DATE:
December 10, 2024
CATEGORY:
Consent
DEPT.:
City Manager’s Office
TITLE: Public Safety Advisory Board Review and
Term of Service
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Mountain View to Dissolve the Public Safety Advisory Board , to be read in title only, further reading waived (Attachment 1 to the Council report).
BACKGROUND
At its September 24, 2024 meeting, in response to a Councilmember request, the City Council directed staff to return to Council with a “review of the Public Safety Advisory Board (PSAB) and Senior Advisory Committee (SAC), evaluating the current state of the membership and body of work and any challenges, and provide a recommendation on whether or not these advisory bodies should be sunset or taken in a different direction. ” The stated impetus for this request included questions about ongoing vacancies and the alignment between the advisory bodies’ work plans and intended scope. This report provides the requested review of the PSAB. A separate report on this agenda provides a review of the SAC.
PSAB Creation
In spring 2020, following national calls for racial equity and an examination of police practices, the City Council created the Council Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Race, Equity, and Inclusion (REI Subcommittee). At their June 30, 2020 meeting, the REI Subcommittee expressed interest in exploring different models of community -police oversight. Staff researched the practices implemented in other cities, met with Mountain View stakeholders, worked with a cohort of Stanford University researchers , and analyzed Mountain View Police Department (MVPD or Police Department ) data related to crime, Police contacts, use of force, and personnel complaints. Another source of input came from the facilitated listening sessions on local policing hosted by the City’s Human Relations Commission. In consideration of all of this information, staff’s assessment was that there were not the type of breaches in public trust of MVPD that would call for a board focused on investigation, oversight, monitoring, or auditing. In fact, stakeholders recognized that the national stories of police misconduct and poor police -
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community relations were not playing out in Mountain View and acknowledged MVPD’s long- standing community -policing philosophy and proactive approach to transparency and enhanced communication . Stakeholders expressed an interest, shared by City and MVPD leadership, to lead by example and seek ways to sustain and enhance positive, collaborative community-police relations, and effective and equitable police services.
At the August 24, 2020 REI Subcommittee meeting, staff provided an overview of common police oversight models and, subsequently, returned to the REI Subcommittee on November 19, 2020 with a recommendation , based on the analysis and input described above, to create a body in line with the advisory board model seen in other cities and comparable to the City’s other advisory bodies. The REI Subcommittee voted to bring a recommendation to Council for the creation of the PSAB consistent with staff’s recommendation and with a purpose and composition described below. Staff presented the REI Subcommittee recommendation to the City Council on December 1, 2020. Council approved the recommendation and directed staff to conduct outreach to recruit applications for the PSAB. The City Council discussed the term of the PSAB (whether it should be time-limited or ongoing) and directed staff to bring a report back to Council following the PSAB’s first year of operations, which was provided at the September 13, 2022 City Council meeting.
PSAB Purpose
The Public Safety Advisory Board serves solely in an advisory capacity and is tasked with:
• Providing the City Council, City Manager, and Police Chief with community -informed input and recommendations on public safety matters;
• Serving as a forum for public discussion of public safety matters, including community - policing concepts, furthering MVPD engagement and transparency efforts, and identifying Best Practices; and
• Acting as a liaison between the community and the Police Department.
A core theme and objective within this purpose is the potential for the PSAB to further the MVPD’s engagement and transparency efforts and expand the Department’s connection to the community.
Membership Composition
Council approved staff’s recommendation that the PSAB be comprised of up to seven residents appointed by the City Council to bring diverse community representation (from different neighborhoods, ages, races, professions, cultures, etc.). The recruitment period began on January 29, 2021 and closed on February 26, 2021. Council approved the appointment of seven Public Safety Advisory Board Review and Term of Service December 10, 2024
members at the April 13, 2021 Council meeting. To allow for staggered future recruitments, four members were given a term of four years , and three members were given a term of two years.
The PSAB held its first meeting on May 27, 2021.
