CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA
Special Meeting
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
2:00 PM
City Council Chambers
68-700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero
Cathedral City, CA 92234
MAYOR
Rita Lamb
CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
Mayor Pro Tem
Mark Carnevale
Councilmember
Nancy Ross
Councilmember
Raymond Gregory
Councilmember
Ernesto Gutierrez
• CALL TO ORDER
• ROLL CALL
1. AGENDA ITEMS
A. 2022 Crime Statistics
Recommendation: This item is for information and discussion only B. Budget and Staffing review of the Police Department
Recommendation: This item is presented for information, discussion, and direction only.
ADJOURN
NOTES TO THE PUBLIC:
The City of Cathedral City complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. If you require special assistance to participate in this meeting, please call the City Clerk’s Office at (760) 770-0322 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.
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If you desire to address the City Council during the meeting, please complete a Request to Speak Form available at the entrance and present it to the City Clerk. Speakers will be called upon at the appropriate time.
Any documents provided to a majority of the City Council regarding any item on this agenda will be made available for public inspection in the City Clerk’s office at City Hall located at 68-700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero during normal business hours. In addition, such documents will be posted on the City’s website at www.cathedralcity.gov.
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Staff Report
City Council
Item No. 1.A
Meeting Date: March 29, 2023
From: George Crum, Police Chief
Title: 2022 Crime Statistics
City Council
RECOMMENDATION:
This item is for information and discussion only
BACKGROUND:
It is important to con sistently review and discuss crime statistics on a monthly and annual basis and examine the historical crime data regularly to measure our existing policing model and adapt as necessary to crime trends as they develop. The Police Department utilizes curren t and historical crime data to deploy personnel more effectively and efficiently to assist in reducing crime and fear in the community. This presentation will consist of a five -year comparison of Part 1 crimes covering calendar years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. A second two -year comparison of Part 1 crimes will be presented covering calendar years 2021 and 2022.
DISCUSSION:
Many cities experienced a significant increase in violent crimes and decreases in property crimes. On the other hand, many cit ies experienced significant reductions in violent crimes and property crimes. Across the nation in 2022, the crime of murder decreased by 4% in major American cities. The national homicide rate remained 34% higher than in 2019 according to the Council on Criminal Justice. In 2022, aggravated assault dropped 3.5%, robberies increased 5.5%, commercial burglaries increased 11%, larcenies increased 8%, motor -vehicle theft increased 21% and residential burglary decreased by 2%.
In evaluating our Part 1 crimes f rom calendar year 2018 through calendar year 2022, I looked at total number of Part 1 crimes committed each year. Our totals for each respective year are as follows. 2018 (889 crimes), 2019 (746 crimes), 2020 (793
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crimes), 2021 (912 crimes) and 2022 (959 c rimes). As you can see, our number of Part 1 crimes has decreased in some years and increased in others.
Our two-year Part 1 crimes saw a 33% decrease in Homicide, a 9% decrease in Rape, 6% decrease in Robbery, 23% decrease in Aggravated Assaults. The c ity experienced a 5% increase in Burglary, a 30% increase in Larceny and a 10% decrease in Motor vehicle Theft. It should be noted felony domestic violence assaults are included in the overall number of Aggravated Assaults.
Overall Cathedral City experie nced a 5% increase in Part 1 crimes from 2021 through the end of 2022. Our largest increase occurred with the crime of larceny which includes crimes such as petty theft and mail theft. In 2022, the pandemic restrictions continued to ease, and more people w ere returning to the workforce and not spending as much time at home as we saw in 2021. Less people working from home presented more opportunities for home burglaries to take place.
In 2022, many cities began reporting crime data to the FBI through NIBRS (National Incident Based Reporting System) and discontinued the use of UCR (Uniform Crime Report). As a result of this transition from UCR to NIBRS and the amount of data changing, obtaining surrounding crime rates in neighboring cities has been a challenge.
I find it significant that each category of violent crime decreased in our city when comparing 2021 to 2022 violent crime categories. Our city's decrease in violent crime is attributed to several factors which include a responsive and proactive police department, having a trusting relationship with our community we serve and having a good working relationship with other city departments and our allied law enforcement agencies in the Coachella Valley.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None
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Staff Report
City Council
Item No. 1.B
Meeting Date: March 29, 2023
From: George Crum, Police Chief
Title: Budget and Staffing review of the Police Department
City Council
RECOMMENDATION:
This item is presented for information, discussion, and direction only.
