Berkeley City Council
May 5, 2022

Thursday, May 5, 2022 AGENDA Page 1

P R O C L AM AT I O N

C AL L I N G A S P E C I AL M EE TI NG O F T HE

B E R K E LE Y CI T Y C O U N CIL
In accordance with the authority in me vested, I do hereby call the Berkeley City Council in special session as follows:

Thursday, May 5, 2022
6:00 PM

JESSE ARREGUIN, MAYOR
Councilmembers:

DISTRICT 1 – RASHI KESARWANI DISTRICT 5 – SOPHIE HAHN
DISTRICT 2 – TERRY TAPLIN DISTRICT 6 – SUSAN WENGRAF
DISTRICT 3 – BEN BARTLETT DISTRICT 7 – RIGEL ROBINSON
DISTRICT 4 – KATE HARRISON DISTRICT 8 – LORI DROSTE

PUBLIC ADVISORY: THIS MEETING WILL BE CONDUCTED EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH

VIDEOCONFERENCE AND TELECONFERENCE
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(e) and the state declared emergency, this meeting of the City Council will be conducted exclusively through t eleconference and Zoom videoconference. The COVID -19 state of emergency continues to directly impact the ability of the members to meet safely in person and presents imminent risks to the health of attendees. Therefore, no physical meeting location will be available.

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This meeting will be conducted in accordance with the Brown Act, Government Code Section 54953. Any member of the public may attend this meeting. Questions regarding this matter may be addressed to Mark Numainville, City Clerk, (510) 981 -6900. The City Council may take action related to any subject listed on the Agenda. Meetings will adjourn at 11:00 p.m. - any items outstanding at that time will be carried over to a date/time to be specified.

Thursday, May 5, 2022 AGENDA Page 2
Preliminary Matters
Roll Call:

Action Calendar
The public may comment on each item listed on the agenda for action as the item is taken up. For items moved to the Action Calendar from the Consent Calendar or Information Calendar, persons who spoke on the item during the Consent Calendar public comment period may speak again at the time the matter is taken up during the Action Calendar.

The Presiding Officer will request that persons wishing to speak use the "raise hand" function to determine the number of persons interested in speaking at that time. Up to ten (10) speakers may speak for two minutes. If there are more than ten persons interested in speaking, the Presiding Officer may limit the public comment for all speakers to one minute per speaker. Speakers are permitted to yield their time to one other speaker, however no one speaker shall have more than four minutes. The Presiding Officer may, with the consent of persons representing both sides of an issue, allocate a block of time to each side to present their issue.

Action items may be reordered at the discretion of the Chair with the consent of Council.

Action Calendar – New Business

1a. Fulfilling the Promise of Berkeley’s Reimagining Public Safety Initiative:

Recommendations for a Comprehensive, Phased Approach
From: Mayor Arreguin (Author), Councilmember Harrison (Co-Sponsor), Councilmember Bartlett (Co-Sponsor), Councilmember Hahn (Co-Sponsor) Recommendation:

To continue the study and implementation of a comprehensive, new approach to public safety and policing in Berkeley, responsive to the City Council’s unanimous July 14, 2020 direction for a transformative approach to community-centered safety with equitable investment in the essential conditions of a safe and healthy community:

1. Refer up to $5.3 Million to the FY 2023-2024 Budget Process for staff and/or consulting services and community investments to complete the Priority Reimagining Public Safety Initiatives listed in Attachment 1, Section A to the report.

2. Direct the City Manager to prioritize over the next two years the programmatic recommendations for Phase 1 of Reimagining Implementation listed in Attachment 1, Section B to the report.

3. Direct the City Manager to initiate a design process for an innovative and comprehensive public safety agency or Department of Community Safety within the City of Berkeley administration, as outlined in Attachment 1, Section C to the report, and return with recommendations to the City Council by May 2024 to align with the FY 25-26 Biennial Budget process.

4. Except where resources may allow for expedited implementation, refer additional reforms to the FY 2025-2026 Biennial Budget as outlined in Attachment 1, Section D to the report.

Financial Implications: See report
Contact: Jesse Arreguin, Mayor, (510) 981-7100

Action Calendar – New Business

Thursday, May 5, 2022 AGENDA Page 3
1b. Response to Reimagining Public Safety Recommendations From: Councilmember Taplin (Author)
Recommendation:

1. Adopt the City Manager’s April 2022 recommendations for Reimagining Public Safety with the following revisions, and;

2. Refer to the City Manager’s office establishment of an Office of Racial Equity to aid in the implementation:

Policy Recommendation amendments
-“Implement the Specialized Care Unit Pilot using all of the recommendations of the consultant and the SCU Steering Committee as a road map”; Add: with regular review of performance metrics and service evaluations.
-“Continue to plan for a civilian traffic enforcement unit, both by informing the content of state law changes to enable such a unit, and by developing an implementation plan once state law does change”; Revise: Conduct a feasibility analysis of a non- sworn auxiliary traffic enforcement unit, including comprehensive analysis of any and all traffic violations and dangerous road behavior that may be safely addressed entirely by a civilian unit.
-“Approve a new Vision Zero staff position in Public Works’ Division of Transportation to conduct collision analysis”; Add: and to study extent of feasibility and scope of potential civilian enforcement pilot, implementation of Vision Zero and Berkeley Department of Transportation and Infrastructure department structuring models to advance engineering-first solutions to traffic safety with a racial justice and social equity lens.
-“Develop additional capabilities to address public safety goals with appropriate response level”; Revise: Develop additional capabilities to address root causes of crime and violence, including reduction of poverty and recidivism through a Guaranteed Income pilot program and City employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals, and locally-based Crisis Stabilization. In addition, the City Manager’s Office, and subsequently an Office of Racial Equity as appropriate, shall periodically report on performance metrics, administrative capacity, and fiscal sustainability for partnering CBOs and other NGOs performing violence prevention services, mental health crisis responses, and any other services under the auspices of Reimagining Community Safety.

Budget Recommendation amendments
-Consulting services - $650k amended to: Office of Racial Equity Associate Management Analyst (1) to oversee a Guaranteed basic income pilot, city employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated, and support position (1) to conduct structural assessment and administrative capacity building for CBO partners- $480k; Consulting services for Priority Dispatch, Call Data Analysis for Crisis Stabilization - $170k.
-Add: Vision Zero analyst - $200k
Financial Implications: See report
Contact: Terry Taplin, Councilmember, District 2, (510) 981-7120

Action Calendar – New Business

Thursday, May 5, 2022 AGENDA Page 4
1c. Discussion and Possible Action on Budget Referrals and Direction on Reimagining Public Safety including Consideration of the Recommendations of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR), Reimagining Public Safety Task Force, and City Manager’s Report on Reimagining Public Safety (Materials from April 21, 2022 and March 10, 2022 meetings.) Recommendation: Discuss and provide direction on recommendations to transform public safety and policing in Berkeley.

Adjournment
I hereby request that the City Clerk of the City of Berkeley cause personal notice to be given to each member of the Berkeley City Council on the time and place of said meeting, forthwith.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand
and caused the official seal of the City of Berkeley to be affixed on this 2nd day of May 2022.

Jesse Arreguin, Mayor
Public Notice – this Proclamation serves as the official agenda for this meeting.

ATTEST:

Date: May 2, 2022
Mark Numainville, City Clerk

NOTICE CONCERNING YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS : If you object to a decision by the City Council to approve or deny a use permit or variance for a project the following requirements and restrictions apply:
1) No lawsuit challenging a City decision to deny (Code Civ. Proc. §1094.6(b)) or approve (Gov. Code 65009(c)(5)) a use permit or variance may be filed more than 90 days after the date the Notice of Decision of the action of the City Council is mailed. Any lawsuit not f iled within that 90 -day period will be barred. 2) In any lawsuit that may be filed against a City Council decision to approve or deny a use permit or variance, the issues and evidence will be limited to those raised by you or someone else, orally or in writing, at a public hearing or prior to the close of the last public hearing on the project.

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Thursday, May 5, 2022 AGENDA Page 5
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COMMUNICATION ACCESS INFORMATION:

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Captioning services are provided at the meeting, on B-TV, and on the Internet.

Communications

Discussion and Possible Action on Budget Referrals and Direction on Reimagining Public Safety including Consideration of the Recommendations of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR), Reimagining Public Safety Task Force, and City Manager’s Report on Reimagining Public Safety Fulfilling the Promise of Berkeley’s Reimagining Public Safety Initiative:

Recommendations for a Comprehensive, Phased Approach
Response to Reimagining Public Safety Recommendations

1. Clara de Martel

2. Brian Hinch

3. Sara Beth Hoffman

4. Collin Thormoto

5. Sunny Smith

6. Kelsey Reid

7. Liz Wagstaffe

8. Sarah Openheim

9. Jessica Stern

10. Mary-Lee Smith

11. Diana Bohn

1 ACTION CALENDAR
May 5, 2022
To: Honorable Members of the City Council
From: Mayor Jesse Arreguín, Vice-Mayor Kate Harrison, and Councilmembers Ben Bartlett and Sophie Hahn
Subject: Fulfilling the Promise of Berkeley’s Reimagining Public Safety Initiative:

Recommendations for a Comprehensive, Phased Approach

RECOMMENDATION
To continue the study and implementation of a comprehensive, new approach to public safety and policing in Berkeley, responsive to the City Council’s unanimous July 14, 2020 direction for a transformative approach to community-centered safety with equitable investment in the essential conditions of a safe and healthy community:

1. Refer up to $5.3 Million to the FY 2023-2024 Budget Process for staff and/or consulting services and community investments to complete the Priority Reimagining Public Safety Initiatives listed in Attachment 1, Section A.

2. Direct the City Manager to prioritize over the next two years the programmatic recommendations for Phase 1 of Reimagining Implementation listed in Attachment 1, Section B.

3. Direct the City Manager to initiate a design process for an innovative and comprehensive public safety agency or Department of Community Safety within the City of Berkeley administration, as outlined in Attachment 1, Section C, and return with recommendations to the City Council by May 2024 to align with the FY 25-26 Biennial Budget process.

4. Except where resources may allow for expedited implementation, refer additional reforms to the FY 2025-2026 Biennial Budget as outlined in Attachment 1, Section D.

BACKGROUND
2020 Omnibus Motion
On July 14, 2020, after hearing from over 130 speakers and receiving hundreds of written comments, the City Council adopted an omnibus motion combining elements from a variety of Council proposals to reimagine community safety in Berkeley. This action came two months after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police, and in response to a growing movement for reform of traditional public safety models. On June 6, 2020, over 7,000 Berkeley residents marched in the streets to call for transformative change in law enforcement not just nationally, but also here in Berkeley.

01a
Special Meeting Item

2 Berkeley, like many cities throughout the United States, is not immune from the stain of systemic racism, including state-sponsored actions such as violence against people of color, redlining and discriminatory housing practices. Gaping racial inequities persist with respect to housing affordability and ownership, income, health status, academic achievement, homelessness, and experiences with the criminal justice system, among others. At the same time, due to the lack of government programs to support wealth building and rising housing costs and gentrification, the size of the Black community in Berkeley has decreased from approximately 20% in 1970 to 8%, according to the 2020 census. If Berkeley is to realize its aspiration of becoming a truly progressive, equitable community, we must be willing to examine and transform all systems and institutions, including those related to housing, health, education, employment, environmental justice, criminal justice, and law enforcement.

The July 14, 2020 omnibus motion committed Berkeley to:
i. A transformative approach to community-centered safety and reducing the scope of policing, by re-defining our understanding of safety to be holistic and focus not just on crime prevention but health, wellness, and economic security for all of our residents. While the focus has been on reducing the footprint of policing, we recognize that police play a critical role in our society, and we must determine the right size, focus and function of our Police Department to prevent and respond to crime, while exploring alternative response models and upstream investments in social services to create a healthy, safe and equitable community.
ii. Equitable investment in the essential conditions of a safe and healthy community, especially for those who have been historically marginalized and have experienced disinvestment, and
iii. A broad, inclusive community process that will result in deep and lasting change to support safety and wellbeing for all Berkeley residents. iv. Reimagining health and safety, considering allocating resources towards a more holistic approach - one that shifts resources away from policing towards health, education and social services, and is able to meet crises with a variety of appropriate responses.
v. Providing meaningful safety, continuing critical health and social services, and committing to, and investing in, a new, positive, equitable and community- centered approach to health and safety that is affordable and sustainable. vi. Determining the appropriate response to community calls for help including size, scope of operation and powers and duties of a well-trained police department. vii. Identifying alternatives to policing and enforcement to reduce conflict, harm, and institutionalization, introduce alternative and restorative justice models, and reduce or eliminate use of fines and incarceration.

In addition to these original goals, we are committed to:

3 viii. Supporting police by freeing them to focus on what they do best: respond to and investigate serious crimes
ix. Ensuring an appropriately staffed and deployed Police Department while reducing the impact of Police expenditures to the General Fund; Investing in a suite of alternative response services and a sophisticated dispatch system to deploy the most appropriate emergency response in a cost-effective manner.

These initial proposals for a comprehensive, phased approach to fulfilling Council’s omnibus recommendations are designed to actualize Council’s stated values and goals.

RATIONALE FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
For too long “public safety” has been equated with policing alone, while police have become tasked by default with the impossible job of managing the impact of decades of disinvestment in mental health, education, housing, and other social safety nets. While efforts to address systemic racism and reform the criminal justice system long pre-dated the murder of George Floyd in May of 2020, his murder by the Minneapolis Police challenged communities across the country to reimagine and redefine public safety. In the two years since his tragic death, the Berkeley City Council, city staff, community members and consultants have worked collaboratively to advance recommendations on new programs, policies, and initiatives to reimagine public safety in Berkeley. Some of these recommendations are ready for implementation, while others need further analysis and development, but collectively these actions represent the building blocks of a new paradigm for public safety in Berkeley.

This transformative approach requires balancing our resources to simultaneously build a new system while continuing to provide essential public safety services to the community. Thus, as we develop alternative capabilities, our police will continue to receive necessary resources.

Start-up costs for new programs and services require investments that may be supported by government and philanthropic grants; there is a great deal of interest among funders in meaningful work to expand and reform models for public safety. Short-term salary savings and other one-time monies available within the City budget may also be invested in the development of Berkeley’s transformative work to reimagine and re-deploy our resources to achieve greater public safety and equity across the community.

These recommendations continue Berkeley’s thoughtful, measured approach to restructuring and redefining health and safety through identifying and building the right response to each safety related call or crisis, and upstream investments to address social determinants. Through immediate, intermediate, and longer-term steps these recommendations, drawn from the National Institute of Criminal Justice Reform, the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force, and the City Manager’s Reimagining Public Safety report, continue Berkeley’s efforts to restructure and redefine “health and safety” for all Berkeleyans, and to transform the city to an equitable and holistic model that delivers greater response capabilities to all residents.

1. Refer up to $5.3 Million in staffing, consulting costs and community investments to the 2023-24 Budget Process as Priority Reimagining Public Safety Initiatives

4 These budget referrals are broken down by staff and consultant costs. Budgets are taken from the City Manager’s proposals unless another source is noted.

City Staff Costs
Amount Purpose Rationale
$315,000 Assistant City Manager to
lead Office of Equity and
Diversity
Recommendation supported by
City Manager, Task Force and City
Council.

The development of the Office
Equity and Diversity should
consider the recommendations
from the Reimagining Task Force.

Particular attention from the Office
of Equity should be paid to
language access, which has been
identified repeatedly as a barrier to
trust and the provision of services
delivered by the City across
departments.
$315,000 Assistant City Manager to
serve as Reimagining Project
Coordinator
The responsibilities of project
management have fallen under
the already heavy burden of the
existing Deputy City Manager, with
part-time support from a
Management Analyst. To
effectively coordinate the ongoing
work, a full-time senior level staff
person in the City Manager’s
Office is required as they will be
coordinating a multi-departmental,
citywide response.
$100,000 Fair and Impartial Policing
(FIP) Training
Recommendation to implement
and prioritize FIP has been
supported by City Manager, City
Council and Task Force
$100,000 Grant Writing Services Recommended by City Manager to apply for and seek grant funds to
support Reimagining efforts
Up to $1.5
Million
1 Supervisor - CSO Unit;
Up to 9 Community Services
Officers
Launch a pilot Community
Services Officer unit using Police
salary savings. Positions would be
project based for two-years.

Evaluate pilot after two-year period
to align with the FY 25-26 Budget

5 Process and determine the
appropriate location of the CSO
unit within a new Public Safety
Department and the role for other
non-sworn responders.
$175,000 Vision Zero Staff Position Approve a new Vision Zero staff position in Public Works’ Division
of Transportation to conduct
collision analysis. This will
promote the City’s Vision
Zero approach by boosting the
City’s capacity to analyze collision
data collected by the Police
Department, and, with Police
input, propose
Consultant Costs
Amount Purpose Rationale
$300,000 Continue BerkDOT process to
plan for a civilian traffic
enforcement unit. Process
would inform the content of any
needed state law changes and
also work to develop functions
that could be carried out by
civilians absent such changes
(e.g., collision analysis,
civilianization of non-moving
violations)
Recommendation supported by the
City Manager and Task Force.

Explore as part of the continued
BerkDOT analysis/implementation
the potential for unarmed traffic
officers in the Police Department. If
state law is not amended this may
be a potential path for unarmed
traffic enforcement.
$70,000 Analysis of BPD Staffing and
Beat Structure (See details in
Attachment 1 section A)
Recommended by City Manager
and supported by City Council
Approximately
$250,000
Support an organizational
design process to create an
umbrella agency or Department
of Community Safety
See below, rationale part 3
$150,000 Review Municipal Code for
proposed changes to increase
equity and racial justice in City’s
transportation fines and fees,
and explore the civilianization of
enforcement of various
Recommendation is supported by
the City Manager and Task Force

6 Municipal Code violations
$200,000 Consulting costs requested by
City Manager to support
continued analysis of prioritized
dispatch and development of an
implementation plan
Recommendation is supported by
the City Manager. Developing a
new model for dispatch was
identified as critical by both SCU
Steering Committee and Task
Force
Community Investments
Opportunities for community reinvestment, as envisioned in the City Council’s omnibus proposal.

Category Budget Purpose Rationale Status
$50,000 McGee Avenue
Baptist Church -
Voices Against
Violence
Youth-led
violence
prevention
program in
South Berkeley.

City has
previously
funded at
$50,000
Request funding
in FY 23 and FY
24 Biennial
Budget
$200,000 Berkeley
Ceasefire
Consulting costs
to develop a
Gun Violence
Intervention
(GVI) program,
commonly
known as
“Operation
Ceasefire.”
Funded in FY 22
AAO #1
(separately
referred by CM
Taplin - 11/9/21)
Violence
Prevention and
Youth Services
$160,000 Berkeley Youth
Alternatives
Counseling
Center
$125,000 to
support for their
counseling
center which
cannot meet the
current demand
for mental health
services.
$35,000 for the
Summer Jam
Day Camp
FY 23 and FY
24 Alternatives to
Sanctions/Fines
$150,000 Expand Hearing
Officer Capacity
Expand existing
hearing officer
FY 23 and FY
24

7 resources in
CMO to provide
alternative
referrals to
community
service and
social services
for parking and
other infractions
$50,000 Expand
Downtown
Streets Team
Expand
Downtown
Streets Team as
placement for
low-level
violations (e.g.,
vehicular
camping/parking
and sidewalk
ordinance
infractions)
FY 23 and FY

24. Measure P
revenues. $100,000 Behavioral
Health, Crisis
Response, and
Crisis-related
Services Needs
and Capacity
Assessments
Enhance
creation and
deployment of
behavioral and
crisis services
and responses
via SCU etc.

FY 23
(separately
referred by VM
Harrison)
Community
Mental Health,
Behavioral &
Crisis Response
$350,000 Youth Peers
Mental Health
response
BHS student-led
plan for mental
health services
for youth
FY 23 and FY24
(separately
referred by VM
Harrison)
Respite from
Gender
Violence
Up to
$500,000
Increase the
capacity of
community
based-orgs (see
page 223 of
NICJR Final
Report Packet)
Recommended
by Task Force:

Provide services
and housing
leads for victims
of Gender
Violence
Additionally, staff
to work with
county partners
to clarify which
services should
be provided by
county vs the
city.

FY 23-24

8 Language
Equity
$15,000 Publish Victim
Resources in
Plain Language
and Multiple
Languages
Recommended
by Task Force
FY 23-24

2. Direct the City Manager to prioritize programmatic recommendations for Phase 1 of Reimagining Implementation during next 12-24 months (Attachment 1, Section B)
Recommendation Rationale
Adopt the report, “City of
Berkeley Specialized Care
Unit Crisis Response
Recommendations” by
Resource Development
Associates and implement
the pilot Specialized Care
Unit (SCU)
Recommendation supported by the City Manager, Task Force, City Council and Steering Committee
Continue development and
implementation of prioritized
dispatch, request staff return
with a recommended plan
Recommendation supported by the City Manager, RDA report, SCU Steering Committee, and City Council
Develop an implementation
plan to expand alternative
response from civilian
responders beyond the
proposed pilot for SCU for
other low-level calls that
includes but is not limited to:

Community Service Officers
for only those calls that
necessitate police, code
enforcement, environmental
health, fire inspectors or city-
hired community mediators
The Task Force, City Council and City Manager expressed interest in exploring alternative, civilian responders (as recommended by NICJR) but felt more work was needed
before a pilot could be pursued. Questions around the
appropriate level of authority, concerns around liability and further refinement of call types need to be addressed.

This work could be led by the new reimagining project
coordinator and/or be folded into the organizational design process for a new umbrella public safety department.

The City Manager has proposed using Community Service
Officers in the Police Department as one approach to
alternative responders, which for certain functions have some value. But developing non-police alternatives is important for a variety of reasons, most critically enhanced public trust and confidence. Some people are uncomfortable calling the Police to ask for help but might if assured that a community responder will be available as appropriate. Second, while BPD is working

9 to hire diverse candidates, there is an opportunity to create a classification that appeals to people that would otherwise not choose to be a sworn responder. Third, having a variety of non- police alternatives which are skilled to respond to different types of calls (CSOs for police calls, code enforcement for noise complaints and other code violations, SCU for health and substance abuse) will ensure the appropriate response to various non-violent calls for service and better improve service delivery and outcomes.

Transition collision analysis
and crossing guards from
BPD to Public Works until a
Department of
Transportation is developed.

Recommendation supported by City Manager and Task Force.

Continue consolidating
transportation functions as
recommended by staff
Recommendation supported by City Manager and Task Force Complete the
implementation of Fair and
Impartial Policing
Recommendations
Recommendation supported by City Manager and Task Force Complete Auditor
Recommendations on
overtime and calls for
service
Recommendation supported by City Manager, Task Force, and City Council
Fully implement the
Ceasefire violence
intervention program
Recommendation supported by City Manager, Task Force, and City Council
Collect data on service gaps
in crisis stabilization and
analyze creation of a new
crisis stabilization center
Recommendation is supported by Task Force.

This recommendation refers to the work of the Homeless
Commission and the companion report from City Staff to
expand access to crisis stabilization and/or respite centers.1 1https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/City_Council/2022/04_Apr/Documents/2022-04- 26_Item_38b_Companion_Report_Development_of_Crisis_Stabilization_Program.aspx

10 and/or expanded access to
existing centers so that
people in crisis have a safe
and supportive alternative to
jail or emergency rooms.

Implement recommendations
from the Reimagining Task
Force relating to Gender
Violence, LGBTQIA .
(Attachment X)

Recommendations supported by Task Force. BPD has already begun the work of expanding collaboration with organizations.

The gender-based subcommittee spearheaded their own
outreach to service providers and subject matters to develop a set of actionable recommendations to increase resources for victims, provide training to faith-based leaders, coordinate and expand prevention education work as well as many ideas to improve police responses.

3. Direct the City Manager to initiate a design process for an innovative and comprehensive public safety agency or Department of Community Safety within the City of Berkeley administration (Attachment 1, Section C) This recommendation initiates a design process to develop the right organizational model that reflects Berkeley’s new and holistic approach to public safety.

To date, the process of reimagining and the emerging services and programs have been managed on a department-by-department basis. Health, Housing and Community Services (HHCS) manages the SCU process, the Fire Department manages the priority dispatch process, Public Works leads the BerkDOT work, and the Police Department has been engaged with the Reimagining Task Force and NICJR process and is focused on implementing recommendations by the City Auditor and the Fair and Impartial Working Group. In the short- term, additional project management to coordinate the next phase of these efforts can be supported by a new project coordinator, as requested by the City Manager. However, in the long-term the city should explore an organizational approach to synthesize these efforts. If the City is to truly re-imagine public safety, it needs a structure for how this new approach will fit within the city organization and work collaboratively to deliver comprehensive public safety services.

Nowhere is the need clearer to reorganize our approach than our dispatch system. Dispatch is the nervous system of our city’s response network. The system is key to ensuring that low level incidents are handled efficiently and effectively to provide the most appropriate response in

11 each situation and preserve and prioritize core resources for serious emergencies and critical incidents. Historically, this function has been served by BPD prioritizing calls requiring BPD support. As part of the reimagining process, the Council authorized the City Manager to contract with Federal Engineering to conduct an analysis of the staffing, infrastructure, and technology needs of the Berkeley 9-1-1 Communication Center and create a project plan to implement an accredited emergency medical dispatch system based on industry standards. The adoption of a new model would allow the Fire Department to triage calls for service more efficiently and reduce response times.2
In anticipation of the Specialized Care Unit pilot, which will require further nuance and expertise to ensure the right resources are dispatched for each call, this scope of work was expanded to include an analysis of adding behavioral health dispatch capabilities to the Communications Center. Resource Development Associates supported this approach in their recommendation and noted in their system recommendations that moving dispatch outside the Police Department could better align several of the reimagining initiatives:
“The 911 Communications Center is currently operated by the Berkeley Police Department. This structure affects how Dispatch is funded and who makes decisions. As the role of Dispatch is broadened to coordinate a greater variety of responses to emergencies, there may be advantages to moving Dispatch outside of the Berkeley Police Department, such as improved communication and coordination across relevant agencies. For instance, it has been expressed that Dispatch call takers are currently more comfortable deploying the police than other crisis responders given their long tenure and rapport with police officers, so call takers’ ability to establish rapport with the SCU team is needed for them to be comfortable deploying the SCU. Structural changes like this may also align to several of the Reimagining Public Safety initiative’s aims.”3
While we have a lot to learn through pilots, preliminary analysis through the reimagining process indicates that Berkeley can be more effectively and efficiently served through a broader array of public safety responders. According to City Auditor and NICJR analyses, 81% of calls to the police are for non-criminal incidents, and police spend 53% of their time responding to these calls.4 By implementing an SCU in phase two of this process, and introducing additional civilian responders in phase three, calls for service could be spread much more evenly across police, fire, and civilian responders. However, finding the appropriate balance and resourcing of these 2 City Manager Response to the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force and National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform Recommendations,
https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/City_Council/2022/04_Apr/Documents/2022-04- 21_Special_Item_01_City_Manager_Presentation_Part2_pdf.aspx 3 Specialized Care Unit Crisis Response Recommendations, Resource Development Associates, 61,https://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Clerk/Level_3_-_Commissions/Berkeley-MH-SCU_Final- Recommendations_FINAL.pdf
4 National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, Calls for Service Analysis, https://berkeley-rps.org/wp- content/uploads/2022/03/BerkeleyCalls_Report_021722.pdf

12 new approaches will take time and patience. A new umbrella agency can ensure that this iterative approach is well-coordinated and that new civilian responses are prioritized equally to police and fire. Moreover, it can ensure better communication and coordination between different public safety responders (sworn and un-sworn) and flexible deployment of all these resources to address community needs.