Staffing
Upon the creation of PSAB, the intention was communicated that the body would be staffed by a member of Police command staff as well as a nonsworn employee designated by the City Manager who would serve as lead staff. Initially, the lead staff was the Principal Management Analyst in the City Manager’s Office , who worked in coordination with Michael Canfield, then a Police Captain. Assistant City Manager Audrey Seymour Ramberg eventually took on the role of lead staff to PSAB , and w hen he was promoted to Police Chief, Michael Canfield continued as staff to the PSAB.
Meeting Schedule
As noted above, the PSAB’s first meeting was on May 27, 2021. Throughout the rest of 2021, the PSAB met monthly, typically on the fourth Thursday of the month , for a total of seven meetings from May to November 2021. In 2022, PSAB meetings continued to be held monthly, with a break over the summer and the winter holidays and one canceled meeting, resulting in a total of eight meetings. In 2023, staff proposed , and the PSAB approved , a calendar with a meeting schedule of roughly every other month. This was proposed to allow more time between meetings for the PSAB subcommittees to meet and work on PSAB work plan projects and in recognition of staff-capacity constraints given the time needed to prepare for and conduct PSAB meetings. One meeting in 2023 was canceled due to lack of a quorum, resulting in seven meetings that year.
In 2024, the adopted calendar again had a cadence of meeting every other month. Two meetings were canceled due to a lack of quorum, resulting in a total of five meetings in 2024. The meeting schedule is summarized below in Table 1. The length of meetings over the PSAB’s 3-1/2 years of operation has ranged from one to five hours with most meetings lasting an average of two to three hours.
Table 1: PSAB Meeting Schedule
Year Meetings Scheduled Meetings Canceled Meetings Held 2021 (May-Nov) 7 0 7
2022 9 1 8
2023 8 1 7
2024 7 2 5
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Work Plan Process and Projects
For the last four years, the PSAB has gone through an annual two -step process to develop its proposed work plan for subsequent consideration and approval by the City Council. The first step of the process has been for PSAB members to suggest potential projects to be analyzed by staff for timeliness, importance, fit within the scope of the PSAB, and feasibility within staff’s and PSAB’s available capacity . In the second step, staff presented its analysis , and the PSAB prioritized projects and identified its proposed work plan. Council has also referred items to be on the PSAB work plan. Table 2 below summarizes the items that have been on the PSAB work plan. Projects are characterized as either short-term (intended to be completed within the term of the work plan) or ongoing (items that are brought to PSAB every year).
Table 2: PSAB Work Plan Projects, Start Year, Time Frame, and Source
Project Start Year Time Frame Source
School Resource Officer (SRO) Program—Review and
recommendations
FY* 2021-22 Short-Term Council
Research Fellow—Traffic-stop data analysis next steps FY 2021-22 Short-Term PSAB Alternative responses to mental health crisis FY 2021-22 Short-Term PSAB Complaint Review FY 2021-22 Ongoing PSAB
SRO Procedure Manual FY 2022-23 Short-Term Council (per PSAB recommendation)
Prevention of bias/extreme views in policing FY 2022-23 Short-Term PSAB MVPD recruitment and retention challenges FY 2022-23 Short-Term PSAB Support services and enforcement related to residents
living in vehicles
FY 2022-23 Short-Term PSAB
MVPD Budget—Review and comment FY 2022-23 Ongoing Council SRO Annual Report FY 2022-23 Ongoing Council (per PSAB
recommendation)
Military Weapons (AB 481) Annual Report FY 2022-23 Ongoing Council Biannual Report on MVPD feedback data (replacing
Complaint Review item)
FY 2022-23 Ongoing PSAB
Youth substance abuse trends and prevention resources FY 2023-24 Short-Term PSAB Forums on the future of community policing FY 2023-24 Short-Term PSAB Vehicle resident safety and access to police services FY 2024-25 Short-Term PSAB
* Fiscal Year (FY)
ANALYSIS
PSAB Accomplishments
Over the past 3-1/2 years, the PSAB has made progress on its work plan, with several important accomplishments. The most significant accomplishments, described below, relate to the MVPD SRO program, analysis and reporting of MVPD contact data, mental health crisis response alternatives (not involving law enforcement), and satisfaction of state law requiring law Public Safety Advisory Board Review and Term of Service December 10, 2024
enforcement agencies to report on the possession and use of military equipment . These accomplishments are responsive to the primary concerns raised by community members who advocated for the creation of some type of police -community body: police presence and conduct at schools; the potential for bias in police contacts, and the use of police to respond to mental health crisis.
