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84. Update the Peer Support policy, identify a lead team member, acquire more Peer Support team members, and establish a metrics structure of how many employees are assisted during a specified timeframe. (Page 174)
85. Consider training and certifying an additional professional staff member by Operation Freedom Paws in order to handle an Assistive Therapy K9. (Page 176)
86. Implement protocols for the Assistive Canine Therapy program in regard to operational clarity, structure, and measurements of success, and establish clearly defined policies and procedures to include chain of command, reporting of metrics, deployment, standards, and formal mandatory training (including consistent update training). (Page 176)
87. Create a department policy and guideline addressing the practice of bringing an employee-owned dog (pet) into either police facility. (Page 176)
88. Implement an early intervention program. (Page 177)
INTERNAL AFFAIRS RECOMMENDATIONS
89. Add an employee commendation form to the website as well as hard copies in the lobby at HQ and POB. (Page 179)
90. Revisit the current industry standard of the department receiving and investigating allegations of misconduct – an important mechanism for the department to hold its staff and itself accountable to the communities it serves. (Page 184)
91. Consider implementing an electronic system (such as Lefta Systems, Axon Standard or IAPro / Blue Team) as a risk management tracking tool for complaints, internal affairs investigations, pursuits, use of force, commendations, forced entries, on-duty traffic collisions, missed court appearance. (Page 185)
USE OF FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS
92. Examine the use of the LEFTA system or similar product for use of force and other risk management tracking. (Page 188)
93. Establish a use of force review board to identify any trends, risk management and liability mitigation, and overall training needs. (Page 189)
TRAINING RECOMMENDATIONS
94. Update the Training Plan annually as per policy. (Page 191)
95. Add a training calendar with a timeline, scheduling, and anticipated upcoming training for the year following. (Page 191)
96. Develop an annual training needs assessment survey and send to staff so the results can be incorporated as part of determining future training. (Page 191)
97. Add the Chief and Captains’ AB 1234-mandated training regarding the Fair Political Practices Commission ethics training to the training matrix. (Page 191)
98. Consider implementing the Lexipol product, LEFTA, for electronic tracking and management of training. (Page 192)
99. Amend the policy or ensure the squad supervisors take a more active role in DTB compliance by their personnel. (Page 192)
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100. Partner with a local agency that may have a Pre-Academy to help prepare Academy Trainees. (Page 193)
101. Include professional staff supervisors and existing supervisors to attend the Supervisor Field Training program. (Page 194)
102. Include critical risk management classes and supervision courses to the Training Plan for professional staff and sworn supervisors. (Page 195) 103. Assign supervisors, both sworn and professional staff, to attend the California POST Supervisor Leadership Institute (SLI) training within two years of assuming the position and consider sending those who have not yet attended. (Page 195) 104. Amend the Policy § 302.9 to specifically focus on aiming and firing the 40MM Launcher along with subject factors to avoid. (Page 196)
EQUIPMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
105. Provide each staff member with an individual first aid kit. (Page 197) 106. Continue to track and manage department-owned guns and use the DOJ list to reconcile firearms inventory. (Page 198)
COMMUNITY OUTREACH RECOMMENDATIONS
107. Transfer traffic-related duties such as parking permits and hearings be transferred to the Traffic Sergeant, and have the Community Outreach Coordinator report to the Administrative Sergeant. (Page 199)
108. Create a system so alarm billing letters are copied to Finance and transfer alarm billing responsibilities Town Finance – accounts receiving. (Page 200) 109. Amend the Town’s Alarm Ordinance to include residential alarm systems to register annually and be part of the false alarm protocol. (Page 200) 110. Add a Community Relations Policy to reflect the policy and practice of LGMSPD. (Page 200)
111. Consider creating a line item in the budget for the Explorer program. (Page 204) 112. Assign DART to the Administrative Sergeant. (Page 205) 113. Track community outreach events with volunteer hours and event costs. (Page 206)
FINANCE RECOMMENDATIONS
114. Implement a contemporary, functional fiscal system to create overtime reports to produce efficiencies not currently possible with the current system. (Page 207) 115. Ensure supervisors and managers are more involved in this budget planning process as a means to provide ongoing professional development and succession planning. (Page 209)
116. Immediately identify and implement a new finance system for the Town that includes a contemporary payroll and budgetary reporting components. (Page 210) 117. Modify the Town’s approval process to become more efficient and compliant with industry procedures. (Page 210)
118. Ensure the new finance system includes software for managing agreements that can populate or create forms to minimize data entry and redundancy. (Page 210)
ITEM NO. 20.
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POLICY MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
119. Update the Policy § 1019 – Personnel Complaints as soon as possible, and review and update all other policies to ensure they are consistent with department practice and current procedures. (Page 212)
120. Consider increasing the service contract with Lexipol to include policy management, DTB and policy update issuance to department members as well as monitoring and compliance management of department personnel’s completion and review of policy and DTB’s. (Page 212)
121. Ensure supervisors collaborate periodically with the Administrative Sergeant to ensure all employees are compliant with policy review and acknowledgement. (Page 213) 122. Develop manuals for each area of the department. (Page 213)
FLEET RECOMMENDATION
123. Provide a pool car for employees that attend off-site meetings and training courses. (Page 216)
FACILITIES RECOMMENDATION
124. Conduct a space needs analysis, followed by detailed cost estimation to determine the financial requirements for a single facility. (Page 218)
TECHNOLOGY RECOMMENDATION
125. Implement an IT request system with policy and procedures to better respond and track IT issues. (Page 219)
UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEM TEAM RECOMMENDATIONS
126. Remove any reference to a Certificate of Authorization in Policy § 609, Unmanned Aerial System. (Page 221)
127. Update the one current field-use UAS with thermal capacity. (Page 221) 128. Add professional staff members to the UAS team. (Page 222) 129. Increase UAS team training to eight hours once a month. (Page 222) 130. Add a line item in the budget for the UAS program. (Page 222)
ITEM NO. 20.
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TOWN OF LOS GATOS
The Town of Los Gatos is located in Santa Clara County and bisected by State Route 17, which runs through the Town from south to north. The Town of Los Gatos is at the base of the Sierra Azules, and is located approximately 60 miles south of San Francisco, in the southwestern portion of the county where the Santa Clara Valley meets the lower slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains. San Jose is to the north and east, the City of Campbell to the north, the cities of Monte Sereno and Saratoga to the west, and unincorporated Counties of Santa Clara and Santa Cruz to the south. Los Gatos has a total land area of 14 square miles and is primarily residential with a quaint downtown business district.
Los Gatos is a general law Town run under the “Town-Council” form of government. The Town is governed by five elected council members with the position of mayor rotating between council members each year. A general law Town is one which operates under laws and rules established by the State of California.
Los Gatos was incorporated in 1887 and has a current estimated population of 33,540 (July 2023 U.S. Census); a 0.03% increase from 33,529 based on the April 2020 U.S. Census data.
Los Gatos Demographics
The Town of Los Gatos’ community race and demographics are comprised of 71.7% White,
17.2% Asian, 8.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% with two or more races, 1.2% Black or African American, and 0.1% American Indian and Alaska native. Age and gender data indicate 50.3% are female, 20.1% are persons 65 years and over, 22.9% are persons under 18 years, and 3.9% are persons under 5 years.
The owner-occupied housing rate is 64.3% for 2018-2022. Families and living arrangements reflect 1,2855 households with 2.54 persons per household. The percent of persons age five years and older language other than English spoken at home accounts for 29.6% for 2018-2022.
Households with a computer are 94.8% and households with a broadband Internet subscription are 93.0%. Persons in poverty are 3.9% of the population.
CITY OF MONTE SERENO
In 1995, the City of Monte Sereno contracted for police services with the Town of Los Gatos.
The City of Monte Sereno is located in Santa Clara County and bisected by State Route 9, which runs through the City from east to west. The City is located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, about 10 miles southwest of San Jose, and is bordered by the Town of Los Gatos to the north, east, and south, the Santa Cruz Mountains to the southwest, and the City of Saratoga
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to the northwest. Monte Sereno has a total land area of 1.6 square miles and is exclusively residential.
Monte Sereno is a general law City run under the “City-Council” form of government. The City is governed by five elected council members with the position of mayor rotating between council members each year. Monte Sereno was incorporated in 1957 and has a population of 3,479 based on the April 2020 U.S. Census data, a 4% increase from 3,341 based on the April 2010 U.S. Census data.
Monte Sereno Demographics
The City of Monte Sereno community race and demographics are comprised of 67.6% White,
19.6% Asian, 6.6% Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% Black or African American, 0.25% American Indian and Alaska native, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 10.4% with two or more races; and 49% female.
Based on 2020 U.S. Census data, there are approximately 1,223 households and the owneroccupied housing rate is 82.4%.
LOS GATOS-MONTE SERENO POLICE
DEPARTMENT
The Town of Los Gatos’ first law officer was a Town Marshall in 1887, the same year the Town was incorporated. The first Chief of Police was named in 1926. Police headquarters were established in 1965 at 110 East Main Street when the Town Civic Center was built. In 1995, Los Gatos PD assumed police services with the City of Monte Sereno and Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department (LGMSPD) was formed.
In 2009, Headquarters was not able to house staff and resources, so a second location, the Police Operations Building (POB), was opened at 15900 Los Gatos Boulevard in Los Gatos.
Currently, Administration and the Support Services Bureau are housed at Headquarters on Main Street and the Operations Bureau is housed at the Police Operations Building (POB) location.
According to the LGMSPD policy manual, the department is broken into two main functions:
Support Services Bureau and Operations Bureau. Each bureau is overseen by a captain.
Electronic management systems are beneficial in any business/organization. Systems of this nature can enhance workflow, employee productivity, reduce storage space, allow for remote sharing, and expedite information look-up. Throughout this report, Meliora PSC will further describe areas of opportunity for enhanced workflow through electronic management systems.
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Throughout the organizational assessment report, Meliora PSC will further describe areas of opportunity for improvement in the organization to include proper staffing and policy content and management.
Department Staffing
For fiscal year 2023-24, the LGMSPD is comprised of 60 full-time members: 39 full-time sworn and 21 full-time professional staff members. The information below regarding chain of command and personnel duties is being provided to help the reader understand organizational structure, the levels of responsibilities, and information regarding personnel.
Police organizations operate through a chain of command with levels of authority and ranks.
Specific titles and duties can vary depending on the type of agency (e.g., police, sheriff). A typical rank order from line level staff to executive staff for a small agency is as follows:
§ Line level staff (e.g., officers, dispatchers, detectives, records, administrative assistants) § Corporal
§ Sergeant/Supervisor
§ Captain/Commander
§ Chief
Line level staff make up the majority of personnel in any police organization and are considered front-line staff.
§ Officers are on the front-line ensuring quality of life, maintaining a safe community and enforcing local laws. On any given day, a field police officer will perform a wide range of duties from responding to calls for service to include threats and emergencies, traffic enforcement, completing police reports, and community outreach. Detectives complete follow up on police reports and investigate crimes.
§ Professional staff (civilians) play crucial roles in police organizations beyond traditional sworn positions. They have a long history of roles such as dispatcher, specialist or technician positions. Dispatchers are the front-line staff who answer 9-1-1 calls, business calls from the public, internal calls, and monitor field staff activities. Records specialists complete and manage critical behind-the-scenes paperwork and document management. Administrative assistants and technicians provide administrative support for the executive and management staff to ensure an organized and efficient organizational operation by way of completing a variety of tasks. They are responsible for confidential and time-sensitive information and documents. Today, professional staff are performing a wide range of positions allowing police officers to focus on sworn and hazardous tasks. Professional staff can also perform non-hazardous patrol duties, crime scene management, victim advocacy, data analysis, and overseeing volunteer programs.
Some police departments have steps in between different ranks such as a corporal between the rank of an officer and a sergeant. A corporal can serve as a critical link between officers and
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supervisors. They can be responsible for leading patrol teams, serving as detectives, and providing guidance to line level staff.
Sergeants are experienced officers who serve in a supervisor and training capacity. Their main responsibility is to ensure all policies, practices and procedures are followed. They are responsible for reviewing and approving police reports, supervising critical incidents, training, and scheduling.
A Captain serves as an executive command staff overseeing all operations within a bureau.
They ensure all department policies and practices are carried out and are responsible for managing all personnel within their respective bureau. They are responsible for administrative tasks such as performance evaluations, coordinating emergency responses, overseeing strategies, and representing their division in meetings, government activities and community organizations and events.
The Chief of Police is the highest-ranking level in the chain of command. The Chief is responsible for all police operations. Police Chiefs are highly experienced police executives who are appointed to the position by a Town Manager or other governmental official depending on the Town charter or elected officials. The Police Chief directs the development and implementation of goals, policies, and procedures for the department. They assess and recommend staffing, training and equipment needs as well as organizational changes. The Chief represents the police department in government meetings, coordinates with other Town services, collaborates with regional agencies and partners, and participates in community events. They are also responsible for coordinating with other law enforcement agencies on the state and federal level.
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TABLE 1: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department Staffing FY 2023-24
POSITION BUDGETED CURRENT VACANT
SWORN, FULL-TIME
Chief of Police 1 1 0
Captain 2 2 0
Sergeant 7 7 0
Police Corporal 4 4 0
Police Officer 25 21 4
Sworn Total 39 35 4
PROFESSIONAL STAFF, FULL-TIME
Executive Assistant 1 1 0
Senior Administrative Analyst 2 2 0
Administrative Analyst 1 0 1
Community Outreach Coordinator 1 1 0
Senior Communications Dispatcher 2 2 0
Communications Dispatcher Lead 1 1 0
Communications Dispatcher 5 4 1
Senior Records Specialist 1 1 0
Records Specialist Lead 1 1 0
Records Specialist 2 2 0
Community Service Officer 1 0 1
Senior Parking Control Officer 1 1 0
Parking Control Officer 1 1 0
IT Systems Coordinator 1 1 0
Professional Staff Total 21 18 3
TOTAL FULL-TIME POSITIONS 60 53 7
Source: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department, as of March 2024. Staffing numbers typically fluctuate throughout the year and may differ from staffing numbers when the report is published.
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LGMSPD’s most recent race and gender demographics from July 2024 indicates 75% White, 13% Hispanic or Latino, 8% Asian, 2% other, 1% Black or African American, 1% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and 39% are female.
CHART 1: Demographics Town of Los Gatos
CHART 2: Demographics City of Monte Sereno
White, 71.70%
Asian, 17.20%
Hispanic/Latino, 8.20%
Two or more races,
7.30%
Black/African American,
1.20%
American Indian/Alaska Native,
0.10%
Town of Los Gatos
White
Asian
Hispanic/Latino
Two or more races
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaska
Native
White, 67.60%
Asian, 19.60%
Hispanic/Latino,
6.60%
Black/African American,
0.70%
American Indian/Alaska Native,
0.25%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander,
0.09% Two or more races,
10.40%
City of Monte Sereno
White
Asian
Hispanic/Latino
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaska
Native
Native Hawaiian/Pacific
Islander
Two or more races
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CHART 3: Demographics Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department As noted in the charts above, the demographics reflected for the Town of Los Gatos, City of Monte Sereno, and those of the LGMSPD are similar in races represented, with the variances being 17.2% and 19.6% Asian population in Los Gatos and Monte Sereno, respectively, and 8% in the police department; and 7.3% and 10.4% two or more races in Los Gatos and Monte Sereno, respectively, and 2% other in the police department. There was a notable difference in women with Los Gatos having 50.3% women, Monte Sereno having 49% women and the police department staff being comprised of 39% women. It is important for agencies to analyze applicants and personnel data to assist them in ensuring their department is reflective of the community they serve.
Regarding the gender breakdown of sworn officers, the California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) data warehouse1 on police demographics indicates in 2022, the average percent of sworn women officers/deputies was 14.88%. By comparison, 13.89% of sworn personnel are women at the LGMSPD, nearing the state standard. There is currently a 30x30 Initiative started by a coalition of police leaders, researchers, and professional organizations to advance the representation and experiences of women in policing agencies across the United States with agencies being comprised of 30% sworn officers/deputies by the year 2030. Meliora PSC encourages LGMSPD to recruit qualified diverse candidates particularly amongst women and Asian groups to better align with the community they serve. In addition to recruiting women, it is also important that women are represented in leadership roles throughout the 1 CA POST Website accessed December 2022, https://post.ca.gov/Law-Enforcement-Demographics White
75%
Hispanic/Latino
13%
Asian
8%
Other
2%
Black/African American
1% Native Hawaiian /Other Pacific Islander
1%
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
White
Hispanic/Latino
Asian
Other
Black/African American
Native Hawaiian /Other Pacific
Islander
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police department. To its credit, LGMSPD has women in every rank within the department to include Police Chief, Captain, Sergeant, Corporal, and Police Officer.
Mission and Core Values
Members of the LGMSPD are guided by the below Mission and Core Values.
MISSION STATEMENT
The Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department is committed to ensuring public safety with integrity, compassion, and professionalism.
§ Providing exceptional law enforcement services
§ Building community partnerships
§ Engaging the community in problem solving
CORE VALUES
§ Integrity
§ Compassion
§ Professionalism
Organizational Structure and Responsibility
Per LGMSPD Policy § 200, Organizational Structure and Responsibility, “The organizational structure of this department is designed to create an efficient means to accomplish our mission and goals and to provide for the best possible service to the public.” The LGMSPD chain of command starts with the Chief of Police leading the department followed by Captain, sergeants/professional staff supervisor, corporals, and line level staff. Per Policy § 200.2, the “Chief of Police is responsible for administering and managing the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department. There are two bureaus in the Police Department as follows:
§ Bureau of Operations
§ Bureau of Support Services”
The policy further describes each bureau and that each bureau is commanded by the Captain.
Per Policy § 200.3.1 Succession of Command, “The Chief of Police exercises command over all personnel in the Department. During planned absences, the Chief of Police will designate the Captain to serve as the acting Chief of Police. Except when designated as above, the order of command authority in the absence or unavailability of the Chief of Police is as follows: (a) Support Services Bureau Captain (b) Operations Bureau Captain (c) Detective Sergeant, and (d) Patrol Sergeant.”
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Meliora PSC learned that in 2018, LGMSPD eliminated the lieutenant. Subsequently, most of the administrative duties and responsibilities were given to the Operations Captain, Administrative Sergeant, and patrol sergeants. With the addition of the duties from the eliminated position, the Captain’s span of control, responsibility and supervision increased, as well as increased for the sergeants. Meliora PSC noted an opportunity for improved management with the addition of a one full-time lieutenant assigned to the Operations Bureau.
More information on the lieutenant role and responsibilities is included in the Operations section of the report.
An organizational chart is typically a graphical representation of roles, responsibilities, and correlations between individuals within an organization. The main purpose is to illustrate the reporting structure and chain of command within the organization. LGMSPD provided an organization chart dated November 2023. Meliora PSC provides a recommended restructure of the Organizational Chart to address appropriate supervision and management in both bureaus, and includes adding a civilian manager position to oversee key functions of Dispatch, Records, Community Outreach, Budget and IT. More information on the addition of the manager will be provided in the Support Services portion of the report.
Meliora PSC further describes areas of opportunity in the organization to include proper staffing and span of control throughout this report to include the reasoning behind the suggestion or recommendation. Today’s police professionals are more desirous of participating in the evolution of the organization, an asset to both the agency and department staff member.
COLLATERAL DUTIES
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics national sources of law enforcement employment data, the United States is made up of about 18,000 federal, state, county, and local agencies.
Roughly 80% of them have fewer than 25 employees. No matter the size of a police department each police agency has the same type of tasks and duties to provide public safety services.
Personnel in small to mid-size agencies are more likely to have more collateral duties than larger agencies resulting in personnel become “jack of all trades.” In addition to an assigned position and its respective roles and responsibilities, it is common for personnel to have additional collateral duties. A collateral duty usually means a duty to support the agency that is secondary and supplemental to the primary duty of a position. Typically, these activities relate to functions that are not used daily but are roles required to provide the community with a full complement of services in the event of a major incident, disaster, or critical need.
Examples of collateral duties at LGMSPD include but are not limited to:
§ Bicycle Team
§ CRU-SWAT Team
§ DART Team
§ Defensive Tactics & De-escalation Team
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§ Drone Team
§ FTO Program
§ Firearms Range Team
§ Hostage Negotiations Team
§ Major Call-Out Team
§ Peer Support Team
§ Reserve Officers
§ Social Media Team
§ Tactical Dispatch
§ Therapy Canine
§ Traffic Unit
§ Victim Services Unit
§ Volunteers
Collateral duties have positive take-a-ways for both the employee and the department, Town, and community. For the employee, examples are enhanced professional development, select collateral duties provide compensation, exposure to different facets and added training. For the department/Town/community, they have employees that are more well-rounded, better trained, developed for the future, and whose leadership skills are being enhanced. Leadership development is critical to individual performance and an organization’s success and continual development.
LGMSPD does not have a system in place to track time spent by personnel on collateral duties.
It would be advantageous for the department to develop a computer-aided dispatch (CAD) code for time spent on ancillary duties. Tracking time spent on collateral duties would afford the department a better understanding of personnel’s occupied time and in turn aid in determining appropriate staffing levels and needs. Currently, CAD information from the data report, which is comprised only of community and field-initiated activities, does not depict workload associated with administrative time such as collateral duties.
Meliora PSC developed the below proposed organizational chart in Chart 5 to better represent department-wide operations, more clearly identify the department’s main functions, and is intended to provide clarity and continuity in the organizational structure, personnel roles and responsibilities, and supervision and management. This has been achieved by developing a command structure where under the Chief with management and guidance by the Captains, sections managed by a lieutenant and professional staff manager, and units made up of line level staff, are supervised by a sergeant or professional staff supervisor. This new structure would also better serve the Town and its community by aiding in strategic foresight and succession planning.
Meliora PSC also recommends the organizational chart be updated with the current chain of command structure and/or a revised organization structure/chart and Policy § 200 – Organizational Structure and Responsibilities be updated as well.
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CHART 4: Current Organizational Chart
CHIEF OF POLICE
Support Services
Bureau
Captain
Communications
Division
Dispatch Lead
Records Division
Records Specialist
Lead
Traffic Admin
Sergeant
Parking Unit
Admin Sergeant Training Community Outreach Budget IT
Operations Bureau
Captain
Patrol Division
Sergeants (4)
Investigations
Division
Sergeant
Detective Unit
Property &
Evidence Unit
CSOs
Executive Assistant
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CHART 5: Proposed Organizational Chart
CHIEF OF POLICE
Support Services
Bureau
Captain
Support Services
Manager
(Proposed)
Admin Sergeant
Personnel &
Training Unit
Community
Outreach Unit
Communications
Division
Dispatch Lead
Records Division
Records Specialist
Lead
Budget IT
Operations Bureau
Captain
Operations
Lieutenant
(Proposed)
Patrol Division
Sergeants (4)
Investigations
Division
Sergeant
Detective Unit
Property &
Evidence Unit
Traffic Admin
Sergeant
Parking Unit
CSOs
Executive Assistant
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Strategic Plan
LGMSPD has a two-year department strategic plan for 2022-2024. The Town of Los Gatos’ elected leaders and management staff, which includes the Chief of Police, meet and participate in a Strategic Planning process annually in conjunction with the budget preparation cycle.
Currently, the two-year goals are as follows:
§ Goal 1: Organizational Recruitment, Development and Retention of a Quality Workforce. § Goal 2: Prevent and reduce crime, increase quality of life, and focus on traffic safety. § Goal 3: Active Partnerships.
§ Goal 4: Embrace and Integrate Technology Throughout the Agency. § Goal 5: Organizational Wellness.
The leadership of the Town of Los Gatos, Chief and staff are to be commended for having an up-to-date strategic plan. Meliora PSC learned the strategic plan is currently being updated for the next two years.
Crime Information
REPORTED CRIME
As part of the organizational assessment, Meliora PSC reviewed reported crime over the past 10 years as reported to the FBI through the Uniformed Crime Reporting (UCR) program. The FBI UCR program has been providing crime statistics to the public since 1930. Agencies participate voluntarily and submit their crime data either through a state UCR program or directly to the FBI’s UCR program. After several years of working to enhance the level of detail, the FBI changed the manner in which crime statistics are reported.
Effective January 1, 2021, the FBI transitioned to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to improve the overall quality of crime data collected by law enforcement. It captures details on each single crime incident – as well as on separate offenses within the same incident.
As such, summary crime data collected through the historic UCR system was phased out.
As a result of NIBRS being a new method for reporting detailed crime statistics, there is no legacy NIBRS data for comparison. Until agencies have a few years of historical data in the NIBRS system to reflect crime trends, comparing UCR data to NIBRS data would be an inaccurate manner to compare crime that could result in misleading conclusions. Rather, where able, agencies should continue to collect data in the UCR format for a few years concurrently with NIBRS data reporting so that a more accurate analysis of crime fluctuations could be reflected in the three to five-year window of transition. While the detailed crime data contained with NIBRS will have more data per incident, that should not be misconstrued to assume crime has risen. Hence, by contrasting and comparing the UCR data for a few years
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during the data reporting transition, reviewing how the crime patterns and fluctuations would be reflected compared to existing UCR data would help clarify if there was an actual increase or decrease in a particular crime category. Concurrently, there would be a collection of three to five years of NIBRS data to begin a more detailed and accurate assessment of crime trends containing a deeper analysis of those years going forward with NIBRS only data.
Meliora PSC learned that LGMSPD’s Record Management System (RMS) is compatible with NIBRS reporting. Each month LGMSPD runs a submission report from RMS that uploads to the Department of Justice resulting in NIBRS crime data being reported. The FBI database currently provides UCR summary crime data reports (during the NIBRS transition) on their Crime Data Explorer webpage. LGMSPD is commended for completing the transition to NIBRS reporting, as a number of CA agencies are still in the process of completing the transition.
Tables 2 and 3 below reflects the actual number of Part 1 crimes reported by the community to the LGMSPD. As noted, violent crime is low and there are more property crimes reported.
There are two distinct tables to show the reported crimes in Los Gatos separately from Monte Sereno.
TABLE 2: Los Gatos 10-Year Part 1 Reported Crimes, 2014-2023 TYPE 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Homicide 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Rape 6 7 2 3 2 2 3 0 7 6
Robbery 3 14 6 4 6 6 9 2 5 6
Assault 13 10 13 7 2 6 8 4 42 33
Total Violent 23 31 21 14 10 14 20 6 54 48
Burglary 181 149 139 70 58 57 103 31 111 86
Larceny 389 494 432 319 360 332 258 111 417 460
Motor Veh Theft 46 58 45 42 41 30 45 12 50 47
Total Property 616 701 616 431 459 419 406 154 578 593
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer for years 2014-20222; Los Gatos-Monte Sereno PD for 2023 as not yet available on FBI website.
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TABLE 3: Monte Sereno 10-Year Part 1 Reported Crimes, 2014-2023 TYPE 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Homicide 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rape 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Robbery 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Assault 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 2 4
Total Violent 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 2 4
Burglary 16 10 14 3 8 2 4 4 18 18
Larceny 12 28 13 8 8 9 9 10 16 14
Motor Veh Theft 1 3 1 0 3 1 2 1 3 3
Total Property 30 41 28 11 19 12 15 15 37 35
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer for years 2014-20222; Los Gatos-Monte Sereno PD for 2023 as not yet available on FBI website.
In order to compare communities with varying sizes, geography, and community factors crime rates are expressed (indexed) as the number of incidents per 100,000 population to allow for comparison. Thus, the crime rate may reflect a number greater than the actual crime numbers reported in a category (Tables 2 and 3 above). In Tables 4 and 5, indexed crime rates for the Town of Los Gatos and City of Monte Sereno, respectively, the State of California and the Nation were examined over a 10-year period between 2014-2023. Crime trend data includes data pre and post-pandemic.
TABLE 4: Indexed Crimes Rates for Town of Los Gatos, California, Nation, 2014-23
YEAR TOWN OF LOS GATOS CALIFORNIA NATION
Violent Property Total Violent Property Total Violent Property Total 2014 75 2,012 2,087 397 2,442 2,839 362 2,574 2,936
2015 100 2,258 2,358 428 2,628 3,056 374 2,501 2,875
2016 68 1,990 2,058 445 2,550 2,995 396 2,452 2,848
2017 46 1,402 1,448 453 2,505 2,958 395 2,363 2,758
2018 32 1,485 1,517 448 2,386 2,834 383 2,210 2,593
2019 45 1,361 1,406 442 2,336 2,778 381 2,131 2,512
2020 66 1,341 1,407 442 2,139 2,581 399 1,958 2,357
2021 15 462 477 481 2,165 2,646 387 1,832 2,219
2022 171 1,827 1,998 500 2,343 2,843 381 1,954 2,335
2023 143 1,768 1,911 * * * * * *
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer for years 2014-2019 and 2022; Los Gatos-Monte Sereno PD for years 2021 and 2023. *State and National crime rates not yet available from FBI for 2023.