Other Cities Are Pursuing Similar Approaches
Example 1: Albuquerque, New Mexico Department of Community Safety As noted in NICJR’s New and Emerging Models Report, Berkeley would not be alone or the first in taking this approach.5 Albuquerque, New Mexico created a new cabinet level Department of Community Safety that operates independently from and in collaboration with Albuquerque Police and Fire, with four strategic goals:

Respond: Increase public safety by providing a holistic and trauma-informed response to calls for service.

Build: Establish a sustainable and long-term presence that is woven into the community and the public safety ecosystem.

Engage: Activate community partnerships and strengthen community engagement by enhancing relationships, trust, information sharing, and capacity building between the community and ACS.

Influence: Leverage ACS’s position and knowledge to influence and inform the ongoing evolution of the larger (e.g., county, state, national) system of care.

In December 2021, Albuquerque published a complete organizational plan that defines the department and its role, responses, training, and goals.6 5 National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, New and Emerging Models, https://berkeley-rps.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/NewAndEmergingModels_Report_021722.pdf 6 Albuquerque Community Safety Department FY2022 Organizational Plan, https://www.cabq.gov/acs/documents/acs-organizational-plan-20211207.pdf

13 Figure 1: Albuquerque Community Safety FY22 Org Chat Example 2: Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York has also recently released an implementation plan to create a new Department of Community Safety. The Ithaca model consists of a division of police and a division of community solutions, staffed by community responders, with co-equal chiefs that will respond to a civilian director of community safety. A working group of civilians appointed by the Mayor collaborated with city and county staff to provide recommendations including: the assignment of call types, restructuring police staffing and beat design, and defining key responsibilities, training, research and data needs, and equipment and technology requirements.7
Goals for Design Process
The primary goal of this process is to develop a long-term organizational structure that will support Berkeley’s vision for community safety. Rather than providing prescriptive direction on 7 Implementing the City of Ithaca’s New Public Safety Agency https://www.cityofithaca.org/DocumentCenter/View/13725/WG_IthacaReport_Final

14 the exact changes to make, this process will define what the right structure looks like for Berkeley. This recommendation does not suggest any changes to the structure of the Police or Fire Departments except for those that are already underway and in alignment with the City’s reimagining efforts.

The design process should place a few key principles at the core of its exploration, while also seeking to answer several questions. As part of the design process, the City Manager is recommended to convene an external Steering Committee made up of representatives of affected labor groups, City Commissioners, and community stakeholders.

Key principles to guide the organizational design plan include:
- Police, Fire, and any additional civilian responders should report to a civilian Director or Deputy City Manager of Community Safety, who is responsible for implementing a holistic approach to public safety.
- Dispatch should serve all branches of responders equally and report directly to the Department Director or Deputy City Manager.
- The department should integrate new response models and community services including the SCU, additional community service responders as defined during the development of an implementation plan, and a Mobile Integrated Paramedic unit (MIP).

The organizational plan should explore and include the following considerations, among others:
- A name and structure that matches Berkeley’s vision for a community-centered and holistic approach to public safety and prioritizes civilian responders and community investments as key functions of community health and safety along with Police and Fire. - The best organizational fit for a Specialized Care Unit and other civilian responders that will respond to non-violent calls for service:
- Review and incorporate ideas from emerging models like Albuquerque, NM and Ithaca, NY
- Explore whether Berkeley should develop a new division for community response similar to Albuquerque or Ithaca
- Assess the appropriate uniforms, technology and tools for any new division or classifications of civilian responders
- Define the appropriate connections and/or roles for the Mobile Crisis Team, a potential crisis stabilization center, and other services that currently operate under mental health but might frequently work in coordination with other community safety services. - Consider the role and relationship of a Department of Transportation (BerkDOT) and potential civilian traffic enforcement in relation to a new Public Safety Department.

Explore as part of the continued BerkDOT analysis/implementation the potential for unarmed traffic officers in the Police Department. If state law is not amended this may be a potential path for unarmed traffic enforcement.
- Define the appropriate connections and/or roles of the Homeless Response Team and community service providers including housing navigators, homeless outreach staff, and street medicine teams in responding to Police and 311 calls related to street homelessness.
- Analyze calls for service and determine which calls could be handled by Police and by civilian responders
- Evaluate how a new comprehensive dispatch system can better screen and route calls

15 to a variety of public safety responders
- Determine how and under what circumstances a co-response is warranted to police calls for service and determine how civilian responders will communicate and coordinate with Police in responding to lower-level calls.

4. Refer for consideration in the FY 2025-2026 budget cycle - Creation of a permanent Specialized Care Unit, expanding crisis stabilization services, introducing additional civilian responders, fully implementing BerkDOT, implementing a Universal Basic Income Pilot and expanded job programs.

Consider expedited implementation as appropriate if staff capacity and city resources allow. (Attachment 1, Section D)
These recommendations express a commitment to fulfilling a more transformative vision for community safety over time. Programs like a universal basic income (UBI), or expanded job opportunities were consistently supported throughout the reimagining process. At the same time, the realities of staff capacity and city resources necessitate the prioritization of the reimagining work. This phased approach is consistent with the original intent of the July 2020 Item, Transform Community Safety, which envisioned implementing new programs, structures and initiatives over several budget cycles.8 This referral expresses that, by 2024, it is the City’s goal to be prepared to make the following decisions and investments:

1. Expand Specialized Care Unit pending positive pilot results and; a. Conduct an evaluation of the training curriculum and review best practices from other similar emerging models (see Training and Community Institute Task Force Recommendation for inspiration) b. Expand the community responder model to tackle a larger range of low-level calls for service based on implementation plan developed by staff.

2. Revise the BPD Budget and Staffing Structure to reflect results of staffing and beat analysis, and the development of alternative responders

3. Invest in a new Department of Transportation and have clarity on a vision and legal path to civilianized traffic enforcement

4. Invest in a new umbrella city organization for public safety

5. Launch a Universal Basic Income Pilot
a. The Mayor as a member of Mayors for Guaranteed income will pursue state grants and philanthropic opportunities to initiate a pilot prior to this budget cycle

6. Continue expanding opportunities for alternatives to fines

7. Consider an Expanded Jobs Program

8. Evaluate BPD Training needs and make changes where needed 8 July 14, 2020, Transform Community Safety,
https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/City_Council/2020/07_Jul/Documents/2020-07- 14_Item_18d_Transform_Community_Safety_pdf.aspx

16 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Up to $1,575,000 in community investments, $1,200,000 in consulting costs and $2,405,000 in staffing costs as identified in the tables in section 1.

REVIEW OF EXISTING PLANS, PROGRAMS, POLICIES AND LAWS
This effort is in support of the following strategic plan goals:
● Champion and demonstrate social and racial equity ● Create a resilient, safe, connected, and prepared City ● Create affordable housing and housing support services for our most vulnerable community members
● Provide an efficient and financially healthy City government ● Be a customer-focused organization that provides excellent, timely, easily- accessible service and information to the community

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
No identifiable environmental impacts

CONTACT PERSON
Jesse Arreguín, Mayor, (510) 981-7100
Attachments:

1. Summary of Recommendations

2. Consolidated Spreadsheet of Task Force, NICJR Recommendations

3. Albuquerque Community Safety Department Organizational Plan

4. Ithaca, New York plan for a Department of Community Safety

17 ATTACHMENT 1
Section A: Priority Reimagining Public Safety Initiatives ● Staff costs
○ $315,000 to support a staff position of Assistant City Manager to serve as the Reimagining Project Coordinator
○ $315,000 to support a staff position of Assistant City Manager to lead the Office of Equity
■ Additionally, the development of the Office Equity and Diversity should consider the recommendations from the Reimagining Task Force.

Particular attention from the Office of Equity should be paid to language access, which has been identified repeatedly as a barrier to trust and the provision of services delivered by the City across departments. ○ $100,000 to support training in implementing fair and impartial policing recommendations
○ $100,000 for Grant Writing Services recommended by the City Manager to apply for and seek grant funds to support reimagining efforts ○ Up to $1.5 Million Launch a pilot Community Services Officer unit using Police salary savings.
■ Positions would be project based for two-years. Evaluate pilot after two- year period to align with the FY 25-26 Budget Process and determine the appropriate location of the CSO unit within a new Public Safety Department and the role for other non-sworn responders
○ $175,000 for a Vision Zero Coordinator
● Consultant Costs:
○ $300,000 to the Budget Process to fund the BerkDOT process that in addition to furthering the organizational development:
■ Develop a vision for unarmed traffic enforcement and a new paradigm for supporting traffic safety that aligns with vision-zero. ■ Evaluate paths to unarmed enforcement under both the scenario that state law changes to enable non-peace officer enforcement as well as the potential for a new designation of peace officers to enforce the California Vehicle Code.
○ $70,000 for an analysis of BPD Staffing and beat structure. The scope of analysis should:
■ Build on the City Auditor’s analysis and recommendations ■ Measure patrol workload – how much time patrol officers spend handling calls for service and how it might change with the implementation of the SCU and additional civilian responders to non-criminal calls. ■ Include availability analysis/measure capacity: Hours officers are on duty ■ Include proactive time analysis: Staff capacity to manage workload ■ Analyze alternative deployment configurations, including new shift schedules and allocations of personnel, as well as redesigning the patrol beat structure.

18 ● Evaluate what police staffing would look like if all calls for service are rerouted from police expect those involving crime and violence. Increase flexibility in deployment of beat officers to bike, pedestrian, or problem-oriented policing teams.
○ $150,000 for City Attorney and City Manager to analyze the Berkeley Municipal Code to identify opportunities to civilianize enforcement. ■ Create a working group to further refine the call for service analysis and determine which calls could be appropriately handled by unsworn alternative responders built on the recommendations from the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force.
■ Identify aspects of the municipal code that require a police officer to enforce that could be safely handled by a civilian entity. ○ $250,000 to support an organizational design process to create an umbrella Department of Community Safety as described in Section C. ○ $200,000 for consulting costs requested by City Manager to support continued analysis of prioritized dispatch and development of an implementation plan ● Community Investments
○ Violence Prevention:
■ $50,000 for McGee Avenue Baptist Church, Voices Against Violence ■ $200,000 for Berkeley Ceasefire
■ $160,000 for Berkeley Youth Alternatives: $125,000 to support their counseling center and $35,000 for the Summer Jam Day Camp ○ Alternatives to Sanctions/Fines
■ $150,000 to expand hearing officer resources in the City Manager’s Office to provide alternative referrals to community service and social services for parking and other infractions
■ $50,000 to expand downtown streets team as placement for low-level violations (e.g. vehicular camping/parking and sidewalk ordinance infractions)
○ Community Mental Health, Behavioral and Crisis Response ■ $100,000 for a Behavioral Health, Crisis Response, and Crisis-related Services Needs and Capacity Assessments
■ $350,000 for Youth Peers Mental Health response as proposed by the Berkeley High School student-led plan for mental health services ○ Respite from Gender Violence
■ Up to $500,000 to increase the capacity of community-based orgs.

Provide services and housing leads for victims of Gender Violence (see Reimagining Task Force Report and page 223 of NICJR Final Report Packet for details)
● Additionally, request staff to work with county partners to clarify which services should be provided by county vs the city. ○ Language Equity
■ $15,000 to publish victim resources in plain language and in multiple languages. See Task Force gender violence report for details Section B: Phase 1 of Reimagining Implementation (12 - 24 months)

19 ○ Adopt the report, “City of Berkeley Specialized Care Unit Crisis Response Recommendations by Resource Development Associates” and implement the pilot Specialized Care Unit (SCU)
○ Continue development and implementation of prioritized dispatch, request staff return with a recommended plan.
○ Develop an implementation plan to expand alternative response from civilian responders beyond the proposed pilot for SCU for other low-level calls that includes but is not limited to: Community Service Officers for only those calls that necessitate police, code enforcement, environmental health, fire inspectors or city-hired community mediators
○ Transition collision analysis and crossing guards from BPD to Public Works until a Department of Transportation is developed.
○ Continue consolidating transportation functions as recommended by staff ○ Complete the implementation of Fair and Impartial Policing Recommendations ○ Complete Auditor Recommendations on overtime and calls for service ○ Fully implement the Ceasefire violence intervention program ○ Collect data on service gaps in crisis stabilization and analyze creation of a new crisis stabilization center and/or expanded access to existing centers so that people in crisis have a safe and supportive alternative to jail or emergency rooms.
○ Implement recommendations from the Reimagining Task Force relating to Gender Violence, LGBTQIA and PEERS as feasible. (Attachment 2) Section C: Direct the City Manager to initiate a design process for an innovative and comprehensive public safety agency or Department of Community Safety within the City of Berkeley administration, as outlined in Attachment 1, Section C, and to return recommendations to the City Council by May 2024 to align with the FY 25-26 Biennial Budget process.

The design process should place a few key principles at the core of its exploration, while also seeking to answer several questions. As part of the design process, the City Manager is recommended to convene an external Steering Committee made up of representatives of affected labor groups, City Commissioners, and community stakeholders.

Key principles to guide the organizational design plan include:
o Police, Fire, and any additional civilian responders should report to a civilian Director or Deputy City Manager of Community Safety, who is responsible for implementing a holistic approach to public safety.
o Dispatch should serve all branches of responders equally and report directly to the Department Director or Deputy City Manager.
o The department should integrate new response models and community services including the SCU, additional community service responders as defined during the development of an implementation plan, and a Mobile Integrated Paramedic unit (MIP).

The organizational plan should explore and include the following considerations, among others:

20 o A name and structure that matches Berkeley’s vision for a community-centered and holistic approach to public safety and prioritizes civilian responders and community investments as key functions of community health and safety along with Police and Fire. o The best organizational fit for a Specialized Care Unit and other civilian responders that will respond to non-violent calls for service:
 Review and incorporate ideas from emerging models like Albuquerque, NM and Ithaca, NY
 Explore whether Berkeley should develop a new division for community response similar to Albuquerque or Ithaca
o Assess the appropriate uniforms, technology and tools for any new division or classifications of civilian responders
o Define the appropriate connections and/or roles for the Mobile Crisis Team, a potential crisis stabilization center, and other services that currently operate under mental health but might frequently work in coordination with other community safety services. o Consider the role and relationship of a Department of Transportation (BerkDOT) and potential civilian traffic enforcement in relation to a new Public Safety Department.

Explore as part of the continued BerkDOT analysis/implementation the potential for unarmed traffic officers in the Police Department. If state law is not amended this may be a potential path for unarmed traffic enforcement.
o Define the appropriate connections and/or roles of the Homeless Response Team and community service providers including housing navigators, homeless outreach staff, and street medicine teams in responding to Police and 311 calls related to street homelessness.
o Analyze calls for service and determine which calls could be handled by Police and by civilian responders
o Evaluate how a new comprehensive dispatch system can better screen and route calls to a variety of public safety responders
o Determine how and under what circumstances a co-response is warranted to police calls for service and determine how civilian responders will communicate and coordinate with Police in responding to lower-level calls.

Section D: Except where resources may allow for expedited implementation, refer to the FY 2025-2026 Biennial Budget process the following proposals.

This referral expresses that, by 2024, it is the City’s goal to be prepared to make the following decisions and investments:

1. Create a permanent Specialized Care Unit pending positive pilot results and; a. Conduct an evaluation of the training curriculum and review best practices from other similar emerging models (see Training and Community Institute Task Force Recommendation for inspiration)
b. Expand the community responder model to tackle a larger range of low-level calls for service based on implementation plan developed by staff.

2. Revise the BPD Budget and Staffing Structure to reflect results of staffing and beat analysis, and the development of alternative responders

3. Invest in a new Department of Transportation and have clarity on a vision and legal path to civilianized traffic enforcement

4. Invest in a new umbrella city organization for public safety

5. Launch a Universal Basic Income Pilot

21 a. The Mayor as a member of Mayor’s for Guaranteed income will pursue state grants and philanthropic opportunities to initiate a pilot prior to this budget cycle

6. Continue expanding opportunities for alternatives to fines

7. Consider an Expanded Jobs Program

8. Evaluate BPD Training needs and make changes where needed

Conslidated Spreadsheet of Reimagining Public Safety Recommendations NICJR Recommendations w/Task Force Comments 1 NICJR Recommendation NICJR Estimated Cost
& Explanation
NICJR
Identified
Funding
Source
NICJR Timeline Vote by Task
Force Reason for vote Proposed Narrative Summary for report u
1 Establish tiered
dispatch/CERN model (p.14)
$2,532,000, plus some
costs associated with
training for Dispatch
Current BPD
Vacant
Positions
Issue RFP 30 days
after City Council
approval, select
vendors 90-120
days afterward,
and begin pilot six
months after City
Council approval.

More analysis
needed

1. Who determines, and at what point in time, which calls are handled by whom (e.g., by CERN, BPD, SCU)?

2. What is the system (or multiple systems) for both receiving calls and routing the responses?

3. How does one system (e.g., CERN) mix and match with other programs under discussion (e.g., SCU, BerkDOT)?

4. Who will provide and staff these non-police responses (i.e., City staff or contractor, professional credentialed or community responders) and if contractors, under what color of authority will they provide City service?

5. When will staffing, and at what staffing level, be available to change, if at all, the allocation of calls for service -- whatever the merits of replacing police, we cannot replace something with nothing?

6. What system is in place should the nature of the call change (i.e., what is the back-up system in case seemingly benign calls turn violent and/or criminal)?

7. Is BPD involved (e.g., as co-responder, as back-up, etc.) or are they required to be separate from these non-police responses?

8. What liability issues do these new responses present to the City; (ix) what impact, if any, does reallocating some percentage of calls for service from police affect the minimum police patrol staffing necessary to perform their function of focusing on and responding to calls for service involving crimes and or violence?
Overall, the Task Force supports the idea of a community-based response as an alternative to an armed response that would decrease the footprint of the police department. As presented, commissioners are concerned that the co-responder model proposal by NICJR would not decrease the footprint of the police and could have the consequence of having the community see CBOS as an extension of the police. In addition, commissioners need more clarity on how CERN would work with other new models like SCU, BerkDOT and dispatch.
2 Contracting with local CBOS
for Tier 1 CERN response
More analysis
needed

1. Which CBOS? (Where is the landscape analysis that was promised by NICJR?)

2. Has the City dialogued with each CBO to confirm their interest in providing responders and their timeframe to make responders available, including hiring new staff?

3. What will the pay structure to CBO responders be; does each CBO set their own rates, or will the City set rates?

4. How will all responders be trained to achieve a systematic SCU non-police response for calls for service?
The Task Force would need more analysis to understand the investment that it would take for the city to ask CBOS to take on this responsibility, including training, the infrastructure a CBO would need, and skills needed for the types of cases in the new model.
3 Evaluate CERN (p. 19-20) (did not vote on
this)
4 Full implementation of Tiered
Dispatch/CERN Pilot Program
and reduction of BPD patrol
division of 50%
$7,596,000
Reduction of
BPD Patrol
Division by
50%
Two years after
implementation of
the pilot
More analysis
needed
No analysis was provided by NICJR for how police department would be reduced by 50%, especially if NICJR recommends no officer layoffs, and reductions through attrition only. Is full implementation dependent on the department reducing by 50% and when would this occur? 5 Reduce BPD budget through
attrition only
and no layoffs (p. 20)
Reject This recommendation is unresponsive to the goal of reducing the police department by up to 50% to make resources available for other programs.
6 End pretextual stops (p. 24) Reject The Task Force is fully in favor of the elimination of pretextual stops by BPD - this work is already well underway and thus does not constitute a useful recommendation. In 2020 the Mayor’s Fair and Impartial Policing Working Group recommended that BPD focus on “the basis for traffic stops on safety and not just low-level offenses” and that they minimize or de-emphasize as a lowest priority stops for low-level offenses,” and in February 2021, Council unanimously approved the Working Group’s recommendations for adoption. Plans are currently underway for implementation, with quarterly updates being provided to the Police Accountability Board. (based on analysis from Liza Lutzker's report to RPSTF, linked to in the Improve & Reinvest Subcommittee’s Feedback document posted January 6, 2022)
7 BerkDOT (p.25) Accept with
Conditions

1. This is in NICJR Report but is not mentioned in the Implementation Plan grid.

2. This needs MUCH more analysis, much like Dispatch changes required by CERN implementation, which NICJR does not detail.

While the Task Force is glad to see that NICJR sees the value in the creation of BerkDOT as a strategy to reduce the footprint of policing in Berkeley, the description provided for BerkDOT is inadequate with respect to the components of and motivation for BerkDOT (the NICJR report describes BerkDOT as a moving of traffic enforcement away from BPD). Because the BerkDOT creation process is moving forward separately, a complete description and analysis of BerkDOT are not necessary, but at a minimum, the NICJR recommendation ought to accurately describe what a proposed BerkDOT would consist of and provide the rationale for pursuing this approach beyond simply reducing the staffing and budget of BPD.

Specifically, BerkDOT needs to be described as a consolation of all transportation-related work being done by the City and would entail combining the current Public Works Department’s above-ground street and sidewalk planning, maintenance, and engineering responsibilities with the current transportation-related BPD functions of parking enforcement, traffic law enforcement, school crossing guard management, and collision response, investigation, data collection, analysis, and reporting.

IMPROVE
8 BPD Become A Highly
Accountable
Learning Organization (HALO)
(p. 26)
Reject 1. Not credible that this change comes at "no additional cost"

2. RPSTF focused on spending less on BPD, not more

3. More training does not necessarily lead to changes in police culture

4. This process is not about re-imagining police
Overall, commissioners did not think there was enough information provided in the NICJR report that allowed an accurate assessment of the program and also disagreed with NICJR’s indication that this recommendation would come at no cost. Some commissioners felt strongly that any programs that potentially increase funding to police should not be prioritized, and more training will likely not lead to changes in police culture or address the racial disparities that continue to persist in the city.

Conslidated Spreadsheet of Reimagining Public Safety Recommendations NICJR Recommendations w/Task Force Comments 2 NICJR Recommendation NICJR Estimated Cost
& Explanation
NICJR
Identified
Funding
Source
NICJR Timeline Vote by Task
Force Reason for vote Proposed Narrative Summary for report 9 BPD join ABLE program Joining ABLE is free of cost N/A Within six months of approval from
City Council
(Did not vote
unless this is part
of the HALO
program)

1. HALO, EPIC and ABLE might be good programs, but what cost to join/enact? Recordkeeping alone would be a cost.

Same analysis as item 8
10 Expand EIS to assess all Use
of Force
No additional costs N/A Within six months
of approval from
City Council
Reject 1. In general recommendations limited to police reform and requiring additional funding were not seen as ideas in the spirit of re-imagining public safety

2. Side question: Is Fair & Impartial’s EIS measuring new best-practice gauge of proportionality? Not relying only on officer reporting & citizen complaints through PAB. Not being "de-fanged" by Union during implementation? See Univ of Chicago/Ron Huberman work: https://polsky.uchicago. edu/2021/06/08/benchmarking-police-performance-for-early-intervention-evidence-based-solutions/ The Task Force supports an EIS. However, this work is already well underway and thus does not constitute a useful recommendation. The EIS was recommended in 2020 by the Mayor’s Fair and Impartial Policing Working Group and in February 2021, Council unanimously approved the Working Group’s recommendations for adoption.
11 BPD Expand current
Personnel and
Training Bureau OR Create
Quality
Assurance and Training
Bureau
Reject Rejected, similar to the reason in item 8. The Task Force did not believe that additional investment in training would create the change needed to change police culture and the racial disparities that continue to persist in the city.
12 Transfer 5 officers and 2
civilian staff
to new Quality Assurance
and Training
Bureau (p. 32)
No additional costs N/A Within six months
of approval from
City Council
Reject Rejecting #12 above, so rejecting this related item, which is yet more additional training/QA cost. 13 BPD provide semi-annual
reports to public (p. 32)
internal re-organization can
achieve this goal without
additional costs
N/A First Report should
be issued by July
1, 2022
Accept with
Conditions

1. Data should be available on a real-time basis, all the time.

2. Build a dashboard that is constantly updating.

Data should be provided to the community through a dashboard, in real-time. Reports can be helpful, and should be provided, in addition to real-time data.
14 Develop a Bay Area
Progressive
Police Academy (BAPPA) (p.
35)
An analysis of police
academies throughout the
Bay Area found that the
cost per student range is
roughly $4,300 - $4,600 per
student, with a significant
proportion of costs eligible
for reimbursement through
the Commission on Peace
Officers Standards and
Training (POST.) The
development of the BAPPA
would include certification
through POST in order to
satisfy State requirements.

NICJR recommends that
collaboration with Albany
and potentially Oakland be
explored.

Reduced BPD
budget through
eliminating
patrol positions
through
attrition,
revenue from
partner law
enforcement
agencies
Launch two years
after City Council
approval
Reject RPSTF is focused on reducing BPD spending, not increasing.

2. BAPPA is dependent on a great deal of inter-agency agreement, sharing and teamwork, which don't already exist. Would take many man-hours to get others on board, agree scope of work, convince all to start contributing.

3. Very high staff and overhead costs.

4. BPD regularly states they have top-notch training and sourcing for sworn and non-sworn personnel – it is not clear that a Berkeley-run academy would solve any hiring difficulties.

5. Instead of spending on this, RPSTF recommends spending on creating a Public Safety & Community Solutions Institute.

The Task Force recognizes that many cities are gearing up to provide a robust, expert non-police response to citizens in need, but that this type of workforce does not yet exist in a coordinated fashion.

Berkeley can be in the vanguard of cities creating this workforce and expanding best-practice training beyond paid professionals and offering it to the general public, interested groups, students, and the like. The Public Safety & Community Solutions Institute can bring together crisis intervention and situation calming, triage, medical response, mental health response, peer counseling, city and county services offerings, case work, data capture, and follow up with compassionate, trauma-centered delivery. The Institute’s trainings and coursework will be created by experts at Berkeley's SCU and the division of Mental Health, and tailored for other relevant audiences, e.g., BerkDOT. The Task Force feels this would be an exemplary area in which to spend time, money, and other resources to provide citizens with resources and support.
15 Increase diversity of BPD
leadership (p. 36)
Accept with
conditions

1. What is the plan for achieving diversity?

2. What are the numerical definitions of diversity?
The Task Force agreed that diversity in leadership alone would be insufficient to change an entire police culture. However, commissioners do acknowledge the importance of diversity and having responders who are from the city and the taskforce recommends making diversity a priority for all employees, including leadership.
16 Increase Standards for Field
Training Officers (p. 36)
Needs more
analysis

1. Need numbers about what % of officers have more than 2 complaints or 1 sustained complaint in a 12- month period?

2. How does race & gender data map with complaints data?

3. How do we assess whether implicit bias has played a role in complaint data figures? 17 Revise BPD's Use of Force
policies
to limit any use of deadly
force as a last
resort to situations where a
subject is clearly
armed with a deadly weapon
and is using a
threatening to use the deadly
weapon against
another person
Training Costs
Savings from
eliminating
patrol positions
through
attrition
Within six months
of approval from
City Council
Reject 1. Use of Force policy was revised a year ago. Did NICJR read it and is this different than most recent version?