BACKGROUND:
As part of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 biennial budget process and timeline, this is the opportunity to brief City Council and our constituents on the roles and responsibilities of the Police Department.
DISCUSSION:
The Police Department currently includes the following divisions:
1. Administration
2. Field Services
3. Investigations
4. Emergency Communications
5. Animal Control
The following table compares authorized staffing in the Police Department in FY2013/2014 to t he present. The table shows the staffing reductions made in June 2020 due to the COVID revenue reductions, which resulted in the elimination of (3) positions. In that same year, the Police Department hired (4) limited term STVR Officers and a limited term STVR Office Assistant. The STVR employees were transferred to Code Compliance during the FY 2021/2022 budget. The FY 2013/2014 numbers are from the printed budget revised only to reflect organizational structure changes that have occurred in the interim.
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FY13-14 FY20-21
COVID
FY22-23
Adopted
Current
(Including Sept.
Amend.)
Change from
FY 13-14
Sworn Police 47.00 48.00 50.00 52.00
Dispatch 16.00 15.00 15.00 12.00
Records and Support 11.50 14.50 18.50 17.50
Police Total 74.50 77.50 83.50 81.50 9.40%
The additional staffing added over the last two years is reflective of the City Council approving two (2) additional police officers in the adopted FY 2022/2023 budget. The only new positions included in the September budget amendments are tw o sworn positions placed on the East PACT Team (Post Release Accountability and Compliance Team).
Administration
Administration includes the following positions:
• Chief of Police
• Commander
• PSB Sergeant
• East PACT Sergeant
• East PACT Detective
• Senior Analyst
• Administrative Assistant I
The Office of the Chief of Police includes Police Administration, which provides policy and leadership direction. Administration includes the Professional Standards Bureau, media relations, budget, and financial management , grant administration, court services, records management, and project coordination. The Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) is responsible for conducting internal audits, body -worn camera evidentiary requests, handling public record requests and conducti ng internal affairs investigations of alleged misconduct of sworn and non -sworn personnel. The East PACT Team is a multi -agency Task Force housed at the Police Department and their primary function is managing post -release offenders on probation or parole in the Coachella Valley. The East PACT Sergeant reports directly to the Chief of Police. Two major projects are being managed by Administration which include the department’s transition from ERICA to PSEC as well as the county mandated emergency medical dispatching (EMD) training and implementation.
Field Services
The Field Services Division includes the following positions:
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• (2) Commanders (7-day coverage)
• (5) Sergeants (7-day coverage)
• (26) Patrol officers (7-day coverage)
• (2) Homeless Liaison Officers (6-day coverage)
• (3) Records Specialists (5-day coverage)
• (2) Community Service Officers (7-day coverage)
• (10) Citizens on Patrol
The Field Services Division is the largest division within the Police Department. This division consists of the Patrol Burea u, Traffic Bureau, and Homeless Liaison Officers.
This division is responsible for the following: first police response to emergency and non-emergency calls for service, preliminary and follow -up investigations on property crimes, crimes against persons and auto theft crimes as well as basic police services. In addition, they engage in proactive policing which includes but is not limited to traffic enforcement, DUI enforcement, drug enforcement and Municipal Code enforcement.
Patrol Officers interact with t he public, discuss crime prevention techniques, and attend community events throughout the year.
The Commanders and Sergeants assigned to Field Services are responsible for the daily operations of the Patrol Bureau and any collateral assignments. The Fi eld Training Officer (FTO) program provides training to new police recruits upon graduation from an academy and experienced officers who lateral to our department. The Traffic Bureau provides enforcement, education, parking, 30 -day impounds and accident in vestigation follow-up. The Homeless Liaison Officers are primary responders to calls for service regarding our unhoused population. The Community Service Officers handle non - emergency calls for service, write crime reports, enforce CCMC violations and ass ist with traffic control at motor vehicle crash sites as well as tow vehicles , as necessary.
Our Citizens on Patrol provide our community with a valuable resource of volunteers to assist the department with vacation checks, illegally parked vehicles, and n on- emergency calls for service.