ITEM NO. 20.
39 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
TABLE 5: Indexed Crimes Rates for City of Monte Sereno, California, Nation, 2014-23
YEAR CITY OF MONTE SERENO CALIFORNIA NATION
Violent Property Total Violent Property Total Violent Property Total 2014 0 854 854 397 2,442 2,839 362 2,574 2,936
2015 0 1,145 1,145 428 2,628 3,056 374 2,501 2,875
2016 0 780 780 445 2,550 2,995 396 2,452 2,848
2017 0 307 307 453 2,505 2,958 395 2,363 2,758
2018 0 527 527 448 2,386 2,834 383 2,210 2,593
2019 0 342 342 442 2,336 2,778 381 2,131 2,512
2020 116 436 552 442 2,139 2,581 399 1,958 2,357
2021 29 428 457 481 2,165 2,646 387 1,832 2,219
2022 60 1,119 1,179 500 2,343 2,843 381 1,954 2,335
2023 115 1,006 1,121 * * * * * *
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer for years 2014-2019 and 2022; Los Gatos-Monte Sereno PD for years 2021 and 2023. State and National crime rates not yet available from FBI for 2023.
To more easily view the various types of indexed crime trends, Charts 6 and 7 below are intended to show the fluctuations and trends. The line graphs are intended to reflect how the Town of Los Gatos and City of Monte Sereno, respectively, follows or differs from the indexed, overall crime trends across the state and country.
CHART 6: 10-Year Part 1 Crime Trends, Town of Los Gatos, State and Nation 2014 – 2023
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer and Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department. 2,087
2,358
2,058
1,448 1,517 1,406 1,407
477
1,998 1,911
2,839
3,056 2,995 2,958 2,834
2,778
2,581 2,646
2,843 2,936
2,875 2,848 2,758 2,593 2,512 2,357 2,219 2,335
0 500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
10-Year Indexed Part 1 Crime Trends
Los Gatos California Nation
ITEM NO. 20.
40 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
CHART 7: 10-Year Part 1 Crime Trends, City of Monte Sereno, State and Nation 2014 – 2023
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer and Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department.
As reflected in the charts above, the overall crime rates in the Town of Los Gatos and City of Monte Sereno are lower than the overall crime rate in California and the Nation. From 2014 through 2021, the crime trends remained consistently low for the Town of Los Gatos and City of Monte Sereno in overall Part 1 crime. In 2022, crime spiked primarily with property crimes. The Town of Los Gatos experienced an increase in violent crimes, mostly in aggravated assaults. The highest year for overall crime in Los Gatos was 2,358 in 2015 and the lowest was 477 in 2021; and the highest year for overall crime in Monte Sereno was 1,179 in 2022 and the lowest was 307 in 2017.
In order to further explore the crime trends in the Town of Los Gatos and City of Monte Sereno, the next charts will provide a visual representation of the separate types of indexed crime:
violent crime and property crime. Violent crime includes homicide, rape, robbery, and assault.
Property crime includes burglary, larceny (theft), and motor vehicle theft. The last four years includes a representation of violent and property crimes during and subsequent to the pandemic.
854
1,145
780
307
527
342
552 457
1,179
2,839
3,056 2,995 2,958 2,834
2,778 2,581 2,646
2,843 2,936
2,875 2,848 2,758
2,593 2,512
2,357 2,219 2,335
0 500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
10-Year Indexed Part 1 Crime Trends
Monte Sereno California Nation
ITEM NO. 20.
41 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
CHART 8: 10-Year Crime Trends, Town of Los Gatos, 2014-2023 Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer and Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department As Chart 8 indicates, the violent crime rate in the Town of Los Gatos represented in dark blue for the past 10 years has remained relatively consistent with a slight increase over the past two years. The highest indexed violent crime rate was 171 in 2022 and the lowest was 15 in 2021.
Again, violent crime is still significantly lower than state and national levels. The property crime rate represented in light blue trended downward overall; however, there was a spike in 2022 and 2023. The highest property crime rate was 2,258 in 2015 and the lowest was 462 in 2021.
Again, property crime in the Town of Los Gatos remains lower than state and national levels. 75 100 68 46 32 45 66 15
171 143
2,012
2,258
1,990
1,402 1,485
1,361 1,341
462
1,827 1,768
0 500
1000
1500
2000
2500
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Town of Los Gatos Crime Rate Trends
Violent Crime Property Crime
ITEM NO. 20.
42 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
CHART 9: 10-Year Crime Trends City of Monte Sereno, 2014-2023 Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer and Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department As depicted above in Chart 9, the violent crime rate in the City of Monte Sereno has been absent through most of the ten-year period. In 2020, the there was a slight uptick where the highest violent crime was 143 in 2023 and the lowest was 0 from 2014-2019. It should be noted that the number of violent crimes reported were for aggravated assaults only, and the actual numbers were four in 2020, one in 2021, and two in 2022. The property crime rate represented in light blue trended downward from 2015 to 2021, and spiked upward in 2022 and 2023, but was still less than state and national crime rates. The highest property crime rate in Monte Sereno was 1,768 in 2023 and the lowest was 307 in 2017. 0 0 0 0 0 0
116
29 60
143
854
1,145
780
307
527
342
436
428
1,119
1,768
0 200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
City of Monte Sereno Crime Rate Trends
Violent Crime Property Crime
ITEM NO. 20.
43 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
TABLE 6: Crimes Rate Comparisons with Town of Los Gatos/City of Monte Sereno and Other Local Agencies, 2022
Town State Population Crime Rates
Violent Property Total
Campbell CA 41,605 353 3,069 3,422
Capitola CA 9,748 267 3,139 3,406
Cupertino CA 56,950 116 1,331 1,447
Gilroy CA 56,742 481 2,180 2,661
Morgan Hill CA 45,134 319 1,453 1,772
Saratoga CA 29,306 41 816 857
Scotts Valley CA 12,196 279 1,386 1,665
Watsonville CA 51,517 586 1,862 2,448
Los Gatos CA 33,540* 171 1,827 1,998
Monte Sereno CA 3,479 60 1,119 1,179
California 39,029,342 500 2,343 2,843
National 333,790,926 381 1,954 2,335
Source: FBI Criminal Justice Information Services UCR crime reports accessed August 2024. *Town of Los Gatos population estimate data based on available 2020 US Census data.
Table 6 is for informational purposes only to provide the backdrop for crime in the region. As reflected in the table above, Los Gatos-Monte Sereno are both significantly below the violent, property and overall crime rates compared to most agencies in the local region, State, and Nation.
LOS GATOS-MONTE SERENO POLICE DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATIONS § Focus recruitment efforts on qualified diverse candidates, particularly amongst women and Asian. (Recommendation #1)
§ Consider reorganizing and restructuring the police department as shown in Chart 5. (Recommendation #2 )
§ Update the organizational with the current chain of command structure and/or a revised organization structure/chart and Policy § 200 – Organizational Structure and Responsibilities updated as well. (Recommendation #3)
ITEM NO. 20.
OPERATIONS
BUREAU
ITEM NO. 20.
45 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
The Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department (LGMSPD) is dedicated to the safety of the community. The Operations Bureau is comprised of uniformed Patrol, Detectives and Community Service Officers. The Patrol Division is responsible for responding to emergencies such as life-saving calls and in progress crimes, as well as working proactively in the community to address quality of life issues.
PATROL DIVISION
LGMSPD patrol function falls within the Operations Bureau. The bureau is led by a Police Captain who reports directly to the Police Chief. Like most municipal police departments, LGMSPD's uniformed Patrol Division is the most visible function of the agency that the community sees daily. The mere presence of the uniformed patrol function plays a vital role in the agency’s ability to provide a sense of safety and security to the Las Gatos and Monte Sereno communities.
The fundamental responsibility of policing agencies is to provide a safe environment for the public’s safety as well as ensure quality of life. LGMSPD recognizes these key responsibilities to allow the community to flourish and thrive as reflected in their Mission and Core Values Statements.
LGMSPD Policy § 400 identifies the policy and function of the patrol services provided:
400.3 POLICY
The Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department provides patrol services 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will prioritize responses to requests for emergency services using available resources to enhance the safety of the public and department members.
400.4 FUNCTION
Patrol will generally be conducted by uniformed officers in clearly marked law enforcement vehicles in assigned jurisdictional areas of Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department. The function of patrol is to respond to calls for assistance and reports of criminal activity, act as a deterrent to crime, enforce state and local laws, identify community needs, provide support and assistance to the community and respond to emergencies.
Patrol services include, but are not limited to:
(a) Responding to emergency calls for service.
(b) Apprehending criminal offenders.
(c) Providing mutual aid and assistance to other agencies for emergency and law enforcement-related activities.
ITEM NO. 20.
46 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
(d) Preventing criminal acts, traffic violations and collisions, maintaining public order and discovering hazardous situations or conditions.
(e) Responding to reports of criminal and non-criminal acts. (f) Responding to routine calls for service, such as public assistance or public safety. (g) Carrying out crime prevention activities such as residential inspections, business inspections and community presentations.
(h) Carrying out community oriented policing and problem-solving activities including the application of resources to improve or resolve specific problems or situations and
contacting or assisting members of the public in a positive way. (i) Directing and controlling traffic.
It should also be noted that in addition to the department policy manual cited above, there is also a “Bureau of Operations Patrol Division Guidelines” document that outlines the expectations of those employees serving the patrol function. Portions of that document will be cited throughout this section of the report.
PATROL FACILITY
LGMSPD operates two police facilities. One of those facilities is considered the Police Operations Building (POB), which houses the Patrol Division and some other department functions. The Police Chief and Support Services functions, such as Dispatch and Records, are not co-located with the patrol force, rather they are at Police Headquarters located at the Town’s Civic Center. This is impractical in an agency the size of LGMSPD and creates some inefficiencies that can be better addressed with all functions under one roof (See Facilities section later in this report). The POB was originally built as a workspace for a utility company and later converted into the existing police operations facility. The building, although limited in size, does serve the operational minimums needed for patrol operations.
Some of the building characteristics include:
§ Limited Office Space
§ Employee Locker Rooms
§ Equipment Storage
§ Secure Evidence Storage
§ Patrol Work Cubicles
§ Gym
§ Secure Patrol Vehicle Parking
§ Secure Employee Parking
§ Very Small Briefing Room
§ Front Public Counter (Not Staffed – Secure Line to Dispatch Only) Although the existing building serves the limited needs of the Patrol Division, there are shortcomings associated with the two-building configuration, including:
ITEM NO. 20.
47 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
§ Communication issues that arise with employees in different places. o This is amplified with 1/3 of the current workforce being with the agency for less than 2 years.
§ Officers being separated from Records and Dispatch disrupts the natural workflow in an agency the size of LGMSPD.
§ Agency reported disruptions to the historical “family” atmosphere that has traditionally existed in the organization.
Regular planning is being done to explore alternatives to bringing the agency back together in one facility. Although this two-building configuration has been in place for approximately 15 years, it was never intended to be a permanent solution. Meliora PSC strongly encourages the Town place a priority on having one building for police services.
STAFFING
To properly serve the community, agencies must ensure their services reflect the needs and available resources for their respective Town. Table 7 below provides a snapshot of those positions assigned to the Patrol.
TABLE 7: Patrol Division Staffing FY 2022-23
Position 2023/2024 Budget 2023/2024 Actual Vacant
Captain 1 1 0
Sergeant 4 4 0
Corporal 4 4 0
Officer 18 16 2
Total 27 25 2
Source: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department. These totals represent filled positions; in some cases, employees are off work due to long-term injuries.
The primary responsibility of patrol officers is to patrol the Town of Los Gatos/City of Monte Sereno, respond to calls for service from the community, proactively address issues related to crime, and address community concerns in an effort to enhance the quality of life for those who live, work and visit the Town. The Patrol Division is comprised of four individual patrol teams.
Ideally, each team is led by a police sergeant and will have one corporal and four or five police officers.
WORK SCHEDULE AND SHIFTS
LGMSPD patrol officers work a variation of the 12-hour shift schedule. Specifically, officers and sergeants are scheduled for 12.33 hours, with a start time of 6:40 a.m./p.m. and an end time of 7:00 a.m./p.m. With 24/7 coverage, the schedule is as follows for the four patrol teams:
ITEM NO. 20.
48 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
§ Team 1 – 6:40 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Monday through Wednesday (every other Thursday) § Team 2 – 6:40 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. Monday through Wednesday (every other Thursday) § Team 3 – 6:40 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Friday through Sunday (every other Thursday) § Team 4 – 6:40 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. Friday through Sunday (every other Thursday) Every week and during the pay period, there is automatic overtime built into the schedule for every officer and supervisor assigned to the patrol function. If an officer worked their full schedule it would result in 6.31 hours of overtime per two-week pay period. Additionally, there was a surplus of 12 hours owed to each patrol member every 28 days. This schedule may appear confusing when first exposed to it, but we learned that LGMSPD members became wellversed in understanding the scheduling dynamics and overtime associated with these details.
Nonetheless, the department is seeking a more streamlined version of the schedule that would be less confusing and potentially reduce the mandatory overtime.
In our experience, a vast majority of police organizations tasked with providing 24-hour-a-day service have some type of eight, 10, or 12-hour shift schedule. Although there are variations of how they adopt these schedules, these are the industry norms. At the time of the site visit, LGMSPD was exploring other scheduling options and discussions were taking place between the employee union representing the sworn officers and the Police Chief. Meliora was provided a copy of one proposal being explored, and we offered some feedback on concerns we had about the proposal. Both groups have since moved on to other variations of a potential schedule change.
In our experience, agencies that have a consistent workload are better suited to an eight or 12- hour schedule as both schedules factor into a 24-hour workday. Agencies that see spikes in workload may be better suited to a 10-hour workday as they can overlap shifts for additional coverage. The 10-hour shift configuration will often require more officers.
In discussions with department leadership, Meliora PSC shared concerns about alternative scheduling. In our view, based upon the current workload observed in the agency we believe the department is best served by an eight or twelve-hour schedule (this would include the department's 12.33-hour version). The LGMSPD workload observed is relatively flat throughout a 24-hour period thereby reducing the need for shift overlap seen with traditional ten-hour schedules.
Following Meliora PSC’s site visit and just prior to completing this report, we learned that LGMSPD has approved a new schedule that was negotiated between the agency and the police officers’ union. The new schedule will be tested throughout an upcoming trial period and will adjust the current schedule for most officers on Teams 1-4 from 12.33 hours to 12-hour shifts.
The department will also create some cover shifts that will be 10 hours for a small number of officers on newly created teams. The department believes this will result in some savings through reduced overtime and still provide the desired staffing.
ITEM NO. 20.
49 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
Patrol shift deployments are for a six-month period. In an attempt to provide officers and sergeants advance notice to plan for family, school and other needs, shift sign-ups are intended to occur 10 weeks in advance of shift change. Sign-ups are based on seniority at each rank:
sergeant, corporal and officers.
LGMSPD allows personnel to stay on the same shift for up to two, six-month deployments for up to one year, at which time they need to rotate to a different shift when they sign up. The rotation can be to another shift, e.g. day shift to night shift, or to different days off on the same shift.
In order to ensure officers and sergeants do not end up on the same shift for an extended period of time, Meliora PSC recommends the department mandate patrol personnel rotate to another shift, not just days off, after two shift rotations. In addition, to broaden the experience level of officers, Meliora PSC recommends LGMSPD reserve spots on the sign-up list for each team that can be designated for officers with less than two years of experience. This also allows less tenured officers to learn from the experienced officers on their respective shift. Staff indicated the average experience level in patrol is approximately two years.
Providing officers with the opportunity to work different shifts exposes them to more variety in the types of calls for service from the community. For example, driving under the influence (DUI) incidents typically occur in the evening hours versus daytime. If an officer works primarily dayshift, they will not have the exposure to DUI investigations. Conversely, fraud and/or burglary cases may occur more frequently during the daytime hours and assigning officers only to nightshift limits their exposure to these types of calls for service and investigations.
From a recruiting standpoint, the mandatory shift rotations allows new officers and laterals the ability to work different shifts rather than be relegated to the night shift until a new officer is hired so they can move up in seniority. Furthermore, the mandated shift rotation also underscores the department’s commitment to officer wellness and ensuring officers and sergeants are well rounded.
MINIMUM STAFFING
Most police agencies have established minimum patrol staffing levels that they have determined are appropriate. These minimum staffing levels are often established based on a data analysis of the safe and effective staffing levels for managing the anticipated daily workload.
Los Gatos established its minimum staffing levels based on a historical sense of what is needed and aligns with the community's three-beat configuration. The four-officer minimum involves one officer covering each beat, with the fourth being a “rover” unit to assist the others when needed. These numbers have not been set based on an actual workload analysis.
ITEM NO. 20.
50 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
The following minimum staffing numbers are documented in the Patrol Division Guidelines document:
Day Shift: 6:40 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
§ Team 1 – 1 sergeant and 4 officers
o Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and every other Thursday
§ Team 3 – 1 sergeant and 4 officers
o Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and every other Thursday
Night Shift: 6:40 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
§ Team 2 – 1 sergeant and 3 officers
o Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and every other Thursday
§ Team 4
o Friday and Saturday – 1 sergeant and 4 officers
o Sunday, and every other Thursday – 1 sergeant and 3 officers The term “supervisor” noted above can be a police sergeant or a police corporal based upon who may be scheduled that particular day. If a sergeant is working and there is a corporal on the shift, that corporal will be counted as one of the officers. In addition, traffic officers working on a police motorcycle and officers with tracking K9s are counted toward shift minimums as well.
It is important to note that although the agency works to ensure that these staffing levels are met at all times, the shift supervisor has some limited discretion to occasionally allow staffing to fall below these established levels, specifically during select hours of the shift when the workload historically diminishes. Those reduced levels can be allowed during those limited hours. Minimums can be met by either calling an officer to work the shift on overtime or holding over an officer coming off their shift.
PATROL OVERTIME
Overtime usage is a regular occurrence in every police organization throughout the country.
Ideally, an achievable overtime budget is established annually, and the department will strive to meet those budgeted levels through effective management and oversight. The following table shows the budgeted and actual overtime expenditures in the department’s Patrol Division from 2019 to 2024.
ITEM NO. 20.
51 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
TABLE 8: Patrol Overtime Budget and Expenditures
Budget Actual Expenditures Balance
FY 19-20 $216,002.18 $379,096.66 ($163,094.48)
FY 20-21 $180,476.25 $423,209.81 ($242,733.56)
FY 21-22 $206,470.64 $593,799.11 ($387,328.47)
FY 22-23 $242,102.55 $732,920.11 ($490,817.56)
FY 23-24 (as of 3-26-24) $217,179.13 $505,202.36 ($288,023.23) Source: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department Overtime Report as of 3-26-24.
As one can see, expenditures have exceeded what was budgeted and increased significantly each year since 2019. On the surface, this would appear problematic and suggest a potential mismanagement of fiscal resources. However, in discussing this with LGMSPD leadership, the overages are a byproduct of the department’s need to meet minimum patrol staffing. These overages are funded through salary savings behind the vacant positions, and therefore, the department’s overall budget has been met in each of the three years noted.
Agencies employ this strategy throughout the country (using salary savings to fund overtime).
However, this practice has been exasperated in recent years as many agencies have reported problems maintaining authorized staffing levels. Although this strategy works fiscally, the employee impact of these decisions should be taken into consideration in managing this area of police operations.
Employee Impact of Patrol Overtime
The need for police officers to work overtime is a normal occurrence within the industry. But, the industry is evolving and officer wellness initiatives are understandably becoming more important. A component of officer wellness involves a healthy work/life balance and that balance can be severely disrupted with excessive overtime expected of its workforce. The long
12.33 hour shifts with the need to sometimes stay longer can add to potential stressor to this concern.
There was a general theme while talking to employees that they supported one another and would cover one another’s shift when asked. Additionally, the department had not reached a point of having to “order” employees to work in order to maintain minimum staffing. Once that occurs the department may have to become more restrictive in allowing an officer to take time off when requested – this may further exasperate work stress and is a complaint we often hear in other agencies struggling to maintain its staffing. In the case of LGMSPD, although employees were generally positive, they also shared that the overtime “ask” was becoming problematic and concerning.
In our assessment we believe LGMSPD demonstrated an awareness of wanting their officers to have that desired work/life balance and they understand that overtime was becoming a difficult ask for their workforce. However, the department’s only solution is to fill vacancies and reach
ITEM NO. 20.
52 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
full staffing thereby alleviating the small gap between full staffing and minimum staffing.
Meliora PSC believes the workload data presented in this report would suggest that there are times that the department’s minimum staffing requirement can be adjusted to reduce the mandatory overtime need. Meliora PSC recommends LGMSPD maintain its vigilance over excessive overtime use and consider other options that might alleviate the overtime necessity for the police officers.
PATROL SUPERVISION AND MANAGEMENT
The Operations Bureau is commanded by a Police Captain and has command responsibilities over multiple department functions, including the Patrol Division. The Patrol Division itself is supervised by police sergeants who lead each of the four patrol teams. There is no middle manager between the patrol sergeants and the Captain. This rank structure has created an environment where Los Gatos Police Sergeants often perform administrative duties that may otherwise be handled by a middle manager or Police Lieutenant in many other organizations. In fact, while interviewing some of the patrol sergeants, we learned that a past Police Chief affectionally referred to the department sergeants as “sargtenants,” implying the position was a hybrid supervisor-manager position within the agency.
The fact that a middle manager does not exist or that police sergeants are performing administrative work is not a concern. What concerns us is that these administrative responsibilities fall on the shoulders of the patrol sergeants rather than designated administrative sergeants. We believe this creates a gap in patrol supervision of daily operations.
Meliora PSC recommends adding one FTE lieutenant that effectively links patrol supervision to the Patrol Captain.
LGMSPD Policy § 420 outlines that each patrol shift must be directed by supervisors capable of making decisions and communicating in a manner consistent with department policies, procedures, practices, functions, and objectives. As such, sergeants have been identified to fill this role. However, there is the caveat that police corporals can fill the role of acting field supervisor if a sergeant is unavailable. Meliora PSC learned that this is an almost daily occurrence in Los Gatos.
When sergeants are on shift, they are technically designated as the shift supervisor. However, we learned that most patrol sergeants spend significant time during their shifts handling required administrative duties in the office. If no corporal is on shift, the sergeant will leave the office to respond to requests for assistance from field officers when they occur. If a corporal is on shift, that corporal will have regular patrol beat responsibilities but also handle most of those requests for assistance by other field officers.
Police work, by its very nature, can often be highly scrutinized by the community, media, and political leadership. Expectations for professional conduct by police officers are ever-increasing.
Sergeants are often the most effective and influential position in an organization to ensure quality service and professional conduct by department employees. Yet, as professional
ITEM NO. 20.
53 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
expectations increase, organizations frequently place additional administrative responsibilities on those sergeants tasked with supervising operations. As responsibilities increase, sergeants cannot be in the field as they should, ensuring professional conduct by department employees and being visible.
One example of where these issues collide is body-worn cameras (BWC). BWCs are a tool for recording the interactions of police officers and the public while officers are performing their duties. In some cases, BWCs have captured the unprofessional actions of officers. Yet, in most cases, the existence of video of an incident has shown that police officers are acting professionally and following department policy and the law. While there are undisputed benefits to BWCs in police work, this technology has created a significant workload for department employees, especially supervisors.
BWCs have randomized audit expectations, where supervisors must watch a certain number of BWC footage from each officer on their team during a certain performance period. Additionally, every critical incident, such as a use of force or a community member complaint, mandates the review of incident videos. If four officers are on a call that lasts for 30 minutes and results in a complaint, the reviewing supervisor will be required to watch the footage of the incident in its entirety and often from each officer to review the officer’s conduct against the allegations made by a community member. That single incident can result in an additional two hours of work that did not necessarily exist before BWCs. Multiply that by the number of incidents that require a BWC review and add that to the existing workload, and it is easy to see how this technology has impacted the workload dynamic in any police agency. Additionally, this review expectation is often repeated by the reviewing manager following the administrative review by the sergeant. This means that the Bureau Captain often watches the same video for quality control of the administrative review or internal investigation.
Corporals Working as Shift Supervisors
As noted above, LGMSPD corporals often serve in the capacity of the shift supervisor. This occurs when a designated sergeant is off work and also occurs even when sergeants are working but delegate supervision to patrol corporals when they are busy on administrative duties in the office. Both of these examples occur frequently and during our assessment period there was one example of a corporal that had been supervising a shift for several months while the regular sergeant was off for an extended leave period.
The use of corporals in a leadership/supervisor capacity does occur in many agencies that have the corporal rank. But there are drawbacks to this practice that should cause an agency to limit their use in this capacity. Corporals often straddle the line between being a true supervisor, such as a sergeant and being a line level officer that handles regular calls for service. This role often causes some concern with the people holding the rank to step into the supervisor’s role when necessary, knowing that they are often on a peer level with the officers with whom they work. Although LGMSPD is complimentary of the individuals serving in this rank and they do send the corporals to a POST-approved supervisory school, there was concern that these
ITEM NO. 20.
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individuals do not often view employee conduct that may need to be addressed in the same manner that a sergeant would.
With time and experience, sergeants develop a global view of supervision and leadership that oftentimes does not exist at the officer and corporal level. This is especially true when sergeants are exposed to some of the management dynamics in a police organization. Good supervisors evolve over time and become an important figure in an organization to ensure professional and ethical conduct by employees.
Additionally, corporals at LGMSPD are the department’s primary FTO’s. However, when pulled for supervisors duties they delegate the trainee to another officer for the day/week/month thereby disrupting the training period for a new officer (additional details are included in the FTO section of the report). Although we do not recommend that LGMSPD cease this practice, Meliora PSC recommends a concerted effort be made to limit this practice to the extent practical. Adopting the recommendation to move administrative duties away from sergeants with the addition of a lieutenant and ensuring the sergeants are in the field should assist in this goal. When this transition occurs, it will be important to re-establish the expectations of patrol field sergeants and continue to provide training related to supervision and accountability.
BRIEFING TRAINING
Briefing is an opportunity to present mandatory and optional training, review policies, procedures, and other relevant topics in an environment amenable to open discussion among various levels of experience and rank. Briefing time is also an opportunity to disseminate and discuss information on current operational and administrative topics. This short but significant interaction between supervisors and officers during briefing enables each to have a voice and provides an important opportunity for sergeants to demonstrate leadership. Briefing training can also be documented to satisfy California POST and/or LGMSPD training requirements.
One of the key responsibilities of a patrol sergeant is to provide briefing training, and LGMSPD Policy § 402 – Briefing Training – codifies this expectation. The policy states that assembly training should consist of the minimum following basic tasks:
(a) Briefing officers with information regarding daily patrol activity, with particular attention given to unusual situations and changes in the status of wanted persons, stolen vehicles, and major investigations
(b) Notifying officers of changes in schedules and assignments (c) Notifying officers of new General Orders or changes in General Orders (d) Reviewing recent incidents for training purposes
(e) Providing training on a variety of subjects
Patrol briefings generally take place at the beginning of an officer’s shift. This is an opportunity for officers to discuss important cases, what occurred during the prior shift, and where
ITEM NO. 20.
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resources may need to be directed for the upcoming shift. They are an important aspect of policing, and the time should be capitalized to the greatest extent possible.
To accomplish this, briefing time is also a time to ensure some training takes place to ensure consistency and adherence to policy and expectations. Sergeants must establish what training will take place over a specified period of time, ensure that training occurs, and document that training did, in fact, occur and what officers received the training.
Meliora PSC took note during briefings we attended that, in fact, the time was being used to openly discuss current issues regarding crime, wanted suspects, and previous calls. The officers appeared to be engaged in the process. Although there was not an agendized briefing training issue on the days we attended the briefing, we are confident that training is occurring as outlined in the policy since the briefing room contained a document on the bulletin board that outlines what training is required to be covered in briefings during a specific quarter. All patrol employees have access to this document, and an attestation of completion is to be forwarded to the Bureau Captain. Best practice indicates retention of briefing training records and forwarding training records, attendance, materials and curriculum or a summary to the Training Coordinator. Meliora PSC recommends all completed briefing training, to include the Daily Training Bulletins, be documented and sent to the Training Unit to be included in the respective employee’s personnel file. The training form should include the following:
§ Training topic.