2. Use of Force policies are complex, making changes is a lengthy process. Shouldn't change what has been recently agreed upon without good reason.

This was rejected because this work has already been done and is covered by a different process and does not need to be duplicated in this process.

REINVEST

Conslidated Spreadsheet of Reimagining Public Safety Recommendations NICJR Recommendations w/Task Force Comments 3 NICJR Recommendation NICJR Estimated Cost
& Explanation
NICJR
Identified
Funding
Source
NICJR Timeline Vote by Task
Force Reason for vote Proposed Narrative Summary for report 18 Launch a guaranteed income
pilot program (p. 37)
$1,800,000
General Fund;
federal funding
already
received or
forthcoming
from the
Infrastructure
Bill; or raised
through
philanthropy
akin to the
approach in
other cities
Within six months
of approval from
Council
Accept with
Conditions

1. Strong support for the program

2. Addresses root causes

3. Strong preference for unconditional funds that puts trust in people to use the money as they see fit

4. Unclear who is responsible for administering pilot

5. Unclear how families will be selected

6. Informed by completed/ongoing pilots in Stockton, Fremont, Richmond, etc.

Members strongly support this type of program and note that other communities have implemented these programs successfully. More information is needed to understand how families would be selected, and the city should consider whether other groups, like the AAPI or Indigenous community, should be included in this program.
19 Launch a community
beautification employment
program (p. 39)
$1,250,000
5% of County
Criminal
Justice
Realignment
funds allocated
to community
services for
Berkeley
residents
Launch one year
after approval from
City Council
Accept with
Conditions

1. General support for employment programs

2. Current recommendation is specific to previously incarcerated folks, and funding source is based on that, and could be expanded to include other funding sources, and serve other communities e.g., youth, unhoused population

3. Remove the word beautification that is superficial

4. The program should be responsive to skills and talents of folks

5. Program could benefit from integrating professional development, pipeline to employment, especially folks who are generally left out of the workforce

6. Program should aim for goals and results that are transformative Members are very interested in increasing job skills and opportunities. However, programs should be centered around the interests of the target group. The Task Force therefore rejects the idea of simply a beautification program but fully supports programs that focus on professional development, and serve as a pipeline to employment, especially for those who face additional barriers like a criminal record.

Any program should have the goal of being transformative. 20 Increase funding for CBOS in
one of two ways:
(1) increase grant amounts by
25%, or
(2) create local government
agency/ department
(Department of Community
Development) (p. 40)
$25,605,492.50
Measure W
funds, when
the BPD's
budget is
gradually
reduced; the
infrastructure
bill; and
concerted
efforts to
increase
philanthropic
dollars
FY 22-23 Accept with
conditions

1. Unclear where the funding is coming from, some of it is coming from Measure W

2. Recommendation is too general, and funding of CBOS should be prioritized based on RPS goals and improving social determinants of health

3. Strong disagreement with approach that proposes across the board funding for CBOS

4. Preference for a recommendation that includes a new department could play a role in visioning and tracking of CBOS and funds, and oversee increased funding While members generally agree with increasing the capacity of community-based organizations as a way to improve public safety, funding should be targeted and focus on the goals set forth in the enabling legislation for reimagining public safety. Members also note that this recommendation does not explain where the additional funds would come from, as NICJR does not propose any layoffs to reduce the police budget. Members are very interested in creating a city division that could continue this work and focus on issues of equity.
21 Launch the Advance Peace
Program
$500,000 General Fund
Launch in first
quarter of FY 2023,
on going for at
least 3 years
Recommendation
was not in draft
report, therefore
task force did not
vote
N/a Appendix 6 provides a collection of resources on violence prevention programs. The task force informally voiced their support for these kinds of efforts repeatedly throughout their process.

Notes
Grid is based on pages 39-40 of NICJR Final Report, titled Implementation Plan and the table on Pages 10-17 of the Task Force Final Report Recommendations highlighted in orange indicate items not listed on the grid in the NICJR Final Report

Conslidated Spreadsheet of Reimagining Public Safety Recommendations Task Force Commissioner Recommendations 1 Reimagining Public Safety
Initaitve Topic
Specific Task Force
Recommendation Task Force Rationale* Budget Estimate Request Additional staff analysis? Traffic Law Enforcement
& Traffic Safety
Review Transportation Laws, Fines and
Fees to Promote Safety and Equity
Berkeley should conduct a full review of the Berkeley Municipal Code (BMC) and our structure of fines and fees as they relate to transportation. This review should specifically identify items that serve only to criminalize and penalize poverty or serve as pretext to target at-risk populations. Once reviewed, any identified items should be brought to City Council to either eliminate or revise. In cases when these BMC laws have State law equivalents, City Council should make clear that BPD should make enforcement of these State laws their lowest priority (i.e., decriminalize these behaviors).

Staff should identify the resources required to
take this on. See additional comment regarding
expanding the effort to look at civilianizing the
resources
Fully Fund the BerkDOT Planning
Process
Given the size, scope, and ambition of the BerkDOT proposal, and given the fact that Berkeley is the first city in the nation to approach this topic, there is a substantial need to adequately fund the BerkDOT exploration and planning process. In comparison, the SCU planning process received $185K, but SCU faces no legal challenges and has numerous models from around the country off which to build. To-date, the $175K allocated to BerkDOT has funded some initial background research on free-standing departments of transportation and also a community engagement component around traffic safety and enforcement (a BerkDOT-specific citywide survey and listening sessions).
$200,000
Staff confirm the budget required for the next
phase.

Move forward with the transfer of both
collision analysis and school-crossing-
guard management away from BPD and
over to Public Works
911 Call Processing & Alternative
Calls-for-Service Systems
Adopt City Auditor’s Recommendations
for Call Processing and Dispatching of
First Responders and Others Contained
in Report, and Add ‘Substance Use’ to
911 Recommendations
These recommendations can provide 911 professionals with the basis for establishing systematic, consistent procedures and behavioral health call scripts that screen and divert mental health, substance use, and homelessness calls towards an alternative non-police response. In July 2022, 911 professionals will soon have the option to transfer mental health calls to a national hotline, so it is imperative to establish this process. These professionals can further avoid punitive measures resulting from policing, criminal legal, and incarcerations involvement whenever possible, particularly for diverse and marginalized groups of people who are extremely reluctant, avoid or do not use 911 for fear of a police response.

Request an update from BPD on the progress
on implementing the Auditor's
recommendations. Would like to better
understand the steps required to add substance
use to these recommendations
Implement Specialized Care Unit (SCU):

Alternative Non-Police Responder to
Meet the Needs of People Experiencing
Behavioral Health Challenges
Establish Crisis Stabilization Center to
Meet the Needs of People Experiencing
Behavioral Health Challenges and
Further Implement A Comprehensive
24/7 Behavioral Health Crisis Response
System
From Page 65 of task force report..."Crisis Stabilization Centers can serve as an alternative to using emergency departments and moreover, criminal legal and incarceration systems as a crisis response to individuals experiencing a behavioral health and/or substance use crisis in the community. They can receive referrals, walk- ins and first responder drop-offs. (SAMHSA, 2020; 22). SAMHSA has further defined minimum expectations to operate crisis receiving and stabilization services, including accepting all referrals, not requiring medical clearance, designing services for both mental health and substance use issues, being staffed (24/7/365) with multidisciplinary team capable of meeting the needs of individuals experiencing all levels of crisis (SAMHSA, 2020; 22).

Yes, Staff should review this recommendation
and provide their input as to the best approach
to establiishing crisis stablization center(s) in
Berkeley, as well as realistic timeframe for
doing so.

Implement A Behavioral Health General
Order for the Berkeley Police
Department That Emphasizes Diversion
Away from Policing Whenever Possible
"....an overarching, comprehensive Berkeley Police Department Behavioral Health General Order would potentially provide for streamlining the current orders and diverting as many people as possible away from policing and towards well-being services in the community." Full rationale on pages 67-68 of Task Force report See comment. Staff should provide feedback
on this approach and a timeline that this could
be implemented
Gender-Violence Non-Police
Response recommendations
Increase the capacity of community
based-organizations. Fund 3-4
organizations to provide services and
resources mentioned on page 223 of
NICJR Final Report Packet
Providers report that existing resources are insufficient to meet the needs of Berkeley community members, especially for those who require more care and resources including people who are unhoused and people with complex mental health issues. A person seeking to leave an abusive relationship will likely need a range of services, including advocacy/case management; legal services for child custody, restraining order or other family law issue; and other support services like housing and childcare. To provide effective intervention in domestic violence cases, the City should fund long-term solutions. Solutions should include legal services, intensive case management to individuals with high needs, advocacy services in languages other than English, restorative justice programs, healing practices, and job training.
$500,000
Staff should connect with authors to understand
their recommendation and build on their
outreach to inform funding.

Additionally, staff should work with county
partners to clarify which services should be
provided by county vs the city.

Conslidated Spreadsheet of Reimagining Public Safety Recommendations Task Force Commissioner Recommendations 2 Reimagining Public Safety
Initaitve Topic
Specific Task Force
Recommendation Task Force Rationale* Budget Estimate Request Additional staff analysis? Training and technical assistance for
faith-based leaders
Many people turn to faith-based leaders for help. These leaders, like others, need training to understand the complexities of domestic violence, identify effective tools to create safe spaces for those seeking help, learn about existing domestic violence resources to refer people to, and help change cultural norms that perpetuate domestic violence. In California, domestic violence agencies have partnered with faith-based leaders to address domestic violence in their communities. Examples include A Safe Place[1] in Oakland, and Korean Family Services in Los Angeles[2]. The latter has trained over 1700 faith leaders in the last 10 years. $50,000
Staff should connect with authors to understand
their recommendation and build on their
outreach to inform funding.

Provide services for people who cause
harm
While survivor-centered services are essential, services for the person causing harm are also crucial to stopping gender-based violence. The City should invest in programs that target people who cause harm, including men and boys, to provide services and prevention efforts.
$150,000
Prevention education for K-12 to provide,
and coordinate prevention work
Breaking the cycle of violence requires changing cultural norms and practices that perpetuate violence and gender inequities. In addition to the recommendations related to intervention listed above, this subcommittee recommends additional funding for education for K-12 and to create peer-based models, when appropriate.

Providers report that more education is needed to teach on toxic masculinity, consent, healthy relationships, and sex education, including sexual pleasure.
$125,000
Gender-Violence Poiice Response
recommendations
City Leadership to Host Regular
Meetings and Coordinate Services
Having the City serve as lead will institutionalize these much-needed partnerships. These meetings would be especially important if a tiered response system is adopted by the City, as victims and survivors of crime will be captured in all tiers (e.g. domestic violence may be reported by a caller as a noise disturbance). During the first listening session, many of the providers noted that the listening session was the first time that they had been asked for their feedback. Establishing a forum would forge new and ongoing partnerships between the City and providers. For survivors of intimate partner violence, a coordinated community response serves as a protective factor against future violence.[1] Outreach should be done to ensure that BIPOC leaders are at the table.

In-kind from the City
Staff input on the resources required to lead
these conveninings
Coordinate with Court and Other Law
Enforcement to Implement New Firearm
and Ammunition Surrender Laws
Local courts are required to notify law enforcement when the court has found that a person is in possession of a firearm or ammunition, in violation of a domestic violence restraining order. Law enforcement must take all necessary actions to obtain the identified firearms or ammunition In-kind from the City
Request staff coordinate with the District
Attorney as well as the courts
Annually Update the Police Department's
Domestic Violence Policies and Victim
Resource Materials
California law frequently changes in the area of domestic violence. For example, during the 2021-2022 state legislative cycle, at least five bills passed that change the law for domestic violence restraining orders, including SB 320 noted above. Updating these procedures regularly and in coordination with providers, will ensure that policies reflect current laws and address community-based concerns. in-kind from the City
Implement Regular Domestic Violence
and Trauma-Informed Training for
Officers, Dispatch, and Responders to
911 and Non-Emergency Calls
Providers report that victims and survivors seeking help from police often feel unheard and further traumatized by the experience with police. Examples include allowing other family members to speak or translate for the victim, when family members may be related to the abuser. This recommendation is consistent with NICJR’s recommendation that the department increase its use of local community members to provide training. $5,000 for contracted
speakers, in-kind from
BPD
Staff input on budget and impacts to staffing
Publish Victim Resources in Plan
Language and Multiple Languages
Provides more access to people who have limited English proficiency, do not speak English, or have low literacy. $15,000 (one time investment with some
funding needed to
update resources)
Screen for Domestic Violence in All 911
and Non-Emergency Calls
This would lead to better data on the number of domestic violence cases the police and others respond to in the city. Noting the penal code or city ordinance section alone would not capture all domestic violence cases. in-kind from all responding agencies
Staff input required to understand what
screening protocols already exist and whether
this would be a matter of training or program
and curriculum development
Assign A Female Officer to Interview,
Examine, or Take Pictures of Alleged
Victims at Victim's Request
This policy would acknowledge that some victims and survivors will feel uncomfortable with having a male officer examine or question them. This could result in the victim giving an incomplete statement (e.g. not disclosing sexual abuse or showing an injury) and further traumatize the victim. In-kind from police deparmtent
How many female officers exist on the force?
What policies or changes in staffing structure
would be required to ensure a female officer is
always avaialble? Could this be handled by
non-sworn personnel in a co-response model?
Police Response to DV Calls Should be
Accompanied by or Coordinated with DV
Advocate
This practice is especially important in cases where there is a high risk of lethality, language or cultural barriers that could lead to miscommunication or further traumatization, and high needs cases where victim or family members require a number of services to achieve stability. Having a victim advocate present will help ensure that victims are heard and not further traumatized. Providers report that advocates sometimes must act as a safe middle person between the victim and police, to ensure that the victim is not mistreated or further traumatized by the interaction with police. This feedback is consistent with information gathered from the community engagement process where black residents spoke of the need for a safety ambassador to act as a bridge between the community and police (see page 40 of Summary of Findings report from Bright Research Group). $125,000 (two advocates
at .5FTE)
Could this be accomplished by establishing an
on-call contract with DV Advocates? Are there
other places where this is done? What is staff's
budget estimate for this? How can this be
folded into a community responder CERN-type
model?

Conslidated Spreadsheet of Reimagining Public Safety Recommendations Task Force Commissioner Recommendations 3 Reimagining Public Safety
Initaitve Topic
Specific Task Force
Recommendation Task Force Rationale* Budget Estimate Request Additional staff analysis? Disability & People with Behavioral
Health Challenges (PEERS)
Include PEERS in Developing Behavioral
Health Responses
PEERS indicated that the first and most important recommendation is outreach and inclusion of PEERS who have worked on behavioral health reforms since the 1990s, when this movement began. There are trained Peers who are invaluable to developing responses to behavioral health crises and supporting the transition to new systems of safety in Berkeley.

PEERS are crucial for unpacking the scope and nature of behavioral health crises to provide a nuanced understanding, approach, and framework for responding with appropriate levels of care to people with behavioral health challenges in the community--particularly for a non-police crisis response like a Specialized Care Unit (SCU).

Sufficiently Fund Behavioral Health
Respite Centers
Drop-in and wellness centers for people living with behavioral health challenges need sufficient funding and staff with full-time Peer Support Specialists where individuals experiencing non-threatening altered states and/or behavioral health crises can move through their crisis is a safe and supported state.

It is further essential to have availability 24/7 and on holidays, and to involve PEERS in the transit from the behavioral health crisis to the Peer staffed drop-in/wellness center. Peer Navigators are also key to assisting people in navigating complex systems, including how to get appropriate services in the City of Berkeley and Alameda County.

Need to understand what sufficient funding
entails to develop a clear budget request and
explore outside funding to support this
Have a Reconciliation Process with
People with Behavioral Health
Challenges and Police
There is a need for a reconciliation process with police, particularly as a response to traumatic experiences with police. A reconciliation process, as well as a restorative justice process, with people living with behavioral health challenges may help build trust and rapport with police officers in the future.

Clarify the Risk Assessment by Call
Takers, Dispatchers, and Police for
Behavioral Health
There is a need for clarification about how Public Dispatch Operators and the police use their discretion to make decisions about “public safety threats.” It is not clear if the current protocol is designed to not only determine if someone is a “danger to themselves or others,” or “gravely disabled” to meet the standard for a 5150 involuntary hold, and/or if the assessment offers a more nuanced evaluation for persons who do not meet this standard, particularly to assist with next steps in care if needed.

This feels directly tied to the SCU process,
consider as part of implemetation of SCU
Improve De-Escalation Training for Police
& Offer Public Education on Behavioral
Health
There is a need for additional de-escalation training for law enforcement and public education about connecting with community members who interact with the world differently than they do—including using peers as part of training.

Account for Overlapping Systems of Care
for People Living with Behavioral Health
Challenges
There is a need to account for overlapping systems of care, including medical, behavioral health (mental health, substance use), social services, and other systems. Participants in the Peers Listening Session, who identify with homelessness, discussed how current systems are not set up in a way that enables long-term sustainable wellness of the behavioral health community.

Discuss with staff what this might entail.

Further Research Recommendations (in
report)
LGBTQIA+ and Queer/Trans People Develop Collaboration between LGBTQ+ Liaison for Berkeley Police Department
and the Pacific Center for Human Growth
Currently, the LGBTQ+ liaison for the Berkeley Police Department has reviewed the LGBTQIA+ Listening Session Report and is working on a collaboration with the staff for the Pacific Center for Human Growth in order to address challenges in the community.

Confirm with staff what is already underway.

Establish Partnership between the
Division of Mental Health and the Pacific
Center for Human Growth
There is a need for an established partnership between the Division of Mental Health for the City of Berkeley and the Pacific Center for Human Growth in order to ensure training and service delivery to LGBTQIA+ clients that are culturally safe and responsive. There is a need for collaboration among service providers to become more well-integrated with coordinated services tailored to meet client needs, including ones that are culturally safe and responsive.

Confirm with staff what is already underway.

Increase Capacity for Behavioral Health
Workers to Serve LGBTQIA+ Clients
There is a considerable need for behavioral health workers, such as clinicians, case managers, peer specialists, and peer navigators, who can directly guide LGBTQIA+ clients in navigating multiple systems—particularly given the shortage of case management services available from community-based organizations in Berkeley.

Confirm with staff what is already underway.

Where could additional capacity be developed?
Addressing Underlying Causes of
Inequity, Violence, and Crime
Develop a Training and Community
Solutions Institute
This proposal from the RPSTF intends to build on the SCU/MACRO training foundations (once finalized – currently under development) and offer training appropriate for members of the general public, law enforcement, BerkDOT personnel, peers, students and those who need or want to respond constructively based on best practices. This proposal is suggested in place of the Progressive Police Academy in the NICJR final report.

Training topics are listed in appendix 5 of the task force report on page 126.

Analyze at a future stage once SCU/MACRO is
more developed.

Conslidated Spreadsheet of Reimagining Public Safety Recommendations Task Force Commissioner Recommendations 4 Reimagining Public Safety
Initaitve Topic
Specific Task Force
Recommendation Task Force Rationale* Budget Estimate Request Additional staff analysis? Develop Community Violence Prevention
Programs
Should the City of Berkeley decide to adopt or pilot a new Community Violence Prevention Program, we recommend it take the following steps to ensure its success:

1. Create opportunities for community members, leaders, youth and organizations to tap into this work with equitable compensation

2. Hiring of Credible & Trusted Responders

3. Transparency and Accountability

4. Allow Pilot Violence Prevention Programs to Grow
Support City Efforts to Establish the
Office of Equity and Diversity

1. Develop the office in partnership with
CBOs with listening sessions to inform
office's direction/priorities

2. Integrate community oversight and
community support body that works
closesly with the office in establhsing
community conncetions, evalutating the
office's approach, and ensures ongoing
success
The Re-Imagining Public Safety Task Force supports the City of Berkeley’s efforts to establish an Office of Equity & Diversity. For too long, City Departments have had to independently monitor impact, disparities, and ongoing relationships with the community that have produced varying results. These inconsistencies can lead to severe impacts in services rendered, supports given to, and needs met of communities of color and additional diversity and marginalized groups.

An adverse effect, especially in regard to language access, is that many Black, Immigrant, Latinx, and other voices of color will not view City Departments as a venue to air their concerns, lift up their needs, and much worse, as the valuable resource it aspires to be. This adverse impact is also true for additional diverse and vulnerable groups, including based on gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, physical and behavioral disabilities, and other diverse and marginalized groups.

This proposed Office provides an opportunity to help centralize and embed equity and justice practices and frameworks into our City’s infrastructure. The impacts of which would far extend beyond addressing disparities, forming partnerships with community organizations and leaders, among others. But perhaps the biggest impact will be seen as communities begin to trust and see City Departments as a resource for them – a Department that is accountable to them.

Support staff in generating a community
advisory component to the development of the
Office of Equity and Diversity
Implement a Pilot Guaranteed Income
Project
Ultimately, UBIs are not one-size-fits all. The City should review data available from similar programs in order to determine the size and scope of its program, e.g., target recipients, selection criteria and process, appropriate cash transfer size, project duration, and data tracking/ evaluation protocols.

Support the Police Accountability Board
and Fair & Impartial Policing
We recommend that Council request PAB advice before making a policy decision to proceed toward surveillance technology acquisitions; mandate the BPD to collaborate with PAB on development of all significant General Orders or other policies; and support moves by the PAB to make it easier for people from historically marginalized communities to raise and pursue officer misconduct complaints.

Addressing Community-Based
Organizations' Capacity for Efficient
Partnership in Reimaging Public
Safety
Conduct Needs Assessment on CBO
Capacity
Create Coordination and Communication
Opportunities for CBO Staff
Specifically, provide opportunities and forums for CBO executive level staff to work more closely with each other.

Coordination and common purpose help increase better use of resources. This will create opportunities to align outreach criteria, coordinate efforts, and centralize information obtained from the field.

Improve Referral Systems The City and CBOS’ should improve the system of referrals after intake and assessment with the intent to shepherd a consumer through the system and proactively assist in gathering all required documentation. This would lessen the load placed on the person seeking services and person of navigating through a complex and documentation-driven system while trying to survive one day at a time.

Remove City Funding System
Inefficiencies and Duplication
Specific actions the City can take to decrease bureaucracy and increase efficiency include:
a.More flexibility with funding contracts (e.g., higher threshold for requiring a contract amendment, providing administrative overhead that meets actual costs).
b.Quarterly instead of monthly reporting.
c.Increase baseline CBO salaries to improve their recruitment and retention.

Conslidated Spreadsheet of Reimagining Public Safety Recommendations Task Force Commissioner Recommendations 5 Reimagining Public Safety
Initaitve Topic
Specific Task Force
Recommendation Task Force Rationale* Budget Estimate Request Additional staff analysis? Develop Additional Metrics for
Community-Based Organizations
The measure of success cannot be based just on the attainment of housing or jobs – multiple factors contribute to community stability and public safety, including social relationships, connection to resources, service participation/engagement, health/behavioral, health status, mindset, behaviors, and more. Additional metrics need to be developed that better evaluate the wellbeing of individuals, families, neighborhoods, and communities.

Help CBOS Enhance Their Funding 1. Establish a small team led by the mayor, a council member, City Manager, service provider, homeless consumer, commission member, major donor, and community member to meet with all major foundations, corporations and other entities with significant resources.

2. Create an annual citywide fundraising campaign that would benefit all CBOS.

3. . Train staff. Areas identified by the CBOS include trauma informed care, motivational interviewing, cultural competence, and developing tools and skills so that our population is served with respect and staff have extensive knowledge about the availability of existing appropriate resources. Funding should be dedicated for training and require specific coursework around the aforementioned areas identified.

4. Gather feedback from Consumers
Notes
*Rationale was not consistently provided throughout the Task Force report. The language in the column reflects the Mayor's Office best effort to pull a descriptive paragraph for each recommendation from the report.

Sections highlighted in yellow did not make it into final task force report despite clear task force intention to include due to confusion in reconciling all documents and recommendations.

Sections highlighted in blue indicate the recommendation is a reiteration of a similar or existing recommendation that has already been made to City Council by staff, another comission or parallel process

ALBUQUERQUE COMMUNITY SAFETY

ALBUQUERQUE COMMUNITY SAFETY DEPARTMENT
FY2022 ORGANIZATIONAL PLAN
DECEMBER 2021

WELL-BEING & SAFETY EMP ATHY COMMUNITY RESPECT & DIGNITYACCOUNTABILITY EQUITY

Albuquerque Community Safety Department
City of Albuquerque, New Mexico
Published by the City of Albuquerque
December 2021, version 1

Content and Strategy
LEH Consulting Group, LLC
Albuquerque Community Safety Department
Design and Layout
Design5sixty4
Photography
Albuquerque Community Safety Department
Free ABQ Images
Copyright December 2021 City of Albuquerque
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—except for brief quotations in
critical reviews or articles, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by U.S. copyright law.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This report is made possible by the countless contributions from a growing ACS staff, colleagues from across the City of Albuquerque, community members, community-based
organizations, partners, and others. This is the first iteration of what will undoubtedly be an evolving journey for this new department, one we are grateful to travel alongside fellow first responders and the community we serve.

3 Contents
4 LETTER FROM MAYOR TIM KELLER
5 LETTER

FROM THE DIRECTOR

6 OUR ROLE
7 Why does Albuquer
que need ACS?
8 How was A
CS created?
9 Wher
e does ACS fit in the public safety system

10 OUR DEP

ARTMENT
11 What is the A
CS vision for Albuquerque and the department’s mission to get there? 12 What ar
e ACS’s values as a department?
13 How does A
CS put community at the center of decision-making?
14 What is the F
Y2022 ACS Budget?
15 What is A
CS’s organizational structure?

16 OUR RESPONSE
17 Who ar
e ACS responders?
22 How ar
e we training ACS responders:
23 How is A
CS dispatched?
24 What calls will A
CS respond to?
25 How ar
e we keeping our responders safe?
26 How will A
CS collect data and track impact?

27 OUR GO
ALS
29 Goal Ar
ea 1: Respond
30 Goal Ar
ea 2: Build
31 Goal Ar
ea 3: Engage
32 Goal Ar
ea 4: Influence
33 GET C

ONNECTED
35 APPENDIX

On September 1, 2021, the Albuquerque Community Safety
(ACS) department began serving our community and making a transformative impact.

