parked suspiciously, responding to burglary alarm calls). A review of Southwest Patrol logs reveals other examples of actions taken:
2 Staff Report – Options for Increasing Public Safety Services March 13, 2023
DISCUSSION – Continued
General Activities
Evening patrols of local businesses – especially in the downtown area. Patrolling liquor stores/bars and moving along those loitering and/or drinking in public.
Investigating suspicious vehicles driving around neighborhoods slowly with no lights on (possibly with criminal intent).
Multiple checks of bus shelters in town, removing persons found camping or loitering.
Numerous instances of locating suspicious people, and calling LASD to investigate.
Found multiple stolen vehicles which were reported to and recovered by LASD. Documenting graffiti incidents around the city.
Recent Noteworthy Incidents
Found a group of “mini-bikers” riding around Simms Park, made contact and cleared the group from the park.
Assisted parents of a missing teenager with autism look for their child at Riverview Park.
Came upon a vehicle stopped in the roadway at Lakewood Boulevard/Flower Street, contact was made with the driver who appeared under the influence. LASD was contacted and arrived on scene. The driver was later arrested for DUI. While patrolling around the vacant “Just Tires” an alarm noise was heard coming from the building. A sweep of the exterior revealed a forced entry point. LASD was called to assist with cleaning the building.
Officers were flagged down regarding a hit and run, the victim pointed out where the suspect vehicle was last seen. The officers checked the area and located the vehicle/suspect. They held the suspect at the location until LASD arrived.
3) HIRING A PART-TIME SHERIFF’S LIAISON POSITION: The City of Bellflower has a long history of reviewing the delivery of Sheriff’s patrol services. Most of this past effort was focused on how patrol time was assigned within the requirements of the City’s contract. Since that time, the City cancelled a sergeant position, and the past Sheriff removed all service area lieutenants (SAL’S) who were assigned to contract cities, as a cost-saving measure (those positions had been paid for by the County for >20 years).
As a result, Bellflower went from having three Sheriff’s supervisors/manager down to one supervisor, whose primary responsibilities are the SAO team and other administrative duties. The idea of hiring back the City’s recently retired SAL to review the performance of Bellflower’s patrol deputies is seen as a way to increase oversight, but at approximately 25% the cost of contracting another full-time sergeant position. In the role of Sheriff’s liaison, the new hire would have access to the various documents needed to review deputy performance, as well as opportunities to meet with personnel who need to show improvement or who are deserving of affirmation as a good example to others.
This proposed position is rather unique and somewhat experimental. If after some reasonable number of months, the service does not lead to some performance improvements within the patrol personnel assigned to Bellflower, the City would have the ability to discontinue the position.
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