§ Date, time and location.
§ Who provided the training?
§ Who attended the training?
§ What was the learning goal?
§ Was learning goal met (verification)?
§ Copies of articles, video, etc. for the training file.
LGMSPD subscribes to the Lexipol policy manual as well as the Daily Training Bulletins (DTB) associated with the policies. DTB’s are designed to assist first-line supervisors and provide training within the time constraints of briefings. More information regarding department training will be described further in the Training section of the report.
SUPERVISOR COLLATERAL DUTIES
Agency supervisors often carry extra duties and assignments outside their primary responsibility area. This is usually done because select areas of police operations may not require or justify the need for full-time employees, yet providing the service to police operations yields community and department benefits. Often, these collateral duties allow supervisors and management employees an opportunity to enhance their professional span of control and benefit the organization through leadership development.
ITEM NO. 20.
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Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
Agencies similar in size to LGMSPD often have supervisors carry these additional collateral responsibilities; this is done out of necessity but yields the benefit of leadership development within the department. However, it is essential that collateral assignments are rotated periodically rather than assigning a collateral duty to someone who has historically managed it and having the assignment remain with the individual rather than allowing others to experience that responsibility. Rotating collateral duties can also build strategic foresight and expand staff’s experiential learning. This not only balances out assignments and prevents burnout from over-assigning tasks, but also builds internal succession planning as supervisors are exposed to other duties and responsibilities outside essential patrol duties. Meliora PSC recommends the collateral duties be rotated amongst supervisors on a routine basis.
Collateral assignments can also be assigned to officers or have some officers function as assistants in the respective duties for the sergeant. Providing training for a collateral duty along with the responsibility for oversight enhances the leadership growth of department personnel.
This practice also gives police department staff insight into other aspects of how the duties and responsibilities of patrol functions are impacted by budget, societal needs, forecasting, collaboration with Town staff/departments and community members, and subsequently embedding leadership growth, development and succession planning into the culture of the organization. LGMSPD currently involves corporals and officers in the management workflow of collateral duties to enhance their experience and assist in succession building. The department leadership is commended for maximizing opportunities to build strategic foresight in the organization.
PATROL AREAS AND BEATS
LGMSPD patrols an area of approximately 14 square miles, with The Town of Los Gatos occupying a majority of that area and Monte Sereno covering a smaller area to the west of the Town. Monte Sereno is largely residential in nature, while Los Gatos is a mix of residential and commercial properties. The map image below is the LGMSPD Jurisdictional map. Monte Sereno is the pink-shaded area on the left of the image, with the remainder of the image detail being mostly Los Gatos. In the northern area of the Town is Interstate 85, connecting the area to Sunnyvale and Mountain View to the northwest and Highway 101 to the east. Dividing the community is Highway 17, with San Jose to the north and the Santa Cruz mountains to the southwest. The Pacific Ocean and the beach community of Santa Cruz are also to the southwest; the Highway 17 route through Los Gatos to the beach is a traffic chokepoint, creating concerns for the community and LGMSPD to manage.
LGMSPD's patrol area is largely suburban with traditional paved roads. Meliora PSC learned that there are occasional calls for service in the foothills, where there are trails for hikers and mountain bikers. However, these trails are not necessarily vehicle-friendly, creating occasional challenges for police response. We also learned that traffic congestion can be a major concern even outside of the seasonal beach traffic noted above. This not only impacts the Town to find solutions it also impacts the response time of the police department.
ITEM NO. 20.
57 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
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CHART 10: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department Jurisdictional Map LGMSPD divides the community into three distinct beats. Beat 1 is located in the northwest area of the community, with Highway 17 creating the eastern beat border; beat 2 is the other side of Highway 17 in the northeast area of the community, while Beat 3 occupies the southern half of the community. Monte Sereno is located in both Beat 1 and Beat 3, and the community’s downtown is located in the southern area of the community in Beat 3.
The following figures are the individual beats patrolled by LGMSPD.
ITEM NO. 20.
58 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
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CHART 11: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department Beat 1
ITEM NO. 20.
59 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
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CHART 12: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department Beat 2 CHART 13: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department Beat 3
ITEM NO. 20.
60 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
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NEIGHBORING JURISDICTIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS
The Town of Los Gatos is located within Santa Clara County. There are pockets of areas within the community and in the foothills that are the patrol responsibility of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department. To the north of Los Gatos are the Cities of Campbell and San Jose, both of which have their own municipal police departments.
Although all surrounding agencies will assist one another on emergency mutual aid requests, LGMSPD also works together on regular calls for service with both the sheriff’s department and Campbell PD. Examples verbally provided to our consultants include:
§ The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department—the county jurisdictional pocket referred to as “The Manor”—is located inside the larger jurisdictional boundaries of LGMSPD.
Any calls for service within this area would be the responsibility of a sheriff’s deputy responding from another area of the county. As such, LGMSPD will often provide service to the residents of that area when the need arises.
§ Campbell PD and LGMSPD will each hold department events that require the attendance of all department personnel (e.g., an all-personnel meeting). When these events/meetings occur, the other jurisdiction will cover patrol responsibilities for the duration of the department event.
§ When LGMSPD or Campbell PD have all their existing resources dedicated to other incidents (no officers available), the other department will cover certain calls for service until the other can “free up” their resources and resume coverage. § Incidents that occur in the foothills of Los Gatos and within a county area have been handled by LGMSPD because the sheriff’s department management told them there was a verbal agreement from many years earlier.
§ Vasona Reservoir is located within Los Gatos but is a Santa Clara Park property. The park is patrolled part-time by park rangers employed by the county, but LGMSPD, not the sheriff’s department, is called when a law enforcement presence is requested.
We learned that the existing relationship between these three agencies and any agreements to cover one another’s jurisdiction, when needed, is based on what appears to be decades-old “handshake” agreements involving past leaders of their respective agencies. Although the need for one another’s services does not occur frequently, the description of when and how these particular incidents occur falls outside of the County’s 2009 Mutual Aid Agreements between all agencies in Santa Clara County. That agreement covers large-scale emergencies and events.
These relationships are valuable and ultimately benefit the communities served by their respective agencies. Additionally, having resources in place that can be shared when needed allows each respective community to fund a department for what is ‘normally’ required versus the ‘what-if’ scenario that happens only occasionally. Our concern with this arrangement is simply that it is based on old verbal agreements. Meliora PSC recommends LGMSPD engage each of these partners and outline an MOU that can clarify the relationship going forward. An agreement would clarify the liability for each respective agency while handling calls in the
ITEM NO. 20.
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other’s jurisdiction and could clarify potential remedies if a significant imbalance begins to emerge in the use of one another’s services. It will also provide clarity for future members of all agencies to understand the origin and exactly what was agreed upon versus the current situation where leadership interprets what one another will do for the other when asked.
PATROL DIVISION RECOMMENDATIONS
§ Mandate patrol personnel rotate to another shift, not just days off, after two shift rotations. (Recommendation #4)
§ Reserve spots on the sign-up list for each team designated for officers with less than two years of experience. (Recommendation #5)
§ Maintain vigilance over excessive overtime use and consider other options that might alleviate the overtime necessity for the police officers. (Recommendation #6) § Add one FTE lieutenant that effectively links patrol supervision to the Patrol Captain. (Recommendation #7)
§ Make a concerted effort to limit this practice of using corporals as field supervisors to the extent practical. (Recommendation #8)
§ Forward all completed briefing training, to include the Daily Training Bulletins, to the Training Unit to be included in the respective employee’s personnel file. (Recommendation #9)
§ Rotate collateral duties supervisors on a routine basis. (Recommendation #10) § Engage local law enforcement partners and outline an MOU that can clarify the working relationships in various areas moving forward. (Recommendation #11) Call for Service Data Analysis
The dispatch center is a critical component of an effective public safety organization. Dispatch plays a considerable role in police-community relationships since they are frequently the first person to speak with a community member seeking assistance. The efficiency in listening to the caller, gathering pertinent information, and relaying critical details to first responders significantly impacts the safety and well-being of community members and LGMSPD officers.
This is especially critical for in-progress crimes as the efficacy of dispatch is integral in apprehending criminals and saving lives.
The dispatch center handles 9-1-1 calls for emergency services, community calls for assistance, and inter-agency requests through the Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. When those calls for service result in a report, arrest, assist, and/or investigation, the subsequent documentation becomes part of the LGMSPD Records Management System (RMS). As part of the assessment, Meliora PSC requested historical data from the department’s CAD/RMS systems to assess workload, data analytics for organizational management and oversight, and efficiencies with associated systems and processes.
ITEM NO. 20.
62 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
LGMSPD staff provided Meliora PSC’s data scientist CAD data from 2021-2023, and our data scientist completed a comprehensive data analysis. Furthermore, Meliora PSC will provide a Data Analysis Toolkit program so LGMSPD staff can replicate the tables and charts in the Data Analysis Report annually with the ensuing year’s CAD data. The goal is for LGMSPD staff to repeat the review of the data provided for this assessment and continue to evaluate and assess workload, performance, and responsiveness in the future. This will position the department leaders to make informed, strategic adjustments accordingly.
Our comprehensive data analysis included a review of workload, to include administrative activities, deployment of officers, and response times. These areas were used to determine the appropriateness of staffing levels. The discussion that follows refers to some tables and charts from the Data Analysis Report. There are additional tables and charts represented in the Data Analysis Report included in the Data Analysis section at the end of the report that are full of useful data that further illustrates the activities of LGMSPD.
Public safety agencies must ensure that police resources are available during the times of the day when they are most needed. This is accomplished by the design of shift schedules that meet demands appropriately, as well as supplying enough officers during the times they are needed. Decisions regarding the supply and demand of police services often include resources provided by elected officials and balancing community needs and expectations with available assets. The determination of how many officers to provide and for what purpose defies an exact calculation and must be made through a series of informed, and sometimes difficult, choices. Each of these elements will be explored in the following sections of the report.
WORKLOAD
To more clearly understand the service demands for LGMSPD, Meliora PSC analyzed department CAD data from January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2023. LGMSPD provided the call data, which Meliora’s data scientist then thoroughly reviewed. This involved exporting all call data, removing duplicate calls and calls not handled by other agencies, and further ensuring the call data accurately reflected calls for service for LGMSPD. As a result, from 2021-2023, there were 88,658 unique records based on call type and assigned units. When filtered to patrol records based on call source and identifier, 79,278 records (calls for service and field activities) were registered in the CAD data. Additional analysis brought the total to 60,007 separate and distinct calls for service (both community-initiated and field-initiated) that form the foundation for this workload analysis. Those totals are indicated in the table below.
TABLE 9: Community-Initiated and Field-Initiated Category Records, by Year Source of Record 2021 2022 2023 Total
Community-Initiated Contact 6,184 6,797 6,617 19,598
Field-Initiated Contact 10,350 12,951 17,108 40,409
Total 16,534 19,748 23,725 60,007
ITEM NO. 20.
63 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
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To synthesize the distinct types of calls for service and examine thousands of calls for service more efficiently, the call types were grouped into 29 categories, as depicted in the tables below. Community-initiated refers to calls received by the dispatch by a public or outside agency member. Field-initiated refers to activities generated by LGMSPD staff.
TABLE 10: Community-Initiated Recorded Events, by Category, by Year w % Change Records Percent Change
Call Category 2021 2022 2023 2022 2023
Admin 79 81 80 2.53 -1.23
Agency Assist 89 105 91 17.98 -13.33
Alarm 1,069 1,150 1,034 7.58 -10.09
Animal 64 95 44 48.44 -53.68
Check Area 23 41 34 78.26 -17.07
Citizen Contact 351 433 574 23.36 32.56
Crime-Person 183 174 214 -4.92 22.99
Crime-Property 835 1,007 949 20.60 -5.76
Crime-Public 170 165 167 -2.94 1.21
Deceased Person 7 13 19 85.71 46.15
Disturbance 1,023 937 971 -8.41 3.63
Extra Patrol 112 206 152 83.93 -26.21
Fire 17 20 29 17.65 45.00
Medical 15 5 5 -66.67 0.00
Medical/Agency Assist 102 119 93 16.67 -21.85
Miscellaneous 26 37 29 42.31 -21.62
Miscellaneous Investigation 2 2 6 0.00 200.00
Missing Person 145 153 111 5.52 -27.45
Parking 60 98 52 63.33 -46.94
Pedestrian Contact 73 100 89 36.99 -11.00
Property 112 107 96 -4.46 -10.28
Special Assignment 4 6 2 50.00 -66.67
Suicide/Suicidal Person 15 25 26 66.67 4.00
Suspicious Activity 822 796 749 -3.16 -5.90
Traffic 91 110 147 20.88 33.64
Traffic Accident 125 142 202 13.60 42.25
Traffic Enforcement 3 2 1 -33.33 -50.00
Warrant 32 25 25 -21.88 0.00
Welfare Check 535 643 626 20.19 -2.64
Total 6184 6797 6617 9.91 -2.65
NOTE: The table depicts percentage changes using color coding showing decreases in blue shading and increases in red. Darker shading is associated with the significance of the change.
ITEM NO. 20.
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TABLE 11: Field-Initiated Recorded Events, by Category, by Year with % Change Records Percent Change
Record Category 2021 2022 2023 2022 2023
Admin 169 281 331 66.27 17.79
Agency Assist 10 6 11 -40.00 83.33
Alarm 6 4 1 -33.33 -75.00
Animal 1 6 1 500.00 -83.33
Check Area 1 1 0.00 -100.00
Citizen Contact 8 7 6 -12.50 -14.29
Crime-Person 1 5 -100.00
Crime-Property 15 29 23 93.33 -20.69
Crime-Public 2 2 2 0.00 0.00
Disturbance 5 7 7 40.00 0.00
Extra Patrol 6,403 9,159 12,816 43.04 39.93
Fire 1
Medical 3 3 2 0.00 -33.33
Medical/Agency Assist 1 2 100.00 -100.00
Miscellaneous 3 3 0.00
Miscellaneous Investigation 1 1 -100.00
Parking 125 132 114 5.60 -13.64
Pedestrian Contact 223 378 415 69.51 9.79
Property 2 6 4 200.00 -33.33
School Patrol 3 11 266.67
Special Assignment 19 23 21 21.05 -8.70
Suspicious Activity 225 360 321 60.00 -10.83
Traffic 17 25 19 47.06 -24.00
Traffic Accident 6 13 15 116.67 15.38
Traffic Enforcement 3,104 2,483 2,960 -20.01 19.21
Warrant 3 5 66.67
Welfare Check 3 14 13 366.67 -7.14
Total 10,350 12,951 17,108 25.13 32.10
NOTE: The table depicts percentage changes using color coding showing decreases in blue shading and increases in red. Darker shading is associated with the significance of the change.
ITEM NO. 20.
65 www.MelioraPSC.com
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
The following charts represent the same data in the tables above but allow for a visualization of the call types and the percentage of an officer’s workload dedicated to that call type. Note: Charts 14 and 16 represent 2021-2022 combined data, Charts 15 and 17 represent 2023 data.
CHART 14: Record Category Summary for Community-Initiated Calls, 2021-2022 Alarm, 17.09%
Disturbance, 15.10%
Crime-Property, 14.19%
Suspicious Activity, 12.46%
Welfare Check, 9.07%
Citizen
Contact,
6.04%
Crime-Person, 2.75% Crime-Public, 2.58%
Extra Patrol, 2.45%
Missing Person, 2.30%
Traffic Accident, 2.06%
Medical/Agency Assist, 1.70%
Property, 1.69%
Traffic, 1.55%
Agency Assist, 1.49%
Pedestrian Contact, 1.33%
Admin, 1.23%
Animal,
Parking, 1.22% 1.22%
Check Area, 0.49%
Miscellaneous, 0.49%
Warrant, 0.44%
Suicide/Suicidal Person, 0.31%
Fire, 0.29%
Deceased Person, 0.15%
Medical, 0.15%
Special Assignment, 0.08% Traffic Enforcement, 0.04%
Miscellaneous Investigation,
0.03%
School Patrol, 0.00%
Other, 1.97%
ITEM NO. 20.
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Organizational Assessment
CHART 15: Record Category Summary for Community-Initiated Calls, 2023
ITEM NO. 20.
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Organizational Assessment
CHART 16: Record Category Summary for Field-Initiated Calls, 2021-2022
ITEM NO. 20.
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Organizational Assessment
CHART 17: Record Category Summary for Field-Initiated Calls, 2023
ITEM NO. 20.
69 www.MelioraPSC.com
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
From 2021-2023, the top community-initiated calls for service were:
• Alarm calls represented 17% of the community-initiated calls during that three-year period. It should be noted that 2023 calls in this category were 10% lower than the 2022 call levels and slightly less than the 2021 totals. • Disturbance calls (e.g. a person causing a disturbance or a fight call) represented 17% of all community-initiated calls.
This number also declined in 2023 over previous years.
• Calls concerning property crime (theft) were the third largest call category from the community, totaling 14% of the workload in this category.
• Traffic accidents and traffic-related incidents represented only 5.27% of all community-initiated workload in 2023.
This category is on the rise as it was only 3.61% the previous 2 years.
From 2021-2023 the top field-initiated calls for service were:
• Extra Patrol occupied a majority of all field-initiated activity all three years; in fact, the level of activity in this area continues to rise from 66.79% in 2021-2022 to 74.9% in 2023. This activity accounted for more officer time in all three years than combined community-initiated activities.
• Traffic enforcement is the second-largest activity recorded by LGMSPD officers. In 2021-2022, this activity category accounted for 24% of field-initiated activity and then dropped to 17.3% in 2023.
We learned that the extra patrols observed in the CAD were partially a byproduct of the department’s strategy to record patrol time spent in Monte Sereno. The Monte Sereno contract requires that LGMSPD patrol officers spend 80 hours per week in the Monte Sereno community. To document the contract requirements, LGMSPD officers record a “10-90” event when they enter the Monte Sereno area and remain on that event until they drive out of the area and back into Los Gatos. Within these assessments, we group calls into certain categories that are closely related and the 10-90 code is placed into the “extra patrol’ category of time. Although using 10-90 is an easy and effective means of capturing patrol time, it does not necessarily reflect “workload” as intended in these assessments.
If officers are fulfilling a specific extra patrol request in the community it would be workload (e.g. vacation check request). If simply driving around on patrol, then the time spent in Monte Sereno is no different than the “available” time spent during the other parts of the shift when officers are simply “on patrol” in Los Gatos. If the department recorded time in that manner, it would imply that the workload was at 100% of an officer’s time, and that simply is not the case.
ITEM NO. 20.
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Organizational Assessment
The following is an additional breakdown of the “extra patrol” activity recorded by LGMSPD in the CAD system:
TABLE 12: Extra Patrol Events, by Source, by Year
Community-Initiated Contact Field-Initiated Contact LGMSPD Record Type 2021 2022 2023 Total 2021 2022 2023 Total Total Monte Sereno Patrol 298 1,322 1,620 1,620
Foot Patrol 88 78 36 202 202
Patrol Check 70 159 123 352 6,314 8,778 11,457 26,549 26,901 Patrol Request 42 47 29 118 118
Vacation Check 1 5 1 7 7
Total 112 206 152 470 6,403 9,159 12,816 28,378 28,848
The recorded Monte Sereno extra patrols started in 2022 and jumped significantly in 2023. Vacation check requests are denoted and are very minimal in the community. But, as the reader can see, patrol checks are a significant driver of the “workload” performed by LGMSPD officers without a great deal of accounting of what is occurring within that workload area. We discussed this with officers who indicated the department places a large emphasis on “high touch” policing, meaning that the community is demanding a high level of service and wants officers to engage and be very visible. As such, management has placed the expectation on patrol officers to engage in that fashion and ensure that their time is properly accounted for.
ITEM NO. 20.
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The following tables illustrate the number of calls in both field-initiated activity as well as community-initiated activity broken down by month, by season, and by the day of the week:
TABLE 13: Events, by Event Month and Initiator, by Year Community-Initiated Contact Field-Initiated Contact LGMSPD Month 2021 2022 2023 Total 2021 2022 2023 Total Total
January 472 513 525 1,510 976 1,097 1,460 3,533 5,043
February 454 548 421 1,423 828 969 1,451 3,248 4,671
March 480 570 500 1,550 850 1,050 1,816 3,716 5,266
April 509 536 519 1,564 877 1,049 1,293 3,219 4,783
May 551 618 519 1,688 775 1,094 1,389 3,258 4,946
June 564 601 631 1,796 675 922 1,391 2,988 4,784
July 557 633 670 1,860 732 1,048 1,306 3,086 4,946
August 528 615 660 1,803 931 1,109 1,491 3,531 5,334
September 519 539 566 1,624 1,011 1,022 1,181 3,214 4,838 October 556 545 584 1,685 999 1,329 1,425 3,753 5,438
November 488 501 519 1,508 835 1,240 1,451 3,526 5,034
December 506 578 503 1,587 861 1,022 1,454 3,337 4,924
Total 6,184 6,797 6,617 19,598 10,350 12,951 17,108 40,409 60,007 TABLE 14: Recorded Events, by Season and Initiator, by Year Community-Initiated Contact Field-Initiated Contact LGMSPD Season 2021 2022 2023 Total 2021 2022 2023 Total Total
Fall 1,603 1,699 1,810 5,112 2,941 3,460 4,097 10,498 15,610 Spring 1,443 1,654 1,440 4,537 2,555 3,068 4,560 10,183 14,720 Summer 1,672 1,852 1,820 5,344 2,182 3,064 4,086 9,332 14,676 Winter 1,466 1,592 1,547 4,605 2,672 3,359 4,365 10,396 15,001 Total 6,184 6,797 6,617 19,598 10,350 12,951 17,108 40,409 60,007 NOTE: Autumn includes August, September, and October; Spring is characterized by February, March, and April; Summer comprises May, June, and July; Winter includes January, November, and December.
ITEM NO. 20.
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TABLE 15: Recorded Events, by Day of Week and Initiator, by Year Community-Initiated Contact Field-Initiated Contact LGMSPD Day of Week 2021 2022 2023 Total 2021 2022 2023 Total Total Sunday 815 869 852 2,536 1,410 1,592 2,434 5,436 7,972
Monday 841 957 901 2,699 1,537 1,923 2,265 5,725 8,424
Tuesday 781 956 942 2,679 1,467 1,741 2,389 5,597 8,276 Wednesday 804 1,045 927 2,776 1,298 1,688 2,200 5,186 7,962 Thursday 903 957 1,045 2,905 1,400 1,761 2,195 5,356 8,261 Friday 1,085 1,045 994 3,124 1,609 2,141 2,872 6,622 9,746 Saturday 955 968 956 2,879 1,629 2,105 2,753 6,487 9,366 Total 6,184 6,797 6,617 19,598 10,350 12,951 17,108 40,409 60,007 The data observed in these tables are consistent in the policing industry. Generally, summer months are busier than most other months when looking at community calls for service. Also, when community calls increase, there is a general tendency for field-initiated activity to slow.
All of the tables and charts in this section of the report highlight an important trend in LGMSPD operations and workload. The community-initiated workload has remained consistent over the three years. Overall calls in this category are about 6% higher in 2023 vs. 2021. But, fieldinitiated activity has risen significantly in the same period of time. Field-initiated calls for service, driven mostly by logging extra patrols, is almost 40% higher in 2023 vs 2021. This is amplified by the fact that field-initiated activity is already significantly higher than communityinitiated calls for service. The increase also correlates with more field contacts post-pandemic that Meliora PSC notes in other assessments conducted.
PATROL ADMINISTRATIVE WORKLOAD
Administrative work being performed in patrol is typically any work recorded in CAD that may not fit into the categories of traditional community-initiated or field-initiated work, yet this is a very important area to consider when evaluating overall workload. There are categories of administrative work that are captured in CAD as both field-initiated as well as communityinitiated, but the recorded workload in these categories is minimal.
In our discussions with LGMDPD patrol personnel, Meliora PSC learned that report writing time is not always accurately captured. Occasionally, officers will be completing police reports either in their patrol unit or in the police station, but they will be “available” in CAD. Although this practice is common in police work as it is baked into the culture of handling one’s beat, it does not help in accounting for officer activity and measuring true workload.
LGMSPD advised that officers have a code on their MDTs that shows them busy with reporting writing. However, report writing and other patrol administrative time appear to be lacking or underreported in the department data provided to Meliora.
ITEM NO. 20.
73 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
Table 16 below provides a breakdown of out of service or administrative activity as an example.
This table is provided as a sample of the type of detailed information that should be captured for future data analysis.
TABLE 16: Administrative Activity Sample
Description Count Avg. Occupied Time
Collateral Duty
Court
Equipment Maintenance
Meeting
Out on Portable
Phone Message
Pick Up
Report Writing
Return to Station/HQ
Training
Total Administrative
Administrative
Break
Meal
Total Administrative
Grand Total
Meliora PSC recommends LGMSPD work with the RIMS CAD/RMS system vendor to ascertain if there is an electronic feature that allows officers to log details of their administrative “busy time” for these specific types of daily administrative and personal tasks. This would mitigate using over-the-air radio traffic to provide dispatch as well as field personnel the ability to remain aware of their activities and availability for emergencies and other pending calls for service. Details to be collected include type of personal busy time for breaks, gear, and equipment and information of types of administrative activities such as collateral duty, meeting, briefing, report writing, and court be included for future electronic data analysis.
PATROL ADMINISTRATIVE WORKLOAD RECOMMENDATION
§ Update the RIMS CAD/RMS system to log detailed administrative “busy time” for these specific types of daily administrative and personal tasks, and collect details such as type of personal busy time for breaks, gear, and equipment and information of types of administrative activities such as collateral duty, meeting, briefing, report writing, and court for future electronic data analysis. (Recommendation #12)
ITEM NO. 20.
74 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
CALLS / EVENT ASSIGNMENTS
There were 60,007 events recorded in the CAD data associated with community-initiated and field-initiated records. These records occur between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2023.
In the table below, we examine the number of officers associated with an event over the three years. Most events were associated with one officer (75.4%) deployed, with decreasing percentages associated with two officers, three officers, and so forth. These records were analyzed based on the hour of day, weekend and weekday, day of week, month, and season to supply a more holistic examination of the deployment of units.
As the data depicts in Table 17 below, one police unit handled 42.5% of all community-initiated calls and 91% of all field-initiated calls; this indicates that LGMSPD feels comfortable handling many of its service demands with a single officer. Police agencies nationwide engaged in traditional municipal policing (not remote area policing) almost always dispatch two officers to any call that may signify some type of officer safety concern (e.g. disturbance calls, alarm calls, violent crime); LGMSPD also employs this practice. The fact that almost one-half of all community-initiated calls are managed by one officer indicates that officers are comfortable handling those calls without a backup officer to assist.
ITEM NO. 20.
75 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
TABLE 17: Number of Assigned Units per call, by Year
Community-Initiated Contact Field-Initiated Contact LGMSPD Number of Unique Units 2021 2022 2023 Total 2021 2022 2023 Total Total One Unit 2,564 2,985 2,781 8,330 9,515 11,716 15,701 36,932 45,262 Two Units 2,334 2,465 2,368 7,167 655 978 1,124 2,757 9,924 Three Units 907 938 945 2,790 130 211 204 545 3,335
Four or More Units 379 409 523 1,311 50 46 79 175 1,486 Total 6,184 6,797 6,617 19,598 10,350 12,951 17,108 40,409 60,007 Table 18 below breaks down individual call types in greater detail and shows the areas where LGMSPD consistently has two or more units on a call type, areas in community-initiated CFS are alarms, crimes against people (assaults), disturbances, medical calls, suspicious activity, suicidal persons, traffic accidents and welfare checks.