A day with ACS first responders can look like many things: safely de-escalating a behavioral health crisis, helping a family and a landlord navigate a housing dispute to avoid eviction, getting treatment to an individual wrestling with substance abuse, connecting an unhoused community member living in an arroyo with the shelter and resources they need, checking on an abandoned vehicle, or talking someone in distress down from self-harm or suicide.

With each call trained behavioral health and community responders take, we are strengthening our entire public safety system. We are relieving pressure on police and fire, allowing officers to focus on addressing violent crime calls, and freeing up our EMTs to quickly respond to urgent, life-threatening situations. With ACS as a third branch of 911, we are now better equipped than ever to provide the right response to those in need.

The origin of this department, the nation’s first cabinet-level department of its kind, extends back to when our administration first walked into office. It starts with programs we began piloting in 2018 to send Albuquerque Fire Rescue responders to a segment of non-violent calls that police had been handling, and with our work to decriminalize symptoms of poverty, addiction, and behavioral health issues. But above all, we gained the political will to launch ACS because of the movement for racial justice that surged following the murder of George Floyd. That powerful call to do things differently changed everything.

ACS is a new approach to how we respond to distress in communities and get folks the services that are needed in that moment and for the long term. It’s a trauma-informed public health response built in partnership with our community. Through a real reimagining of public safety and a reckoning with legacies of trauma and institutionalized racism, we can begin making the history that will bring our communities closer together.

I am encouraged by the progress that ACS is making as I work with our inaugural Director Mariela Ruiz-Angel, Deputy Directors D’Albert Hall and Jasmine Desiderio, and with the new class of first responders. We are moving forward with humility, understanding that we are building this approach from the ground up. We look forward to ACS’s evolution as we launch this effort to send the right response at the right time in our community.

Mayor Tim Keller
Letter from Mayor Tim Keller

5 The City of Albuquerque’s Community Safety Department (ACS) is proud to provide our first organizational plan as the City’s next step toward reimagining public safety. We are a new component of the City’s public safety response. When 911 dispatchers answer calls involving mental health, addiction, or other public health issues, they will send our mental health professionals along with or instead of paramedics, firefighters, and police officers. ACS will also respond to calls like reports of abandoned vehicles that do not require a police officer, firefighter or paramedic.

ACS is the first municipal agency in New Mexico created as a peer with the municipal police and fire departments. ACS first responders have the training and resources to step in when someone is experiencing a mental health, addiction or housing crisis to get the person connected with the right resources. Our work will alleviate pressure on police and fire units and maximize resources dedicated to public safety.

This plan reflects more than a year of research, discussion and planning with a wide range of experts and community members to understand the needs and gaps in public safety. A cornerstone of our effort to design ACS has been engaging with the community, including meetings with residents from Albuquerque neighborhoods hit hardest by violence and economic disparity and a communitywide survey.

We know the work has just begun. As our teams hit the streets, we are driven by a shared vision with our fellow first responders of a public safety system that ensures a purposeful, humane, and appropriate response. We also know there is so much more for us to learn. We are working hard to define our impact in, with, and for the community.

Expect to hear more about that work over the next year. We are grateful for ongoing community engagement as we improve our approach with every call, every response, and every conversation.

We are grateful to the thousands of people who have already contributed their time, insights, and feedback you will see reflected in the pages to come. We invite you to explore this report and engage with us as we continue to work toward a safer Albuquerque for everyone.

Mariela Ruiz-Angel
September 2021
Letter from the Director

OUR ROLE

Our rO le 7
Why does Albuquerque need ACS?
Albuquerque faces serious public safety issues
in addition to crime that include homelessness,
mental health, and drug addiction challenges.

According to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), nearly one in five people 12 years of age or older in the Albuquerque metro area report using any illicit drug in the past year, outpacing both state and national averages. 1 SAMHSA
also reports that more than one in five adults aged 18 or older in Bernalillo County reported any mental illness in the past year based on annual survey averages from 2016-2018, and nearly 15 percent reported receiving mental health services in the past year. 2 The 2021
Point in Time Count showed that the number of people experiencing homelessness in Albuquerque has been steadily increasing since 2013, with 1,567 counted in this year’s report.
3 Many unsheltered individuals
are adults with a serious mental illness and/or substance use disorder.

Albuquerque Police Department (APD) officers and Albuquerque Fire Rescue (AFR) responders interact frequently with people experiencing these issues. Though not accounting for all mental health calls, APD officers recorded 8,510 encounters with an individual experiencing a behavioral health crisis in 2019 and 7,860 in 2020. Statewide, the New Mexico Sentencing Commission reports that one in five contacts in 2020 with law enforcement were with a homeless individual. 4 Moreover,
in fiscal year 2020 (FY2020), AFR and Metro Security responded to 9,514 “down and out” calls in which a person was unresponsive on the ground or seemingly intoxicated. Beyond mental health, in FY2021, there were 1,326 311 calls for needle pickups and 13,075 311 and 911 calls for abandoned vehicles, neither of which need police or fire response.

This demonstrates a need for trained and licensed professionals with experience or education in addressing these issues to take on these calls. An internal review found that of the nearly 200,000 annual APD calls for service involving these issues, nearly one in five may be appropriately handled through an alternative response. Redirecting these calls will reduce call volume for police and fire responders, allow police officers to spend more time tackling violent crime, free up fire units to immediately address life-threatening situations, and ensure a first responder can spend the necessary time to address the issue.

ISSUES BY THE NUMBERS
people are
experiencing
homelessness in
Albuquerque in 2021
of unsheltered
individuals are adults
with a serious mental
illness
of unsheltered
individuals are adults
with a substance
abuse disorder
police encounters
with an individual
experiencing a
behavioral health
crisis in 2020
‘down and out calls’
by AFR in FY2020
to transport 6,952
people to the ER
from ‘down and out’
calls in FY2019
1 Source: https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUHMetroBriefReports/NSDUHMetroBriefReports/NSDUH-Metro-Albuquerque.pdf 2 Source: https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2016-2018-nsduh-substate-region-estimates-tables 3 Source: 2021 New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness Point-In-Time Count 4 Source: 2020 Databook, 1/1/20-12/31/20, New Mexico Sentencing Commission.

1,567
43%
45%
7,860
9,514
$1.7M

Our rO le 8
How was ACS created?
Mayor Tim Keller’s administration convened a
public safety group three years ago to discuss
and research a myriad of issues, from interrupting
cycles of violence through diversion programs
to decriminalizing our response to mental health,
homelessness, and addiction.

The group includes police, fire, social service departments, code enforcement, transit, solid waste, the Office of Civil Rights, and the Office of Equity and Inclusion. From the group’s work, the City has implemented pilots and programs, including the Safe Handling and Routing of Paraphernalia (SHARP) program that cleans up improperly disposed of needles and syringes around the City, and the dispatching of Metro Security officers to respond to “down and out” calls.

Building from that work and learning from early successes, Mayor Keller announced in summer 2020 plans to create ACS to serve as an additional branch of the City of Albuquerque’s public safety system alongside police and fire. ACS will offer the appropriate response to calls involving non-violent, non-medical mental behavioral health, substance use, homelessness issues, and other responses that do not require a paramedic or police officer. In the year between the announcement and ACS’s launch, the City developed a plan for launching this third branch of the public safety system by researching relevant models and running a community engagement campaign.

With the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, the City replaced in-person engagement with virtual meetings to educate, inform, and gather input on our strategic planning. The City hosted seven virtual sessions of 45 participants representing more than 25 key community stakeholder groups. The City also involved the Mental Health Response Advisory Committee (MHRAC) and presented policies and training plans to MHRAC, which has been working with APD for many years. The City also conducted a community survey and received 2,858 responses. Community feedback reflected overwhelming support for an ACS-style model. Community experts provided crucial input on the look and feel of ACS as well as specific policy and training recommendations. Community members were excited to be included in the solution. One said:

Community
feedback reflected
overwhelming
support for an
ACS-style model.

Our rO le 9

“As a community mental health provider, I look forward to seeing how this department shapes up and am hopeful
that the City collaborates and integrates behavioral health care providers into the system at large.”
Following these sessions, the City has been in continual discussion with community leaders and experts as well as participated in national-level forums, sprints, and working groups involving municipalities engaging in similar work. You can read more about the community engagement process and the feedback the City collected in the ACS Community Engagement Report available on our website.

Where does ACS fit in the public safety
system?
The Keller Administration made ACS a cabinet-
level department, allowing it to operate
independently from and in collaboration with APD
and AFR.

What makes ACS different is our use of a public health model with a non-law enforcement-led response. ACS allows 911 dispatch to send trained professionals with backgrounds in behavioral and mental health and social services to non-violent and non-medical calls. The goal is to deliver the right response at the right time and to improve access to the broad range of social services from government and community- based organizations.

ACS responders will use motivational interviewing, crisis intervention, de-escalation, cultural healing, and other proven strategies to address needs. ACS will also address calls that do not require a behavioral health background, such as needle pickup and abandoned vehicles. ACS responders do not make arrests or issue citations, instead connecting individuals and families to services and resources in the community.

Law enforcement
and violent/life-threatening
situations
Non-violent, non-medical mental
behavioral health, substance use, and
homelessness issues, and other
responses that do not require a
paramedic or police officer
Fire and emergency
medical needs
Albuquerque’s First Responder System

Our department 10
OUR

DEPARTMENT

Our department 11
Through community feedback, partner input,
and expert voices, ACS crafted an organizational
design and culture focused on delivering the right
response at the right time.

What is the ACS vision for Albuquerque and
the department’s mission to get there?

Mission: To make Albuquerque safer
by providing a holistic, empathetic, and
informed response to behavioral, mental
health-related and other 911 calls that do
not require a police officer, firefighter or
paramedic, such as homelessness, minor
injury and non-injury calls for service.

Responses are personalized to the needs
of the individual, family, and community
so that ACS can bring the right response
at the right time.

Vision: A safe and inclusive city
in which any person can call for help
and get a purposeful, humane, and
appropriate response.

Creating a “new
normal” for our
community’s public
safety response
system.

Our department 12
What are ACS’s values as a department?
Introducing our WE CARE model:

Our values guide the decisions we make as individuals and as a team. The inspiration for this value system came from two places. First, we asked the community during our engagement campaign what values our responders and our department should embody. Second, we reflected as a team on what core concepts should anchor us. From this, the WE CARE model was born. The fingerprints of these values will be found everywhere, from the goals we set for ourselves to the training we provide our staff to the interactions we have with the community.

Well-being and safety
Take every measure possible to ensure the safety
and well-being of all residents of our city.

Empathy
Take the time to listen to others and recognize
their unique experience.

Community at the center
Put community and partners at the
center of all we do.

Accountability
Have the courage to
learn from mistakes.

Respect and dignity
Meet people where they are, and treat them how
they want to be treated
Equity
Lift the voices of all people
in our community
W
E
C
A
R
E

Our department 13
Sarita Nair
City of Albuquerque (COA)
Chief Administrative Officer,
Co-Chair
Chris Melendrez
COA Council Services
Director, Co-Chair
Matt Dietzel
Albuquerque Police Department
Lieutenant, Member
Emily Jaramillo
Albuquerque Fire & Rescue
Department
Deputy Chief of Emergency
Services, Member
Ellen Braden
COA Family & Community
Services
Division Manager, Member
Dave Mowery
COA, ADAPT Program
Deputy Fire Chief, Member
Mariela Ruiz-Angel
Albuquerque Community Safety
Department
Director, Member
Lawrence Davis
COA Budget Office
Budget Officer, Member
Charlie E. Verploegh, PhD
Bernalillo County Department
of Behavioral Health Services,
Assistant Director, Member
Jim Harvey
Peace and Justice Center
Member
Joshua Reeves
COA Performance & Innovation
Office
Process Transformation
Specialist, Member
Tonya Covington
Rapid Accountability Diversion
(RAD) Program
Program Manager
Nick Costales
State Juvenile Justice Services
Deputy Director, Member
KC Quirk
Highlands University
Instructor, Member
Dr. Christina Duran
Highlands University
Dean of Social Work, Member
Alexandria Taylor
NM Coalition of Sexual Assault
Programs
Deputy Director, Member
Erika Wilson
APD Emergency Comm. Center
Manager, Member
Maxwell Kauffman
LOPD Mental Health,
Mental Health Attorney, Member
Carlene Miller
LOPD
Mental Health Attorney, Member
Enrique Cardiel
BernCo Community Health
Council
Executive Director, Member
Isaiah Curtis
First Nations
Street Outreach
Mika Tari
National Association of Social
workers NMSU
Executive Director, Member
Jordan Vargas
City of Albuquerque
ADA Coordinator, Member
Rosa Gallegos-Samora
Therapist, Member
Kevin Sourisseau
Mayor’s Office,
Associate CAO, Member

PLANNING COMMITTEE
We are also developing an ongoing community engagement process and feedback system in order to keep community members informed, solicit ongoing feedback and questions, and provide answers and updates. ACS is launching in uncharted territory, and we will be looking to the community to tell us what is working and where we need to improve.

How does ACS put community at the center of decision-making? ACS began as a community-led initiative, and we are dedicated to keeping community voices at the forefront of our decision-making processes. Early on, we formed an ACS Planning Committee comprised of community leaders and experts to guide us through critical decisions, provide insight on challenges we face, and help us grow as we examine our progress. With ACS’s launch, the ACS Planning Committee will expand to include additional members and transition into an ACS Steering Committee to provide long-term guidance. The table lists the members of our original committee.

Our department 14
What is our FY2022 Budget?
FY2022 GENERAL FUND BUDGET:
$7,730,00 FOR 61 POSITIONS
This is a $4.4 million increase from FY2021 that includes $3.2 million for 43 additional full-time equivalent positions consisting of behavioral health responders, community response team members, and administrative staff, as well as $1.2 million for operational expenses. Other increases include an additional $250,000 for contractual services, and $40,000 for outreach communication. As a start-up department, a larger proportion of budget was needed for equipment than usual. As the department scales up in FY2023, we expect this to remain the case, with the share of budget going to personnel and operations normalizing in FY2024.

The following is a comparison of the FY2021 and FY2022 budgets:

FY/22 ALBUQUERQUE COMMUNITY SAFETY DEPARTMENT
Wages: Funding for 61 Positions (43 New Positions added in FY/22) Utilities: Telephone
Operating: Contractual, Outside Vehicle Maintenance, Training, Equipment, and Supplies
Capital: Vehicles and other Capital Items
Maintenance: City Provided Vehicle Maintenance
Grand Total
FY/21 ALBUQUERQUE COMMUNITY SAFETY DEPARTMENT
Wages: Funding for 18 Positions
Utilities: Telephone
Operating: Contractual, Vehicle Maintenance, Training, Equipment, and Supplies
Grand Total
5,128,973.00
17,985.00
2,020,642.00
570,000.00
4,400.00
7,742,000.00
1,201,206.00
4,400.00
1,265,394.00
2,471,000.00

Our department 15
Chief
Administrative Officer
Sarita Nair
Mayor
Tim Keller
Director of
Community Safety
Mariela Ruiz-Angel
Deputy Director
Policy & Administration
Jasmine Desiderio
Deputy Director
Field Response
D’Albert Hall
Chief of Police
Harold Medina
Fire Chief
Gene Gallegos
Executive Assistant
ACS Clinical Supervisor
MCT Clinician
4 Positions
Behavioral Health
Responder Tier 1 & 2
24 Positions
Behavioral Health
Responder Supervisor
2 Positions
Community Responder
Tier 1 and 2
10 Positions
Public Outreach &
Performance Manager
Personnel Officer ACS Policy
Research Analyst
Business Insights
Data AnalystFiscal Officer
Accountant 1
Outreach Responder
2 Positions
ACS Triage Specialist
Community-Oriented
Response & Assistance
(CORA) Responder
Quality Assurance &
Compliance Coordinator
Administration
Division
Policy & Training
Division
Mental & Behavioral
Health Response Division
Community Response
Division
What is ACS’s Organizational Structure?
The following organizational chart reflects our focus on field response with robust policy and administrative services to support our first responders. ACS reports directly to the City’s Chief Administrative Officer.

ALBUQUERQUE COMMUNITY SAFETY | FY2022 ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

OUR

RESPONSE

Our r esp O nse 17
Who Are Our Responders?
Behavioral Health Response Division
Improving behavioral health outcomes for Albuquerque residents experiencing mental health issues is central to improving community safety. ACS’s behavioral health response is designed to meet the needs of people across a spectrum of mental health needs, from crisis intervention to less urgent calls for support from people who need help accessing services. Having our responders in the field will further the City’s effort to decriminalize mental health issues and ensure all calls for service can be addressed properly and quickly.

Mobile Crisis T eam (MCT) Clinicians
What they do: An MCT Clinician is an independently licensed mental health professional who works in a team with a uniformed law enforcement officer. MCTs co-respond to high-acuity mental and behavioral health emergencies. MCT clinicians provide professional behavioral health services to, de-escalate crises involving, and link individuals who are experiencing mental health emergencies to appropriate services in the community.

Why we created them: MCTs have been in the field since February 2018. Historically, MCT clinicians were employees of an agency that contracted with APD and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO).

APD and BCSO each had four teams. Between February 2018 and March 2020, MCTs were dispatched to almost 5,000 calls. Many of the people assisted had diagnosed mental health issues, including 13% with diagnosed schizophrenia spectrum disorder and 38% having ACS’s behavioral
health response
is designed to
meet the needs of
people across a
spectrum of mental
health needs.

Our r esp O nse 18
multiple diagnoses. Properly addressing these crises also takes time; an average MCT call lasts 75 minutes. MCTs are able to take the time and provide the necessary expertise to ensure the best possible outcome for these calls. To make this effort permanent, ACS hired the four clinicians working with APD as City employees. By bringing these clinicians in-house, ACS has created a more robust community of practice and tightened lines of communication and data sharing.

Profile: John
John was born and raised in Albuquerque and has
a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling.

He is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor
(LPCC) in the state of New Mexico and has
counseling experience ranging from school-
based therapy for children to substance abuse
counseling and group therapy. John has also
conducted suicide assessments for Albuquerque
Public Schools and is a member of the New Mexico
Counseling and Therapy Practice Board.

Behavioral Health Responders (BHRs)
What they do: BHRs respond in person, generally in pairs, or by phone to requests for assistance with individuals experiencing issues with mental and behavioral health, inebriation, homelessness, addiction, chronic mental illness as well as other issues that do not require police, fire or EMS response. These responders have education and experience in fields that include social work, counseling, social services, health, and peer support, often having extensive familiarity with the resources and services available in our community. They focus on addressing any immediate crisis then connecting individuals to the services they need.

Why we created them: APD officers frequently respond to calls involving mental and behavioral health, inebriation, homelessness, addiction, and chronic mental illness. In 2020 alone, there were 190,000 calls under these categories. Officers also recorded 3,661 transports to Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital or UNM Hospital for mental health services and 2,306 documented instances of individuals diagnosed

Our r esp O nse 19
with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. There is a clear need for first responders with the training and experience to take many of these calls off the shoulders of police officers. Of the roughly 16,000 calls per month in these categories, around 3,000 would be appropriate for BHR response. BHRs will respond to calls that often wait hours for officers so people can get the help they need, freeing up officers to focus on crime and violent or life-threatening situations.

Profile: Jenny
Jenny grew up in Zuni Pueblo and holds a Bachelor
of Science in Healthcare Administration. She
worked for five years as a Certified Nursing
Assistant before spending over 10 years in
healthcare administration, primarily at Presbyterian
Hospital. Jenny comes to ACS from Ambercare
Hospice where she was the We Honor Veterans
Coordinator.

Community Response Division
ACS is a community-centered agency dedicated to improving the health and well-being of our fellow Albuquerque residents. Our community response focuses on homelessness, minor injury and non-injury calls for service, and community healing. We will also address needle pickup requests and abandoned vehicles as part of a comprehensive response to community health.

Street Outreach and Resource Responders
What they do: This team will provide street outreach in coordination with other City departments and community-based organizations to individuals experiencing homelessness in encampments; conduct in-person assessments; and assist with screening, organizing and prioritizing reports regarding homeless encampments. This team will focus on connecting individuals to long-term services.

Why we created them: The City’s Family and Community Services (FCS) Department has employed an encampments team since March

Our r esp O nse 20
2019 to provide street outreach and enforce City code regarding encampments. In FY2021 alone, there were more than 2,400 requests for assistance related to homelessness and encampments that were addressed by this team. By focusing on connecting to services, ACS’s street outreach team will increase the City’s capacity to respond to these situations and help people get the services they need before enforcement action is needed.

Profile: Deidre
Deidre has a Bachelor of Arts in Native American
studies and worked for six years as a Keresan
language curriculum developer for the Santa Ana
Pueblo. She has dedicated her life to being a
liaison and advocate for Native Americans in our
community, including doing case management
for Native American constituents under the City’s
Office of Equity & Inclusion.

Community Responders
What they do: Community responders will respond to minor injuries or incapacitation, abandoned vehicles, non-injury accidents, needle pickups, or other calls for service in the community.

Why we created them: The City has previously piloted ways to divert calls from police and fire and free up resources. One of those programs was the Wellness Check Program. Since December 2018, AFR has dispatched City Metro Security Division officers to wellness check or “down and out” calls that would normally go to AFR. These calls often involve a person who is laying on the ground in public view. These calls usually do not warrant the standard AFR response of a four-person engine and an ambulance, and having someone else triage the situation first is a more productive approach. Metro Security has responded to 3,648 calls since December 2018, saving the city approximately $284,000. Expanding upon this success, ACS Community Responders will serve a similar function and respond to lower-priority calls, including wellness checks that do not indicate a potential for violence.

Our r esp O nse 21
Community-Oriented Response Assistance (CORA)
Responders
What they do: The CORA team is a multidisciplinary group of first responders and mental health professionals who organize outreach to communities affected by tragedy and violence in Albuquerque.

ACS’s CORA Responder coordinates the outreach effort, reaching out to community leaders and organizing meetings or finding alternative methods of connection. They provide education on grief and trauma, guide individuals through what they can expect while processing the event, and connect people to mental health providers and other resources.

Why we created them: Albuquerque communities have long been dealing with traumatic events, such as homicides, suicides, child deaths, and other incidents of violence. From January 2019 to July 2020 alone, there were nearly 1,300 suicides and suicide attempts in Albuquerque.

The City recognized that responding to these events shouldn’t just stop at the immediate crisis. These communities often need support and help figuring out how to heal and move forward. Modeling after similar efforts elsewhere in the country, the City’s police, fire, and family and community services departments started organizing CORA responses in March 2019. By creating an ACS CORA Responder, we aim to centralize these organization efforts and further bolster the continuum of service we provide community members experiencing a broad range of mental and behavioral health issues.

Profile: Lynae
Lynae was born and raised in Albuquerque.

She has over 10 years of experience in violence
prevention and youth development and
mentoring. Lynae comes to ACS from Youth
Development, Inc., where she was the Violence
Prevention Coordinator.

Our r esp O nse 22
How Are We Training Our Responders?
In addition to the education and credentials ACS responders bring to the department, ACS will provide comprehensive training through partners to support responders in the field. The following are training areas and examples for each.
1 More detailed information about the training curriculum is available on our website

NEW CITY EMPLOYEE SAFETY

SERVING THE

INDIVIDUAL

COMMUNITY

INVOLVEMENT
New employee
orientation
City policies
Data fidelity
Crisis intervention
Motivational
interviewing
Scene safety
First aid
Radio etiquette
Implicit bias
Cultural sensitivity
Working with partners

Our r esp O nse 23
How is ACS dispatched?
When calls are made, 911 operators gather critical information while keeping callers calm and safe. These operators determine if the call requires a police, fire, or community safety response and relay it to the corresponding dispatch system. ACS units will be dispatched via AFR’s dispatch system
While responding to 911 calls is our primary focus, ACS responders will be dispatched through additional methods, including referrals, self- dispatch, and 311 tickets. ACS will also respond to calls from 988, the national behavioral health crisis hotline, when it launches in 2022. The figure below illustrates dispatch methods for each type of responder unit.

As of September 2021, ACS units are in the field and responding to 911 calls. As we continue to hire more responders, our aim to reach 24-hour/ seven-days-a-week coverage by early 2022.

YOU CAN GET AN

ACS RESPONSE
Monday through Sunday from
7 a.m. – 10 p.m. Call 911 for
non-violent, non-medical
emergencies or 311 for non-
emergencies.

ACS Dispatch Options
Mental & Behavioral Health
Response Division
911 Dispatch9 88 (Launch 2022) 311 Ticket Self Dispatch & Referral Community Response
Division
Mobile Crisis Team
(MCT)
1 Officer & 1 Clinician
Behavioral Health
Responders (BHR)
Team of 2 Responders
Community Responders
(CR)
Team of 2 Responders
Street Outreach &
Resource Coordinators (SO)
1 Unit: 2 Outreach

Our r esp O nse 24
What calls will ACS respond to?
911 operators prioritize calls for service on a 1-5 scale (A through E for AFR), 1 (or E for AFR) being the highest priority based on severity of a crime or level of acuity (intensity or urgency) of the emergency.

APD, AFR, and ACS collaborated to determine the call types most appropriate for ACS responders. ACS will respond to lower-acuity calls within those call types. Calls that are routed to ACS responders will be assigned an ACS call type and an ACS priority level (1-3). For example, ACS might respond to a call that would be a Priority 3 for APD, but that call might be a Priority 1 for ACS.

The table below outlines the call types ACS will respond to, the associated APD or AFR code, how ACS will re-prioritize them, and provides a description.

CR: Community Responders
(Dispatched by AFR Alarm Room; Triaged by 311)
SO: Street Outreach and Resource Coordinators
(Triaged by FCS and 311; Not Dispatched by AFR Alarm Room) 1APD: 10-43-1 CSSUIC
1AFR: 32B CSWELF
1311 Ticket CSUI
1311 Ticket CSPU
2APD: 24 CSAV
3311 Ticket CSAV
3311 Ticket CSPU
1APD: 10-40 CSBH
1APD: 10-39 CSD
2APD: 10-31D/31S/31 CSSPSuspicious/intoxicated subject
2AFR: 32B CSWELF
3AFR: 10-39-5 CSPH
3AFR: 10-10-0 CSWC
Existing APD/AFR Call Type Assigned ACS
Call Type
Suicide
Wellness check
Unsheltered individual
Needles
Abandoned vehicle
Abandoned vehicle
Needles
Behavioral health issue
Disturbance
Wellness check
Panhandler
3AFR: 10-51 CSMDMessage for delivery
Welfare check
Call Description
BHR: Behavioral Health Responders
Mobile Crisis Team (MCT): ACS call types do not apply to MCT clinicians. This team will respond to all high-acuity behavioral health related calls with a sworn officer. These units are dispatch by APD only.

Community-Oriented Response and Assistance (CORA): ACS call types do not apply to CORA. These ACS responders will organize outreach to communicate affected by tragedy and violence in Albuquerque.

Priority

ACS CALL DEFINITIONS

Our r esp O nse 25
How are we keeping our responders safe?
Our Responders’ safety is our top priority, and we
have taken several steps to engrain safety into our
everyday practices.

