Date: February 21, 2023
To: Honorable Mayor and Council
From: Vice Mayor Cindy Allen, Second District
Councilwoman Mary Zendejas, First District
Councilwoman Suely Saro, Sixth District
Subject: Presentation on the Police Department’s Memorandum on Public Safety Communications
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Request the City Manager to work with the Police Department to present the February 9, 2023 memorandum on public safety communications to the City Council in 30 days.
DISCUSSION:
The recent TFF from February 9, 2023 discusses the numerous forms of communication the Police Department uses to inform the community of police activity within Long Beach.
These tools are an effective way to communicate real time public safety concerns such as road closures, police activity, safety advisories, and the ability to seek the public’s help in locating a suspect or missing person.
The document describes current tools and technologies such as:
• The deployment of Community Liaison Officers to engage with community members during critical incidents
• City Council Notifications, which are made in a timely manner to the City Manager, Mayor, Councilmembers, and Department Directors via email • The use of Aler t Long Beach to send thousands of messages within minutes via phone, email and text messages to alert residents and businesses of ongoing incidents
• Using social media to provide real -time information regarding situations that are impacting a specific area
• Using news releases to provide preliminary information to the media for breaking news incidents
• Using LBPD Blotter to provide community members with preliminary information about incidents that occurred the previous evening
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The TFF concludes by stating the Police Department is currently exploring messaging platforms, such as Ring and Nextdoor.com as additional communication tools, and will be conducting a citywide, aggressive education campaign to promote all PD communication platforms, including encouraging community members to register their phone numbers and email addresses with Alert Long Beach.
We appreciate the information provided in this TFF, as well as the recent community outreach efforts, Commander Forums, and press conferences hosted by the Police Department. Receiving a concise presentation on the Police Department’s public safety communications memorandum will further help promote public accessibility and awareness of the information.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No Financial Management review was able to be conducted due to the urgency and time sensitivity of this item.
STATEMENT OF URGENCY:
Receiving this presentation from the Police Department should occur urgently to inform the public of the Department’s real-time communications capabilities.
REQUEST TO ADD AGENDA ITEM
Date: February 17, 2023
To: Monique De La Garza, City Clerk
From: Councilwoman Cindy Allen, Second District
Subject: Request to Add Agenda Item to Council Agenda of February 21, 2023
Pursuant to Municipal Code Section 2.03.070 [B], the City Councilmembers signing below request that the attached agenda item (due in the City Clerk Department by Friday, 12:00 Noon) be placed on the City Council agenda under New Business via the supplemental agenda.
The agenda title/recommendation for this item reads as follows:
Request the City Manager to work with the Police Department to present the February 9, 2023 memorandum on public safety communications to the City Council in 30 days.
Council
District
Authorizing
Councilmember
2 Cindy Allen
1 Mary Zendejas
6 Suely Saro
City of Long Beach Memorandum
Working Together to Serve