TABLE 18: Average Unique Assigned Units, by Call Source, and Year - With Averages Community-Initiated Contact Field-Initiated Contact LGMSPD Record Category 2021 2022 2023 Total 2021 2022 2023 Total Average Admin 1.46 1.56 1.59 1.53 1.15 1.09 1.14 1.12 1.22
Agency Assist 2.00 2.03 2.00 2.01 1.30 1.33 1.64 1.44 1.96 Alarm 2.05 1.95 2.00 2.00 1.83 2.00 2.00 1.91 2.00
Animal 1.16 1.28 1.36 1.26 2.00 1.50 1.00 1.50 1.27
Check Area 2.04 1.34 1.35 1.51 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.50
Citizen Contact 1.16 1.22 1.19 1.19 1.00 1.43 1.17 1.19 1.19 Crime-Person 2.06 1.86 2.07 2.00 4.00 2.40 2.67 2.01
Crime-Property 1.55 1.76 1.80 1.71 1.93 1.90 2.09 1.97 1.72 Crime-Public 1.60 1.75 1.70 1.68 4.00 1.50 1.50 2.33 1.69 Deceased Person 2.14 2.38 2.21 2.26 2.26
Disturbance 2.11 2.15 2.22 2.16 1.80 2.14 2.29 2.11 2.16
ITEM NO. 20.
76 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
Extra Patrol 1.39 1.23 1.28 1.29 1.02 1.02 1.01 1.01 1.02 Fire 2.88 2.85 2.90 2.88 1.00 1.00 2.85
Medical 2.73 2.00 1.80 2.40 2.00 2.33 2.00 2.13 2.33
Medical/Agency Assist 2.12 2.13 2.23 2.15 2.00 1.00 1.33 2.15 Miscellaneous 1.31 1.41 1.34 1.36 1.67 1.33 1.50 1.37
Miscellaneous Investigation 1.00 2.00 2.00 1.80 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.67 Missing Person 1.52 1.56 1.46 1.52 1.00 1.00 1.52
Parking 1.22 1.18 1.25 1.21 1.07 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.11
Pedestrian Contact 1.47 1.68 1.55 1.58 1.70 1.74 1.94 1.81 1.77 Property 1.23 1.07 1.36 1.22 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.21
School Patrol 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Special Assignment 2.00 3.83 1.00 2.75 2.42 1.39 2.14 1.95 2.08 Suicide/Suicidal Person 3.13 3.04 3.19 3.12 3.12
Suspicious Activity 2.12 2.07 2.18 2.12 1.83 2.02 1.91 1.93 2.07 Traffic 1.43 1.38 1.66 1.51 1.29 1.44 1.26 1.34 1.49
Traffic Accident 2.58 2.12 2.71 2.49 2.33 2.23 2.60 2.41 2.49 Traffic Enforcement 1.67 1.50 1.00 1.50 1.17 1.25 1.28 1.23 1.23 Warrant 1.34 1.28 1.12 1.26 3.00 2.20 2.50 1.37
Welfare Check 2.16 2.02 2.12 2.10 1.67 1.57 1.85 1.70 2.09 Average 1.88 1.84 1.92 1.88 1.11 1.12 1.10 1.11 1.36
Charts 18 and 19 examine the number of calls/records received and handled by LGMSPD officers throughout the course of a day.
Similar to what we often see in other assessments, the call volume is lowest during the early morning hours, begins to increase around 7:00 a.m., levels out around 10:00 a.m., spikes in the evening hours, and again decreases into the late night/early morning hours. This is oftentimes the rationale for departments to have lower staffing levels during the overnight hours when the workload slows and higher staffing levels during the regular business hours and evening time.
ITEM NO. 20.
77 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
CHART 18: Community-Initiated Records by Hour, by Year
0 50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 2021 2022 2023 Average
ITEM NO. 20.
78 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
CHART 19: Field-Initiated Records by Hour, by Year - with Averages 0 200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 2021 2022 2023 Average
ITEM NO. 20.
79 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
RESPONSE TIMES
Being adequately staffed to respond to emergency calls for service is a key responsibility for any police department. In order to assess response times, Meliora PSC examined the response times of a variety of calls from emergency calls to more routine calls for service. A review of the call priorities to ensure they are aligned with the goals of the agency is provided later in the Dispatch portion of the report.
Response times should reflect the agency’s time (from receipt of a call for service to arrival) to respond to the community’s request for assistance; as such, we focus the Response Time portion of the data analysis on community-initiated calls for service. These segments reflect the dispatch time – from a call being created and dispatched where the officer acknowledges they are en route; and travel time – the duration of time to travel to the call location. The dispatch time combined with travel time comprises the total response time.
As part of the operations assessment, Meliora PSC routinely calculates when a call is received and dispatched. In our discussions with the department, we identified that the procedure for reactivating a call introduces discrepancies in the data set. This presents a challenge in accurately determining the average dispatch time. To address this issue, we applied a data refinement process. We established a threshold using the median dispatch time of 6.058 minutes and an adjusted standard deviation, represented by the interquartile range (IQR) of 9.649 minutes. We excluded any dispatch times that significantly deviated from the norm by setting a cutoff point at 15.707 minutes (median plus 1.64 times the IQR). This method, a widely accepted practice in statistical analysis for identifying outliers, ensures that our dispatch time calculations are robust and representative of the typical call response scenario.
That being said, we note the resulting dispatch time lacks the ability to more accurately reflect time received to dispatched to a field unit and has a compounding effect to overall response time.
As illustrated below, for the past three years the average response time for all community-initiated calls is just over 12 minutes.
Response time in 2023 is slightly longer than 2022 and 2021. In fact, the overall response time is getting longer and moving in the wrong direction. Higher priority calls (Priority 1) are about two minutes faster about 10 minutes; this is slower than the national desired benchmark of five minutes2
.
2 Auten, J.H. (1981) Response Time – What’s the Rush? NCJRS Virtual Library https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/response-time-whatsrush#:~:text=Several%20studies%20have%20established%20that,drops%20to%20approximately%2020%20percent
ITEM NO. 20.
80 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
Los Gatos can have significant traffic issues that could delay overall response time. These are sections of the community where the roadways narrow or police units may need to cross highway bridges. Meliora PSC observed these areas do get backed up with traffic and staff shared the same concerns.
When evaluating response times based on priority, it is important that Priority 1 calls receive the most attention. Priority 1 calls are the highest level of emergency and require an immediate response as they deal with life emergencies and in-progress crimes. The difference of a few minutes could impact life-saving efforts as well as determine how quickly a wanted person is located and apprehended. The desired industry standard is five minutes or less for Priority 1 calls.
Meliora PSC suggests LGMSPD seek ways to improve its response time to priority one calls for service. The overall dispatch time of 4:23 (2023) is longer than we have traditionally observed for Priority 1 calls. In general, busy police agencies have a wider time gap between priority calls for service. Simply stated, lower priority calls wait while officers are managing the more urgent matters.
LGMSPD prides itself on providing a high-level service and we believe the mechanisms are in place to respond quickly to an emergency. However, those efforts are not reflected in the department data. The Dispatch portion of the report also addresses the practice of re-opening a call for service that may adversely impact the accuracy of dispatch time. Correcting this practice should provide the ability to improve and more accurately reflect dispatch time and consequently overall response time when the Data Analysis Toolkit is used for ensuing years.
TABLE 19: Response Time Record Status and Average Minute, by Record Priority, by Year Dispatch Time Travel Time Response Time On Scene Time
Priority 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 1 0:04:15 0:03:50 0:04:23 0:04:46 0:05:43 0:05:42 0:09:01 0:09:33 0:10:04 0:27:48 0:27:50 0:27:22 2 0:04:56 0:05:10 0:05:13 0:06:15 0:06:34 0:06:55 0:11:11 0:11:45 0:12:08 0:13:36 0:12:43 0:13:34 3 0:06:00 0:06:15 0:06:15 0:06:58 0:07:05 0:07:04 0:12:58 0:13:20 0:13:19 0:18:22 0:17:44 0:18:11 Average 0:05:24 0:05:42 0:05:43 0:06:37 0:06:50 0:06:59 0:12:01 0:12:32 0:12:42 0:16:34 0:15:42 0:16:24
ITEM NO. 20.
81 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
CHART 20: Response Time Record Status and Average Minute, by Record Priority, by Year The following is a breakdown of overall response times to the individual call categories. Unfortunately, this table does not distinguish what calls are most urgent versus routine (priorities). For instance, traffic accidents have an overall response time of about 11 minutes. However, injury accidents likely have a much faster response, in this table all accidents are grouped. This table is valuable information for the department to measure their response times in select categories 0:02:24
0:09:36
0:16:48
0:24:00
0:31:12
0:38:24
0:45:36
0:52:48
1:00:00
2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 Dispatch Time Travel Time Response Time On Scene Time
1 2
3 Average
ITEM NO. 20.
82 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
TABLE 20: Response Time Record Status and Average Minute, by Record Category, by Year Dispatch Time Travel Time Response Time On Scene Time
Record Category 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 Admin 0:04:20 0:05:18 0:03:54 0:06:10 0:08:21 0:06:37 0:10:30 0:13:39 0:10:31 0:08:14 0:10:45 0:16:17 Agency Assist 0:04:58 0:04:46 0:04:31 0:08:20 0:06:35 0:05:55 0:13:19 0:11:21 0:10:26 0:13:57 0:15:34 0:14:39 Alarm 0:04:29 0:04:43 0:05:03 0:06:15 0:06:57 0:07:12 0:10:44 0:11:40 0:12:15 0:06:46 0:06:50 0:06:17 Animal 0:06:17 0:07:05 0:07:05 0:08:29 0:08:44 0:07:31 0:14:45 0:15:49 0:14:35 0:10:48 0:11:43 0:10:27 Check Area 0:05:10 0:06:19 0:06:43 0:04:10 0:03:30 0:03:10 0:09:21 0:09:50 0:09:53 0:20:37 0:12:24 0:11:16 Citizen Contact 0:06:50 0:06:56 0:07:02 0:07:42 0:05:37 0:05:24 0:14:32 0:12:33 0:12:26 0:23:00 0:22:43 0:24:18 Crime-Person 0:06:04 0:06:30 0:06:22 0:05:39 0:08:09 0:08:10 0:11:43 0:14:40 0:14:31 0:30:00 0:27:51 0:28:25 Crime-Property 0:05:46 0:05:38 0:05:31 0:07:12 0:07:33 0:07:52 0:12:58 0:13:11 0:13:23 0:24:30 0:23:26 0:26:09 Crime-Public 0:05:29 0:06:06 0:05:35 0:06:56 0:06:49 0:07:06 0:12:26 0:12:55 0:12:41 0:09:03 0:11:42 0:10:24 Deceased Person 0:04:06 0:04:05 0:04:19 0:07:21 0:06:28 0:08:25 0:11:27 0:10:33 0:12:43 0:51:00 0:56:49 0:42:15 Disturbance 0:05:11 0:05:45 0:05:36 0:06:08 0:06:21 0:06:27 0:11:19 0:12:05 0:12:03 0:15:07 0:15:04 0:13:26 Extra Patrol 0:06:24 0:06:41 0:07:03 0:05:08 0:05:28 0:05:43 0:11:32 0:12:10 0:12:46 0:10:03 0:07:57 0:08:57 Fire 0:04:29 0:06:15 0:04:56 0:03:38 0:04:39 0:04:14 0:08:07 0:10:53 0:09:10 0:27:35 0:24:34 0:16:07 Medical 0:05:17 0:05:39 0:06:13 0:09:30 0:05:16 0:07:32 0:14:48 0:10:54 0:13:45 0:23:34 0:16:10 0:06:30 Medical/Agency Assist 0:04:52 0:05:02 0:05:35 0:05:55 0:05:29 0:06:51 0:10:47 0:10:31 0:12:27 0:17:29 0:19:36 0:18:03 Miscellaneous 0:06:36 0:06:03 0:07:49 0:16:15 0:04:26 0:07:44 0:22:51 0:10:30 0:15:33 0:16:36 0:16:42 0:16:33 Miscellaneous Investigation 0:03:29 0:03:33 0:07:18 0:10:11 0:06:13 0:06:31 0:13:40 0:09:46 0:13:49 0:25:06 0:33:44 0:19:57 Missing Person 0:05:46 0:07:21 0:07:06 0:08:02 0:07:01 0:06:23 0:13:48 0:14:22 0:13:29 0:22:56 0:21:10 0:19:10 Parking 0:06:37 0:06:02 0:07:05 0:06:50 0:10:11 0:08:17 0:13:27 0:16:13 0:15:21 0:10:15 0:10:42 0:12:22 Pedestrian Contact 0:06:30 0:05:45 0:06:04 0:06:57 0:07:57 0:09:36 0:13:28 0:13:43 0:15:40 0:12:33 0:18:29 0:16:01 Property 0:04:57 0:06:16 0:04:12 0:08:12 0:08:14 0:08:43 0:13:10 0:14:30 0:12:55 0:16:31 0:16:36 0:18:16 Special Assignment 0:01:53 0:00:31 0:00:26 0:00:30 0:00:00 0:02:23 0:00:31 0:00:26 0:42:14 0:32:21 Suicide/Suicidal Person 0:05:04 0:05:21 0:05:43 0:04:51 0:07:49 0:06:17 0:09:55 0:13:10 0:11:59 0:27:48 0:31:11 0:23:48 Suspicious Activity 0:05:51 0:05:58 0:06:03 0:06:23 0:06:12 0:06:44 0:12:14 0:12:11 0:12:47 0:12:39 0:12:23 0:13:21 Traffic 0:05:30 0:06:09 0:05:46 0:04:52 0:05:17 0:06:26 0:10:21 0:11:26 0:12:12 0:08:50 0:08:51 0:09:54 Traffic Accident 0:04:41 0:04:51 0:04:40 0:06:07 0:06:15 0:06:28 0:10:48 0:11:06 0:11:08 0:28:31 0:27:10 0:25:03 Traffic Enforcement 0:01:56 0:02:47 0:03:25 0:02:52 0:01:56 0:05:39 0:03:25 0:15:40 0:17:01 Warrant 0:04:47 0:05:48 0:05:14 0:03:23 0:07:44 0:10:30 0:08:10 0:13:32 0:15:44 0:24:49 0:19:20 0:17:34 Welfare Check 0:05:57 0:06:05 0:06:16 0:07:08 0:07:16 0:07:17 0:13:05 0:13:21 0:13:33 0:15:59 0:16:17 0:15:24 Average 0:05:24 0:05:42 0:05:43 0:06:37 0:06:50 0:06:59 0:12:01 0:12:32 0:12:42 0:16:34 0:15:42 0:16:24
ITEM NO. 20.
83 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
The following table shows the overall response times based on in days of the week. Overall response times are fastest on Sundays and slowest on Wednesdays, with an overall difference of one minute.
TABLE 21: Response Time Record Status and Average Minute, by Day of Week, by Year Dispatch Time Travel Time Response Time On Scene Time
Day of Week 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 Sunday 0:05:14 0:05:15 0:05:32 0:06:43 0:06:37 0:06:30 0:11:57 0:11:52 0:12:02 0:15:14 0:14:40 0:16:08 Monday 0:05:21 0:05:31 0:05:44 0:06:15 0:07:12 0:07:26 0:11:36 0:12:42 0:13:10 0:16:59 0:17:19 0:16:30 Tuesday 0:05:27 0:05:39 0:05:46 0:06:51 0:06:49 0:07:12 0:12:19 0:12:27 0:12:58 0:16:35 0:16:20 0:17:06 Wednesday 0:05:34 0:05:48 0:05:33 0:06:54 0:06:45 0:07:34 0:12:27 0:12:33 0:13:07 0:16:56 0:15:33 0:16:07 Thursday 0:05:38 0:05:59 0:05:47 0:06:39 0:07:31 0:06:45 0:12:16 0:13:30 0:12:33 0:17:22 0:15:29 0:16:04 Friday 0:05:34 0:06:12 0:05:56 0:06:31 0:06:41 0:06:47 0:12:04 0:12:53 0:12:43 0:16:57 0:15:28 0:16:32 Saturday 0:05:04 0:05:24 0:05:43 0:06:31 0:06:23 0:06:44 0:11:35 0:11:46 0:12:27 0:15:47 0:14:59 0:16:23 Average 0:05:24 0:05:42 0:05:43 0:06:37 0:06:50 0:06:59 0:12:01 0:12:32 0:12:42 0:16:34 0:15:42 0:16:24 The following table and chart shows the average time the primary unit spends on calls broken down by priority. As expected, higherpriority calls can sometimes be more complex thereby requiring more investment in officer time. As calls move down the priority scale the time it takes to properly manage that call is reduced.
TABLE 22: Community-Initiated Primary Unit Total Event Duration (Transformed), by Hour, by Year, by Priority Total Event Duration (Transformed) Total Event Duration (Transformed) Priority 2021 2022 2023 Average
1 39.97 40.10 38.51 39.45
2 17.88 17.07 18.32 17.75
3 22.40 21.91 21.70 21.98
Total 20.39 19.93 20.42 20.24
ITEM NO. 20.
84 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
CHART 21: Community-Initiated Primary Unit Total Event Duration (Transformed), by Hour, by Year, by Priority
0.00 5.00
10.00 15.00
20.00 25.00
30.00 35.00
40.00 45.00
2021 2022 2023 Agency
Total Event Time (Transformed) Average
1 2 3
ITEM NO. 20.
85 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
Staffing Analysis
Proper police patrol staffing is a key decision weighing on communities across the country. This dilemma is not new, but is more critical in today’s current fiscal environment. Communities expect police departments to have sufficient staffing to respond immediately to emergency calls for service, timely to non-emergency calls for service, and adequately to handle quality of life issues. Due to the differences presented in every community from population size, to rural versus suburban, to land size and topography, just to name a few variables, there is no single calculation to arrive at the appropriate staffing number. Furthermore, communities expect the officers to be properly trained and experienced to provide a high level of service.
Historically, officers-per-thousand population was one way in which cities determined proper staffing. However, the International Association of Chiefs of Police indicates that ratios are totally inappropriate as a basis for staffing decisions as the difference from suburban, to urban to rural communities impacts staffing.
Agencies across the country use a minimum staffing model that takes into account the jurisdiction’s specific needs. The agency’s management team determines the minimum staffing levels based on past practice and call volume, and in some instances minimum staffing levels are codified in policy.
The International Town Manager’s Association recommends staffing be determined based on a Rule of 60 guideline3. This three-pronged approach is predicated on the following:
§ 60% of the total number of sworn deputies be assigned to patrol § Average workload for patrol staffing should not exceed 60% § Total service time should not exceed a factor of 60
As stated in the Analysis of Police Department Staffing report, Uniformed patrol is considered the backbone of policing. Officers assigned to this important function are the most visible members of the department and command the largest share of departmental resources. Proper allocation of these resources is critical to having officers readily available to respond to calls for service and provide law enforcement services to the public.
From an organizational standpoint, it is important to have uniformed patrol resources available at all times of the day to deal with issues such as proactive enforcement and community policing. Patrol is generally the most visible and most available resource in policing and the ability to harness this resource is critical for successful operations. 3 An Analysis of Police Department Staffing: How many deputies do you really need? McCabe, James, 2013, International Town Manager’s Association White Paper.
ITEM NO. 20.
86 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
From an officer’s standpoint, once a certain level of CFS activity is reached the officer’s focus shifts to a CFS-based reactionary mode. Once a threshold, or a saturation point, is reached, the patrol officers mindset begins to shift from a proactive approach in which he or she looks for ways to deal with crime and qualify-of-life conditions in the community to a mindset in which he or she continually prepares for the next CFS. After saturation, officers cease proactive policing and engage in a reactionary style of policing.
Uncommitted time is spent waiting for the next call. The saturation threshold for patrol officers is believed to be 60%.
Using the Rule of 60 as part of the staffing analysis, Meliora PSC noted the following.
RULE OF 60 – PART 1
In applying Part 1 of the Rule of 60, as of July 2024, LGMSPD is currently budgeted (allocated) 39 sworn positions, and 35 positions are filled. Of the 39 sworn positions, 27 sworn positions are assigned to Patrol, which is 69%. As such, patrol staffing meets the first part of the Rule of 60 guidelines.
RULE OF 60 – PART 2
The second part of the Rule of 60 guidelines indicates average workload for patrol staffing should not exceed 60%. Should the average workload exceed 60% consistently in a 24-hour period, it would indicate the department is understaffed. Conversely, if the average workload minutes were significantly less than 60%, then it may indicate the department is overstaffed.
Simply exceeding 60% occasionally in a 24-hour period alone does not indicate an agency is understaffed. Meliora PSC cautions that no one portion of the Rule of 60 guidelines can be applied independently. As mentioned previously, staffing decisions must take into consideration distance/terrain, rural vs metropolitan, and other distinguishing characteristics of the agency and community.
As we examine the average workload for patrol staffing, Meliora PSC analyzed CAD data for three years, 2021-2023. The tables and charts that follow are indicators of all work being performed by all officers assigned to the patrol function. Chart 22 is the workload for patrol officers only (officers assigned to beats in the Town).
ITEM NO. 20.
87 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
CHART 22: Average Total Event Duration (Transformed) for Community-Initiated and Field-Initiated Records, 2021-2023
Chart 23 below is the workload of all officers and patrol sergeants assigned to the patrol function in LGMSPD. Although the workload variances are minor when including the sergeants, we feel this is an important metric for the department to follow if they take steps to have sergeants spend more time in the field versus being consumed with administrative duties.
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ITEM NO. 20.
88 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
CHART 23: Average Total Event Duration (Transformed) for Community-Initiated and Field-Initiated Records, 2021-2023, including Patrol Sergeants
LGMSPD workload for patrol officers as well as patrol officers and supervisors is consistently near the 30% mark throughout the day and closer to the 20% mark during the overnight hours. Although these workload metrics likely do not include all administrative time as noted earlier in this report, we feel that the patrol function of the department is properly staffed. There appears to be room within the workload area to consider allowing for fewer officers mandated by minimum staffing during the early morning hours as well as more flexibility during the remainder of the day. That is a department management decision that impacts employee agreements and perceived officer safety, additionally, there may be community demands for a set staffing number. However, it should be noted that documented workload percentages would support a reevaluation of minimum staffing.
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Total Event Duration(Tranformed) Rule of 60
ITEM NO. 20.
89 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
The following table and charts show the number of contacts by hour generated through community-initiated calls for service and field-initiated activity. Community calls for service are at their lowest point during the overnight hours and remain stable throughout the remainder of the day. Conversely, field-initiated activity has always been highest overnight with a considerable spike during 2023. The low points on the field-initiated activity chart correlate with the department briefing times.
TABLE 23: Total Records by Hour for Call Sources, by Year Community-Initiated Contact Field-Initiated Contact LGMSPD Hour 2021 2022 2023 Total 2021 2022 2023 Total Total
00 177 214 184 575 689 895 1,317 2,901 3,476
01 142 154 149 445 498 834 1,269 2,601 3,046
02 105 137 114 356 474 680 1,316 2,470 2,826
03 100 105 106 311 613 830 1,307 2,750 3,061
04 84 83 88 255 488 655 1,170 2,313 2,568
05 102 125 93 320 295 441 698 1,434 1,754
06 95 146 107 348 32 53 35 120 468
07 194 200 180 574 111 167 136 414 988
08 279 295 292 866 350 583 514 1,447 2,313
09 303 320 306 929 403 628 713 1,744 2,673
10 320 345 339 1,004 464 618 684 1,766 2,770
11 317 384 338 1,039 442 526 568 1,536 2,575
12 319 392 349 1,060 398 490 517 1,405 2,465
13 339 375 375 1,089 368 424 571 1,363 2,452
14 323 354 367 1,044 399 456 494 1,349 2,393
15 350 366 351 1,067 371 439 563 1,373 2,440
16 346 398 394 1,138 331 384 485 1,200 2,338
17 336 386 365 1,087 288 332 364 984 2,071
18 288 308 338 934 77 77 71 225 1,159
19 313 360 351 1,024 248 249 330 827 1,851
ITEM NO. 20.
90 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
20 373 366 384 1,123 640 634 732 2,006 3,129
21 343 378 416 1,137 824 849 973 2,646 3,783
22 373 315 371 1,059 820 846 1,050 2,716 3,775
23 263 291 260 814 727 861 1,231 2,819 3,633
Total 6,184 6,797 6,617 19,598 10,350 12,951 17,108 40,409 60,007 CHART 24: Community-Initiated Records by Hour, by Year
0 50
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00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 2021 2022 2023 Average
ITEM NO. 20.
91 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
CHART 25: Field-Initiated Records by Hour, by Year - with Averages 0 200
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1000
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1400
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 2021 2022 2023 Average
ITEM NO. 20.
92 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
The following table denotes the volume of calls that are handled within a specified period. In Los Gatos, 37% of all calls are handled in 5 minutes or less, and 3,300 of those calls are handled in less than one minute. Almost 5.400 calls (9%) of all calls take more than one hour to handle.
We believe the reason for the short duration of calls (less than 1 minute) is because officers are going on scene and quickly clearing, this may occur in field-initiated extra patrols where the officer is simply logging the location for tracking purposes. Another dynamic that gained popularity after COVID restrictions were enacted is handling certain calls via telephone. In those cases, officers may call a reporting party and handle any concerns, and when the call is finished the officer will simply tell a dispatcher that a call that had been waiting in the CAD queue is completed. LGMSPD confirmed that this does occur but it is typically because a reporting party only wanted a telephone call and not necessarily a uniform response to their residence or business. Refer to the Records portion of the report for further details regarding this practice.
In our evaluation of the longer calls (over one hour), we know that some police calls are complex in nature and a police investigation may take a long time to complete. But, with those types of calls being more the exception in Los Gatos, we believe there may be another reason for the high number of calls in this area. LGMSPD has a practice of officer handling a call that requires that a written report be completed and the officer returning to the station to complete those reports before going back into service. This practice likely explains the number of calls in this category.
TABLE 24: Total Event Duration
Event Duration Category Community-Initiated Contact Field-Initiated Contact Total Less than 1 minute 1,711 1,600 3,311
1-5 minutes 3,683 15,237 18,920
6-10 minutes 2,837 9,070 11,907
11-15 minutes 1,910 4,087 5,997
16-20 minutes 1,474 2,284 3,758
21-25 minutes 1,124 1,484 2,608
26-30 minutes 925 1,085 2,010
31-40 minutes 1,310 1,556 2,866
41-50 minutes 890 1,010 1,900
51-60 minutes 626 715 1,341
More than 61 minutes 3,108 2,281 5,389
Total 19,598 40,409 60,007
The following tables evaluate the time it takes to complete calls on average based on the time of the day and if that call is community-initiated versus field-initiated.
ITEM NO. 20.
93 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
TABLE 25: Community–Initiated CAD Unit Total Event Duration (Transformed), by Hour, by Year
Total Event Duration (Transformed) Total Event Duration (Transformed) Hour 2021 2022 2023 Average
00 19.74 20.20 18.27 19.43
01 19.47 19.62 16.06 18.36
02 22.15 19.71 18.48 20.07
03 16.68 17.58 19.43 17.97
04 15.01 17.55 17.26 16.62
05 16.45 15.31 15.88 15.86
06 16.49 15.88 17.49 16.51
07 16.79 19.11 17.32 17.77
08 20.75 18.53 19.82 19.66
09 21.72 21.05 20.50 21.08
10 22.62 21.47 24.49 22.86
11 23.08 23.63 23.08 23.29
12 21.95 18.41 24.56 21.48
13 22.84 23.49 23.78 23.39
14 21.76 22.06 21.75 21.86
15 24.21 21.25 23.51 22.94
16 23.23 19.51 21.99 21.48
17 19.30 20.22 22.04 20.56
18 18.21 21.17 19.44 19.56
19 18.45 19.86 19.53 19.30
20 21.20 20.10 18.36 19.84
21 17.19 16.76 17.58 17.19
22 17.78 18.95 16.31 17.60
23 20.24 17.11 18.81 18.68
Total 20.39 19.93 20.42 20.24
ITEM NO. 20.
94 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
TABLE 26: Field–Initiated Total Event Duration (Transformed), by Hour, by Year Total Event Duration (Transformed) Total Event Duration (Transformed) Hour 2021 2022 2023 Average
00 11.85 10.96 10.49 10.97
01 13.34 11.03 10.40 11.19
02 13.30 11.32 10.54 11.31
03 12.31 10.46 11.80 11.49
04 12.94 10.57 12.10 11.83
05 14.13 11.56 18.18 14.92
06 11.79 15.69 10.88 13.23
07 21.96 18.24 18.54 19.35
08 15.14 13.17 19.91 15.95
09 13.22 13.14 13.56 13.33
10 11.93 12.28 15.44 13.40
11 13.21 12.50 14.99 13.62
12 13.45 13.31 16.06 14.34
13 13.11 12.57 16.74 14.42
14 15.73 14.23 17.60 15.89
15 15.03 15.60 14.98 15.19
16 15.00 15.67 16.07 15.65
17 13.31 13.31 15.76 14.19
18 9.76 12.78 15.29 12.54
19 11.75 13.58 11.76 12.30
20 12.10 11.15 10.62 11.27
21 13.14 11.02 10.36 11.46
22 11.92 11.03 11.40 11.44
23 13.80 10.33 9.86 11.05
Total 13.22 12.06 12.88 12.70
RULE OF 60 – PART 3
When interpreting the workload by hour, the total service time should not exceed 60 minutes per hour based on the Rule of 60 guidelines. Such a result would indicate the event would spill into the next hour potentially compounding resource issues and was not present in this case.