The right calls: The call types ACS Responders take were carefully selected to consider not only which situations called for their expertise but whether it was safe enough to respond without police presence. 911 operators are trained to properly screen calls for ACS, APD, and AFR.

Our Responders are only dispatched if the call indicates no immediate threat or danger. Alternatively, APD officers have the ability to request ACS after they have secured the scene.

Safety in numbers: ACS Responders do not go to calls alone. Our Responders generally take calls in pairs, and our MCT clinicians who respond to potentially dangerous situations co-respond with uniformed Crisis Intervention Unit police officers.

Policy and training: Responders receive extensive de-escalation training, and, if an individual shows any sign of aggression or resistance, Responders are instructed to leave the scene. ACS policies and procedures lay out how Responders should react if they ever encounter potentially violent situations as well as how to prevent those situations.

ACS Responders are also trained by APD and AFR on scene safety and how to identify other indicators that police backup is warranted.

Constant communication: ACS Responders have multiple means of communication available depending on the need. Primarily, they are tapped into the same radio dispatch system as other first responders and are able to request backup at any time. Their radios have an emergency button that will automatically request a rapid police response if they are unable to talk. Second, the dispatch system allows dispatchers and ACS administrative staff to see the location each unit is responding to and their status on that call. Third, each Responder is assigned a cell phone and is encouraged to call their supervisor for any assistance or guidance on a call. Fourth, Responders have a weekly debrief session where they address any challenges or concerns that may require an improvement to standard practices.

ACS Responders
are trained by APD
and AFR on scene
safety.

Our r esp O nse 26
How will ACS collect data and track impact?
ACS is focused on developing a robust and respectful data-collection system. Information recorded for each call and each interaction will not only help ACS monitor progress against goals and outcomes, but it will also help us understand how we can have a positive impact in the community. ACS recognizes that the needs of those we serve are often complex, and we intend to document our work as much as possible.

ACS will follow an informed consent approach for data collection so anyone served by ACS understands what information is being collected, why it is being collected and where the information will go. The data will help highlight root causes of public safety issues and gaps in ACS services, enabling ACS to become a catalyst for larger change in the public safety and public health systems.

We heard from community that individuals’ personal information collected by ACS should not be accessible to law enforcement. As such, while ACS will utilize APD’s records management system for data security and call outcome tracking, ACS will have its own separate forms that restrict access to only ACS staff.

ACS is focused on
developing a robust
and respectful
data-collection
system.

OUR GOALS

Our G O als 28
“I became a Behavioral Health Responder to help people who are often over- looked or forgotten, who don’t have anyone they can count on or talk to for support; to guide someone through what may be the toughest day of their life.

I want to bridge the gaps within a broken system; to support the community in whatever way possible.”
Walter, Behavioral Health Responder
ACS has a clear and critical focus as the newest
branch of the City’s 911 response – to respond,
build, engage, and influence.

Our goal is to move with intention and urgency in service of a shared vision among all first responders to create a safe and inclusive city by providing a purposeful, humane, and appropriate response. As we launch our field work, we will be flexible and agile, making changes to this plan as needed with input from the community.

Our G O als 29
GOAL AREA 1: RESPOND
Goal statement: Increase public safety by providing a holistic and trauma- informed response to calls for service.

Objectives:

1. Employ a diverse, experienced, and community-centered cohort of responders.

2. Implement a r
obust person- and community-centered training plan that provides staff with essential skills, best practices, and resources with which to serve the public.

3. Respond eff
ectively to all ACS calls for service.

4. Increase link
ages to appropriate stabilization and recovery services as part of providing holistic responses to calls for service.

Strategies:

1. Collaborat e with the community to create a diverse and equitable staff recruitment campaign.

2. Design a hiring process tha
t removes barriers to entry and values lived experience.

3. Identify evidence-based and s
trengths-based training that is relevant to the needs of Albuquerque’s diverse populations and specific challenges.

4. Inte
grate ACS into the 911 dispatch system.

5. Respond t
o calls for service that historically do not need a police or fire response.

6. Dev
elop comprehensive standard operating procedures that ensure the safety of Responders and meets the needs of individuals served.

7. Build rela
tionships and connections with community providers and organizations to create a streamlined referral process.

Key performance indicators:

1. ACS staff reflects the diversity of Albuquerque’s citizens, including in language, culture, race/ethnicity, and liv
ed experiences.

2. Efficacy rela
ted to service response metrics, including but not limited to:
a. Monthly call volume
b. Response time
c. Per
centage of calls involving co-response
d. Number of needs addressed b
y category
(e.g., unmet basic needs, mental health, drug
or alcohol use)
e.

Response out
comes
f. Per
centage of calls involving a person
experiencing homelessness
g. Number of ref
errals by category
h. Number of transports
i. Number of training certifications and
continuing educa
tion units (CEU)
j. Number of trainings offer
ed by community
partners
k. Number of repea
t calls for same individual
or location

Our G O als 30
GOAL AREA 2: BUILD
Goal statement: Establish a sustainable and long-term presence that is woven into the community and the public safety ecosystem.

Objectives:

1. Increase accessibility between ACS and community members.

2. Crea
te a performance-focused culture that develops the abilities and potential of employees.

3. Impro
ve productivity with cross-functional teams, including other first responders, City departments, and external partners.

4. Employ a r
obust training operation that allows ACS to provide training to other departments and external partners.

Strategies:

1. Build a dedicat ed ACS headquarters in the heart of the International District, located at Kathryn and San Mateo.

2. Pro
vide staff with opportunities for professional and educational development.

3. Contract and partner with or
ganizations to help provide inter-connected services and training.

4. Streamline training pr
ocess by insourcing training and using a train-the-trainer process.

5. Crea
te a dedicated training center for ACS curricula.

Key performance indicators:

1. Positive engagement results from regularly administered community surveys (e.g., pulse surveys) indicating a s
trong degree of community awareness, understanding, and accessibility to ACS services.

2. Number of
employees that utilize continuing education, tuition reimbursement, certification programs paid for by ACS.

3. Number of cross-departmental r
eferrals.

4. Number of coordina
ted responses, events, and outreach with internal and external partners.

5. Number of internal and e
xternal users of trainings.

Our G O als 31
GOAL AREA 3: ENGAGE
Goal statement: Activate community partnerships and strengthen community engagement by enhancing relationships, trust, information sharing, and capacity building between the community and ACS.

Objectives:

1. Design effec tive programs that stimulate ongoing community interest and involvement in the work of the Department.

2. Establish authentic pr
ocesses for continuous community feedback about ACS strategies, programs, and achievements.

3. Crea
te opportunities for Albuquerque providers and organizations to expand services inside and outside of City government that support ACS responses.

4. Be a hub for thought partnering and collabora
tion on how to most effectively respond to calls for service across agencies, sectors, and communities.

Strategies:

1. Implement an educational campaign tha t promotes ACS as it pertains to public safety and public health.

2. Host int
eractive events and programs on community issues related to ACS’s core mission for families and the community.

3. Expand ACS K
ey Communications list, email, and other modalities for sharing information with community stakeholders.

4. Dev
elop a community-oriented website or portal for sharing information, soliciting feedback, and providing relevant resources.

5. Expand the current A
CS Planning Committee to include additional community members and stakeholders.

6. Partner with the County and community on local, s
tate, and federal grants.

7. Dev
elop a micro grant program for relevant service providers and organizations that support ACS responses.

Key performance indicators:

1. The number of community forums and t ouchpoints provided by ACS (in person and online).

2. The number of the community members who join, visit, and r eturn to ACS community forums (in person
and online).

3. Dev
elopment of the “first-generation” (version 1.0) dashboard of key community safety processes and outcome indicators, created with input from community stakeholders and relevant subject-matter experts.

4. Amount of funding to the community f
or relevant public health and safety missions.

5. Number of grants aw
arded within or on behalf of the community.

6. Amount of grants aw
arded within or on behalf of the community.

7. Number of contracts t
o relevant service providers and community agencies.

8. Number of services pro
vided by ACS made possible through contracts and relationships with partnering providers and community agencies.

Our G O als 32
GOAL AREA 4: INFLUENCE
Goal statement: Leverage ACS’s position and knowledge to influence and inform the ongoing evolution of the larger (e.g., county, state, national) system of care and emergency response.

Objectives:

1. Be a cataly st and collaborator in changing and strengthening the role of first response in public health and criminal justice system.

2. Establish a car
eer pathway for community safety responders.

3. Crea
te a long-term plan for a City behavioral and mental health academy.

4. Promo
te non-law enforcement mobile crisis response as part of the public safety system.

5. Crea
te a plan for sustainable funding.

Strategies:

1. Design community safe ty positions that are supported with professional development and career advancement as a model for a strong, sustainable workforce.

2. Connect
with universities and colleges to develop an educational path that qualifies students for community safety positions.

3. Partner with cities acr
oss the state on the implementation of “988,” the national crisis line.

4. Utilize community voices t
o impact public health and criminal justice policies related to emergency response.

5. Support other local g
overnments and entities that are interested in non-law enforcement mobile crisis response programs.

6. Conduct a s
taffing analysis to support additional City funding appropriation.

7. Le
verage behavioral health funding to include Medicaid and the Behavioral Health Initiative.

Key performance indicators:

1. Percentage of ACS staff positions that are classified with defined career progression.

2. Number of knowledg
e products produced (e.g., evaluation reports, knowledge papers, media coverage and stories) stemming from ACS’s work.

3. Number of knowledg
e-sharing and policy-oriented presentations or forums contributed to by ACS.

4. Diversified
funding received from public, private, and philanthropic sources as appropriate to support the ACS model and related initiatives and agencies across the state and the country.

Get C O nne C ted 33

GET

CONNECTED

Get C O nne C ted 34
Get Connected
Contact info:
[email protected]

Headquarters:
1 Civic Plaza, Room 1026, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Administration: 505.768.4227
More info: www.cabq.gov/acs

Be a part of the effort
to transform how we
approach public safety
in Albuquerque. Reach
out to us for trainings,
listening sessions, or
support for community
events. ACS is here
to serve you so get
involved!
Be Part of the Change!
Apply here or by following the QR code
@cabqacs

APPENDIX

a ppendix 36
Data and Resources
ACS Community Engagement Report
ACS Responder Training Plan
ACS Standard Operating Procedures

a ppendix 37
“I want to help at least one person find within themselves the answer; to use this moment to grow and succeed at whate- ver goals they may have; to help them build a better version of themselves. I want to make them feel heard and help them know that they are worthy.”
Chris, Behavioral Health Responder

a ppendix 38
“I wanted to become a CORA Responder because I needed
someone like that when I experienced traumatic events in my own life. People don’t always know where to go to get help or how to deal with this type of trauma. I want to be that person for them, to help guide them through the healing process. I want to help people understand it’s okay to work through trauma; you don’t have to hide it. We can get through these things as a community.” Lynae, CORA Responder

a ppendix 39
“As our teams hit the streets, we are driven by a shared vision with our fellow first responders of a public safety system that ensures a purposeful, humane, and appropriate response”

Mariela Ruiz-Angel, Director of Community Safety

albuquerque Community s afety
1 Civic p laza, r oom 1026
albuquer
que, nm 8
7102

IMPLEMENTING
THE CITY OF ITHACA’S

NEW PUBLIC

SAFETY AGENCY
SUGGESTIONS FROM THE CITY OF ITHACA’S

REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY WORKING GROUP

This page intentionally left blank.

AUTHORS
Kim Buchanan, J.D., J.S.D.

Center for Policing Equity
Jason Tsui
Center for Policing Equity
John Tindel
Center for Policing Equity
Hilary Rau
Center for Policing Equity
R. Nicole Johnson-Ahorlu, Ph.D.

Center for Policing Equity
Kerry Mulligan, Ph.D.

Center for Policing Equity
Christopher Mebius
Center for Policing Equity
Krista Dunn
Center for Policing Equity
Matthew Graham
Center for Policing Equity
Camille Beckles
Center for Policing Equity
Nina Crane
Center for Policing Equity
Phillip Atiba Goff, Ph.D.

Center for Policing Equity, John Jay College
of Criminal Justice, Principal Investigator,
National Justice Database

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Letter from Co-Leaders, City of Ithaca Reimagining Public Safety Working Group Executive Summary & Suggestions
Background
Implementation Plan for the New Public Safety Agency
Budget
Conclusion
Appendix
Appendix A: Working Group and Subcommittee Members
Appendix B: Call Type Definitions
Appendix C: Matrix Consulting Group Report on Patrol Staffing and Deployment Appendix D: New York State Basic Course for Police Officers Training Curriculum Appendix E: Ithaca Police Department Training Topics
2 6
10 12
32 35
38 Land Acknowledgement
The Reimagining Public Safety Working Group acknowledges that Ithaca and Tompkins County are located on the traditional homeland of the Gayogo ̱ hó:nǫ’ (Cayuga Nation).

The Gayogo ̱ hó:nǫ’ are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy of sovereign Nations that currently reside on this land. The Gayogo ̱ hó:nǫ’ predate the formation of the City of Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York State, and the United States of America.

The Working Group acknowledges the painful history of Gayogo ̱ hó:nǫ' , recognizes the dispossession of Gayogo ̱ hó:nǫ’ land, and honors the continued local presence of Gayogo ̱ hó:nǫ’ people and culture.
< Image Caption
Banner on the Downtown Ithaca Commons, Downtown Ithaca Alliance Photograph by Sheryl Sinkow
1

On behalf of the City of
Ithaca’s Reimagining
Public Safety Working
Group, it is our
honor, as the group’s
co-leads, to submit to
Common Council the
following suggestions
for the implementation
of the city’s new public
safety agency.

TO THE MEMBERS OF

COMMON COUNCIL,
February 23, 2022
In April of 2021, Common Council unanimously ap -
proved the creation of a new public safety agency.

This new agency would center the experiences of
the city’s marginalized and vulnerable populations;
focus police resources on crime solving and preven-
tion; and add a new unit of non-law enforcement first
responders to address public safety issues better
served through non-criminal justice interventions.

In June 2021, at the behest of Common Council,
then-Mayor Svante Myrick created the Reimagining
Public Safety Working Group, whose members repre -
sent the community, law enforcement, business, Com-
mon Council members, and students. As the selected
co-leads of the Working Group, we had the privilege of
shepherding the group to its suggestions for how the
new public safety agency could be implemented. Four
Subcommittees, which included additional communi-
ty members, were also created to independently build
implementation plans for specific areas of the new
public safety agency’s work.

Throughout the process, we were clear-eyed about
both the importance and difficulty of our task. For
too long, marginalized and vulnerable commu-
nities in the City of Ithaca have lived without the
true sense of peace and safety we are all promised.

Those same communities, along with allies from ev -
ery facet of our community, have been asking and
working for change to the city’s overreliance on
police to resolve non-criminal or non-violent pub -
lic safety concerns. These asks and this work came
many years before George Floyd’s May 25, 2020 mur -
der, the national event which sparked communities
across the country to re-examine their approach to
policing and public safety.
2

Authors i
Acknowledgments ii
Ex
ecutive Summary 2
Summary of Findings 2
Vehicle and Rider S
tops 3
Use of Force 3
Officer Climate Survey 4
Recommendations 6
Introduction 8
National Justice Database
Analytic Framework 9
History of BART PD Involvement
in the National Justice Database 10
Section I: Data and Context 11
Data Provided by the Department 11
The Data Context 12
Methodology for Estimating
Benchmark Population at Each
BART Station
12 Section II: Racial Disparities
in BART PD Stops 15
Section IIA: BART PD Vehicle
Stops and Racial Disparities 20
Section IIB: BART PD Rider
S
tops and Racial Disparities 28
Section III: Racial Disparities
in BART PD Use of Force 28
Summary of Findings 28
Use-of-Force Findings 29
Use of Firearms in Force Incidents 33
Multilevel Regression Analysis 34

TABLE OF CONTENTS
While we understood the need and mandate for
change, we also understood the challenges of reimag-
ining a new way of approaching public safety. What
made Common Council’s groundbreaking resolution
exciting also made it daunting–very few communities
have attempted what the City of Ithaca is undertaking
with its new public safety agency. Even if the entire
Working Group was in total agreement on all key facets
of the new agency, the audacity of our task makes it a
hard endeavor.

And to be frank, while the plan below has a majority
of Working Group and Subcommittee support, the
suggestions were not unanimous decisions. We had
some very difficult conversations as a Working Group:
some thought our pace too fast, others too slow; some
hoped for more change, others wished for much of the
current public safety structure to stay intact; some
felt heard, others felt misunderstood. Through any
disagreement or difficulty, our ethos remained the
same: we would treat all Working Group members
with respect and dignity; we would honor the lived
experiences of all participants; and we would make
informed decisions democratically and transparently.

The result of this work is the below plan for a new city agency for public safety. We believe this plan fulfills our Working Group responsibilities as elucidated in
Common Council’s resolution and then-Mayor Myrick’s
charge to the group. We know this is just one step in
the reimagining public safety process, with other rec - ommendations to follow suit in the coming months
and years.

Everything about the plan–the suggested new public
safety agency’s name; the role of the agency leader;
the structure of its police and non-police functions; the resources to support training, equipment, technology,
and research–is designed to stand-up an agency that
will expand and enhance our city’s public safety ap -
proach, and keep as its beating heart the best interests of those who call upon it in times of need.

We care deeply about the City of Ithaca. We believe
in all of its people. We put forward this plan with the conviction that, if approved, it will provide a more ex - pansive, inclusive and effective public safety reality
for every one of us.

Sincerely,
Eric Rosario & Karen Yearwood
" We care deeply about the City
of Ithac
a. We believe in all of
its people. We put forward this
plan with the conviction that, if
approved, it will provide a more
expansive, inclusive and effective
public safety reality for every one
of us."
3

1000
Subscribers
50+
Meetings
35+
Members & Advisors
As of February 2022 an email
list the City of Ithaca and
Tompkins County created to
keep the community apprised
on the process had just under
1,000 subscribers.

The Working Group met
16 times to advance an
implementation plan for the
new public safety agency.

There were 4 subcommittee
meetings, each Subcommittee
met at least 9 times each.

Former Mayor Myrick named
the Working Group leaders from
various stakeholder groups in
Ithaca, including community
members. The Working Group
and Subcommittees have over
35 members and advisors.

In June 2021, a Reimagining Public Safety Working Group was formed (“the Working Group”) to “facilitate the replacement of the City of Ithaca Police Department with a Department of Public Safety, ” in accordance with the first recommendation of the Reimagining Public Safety Plan.

Image Caption >
Mural at the Sciencenter by Tori Burdick
Photograph by Sheryl Sinkow
4

35+
Members & Advisors
5

This new agency would contain law enforcement officers
as well as non-law enforcement first responders. Born out of a desire to center the city’s marginalized and vulnerable populations, the vision for the new agency is to direct police resources to the activities that require and merit law en- forcement intervention, and to use the new unit of civilian first responders to address public safety issues that would be better served by a different expertise and approach. In so doing, the agency will provide a better public safety reality for all.

The suggestions contained within this report were deter - mined by majority vote or consensus within the Working
Group, and by consensus within the four specific Subcom- mittees. The Working Group and the Subcommittees were
made up of leaders from the community, law enforcement, health and human services, business, and education. The Working Group and the Subcommittees considered several
inputs in crafting these suggestions, including: their own lived experience and expertise; perspectives gathered from the community (especially from Black, Brown, and other
vulnerable community members); research evaluating evi- dence-based practices in other jurisdictions; and analysis of City of Ithaca data. In discussing and debating these sugges- tions, the Working Group and the Subcommittees sought a process that was inclusive of all stakeholders, that centered the experiences of Black and Brown and other vulnerable communities in Ithaca, and that reflected the best available evidence on innovative approaches to reimagining public safety.

The suggestions of the Working Group and the Subcommit- tees to the Common Council are summarized as follows,
and are detailed in the body of this report:
•
Naming a new umbr
ella city agency for public
safety:
☐ The new city agency for public safety should be
named the Department of Community Safety.
•
Le
adership of the new Department of Community
Safety:
☐ The title of the leader of the Department of
Community Safety should be “Commissioner
of Community Safety” .
☐ The Commissioner of Community Safety posi-
tion should be filled by a civilian leader, who
brings a background in racial justice, social
work, public health, public or business admin-
istration, and demonstrates in-depth knowl-
edge of the intersections of race, public health,
and public safety.
•
Names and leader
ship structures of the two
Department of Community Safety units:
☐ The two units of first responders within the
Department of Community Safety should be
titled the Division of Police (staffed by po -
lice officers) and the Division of Community
Solutions (staffed by civilian first respond-
ers).

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY & SUGGESTIONS
This report details the implementation plan for
the City of Ithaca’s new public safety agency. In
accordance with Common Council’s April 2021
resolution, this implementation plan represents
the city’s next step towards reimagining public
safety.
6

☐ The Commissioner of Community Safety
should oversee both divisions.
☐ Reporting to the Commissioner of Commu-
nity Safety, the head of the Division of Police
should be called the Director of Police (who
may also be referred to as the Police Chief,
where necessitated by state law). Initially,
this division will consist of all existing staff
of the current Ithaca Police Department
(IPD).
☐ Reporting to the Commissioner of Com-
munity Safety, the head of the Division of
Community Solutions should be called the
Director of Community Solutions. This divi-
sion should consist of unarmed civilian first
responders.
•
Ke
y responsibilities of the two Department of
Community Safety units:
☐ The Division of Police should retain key law
enforcement responsibilities, in particular
those calls that represent a serious threat to
public safety and/or that state law requires
be conducted by a police officer.
☐ The Division of Community Solutions should
respond to quality of life and other incidents
(including those involving referrals to men-
tal health or other social service providers),
and may also include law enforcement du-
ties that can be carried out by non-police
(i.e. the administration of certain kinds of
fines and penalties).
•
Call delinea
tion:
• The Working Gr
oup voted to delineate the follow-
ing call types between “armed” and “unarmed”
responses, but recognizes that these decisions
will need to be refined and adjusted under the
leadership of the Commissioner for Community
Safety, and based on factors including staff ca-
pacity, departmental policies, and further anal-
ysis of call types:
☐ The new Division of Police should respond to
the following calls for service (in alphabetical
order):
•
Assault
; Bomb Threat; Burglary; Crim-
inal Mischief; Dead Body; House Alarm
Triggers Police; Intoxication; Robbery;
Shots Fired; Stabbing; Warrant; Weap -
ons; 911 Call Hangup.
☐ The following call types should be handled
by unarmed responders, from the Division
of Community Solutions and other depart -
ments (in alphabetical order):
•
Animal Bites; Animal Pr
oblem; Bad
Check; Child Abuse; Civil Complaint;
Escort; Fire Outside; Fireworks; Fraud;
Hazmat; Information; Local Law; Noise
Complaint; Parking Problem; Personal
Injury Collision; Property Check; Prop -
erty Complaint; Repossessed Vehicle;
Service Call; Special Detail; Theft of
Mail/Packages; Traffic Collision; Un-
classified; Vehicle Fire; Welfare Check.
☐ The following call types were categorized
as “it depends. ” These call types should be
further analyzed to determine if they need
to be broken down into smaller categories
(new call types) in order to effectively delin-
eate a response, if they need an in-person
response at all, or if they merit a co-response
between armed and unarmed responders
(in alphabetical order):
•
Assis
ting Another Government Re -
source; Disorderly Conduct; Dispute;
Domestic; Drugs; Harassment; Missing
Person; Overdose; Psychiatric; Sex Of -
fense; Suspicious; Traffic Complaint;
Traffic Offense; Transport; Trespassing;
Unsecured Premise; 911 Call with No
One Talking.
☐ A joint response between the Division of Po -
lice and the Division of Community Solutions
7

should be considered in cases which merit it
(for example, trespassing incidents where
there is a potential threat to public safety). A
co-response model will be determined under
the leadership of the new Commissioner of
Community Safety.
•
St
affing level, beat design, and shift assignments
for the Department of Community Safety divisions:
• For the ne
w Division of Community Solutions:
☐ The City of Ithaca should initially hire five
unarmed responders for the Division of Com-
munity Solutions under the Department of
Community Safety, with the Commissioner
of Community Safety to determine addition-
al staffing needs.
☐ Unarmed responders should have the title of
“Community Responders, ” and be responsi-
ble for addressing calls that do not require
law enforcement expertise. These unarmed
responders should bring skills in community
engagement, de-escalation, crisis interven-
tion, and referral to mental health and social
service providers.
☐ The Division of Community Solutions may
be assigned beat assignments, but only as
appropriate to increase community engage -
ment, and to be concentrated within beats in
which their services are most needed.
•
For the Division of P
olice:
☐ The Division of Police should restructure its
beat design with the priorities of creating
an even distribution of 911 calls between
beats and incorporating walking beats, while
maintaining neighborhood integrity.
☐ By the next collective bargaining process,
the City of Ithaca and it’s Police Department/
Division of Police should adopt the Pitman
shift assignment configuration
1 in order to
meet community needs, and maximize offi-
cer sustainability, efficiency, and equity.
•
For bo
th divisions:
☐ The Division of Community Solutions and
the Division of Police should work in tandem
to improve intra-departmental efficiency
and communications.
☐ Responders from both the Division of Com-
munity Solutions and the Division of Police
should provide ten hours of paid service per
month to predetermined community service
sites; for patrol officers, the sites they serve
should be located within the geographic
boundaries of their beats.
☐ Common Council should create a committee
or task force to further investigate details re -
garding implementation of these recommen-
dations, particularly the questions identified
by this Subcommittee as relevant but merit -
ing more consideration.
•
Tr
aining for the Department of Community Safety:
• Tr
aining for staff of the Department of Commu-
nity Safety (including the Division of Police and
the Division of Community Solutions) should
emphasize a community-centered model which
prioritizes community protection through
de-escalation tactics, alternatives to use of
Born out of a desire to center the
city’s marginalized and vulnerable
populations, the vision for the new
agency is to direct police resources
to the activities that require and
merit law enforcement intervention,
and to use the new unit of civilian
first responders to address public
safety issues that would be better
served by a different expertise and
approach.
8

force, trauma-informed approaches, mental
health awareness, holistic responses, and data
collection practices;
•
Tr
aining resources should focus on trainings
that are shown to have a positive impact on offi-
cer engagement with the community.
•
To
better assess the impact of the recommend-
ed training, the Department of Community
Safety should establish an evaluation process
for its training program.
•
Informa
tion on the Department of Community
Safety’s annual training offerings and mandates
should be publicly listed.
•
Equipment and t
echnology needs for the Depart -
ment of Community Safety:
• In addition to the e
xisting equipment and tech-
nology of the Division of Police and the start-up
equipment and technology necessary for the
new Division of Community Solutions, the new
Department of Community Safety should pro -
vide the following:
☐ Improvements to the online records man-
agement system (RMS);
☐ Speech recognition technology to make re -
port writing more efficient and accurate;
☐ A mechanism for reporting lower-priority oc -
currences online.
• Rese
arch and data needs for the Department of
Community Safety:
• The Dep
artment of Community Safety should
collect and publicly report the following data:
☐ The type, number, and share of 911 calls by
response;
☐ Certain outcomes of Division of Community
Solutions activities, disaggregated by race
and other demographics;
☐ Certain outcomes of Division of Police activ -
ities, disaggregated by race and other demo -
graphics;
☐ Complaints filed against responders from ei-
ther the Division of Community Solutions or
the Division of Police.
•
The Dep
artment of Community Safety should
standardize data entry practices to align with
other city and county services, and consistently
and proactively input data into the city-county
data dashboard, as defined in the Reimagining
Public Safety Collaborative resolutions.
•
The Dep
artment of Community Safety should
establish partnerships with the Community
Justice Center and with academic institutions
in the Ithaca area to explore more complex re -
search questions.
•
The Dep
artment of Community Safety should
dedicate staff resources within the Depart -
ment of Community Safety to continue this
work (including leading the work in the above
suggestions, and contributing to the other da-
ta-related recommendations contained in the
“Public Safety, Reimagined” report), including
the hiring of a data analyst for the new depart -
ment.
9

In June 2020, following the murder of George Floyd
by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin and
citing “a long and painful history in New York
State of discrimination and mistreatment of
Black and African-American citizens,” then-New
York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued Executive
Order 203.