The Patrol Bureau is comprised of four patrol teams managed by (2) Commanders.
• Team 1 is a Sergeant and 5 Officers (Th,F,S-Days) (Every other Sunday) • Team 2 is a Sergeant and 6 Officers (M,T,W-Days) (Every other Sunday) • Team 3 is a Sergeant and 6 Officers (Th,F,S-Nights) (Every other Sunday) • Team 4 is a Sergeant and 6 Officers (M,T,W Nights) (Every other Sunday) • (2) Homeless Liaison Officers (6-days coverage) (Monday through Saturday) • (3) Officers are currently in FTO training
• (2) Community Service Officers (7-day coverage)
• Sergeant is assigned as a cover sergeant
Investigations
The Investigations Division includes the following positions:
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• Commander
• Sergeant
• (4) Detectives
• Detective assigned to CVNTF
• Detective assigned to CVVCGTF
• Detective assigned to GIT
• School Resource Officer
• Crime Analyst
• Evidence Technicians
• Part-time Background Investigators
The Investigation Division consists of a Commander, a Sergeant, seven Detectives, one School Resource Officer, one Crime An alyst and three part -time Background Investigators. Four Detectives work at the Department, one Detective is assigned to the Coachella Valley Narcotics Task Force (CVNTF), one Detective is assigned to the Coachella Valley Violent Crime Gang Task Force (CVV CGTF) and one Detective is assigned to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office Gang Impact team (GIT).
The Detectives are responsible for conducting critical incident investigations, follow -up criminal investigations, and preparing cases for pros ecution. The Detective Bureau investigates a wide variety of crime, to include homicides, assaults, armed robberies, sexual assaults, domestic violence, fraud, computer crimes, hate crimes and identity theft to name a few. The specialized detectives assign ed to task forces investigate narcotics related crimes and gang related crimes.
The School Resource Officer is assigned to Cathedral City High School to liaison with PSUSD on matters involving students, parents, and staff at the school. During the times the SRO is not at school he is assigned to assist the Detective Bureau with investigation of cases. The Crime Analyst collects and analyzes crime data and statistics to provide crime patterns and crime trends to police personnel. The Evidence Unit supports the Detective Bureau by collecting and processing crime scene evidence and managing all evidence maintained at the department.
Emergency Communications
Emergency Communications includes the following positions:
• Sergeant
• (11) Public Safety Dispatchers
• (4) Part-time Public Safety Dispatchers
The Emergency Communications Center answers all 9 -1-1 emergency calls for service and non -emergency telephone calls for the City of Cathedral City. All emergency requests for police, fire and medical aide services a re routed through the Communication Center. Additional services rendered include but are not limited to, maintenance and management of all radio system infrastructure, emergency telephone
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communications equipment and FCC radio licenses. In 2021, the dispat ch center handled 49,378 9-1-1 calls and 86,358 non-emergency calls for a total of 135,736.
In 2022, the dispatch center handled 48,115 9 -1-1 calls and 78,894 non -emergency calls for a total of 127,009. It should be noted during 2021 and 2022, the dispatch center also dispatched emergency and non -emergency calls for service for the City of Desert Hot Springs, who has since opened their own Emergency Communications center.
Animal Control Services
Animal Control Services is currently contracted through t he County of Riverside Department of Animal Services and is responsible for the enforcement of state and city animal control laws and codes. Animal Control has the following responsibilities:
• Administering a rabies control program.
• Investigating reports o f animal bites to humans by both domestic and other animals.
• Locating and detaining stray animals.
• Locating and detaining indigenous wildlife and then relocating them. • Issuing citations to owners of animals who are in violation of the city or state animal control regulations.
• Removing dead animal carcasses from city streets and private properties. • Operating, cleaning, and maintaining the animal control kennel. • Returning found animals to their owners.
• Adopting out found animals.
• Euthanizing animals and disposing animal carcasses.
• Receiving fees paid by citizens for impounding, boarding and adopting animals.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The original published budget for the Police Department (all divisions) for FY 2022/2023 was $21,991,231.00. The total amended budget (a ll divisions) for FY 2022/2023 reflecting amendments through 12/31/-2022 is $21,367,995.61.
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