The fact the overall total service time provides the maximum service time and due to the LGMSPD falling within the Rule of 60 – Part 1 guideline, and the majority of total service time falling below the Rule of 60 – Part 2 threshold, most calls and activity also fall within Rule of 60 – Part 3.
ITEM NO. 20.
95 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
WORKLOAD MITIGATION
In evaluating police workload there is always attention given to what types of work currently being performed that can done more efficiently. This is especially true in agencies that are consistently meeting or exceeding the “Rule of 60.” In those cases, it is prudent to explore efficiencies before adding additional officers to the workforce.
LGMSPD does not fall within the area where the existing workload is concerning or impacting service delivery. Additionally, there is an expectation within the community that the department fulfills certain services that busier police departments may not have the capacity to perform. LGMSPD leadership made it clear that their community places a high expectation on the services performed by the department. Nonetheless, we will highlight certain aspects of policing that many agencies around the nation have employed to reduce or mitigate the workload of the sworn officer workforce; we will also highlight some areas of LGMSPD operations that may need to be explored at some point in the future. § Traffic Collision Response and Reporting – There are existing efficiencies built into the reporting of traffic collisions, specifically, California has an abbreviated form for property damage collisions where parties can simply have their information documented and allow insurance companies to determine fault. However, because most traffic collisions do not involve injuries and are civil matters in nature, some agencies have restricted their response to these types of calls and advised involved parties to just exchange their information.
§ Use of Professional Staff Employees – many agencies have expanded the use of professional staff/civilian employees to handle more calls for service and perform criminal investigations. LGMSPD used this concept as an intern program, and we applaud the organization for this initiative. However, many agencies have created these positions as a full-time career path and expanded their use into more critical areas of police operations and functions. Meliora PSC will address this further in the Investigations portion of the report.
§ Report Writing – As noted earlier in this report, LGMSPD patrol officers frequently return to the police station to write police reports. The police station is a more comfortable environment and has better computer systems for the task (faster computers, multiple screens, etc.). There are always examples where officers will do reports in the station versus in a patrol car. The concern is that it is the norm in Los Gatos versus only doing it when necessary. Most agencies do not have this luxury and expect that officers are deployed throughout the jurisdiction in patrol cars versus being in the station report writing. If Los Gatos-Monte Sereno were to become a busier policing environment, this is a practice that would be criticized, yet it is baked into the culture of the organization. Meliora PSC recommends consideration be given to enacting expectations that work that can be performed in the field be done there and restrict station time to only those instances that it is necessary. o AI Report Writing – LGMSPD is an Axon customer for BWC and other technology.
Within this realm of policing, some of the vendors occupying this space are
ITEM NO. 20.
96 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
introducing AI-based report writing. This is an area that LGMSPD may wish to explore to determine if the technology is a good fit for the organization and assists in solving some of the report writing concerns highlighted in this report. § Alarm Ordinance – Municipalities have instituted alarm ordinances designed to mitigate the number of false alarms that create an unnecessary workload for the police. Los Gatos has an alarm ordinance in place. Although unpopular, some agencies have ceased responding to alarm calls. Due to the high service level of LGMSPD and manageable patrol workload, we offer this for informational purposes only. Refer to the Community Outreach portion of the report for details on alarms.
WORKLOAD MITIGATION RECOMMENDATIONS
§ Consider enacting expectations that work that can be performed in the field be done there and restrict station time to only those instances that it is necessary. (Recommendation #13)
§ Explore AI-Report Writing from their current BWC vendor to determine if the technology will assist the department in creating reporting writing efficiencies. (Recommendation #14)
Field Training Program
The Field Training Program (FTP) is one of the most crucial functions in any police department.
The purpose of the FTP is to train new officers so that each is prepared to function as a solo beat officer at the conclusion of their training cycle. All new officers, and those hired as lateral officers from another law enforcement agency, attend one of several local public safety training academies that are approved California POST Basic Academies. The academy provides the minimum training requirements for California. After successfully completing the academy, newly-trained officers are assigned to a field training officer (FTO).
Experienced officers are selected as FTOs to train police academy graduates and lateral officers.
The FTOs serve as role models for new police-trainees and shape their behavior and understanding of the department’s vision, philosophy, and operational processes. Field training officers have the dual responsibility of providing police service in their assigned beats, as well as conducting training and evaluations of new officers.
The FTP is intended to facilitate an officer’s transition from the academic setting to the performance of general patrol duties. Although an officer graduating from the academy has received a thorough introduction to basic police subjects, that officer cannot be expected to immediately assume the full responsibilities of an experienced officer. Newly assigned officers must receive additional training in the field where they can learn from officers who have a great deal of practical patrol experience. Trainees are evaluated and must display learning comprehension and apply what is taught. The FTP introduces a newly assigned officer to the personnel, procedures, policies and purposes of the department.
ITEM NO. 20.
97 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
When new officers join the department, LGMSPD has a well-organized orientation program that exposes the new officers to all they need in preparation for entering the FTO program. These types of programs are a valuable investment in initiating the program in a consistent and organized manner.
California Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) has select requirements that all agencies must adhere to in a FTP. The program must be POST-approved and training records are audited annually to ensure compliance. Additionally, changes to a department’s FTP must be approved by POST to remain in compliance.
FTPs typically have three, 5-to-6-week phases that incrementally move a trainee toward serving as a solo certified police officer. These programs, depending on the individual agency requirements, are typically 16-18 weeks in length and often have an additional phase at the end where the trainee serves a solo officer under the observation of a FTO accompanying them while in civilian attire. Experienced officers that leave one agency and join LGMSPD may have an abbreviated and accelerated FTP.
Traditionally, each of the 5–6-week training blocks are designed to be with the same FTO for consistency in training and observations. The FTOs are required to document the trainee’s progress in daily written reports that are then approved by the training sergeant and placed into the trainee’s file. The benefit of this process is that deficiencies in a trainee’s progress can be observed and addressed in a consistent manner. Once a phase is complete, the FTO will write an end of phase report and meetings take place between the next phase FTO, the FTO completing the phase, and the training sergeant to ensure the right training plan is in place to ensure consistency and progress for the benefit of the trainee.
LGMSPD has a similar program in place, but they admit that they have moved away from the traditional phase approach and have evolved into a program measured in weeks. One reason partially to blame for this altered approach is the difficulty in scheduling a trainee with an available FTO. LGMSPD uses an aging scheduling software program that is not user-friendly and complicates long-term planning for the FTP. Additionally, most corporals who are the department’s primary FTO are often unavailable to train because of the abovementioned supervision responsibilities. Finally, the additional officers designated to assist in the FTP are often moved to other assignments, rarely have an uninterrupted schedule, or are burned out from a constant cycle of training, therefore needing a break from the additional responsibility.
Because there are so many newer employees in the Patrol Division, many lack the experience required of the FTO role. Of those remaining employees with the desired experience, a smaller group enjoys the responsibility and is natural in the teaching environment. With the overall size of the patrol group, this does not leave a large group of available FTOs to fill the role when needed.
These dynamics have created the scenario where trainees often get moved from one FTO to another thereby disrupting the desired consistency in the program. We believe this is an area of
ITEM NO. 20.
98 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
LGMSPD operations the department should seek to improve. Minimizing the use of corporals as supervisors, as recommended above, should provide some remedy to the challenge. Improving the scheduling software is another area of potential improvement. Finally, the department should set into place a longer planning cycle to ensure that an assigned FTO will be available for the majority of a training phase. This may require a proactive approach to how vacations and time off for FTOs are scheduled to work around the training cycle.
LGMSPD entry level officers shall be required to successfully complete the FTP, consisting of a minimum of 10 weeks. Policy § 418.5 states, “A lateral officer may exempt from the Field Training Program requirement if the officer qualifies for an exemption as provided in 11 CCR 1005(a)(B).”
LGMSPD Policy § 416.7 states, “All documentation of the Field Training Program will be retained in the officer’s training files and will consist of the following: (a) Daily Observation Reports, (b) End-of-phase evaluations, and (c) A Certificate of Completion certifying that the trainee has successfully completed the required number of hours of field training.” In addition to the regular police officer training, all new officers spend time in Dispatch, Records and Investigations so they can best understand the needs of those units and gain a more wellrounded approach to the job of being an LGMSPD police officer.
FIELD TRAINING OFFICER SELECTION
LGMSPD Policy § 416 – Field Training Program – “is intended to provide a standardized program to facilitate the officer’s transition from the academic setting to the actual performance of general law enforcement duties of the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department.” LGMSPD’s policy says that an FTO is “an experienced officer trained in the art of supervising, training, and evaluating entry level and lateral police officers.”
The following selection process is included in LGMSPD’s Policy § 416.2.1:
(a) Desire to be an FTO
(b) Minimum of four years of patrol experience, two of which shall be with this department (c) Demonstrated ability as a positive role model
(d) Participate and pass an internal oral interview selection process (e) Evaluation by supervisors and current FTOs
(f) Possess a POST Basic certificate
Prior to being assigned as an FTO, the training officer is required to successfully complete the POST 40-hour FTO Course. Furthermore, every three years all FTOs must successfully complete the POST 24-hour FTO Update Course, which is mandated by 11 CCR § 1004. California Penal Code § 13515.28 mandates all FTOs meet crisis intervention behavioral health training (CIT).
LGMSPD is complimented for including these provisions in the existing policy and ensuring all FTOs are complying. Staff indicated that all FTOs have attended the POST 40-hour FTO Course,
ITEM NO. 20.
99 Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
and all but two FTOs are current on the three-year FTO Update Course. During the course of the organizational assessment process, the two FTO’s out of compliance are now in compliance. All FTOs have attended 8 hours of mental health/crisis intervention behavioral health training.
SUPERVISION
The FTP Supervisor is a critical role in any police department. Since the FTOs help new officers assimilate to the policies, procedures and practices of the organization, they also have a strong influence on department culture. As such, the FTP supervisor is key to ensuring the culture that new officers learn is consistent with a contemporary police organization seeking to evolve to best practices and committed to ongoing improvement. Policy § 418.3 – Field Training Officer Program Supervisor – responsibilities are described as:
(a) Assignment of trainees to FTOs
(b) Conduct FTO meetings
(c) Maintain and ensure FTO/trainee performance evaluations are completed (d) Maintain, update, and issue the Field Training Manual to each trainee (e) Monitor individual FTO performance
(f) Monitor overall FTO Program
(g) Maintain liaison with FTO coordinators of other agencies (h) Maintain liaison with academy staff on recruit performance during the academy (i) Develop ongoing training for FTO
LGMSPD operates a Field Training Program (FTP) managed by an Administrative Sergeant assigned to the Support Services Bureau. Management of the program is one of several programs and responsibilities the sergeant carries.
The FTP supervisor is required to complete a POST-approved Field Training Administrator’s Course within one year of appointment to the position, as mandated by 11 CCR 1004(c).
LGMSPD’s FTO Supervisor has not attended this course due to the fact that they are serving in the role as a temporary duty. Because they are approaching the one-year period, the department will be scheduling the training shortly, a step Meliora PSC encourages.
The FTO Administrator is normally filled by a lieutenant; however, LGMSPD does not have a lieutenant position so these duties are handled by the Captain. Currently, the FTO program falls under the Support Services Bureau and the current Captain has not attended the FTO Coordinator course. Meliora PSC recommends FTP be transferred to the Patrol Division and the Operations Captain attend the FTO Coordinator Course. Earlier in the report, Meliora PSC recommended that LGMSPD add one FTE Lieutenant position; this is an example of a responsibility that could be overseen by a lieutenant. Once the lieutenant position is filled, the lieutenant should attend requisite training.
ITEM NO. 20.
100
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
Meliora PSC recommends Police § 416 be updated to include – Field Training Coordinator duties and responsibilities. As a Lexipol subscriber, there is sample language available to update in the manual.
With regard to FTO ongoing training, Meliora learned that in practice, FTO meetings are held as needed, and may occur once per quarter. Regular FTO meetings provide the opportunity to not only discuss the progress of trainees, but also to continue to enhance the teaching and training skills of the FTOs. Meliora PSC recommends consideration be given to ensuring FTO meetings occur at least quarterly and cover trainee performance and FTO trainer development.
FTP OUTCOMES
Table 27 reflects LGMSPD is committed to creating a positive training environment and police officer trainee success rates improved from 2019 to 2023.
TABLE 27: FTO Program Results, 2019-2023
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Sworn FTOs * * * * *
Sworn Officer Trainees 1 3 2 4 2
Officer Trainees Passing FTO 1 3 2 3 1*
Passing Percentage 100% 100% 100% 75% 50%
Source: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department. * Staff was unable to provide the number of FTOs since the overall number fluctuated throughout the year. **The employee opted to resign after joining the FTP – unrelated to performance.
The department, and in particular, the FTP sergeant and FTOs are to be commended for their commitment to the FTP program rather than treating the FTP as a “rite of passage” evaluation process. Rather, FTOs work with their respective trainees to determine their suited adult learning style (auditory, visual, experiential, etc.) to maximize the learning environment and opportunity for success.
FTP MANUAL
LGMSPD uses POST’s Field Training Program Guide (Volume ) as their FTP Manual, including the forms to document training. The FTP Manual includes various sections within the manual to provide the opportunity to include agency specific activities. LGMSPD’s Field Training Program guide was approved by POST in March 2020. Meliora PSC recommends the FTO Manual be reviewed annually to ensure compliance with statutes and best practices.
FTO RECOMMENDATIONS
§ Ensure the current supervisor overseeing the FTP is sent to the POST Filed Administrator’s Course. (Recommendation #15)
ITEM NO. 20.
101
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
§ Transfer the FTP to the Operations Bureau and assign the Captain to attend the FTP Coordinator’s Course. (Recommendation #16)
§ Update Policy § 416 to include the Field Training Coordinator duties and responsibilities. (Recommendation #17)
§ Consider scheduling quarterly FTO meetings to cover trainee performance and FTO trainer development. (Recommendation #18)
§ Review the FTO Manual annually to ensure compliance with statutes and best practices. (Recommendation #19)
Traffic Unit
Traffic safety and the efficient flow of traffic are always key factors for any community. Per LGMSPD Policy § 500 – Traffic Function and Responsibility – the goal of traffic law enforcement is to reduce traffic collisions. Contemporary police agencies accomplish this by applying the three E’s: education, enforcement, engineering. In discussions with LGMSPD leadership, we were told that the 3 E’s of traffic were at the forefront of their traffic enforcement philosophy.
The Traffic Unit is listed in the Support Services Bureau in the current Organizational Chart. Due to traffic duties being focused to field services, Meliora PSC recommends the Traffic Unit be transferred to the Operations Bureau – Patrol Division. For purposes of the assessment, the Traffic Unit will be reported in the Patrol Division portion of the report.
STAFFING, SCHEDULE AND SUPERVISION
TABLE 28: Traffic Unit Staffing, FY 2023-24
FY 2022/23 Authorized Actual Vacant
Traffic Sergeant 1 1 0
Traffic Officer 2 1 1
TOTAL SWORN STAFF 3 2 1
Sr. Parking Control Officer 1 1 0
Parking Control Officers 1 1 0
TOTAL PROFESSIONAL STAFF 2 2 0
TOTAL STAFF 5 4 1
SOURCE: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department.
Consistent with similarly sized police agencies, LGMSPD currently deploys one full-time traffic officer. Patrol Officers also do their part by making traffic enforcement an area of focus while on patrol. The sole traffic/patrol officer predominately works the day shift from 6:40 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on one of the patrol teams. Although this officer focuses on traffic enforcement while working, they are part of the patrol minimum staffing plan and may often be called upon to assist in the traditional patrol function by handling regular calls for service. Although there is
ITEM NO. 20.
102
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
only one traffic officer at this time (assigned to a motorcycle), there is a second position that is currently unfilled.
In addition to the sole traffic officer, the department also has a Traffic Sergeant position that carries the responsibility of managing the serious traffic investigations that occur in Los Gatos.
In addition to the management of traffic collision investigations, the Traffic Sergeant also carries the supervisory responsibility of two parking enforcement officers and manages various other police projects for the administration. The Parking Control Officers work mainly day shift hours.
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AND THE THREE E’S
Traffic enforcement is an important responsibility of every police department. Communities demand safe roadways, and they demand appropriate visibility of traffic enforcement as well as the fair enforcement of serious violations. In developing a strategy for overall traffic enforcement, it is important to remember the 3 E’s and apply a common sense, data-driven approach to mitigating serious traffic concerns.
Education is at the forefront of traffic safety. There are several national campaigns designed to educate and highlight select traffic issues and bring those issues to the forefront of the driving public (e.g.: DUI campaigns, seatbelt enforcement periods, distracted driving). Additionally, police officers can be the most effective educators to the driving public by explaining the law to uneducated drivers.
Engineering is another important aspect of the 3 E’s. Whenever a serious traffic concern can be mitigated through a common sense and affordable engineering solution it should be explored and pursued. LGMSPD advised that there are open lines of communication between the police department and the Town’s Traffic Engineering Department to discuss problematic locations and explore non-enforcement options as a solution.
Finally, enforcement is at the forefront of what police departments contribute in the area of traffic safety. Meliora PSC contends that traffic enforcement should always be data-driven to the greatest extent possible. In other words, patrol and traffic officers should be armed with data concerning where accidents are occurring and what is causing them, and direct enforcement efforts to solve those problems. Efforts should be measured and evaluated to determine effectiveness. Although non-data-driven enforcement will always occur as officers are expected to act when serious violations occur in front of them, this type of random enforcement should be the exception and not the norm.
TRAFFIC DATA AND MANAGEMENT
LGMSPD provided us with several reports demonstrating that the department collects the necessary information to apply a data-driven approach to enforcement. However, in discussing
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the normal approach with members of the patrol force, Meliora PSC learned that randomized enforcement is typically what occurs.
The following charts provide information and data on the traffic enforcement and investigative efforts of LGMSPD. As expected, traffic accidents are traditionally reported to the police dispatch center and are investigated as community-initiated activity. Most enforcement activity is field-initiated. Traffic accidents have been on the rise over the past three years while enforcement is down from 2021 levels.
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CHART 26: Community-Initiated and Field-Initiated Traffic Records, by Year The following chart shows that although community-initiated traffic reports are not as common as field-initiated, those calls typically come into police dispatch starting around 8:00 a.m. and peaking at 9:00 p.m. Again, in most categories, the community-initiated activity is increasing when compared year-to-year from 2021-2023. 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023
Community-Initiated Field-Initiated
Traffic Enforcement 3 2 1 3,104 2,483 2,960
Traffic Accident 125 142 202 6 13 15
Traffic 91 110 147 17 25 19
Parking 60 98 52 125 132 114
0 500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
Axis Title
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CHART 27: Community-Initiated Traffic Records, by Hour, by Year This chart shows field-initiated traffic activity (mostly enforcement). The low points correspond with briefing times when officers are at the station. The highest level of activity occurs in the later evening hours. 0 5
10 15
20 25
30 35
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 2021 2022 2023
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CHART 28: Field-Initiated Traffic Records, by Hour, by Year The following tables of data are taken directly from LGMSPD data on traffic collisions that have occurred in the Town since 2021.
Although the information contained within these tables was assembled by Meliora PSC using LGMSPD data, it is an example of data available to the department and the community that can assist in driving traffic enforcement strategy. Meliora PSC recommends LGMSPD reinforce a data-driven approach to traffic enforcement. This involves the dissemination of collision data, including the top accident locations and causes along with an enforcement-based strategy for patrol and traffic officers to follow. Efforts should be measured and re-evaluated regularly to ensure effectiveness. 0 50
100
150
200
250
300
350
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 2021 2022 2023
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TABLE 29: Intersections with at least 5 Collisions in One Year, 2021-2023 Intersection 2021 2022 2023
Los Gatos Blvd/Blossom Hill Rd - 1 6
Los Gatos Blvd/Almaden Rd - 1 5
Lark Ave/Los Gatos Blvd 9 5 1
Los Gatos Saratoga Rd/Massol Ave 5 1 -
Los Gatos Boulevard and Blossom Hill as well as Los Gatos Boulevard and Almaden Road have seen a sudden spike in traffic collisions in 2023 versus past years. The department should be focusing directed efforts at these locations. However, Lark Avenue and Los Gatos Boulevard experienced a significant decline in collisions over the past three years. If this is due to LGMSPD efforts it should be highlighted as a success.
TABLE 30: Total Collisions, 2021-2023
Year Total Collisions Total Injuries Fatalities
2021 202 83 0
2022 152 73 0
2023 212 104 1
Both overall collisions and injuries sustained in those collisions saw an increase in 2023 after a drop in 2022. Overall, collisions are up 5% while injuries are up 25%.
TABLE 31: Driving Under the Influence Collisions, 2021-2023 Year # DUI Collisions Minor Injuries Major Injuries Fatalities 2021 16 4 0 0
2022 25 2 0 0
2023 23 8 0 0
DUI-related collisions increased in 2022 and 2023 over the base 2021 year, and injuries increased significantly in those collisions in 2023.
TABLE 32: Hit and Run Collisions, 2021-2023
Year Hit and Run Collisions Involving Injuries
2021 64 7
2022 65 6
2023 57 3
Hit-and-run collisions, including those involving injuries have declined by 11% in the three-year period.
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TABLE 33: Citations Issued by LGMSPD Officers, 2021-2023 Year # of Citations
2021 1621
2022 1372
2023 1704
Citations issued by LGMSPD have increased in 2023 over both 2021 and 2022. There is no industry standard for the number of citations to be issued by an officer and quotas are explicitly prohibited by law. LGMSPD is to be commended for including this information in Policy § 500.3 – Enforcement – it states the department does not establish ticket quotas and the number of arrests or citations issued by any officer shall not be used as the sole criterion for evaluating officer overall performance (Vehicle Code § 41603). However, the department can expect time and effort be directed at traffic collision mitigation efforts to include stopping violators and either educating or issuing the driver a citation.
TRAFFIC TRAINING
A key responsibility of traffic personnel is traffic collision investigations. California POST has a number of courses specifically created to provide personnel the ability to develop expertise in traffic investigations from basic, intermediate, and advanced collision investigation courses to specialized collision investigations to include automobile-pedestrian, motorcycle, and digital crime scene investigation. Meliora PSC recommends traffic personnel be assigned to attend these courses to enhance their level of acumen when investigating serious traffic collisions.
Major traffic collisions require a qualified team to conduct extensive investigations.
Contemporary police agencies recognize that fatal traffic collisions are an unattended death that could be determined to be an accident, or in some cases, an actual crime ranging from manslaughter to homicide. As such, experienced investigators and crime scene specialists must be well trained and available to respond to such incidents. The Town of Los Gatos/City of Monte Sereno is fortunate to have had none over the past few years. In the event of a fatal traffic collision, the Traffic Sergeant is the lead investigator who oversees the investigation with LGMSPD staff and detectives.
The operation of a police motorcycle is a perishable skill. As such, perishable skills training is a practice necessary to maintain the high degree of riding skills to ensure the safe operation of the motorcycle for enforcement purposes. Although motor officers ride routinely in their daily assignment, this is no substitute for motorcycle training that includes slow-speed maneuvering and traffic collision evasion, at the very least. These exercises are established in the police motorcycle training guide used at the police motorcycle academy approved by the California Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST). Per the POST Motor Guide, “A sound motorcycle training program strengthens the skills and knowledge of the individual officers while raising the overall competence and safety of the unit. Costs associated with training are an investment and budgeting for training is a proactive risk management practice.”
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Most agencies that have traffic units manned with motor officers require the motor officers to conduct motorcycle safety and skills training at a minimum of at least annually, with some agencies training quarterly. LGMSPD does not conduct routine motorcycle safety and skills training. Meliora PSC recommends the traffic motorcycle officer(s) participate in quarterly perishable skills training. This could be accomplished by collaborating with regional traffic units and attending eight hours of slow speed and road training. It is also important the training be documented and forwarded to the Training Unit to be entered into the respective motor officer’s training file.
TRAFFIC COMPLAINTS
Meliora PSC inquired about the process for community members to request traffic enforcement in their neighborhood or report a traffic concern in the Town of Los Gatos/City of Monte Sereno. Staff indicated that traffic enforcement requests may be made through a number of sources ranging from contacting the Mayor’s Office, calling the Town Manager, reaching out through the LGMSPD police email, calling dispatch, and flagging down a patrol officer. The only means to track these types of traffic safety concerns is to attempt to research the traffic-related complaints called into the dispatch center. The other manners to raise a traffic concern do not currently have a system in place to track the complaint, follow up, and outcome.
Tracking community traffic concerns separately presents an opportunity for the department to be more strategic and efficient when receiving tips and/or concerns related to traffic safety in the Town. The traffic complaints could be compared to traffic collision locations as a means to enhance safety.
Meliora PSC recommends a process be developed that builds upon the calls and/or emails requesting extra traffic monitoring and enforcement. The system should include a searchable database so that monthly, quarterly, and annual reports can be added to a management dashboard that illuminates traffic safety issues throughout the year. The information should also be part of the sergeants’ responsibilities in briefings to inform the patrol officers of hot spot areas to be monitored and addressed.
LGMSPD currently uses a radio code to indicate they are focusing traffic education and enforcement efforts; however, this does not necessarily capture the outcome. Disposition codes should be updated in CAD so that outcomes such as monitored area, citation issued, and/or warned could be included for data mining /tracking in the future. By creating a process to track traffic-related complaints by category and include the department’s response, this information could also be useful in bringing closure to the calling party as a means to continue building trust as a responsive 21st century police agency.
TRAFFIC UNIT RECOMMENDATIONS
§ Transfer the Traffic Unit Traffic Unit to the Operations Bureau – Patrol Division. (Recommendation #20)
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§ Reinforce a data-driven approach to traffic enforcement to include the dissemination of collision data, including the top accident locations and causes along with an enforcement-based strategy for patrol and traffic officers to follow. (Recommendation #21)
§ Assign personnel assigned to the Traffic Unit to attend traffic collision investigation courses such as Intermediate and Advanced Traffic Collision Investigation as well as auto-pedestrian and auto-motorcycle accident investigation courses. (Recommendation #22)
§ Implement quarterly traffic motorcycle training for all personnel who use a police motorcycle. (Recommendation #23)
§ Develop a system that captures the calls and/or emails requesting extra traffic monitoring and enforcement and ensure the system includes a searchable database. (Recommendation #24)
PARKING ENFORCEMENT
The Town of Los Gatos/City of Monte Sereno currently has a professional services agreement with Dixon Unlimited, Inc. with Parks and Public Works for their parking enforcement needs.
The LGMSPD’s responsibilities include enforcement and parking citation hearings, while Parks and Public Works handles the contract and signage.
Two parking control officers, overseen by the Traffic Sergeant, are responsible for parking enforcement. Efforts are focused on the downtown district. Maintaining parking enforcement duties at the department have a number of benefits to include cost savings, accountability, flexibility, and community engagement.
EQUIPMENT
There are two dedicated parking enforcement vehicles: EV parking enforcement unit and a gopher three-wheel vehicle designed for parking enforcement. Both vehicles are equipped with automatic license plate readers.
INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION
STAFFING
The Investigations Division is organizationally placed within the Operations Bureau, which is commanded by a Captain. Under the direction of sergeant, the Investigations Division is comprised of the Detective Unit, which includes the School Resource Officer (SRO) and Property and Evidence.
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TABLE 34: Investigations Division Staffing, FY 2023-24
FY 2023/24 Authorized Actual Vacant
Operations Bureau Captain 1 1 0
Investigations Lieutenant 0 0 0
Investigations Sergeant 1 1 0
Detectives 4 2 2
Task Force Officer 1 0 1
School Resource Officer 1 1 0
TOTAL SWORN STAFF 8 5 3
Victim Services Advocate (Volunteer) 1 1 0
Administrative Technician 1 1 0
Senior Records Specialist 1 0.4 0.6
TOTAL PROFESSIONAL STAFF 3 2.4 0.6
TOTAL STAFF 11 7.4 3.6
Source: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department.