BACKGROUND
Executive order 203, the New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative, compelled all jurisdictions with a “police agency” to develop a plan to improve public safe - ty policies and practices to better serve the community, including addressing “any racial bias and disproportionate policing of communities of color. ” Local legislative bodies were directed to vote on their plan and report to the Gover- nor ’s Office by April 1, 2021
.2
In response to Executive Order 203, then-Tompkins County Administrator Jason Molino and then-City of Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick convened a joint city and county collabo - rative to assess the state of policing in their jurisdictions. 3 This 40-person group, made up of individuals appointed for their expertise, role, and ability to implement solutions, convened in September 2020.
4 The collaborative, which also
included the Center for Policing Equity (a national nonprof- it focused on racial justice in law enforcement practices) sought to center its approach within the safety needs and perceptions of the community, and with an eye towards re- imagining (rather than reforming) what policing could mean for public safety, equity, and justice for all. The collabora- tive committed to recommending the kinds of systems and structures necessary to achieve sustainable and meaningful community well-being.

In February 2021, the collaborative released a report for public comment, “Public Safety, Reimagined. ” The final report, based on the collaborative’s deliberations, as well as extensive additional community input, included an
in-depth analysis of the policing functions of the county and city as well as 19 recommendations for reimagining public safety in Tompkins County and the City of Ithaca.
5 On March
31, 2021, the Tompkins County Legislature accepted and
the City of Ithaca Common Council unanimously voted to
accept the “Public Safety Reimagined” report, and to adopt the recommendations contained within it.
6 The report was
then submitted to the New York State Division of Budget and the Governor’s Office.
7 The first recommendation within the “Public Safety, Re - imagined” report forms the center of the City of Ithaca’s public safety restructuring. As approved by the City of Ithaca Common Council, this recommendation calls for the City of Ithaca to: “Create a new department, tentatively named the Department of Public Safety (DPS), which may be led by a ci- vilian to manage various public safety functions in the City. ” At the direction of Common Council, the new department
is to include two units: one of “unarmed first responders” who will be tasked with responding to “certain non-violent call types, ” and a unit “whose members will qualify in all re- spects under New York State law as police officers...led by someone who shall qualify in all respects under New York State law as a Chief of Police. ”
8 In the resolution, the City of
Ithaca Common Council members noted the goal of advanc- ing “positive changes in policing practices. ”9 The resolution also called for the formation of a working group, consist - ing of various city stakeholders and technical experts, to produce implementation recommendations for Common
Council to vote upon.
10

RPS TIMELINE
2020
2021
2022
JUNE
Executive Order 203

SEPTEMBER
Joint City of Ithaca and Tompkins County collaborative is convened

FEBRUARY
Collaborative releases “Public Safety Reimagined” report MARCH
MARCH
City and County legislative bodies vote to adopt recommendations contained within “Public Safety Reimagined”
APRIL
“Public Safety Reimagined” report submitted to Governor’s office in compliance with Executive Order 203
JULY
City of Ithaca forms Working Group for the implementation of Recommendation #1; first Working Group meeting is held

SEPTEMBER
First Subcommittee meetings are held

OCTOBER
Reimagining Public Safety website is launched to solicit community input
Recommendation #1 implementation report is submitted to common council
11

The Reimagining Public Safety
Working Group
In June 2021, then-Mayor Myrick, working closely with
City of Ithaca Director of Human Resources Schelley Mi- chell-Nunn, formed the Reimagining Public Safety Working Group (“the Working Group”) to “facilitate the replacement of the City of Ithaca Police Department with a Department of Public Safety, ” in accordance with the first recommenda- tion of the Reimagining Public Safety Plan.
10 The Working
Group was tasked with delivering specific plans for the new public safety agency: the new department’s title; “naming conventions'' for the new department’s staff and units; job descriptions for key leadership positions; delineated call type responsibility between the two units; training of de - partment members; and an operating budget. As outlined
in the Common Council resolution, the Working Group was to include “some combination of IPD staff, other City staff, Alderpersons, interested City residents, and outside experts or consultants. ”
11 Then-Mayor Myrick named Eric Rosario, a community leader and former member of the City of Ithaca Common Council, as project lead for the Working Group. The Mayor named
the Working Group leaders from various stakeholder groups in Ithaca, including community members.
12 Rosario then
selected Karen Yearwood, an administrator with Cornell
Cooperative Extension and a former Executive Director of the Village at Ithaca, to serve as co-project lead with him.

The Center for Policing Equity would serve as facilitators for the Subcommittees and as content advisors for both the Subcommittees and the Working Group. Technical advisors would be brought into Working Group meetings and discus- sions according to the expertise and support needed for any given meeting or planning process. The Working Group and its technical advisors participated in a two-day orientation, which introduced them to one another’s working and de - cision-making preferences and provided background and
context for the history of policing in Ithaca, the reimagining public safety work to-date, and the Working Group’s role in making suggestions for the implementation of the first rec - ommendation of the public safety redesign.

Working Group subcommittees
and technical advisors
In order to inform Working Group decisions on the first rec - ommendation, the collaborative created four Subcommit - tees consisting of Working Group members and additional community members. These Subcommittees were tasked
with addressing key aspects of the new department: Sub - committee A on Staffing Levels, Shift Assignments, and
Beat Designs; Subcommittee B on Training, Equipment,
and Technology; Subcommittee C on Research and Data;
and Subcommittee D on Proposed Operating Budget for the New Public Safety Model. The Subcommittee to address Call Type Responsibility (which units would respond to which types of calls) was of such central importance to the new de- partment that it was subsumed into the Working Group as a whole. (For a full list of Working Group and Subcommittee members, and technical advisors, please see Appendix A).

Community input
Community input was a cornerstone of the decision
making process. In order to solicit community input
and to keep the community updated on the Working
Group’s progress, the City of Ithaca and Tompkins
County created a website: www.publicsafetyreimagined.
org. The website contains: a list of all resolutions and plans passed by the City of Ithaca Common Council
and Tompkins County Legislature related to reimagining
public safety; news releases and other updates on the
process; and tools for the community to provide their
input on key Working Group decisions. Through the
website, community members also have the opportunity
to sign up for email updates on the Working Group’s
progress. The city and county held in-person and virtual information sessions for community members to learn
more about the website, and how to use the website to
provide input on the public safety reimagining process.

The website will contain information on all current and future reimagining plans, and serve as both an archive
for past plans and tool for future plans.

IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING PROCESS
12

For the new public safety agency, there were two key deci- sions for which community input was solicited: the name for the new department, and the delineation of responsibility for various call types. Community members were encour - aged to submit their own ideas for each of these decisions.

Community members could also comment on ideas posted
by others, including those submitted by the Working Group, generating conversation within the community, and helping the Working Group assess the level of community consen- sus or conflict around various ideas. In order to post or com- ment on the website, community members had to create an account confirming their residency in the City of Ithaca or Tompkins County.

The City of Ithaca and Tompkins County held in-person
and virtual community forums where community members
could share ideas. The in-person forums were designed for those who did not have easy access to participate virtual- ly. Weekly half-page ads were placed in the free Tompkins Weekly newspaper from September2021 and will run for
one calendar year featuring process updates and a cut-out section for community members to write and mail-in ideas.

And at libraries in Tompkins County, reference librarians re- ceived communications on how to use the website, and how to help community members access it via library computers.

Throughout the process, the City of Ithaca and Tomp-
kins County kept the community apprised on updates
through the website, in-person and virtual forums, and
an email list (members of the public can continue to sign up using this link).
13 The goal was maximum transparen-
cy, allowing the community to track the process from the origination of an idea to its implementation. The collabo- rative’s email list had just under 1,000 subscribers as of February 2022.

Decision-making process
The Working Group held its first meeting on July 21, 2021, and met 16 times to advance an implementation plan for the new public safety agency. In order to aid in the group’s de - cision-making process, the full group received briefings on public safety information to help inform decision making.

Subcommittees held their first meetings in late September, and each met between 9 and 13 times to advance their work.

Subcommittees also received briefings specific to their com- mittee assignment. At the end of their deliberation process, each Subcommittee shared suggestions on which they had
reached consensus to the larger Working Group for inclusion in this report.

The Working Group’s decisions on a department name and
call type delineation were informed by the community input collected on those decisions. Working Group co-leads Eric Rosario and Karen Yearwood assessed the community ideas collected on these issues, and incorporated finalists into a list from which Working Group members voted. Each sug-
gestion considered by the Working Group was presented to the full Working Group for a vote. Suggestions with majority support were included in this report plan.

Community input was a cornerstone
of the decision making process...
the City of Ithaca and Tompkins
County kept the community
apprised on updates... The goal
was maximum transparency,
allowing the community to track
the process from the origination
of an idea to its implementation.
13

14

< Image Caption
Mural of Toni Morrison by Maryam Adib, Corner of Plain and Clinton Street, Ithaca Photograph by Sheryl Sinkow
For too long, marginalized
and vulnerable communities
in the City of Ithaca have
lived without the true sense
of peace and safety we all
are promised. Those same
communities, along with
allies from every facet
of our community, have
been asking and working
for change to the city’s
overreliance on police to
resolve non-criminal or
non-violent public safety.
15

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR

THE NEW PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY
Naming a new umbrella city
agency for public safety

SUGGESTION
The Working Group suggests to the Common Council that
the new city agency for public safety be named the Depart - ment of Community Safety.

CONTEXT
In its April 1, 2021 legislative mandate, Common Council charged the Reimagining Public Safety Working Group
with recommending a name for the new public safety
agency.
14 Working Group members submitted name
suggestions to the Working Group co-leads. Members of
the public submitted name suggestions through the City
of Ithaca and Tompkins County website for this project
(www.publicsafetyreimagined.org), as well as through
online and in-person community forums.
15 Submissions from both the Working Group and the public were then reviewed by the co-leads of the Working Group, and assessed using four criteria:
•
Whether
the name reflects the charge for a new
department.
☐ Does the name effectively communicate an
agency that will adopt and implement alter -
native response models to calls for service?
•
Whether the name allo
ws for future responsibili-
ties of the new department.
☐ Does the name allow for a broader scope of
“public safety” that may include other units
in the future?
• Whether the name is intuitive, meaning that it
will help people under
stand what the department
does.
☐ Will people who hear or see the name under -
stand that it is responsible for multiple pub -
lic safety activities?
• Whether the name is inclusiv
e and innovative.
☐ Does the name capture the goal of reimagin-
ing public safety?
☐ Is it responsive to the needs of Black, Brown,
and other vulnerable communities in Ithaca?
The Working Group co-leads presented a list of finalist names to the entire Working Group, which the Working Group voted on in accordance with the same criteria articulated above.

The majority of voting Working Group members selected the “Department of Community Safety” as the new name. The
name underscores the vision for the new department as an umbrella agency that will grow to become the hub for com- munity safety in Ithaca, and may eventually come to include some of the City’s other safety-related units.

Leadership of the new Department
of Community Safety

SUGGESTIONS
The Working Group suggests to Common Council that:
• The title o
f the leader of the Department of Com-
munity Safety should be “Commissioner of Com-
munity Safety”;
• The position o
f Commissioner of Community Safe -
ty should be filled by a civilian leader;
16

• The Commissioner of Community Saf ety should
bring a background in racial justice and social
work, public health, public or business adminis -
tration, and demonstrates in-depth knowledge of
the intersections of race, public health, and public
safety.

CONTEXT
This position represents the first time that the City of Itha- ca will have a leader whose sole job is to oversee multiple facets of the city’s public safety system. The title of this po - sition, “Commissioner of Community Safety, ” was chosen to reflect the breadth of the department’s charge and the seniority of this leadership position within the city’s organi- zational structure.

In its April 1, 2021 resolution, Common Council articulated that the new public safety agency “may be led by a civilian to manage various public safety functions in the City. ” 16 Given the impetus for reform, the Working Group felt it was important to have the Commissioner be a civilian, and not a current law enforcement officer. The Working Group be - lieves that a civilian leader with full-time oversight of public safety will give the Department of Community Safety its best chance to develop a culture of service and transparency that centers the community experience and will define the de - partment’s values. The Commissioner would report directly to the Mayor.

In terms of the Commissioner’s qualifications, the Working Group agrees that the position will require a strong leader with a passion for racial and social equity. As the Commis - sioner of Community Safety will be responsible for devel- oping and implementing the newly formed Department of
Community Safety, this position will also require extensive project management and interdisciplinary leadership expe- rience.

Names and leadership structures
of the two Department of Community
Safety units

SUGGESTIONS
The Working Group suggests to Common Council that:
• The two unit
s of first responders within the De -
partment of Community Safety should be titled
the Division of Police (staffed by police officers)
and the Division of Community Solutions (staffed
by civilian first responders).
•
The Commissioner of Community Saf
ety should
oversee both divisions.
• Reporting t
o the Commissioner of Community
Safety, the head of the Division of Police should be
called the Director of Police (who may also be re -
ferred to as the Police Chief, where necessitated by
state law). Initially, this division will consist of all existing staff of the current Ithaca Police Depart -
ment.
•
Reporting t
o the Commissioner of Community
Safety, the head of the Division of Community
Solutions should be called the Director of Commu-
nity Solutions. This division should consist of un-
armed civilian first responders.

CONTEXT
In its April 1, 2021 resolution, Common Council mandated that the new public safety agency include two units: one of “unarmed first responders” who will be tasked with re - sponding to “certain non-violent call types, ” and a unit “whose members will qualify in all respects under New
York State law as police officers...led by someone who shall 17

qualify in all respects under New York State law as a Chief of Police. ”17
When a 911 call for service comes in, dispatch must “hand- off” the call to a unit of first responders. Currently, in the City of Ithaca, there are only three units of first responders: the fire department, emergency medical services (EMS) and the police department. This means that for all calls not related to a fire or medical emergency, dispatch hands off the call to the police department, even in cases that do not require law enforcement authority or expertise. A new division of un- armed civilian responders, the Division of Community Solu- tions, provides the ability to deploy first responders who are better suited to address certain call types (more detail on this in the call delineation suggestion below). The division will be led by the Director of Community Solutions.

Recognizing that law enforcement will continue to play an important role in public safety, the Department of Commu- nity Safety will also house the Division of Police. This divi- sion will contain the staff of the Ithaca Police Department, and will continue to be bound by the labor contract agreed to by the City of Ithaca and the Ithaca Police Benevolent Association (unanimously passed by Common Council in
December 2021). State law requires that if a jurisdiction has a staff of more than four police officers it must have a police chief.
18 Thus, the head of the Division of Police will have two formal titles: the Director of Police and Police Chief (where required by state law). Unless certain protocols require oth- erwise, the primary title for this position will be Director of Police, designed to align with the title of Director of Commu- nity Solutions.

Key responsibilities of the two
Department of Community Safety
units

SUGGESTIONS
The Working Group suggests to Common Council that:
• The Division of Police should retain key law en-
fo
rcement responsibilities, in particular those
calls that represent a serious threat to public safe-
ty and/or that state law requires be conducted by a
police officer.
•
The Division
of Community Solutions should re -
spond to quality of life and other incidents (in-
cluding those involving referrals to mental health
or other social service providers), and may also
include law enforcement duties that can be carried
out by non-police (i.e. the administration of certain
kinds of fines and penalties).

CONTEXT
Currently in the City of Ithaca, the Tompkins County Emer - gency Response System (911) can dispatch calls to three response units: the fire department, the police department, and emergency medical services. All 911 calls received
by dispatch must be routed to one or more of these three options. By establishing a new Department of Community
Safety, including a Division of Community Solutions staffed by civilian first responders, the City of Ithaca would create an alternative to the three existing dispatch options.

This is in line with models established in jurisdictions across the country, where public safety systems are adopting and evaluating alternative responses to 911 calls. In particular, public safety systems are assigning responsibility for quali- ty-of-life and other non-violent incidents to civilian respond- ers, rather than armed police officers. As stated in the Center for American Progress report “The Community Responder
Model”: “dispatching armed officers to calls where their presence is unnecessary is more than just an ineffective use of safety resources; it can also create substantially adverse outcomes for communities of color, individuals with be - havioral health disorders and disabilities, and other groups who have been disproportionately affected by the American criminal justice system. ”
19 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE NEW PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY continued 18

The Working Group recognizes the importance of and, in
some cases, the legal requirement of having police engage in and respond to public safety threats. For example, certain kinds of crime reports require the response of police officers based on state law, insurance requirements, or other param- eters. The Working Group suggests that the core responsibil- ities of the Division of Police remain similar to those of the current Ithaca Police Department.

Regardless of any change in the responsibilities of the Di- vision of Police, the Working Group emphasizes that it is particularly important to change the culture of policing in Ithaca. Over the course of the process, the Working Group gathered community input from particularly vulnerable
community members, some of whom noted experiencing
physical and/or verbal abuse from IPD, and voiced a strong desire that their public safety system inflict no mental or physical harm on the civilians it interacts with. As such, the Division of Police should create a culture that prioritizes the needs and safety concerns of Black, Brown, and other marginalized communities in Ithaca. By building a culture that is respectful of community needs and protective of all community members, the Division of Police can begin to re- pair the mistrust that continues to exist between vulnerable communities and the police. The work starts with division leadership and accountability. It can be enhanced by giving police the time and training they need to build better com- munity relations in purposeful and meaningful ways.

The Working Group recognizes that certain public safety functions that are currently handled by the police would be better served by unarmed civilian first responders within the Division of Community Solutions or in coordination with the County Mobile Crisis Unit (for example, certain incidents related to mental health or homelessness). The Working
Group considered alternative response models from other jurisdictions in the US. For example, for over thirty years, the CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) program in Eugene, OR has been rerouting 911 calls relat - ed to addiction, disorientation, mental health crises, and homelessness to teams of first responders (including a med- ic and a crisis worker) from a local mental health clinic. 20 The
calls diverted to CAHOOTS exclude those in which there is a danger posed to others (for example, incidents involving a weapon). Similarly, in Denver, CO, the STAR (Support Team Assistance Response) program deploys Emergency Medical
Technicians and Behavioral Health Clinicians to non-violent calls involving mental health issues, poverty, substance abuse, and homelessness.
21 The new Division of Commu-
nity Solutions in Ithaca could have similar responsibilities.

A co-response by the Division of Police and the Division of Community Solutions might further address both public
safety threats and holistic community needs. The responsi- bilities of the Division of Community Solutions will continue to be refined as part of the implementation of Recommen- dation #2 of the “Public Safety, Reimagined” report (“Eval- uate existing models and implement an alternative to law enforcement response system for crisis intervention and wraparound health and human services delivery”).

Call delineation
SUGGESTIONS:

The Working Group offers the following suggestions on call delineation, meant to serve as high-level guidance for which types of calls should be handled by law enforcement and which types of calls should be handled by unarmed first responders. There were certain call types that contained a wide range of possible circumstances, and thus could not be clearly delineated between units. These call types may need to be refined (broken into more specific subcategories) in or- der to be delineated in an effective, responsible way. There were other call types which may necessitate a co-response between law enforcement and unarmed responders. Co-re-
sponses may be varied, and could include units on standby in case a co-response need emerges, telephonic responses to calls, or other forms of alternative responses. As such, the Working Group did not come to a delineation decision on all call types, and grouped these into an “it depends” category 19

for further analysis. These remaining details of call delinea- tion would come under the leadership of the new Commis - sioner of Community Safety.

The Working Group suggests to Common Council that:
• The Working Group v
oted to delineate the follow-
ing call types between “armed” and “unarmed”
responses, but recognizes that these decisions will
need to be refined and adjusted under the leader -
ship of the Commissioner for Community Safety,
and based on factors including staff capacity, de -
partmental policies, and further analysis of call
types:
•
The new Division of P
olice should respond to the
following calls for service (in alphabetical order):
☐ Assault; Bomb Threat; Burglary; Criminal
Mischief; Dead Body; House Alarm Triggers
Police; Intoxication; Robbery; Shots Fired;
Stabbing; Warrant; Weapons; 911 Call Han-
gup.
•
The follo
wing call types should be handled by
unarmed responders from the Division of Com-
munity Solutions and other departments (in al-
phabetical order):
☐ Animal Bites; Animal Problem; Bad Check;
Child Abuse; Civil Complaint; Escort; Fire
Outside; Fireworks; Fraud; Hazmat; Informa-
tion; Local Law; Noise Complaint; Parking
Problem; Personal Injury Collision; Property
Check; Property Complaint; Repossessed
Vehicle; Service Call; Special Detail; Theft
of Mail/Packages; Traffic Collision; Unclassi-
fied; Vehicle Fire; Welfare Check.
•
The follo
wing call types were categorized as “it
depends. ” These call types should be further
analyzed to determine if they need to be broken
down into smaller categories (new call types) in
order to effectively delineate a response, if they
need an in-person response at all, or if they merit
a co-response between armed and unarmed re -
sponders (in alphabetical order):
☐ Assisting Another Government Resource;
Disorderly Conduct; Dispute; Domestic;
Drugs; Harassment; Missing Person; Over -
dose; Psychiatric; Sex Offense; Suspicious;
Traffic Complaint; Traffic Offense; Transport;
Trespassing; Unsecured Premise; 911 Call
with No One Talking.
•
A joint response be
tween the Division of Police
and the Division of Community Solutions should
be considered in cases which merit it (for exam-
ple, trespassing incidents where there is a poten-
tial threat to public safety). A co-response model
will be determined under the leadership of the
new Commissioner of Community Safety.

CONTEXT:

In the context of this report, call delineation refers to the assignment of 911 calls for service to either the Division of PoliIn the context of this report, call delineation refers to the assignment of 911 calls for service to either the Division of Police or to unarmed responders, including from the Divi- sion of Community Solutions. The Working Group analyzed approximately 60 call types, selected from a list of all call types provided by the Tompkins County Emergency Re -
sponse (911) dispatch system. (For a complete list of consid- ered call types and their definitions, please see Appendix B.) Several call types reflect broad categories, within which a range of incidents could be included and necessitate dif - ferent types of response. For example, one call type is “Do - mestic, ” which includes calls involving abuse in progress (requiring a Division of Police response), and calls without an immediate threat to personal safety (which may be bet - ter served by a Division of Community Solutions response).

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE NEW PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY continued 20

Other calls may be better served by a co-response, for exam- ple “psychiatric” , which includes incidents where the person in crisis poses a threat to others (requiring a Division of Po - lice response) and is in need of social services assistance (which may be better served by a Division of Community
Solutions response). In order to implement call delineation on the remaining call types, the call types may have to be segmented into smaller categories (creating new call types).

These new call types should be crafted for ease of clear de - lineation between an armed response, unarmed response,
a co-response, or perhaps an administrative response that does not require a responder being sent to the scene at all.

Over the course of COVID-19, the Ithaca Police Department was handling an increasing number of lower-priority calls telephonically (for example, a call related to bike theft).

This practice could potentially be expanded to ensure that response resources are being deployed to the incidents that most require in-person support.

The Working Group considered several factors in making its suggestions on call delineation: community input, analysis of 911 call data, consultation with 911 dispatch experts, research on the value of alternative responses, and model practices from alternative response programs in other US cities. The principle applied was to route call types requir - ing law enforcement expertise to the Division of Police, and diverting call types better served by a non-law enforcement response to unarmed first responders. In making determi- nations about call delineation, the Working Group adopted the following criteria:
•
Decisions should be inclusive and inno
vative;
• Decisions should cap
ture the intent of reimagining
public safety;
• Decisions should be responsiv
e to the need of
Black, Brown, and other vulnerable communities
in Ithaca;
•
Decisions should include input from e
xperts, Com-
mon Council, and the surrounding community.

Taking into account all of these inputs, the Working Group then held a series of facilitated discussions culminating in a vote. The suggestions for call delineation listed above re - flect decisions on which either a majority of Working Group members were in favor or, in case of a tie, the Working Group co-leads decided with the counsel of the Director of Depart- ment of Emergency Response (DoER).

The City of Ithaca and Tompkins County will continue this process as they work to implement Recommendation #3 of
the “Public Safety, Redesigned” report: “Better align avail- able resources with emergency response needs by estab - lishing a pilot program for non-emergency calls. ” This pilot program will include responses by the new Division of Com- munity Solutions within the City of Ithaca, and also may include collaboration with and responses by the County’s Mobile Crisis Team.

Staffing level, beat design, and
shift assignment suggestions for
the Department of Community
Safety divisions

SUGGESTIONS
The Subcommittee on Staffing Levels, Shift Assignments, and Beat Designs suggests to Common Council that:
• For the ne
w Division of Community Solutions:
☐ The City of Ithaca should initially hire five
unarmed responders for the Division of
Community Solutions under the Department
of Community Safety, with the Commission-
er of Community Safety to determine addi-
tional staffing needs.
☐ Unarmed responders should have the title of
“Community Responders” , and be responsi-
ble for addressing calls that do not require
law enforcement expertise. These unarmed
21

responders should bring skills in community
engagement, de-escalation, crisis interven-
tion, and referrals to mental health and so -
cial service providers.
☐ The Division of Community Solutions may
be assigned beat assignments, but only as
appropriate to increase community engage -
ment, and to be concentrated within beats in
which their services are most needed.
•
For the Division o
f Police:
☐ The Division of Police should restructure its
beat design with the priorities of creating
an even distribution of 911 calls between
beats and incorporating walking beats, while
maintaining neighborhood integrity.
☐ By the next collective bargaining process,
the City of Ithaca and its police department/
Division of Police should adopt the Pitman
shift assignment configuration
22 in order to
meet community needs, and maximize offi-
cer sustainability, efficiency, and equity.
•
For bo
th divisions:
☐ The Division of Community Solutions and
the Division of Police should work in tandem
to improve intra-departmental efficiency
and communications.
☐ Responders from both the the Division of
Community Solutions and Division of Police
should provide ten hours of paid service per
month to predetermined community service
sites; for patrol officers, the sites they serve
should be located within the geographic
boundaries of their beats.
☐ Common Council should create a com-
mittee or task force to further investigate
details regarding implementation of these
recommendations, particularly the ques -
tions identified by this Subcommittee as rel-
evant but meriting more consideration.