SELECTION
When an opening in the investigations division arises, an organizational memo is sent out to employees. Officers who are interested, and meet minimum qualifications, go through a formal testing process of submitting a letter of interest and then participating in a rated oral interview/assessment.
Detectives have a three-year rotation with an option for a fourth year upon mutual desire of the detective and the department. However, there is no policy addressing the specifics of the rotations. The department is commended for implementing special assignment rotations. This is especially important for smaller, patrol-centric agencies that do not offer more assignments as a means to retain officers. Having a rotational policy assists in managing the organization by returning experienced personnel to patrol and providing opportunity for professional growth and development to personnel seeking special assignments. Refer to the Specialty Assignment section of the report for further recommendations on the rotational policy.
SCHEDULE
Investigations personnel work a mixed schedule, with the sergeant and one detective working a 4/10 schedule, Monday through Thursday, from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The other detective works a 5/8 schedule, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This allows for 5-day work week coverage. Detectives are considered generalists, but since there are currently only two, one is assigned to Person Crimes and one is assigned to Property Crimes. Typically, detectives are called in to handle high profile crimes such as shootings, stabbings, rapes, and suspicious death investigations. When a homicide occurs, the entire Investigations Division (all detectives and the sergeant) responds to the scene and assists with the investigation.
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Detectives may adjust their work schedule as necessary to facilitate investigative needs. The School Resource Officer works a 4/10 schedule, Tuesday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Senior Records Specialist works a 5/8 schedule, Monday through Friday, and the Administrative Technician assigned to Property and Evidence works a 4/10 schedule, Monday through Thursday, from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Senior Records Specialist currently divides their time between Records and Detectives with 60% of their time in the Records function and 40% (two days per week) in Detectives. They are also secondary in functions to the Property and Evidence (P&E) Room, yet still have access to the P&E Room.
The primary functions of the Senior Records Specialist are to assist detectives with criminal history work ups, take evidence to the crime lab, conduct records management work as it pertains to Investigations, and provide overall professional staff support to detectives. The Senior Records Specialist is the only professional support staff member within the Investigations Division working in a support function, which was quite surprising due to the normal workflow and dynamic needs and desires of the community requested of a full-service Investigations Division. The Senior Records Specialist answers phone calls that come into the Detective Unit, but when she is not there, the calls are delivered to an answering machine.
The Senior Records Specialist is responsible for court liaison duties, which includes preparing criminal case packets and in-custody cases for the District Attorney’s Office. The Senior Records Specialist must physically take all the criminal cases to the DA’s office for in-person filing as there is no electronic case filing process in Santa Clara County. As one can imagine, in-custody cases on Mondays (or Tuesdays when the holiday falls on a Monday) is extremely frenzied.
Every day the Senior Records Specialist starts their morning in Investigations and, once their duties are completed at the DA’s office, they work in Records.
The Senior Records Specialist has Warrant Officer duties as well. She drives to the Santa Clara County courthouse, gets sworn in, signs the warrant complaint and files it with the Court. The Santa Clara County Courthouse does not open until 8:00 a.m., and commute times along with time spent in the courthouse can impact time away from the department.
The Senior Records Specialist also registers sex, arson, and gang offenders. There are currently 14 sex registrants who reside in Los Gatos. They must all annually register five days before or after their birthdays. It takes about an hour to register one sex registrant. This does not include any new sex registrants that move into town or any unhoused sex registrants within the Los Gatos or Monte Sereno. Unhoused sex registrants must register every 30 days.
There is one gang registrant and one arson registrant that must register only once, and that process takes about an hour as well. However, if either of those registrants are out of compliance, the Senior Records Specialist receives the teletypes, then completes the follow-ups
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and works with detectives on a plan for getting the out of compliance registrant into custody.
This recently occurred and the out of compliance registrant was arrested for being out of compliance. Once released from jail, he was re-registered.
The Senior Records Specialist accepts all officer subpoenas from the court, manages the process for serving all officers, enters the subpoenas into the Department Outlook calendar, scans the documents and hand carries them to the sergeant for personal service.
Finally, the Senior Records Specialist is responsible for ordering all office supplies and kitchen equipment for the entire POB. She also orders supplies for Property and Evidence.
Since January 2024, the Senior Records Specialist has worked back and forth between Investigations and Records, yet without clear goals and objectives. The recent title change is blurred with no clear job description for the work that she is tasked to perform. She answers to two different supervisors: the Investigations Sergeant and Records Lead. Meliora PSC recommends the Senior Records Specialist be assigned solely to Investigations as the majority of the workload performed relates specifically to detectives. The other records work should be handled by Records staff.
Meliora PSC identified a significant area for opportunity for the LGMSPD. Police departments have used a long-standing practice of having police officers handle workload that can be handled by professional staff members. In an effort to examine proper staffing in the Investigations Division and identify cost-efficient ways to maintain safety in LGMSPD, Meliora PSC inquired about the use of professional staff assigned to assist with investigations, crime analysis, and other general investigative assignments. This practice has proven to be costeffective as well as providing opportunities for civilian personnel to develop professionally within the department.
Civilian Investigators or Administrative Technicians are professional staff members who are assigned to investigate cases and conduct a multitude of various investigative functions.
Contemporary police agencies use Administrative Technicians to perform functions formerly handled by sworn personnel and have proven to be an invaluable resource. These professional staff positions can be used within the LGMSPD to handle the crime analysis function for the department, investigate cases, assist in search warrant pre-investigation and preparation, conduct follow-up on Missing Persons and Adult Abuse cases, and assist with the investigative workload being handled by sworn officers.
Creating additional professional staff positions in the department enhances the professional development and career opportunities for civilians in the organization by providing a civilian career ladder. We learned LGMSPD already established a civilian career ladder and is applauded for this contemporary approach to police services. Meliora PSC recommends the department evaluate the feasibility of adding one FTE professional staff member and assign them to the Investigations Division. (More information on the duties and functions will be addressed in the Crime Analysis portion of the report.)
ITEM NO. 20.
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LOCATION
The Investigations Division is housed at the Los Gatos-Monte Serena Police Operations Building (POB) located at 15900 Los Gatos Boulevard in the Town of Los Gatos.
POB is a one-story building, which opened in 2009. The Investigations Division is located in an office, which is configured in a “bay area” with individual cubicles for the detectives. There are six workstation cubicles. The Investigations Sergeant has an individual, private office, across the hall from the cubicle area – with a window that allows the sergeant to see directly into the bay area.
POB has multiple security cameras set up on the outside of the building, but none inside the building. There are no cameras in the Property and Evidence Room, Investigations, or near the departmental equipment/surplus room. (See recommendation below and recommendations contained within the Property and Evidence portion of this assessment for further details.) The detective bay area office is left unlocked 24/7. Currently, anyone with access to the POB building has unlimited access to the detective cubicles. The sole reason for this is that one of the only two printers in the POB building is located in the detective office area. If that printer was moved outside the detective area to allow access for POB employees’ use, the detective office could be locked for off hours, weekends, and holidays. While evidence is not normally stored within the bureau, it should be a restricted area when it is unoccupied. There are work stations with active investigative files, operational plans, and access to confidential law enforcement computers. Meliora PSC recommends the detective office cubicles be considered a restricted area during off hours, holidays, and weekends. The department printer should be moved out of the area, cameras should be mounted at the door to the detective office, and a new physical key or key access system be installed, limiting access to division employees and command staff.
The Investigations Division has one non-secure designated interview room with audio and visual recording capabilities. The room is equipped with a single camera that is always recording and a covert microphone that can be turned on/off via a wall switch, and audio quality is poor.
The recordings are stored on the same server as the department’s facility surveillance cameras and any LGMSPD computer can log into the camera system. During the investigation of a recent homicide, several departmental desktop computers were logged in at the same time to monitor the suspect’s interview and the system worked well with two exceptions. Those two exceptions have been identified and updated equipment is in the process of being ordered to alleviate any further issues.
Of note, the LGMSPD only stores its routine videos on the server for a few weeks rather than the 365 days required by law per California Government Code § 34090.6, which states in part:
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 34090, the head of a department of a city or city and county, after one year, may destroy recordings of routine video monitoring, and
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after 100 days may destroy recordings of telephone and radio communications maintained by the department. This destruction shall be approved by the legislative body and the written consent of the agency attorney shall be obtained. In the event that the recordings are evidence in any claim filed or any pending litigation, they shall be preserved until pending litigation is resolved.
Further, subsection (c) explains that “routine video monitoring” means video recording by a video or electronic imaging system designed to record the regular and ongoing operations of the departments described in subdivision (a), including mobile in-car video systems, jail observation and monitoring systems, and building security recording systems.
Meliora PSC recommends LGMSPD develop written policy and procedure that are in accordance with the aforementioned mandatory statute and work with their legal consultant on destruction of videos.
With the 2023 closure of the department’s temporary holding facility, there is no longer a secure interview room at LGMSPD. The need for such a room has proven to be minimal with the holding facility’s secure interview room being used approximately three times in the past decade.
There is also no “witness center” at LGMSPD for the management of multiple witnesses after a critical incident. Triaging multiple witnesses and victims at a large-scale event can become unmanageable and, at times, not the best conditions for multiple victims and witnesses that must be interviewed. It is commendable that the department recognized this as an issue and is currently working with a local hotel for contract services to obtain multiple rooms to act as a witness coordination area on an as needed basis.
The POB building has a lobby with a front desk area; however, it is not staffed to accept visitors.
If a visitor arrives at the front of the POB building, they are directed to pick up a phone, (on a wall at the front of the POB building) that rings directly to police dispatch, which is staffed 24/7.
Dispatch must then contact someone within the POB, and advise them that someone is in front of the POB and needs assistance. This is cumbersome and confusing for visitors, community members, victims, and other individuals that must conduct business at the POB. Meliora PSC recommends assigning a professional staff member to serve as a contact person to assist people that come into the front lobby area during normal working hours, and clearly post those hours on the outside of the POB as well as the department website.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Detectives conduct criminal investigations for both misdemeanor and felony crimes. The responsibility of the detective is to respond to crime scenes, case follow-up, investigations, presenting cases for prosecution and participating in court proceedings.
ITEM NO. 20.
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Accurate staffing is a key decision weighing on police leaders as they respond to their community’s needs. This dilemma is not new, but is more critical in today’s current fiscal environment. Communities expect police departments to have sufficient staffing to respond to investigative calls for service adequately and efficiently, and to handle quality of life issues appropriately.
We did discover that staffing levels in the Investigations Division have remained the same for many years. The budgeted SRO position was just filled prior to this assessment, as the prior SRO recently retired after being out of the workplace for an extended period of time. During the summer months and while school is out, the SRO assists detectives with investigations.
However, the Investigations Division is currently operating with two of the four budgeted positions, and the budgeted Task Force Officer position has been vacant for the entire fiscal year due to short staffing. Meliora PSC recommends filling one detective position as soon as staffing allows. The second vacant detective position should be filled once department-wide staffing levels have been filled and stabilized.
TRAINING
LGMSPD utilizes Lexipol, which provides Policy Manual management and maintenance for police agencies. While all of the policies for LGMSPD are legally sound, they are not personalized for the department’s operations and functions. This will be addressed in the Support Services Division portion of the report.
LGMSPD Policy § 600.2 states, “it is the policy of the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department to investigate crimes thoroughly and with due diligence, and to evaluate and prepare criminal cases for appropriate clearance or submission to a prosecutor.” While the two detectives within the Investigations Division are currently assigned to investigate either Person Crimes or Property Crimes, they are considered generalists in that they are not assigned a specific type of investigation. If there is a homicide or death investigation, the entire Investigations Division would respond to the scene to investigate. This is true of other serious crimes such as sexual assaults, kidnappings, and shooting victims.
There is a significant opportunity for the LGMSPD in that there is no formal published Detective Manual that addresses procedures, processes, investigation tools, standard operations, case management, and case clearance procedures. Detective Manuals prove to be extremely helpful not only to newer detectives, but those detectives who are faced with a situation they may have never handled before such as writing a search warrant on a specific crime. It also can be helpful to sergeants newly assigned into the division. There are substantial amounts of available industry resources, phone numbers, federal, local and state contacts, basic investigative tools such as affidavit and search warrant samples, and general investigative knowledge information that would greatly assist investigations sergeants, incumbent and newly assigned detectives, as well as the Senior Records Specialist, who acts as the Court Liaison and Warrant Officer.
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Meliora PSC recommends a comprehensive Detective Manual be published and specific written guidelines be developed.
There is no formal training process for newly assigned detectives. Once assigned to the Investigations Division, the only mandatory training a newly assigned detective receives is the California P.O.S.T. required Sexual Assault Investigations course. While there is a departmentwide Training Plan, the written protocol for specific training upon being assigned to detectives is vague and ambiguous and does not provide direction for a detective on what training is essential, desirable or recommended. Detectives are not even required to attend the Core Investigations Course, an essential course for investigators. Although kidnappings, homicides, and sexual assaults in Los Gatos and Monte Sereno are extremely rare, there have been two homicides within the past year. Also, the Person Crimes Detective is the representative to the County’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, but has not been to the Child Abuse Investigators course.
The two detectives assigned to the Investigations Division wrote approximately 100 search warrants within the last year. Many of these search warrants were for property crimes; including geo-fencing, phone and computer downloads, but some were in relation to crimes against persons. Detectives are not sent to Basic Search Warrant school, and there is no Detective Manual to highlight examples of search warrants. To advance the skills of their roles, Meliora PSC recommends that upon being assigned to the Detective Unit, every detective should attend, the California P.O.S.T. Core Investigations course, Homicide/Death Investigations, Child Abuse Investigators course, and a search warrant class.
While discussing investigative duties and responsibilities, it was discovered that detectives assigned to homicide investigations do not attend autopsies. Having the case detective present at the autopsy is an invaluable investigative tool as it assists in the investigation. Autopsies establish the identity of the deceased, determine the cause of death and time of death, and where possible, confirm or refute the alleged manner of death. When a case detective is present at the autopsy and evidence is recovered from the victim (bullets, knives, etc.), the detective can immediately take possession of the evidence and book it into the Property and Evidence room for immediate processing. This ultimately assists in the chain of custody when/if a trial commences. Meliora PSC recommends homicide case detectives attend autopsies.
CASE MANAGEMENT
Case management is a critical element of a properly functioning Investigations Division. Case management is a significant tool that that detectives use to manage their investigative resources and functions. Proper case management can assist in determining employee’s workload performance and identify if an employee has taken on the majority of extensive cases, thus informing the supervisor who can quickly take action and reassign or redistribute duties and tasks to another employee. Workload data can also determine efficiency and effectiveness of the division, which can assist in optimizing how work is assigned. It can contribute in staffing analyses as well as assist in financial and equipment resource allocation.
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There is no wrijen protocol for case management to include assignment, tracking, follow-up of assigned cases. There are also no wrijen checks and balances for inveskgakve case management. Assignment, tracking and approval of inveskgakve reports, follow-up calls and reports to vickms and witnesses, and the recovery of surveillance footage is not necessarily captured in a kmely manner. The current sergeant does an outstanding job managing these items; however, the sergeant will be rekring within the next month.
Currently, LGMSPD uses the Records Information Management System (RIMS) for detective case assignment, tracking, and investigative case management. However, the employees currently assigned to Investigations have not been trained on the software features nor how to utilize the system, and there are no written protocol or directions for using the software.
Consequently, there are no documented updates, notes, or follow-ups in the RIMS case management system. Since the Records Division is responsible for formally clearing cases through NIBRS, detectives only show what cases they have open. LGMSPD was not able to provide the numbers of year-to-date cases that have been cleared for each detective. Staff indicated the one Person Crimes Detective has about 20-25 open cases, and the one Property Crimes Detective has about 75-100 open cases. It is hard to determine if detective’s caseloads are excessive or not as detectives do not use the detective component of the RIMS case management system. The Investigations Sergeant tried to extrapolate current case and clearance information, but it became extremely cumbersome. Meliora PSC recommends LGMSPD evaluate the entire detective case management component of the RIMS system to determine if it meets the needs of the Investigations Division. Then, conduct comprehensive training for all Investigations Division employees on the use of the RIMS Investigative component and conduct regularly scheduled update training.
Case audits are another key management and oversight feature in a well-run, fully operational Investigations Division. Audits, documentation, and resolution are critical components of proper investigative service delivery to the public as well as the victims of crimes. Due to the limited use of the RIMS Case Management system, case audits are not being completed. For future reference, the tables below are examples of the types of information that is useful in case management and audits.
TABLE 35: Detective Case Status Sample, 2021-2023
Case Status 2021 2022 2023 TOTAL
Active
Closed by Detective
Closed by Sergeant
Closed
Inactive
Court Filing *Pending Court
Court Rejected
TOTAL
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TABLE 36: LGMSPD Filings Sample for Detectives, Patrol, Traffic, 2021 - 2023 Filing Rates 2021 2022 2023 Ratio
Cleared by Arrest %
Criminal Cases %
Felony Arrests %
Misdemeanor Arrests %
Case Rejected %
TABLE 37: Case Status Changes Sample, 2022 - 2023
Cases 2022 2023 Ratio
Detective Initiated Arrest %
Open/Pending Court %
Cases Filed %
Pending Filing
Search Warrants %
Total Reported Cases %
There are no absolute standards to determine appropriate caseload for police investigators.
One murder investigation could occupy the time of several detectives for months. In contrast, one detective could handle hundreds of theft cases in a similar period. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) suggests that a detective caseload between 120 and 180 cases per year (10 to 15 per month) is manageable. Other sources suggest that departments should staff one detective for every 300 Part I Index Crimes recorded each year; however, this does not take into consideration how many of those crimes were assigned to detectives. Due to the lack of case management information and RIMS not being fully utilized, we are unable to better address detective staffing. The limited data provided by the department is antidotal, and as such, we cannot make a definitive recommendation as to appropriate section-wide staffing levels and suggest no changes be made absent the availability of reliable data.
Crime Scene Investigation
Investigation of a crime scene is a highly specialized function. Successful identification and collection of evidence is of paramount importance in successfully solving crimes. There is no Forensic Team within LGMSPD, which is typical for the size and crime occurrence rate within Los Gatos and Monte Sereno.
All officers are equipped with a fingerprint kit, and have been trained in basic fingerprinting, basic evidence retrieval, and biological evidence recovery. For more extensive crime scenes,
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LGMSPD contracts services with the on-call Crime Scene Team from the Santa Clara County Crime Lab. The contracting of services for this function has worked well for LGMSPD. The department also contracts services for computer forensics with the Santa County Crime Lab.
There have been about 10 requests for computer forensics services, including cell phone requests, within the past two years. If there is an online Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) case, the case would be investigated by the ICAC Task Force forensic team.
MISSING PERSONS INVESTIGATIONS
All basic missing person cases come in through patrol, who take the initial report, and are later reviewed by the Investigations Sergeant. In the event of highly unusual circumstances that would make the missing person case look suspicious or high priority, detectives would likely be requested, via chain of command, to respond and begin immediate investigation.
ELDER AND CHILD ABUSE INVESTIGATIONS
When an elder or child abuse is reported by the Department of Family and Children’s Services or Adult Protective Services during normal business hours, those agencies send a cross report to LGMSPD via fax to Records. Records then stamps and dates it for when it was received and forwards it via inter-office mail to the Senior Records Specialist. The Senior Records Specialist scans and emails it to the Investigations Sergeant who then reviews each case to determine the appropriate level of response and investigation. For every cross report, an incident number is created to show what was done in the case. The cross report gets attached to the CAD incident.
Entering them into CAD also allows the department to have background information in the event there are future calls regarding the same persons or location.
Conversely, when a child or elder abuse case is sent during off hours (weekends and holidays), the faxed cross reports into Records could sit on the fax machine until the next business work morning. It could then take anywhere from one to three days to be sent to the detectives for review. Because the documented fax report physically travels from one building to another (HQ to POB), it is subject to getting lost – another adverse issue related to two police buildings.
The majority of these cases are not acute in nature; however, they still must be reviewed and triaged upon receipt to determine the urgency and assess if a patrol officer should be sent out to the victim’s location as soon as possible. Meliora PSC recommends the Patrol Watch Commander review and assess the faxed reports from CPS child abuse cases and APS elder abuse cases upon receipt. The Watch Commander should then send an email to the Investigations Sergeant advising what was done with the report, and what follow-up may need to be done.
ITEM NO. 20.
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NARCOTIC INVESTIGATIONS
There is no Narcotic Unit within LGMSPD, which is typical for the size and number of narcotic occurrences within the community. There are no allocated departmental narcotic funds, and there is no history of informant use at LGMSPD.
VICTIM ADVOCACY
LGMSPD Policy § 316 addresses Victim/Witness Services by ensuring that crime victims and witnesses receive appropriate assistance and are provided with information on available resources. LGMSPD is committed to providing guidance and assistance to the victims and witnesses of crime. The policy states, “The members of the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department will show compassion and understanding for victims and witnesses and will make reasonable efforts to provide the support and information identified in this policy.” Policy § 316.3 requires the Chief of Police to appoint a member of the department to serve as the crime victim liaison, and that the crime victim liaison shall also be responsible for maintaining compliance with all legal mandates related to crime victims and/or witnesses.
LGMSPD has a comprehensive Victim Services Unit (VSU), which is staffed by one volunteer.
The VSU volunteer is a longtime volunteer within the unit and is very adept at the services the unit provides. The volunteer has been formally trained on mandatory and proper victim/witness services. There is a comprehensive VSU Policy and Procedure Manual that addresses duties, responsibilities, procedures, qualifications, selection processes, and mandatory and continuing training for VSU volunteers. LGMSPD should be recognized and applauded for the outstanding overall management of the VSU and the services it provides.
Meliora PSC recommends the manual be updated as it was developed and published in 2020.
There have been updated mandated training requirements, for crime victim liaisons, as well as updated services to be provided to victims of certain violent crimes. It is a good practice to review the policy and procedure manual annually to incorporate any future updated mandates.
A goal within the Investigations Division should be to contact all crime victims; even those victims whose cases were not assigned to a detective. This is especially important for those cases that will never be assigned to a detective to let the victim know that the report was received; however, due to a lack of leads, the case was not assigned to a detective. The notification could also include a simple advisement on how to contact a detective should any leads arise. Currently, this is not being done due to limited time and resources. We believe contacting all crime victims would be an excellent opportunity to enhance community relations.
Meliora PSC recommends the Victim Liaison be assigned to create an electronic, telephonic, or USPS victim notification system. The Victim Liaison has already been formally trained on Victim advocate needs, and contacting all crime victims would be a great community resource.
ITEM NO. 20.
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There is no cold case homicide team at LGMSPD, which is usual for an agency this size. The department utilizes the Cold Case Team at the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office to look into the one cold case that occurred in the town in 2001.
DETECTIVE UNIT RECOMMENDATIONS
§ Assign the Senior Records Specialist full-time to Detectives. (Recommendation #25) § Add one FTE professional staff member Administrative Technician as a civilian case investigator assigned to Detectives and to handle the Crime Analysis function for the department. (Recommendation #26)
§ Restrict the detective bay area work space when it is unoccupied by locking the door with limited access, move the printer out of the detective area, and set up a camera and passkey system. (Recommendation #27)
§ Develop written policy and procedure in accordance with the mandatory provisions of CA Government Code § 34090 – maintaining and destroying “routine video monitoring” of building security recording systems. (Recommendation #28) § Assign a professional staff member as a contact person for those who come into the front lobby area during normal working hours, and clearly post those hours on the outside of the POB as well as the department website. (Recommendation #29) § Fill one detective position as soon as staffing allows and fill the second vacant detective position once department-wide staffing levels have been filled and stabilized. (Recommendation #30)
§ Publish a comprehensive and contemporary Detective Manual. (Recommendation #31) § Assign all detectives to attend the Basic Core Investigations Course, Homicide/Death Investigations Course, Child Abuse Investigator’s Course, and search warrant class upon assignment to the unit. (Recommendation #32)
§ Ensure homicide case detectives attend autopsies associated with their cases. (Recommendation #33)
§ Evaluate the RIMS Detective module to determine if it meets the current needs of the Investigations Division and conduct continual training for all Investigations Division employees on the use of the RIMS Investigative component. (Recommendation #34) § Assign the Patrol Watch Commander to review and assess the APS elder abuse cases and the CPS child abuse cases faxed during off-hours and communicate to the Investigations Division what was done. (Recommendation #35) § Update the Victim Services Unit procedure manual and conduct a review annually for any needed changes. (Recommendation #36)
§ Implement a crime victim notification system and assign the Victim Liaison to create an electronic, telephonic, or USPS system. (Recommendation #37) Crime Analysis
Crime analysis has several benefits such as aiding a police agency in deploying resources in a more effective manner, enhances public safety by identifying crime trends, and assists in
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creating crime prevention strategies. A crime analysist can be pivotal in compiling and reviewing data regarding crime and criminal activity.
The systematic analysis of data and information is valued by police agencies seeking to improve their effectiveness in preventing and managing crime within their communities. Crime analysts review all police reports with the goal of identifying emerging crime patterns. The crime analyst is trained to use technology, software systems, and intelligence training to capture patterns related to criminal activity, traffic collisions, crime mapping and predictive crime analysis. Some analysts have the ability to assist with data mining CAD/RMS data to assess workload, digital download assessment for phones, computers, and other digital devices, calls for service, response times, and activities of organizational personnel. Many crime analysts prepare weekly crime analysis reports that are shared with Patrol, other field operational units, and other areas within the agency.
LGMSPD Policy § 800.1 states that crime analysis should provide currently useful information to aid operational personnel in meeting their tactical crime control and prevention objectives by identifying and analyzing methods of operation of individual criminals, providing crime pattern recognition, and providing analysis of data from field interrogations and arrests. Crime analysis can be useful to the department's long range planning efforts by providing estimates of future crime trends and assisting in the identification of enforcement priorities.
The policy includes where to find Data Sources and defines Crime Analysis Factors; nonetheless, it is lacking in detail and has not been personalized for LGMSPD. For instance, the policy has one paragraph explaining Crime Analysis Dissemination, but the policy does not establish who is responsible for disseminating crime analysis information and does not define “timely basis” for disseminating the information. The policy is vague and ambiguous and lacks detail, which renders it impractical. There is no crime analysis being conducted per the LGMSPD Policy § 800.
In the past, LGMSPD had a Crime Analysist but the position was deleted from the budget.
Eventually that position transformed into the Senior Records Specialist. When Meliora PSC reviewed the Town of Los Gatos job description for the Senior Police Records Specialist (for Detectives), there was no mention of crime analysis duties. However, listed as one of the Police Records Specialist’s “typical functions” is a job duty description of, “Enters data into computer system to build a database which will provide information for statistical reports, criminal activity, crime analysis, tracking offenders, management of records, workload description, tracking officer activity and special services as required.” Regardless, the department policy nor the job duty description designates which employee is responsible for the dissemination of crime information and the crime analysis function.
Crime analysis has numerous benefits such as aiding a police agency in deploying resources in a more effective manner, enhances public safety by identifying crime trends, and assists in creating crime prevention strategies. A crime analysist can be pivotal in compiling and reviewing data regarding crime and criminal activity.
ITEM NO. 20.
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Meliora PSC recommends adding one FTE professional support staff positions such as an Administrative Technician assigned to Crime Analysis. This position can be the same position as the previously mentioned professional support staff member discussed within the Investigations portion of this assessment to assist at the front counter. By having multiple staff members in a classification allows the opportunity to build upon the existing civilian career ladder where personnel are able to perform a variety of assignments within their tenure with LGMSPD.
CRIME ANALYSIS RECOMMENDATION
§ Add one FTE professional staff Administrative Technician position as a Crime Analyst assigned to the Investigations Division. (Recommendation #38) School Resource Officer
The sole School Resource Officer (SRO) is assigned to the Investigations Division – Detective Unit. They have a dedicated desk within the Detective Unit office. The SRO is responsible for interactions to the public schools within Los Gatos and Monte Sereno, and are partially funded by the school districts.
SRO SCHEDULE
The current SRO is newly assigned as of the summer of 2024. They work a 4/10 shift schedule Tuesday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and can adjust their hours for special school events and trainings.
They will occasionally work “school specific” overtime spots such as football games, dances, and graduations. The new SRO began meeting with various school staff members before the academic year ended. During the summer when school is out of session, the SRO works within the Detective Unit assisting detectives with their caseload.
SRO DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The SRO is not assigned to specific schools and does not function as part of the staff at any schools. The SRO does not have dedicated office space at any of the schools; rather, the SRO has built a network of contacts with administrators across the district and checks in with them as needed.
SRO duties include safety and security of the students at the five schools within Los GatosMonte Sereno during school and at certain after school events. There is one high school, Los Gatos High School, which is in the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High District. There is one middle school, Raymond J. Fisher Middle School, and three elementary schools that all fall under the Los Gatos Union School District. There is also other elementary school physically
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located in the Town of Los Gatos, but is in the San Jose Unified School District; however, the SRO does not provide services to that school. The SRO does not provide services to the private schools within Los Gatos-Monte Sereno.
The SRO meets with different school administrators (including members of the district) usually at the beginning of the year. The SRO also conducts risk assessments at the high school and middle school at the request of school’s administration.
The SRO is responsible for taking reports that occur at the school brought to them by school administration, parents, DCFS, and some reports that have a nexus to the school.
The SRO engages in a variety of other activities that include, but are not limited to:
§ Conducting educational youth programs such as drug awareness, on-line awareness classes, E-Bike safety, gun local programs, bicycle helmet safety, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) awareness, and other safety programs as requested by the schools or if a situation occurs that requires additional presentations to the students and parents. § Providing an Active Shooter presentation/training at the high school each year.
SRO SELECTION AND TRAINING
Meliora PSC learned there is no current job description for the School Resource Officer even though the SRO is considered a specialty assignment covered under the LGMSPD Policy § 1002.2. The minimum requirements and selection process are described in the policy as well as in the Personnel and Training portion of this report.
The current SRO has been in the position for less than two months, and has not yet attended POST or other training specifically focused on school resource officer duties. Since there is no written job description, there are no specified training requirements either. Meliora PSC recommends a job description be developed to include specific training requirements for the SRO position. This may include attendance at the POST 40-hour School Resource Officer course and California School Resource Officers Association annual conference.
SRO RECOMMENDATION
§ Develop job description and specific training requirements for the SRO position. (Recommendation #39)
Property and Evidence Unit
Property and Evidence (P&E) operations are some of the highest risk functions within any law enforcement agency. How a police agency takes in, processes, stores and disposes of property and evidence is of utmost importance. It is especially true for weapons, narcotics, currency, and
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jewelry. Police agencies across the nation have faced severe consequences for the mismanagement of property and evidence units.
LGMSPD Policy § 802 states, “the Property and Evidence purpose and scope provides for the proper collection, storage, and security of evidence and other property. Additionally, this policy provides for the protection of the chain of evidence and identifies those persons authorized to remove and/or destroy property.”
Meliora PSC determined that the directives in Policy § 802 are not strictly followed, and there is no written procedure manual. The Administrative Technician is currently working on a Property and Evidence Room Policy and Procedural Manual as well as “work flow charts.” Meliora PSC, recognizes and appreciates this effort, and the importance of the completion of the manual and work flow charts cannot be understated. A policy and procedure manual must be published as soon as practicable. This manual should be regularly updated as appropriate.
The Property and Evidence Administrative Technician has attended basic California Association of Property and Evidence (CAPE) training, and LGMSPD relies on direction from CAPE for standard operating procedures and best practice changes. CAPE membership also includes the annual seminar and chapter meetings as well as online support/classes if needed. LGMSPD is commended for ensuring P&E staff are provided proper resources to perform this important duty.
STAFFING
P&E is staffed with one full-time Property and Evidence Administrative Technician. There is also a Senior Detectives Records Specialist who serves as a back-up if the P&E Administrative Technician is out of the office.
There have been many personnel changes within the P&E room including, P&E Technicians, back up techs, sergeants, and other command staff members. IAPE recommended Standard 8.6 Security – Lock Changes states that locks, access codes, and combinations to the property room should always be changed with any resignation, termination, retirement or transfer of Property Unit key-holding personnel. Meliora PSC was unable to get a definitive answer to when the last lock, access codes, and combination codes changes were made. With the most recent sergeant retirement, Meliora PSC recommends an entire lock, access and combination code change be completed.
The P&E Administrative Technician works a 4/10 schedule, Monday through Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. p.m. P&E appointments for the public are offered between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The public can make an appointment via email or phone contact.
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The P&E Administrative Technician took over P&E in June of 2023 and has worked within the law, best practice guidelines, and policy to update the P&E room to align with industry standards. LGMSPD is to be commended for proactively addressing P&E as well as complimenting the Administrative Technician for outstanding efforts in this critical endeavor.
During the organizational assessment, Meliora PSC identified improvement areas and made recommendations in the report for development and overall P&E oversight and management.
LOCATION/SECURITY
The P&E room and main storage area is located on the first floor of the POB. There is a second Property and Evidence storage warehouse facility located at 41 Miles Avenue in the Town of Los Gatos.
There are approximately 6,500 P&E items stored at the POB main evidence room, POB bike cage area (bicycles and other items), and POB outside closet area. The main P&E storage room appears to be clean and well organized. Items held in the main P&E room are contained in envelopes or bags and stored within a designated box or on a designated shelf.
The bike cage is a chain link fence enclosure with a sloped roof offering some protection from the elements. The gap between the roof and top of the fence runs from 10 to 17 inches. No evidence is stored in this area, only safekeeping and found property. The bike cage area is accessed by a physical key.
The current number of items at the off-site warehouse is unknown as these items were never entered into RIMS. The P&E Administrative Technician is in the process of entering in those items into the RIMS system.
The International Association of Property and Evidence (IAPE) and the California Association of Property and Evidence (CAPE) are two of the foremost authorities on facility structure, intake protocol, evidence maintenance, security, and the overall management of the property and evidence function within a law enforcement agency. IAPE has a published Professional Standard Manual that identifies recommended standards for Property and Evidence functions/operations within a police agency. Meliora PSC has utilized those set published standards for the basis for identified areas of improvement within the LGMSPD P&E facility.
POB PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE ROOM
The external POB building walls are made of concrete. One of the walls of the P&E room borders the POB exterior concrete wall. The other three walls of the P&E room are constructed of building grade drywall and are interior walls inside the POB. Two of those walls are solid drywall from floor to a drop ceiling. The third drywalled wall is placed in between the evidence processing room and the actual P&E room. The wall is made up of 25 one-way secured intake evidence lockers. P&E technicians can retrieve items once locked in the lockers, but employees
ITEM NO. 20.
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placing items in the lockers cannot reopen a locker once an item has been securely placed in the locker. The wall that houses the 25 lockers does not go to the ceiling; the wall only goes up to the drop ceiling that is all throughout the POB. We inquired about the proper security to include the internal walls and LGMSPD staff tested the third wall and learned it is not secure since there was a small crawl area to allow access to the P&E room (although there is no history of a breach). IAPE Standard 5.1 (Facilities- Construction) state, “A Property facility should be constructed to provide levels of security that will deny unauthorized entry, and provide a safe working environment.”
More specifically, Standard 5.1:1 and 5.1:2 identifies the construction materials and specifications for exterior and interior walls:
1. Exterior Walls
The building materials should ideally consist of concrete blocks with concrete filled cells, poured concrete walls, tilt-up concrete walls, or other similar material.
Other types of prefab or modular construction may be suitable under some conditions, such as metal or brick buildings.
2. Interior Walls
It is best to avoid sheetrock or drywall, as it can easily be penetrated. In the event drywall is used, it should be backed with plywood, wire mesh, a double layer of drywall, or laminated gypsum board. All interior walls should extend from the floor to the roof, or the floor pan of the next level. This prevents access into a controlled area by climbing over a wall through a suspended ceiling.
Meliora PSC noted that the exterior and interior walls of the LGMSPD Property Room do not meet the IAPE recommended standards as provided in 5.1 Facilities – Construction Standard.
There are two entry doors into the P&E room; one from inside the Administrative Technician’s office, and one in the POB hallway close to where firearms are stored. The only way to enter the P&E room from the Administrative Technician’s office is through a third door that enters the office from the POB hallway. For clarification, the Administrative Technician’s office sits in between the door to the POB hallway, and the entry door to the P&E storage room. All three doors are operated by the same physical key, and the two P&E room entry doors also have the ability to be opened by key card that is electronically access monitored. The physical key is only issued to the Administrative Technician assigned to P&E. The Investigations Sergeant and the Senior Detectives Records Specialist have access via key card, but they are not issued a physical key. The two entry doors are fire rated, solid wood, and have automatic closures.
IAPE Standard 5.1: 5 states:
5. Doors
Exterior doors should be metal clad with metal frames. The hinges to these doors should always be located on the inside unless they are special security hinges Interior doors should be solid-core or metal clad. Half-doors or Dutch doors, where permitted by code, should be dead-bolted on both halves.
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Meliora PSC acknowledges that the IAPE requires P&E storage room entry doors are to be made of flush metal, or metal clad with solid cores to prevent breaching. The entry doors to the LGMSPD P&E storage room do not meet IAPE recommended standards.
There is a locked and secured money safe, equipped with coded key pad for opening. LGMSPD P&E is in compliance with industry standards for the monetary safe.
IAPE Industry standards recommend that specialized lockers and shelving be provided for evidentiary weapons storage and for drug storage in secure rooms that are separate from the rest of the evidence storage room. These rooms should also have separate key card access.
There is no separate secured room for firearms in the LGMSPD P&E storage room. Firearms are stored, within the P&E storage room, on shelves near one of the two entry doors, and against a wall that borders an office (not within the P&E storage room). That wall is made of drywall; however, it is solid from floor to roof. This wall configuration rises above the drop ceiling.
IAPE Standard 11.4 Firearms – Storage states: The following are recommended features for a firearm storage area:
1. A firearm room, closet, or cage should be constructed of concrete block, lath and plaster, security screen, or drywall that has been reinforced with plywood or wire mesh. The room should not have suspended ceiling access from an adjacent room. Ingress should be via a solid core door equipped with a double cylinder dead-bolt keyed separately from the main property room.
2. A locker, cabinet, or locking shelves may be used for smaller quantities of firearms. There should be a separate padlock on a hasp to secure the doors.
3. Any room or area that maintains firearms should have a separate alarm and video system to monitor ingress and activity inside.
Meliora PSC observed that the LGMSPD gun storage area does not meet the IAPE recommended standards regarding a firearms storage room. Guns are locked within the P&E room with other secure evidence. Meliora PSC recommends a gun storage room (closet or cage) be constructed to meet industry standards.
While there is a separate narcotics vault with a physical key access, there is no ventilation in the vault. Best practices recommend that narcotics vaults be equipped with ventilation. IAPE recommended standards are:
Any area that is used for storing drugs should be independently ventilated in a manner that noxious fumes are removed from the building, and not re-circulated into the building’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. The proper design of a drug storage area should include a “negative pressure” ventilation system that changes the air in the storage room approximately 10-12 CPH (changes per hour).
Heating, air conditioning, and ventilation system duct or registers should be constructed to prevent unauthorized entry into the secure storage area.
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Meliora PSC recommends a ventilation system be installed per the specifications of industry standards.
There are no security cameras located at the two P&E entry doors, there is no security camera in the evidence intake and processing room, and there is no alarm at the POB Property and Evidence room. Further, IAPE Standard 8.7: Security – Alarms recommends that all storage areas should be alarmed and monitored on a 24-hour basis. Storage rooms that contain guns, money and drugs should be separately alarmed or independently zoned area whenever possible. Meliora PSC recommends LGMSPD install security cameras and alarms per IAPE recommended standards and industry best practices.
IAPE Standard 8.1 Security – Policy states, “Written policy should require access controls that will ensure that unauthorized persons do not enter secure areas. These controls include, but are not limited to: key control, changing locks or access codes with changes of personnel, access logs, after-hours procedures, use of surveillance cameras and alarms.” While the P&E Administrative Technician is currently writing a procedure manual and creating workflow charts specific to the functions/operations of P&E, Meliora PSC could not locate any written policy addressing access controls, after-hour procedures, and use of surveillance cameras. It should be noted that when the Administrative Technician allowed Meliora PSC access to assess the Property Room, proper industry protocol was followed requiring logging in/out a written access log that required all necessary information for good record keeping.
No public entrance is allowed into the POB P&E room. If a member of the public needs to recover property from the P&E room, they make an appointment. Once at the POB lobby, the P&E Administrative Technician brings the evidence/property to the lobby where it is then released. At no time does a member of the public go into the P&E room.
Meliora PSC strongly recommends that the entire POB P&E room be completely refitted and renovated to meet (or exceed) industry standards on building requirements and best practices on security measures. Construction, safety, ventilation in the narcotics vault, gun storage, and overall security measures are just a few of the items that the Town of Los Gatos must address to bring the P&E room up to professional recommended industry standards.
PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE STORAGE WAREHOUSE
The P&E storage warehouse is located at the Town Corporate Yard. Staff indicated after 2014, the POB property room ran out of storage space and the P&E CSO requested a secondary storage location. It was decided that the secondary storage area would be housed at the Los Gatos Corporate Yard.
The warehouse building is made of single layer corrugated steel. The building has one shared wall with a division of the Town’s Public Works Department. The other three sides of the building are not shared nor are they attached to any other building. The building does have a temperature control monitor. Per IAPE standard 5.1.1, while exterior walls should ideally
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consist of concrete blocks with concrete filled cells, other types of prefab or modular construction may be suitable under some conditions, such as metal or brick buildings. As such, this storage warehouse may be in compliance with the set standards of the IAPE. To ensure certainty of compliance to standards, Meliora PSC recommends an IAPE or CAPE auditor or inspector be contacted to further advise.
There is a physical key required to enter the storage building as well as an alarmed key pad.
Once inside the building, there is desk area to the right and an open bay area to the left. The left side is where the wall is shared with Public Works. To the right and behind the desk area is a partitioned “cage” area, taking up about 1/3 of the building, which is secured by a chain link fence made of heavy metal material. The fenced in partition is lined with a plastic cover to reduce the ability to look into the caged area. There is an alarm connected with the chained partitioned area. There is also a heavy padlock attached to a thick chain as a locking mechanism for the partitioned area. The locked partitioned area is where the overflow of P&E is stored.
There is also a refrigerator contained within the partitioned area; however, it is not functional.
Staff indicated that any DNA evidence is retained off site at the Santa Clara County Lab as well as the Santa Clara Sexual Assault Forensics.
There are security cameras in the warehouse; however, there is no written policy on how long the security footage is kept. LGMSPD only keeps routine video monitoring for a few weeks.
Meliora PSC recommends LGMSPD develop written policy in adherence to Government Code § 34090 and maintain routine video monitoring for 365 days.
There is an open bay area to the left of the partitioned cage, which is where the Disaster Aid Response Team (DART) stores equipment. DART is a civilian volunteer group who are managed by a LGMSPD supervisor. If DART needs to access the equipment, the LGMSPD supervisor must be called and they will be the one to access the building. It should be noted that while the supervisor does have a building key, there is a separate distinct alarm code, which is different than the alarm code used for P&E entrance. This is a good practice to deter unauthorized access.
Behind the DART equipment storage area is another secured chained area, which currently houses a vehicle for evidence. Inside this secured area, and to the rear of where the vehicle is being stored, is a public works meter that must be regularly checked. Because this area is secured and housing evidence, a supervisor or the P&E Administrative Technician must unlock the evidence area, and must be present the entire time Public Works is on scene. This area is very small and cannot accommodate the storage of another vehicle held for evidence. There is no dedicated area for automobiles, RVs, and boats that are impounded by LGMSPD for evidentiary purposes. Meliora PSC recommends that LGMSPD research other areas for maintaining long-term storage of evidence vehicles.
ITEM NO. 20.
132
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
STORAGE LOCKERS
There are a sufficient of number of lockers (25) within the main P&E room intake area, which is located in the office next to the main P&E storage room. Items can be deposited into the lockers, but cannot be taken from them once deposited. P&E technicians can retrieve the items at any time. There is also a small refrigerator available to employees booking evidence in need of refrigeration; however, there is no locking mechanism to secure evidence. Rather, should evidence be placed in the refrigerator, a crime scene seal is placed on the door and the Administrative Technician then takes the evidence to the county crime scene lab.
DIGITAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
Due to the growing need for transparency and proper oversight of property and evidence, contemporary police agencies use digital property management systems to ensure efficiencies in this area. Meliora PSC learned LGMSPD P&E utilizes a RIMS-based barcoding system, which includes the use of a wireless hand-held scanner.
INTAKE AND PROCESSING
There is a clean and well stocked evidence processing room. It is adjacent to the POB P&E storage room. There is adequate counter space for processing multiple items, and the room is equipped with cabinets and a working sink. There is an eye rinsing station that was not tested to determine if it was in working condition but was within valid limits of the expiration period.
The bar code scanner is easily accessible and was working when we observed its use. There are 25 one-side secure lockers for evidence, which is sufficient for the amount of evidence processed by LGMSPD staff.
The intake process at the POB Property and Evidence Room is as follows: Officers or other employees within the department who have authority for seizing property and booking into the P&E room use a barcode scanner and print a barcoded label, which is applied to the property/evidence item(s). Once the property/evidence is secured in the locker, access is no longer available from the employee’s side.
Property and Evidence staff subsequently collect the property/evidence from the other side of the locker within the secured P&E intake facility, process it, and then assign the item to a storage location.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Although Policy § 802 – Property and Evidence is very detailed and contains procedures for certain P&E tasks, there is no Property and Evidence Procedure Manual identifying all the duties and responsibilities of the unit. The LGMSPD webpage highlights the duties as the Evidence Technician is responsible for managing all property and evidence which comes into
ITEM NO. 20.
133
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
the police department. This includes three distinct functions; receiving, storage, and disposition. Receiving property and evidence includes the responsibility for proper packaging, documentation, safety and security of the items.
From information gleaned within Policy § 802, the Property and Evidence Unit maintains evidence and property collected by officers, detectives, and other employees within the LGMSPD. P&E maintains items that are related to criminal matters, evidence seized, narcotics, found property, weapons, and firearms. Annual inspections and audits and monthly supervisory inspections are mentioned in Policy § 802.8 - Inspections, but there is no mention of any of these duties involving P&E staff. It should be noted that the current P&E Administrative Technician has identified many of these deficiencies and has taken it upon himself to develop written procedures and workflow charts to be published at a later date, which is an example of the high priority the technician and leadership of LGMSPD has placed on addressing the issues with P&E.
Multiple times during the assessment, supervision was unaware or unfamiliar with CAPE and IAPE’s recommended standards and requirements. This is no fault of the supervisors as the LGMSPD has not normally sent a supervisor to CAPE or IAPE training. Meliora PSC recommends that the P&E Administrative Technician and the Investigation’s Sergeant attend the IAPE’s Property and Evidence Management Course.
Policy § 802.7.1 addresses Exceptional Dispositions, including weapons and narcotics, but does not establish a written procedure for annual destruction or purging, nor does it address how it should be done or which personnel should be managing the destructions. There are professional, industry, and legal standards for purging and destruction. As such, Meliora PSC recommends that written policies be established for purging, destruction and disposition of property contained within the LGMSPD P&E room.
TABLE 38: Property and Evidence Workload, 2020-2023
Category 2020 2021 2022 2023
Total Intake 3,027 4,492 4,751 5,836
Total Purged/
Destroyed/other
28,323* 74 18 13,744**
Items Sent to Lab 1 0 1 7
Items Checked Out to court 0 0 0 1
Items Released to Owner 67 65 106 125
Total Activity 33,438 6,652 6,898 21,736
Source: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department. *The numbers depicted for 2020 purging were due to the LGMSPD implementation of a new RIMS P&E system. ** The numbers depicted for 2023 purging was when the new P&E Administrative Technician was hired.
ITEM NO. 20.
134
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
AUDITS AND INVENTORIES
In order to ensure property and evidence is maintained in a professional manner consistent with industry best standards, audits and inventories are crucial. In a number of cases, agencies may have audits and inventory schedules included in the property and evidence policy and procedure; however, as previously discussed this is not the case with the LGMSPD P&E Unit.
One of the most overlooked areas of property and evidence is the audit and inventory of the unit. The purpose of a police department’s P&E room audit is to review how well the department receives, inventories, and establishes chain of custody with regards to property and evidence. It also reports how well a department maintains property and evidence while it is in its custody, how the department releases evidence for investigations and court purposes, and if the items have been purged correctly. Agencies have begun to recognize that the consequences of mismanagement of property and evidence can lead to agency embarrassment, lost court cases, loss of public confidence, and in some instances, financial loss.
The Administrative Technician is currently conducting a major audit of the P&E Unit that began in mid-2023 and is expected to conclude in 2024. The audit has identified significant shortcomings in the previous P&E Unit software and processes. Evidence tracking is being converted from a defunct software product to RIMS. Past practices and procedures are being evaluated as well.
Policy § 802.8 – Inspections of the Evidence Room requires that the supervisor of the evidence custodian shall, on a monthly basis, make an inspection of the storage facilities and practices to ensure adherence to policies and procedures. Subsections (b) and (c) further necessitate unannounced inspections of the evidence storage areas shall be conducted annually as directed by the Chief of Police, and an annual audit of evidence will be conducted by a Captain, not associated with evidence control. Finally, subsection (d) states that whenever there is a change in personnel who have access to the evidence room, an inventory of all evidence/property shall be made by an individual not associated with the property room function. It appears Policy § 802.8 is not being followed. When Meliora PSC inquired about the last audit or inventory, there was no knowledge or records of the required audits or inventories being conducted. Meliora PSC recommends that the supervisor from Investigations Division conduct monthly inspections, and that all of the requirements in Policy § 802.8 be adhered to regarding inspections, audits and inventories.
Once again, the P&E Administrative Technician identified the lack of adherence to Policy § 802.8, and is currently conducting an internal audit to manage the amount of evidence that had not been purged in years. Meliora PSC recommends a full P&E inventory be conducted immediately and the results be documented and retained. Additionally, an external P&E audit should be completed by June 2025.
During the observation of the items stored within P&E, Meliora PSC conducted a random onsite assessment of P&E items to detect proper intake, reporting, barcoding, and placement of
ITEM NO. 20.
135
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
P&E items stored within the P&E facility. At no time did Meliora PSC personnel handle or take possession of any items that were reviewed during this random assessment process. Two weapons were observed to be properly barcoded, marked, tagged, and placed appropriately.
These two items were cross referenced to the initial intake, barcoding, and P&E electronic processing/intake of the items. Proper procedure and processing were followed for both items.
This same protocol was observed for a cash item from the secured safe. Proper procedure and processing were followed for all items assessed.
PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE RECOMMENDATIONS
§ Continue with the creation and implementation of a Property and Evidence Unit Policy and Procedure Manual and conduct annual updates. (Recommendation #40) § Immediately change the entire lock, access, and combination code for P&E and ensure this is done any time a change in key access personnel or supervision occurs. (Recommendation #41)
§ Construct a separate gun storage area that meets IAPE/CAPE standards. (Recommendation #42)
§ Install ventilation in the Narcotics storage area consistent with industry standards. (Recommendation #43)
§ Install monitored security cameras per IAPE/CAPE standards. (Recommendation #44) § Install an alarm in the POB P&E room in all recommended areas. (Recommendation #45) § Renovate and retrofit the entire POB P&E storage room to meet (or exceed) industry standards on building requirements and best practices on security measures. (Recommendation #46)
§ Contact an IAPE/CAPE construction inspector to ensure compliance of construction standards for the P&E off-site storage warehouse. (Recommendation #47) § Develop written policy for adherence to Government Code § 34090 to maintain “routine video monitoring” for 365-day requirement. (Recommendation #48) § Research storage solutions and protocol for long-term storing of vehicles kept for evidence. (Recommendation #49)
§ Assign the P&E Administrative Technician and Investigations Sergeant to attend the IAPE Property and Evidence Management Course. (Recommendation #50) § Establish written policies and procedures for purging, destruction, and disposition of property contained within the P&E evidence and storage areas. (Recommendation #51) § Immediately conduct inspections, audits and inventories as described in Policy § 802.8. (Recommendation #52)
§ Immediately conduct a complete and thorough property and evidence full inventory and document and retain the results. (Recommendation #53)
ITEM NO. 20.
136
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
SUPPORT SERVICES
BUREAU
ITEM NO. 20.
137
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
The Support Services Bureau is responsible for the business portion of the LGMSPD and overall administrative functions. The bureau is comprised of Communications, Records, Personnel & Training, Community Outreach, Budget, and IT. Community members interact with personnel in the Support Services Bureau at the front counter, over the phone, and through a variety of community programs, events, and incidents.
Due to the number of staff and volunteers working in the bureau, and the various types of duties and responsibilities to include Records, Communications, and volunteers, and the organizational management functions to include budget and units related to professional standards and training, a civilian middle manager is recommended to be added to the bureau.
The police manager would not only be able to assist with personnel management, but also assist with budget and IT oversight. This would allow the Support Services Captain to be responsible for the overall bureau while also providing a manager to assist with personnel and organizational management. Meliora PSC recommends adding one FTE civilian police manager.
This will enhance the civilian career ladder for professional staff within the LGMSPD and also ensure the increased requests for discovery and public records are fulfilled and overseen by a qualified civilian manager with requisite prior experience.
SUPPORT SERVICES BUREAU RECOMMENDATION
§ Add one civilian, FTE Support Services Manager to the bureau. (Recommendation #54)
COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION
LGMSPD Communications Division serves Los Gatos’ 32,402 and Monte Sereno’s 3,343 residents, business owners, and individuals who visit or traverse through the communities.
Dispatchers are the answering point for all 9-1-1 calls and are responsible for business calls (also referred to as administrative calls) that come into the police department during business and non-business hours. Dispatchers also provide services for all police personnel and volunteers that are in the field.
DISPATCH STAFFING
TABLE 39: Communications Division Staffing, July 2024
Position Authorized Actual Vacant
Support Services Captain 1 1 0
Lead Dispatcher 1 1 0
Senior Dispatcher 2 2 0
Dispatcher 5 4 1
Total 9 8 1
Source: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department.
ITEM NO. 20.
138
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
Dispatch operates on minimum staffing which can cause an issue for vacation and sick time coverage. LGMSPD currently has one open dispatcher position; it does not require prior dispatch experience. Training a non-experienced dispatcher takes several months/hours and can be exceedingly difficult for the employee to retain information when only working a limited number of hours. Police dispatchers require comprehensive training in handling emergency calls, prioritizing responses, and learning additional ancillary duties.
The current dispatcher schedule is based on call taking and dispatch coverage over a 28-day pay period. Six dispatchers work three, 12-hour shifts on day shift (6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.), swing shift (12:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.), and midnight shift (6pm-6am) the first week and four, 12-hour shifts the second week resulting in a built-in eight hours of overtime every 28 day pay cycle. The dispatcher in training is working four, 10-hour shifts each week. When the dispatcher successfully completes training, schedule adjustments will be made reducing overtime. The Lead Dispatcher typically works days/hours; however, the lead also fills in when dispatch positions need to be filled.
TABLE 40: Dispatch Schedule, July 2024
DISPATCHER SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 6AM6PM6AM6PMPAYBACK 6AM-6PM
2 PAYBACK 6AM-6PM 6AM-6PM 6AM6PM
3 12PM12AM12PM12AM12PM12AMPAYBACK
4 PAYBACK 12PM12AM12PM12AM12PM12AM
5 6PM6AM6PM6AM6PM6AMPAYBACK
6 6PM-6AM 6PM-6AM 6PM6AMPAYBACK
7 VARIOUS – IN TRAINING
Source: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department.
WORKLOAD DEMAND/CALL VOLUME
Each dispatcher is responsible for the emergency and non-emergency calls from the public and dispatching on the radio to officers and other field personnel, as well as assisting with field requests.
ITEM NO. 20.
139
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
TABLE 41: Telephone Call Load, 2020–2023
2020 2021 2022 2023
Total - 911 Calls
911 Calls 8,191 9,066 9,474 10,319
Abandoned 911 Calls 789 913 1,077 4,203
% of 911 Abandoned Calls 8.79% 9.15% 10.21% 28.94%
Total 911 Calls 8,980 9,979 10,551 14,522
Total – 10-Digit Emergency Calls
10-Digit Emergency Calls 1,760 1,626 8,076 22,617
Abandoned 10-Digit Emergency Calls 147 162 159 185
Outbound 10-Digit Emergency Calls 72 27 273 1,278
% of 911 Abandoned Calls 7.45% 8.95% 1.87% 0.77%
Total 10-Digit Emergency Calls 1,979 1,815 8,508 23,913 Total – Administrative/Non-Emergency Calls
Administrative/Non-Emergency Calls 32,855 33,025 24,813 9869 Abandoned Administrative/Non-Emergency Calls 78 95 71 77 Outbound Administrative Calls 16,510 16,788 16,471 14,923 Unparsed 0 0 0 0
Total Administrative/Non-Emergency Calls 49,443 49,908 41,355 24,869 Total of All Calls 60,402 61,702 60,414 63,304
Source: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department – ECaTS report.