CONTEXT
Guiding principles
The Subcommittee considered several guiding principles in making these suggestions, intended to capture the spirit of reimagining public safety in a community-centered way:
•
The Department o
f Community Safety and all of its
employees should show respect and kindness to
all members of the community, regardless of race,
class, sexual orientation, occupation, etc.
•
The st
affing and beat design of the Department of
Community Safety should pay particular attention
to the experiences of disproportionately impacted
Black and Brown communities in Ithaca.
•
The st
affing and beat design of the Department of
Community Safety should serve the holistic needs
of community members, and enable genuine and
empathic community engagement.

The Department of Community Safety should be aware of
and integrated with existing infrastructure and wraparound services in Ithaca.

Staffing Levels
To determine potential staffing levels for the Division of Police and the Division of Community Solutions, the Sub - committee analyzed existing Ithaca Police Department
(IPD) workload by call type, identifying which calls could in- volve an unarmed response. The subcommittee noted that
about one-third of the community-generated 911 calls IPD responds to could potentially be handled by unarmed offi- cers or with some kind of co-response. This number is only intended to be a rough approximation, especially since the Division of Community Solutions will be expected to provide additional services that IPD is not currently responsible for.

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE NEW PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY continued 22

For a more precise breakdown of suggested call diversion to the Division of Community Solutions, please see the section titled “Call delineation” within this report. The implications of this analysis inform the Subcommittee’s subsequent
suggestions on the roles and responsibilities of unarmed responders.

This Subcommittee suggests that the City of Ithaca initially hire five full-time responders for the Division of Commu- nity Solutions, with potential staffing expansion based on an evaluation of initial outcomes after one year. Unarmed officers are intended to 1) provide the Ithaca community with services and skill sets that would improve public safe - ty outcomes, particularly those of Black, Brown, and other vulnerable communities; and 2) supplement IPD’s capacity by reducing workload that can appropriately be handled
by unarmed officers. The subcommittee recommends that
hired unarmed officers represent the diversity of Ithaca, and be hired from within the local Ithaca community.

Roles of unarmed responders
Drawing inspiration from other call diversion models across the country, the Subcommittee has outlined the proposed role of “Community Responder”: a civilian responder po - sition that works collaboratively as part of the Division of Community Solutions within the Department of Community
Safety. Community Responders would respond to calls re - lated to quality-of-life concerns, some community conflicts, and some mental health issues that do not require an armed intervention. This could include 911 call types like “Welfare Checks” , “Noise Complaint” , “Property Complaint” , “Traffic Collision” , “Civil Complaint” , and “Animal Problem” .

The Community Responder’s primary duties involve:
•
Responding t
o non-hazardous, non-emergency
and other calls for service in lieu of or in tandem
with an armed officer.
• Perf
orming a variety of specialized and technical
duties in the areas of patrol, community services,
training, and other areas as assigned.
•
Conducting ac
tive patrol of public spaces to pro-
mote community safety and engagement.
• Writing report
s documenting incidents and calls
for service and preparing other written correspon-
dence as needed.
•
Supporting a varie
ty of administrative functions
for the department and assisting with projects as
needed.
•
In the ev
ent of emergencies, requesting emergen-
cy services assistance, including providing key
information to other responders and evacuating
persons.
•
Acc
ompanying armed responders on patrol as al-
lowed by the officer in charge.
• Working in collabor
ation with other community
resources—including but not limited to armed re -
sponders, unarmed responders, Downtown Com-
munity Outreach Workers, and Law Enforcement
Assisted Diversion (LEAD)—to make appropriate re-
ferrals to mental health and other social services.

For more information on the proposed training for Division of Community Solutions responders, please see the section “Training protocols for the Department of Community Safe- t y.”
The Subcommittee recognizes that the precise roles, re - sponsibilities, and configurations of unarmed responders will require further inquiry once operational, and that their job descriptions will be refined under the leadership of the new Department of Community Safety and as part of the
Common Council recommendation to: “Evaluate existing
models and implement an alternative to law enforcement
response system for crisis intervention and wraparound
health and human services delivery. ” Of specific importance will be determining responses to mental health crisis calls, which may involve collaboration with the Tompkins County Mobile Crisis Unit.
23

The Subcommittee also recognizes that staffing structure and responsibilities for the Division of Police will be gov - erned by the current and next collective bargaining agree - ment. Out of deference to that process, and recognizing the expertise behind IPD’s current staffing configurations, the Subcommittee does not make recommendations on staffing
levels for armed responders.

Beat design
Given the addition of a new Division of Community Solu- tions, the Department of Community Safety has an oppor - tunity to restructure its beat design. A “beat” is the assigned territory and times in which a police officer patrols within the community. These patrols can happen by car, bicycle, on foot, or a combination of all three.

While recognizing that any formal re-drawing of beats will require additional review and approval, the Subcommittee does suggest that beats be restructured, with the following priorities in mind:
•
Equalizing c
all volume and workload between the
beats.
• Keeping neighborhoods t
ogether in order to facili-
tate community engagement.
• Acc
ounting for the unique and diverse geography
of Ithaca, including the ways its six square miles
are shaped by waterways that create transporta-
tion barriers.
•
Responding t
o community input on where walking
beats would be most useful.

A report by Matrix Consulting Group (Appendix C) represents a useful starting point for this restructuring of beats. It sug- gests an alternative beat configuration that equalizes work- loads between beats to within a 20% variance, and proposes areas for walking beats. To account for fluctuations in the volume of community-generated call activity and variations in the types of call activity, the Subcommittee also raised the possibility of having different beat schedules depending on time of day, days of the week, and seasonality. The subcom- mittee also raised the question of whether officers should rotate in and out of patrol beats based on a predetermined schedule or be assigned to patrolling the same beat for an extended duration. The subcommittee flags both questions as important for future stakeholders to consider before fi- nalizing beat redesign for the department.

Where appropriate, the new beat design and patrol sched- ule should encourage collaboration and co-responses be - tween the two units. Research shows that, in cases involving a behavioral health crisis, a co-response by police officers and mental health professionals reduced the likelihood that the individual in crisis would be arrested, compared to a po- lice-only response.
23 Furthermore, to promote sustained and generative interac- tion between the community and public safety officers, and to orient the culture of armed officers towards community engagement, both armed and unarmed officers should pro- vide at least ten hours of paid service per month to predeter- mined community service sites. For patrolling officers, the sites they serve should be located within the jurisdiction of their beats.

Shift assignments
Because of the current contract between the Police Benevo- lent Association and the City of Ithaca, the shift schedules for responders within the Division of Police cannot be adjusted until the collective bargaining process is engaged again in 2023. As part of the new collective bargaining process, the subcommittee suggests that the Division of Police adopt the 12-Hour Schedule, also known as the Pitman Configuration, to improve department efficiency, workload equalization, and officers’ work-life balance.

Currently, the IPD operates with 8.25 hour shifts, with offi- cers working in a pattern of 4 days on followed by 2 days off (equating to 38.6 hours per week). Because the current cycle repeats every 6 days, officers do not have fixed workdays.

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE NEW PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY continued 24

According to Matrix Consulting Group: “A constantly chang- ing set of workdays can, for some, misalign and isolate offi- cers from life outside of work that generally follows a regular weekly pattern. ”
Under the proposed Pitman Configuration, officers would have 12-hour shifts, with a regularly repeating set of fixed workdays over a 2-week cycle. In this schedule, over 14 days, officers would work: 2-on, 2-off, 3-on, 2-off, 2-on, and 3-off. This cycle translates to 84 hours biweekly, with consis- tent days on and off, allowing for more predictable work-life balance.

For more details on the proposed Pitman Configuration and other shift schedules, please see the full Matrix Consulting Group report in Appendix C.

Training protocols for the
Department of Community Safety

SUGGESTIONS
The Subcommittee on Training, Equipment, and Technolo - gy suggests to Common Council that:
• Tr
aining for staff of the Department of Community
Safety (including the Division of Police and Division
of Community Solutions) emphasizes a communi-
ty-centered model which prioritizes community
protection through de-escalation tactics, alterna-
tives to use of force, trauma-informed approaches,
mental health awareness, holistic responses, and
data collection practices.
24 • Tr
aining resources should focus on trainings that
are shown to have a positive impact on officer en-
gagement with the community.
•
To
better assess the impact of the recommended
training, the Department of Community Safety
should establish an evaluation process for its train-
ing program.
• Information on the Department of Community
Saf
ety’s annual training offerings and mandates
should be publicly listed.

CONTEXT
The Subcommittee on Training, Equipment, and Technol-
ogy received detailed briefings on the current training re - quirements, offerings, and protocols for the Ithaca Police Department, as well as information on promising training programs for police and other first responders.

Responders within the Division of Police are police officers under New York State, serving the City of Ithaca. As such, they are mandated by state law to complete the state’s Basic Course for Police Officers (BCPO). Training suggestions in this section for these officers are in addition to the state’s basic training program for new officers.

In its work, the Subcommittee on Training, Technology, and Equipment evaluated: the BCPO training schedule offered by the Broome County Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Academy; a list of the Ithaca Police Department’s annual training offer- ings; and heard from Ithaca Police Department Acting Chief John Joly and Sgt. Dave Amaro, who runs the department’s training, about the department’s approach to its training program.

The BCPO training curriculum, which includes around 700 hours of training, is set by the state, not the city.
25 The BCPO
requirements cover a wide range of issues, including crisis intervention, use of force, ethics & professionalism, and cultural diversity. For a complete list of the BCPO training curriculum, please see Appendix D. While New York State’s BCPO training is widely-regarded, it’s training curriculum has received criticism, including from law enforcement
officers. For example, in a Times Union opinion piece, Tim Dymond, President of the New York State Investigators As - sociation, noted, “The New York State Police…offers some of the best police training available. However, the amount of training we receive in mental health, crisis negotiation and de-escalation is woefully inadequate compared with
the amount of time spent on vehicle operation, firearms, 25

defensive tactics, penal law, criminal procedure law and in- vestigation techniques. ”26
Apart from an officer’s initial BCPO training, New York State does not set any additional minimum training requirements for police officers. While not required by the state, the Itha- ca Police Department has offered various annual training opportunities for its officers, on a wide range of topics. (For the IPD curriculum please see Appendix E.) The IPD has ex - pressed a goal of having its own police academy-like struc - ture to deliver comprehensive training for its officers, but currently lacks the resources to institute such a service.

The basic training program for the Division of Community Solutions is still to be determined. But, For the Department of Community Safety, the Subcommittee suggests all re - sponders (including the Division of Police and the Division of Community Solutions) have access to the following training (above and beyond the training included in BCPO, existing IPD training, and any additional basic training required for the Division of Community Solutions). These suggested
trainings are designed to improve the full scope of inter - actions between responders and the community, shifting
focus towards the most common, everyday ways that first responders and community members are likely to interact.

The suite of suggested trainings is intended to ensure every- one in the Department of Community Safety is able to effec- tively engage with the community, making the community
feel valued and protected.
•
Crisis inter
vention training27
☐ With a focus on mental health crises, crisis
intervention training teaches responders
about mental illness, connects them to local
mental health professionals, and emphasiz -
es non-violent tactics.
•
Proc
edural justice training28
• This training covers the four pillars of procedural
jus
tice as they relate to public safety:
☐ Voice: To provide people with the opportu-
nity to share their side of the story, and to
take their story into consideration before a
decision is made;
☐ Neutrality: To make decisions without bias
and with transparent reasoning;
☐ Dignity and respect: To treat all people with
dignity and respect;
☐ Community trust: To establish the authentic -
ity and sincerity of the officer’s motives and
approach to justice.
•
Implicit bias training29
☐ This training teaches responders about rec -
ognizing their implicit bias (the unconscious
and differential treatment of a person based
on a set of discriminatory factors including
race, sex, religion, sexuality, disability, age,
nationality, and others) and the impact it has
on their community interactions.
•
Enhanced c
ommunication techniques, including
training in “verbal judo” 30
☐ Verbal judo trains responders to diffuse
conflict through advanced verbal communi-
cation techniques; it can help ameliorate a
common civilian complaint of police: how
the officer communicates with them during
an interaction.
•
Tr
auma informed training31
☐ Trauma is a response to physical and emo -
tional harm, and can have a significant
impact on one’s physical, psychological,
emotional, and social health. Trauma-in-
formed training provides responders with an
understanding of trauma and how to recog-
nize its effects in victims, suspects, and the
larger community. Through a trauma-lens,
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE NEW PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY continued 26

responders learn how to: navigate victim’s
needs; connect with early intervention pro -
grams to disrupt cycles of violence; and
identify appropriate community services for
traumatized individuals.
•
Brain de
velopment training32
☐ Research shows that the human brain is not
fully developed until our mid-20s. Under -
standing the brain development of adoles -
cents and young adults can help responders
navigate interactions with teens and early
adults, resulting in better communication,
trust, and outcomes for both young civilians
and responders.
•
Conflict r
esolution training33
☐ Responders are often present to manage
conflict between individuals, and conflict
resolution training provides officers with
practical verbal and non-verbal techniques
to manage conflict towards a safe and peace -
ful resolution for all parties.
•
Critical thinking
/problem-solving training34
☐ Critical thinking or problem solving training
teaches responders to identify and imple -
ment solutions to advance the holistic needs
of community members.
•
Collabora
tive public safety training35
☐ Collaborative public safety models approach
public safety as a shared responsibility of
law enforcement, community groups, gov -
ernment health and social service agencies,
and individuals. Training can provide re -
sponders with concrete tools to coordinate
across different public safety functions and
engage community members.
• Data collection training
☐ High-quality data collection is essential to
understanding the impact of Department of
Community Safety activities, including any
disproportionate impacts on racial or ethnic
minorities. Training on the value of data and
how to input data into RMS would help en-
sure that the Department’s data is as consis -
tent and useful as possible.
•
Tr
aining on the history of policing and public safe -
ty in Ithaca
☐ By understanding the dynamics of the Itha-
ca community and the history of policing in
Ithaca, responders will be informed on the
relationship between public safety systems
and various communities, providing context
to the present day work of implementing a
reimagined public safety system.

The City of Ithaca will continue to refine this training plan as it works to implement Recommendation #5 of the “Pub - lic Safety, Reimagined” report: “Identify new curriculum, redesign and implement a culturally-responsive training program that incorporates de-escalation and mental health components into a comprehensive response for law en-
forcement. ”
Equipment and technology needs for
the Department of Community Safety

SUGGESTIONS
The Subcommittee on Training, Equipment, and Technol-
ogy suggests to the Common Council the following equip - ment and technology investments for the Department of
Community Safety:
27

• Improvements to the online records management
sys
tem (RMS);
• Speech rec
ognition technology to make report
writing more efficient and accurate;
• A mechanism for r
eporting lower-priority occur -
rences online.

These technology investments would be in addition to the existing equipment and technology of the Division of Police and the start-up equipment and technology necessary for the new Division of Community Solutions.

CONTEXT
The Subcommittee’s equipment and technology sugges -
tions are meant to apply to both units of responders within the new Department of Community Safety. The suggested
improvements are in addition to the existing equipment and technology being used by various public safety agencies in Ithaca (for example, police body cameras, a 211 helpline for community resource inquiries, traffic cameras), and the start-up equipment and technology necessary for the new Division of Community Solutions.

Improvements to the online records management
system (RMS)
An RMS36 is an automated tool that allows a department to store, retrieve, retain, and view reports, records, files, or any other information documenting a department’s work. Such a tool can save a department time, and enhance internal and external data collection and data sharing opportunities.

The Department of Community Safety needs access to a
records management system (RMS) that allows for efficient and consistent data entry, and easy extraction of public safety data. The RMS should capture and produce key statis- tics including but not limited to: the number and outcome of pedestrian stops, the number and outcome of vehicle stops, and the number and outcome of use of force incidents. All statistics captured and produced via the RMS should allow for disaggregation by race and other demographic attri- butes.

There exists a county-level RMS system currently used by IPD and other public safety agencies. This system should be evaluated to identify whether and how it can meet the De - partment of Community Safety’s RMS needs.

The lack of an effective RMS system will impede the De - partment of Community Safety’s ability to assess depart - ment-generated information, and would make it difficult for policymakers, police oversight entities, and members of the public to effectively assess the operations of the depart- ment.

The RMS system would be useful to and used by all respond- ers within the Department of Community Safety.

Speech recognition technology for report writing
When a police officer responds to a call, that officer com- pletes paperwork that describes the nature of the call, the actions of the citizens involved in the call, the actions of the responding officers, and other relevant information. Thus, paperwork can represent a significant portion of an offi- cer’s job. Speech recognition technology allows officers to dictate rather than write reports, offering the possibility of increased efficiency and of capturing a fuller extent of any given incident call.
37 The increased efficiency provided by
speech recognition technology will give responders within the Department of Community Safety more time for criti- cal thinking and community engagement. The suggested
speech recognition technology would be provided to all re - sponders within the Department of Community Safety.

A mechanism for reporting lower-priority occurrences
online
This would provide a way for community members to report lower-priority incidents from their phone or computer. On- line reporting of non-emergency incidents is convenient for community members, allowing them to report at any time of IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE NEW PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY continued 28

day, without needing to wait for an officer to respond. It also reduces face-to-face interaction, which may reduce dispro - portionate minority contact with the criminal justice system and help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 for as long as the pandemic continues. For the responding agencies, it allows the department to reallocate its resources to higher-prior - ity activities. While there are models for online reporting systems in other jurisdictions, the concept will need to be tested and refined within the context of the Ithaca commu- nity, including specifics on which incidents would qualify for various responses, and how the response outcomes will be tracked.

Research and data needs of the
Department of Community Safety

SUGGESTIONS
The Subcommittee on Data Analysis and Recommendations
suggests to the Common Council the following data collec - tion and research practices for the Department of Commu- nity Safety:
•
Collect and publicly r
eport data on the type, num-
ber, and share of 911 calls by response:
☐ Division of Community Solutions only re -
sponse;
☐ Division of Police only response;
☐ Division of Community Solutions and Divi-
sion of Police co-response.
•
Collect and publicly r
eport data on the following
outcomes of Division of Community Solutions
activities, disaggregated by race and other demo-
graphics:
☐ The type, number, and frequency of different
outcomes from Division of Community Solu-
tions responses (e.g. transport to a domestic
violence shelter);
☐ The number of individuals experiencing
mental health crisis served by the Division
of Community Solutions, and the nature of
service provided;
☐ The number and share of Division of Com-
munity Solutions responses that ended in an
arrest.
•
Collect and publicly r
eport data on the following
outcomes of Division of Police activities, disaggre-
gated by race and other demographics:
☐ The number and rate of community mem-
bers stopped by the Division of Police;
☐ The number and rate of community mem-
bers arrested by the Division of Police;
☐ The number and rate of community members
who experience use of force by responders
from the Division of Police (as documented
by the Division of Police or as reported by
community members).
•
Collect and publicly r
eport data on complaints
filed against responders from either the Division of
Community Solutions or the Division of Police:
☐ Number of complaints;
☐ Number of investigations;
☐ Outcomes of investigations.
• St
andardize data entry practices to align with oth-
er city and county services, and consistently and
proactively input data into the city-county data
dashboard as defined in the Reimagining Public
Safety Collaborative resolutions.
•
The Department o
f Community Safety should es -
tablish partnerships with the Community Justice
Center and with academic institutions in the Ithaca
area to explore more complex research questions.:
29

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE NEW PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY continued ☐ Partner with researchers at Ithaca College,
Cornell University, and Tompkins Cortland
Community College to explore complex re -
search questions (e.g. changes in commu-
nity perception of public safety, community
reactions to new alternative response mod-
els, etc.)
•
The Department o
f Community Safety should ded-
icate staff resources within the Department to con-
tinue this work (including leading the work above
suggestions, and contributing to the other data-re-
lated recommendations contained in the “Public
Safety, Reimagined” report), including the hiring
of a data analyst for the new department.

CONTEXT
As the Department of Community Safety is established, it is important to measure its impact in real time, to publicly report that data to the community, and to use that data to identify and implement improvements in service.

One major piece of this research would be to measure the usage of the new Division of Community Solutions. As a unit designed to divert some call types away from law enforce - ment, one metric of success would be the type, number, and share of 911 calls handled by the Division of Community Solutions. This would allow the community to clearly under- stand the role of the new Division of Community Solutions (i.e. what call types they actually responded to), and the extent to which they served as an alternative to law enforce- ment (i.e. what share of those call types they responded to).

It is also important to measure the outcomes of Division of Community Solutions activities. For example, did the pres - ence of the Division of Community Solutions reduce the like- lihood of negative outcomes, like arrest or use of force? To what extent did the activities of the Division of Community Solutions drive positive outcomes, like referral to mental health services or substance abuse treatment? In order for this data to be useful and available, Division of Community Solutions officers will need to be trained in data entry into the shared service system managed by the county (includ- ing RMS), as outlined in the training section above.

When it comes to the Division of Police, this plan represents an opportunity to fill key gaps in existing data collection and reporting. Currently, IPD reports very little data on the na- ture and outcomes of its activities. For example, IPD doesn’t track the racial breakdown of traffic stops, and also does not report what share of calls result in arrest. Part of this is due to inconsistent data entry on the part of IPD, and part is due to limitations in the shared services RMS system managed by the county. The county-managed RMS system is capable of collecting this data and should be optimized to require standardized data inputs, including clearly capturing the race of all community members stopped and arrested as a mandatory field. These changes may require collaboration with other agencies that use the RMS system as changes
would potentially affect all users. In addition, the new Divi- sion of Police should also train officers on the value of data collection, and how to input data into the county-managed RMS in a consistent and high-quality manner. In particular, Division of Police officers should collect and publicly report data that clearly connects police activities to outcomes, and disaggregates this data by race, ethnicity, geography, and other key demographics. For example, the community
should know the number and rate of police stops by race.

These data points would be an essential component in iden- tifying and measuring the disproportionate racial impact of policing in Ithaca.

A unique strength of the Ithaca community is its proximity to leading research institutions like Cornell University, Ithaca College, and Tompkins Cortland Community College. The
Department of Community Safety should leverage these
relationships, forming partnerships with local researchers to study the impact of the Department in greater depth. For example, social science researchers could explore ques - tions beyond the scope of RMS data collection, measuring 30

changes in community perception of public safety, and lay- ering additional variables into analysis (e.g. poverty, educa- tional attainment, etc.)
Finally, the Department of Community Safety should ded- icate staff resources to continue to improve research and data practices, which includes the hiring of a data analyst for the new department. The Department of Community
Safety will continue the work outlined above, and contrib - ute to implementing the remaining data-related recommen- dations in the “Public Safety, Reimagined” report: including a recommendation to “Collect and evaluate the results of officer-initiated traffic stop enforcement”; a recommenda- tion to “Standardize data entry and review existing data sets for more actionable insights and allocation of public safety resources''; and a recommendation to “Develop a real-time public safety community dashboard” .
31

Budget

SUGGESTIONS
The Subcommittee on Proposed Operating Budget for the New Public Safety Model (Budget Subcommittee) suggests to Com- mon Council that the new Department of Community Safety be initially provided with $1,150,000.00 in additional budget (which may be spent over multiple years, depending on the pace of hiring new staff and purchasing other improvements).

This budget would be in addition to the existing budget of IPD (whose staff will continue to work within the Department of Community Safety), and is broken down as follows:

Item Budget

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY SAFETY LEADERSHIP
New Commissioner of Community Safety salary $139,000.00 New Director of Community Solutions salary38 $105,000.00 Benefits for the above positions39 $117,000.00

DIVISION OF COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS STAFF

AND START-UP COSTS
New Community Responders (5) $285,000.00
Benefits for new Community Responders (5) $136,000.00
Vehicles with radio equipment (2) $100,000.00
Uniforms, computers, other tech costs,
and office supplies for Community Responders $66,000.00 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE NEW PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY continued 32

Item Budget

RESEARCH AND DATA STAFF
New Data Analyst position (1) $57,000.00
Benefits for new Data Analyst position (1) $27,000.00

TRAINING
Additional training for all responders within the
Department of Community Safety40 $90,000.00
EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS41
Speech recognition technology $28,000.00
TOTAL $1,150,000
33

CONTEXT
The intent of this proposed budget is to represent the initial financial commitment necessary to fully implement the pro- posed Department of Community Solutions, and to reflect the goals and principles of the Reimagining Public Safety efforts. The proposed budget is based on the suggestions of the Working Group and the three RPS Subcommittees
(detailed above in this report). The Working Group and
each Subcommittee worked independently to develop sug-
gestions for policy, programs, and personnel. Additionally, the Working Group and Subcommittees provided recom-
mendations and budget implications. Where possible, they provided cost estimates, which the Budget Subcommittee
supplemented with its own research.

The Working Group suggests two new leadership positions for the Department of Community Safety: the Commission- er of Community Safety, and the Director of Community
Solutions. For the Commissioner of Community Safety, the Budget Subcommittee suggests an annual salary of approx- imately $139,000.00; and for the Director of Community
Solutions, the Budget Subcommittee suggests an annual
salary of approximately $105,000.00 (both commensurate
with experience). These suggestions are based on bench- marking of similar positions within Ithaca and beyond. A salary for the Director of Police position is not reflected here because that line item is already contained within IPD’s bud- get (as the Chief of Police position). For all new positions, the Budget Subcommittee suggests the City calculate bene- fits at approximately 48% of salary (a standard ratio).

For the new Division of Community Solutions, the Sub -
committee on Staffing Levels, Shift Assignments, and Beat Designs suggests that five civilian responders (called “Com- munity Responders”) should be initially hired. The Budget Subcommittee suggests an annual salary of approximate - ly $57,000.00 for these Community Responder positions,
based on benchmarking of similar positions. The Commu-
nity Responders will require two new vehicles with radio equipment, computers, uniforms, and other office supplies; the Budget Subcommittee suggests that $140,000.00 be al- located to these start-up costs.

The Subcommittee on Training, Equipment, and Technolo - gy suggests several new trainings that should be made avail- able to responders from both the Division of Police and the Division of Community Solutions. The Budget Subcommit - tee suggests that $90,000.00 be initially allocated to these additional trainings, with a focus on crisis intervention, im- plicit bias, de-escalation, and verbal judo training. Some of these training sessions could be provided in Ithaca by the RITE Academy and the Verbal Judo Institute. With Ithaca acting as the host for the RITE Academy trainings, there may also be an opportunity to subsidize Ithaca’s costs by selling seats to other jurisdictions.

The Subcommittee on Training, Equipment, and Technol-
ogy also suggested investment in speech recognition tech- nology. The Budget Subcommittee suggests purchasing 28
licenses for Dragon Law Enforcement reporting software, to be used by all responders within the Department of Com- munity Safety. This investment in speech recognition tech- nology would cost approximately $28,000.00.