During the process of gathering the above-requested data, staff discovered that the nonemergency and administrative phone lines were the same number. Meliora PSC recommends LGMSPD correct this issue. Emergency Call Tracking System (ECaTS) staff advised LGMSPD that the current Vespa phone system is antiquated and cannot allow full functionality of ECaTS. A new phone system will be purchased upon anticipated funding by the California Office of Emergency Services which should address this shortcoming.
To determine the busiest hours for LGMSPD, we examined telephone call data by hour that showed between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. represent the busiest hours for the dispatch center.
The following table shows call activity by hour of day for 2023. It should be noted this does not include radio traffic workload or ancillary duties.
ITEM NO. 20.
140
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
TABLE 42: Average Hourly Telephone Call Load, 2023
Hour of Day Call Volume Daily Average
Midnight 987 3
1:00 a.m. 792 2
2:00 a.m. 766 2
3:00 a.m. 561 2
4:00 a.m. 626 2
5:00 a.m. 620 2
6:00 a.m. 873 2
7:00 a.m. 1,406 4
8:00 a.m. 2,210 6
9:00 a.m. 2,760 8
10:00 a.m. 2,885 8
11:00 a.m. 3,020 8
Noon 3,446 9
1:00 p.m. 3,303 9
2:00 p.m. 3,290 9
3:00 p.m. 3,213 9
4:00 p.m. 2,898 8
5:00 p.m. 2,502 7
6:00 p.m. 2,330 6
7:00 p.m. 2,102 6
8:00 p.m. 1,804 5
9:00 p.m. 1,791 5
10:00 p.m. 1,641 4
11:00 p.m. 1,444 4
Source: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department – ECaTS report.
TEXT TO 9-1-1
Text to 9-1-1 is a service that allows community members to send a text message to 9-1-1 emergency services instead of making a phone call. At LGMSPD, text messages are received via a web-based interface, which is independent from the department’s 9-1-1 phone system. Each dispatcher logs into the Text to 9-1-1 at each shift change. LGMSPD’s dispatch training manual covers Text to 9-1-1 procedures. Each Text to 9-1-1 is recorded in an event and notes are added to the event.
ITEM NO. 20.
141
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
TABLE 43: Text to 9-1-1 Messages Received, 2021-2023
2021 2022 2023
173 54 37
Source: Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department – ECaTS report.
EMERGENCY CALL TRACKING SYSTEM
According to the ECaTS generated report from LGMSPD, the recommended staffing level is two dispatchers for the dispatch center between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. coinciding with the heaviest call volume almost every day of the week (see report below). Meliora PSC recommends LGMSPD continue to staff the center with two dispatchers during high call volume/peak hours.
ITEM NO. 20.
142
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
CHART 29: Recommended Dispatch Staffing Forecast
ITEM NO. 20.
143
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
ADEQUATE STAFFING LEVELS
One of the primary challenges facing dispatch centers is ensuring there is adequate coverage for sick and vacation time taken by existing staff. With six dispatchers on LGMSPD’s team, absences due to illness, scheduled leave including vacations and FMLA leave can significantly impact the dispatch center. Having the dispatcher currently in training successfully complete training and filling the one vacancy can assist with better management of staffing and improve staff wellness. Back filling the last-minute call outs can take its toll on the dispatchers who are called upon to fill the void. This can lead to dispatcher burn out and causes current employees to want or need to take more time off.
The Lead Dispatcher covers some absences resulting in less time to manage the unit. With short staffing, there has not been an opportunity to conduct any audit or quality control measures.
Other job duties such as updating the Dispatch Center manual, conducting quality assurance audits, and providing closer supervision would be enhanced.
Minimum staffing does not necessarily mean adequate staffing, but rather indicates there are usually enough personnel available to staff the dispatch center. According to the ECaTS report above, the heaviest call times are between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. and two dispatchers are recommended during those times. However, there is a functional deficit between 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. when only one day shift dispatch is scheduled and prior to the start of swing shift.
In order to address the number of dispatchers needed to ensure proper staffing levels are met, we must first calculate the actual hours a dispatcher is scheduled. A standard 28-day pay period is 160 hours (four weeks x 40 hours per week), which equates to 2,080 hours per year (160 hours x 13 pay periods per year). A 3/12-hour work schedule typically includes on 8-hour payback day every other week for a total of 14 shifts in order to meet the 160-hours worked every 28 days. In LGMSPD’s case, currently the fourth day worked every other week is actually a 12-hour shift, which equates to eight hours of overtime every 28-day pay period.
The 12-hour dispatch schedule results in a dispatcher being scheduled to work 14 shifts in a 28- day pay period or 168 hours (14 shifts x 12 hours) or 2,184 hours per year (168 hours x 13 pay periods per year). From a scheduling perspective, 2,184 hours per year equals 182 shifts per year a dispatcher is scheduled (2,184÷12=182). However, this does not factor in leave time for vacation, sick leave, FMLA, worker’s compensation, military time, or training courses, which in our experience averages approximately 18% time off per year. Consequently, with a 18% leave time factor, a dispatcher works approximately 149.24 shifts per year (182 x 18%=32.76 shifts leave time; 182-32.76=149.24 shifts worked). Thus, it would take 2.45 dispatchers to cover one 12-hour shift for one year (365 days ÷ 149.24=2.45). For a 24-hour shift, LGMSPD would need five dispatchers (2.45 x 2, 12-hour shifts=4.9) to fill one position in dispatch.
Since ECaTS shift minimums are recommended at two dispatchers from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. (and even at midnight on Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday), that would require 10 dispatchers (two dispatcher minimums x 4.9 dispatchers=9.8) to provide 24-hour, seven-day coverage.
ITEM NO. 20.
144
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
Since a majority of the 24-hour shift requires two dispatchers, we believe LGMSPD would need one additional dispatcher (eight dispatchers total) to meet the recommended minimums.
The current dispatch schedule has seven dispatchers, which indicates the department is under staffed by one dispatcher. The benefit of adding an eighth dispatcher would be two-fold: the Dispatcher Lead could focus on the duties and responsibilities regarding managing the dispatch center, and the dispatchers would be able to take time off and attend training.
We later learned that LGMSPD was moving to a new dispatch schedule in September comprised of four shifts:
§ Day shift: 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (pay back 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) § Mid-Days: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (pay back 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) § Swing Shift: 4:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. (pay back 4:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.) § Graveyard Shift: 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. (pay back 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.) Staff advised the pay back day which is the fourth work day every other week was now going to be 8-hours like the traditional 3/12 shift schedule. This will alleviate the built-in overtime and reflects LGMSPD’s efforts to be cost effective. Meliora PSC recommends an eighth dispatcher be added to the budget, which is consistent with our staffing analysis.
QUALITY CONTROL AUDITS
Contemporary police communications centers ensure quality control audits are randomly conducted on calls handled by dispatch staff. These audits are usually conducted by a manager or supervisor and reviewed with the dispatcher for training purposes and may be used when completing yearly evaluations. Staff informed Meliora PSC that due to existing staffing, it is challenging to allocate sufficient time to complete these audits. Meliora PSC recommends random quality control audits on calls handled by dispatch be resumed as soon as practical and be conducted on a regular basis. The filling of the existing vacancy and return of a dispatcher from leave will alleviate some of the dispatch responsibilities the Lead Dispatcher currently carries and ensure audits, policy amendments, and day-to-day operational responsibilities are consistently performed. Moreover, by adding one additional dispatcher, the Dispatch Lead could focus her full-time attention to staff development and managing the unit.
ANCILLARY WORKLOAD DEMANDS
LGMSPD dispatchers are also responsible for answering the outside HQ phone when Records is closed to the public. This task can be distracting when the dispatcher is on the phone handling a call for service, assisting a community member, or dispatching/monitoring a call for service on the police radio. During normal business hours, Records personnel manage the lobby, greet the public, and answer the HQ outside phone. Should a new police facility be acquired this should be taken into consideration.
ITEM NO. 20.
145
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
Dispatchers are also responsible for, but not limited to, the following:
§ Answer and triage all phone calls that come in on the non-emergency business line. § Enter most of the data into the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS), which includes but is not limited to, missing persons, all vehicle-related entries, warrant entry/confirmation, emergency protective orders. Data entry into CLETS can be time-consuming depending on what the entry entails.
§ Handling Operation CARE, where dispatchers call elderly residents at their requested time.
§ Monitor HQ and POB cameras.
§ Release vehicles when Records is closed with approval of the on-duty sergeant. § Re-route 911 misrouted calls.
§ Provide residents with Town information after Town offices are closed when the nonemergency call is received.
COMPUTER-AIDED DISPATCH
LGMSPD dispatch operates a computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system from SunRidge Systems called RIMS. RIMS has different modules that are used throughout the agency. Dispatch staff reported that the system meets their needs.
CALL PROCESSING/CALL TYPES
Priority codes are crucial in establishing the urgency of response by officers who are dispatched to a call for service. Dispatch will collect information from the reporting party to determine which call type and priority is appropriate when dispatching an officer. Meliora PSC reviewed the call types and priority codes and found that some call types were categorized as Priority 2 when, to be consistent with industry standards, should be Priority 1 calls. Meliora PSC recommends reviewing all call types and reprioritizing those call types to meet industry standards. The priority codes enable officers to respond quickly to emergency situations. Calls classified as high priority, such as reports of crimes in progress, accidents with injuries, or threats to public safety require an immediate response to prevent harm or loss of life. Clear prioritization ensures that these emergencies are identified, and officers respond immediately.
HIGH PRIORITY/AVERAGE RESPONSE TIMES
Most agencies will rate a Priority 1 call for service with criteria that include those involving life threatening situations, serious crimes in-progress, medical emergencies, and any other urgent public safety issues. Community members rely on LGMSPD to respond quickly to their urgent situation when they call for assistance. Quick responses also deter criminals from continuing their unlawful behavior if they believe police are responding expeditiously. These timely responses also aid in building trust and confidence with the community.
ITEM NO. 20.
146
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
Meliora PSC learned that some incidents were reopened in CAD if there was follow-up being done to connect the initial incident to any follow-up. This had an unintended consequence of extending the time that an incident was open and created confusion with actual response and completion times for data analysis. As mentioned earlier in the response time portion of the Calls for Service Data Analysis, this also impacts the ability to accurately assess dispatch time and overall response time. Meliora PSC recommends LGMSPD create a practice and open a new CAD incident that can associate a prior incident related to it, rather than reopening the original CAD incident number. This would be consistent with industry practices and allow accurate response times to be calculated.
The below table and chart represent the average LGMSPD dispatch time (when the dispatcher relays information to the officer responding), response time (how long it took the officer to get to the location after the dispatcher relayed the information), and occupied times (how long the officer was on the call for service) for 2021-2023. Additional response time data is included in the Data Analysis Report at the end of this report.
ITEM NO. 20.
147
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
TABLE 44: Response Time Record Status and Average Minute, by Record Priority, by Year Dispatch Time Travel Time Response Time On Scene Time
Priority 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 1 0:04:15 0:03:50 0:04:23 0:04:46 0:05:43 0:05:42 0:09:01 0:09:33 0:10:04 0:27:48 0:27:50 0:27:22 2 0:04:56 0:05:10 0:05:13 0:06:15 0:06:34 0:06:55 0:11:11 0:11:45 0:12:08 0:13:36 0:12:43 0:13:34 3 0:06:00 0:06:15 0:06:15 0:06:58 0:07:05 0:07:04 0:12:58 0:13:20 0:13:19 0:18:22 0:17:44 0:18:11 Average 0:05:24 0:05:42 0:05:43 0:06:37 0:06:50 0:06:59 0:12:01 0:12:32 0:12:42 0:16:34 0:15:42 0:16:24 CHART 30: Response Time Record Status and Average Minute, by Record Priority, by Year 0:02:24
0:09:36
0:16:48
0:24:00
0:31:12
0:38:24
0:45:36
0:52:48
1:00:00
2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 Dispatch Time Travel Time Response Time On Scene Time
1 2
3 Average
ITEM NO. 20.
148
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
POLICIES
Meliora PSC learned that LGMSPD has a policy specifically addressing the Communications Operations. Policy § 801 covers radio communications, documentation, confidentiality, and training. Policy § 801.4 – Responsibilities – refers to a Records and Communication Manager who would oversee Communications. As that position does not exist on the organizational chart, Meliora PSC recommends the policy be changed to reflect the appropriate classification for those responsibilities.
TRAINING
Meliora PSC reviewed LGMSPD’s Dispatcher Training manual and found that it was complete and easy to follow. Each dispatcher attends the POST 120-hour Basic Public Dispatcher course.
The LGMSPD Training Plan lists mandatory, essential, and desirable POST classroom training for all dispatcher positions. Meliora PSC recommends LGMSPD also consider assigning staff to participate in POST Webinar courses. An example of online seminar courses are:
§ Dispatch Priming – 8 hours
§ De-Escalation Training for Dispatchers - 8 hours
§ Dispatcher Customer Service – 8 hours
§ Dispatcher – Interpersonal Skills/Career Survival – 8 hours § Dispatcher – Complacency-Critical Decision Making – 4 hours § Dispatcher – School Violence – 4 hours
§ Dispatcher – Active Shooter Situations – 4 hours
§ Science of Wellness or Dispatcher Wellness – 8 hours
DISPATCH RECOMMENDATIONS
§ Address the non-emergency and administrative phone lines being the same number as soon as possible. (Recommendation #55)
§ Continue to staff the center with two dispatchers during high call volume/peak hours. (Recommendation #56)
§ Add one FTE dispatcher to provide proper staffing in the dispatch center. (Recommendation #57).
§ Resume random quality control audits on calls handled by dispatch as soon as practical and continue on a regular basis. (Recommendation #58)
§ Reviewing all call types and reprioritize those call types as needed to meet industry standards. (Recommendation #59)
§ Create a practice that opens a new CAD incident that can associate prior incidents related to it to meet industry standards, rather than reopening the original CAD incident number. (Recommendation #60)
§ Update Policy § 801.4 – Responsibilities to reflect the appropriate classification for those responsibilities. (Recommendation #61)
ITEM NO. 20.
149
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
§ Consider assigning Dispatch staff to participate in POST Webinar courses. (Recommendation #62)
RECORDS DIVISION
Records is responsible for maintaining document control over all original reports, including all crime, arrest, and traffic accident reports that are received by the department. At LGMSPD, the Lead Records Specialist (LRS) manages the day-to-day operations of the Records Division including directing, managing, and supervision. The LRS has their own office to conduct supervisory responsibilities in a confidential manner.
RECORDS STAFFING
The following table reflects authorized and actual staffing levels as of June 2024.
TABLE 45: Records Division Staffing, July 2024
Rank Authorized Actual Vacant
Support Services Captain 1 1 0
Lead Records Specialist 1 1 0
Senior Records Specialist 1 1 0
Records Specialist 3 2 1
Part-time CSO .5 .5 0
Part-time Reserve Officer 0 .25 0
Total 6.5 5.5 1
Source: Los Gatos-Monte-Sereno Police Department.
Records staff works a 5/40 work schedule that provides for five-day coverage. Full-time staff work Monday through Friday starting as early as 7:00 a.m. and ending as late as 4:30 p.m. LRS and Records Specialists work 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the Senior Records Specialist works from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Records staff are scheduled for 8.5 hours to include an unpaid 30- minute lunch. The part-time CSO works Tuesday and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; and the Reserve Officer works Mondays from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and Wednesday from 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The Records counter is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., and on Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. A call box on the outside of HQ allows people to contact Records when staff is present while the counter is closed. The counter is closed on weekends when no staff is working.
ITEM NO. 20.
150
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
WORKLOAD DEMAND
Most functions performed by Records Divisions across the nation are much more than the common perception of simple tasks such as filing reports and providing copies as needed. Many of these duties are tightly regulated by federal and state laws to protect the privacy of individuals and to ensure compliance with mandated functions. The following is a list of many of the duties performed by Records staff at LGMSPD, most of which are daily tasks:
§ Cash open and close Register – Run two reports, prepare deposit and deliver to Finance. § Run property by serial number and report in RMS
§ Run Bookings Report from county system
§ Answer phone calls transferred from dispatch and address questions from the public § Review Briefing Log
§ Run Warrant Report in county database twice daily
§ Mail from POB or US Postal – open & distribute twice daily § Lexis Nexis transfers – collision reports
§ Vehicle and vehicle property releases
§ Citizen report and incident requests
§ Citation processing and signoff
§ Parking Permits – Questions and Payments
§ Visitor log
§ Background Checks
§ Insurance Requests – Received via email or mail. Fax return with reply § Received Package Deliveries
§ Retrieve and process paperwork from Dispatch twice daily which may consist of CHP 180’S, Emergency Protective Order, and Property Sheets
§ Case Processing
§ Processing of Warrants including entry and purging
§ PC 290 and Arson Registration
§ DA/Court Run
§ Process and log subpoenas. Notify officer and send response to DA. § Pre-Booking Appointments
§ Administrator for CJIC, Mugshot, CSAR, LEADS, DOJ, RMS, Crossroads, and JIMS § NIBRS/CIBRS monthly entry for Cases, DV, LEOKA, Use of Force. Run CIBRS reports § Run Error Case reports for both Los Gatos and Monte Sereno – Review and clear all errors.
§ Review and process PRA and subpoenas received from Town Clerk’s Office. § New officer training/Records review.
§ Train/oversee light duty officers when assigned to Records § Massage Therapy Permit review and approval.
§ Manage and comply with report requests.
§ Attend monthly meeting
§ Case Sealings.
§ Calls for Service Requests.
§ Serna Packets – prepare packet and return to DA by specified date.
ITEM NO. 20.
151
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
With the assistance of other personnel in the department, the workload associated with Records during the three-year period of 2021 – 2023 is reflected in the table below:
TABLE 46: Records Workload, 2021-2023
2021 2022 2023 Total
Police Reports Reviewed/Approved *Includes online reports 2187 2220 2165 6,572 Supplementals Approved 1056 1234 1120 3,410
Arrests Processed 340 533 517 1,390
DA Filings 356 413 417 1,186
Citations Processed 934 1758 1545 4,237
Documents Scanned 11,167 10,576 16,643 38,386
Total 16,040 16,734 22,427 55,181
Source: Los Gatos Monte Sereno Police Department.
ONLINE REPORTING
In addition to obtaining report copies, LGMSPD also provides online reporting capability to the public via a link on their website via CopLogic. Members of the public can submit a report online via the department website link.
Once the report is received, the part-time reserve officer reviews the report and either approves the report or sends it back to the community member that has filed the report to file a case report. Refer to the Investigations section for further information regarding online reporting.
CopLogic is an online self-reporting system for crime victims to report specific, non-injury minor crimes while eliminating the requirement of an on-scene response by a police officer. CopLogic was intended to improve the use of police officer’s time by eliminating the need to respond to a minor, non-injury crime incident, thus creating a better allocation of resources and improved response times to more serious crimes. It was also created to enhance police community relations as anyone can file a report, 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week. The only requirement to use the online CopLogic system is to have internet access and a valid email address. Individual police agencies utilizing CopLogic set up parameters of which types of crimes are suitable for online reporting.
LGMSPD entered into a multi-year contract with CopLogic in 2020, that runsthrough FY 25/26 and ends in October 2026. The department set aside $75,000 for the contract, which is approximately $12,000 per FY paid in an annual lump sum. The first CopLogic report was generated on July 29, 2021.
A crime victim can simply go to the LGMSPD website to the online reporting page to “Report a Crime.” Once at the Report a Crime page, there is a general guideline and a list of incident types
ITEM NO. 20.
152
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
that the victim can select. The crime victim/reporter is directed to several screens/pages and numerous drop-down options for reporting the incident. The first page is basic information on type of incident and victim information. Subsequent pages include incident details, narrative, and a review page prior to submitting the report to the LGMSPD. Completion of information fields on each page is required before continuing to the next page.
LGMSPD authorizes eight different “incident types” to be reported online through the CopLogic reporting system. Crime victims can report on crimes such as Custody Order Violations, Harassing Phone Calls/Emails, Identity Theft, Lost Property, Theft, Vandalism, Vehicle Burglary, and Vehicle Tampering.
Meliora PSC accessed the online reporting system and noted one of the first issues arises on the opening page for selection of the incident type. While each of the eight incident types are listed and can be selected, the introduction page specifically states, “If the incident you are reporting has a known suspect, you should instead call us.” This can be confusing since the first incident type a crime reporter can select is Violation of a Court Order, which always has a known suspect. The second incident type a victim reporter can select is Harassing Phone Calls/Emails, which always has a suspect – although not necessarily known to the victim. There is also no threshold for maximum level of loss for Identity Theft and Theft in general. A victim could have a theft loss of $100,000 (or more) and can still report the crime online.
There is an option in the online reporting to include involved persons, which can include suspects. Many times, victims have physical evidence pertaining to the crime (e.g. court order, visible fingerprints, bank statements, mail, video and telephonic recordings, endorsed fraudulent checks, and biological evidence), but the online reporting system will still allow the crime to be submitted online. This has proven to be problematic, in that evidence is lost by the time the case is formally assigned to a detective. In one online reported crime, it was discovered there was video evidence of multiple mailbox burglaries captured on a mounted apartment complex video camera system. By the time the crime report was assigned to the detective, the video capturing the crimes had been recorded over and all video evidence was lost. In another incident, it was discovered that there was a significant crime spree of vehicle burglaries. Video evidence was lost, as was the ability to track the suspects movements on the crime spree. Since there is no crime analyst function within LGMSPD, detectives were not aware that a crime spree was actively occurring until well after the fact.
Once a victim/reporter submits the report to the police department, an incident number is provided. However, they have no way of knowing that their report may be rejected at a later time. Most victims do not understand the difference between an incident report number (generated within the CAD system and is not a report) versus a crime report number (where an actual crime report was generated) that we discuss below in the Report Review portion. Every incident reported in CopLogic is reviewed by a LGMSPD Record’s staff member.
ITEM NO. 20.
153
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
When the report is approved, it is either filed with no suspect or follow information or it is eventually forwarded to the detectives for follow up. Subsequently, the lack of detail diminishes the usefulness for crime analysis.
If the report is rejected, there is no immediate victim notification of a rejection. The online reporting system is not set up to automatically and/or instantly reject reports that do not meet the requirements of online reporting. Reports that do not meet the requirements for being reported online are rejected by the reviewing LGMSPD Records staff member by selecting the “Reject” option from within the report review screen. A rejection is always done after the fact, and at times, several days after the incident was originally reported. Selecting the “Reject” option generates an automated instructional e-mail to the reporter where they are advised their report was rejected, and advising the reporter/victim to contact the police department to make a formal report. Meliora PSC recommends the rejection email be replaced with a personal call to the crime reporter to explain that the incident was rejected, the reason for rejection, and to have an officer personally meet with reporter to take a formal report of the incident.
There have also been several incidents where a police officer was called to a location for a crime report, and when the victim was not desirous of prosecution (e.g.: they only wanted to report it for insurance purposes) the officer advised the victim to report it in the CopLogic online reporting system. A crime victim does not understand what the judicial process is for prosecution, and not taking a report simply because a victim is non-desirous of prosecution is outside of policy guidelines.
TABLE 47: COPLOGIC ONLINE REPORTING STATISTICS, 1/1/19-06/25/2024 CRIME TYPE English N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Rejected Total Annoying Phone Calls 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 32 35
Child Custody Order Violations 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 13
Grand Theft 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13
Identity Theft 86 0 0 0 0 0 0 43 129
Lost Property 53 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 79
Petty Theft 176 0 0 0 0 0 0 122 298
Vandalism over $400 93 0 0 0 0 0 0 46 139
Vandalism under $400 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Vehicle Burglary 76 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 95
TOTAL 511 0 0 0 0 0 0 292 803
ITEM NO. 20.
154
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
TABLE 48: COPLOGIC Estimated Time and Cost Savings, 1/1/19-06/25/2024 Tables 48 and 49 illustrate the CopLogic online reporting statistics from inception to current date, and depicts estimated time and cost savings of the program. What is noteworthy is the amount of rejected online reported cases. Of the 803 total cases reported to the LGMSPD over the five and one-half year period, 292 were rejected, which is more than a third of all online reported cases. When further analyzing the individual “incident types,” 90% of all Annoying Phone Calls were rejected, 30% of all Child Custody Order Violations were rejected, 40% of all Petty Theft cases were rejected, and 33% of Lost Property cases were rejected. The chart does not explain how any of the originally rejected cases were resubmitted and/or if eventually accepted.
The estimated time and cost savings show that each online report saves 1.5 hours of an officer’s staff time (to report a crime), for a total saving of 1,204.50 staff hours. When this is multiplied by $55 an hour, the total cost savings is $44,165, and when divided by the four years into the contract, the savings are $11,041.24 per year. However, the contract costs for the past four years total $46,656, which represents no savings at all for the first four years of the contract.
To further complicate matters, the amount of LGMSPD Record’s professional staff hours to review each of the 803 cases is not documented or included in the cost benefit analysis.
Furthermore, if 30% of all online reported cases are being rejected, there are staff related costs associated with that function that are also not mentioned.
Finally, no community feedback forum has been established to determine if the Los GatosMonte Sereno community is truly satisfied with this program and the level of service it provides.
Meliora PSC, recommends LGMSPD conduct a comprehensive review the CopLogic online reporting program to determine if it is efficient, cost effective, and if it meets the service expectation levels of the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno community.
ESTIMATED TIME AND COST SAVINGS
Total Reports
Estimated Hours Per Report if
Taken By an Officer
Estimated Cost Per Report if
Taken By an Officer ($) Total Hours Saved Total Savings ($) 803 1.50 55.00 1204.50 44,165
ESTIMATED YEAR TO DATE SAVINGS SINCE 01/01/2024
Year to Date Total Reports Year to Date Hours Saved Year to Date Total Savings($) 127 190.50 6,985
ITEM NO. 20.
155
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department
Organizational Assessment
www.MelioraPSC.com
PUBLIC RECORDS ACT REQUESTS/DISCOVERY REQUESTS
As society has become more reliant upon technology in their daily lives, there is an expectation that information be shared and police agencies have become more transparent. Balancing the public’s right to information and transparency with an individual’s privacy is a challenging task particularly in the policing realm that is also guided by federal and state laws as well as agency policies. The police industry mainly relies on the Records Division to review, redact, and process requests that are related to the Public Records Act (PRA). As more digital media equipment is used, including software apps and body worn cameras, there has been a noted corresponding increase in the workload to those who are required to process these requests. These demands, often complex, result in significant increases in staff time to review, redact, and process demands for information, documents, and recordings.
Absent adequate staffing and planning, these demands can overwhelm police department units charged with fulfilling requests. Both Records and the Town Clerk in Los Gatos receive Public Records Act (PRA) requests and Records and Property and Evidence also receive Discovery requests. These requests can eventually place a demand on staff to evaluate, research, audit, collect, and prepare department material to answer PRA/Discovery requests.
Documenting PRA Requests and Release Information
It is critical that ALL public record requests are recorded and a copy of what was released (with redactions) also be recorded, either in the RMS database or in an electronic or paper file. If the request is for a police report/CAD log or any information related to a criminal case and/or incident report, a copy of the requestor’s identification, along with the request should be uploaded into RMS along with what was released. If the request was denied, the reason for denial and who denied the release should also be recorded. Retaining this information is best practice and can assist in future potential legal challenges or litigation regarding record releases.
Discovery requests normally come from the District Attorney’s Office for reports, radio tapes, evidence, body camera footage, and other pertinent evidence. Since the reports are already with the DA’s Office, the majority of Discovery requests are sent to the Property and Evidence Unit.
Meliora PSC learned that LGMSPD does not currently track all Discovery and PRA requests and was not able to provide an accurate number of requests that have been received in the past three years. The Town Clerk will accept PRA requests and track them in the Town’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) database. LGMSPD places the PRA requests into RIMS. Meliora PSC recommends LGMSPD implement a process to track all PRA and Discovery requests. It is important to track workload activity like Discovery and PRA requests to assist when analyzing staffing needs and/or when requesting additional staff to accomplish workload demands.
Furthermore, it is important there is a centralized location containing all PRA and Discovery requests to ensure they are responded to in a timely manner.