The Budget Subcommittee recognizes that additions or ad- justments to this proposed budget will be necessary once the Department of Community Safety is operational and
its impact can be evaluated. The Budget Subcommittee
suggests that this proposed budget continue to be refined under the leadership of the Commissioner of Community
Safety.

The Budget Subcommittee also recognizes the importance
of impact evaluation, and tying future budgeting, policy, and management decisions to departmental performance.

Public-facing performance measures and results build trust and support from the community. (For more detail on sug- gested performance metrics for the Department of Commu- nity Safety, see the Research and Data section of this report.) In making future budget decisions, the City of Ithaca should IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE NEW PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY continued 34

adjust funding based on which aspects of the Department of Community Safety are driving positive outcomes.

Conclusion
The above plan for implementing a new public safety agen- cy represents the first step in reimagining public safety in the City of Ithaca: a shared vision and commitment to look at public safety through an equity lens, and create a sys - tem that serves all community members. Beyond the es -
tablishment of a new public safety agency, the resolutions passed by the City of Ithaca and Tompkins County contains 18 more recommendations (covering topics such as offi-
cer recruitment, data dissemination, and creating a public safety review board), which will be implemented over the coming months and years. As with the creation of this plan, implementing the remaining recommendations will require extensive collaboration between city leaders, public safety agencies, and community members. The City of Ithaca and Tompkins County have begun planning for the implementa- tion of the remaining recommendations.
35

36

— Schelley Michell-Nunn
Direct
or of Human Resources, City of Ithaca
Project Management T
eam Member,
Reimagining Public Safety, City of Ithaca
" What we’ve learned is that when we improve
public safety for People of Color, we improve
public safety for everyone. This process looked
through a new lens, studying the problems facing
our community and the people in it. We see clearly
how the city can respond differently to increase
access to meaningful solutions and decrease
interactions with the criminal justice system and
disproportionate negative outcomes for Black and
Brown people in Ithaca.

In this r
eport’s suggestions I see better outcomes
for People of Color, I see increasing trust in
local government, and I see our most vulnerable
neighbors feeling more safe and less afraid. We’re
on a path of using our people and resources in the
City of Ithaca to meet the needs of our community
better and more equitably. This represents long-
term, structural change that is needed to truly
have community safety for all."
< Image Caption
Detail from Black Girl Alchemy Mosaics, Southside Community Center Photograph by Sheryl Sinkow
37

ENDNOTES
1 Matrix Consulting Group, “Report on Patrol Staffing and Deplo
yment, ” January 27, 2022.
2 State of New York Executive Chamber, “Executive Order 203, The Ne
w York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collab-
orative, ” June 12, 2020, https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/ default/files/atoms/files/EO_203.pdf.
3 “Letter from Tompkins County Executive Jason Molino and City of Ithac
a Mayor Svante Myrick to Governor Andrew
Cuomo” , April 1, 2021, https://www2.tompkinscountyny.
gov/files2/2021-04/Master%20Final%20Document%20
City%20of%20Ithaca.pdf.
4 City of Ithaca Common Council, “ A Resolution Adopting and Authorizing Mayor to Submit the Reimagining Public
Safety Plan Pursuant to New York State Executive Order
203, ” March 21, 2021, https://www2.tompkinscountyny.gov/ files2/2021-04/Master%20Final%20Document%20City%20
of%20Ithaca.pdf.
5 City of Ithaca and T ompkins County Collaborative, “Public Safety, Reimagined, ” April 1, 2021, https://www2.tompkin- scountyny.gov/files2/2021-04/Master%20Final%20Docu-
ment%20City%20of%20Ithaca.pdf.
6 Id.
7 Id.
8 “A Resolution Adopting and Authorizing Mayor to Submit the R
eimagining Public Safety Plan Pursuant to New York
State Executive Order 203, ” City of Ithaca Common Coun- cil, March 21, 2021, https://www2.tompkinscountyny.gov/ files2/2021-04/Master%20Final%20Document%20City%20
of%20Ithaca.pdf.
9 Id.
10 Reimagining Public Safety Working Group Formed to De- sign City of Ithac
a's Department of Public SafeCity of Ithaca
press release, “Reimagining Public Safety Working Group Announced, ” June 24, 2021, http://www.cityofithaca.org/ CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=690.
11 “A Resolution Adopting and Authorizing Mayor to Submit the R
eimagining Public Safety Plan Pursuant to New York
State Executive Order 203, ” City of Ithaca Common Coun- cil, March 21, 2021, https://www2.tompkinscountyny.gov/ files2/2021-04/Master%20Final%20Document%20City%20
of%20Ithaca.pdf.
12 Id.
13 “Subscribe for news from Tompkins County, NY, ” https:// public.g
ovdelivery.com/accounts/NYTOMPKINS/subscriber/
new?topic_id=NYTOMPKINS_13.
14 “A Resolution Adopting and Authorizing Mayor to Submit the R
eimagining Public Safety Plan Pursuant to New York
State Executive Order 203, ” City of Ithaca Common Coun- cil, March 21, 2021, https://www2.tompkinscountyny.gov/ files2/2021-04/Master%20Final%20Document%20City%20
of%20Ithaca.pdf.
15 Public Safe ty Reimagined, https://us.qmarkets.cloud/live/ tompkins/subdomain/name-city-department/end/cam-
paign_overview?qmzn=UDYKkS.
16 “A Resolution Adopting and Authorizing Mayor to Submit the R
eimagining Public Safety Plan Pursuant to New York
State Executive Order 203, ” City of Ithaca Common Coun- cil, March 21, 2021, https://www2.tompkinscountyny.gov/ files2/2021-04/Master%20Final%20Document%20City%20
of%20Ithaca.pdf.
17 “A Resolution Adopting and Authorizing Mayor to Submit the R
eimagining Public Safety Plan Pursuant to New York
State Executive Order 203, ” City of Ithaca Common Coun- cil, March 21, 2021, https://www2.tompkinscountyny.gov/ files2/2021-04/Master%20Final%20Document%20City%20
of%20Ithaca.pdf.
18 Civil Service (CVS) Chapter 7, Article 4, Title A, Section 58, 1-c.: “No
twithstanding the provisions of any other section
of law, general, special or local, any political subdivision maintaining a police department serving a population of one hundred fifty thousand or less and with positions for more than four full-time police officers, shall maintain the office of chief of police. ”
19 Center for American Progress, “The Community Responder Model,
” October 28, 2020, https://www.americanprogress.
org/article/community-responder-model/.
20 “CAHOOTS, ” Eugene Police Department, https://www.
eug
ene-or.gov/4508/CAHOOTS.
21 “Support T
eam Assisted Response Program, ” The City
of Denver, https://www.denvergov.org/Government/
Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Of-
fices-Directory/Public-Health-Environment/Communi-
38

ty-Behavioral-Health/Behavioral-Health-Strategies/
Support-Team-Assisted-Response-STAR-Program.
22 Matrix Consulting Group, “Report on Patrol Staffing and Deplo
yment, ” January 11, 2022.
23 Katie Bailey, Evan Lowder, Eric Grommon, Staci Ris- ing, Br
adley Ray. Evaluation of a Police-Mental Health
Co-response Team Relative to Traditional Police Re-
sponse in Indianapolis. Psychiatric Services, August
2021, https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi. ps.202000864.
24 “Kyle McLean, Scott E. Wolfe, Jeff Rojek, Geoffrey P .

Alpert
, Michael R. Smith. Police Officers as Warriors or
Guardians: Empirical Reality or Intriguing Rhetoric? Jus- tice Quarterly, February 2019, https://www.sciencedaily. com/releases/2019/02/190226155011.htm.
25 “History of the Basic Course for Police Officers, ” https:// www
.criminaljustice.ny.gov/ops/training/bcpo/index.
htm.
26 “Commentary: Improve Policing with More Training
in Conflict Resolution, ” Times Union, April 14, 2021,
https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Commen-
tary-Improve-policing-with-more-training-16101544.
php.
27 “Crisis Inter vention Team (CIT) Programs, ” National Alliance on Mental Illness, https://nami.org/Advocacy/ Crisis-Intervention/Crisis-Intervention-Team-(CIT)-Pro- grams.
28 George Wood, Tom Tyler, Andrew Papachristos. Pro-
c
edural justice training reduces police use of force and complaints against officers. PNAS, May 2020, https://
www.pnas.org/content/118/27/e2110138118.
29 “Addressing Implicit Bias in Policing, ” Police Chief Maga- zine,
www.policechiefmagazine.org/addressing-implic-
it-bias-in-policing/.
30 Richard R. Johnson. Citizen expectations of police traffic st
op behavior. Policing, March 2004, https://verbaljudo.
com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Traffic-Stops-and-
Verbal-Judo.pdf.
31 SAMHSA, “Tr auma Training for for Criminal Justice
Professionals, ” https://www.samhsa.gov/gains-center/
trauma-training-criminal-justice-professionals.
32 IACP , “The Effects of Adolescent Development on
P
olicing, ” https://www.theiacp.org/sites/default/
files/2018-08/IACPBriefEffectsofAdolescentDevelopmen-
tonPolicing.pdf.
33 New York Peace Institute, “Police Training, ” https:// nype
ace.org/police-training-partnership/.
34 COPS, “Problem Solving, ” https://cops.usdoj.gov/prob- lemsolving.
35 Jonathan P . Shepherd, Steven A. Sumner. Policing and Public Health--Str
ategies for Collaboration. JAMA, April
2017, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/arti-
cle-abstract/2615892.
36 Standard Functional Specifications for Law Enforcement Records Management Systems, https://bja.ojp.gov/
sites/g/files/xyckuh186/files/media/document/leitsc_
law_enforcement_rms_systems.pdf.
37 How Speech Recognition Technology Improves Police
Reporting, https://www.police1.com/police-prod-
ucts/police-technology/police-software/articles/
how-speech-recognition-technology-improves-po-
lice-report-writing-V57kPZoxOazP4pOS/.
38 A salary for the Director of Police is excluded because it is alr
eady reflected in IPD’s budget as the Chief of Police
position.
39 All benefit numbers w ere calculated at approximately 48% of salary.
40 This would cover training for members of both the Divi- sion of P
olice and the Division of Community Solutions.
41 These equipment and technology improvements are
meant to be used by both the Division of Police and the Division of Community Solutions.
39

Appendix A: Working Group and Subcommittee Members
Appendix B: Call Type Definitions
Appendix C: Matrix Consulting Group Report on Patrol Staffing and Deployment Appendix D: New York State Basic Course for Police Officers Training Curriculum Appendix E: Ithaca Police Department Training Topics

APPENDIX
40

Ithaca RPS Working
Group Members:

1. Amir Tazi

2. Amos Malone

3. Ducson Nguyen

4. Eric Rosario

5. George McGonigal

6. John Guttridge

7. Karen Yearwood

8. Laura Lewis

9. Luca Maurer

10. Mar’Quon Frederick

11. Mary Orsaio

12. Scott Garin

13. Tom Condzella

14. Travis Brooks

15. Yasmin Rashid
Technical Advisors to
the Working Group:

1. Schelley Michell-Nunn

2. Michael Stitley

3. Greg Thomas & Jewel Kinch-Thomas

4. Faith Vavra

5. Derek Osborne

6. Melody Faraday

7. Jessica Verfuss

8. John Halaychik

9. John Joly
Subcommittee A: Staffing
Levels, Shift Assignment,
Beat Design

1. Travis Brooks

2. Mary Orsaio

3. Laura Lewis

4. George McGonigal

5. Rob Gearhart
Subcommittee B: Training,
Technology, and Equipment Needs

1. Amir Tazi

2. Eric Rosario

3. Tom Condzella

4. Yasmin Rashid

5. Richard Onyejuruwa

6. Camille Tischler

7. Tierra LaBrada

8. Ben Ortiz

9. Norma Gutierrez
Technical Advisors to
Subcommittee B:

1. David Amaro

2. John Joly
Subcommittee C: Data Analysis
and Recommendations

1. Luca Maurer

2. Ducson Nguyen

3. John Guttridge

4. Scott Garin

5. Karl Lewis
Technical Advisors to
Subcommittee C:

1. Michael Stitley

2. Kim Moore

3. Alan Karasin

4. Greg Potter
Subcommittee D: Proposed
Operating Budget

1. Amos Malone

2. Mar’Quon Frederick

3. Karen Yearwood
Technical Advisors to
Subcommittee D:

1. Schelley Michell-Nunn
APPENDIX A:

WORKING GROUP AND SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS
41

APPENDIX B:

CALL TYPE DEFINITIONS
42

Delineated Call Types: Example Sheet
Call Type Example
Traffic Offense Calls related to violation of the motor vehicle code.

Not coming to a full stop at a stop sign.

Going through a red light.

Suspicion of DUI or DUID
Property Check Calls to check a property for signs of break in while the owners are not present.

Calls to check a property for signs of break in
while the owners are not present.

Checking to make sure a business’ doors and
windows are locked and secure on night shift.

Vacation property checks to make sure an
unoccupied house has not been broken into.

Traffic Accident Calls to investigate a motor vehicle collision Collision with no injuries and under $1000
property damage.

Collision with no injuries and over $1000
property damage
Collision with injuries.

Assisting another Gov. Resource Calls relating to assisting another agency or resource.

NYSP is serving a warrant in Ithaca.

US Marshalls are looking for a fugitive.

Health inspector is doing a restaurant
inspection.

Traffic Complaint Calls related to problem intersections or speeding.
1

Reported speeding in school zone.

Calls concerning safety at specific
intersections
Welfare Check Calls related to requests to check on the health or safety of a subject.

Someone is sleeping on a bench in the
Commons.

An adult child hasn’t heard from an elderly
parent in several days.

Parking Problem Calls related to illegal or hazardous parking.

No parking zone.

Too close to a fire hydrant
House Alarm Triggers Police Calls relating to home alarms auto-triggering police.

Audible alarm called in by a neighbor.

Silent alarm called in by an alarm company.

Theft Calls related to the unlawful taking of
property from the possession of another
entity.

A theft in which both parties are still present.

A theft in which there are no suspects and the
value of the item stolen is less than $1000
Suspicious Calls related to reports of suspicious
persons, vehicles, or circumstances.

A call concerning a person acting strangely
A call concerning a vehicle that doesn’t
belong in the neighborhood parked for an
extended period of time.

Harassment Calls related to reports of being the subject 2

of ongoing unwanted contacts.

A call in which both parties are still there.

A call in which only the victim is on scene and
the suspect is unknown.

A call in which the victim is on scene and the
suspect is known.

Dispute Calls to investigate a dispute between
individuals.

A call in which the suspect is still on scene.

A call in which the suspect is no longer on
scene.

Noise Complaint Calls relating to excessive or bothersome noise.

A call concerning a neighbor’s loud muffler
A call concerning a loud late night party
Property Complaint Calls relating to complaints regarding private property.

A dispute between neighbors concerning a
property line.

Domestic Calls related to disturbances or assaults
involving adult members of a domestic
relationship.

A call concerning a physical assault by a
family member.

A call concerning an argument by a family
member.

Animal Problem Calls related to animals that are either in danger or pose an immediate threat to the
public.

A call concerning a possible rabid fox
A call concerning a family of geese in the road
3

Special Detail Calls relating to special events and
investigations, etc.

Assigning officers to a community event such
as a basketball game.

A call concerning safely getting event
attendees across a main street.

Trespassing Calls to investigate a person unlawfully on another's property
911 Call Hangup Calls relating to 9-1-1 calls that are
terminated by the caller before they are
answered, and 9-1-1 calls that are terminated
by the caller after they are answered by a
dispatcher.

A person calls 911 and hangs up because they
are being abused by a spouse and are afraid
to be heard speaking to the police.

A child is playing with the phone and
accidentally calls 911
Criminal Mischief Calls related to the destruction of property A call in which the suspect is still on scene.

A call in which the suspect is not on scene.

Fraud Calls related to the use of deceit to induce
an entity to part with something of value or
to surrender a legal right.

A call in which a shopkeeper discovered a
counterfeit bill when closing out the register.

A call in which a customer is attempting to use
a stolen credit card and is still in the store.

Disorderly Conduct Calls relating to public activity or behavior that's offensive or disruptive, and interrupts
other people's ability to enjoy a public space.

A call concerning loud patrons of a bar in the
street at closing time.
4

A group of children playing basketball in the
street
Warrant Calls related to court issued warrants.

A call to check an address to see if a wanted
person is there.

Local Law Calls relating to municipal code violations
(e.g skateboarding on a city street, etc.)
Unclassified Calls that do not fit in any predetermined
category
A call in which a resident wants to speak to an
officer concerning a topic that does not fit any
of the predetermined categories.

Civil Complaint Calls that relate to complaints not criminal in nature
A call concerning money owed to an ex
spouse.

Burglary Calls related to the unlawful entry into a
building or other structure with the intent to
commit a theft. Includes residential and
commercial burglaries.

A call in which it is unknown if the suspect is
still in the building.

A call in which the suspect is not still on scene
but is known to the victim.

A call in which entry was gained however
nothing is missing.

Transport Calls related to police car needs for
transport (e.g., scene of incident, transport
suspects, etc.)
A call in which a suspect in a crime needs to
be transported to jail.

Drugs Calls related to illegal narcotics.
5

A call of a suspected house in which someone
is selling narcotics
A call in which someone is believed to be
holding narcotics in their pocket.

Escort Calls relating to police escorts.

A call in which a funeral home wants an escort
to the cemetery.

Missing Person Calls relating to missing person reports.

A call in which a person is missing under
suspicious or questionable circumstances.

Shots Fired Calls related to reports of hearing gunshots with no indication of a victim.

Information Calls related to general inquiries
Repossessed Vehicle Calls related to vehicles being repossessed Intoxication Calls related to intoxicated individual(s) Sex Offense Calls related to any sexual act directed
against another person, without the consent
of the victim, including instances where the
victim is incapable of giving consent or
reports of unlawful, non-forcible sexual
intercourse.

Calls in which the suspect is known to the
victim but not present.

Calls in which the suspect is unknown to the
victim and present.

Unsecured Premise Calls related to investigating a premise with an unsecured door or window
A call in which a neighbor reports the
neighbors door is ajar and the neighbors are
at work.

A call in which an officer finds a closed
business has an unlocked door and it is
unknown if entry has been gained.
6

Assault Calls related to the unlawful attack by one
person upon another. Includes stabbings,
shootings, and other types of assault.

Fireworks Calls related to illegal, hazardous, or noisy fireworks.

A call concerning children playing with
fireworks in the Commons.

Weapons Calls related to weapons, people being in
the possession of or a found weapon.

Public Health Complaint Calls related to a public health related event A call to provide public notifications or provide
educational information (COVID-19 - Social
Distancing complaints)
Child Abuse Calls related to the act of willful harm to a child. Includes abandonment and neglect.

A call in which a child is reportedly in a house
with no heat in the winter.

A call in which a child has been disciplined by
spanking with a belt.

Robbery Calls related to the taking or attempt to take
anything of value from the control, custody,
or care of another person by force or
intimidation.

A call of a bank robbery.

A call in which a person’s cell phone was
taken by force.

Injured Person Calls related to medical conditions or injuries which may or may not be the result of a crime
or accident.

A call in which a person has reportedly twisted
an ankle.

A call in which a person is having difficulty
7

breathing.

Psychiatric Calls related to mental health
A call in which a person is reportedly talking
to themself while walking through the
Commons
A call in which a person with a diagnosed
mental health disease is calling for assistance.

Bad Check Calls related to a person attempting to use a check with insufficient funds to cover the
check.

Recovered Vehicle Calls to investigate a vehicle reported stolen.

A call in which a person finds their car that has
previously been reported stolen.

A call in which ans officer through an
investigation discovers a car previously
reported stolen
Animal Bites Calls related to an animal biting a person.

A call in which a stray dog has reportedly
bitten a PERSON.

Personal Injury Accident Calls related to a vehicle collision in which someone is injured as a result
Stabbing Calls related to a person being stabbed with
an object. NOTE: Dispatch also uses the
stabbing code for a shooting victim.
911 Call with No One Talking Calls related to a 911 call and the line is open with no one speaking.

A call in which a person in need of help calls
911 but can’t talk because they are in fear of
the person with them.

A call in which a child accidentally calls 911
8

and walks away from their parents cell phone
without hanging up or saying anything.

Bomb Threat Calls related to a threat to bomb
Dead Body Calls relating to the scene of death; differs
depending on whether medical attention or
CSI (crime scene investigation) is needed.

A call of a person who appears dead in a
private or public place other than a medical
facility or nursing home (unless suspicious
circumstances are reported)
A call in which a family member reports an
expected death due to an illness.

Overdose Calls related to overdoses
EMS Calls related to assisting EMS units
A call for a person having difficulty breathing
in a neighborhood known to have had past
violent crime.

Unconscious Calls related to investigating the report of an unconscious person
A call in which a person appears to be
unconscious on a bench
A person laying on the sidewalk with no signs
of movement
Service Call Calls related to needs for police service.

Breathing Problem Calls related to a person experiencing breathing problems.

Cardiac Arrest Calls related to a person experiencing
reported cardiac arrest.

Chest Pain Calls related to a person experiencing chest pains.

Headache Calls related to a person experiencing a
headache.

Sick Person Calls related to a person feeling sick.
9

Traumatic Injury Calls related to reported injured person A call in which a forklift has driven off a
loading dock and the driver in injured
Fire Outside Calls related to a fire outdoors.

Hazmat Calls related to Hazardous Materials
Vehicle Fire Calls related to a fire involving a vehicle. 10

APPENDIX C:

MATRIX CONSULTING GROUP REPORT ON PATROL STAFFING AND DEPLOYMENT 43

Report on Patrol Staffing and Deployment

ITHACA, NEW YORK
FINAL
January 27, 2022

FINAL Report on Patrol Staffing and Deployment Ithaca, NY Table of Contents
Introduction and Executive Summary
Patrol Workload Analysis
Analysis of Patrol Resource Needs
Self-Initiated Activity
Shift Schedule Optimization Analysis
Redesign of the Patrol Beat Structure
Matrix Consulting Group

FINAL Report on Patrol Staffing and Deployment Ithaca, NY

1. Introduction
(1) Project Overview
Matrix Consulting Group was retained by Center for Policing Equity to conduct analysis of field
services and sta ffing
needs for the Ithaca Police Department. Our scope of work includes:
• Comprehensive analysis of patrol workload, examining service needs and workload throughout Ithaca.
• Analysis of patrol sta ffing
needs and call diversion opportunities, focusing on
the capacity of patrol units to both handle incoming workloads and be proactive in the
field.
• Study
alternative deployment configur
ations, including new shift schedules and
allocations of personnel, as well as redesigning the patrol beat structure.

This draft document presents the analysis of these scope areas, including findings and
recommendations. Further analysis in the study will examine alternative call response and other alternative service delivery alternatives.
(2) Key Findings
The comprehensive analysis of call data presents a clear picture of workload in 2019, the year focused on to examine patrol sta
ffing
and capacity, as well as over the entire
fiv
e-year period for which data was received. This enabled us to accurately measure patrol workload in terms of both the number of incidents that patrol units responded to, as well as how much time was spent handling these calls.

Similarly, department personnel data provides a measure of the capacity to handle these workloads by examining how many hours staff are on duty after accounting for factors such as time spent on leave, training, and other categories that take o fficers
out
of the field.

In
measuring patrol workload and comparing that workload against staff capacity to handle it, several findings ar
e evident:
• Patrol handled 12,217 community-generated calls for service in 2019.

Matrix Consulting Group

FINAL Report on Patrol Staffing and Deployment Ithaca, NY • The workload that community-generated calls for service create take up 41% of officers’ net a
vailable time, leaving the remaining 59% for proactive use. • A proactive (uncommitted) time level of 59% indicates that there is not only sufficient
staffing
to handle workloads, but also to have exceptional proactive capabilities.
• Based on this analysis, current sta ffing
is su fficient
to handle
community-generated workloads and provide a high level of service. • Over the past fiv
e years, there has not been consistent or meaningful growth in call for service workloads.
• Self-initiated activity, however, has diminished rapidly since 2018. – O fficers
are using less of their proactive (uncommitted) time to generate activity such as traffic st
ops and other proactive policing efforts.
– Given the lack of signi ficant
increase in workload during that time period, it
does not explain the decline in how officers use pr
oactive time.
• The current beat structural is effective overall; however two of four beats have moderately unequal workload levels that can create different experiences for officers
day-to-day in terms of their ability to be proactive and not be overloaded by call workloads.
• The current shift schedule is problematic from perspectives of both o fficer quality of lif
e and efficiency in deplo
ying staff against when workload is greatest:
– A variable schedule of four-on, two-off does not give o fficers fix ed
workdays.
– This con figur
ation also only gives o fficers
and average of about 2.3 days
off per week, in contrast with 10 and 12-hour alternatives. – The schedule results in only 2,008 work hours per year, as opposed to 2,080 hours in a normal 40-hour workweek pattern.
– Equal allocations of staff by shift result in a highly ine fficient distribution
of personnel against workload.

Matrix Consulting Group

FINAL Report on Patrol Staffing and Deployment Ithaca, NY (3) Recommendations
The following recommendations are made in this report to address the issues identi fied thr
ough the analysis:
• Maintain the current sta ffing le
vel in patrol.
• As part of the collective bargaining process, implement either the 10-hour fix ed
workday schedule or the 12-hour Pitman schedule, allocating and deploying officers as outlined in the analysis.
•
After a process of review and revision in consultation with the Ithaca Police Department and the community, adopt the alternative patrol beat structure in order to equalize workload and better facilitate community policing.

Matrix Consulting Group

DRAFT Report on Patrol Staffing and Deployment Ithaca, NY

2. Patrol Workload Analysis
The following sections provide analysis of patrol workload and other issues relating to the effectiveness of field ser
vices.
(1) CAD Analysis Methodology
Our project team has calculated the community-generated workload of the department by analyzing incident records in the computer aided dispatch (CAD) database, covering the entirety of calendar years 2016 through the end of 2020. Although the entire fiv
e-year span is used to analyze trends and examine comparability, the staffing analysis
focuses on workload in 2019, due to the irregularity of 2020 data stemming from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For incidents to be identi
fied
as community-generated calls for service and included in our analysis of patrol sta ffing
and capacity to handle workload, each of the following
conditions needed to be met:
• The incident must have been unique.
• The incident must have been
first cr
eated in calendar year 2019.
• The incident must have involved at least one o fficer
assigned to patrol, whether
designated as car patrol or foot patrol, as identi fied
by the individual unit codes
of each response to the call.
• The incident must have been originally initiated by the community, as identi fied using the following methods:
–
The source of the call must correspond to a community-generated event.

Thus, if the call source value is listed as either “Radio” or “O fficer Report”,
it is not counted as a community-generated event.
– Additionally, the incident type of the event must have su fficiently corr
esponded to a community-generated event. Call types that could be identified
with a high level of certainty as being self-initiated (e.g., “special detail”) are not counted as community-generated calls for service. • There must have been no major irregularities or issues with the data recorded for the incident that would prevent sufficient
analysis, such as having no unit code or
lack of any time stamps.

Matrix Consulting Group 1