SRO Program Review and Recommendations
In the midst of the national calls for police reform and accountability, one of the primary requests from the local community was for changes to or the end of the City’s SRO program. The concerns expressed included: dissatisfaction with the Los Altos SRO program; opposition to having police on campus, especially if officers were there in a patrol/enforcement capacity; and questions about the objectives, functions, and effectiveness of the MVPD SRO program. A review of and recommendations regarding the City’s SRO program was a focal point in the creation of the PSAB, and it was the Council’s first assignment to the new body as a project in PSAB’s Fiscal Year 2021-22 Work Plan.
At its June 24, 2021 meeting, the PSAB received an overview of the City’s SRO Program and appointed a subcommittee to gather information and stakeholder input and develop recommendations for the PSAB’s consideration. The subcommittee provided a final report on November 18, 2021. This report summarized the information and input-gathering process, which included discussions with SROs, observation of the Dreams and Futures Program, and a survey of and meetings with Mountain View students, parents, school staff, and stakeholder groups. Staff coordinated the process, administered the survey, analyzed survey data, and worked with the subcommittee to distill the themes and suggestions, resulting in a set of recommendations for the improvement of the SRO Program. The PSAB reviewed the recommendations, took public comment, discussed additional recommendations suggested by PSAB members, and ultimately adopted 11 recommendations for Council’s consideration.
The PSAB’s recommendations sought to improve rather than end the SRO program , focusing on:
• Clear articulation of the program purpose in Memoranda of Understanding (MOU);
• Ongoing communication with the school community;
• Annual updates to the PSAB;
• Safe ways for students to raise concerns and make suggestions about SRO activities;
• Creation of more structured programs, including dialogue between students and SROs to help bridge the divide between Police and youth;
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• Creation of a procedure manual for the Youth Services Unit (YSU); and
• Focusing SRO time at the high school primarily on specific programs and activities or calls for service.
Staff presented these recommendations to the City Council on January 25, 2022, specifying which actions could be taken at an operational level and which it would be appropriate to include in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District (MVLA) and Mountain View Whisman School District (MVWSD). Council approved these recommendations and directed staff to bring the SRO Procedure Manual to the PSAB for review.
Throughout the process, staff provided regular updates to and sought input from MVLA and MVWSD and worked collaboratively with them on the SRO MOU and Procedure Manual. The MVPD created an internal team to review current practices and incorporate the recommendations of the PSAB and Council direction into a procedure manual documenting the SRO purpose, goals, guidelines, responsibilities, Officer selection process, training, evaluation, and complaint process. Staff reviewed the manual with the school distr icts and other key stakeholders who interact with the SRO Program and presented it to the PSAB for review and comment at its September 29, 2022 meeting. Staff also drafted MOUs for MVLA and MVWSD, specifying the term, purpose, goals, activities, and principles of the SRO Program and the duties and responsibilities for both the MVPD and the school districts. The MOUs have been executed by both districts.
In accordance with the PSAB’s recommendation, staff has provided an annual update to PSAB on the SRO program. As noted in these reports, no complaints have been received from students, parents, community members, or school staff regarding the SRO program. In addition, the PSAB has not received public comment about the SRO program since the review process and next steps were concluded in 2022.
Ph.D. Research Fellow’s Traffic Stop Data Analysis Next Steps Regarding Possibility of Implicit Bias
In fall 2020, the City Manager’s Office and MVPD partnered with Stanford University and the University of Michigan as part of a coalition of research institutes working with police departments to hire a Ph.D. candidate Research Fellow (Fellow) from the University of California, Berkeley. The Fellow’s charge was to analyze traffic stop data to determine if there were any trends or disparities in the MVPD’s contacts with the community. The Fellow was given unfettered access to the MVPD’s contacts and traffic stop data. He analyzed data from all traffic stops made by the MVPD from 2014 to 2020 and examined whether bias appeared to be a factor in the decisions to stop and search motorists. This included conducting a variety of tests, Public Safety Advisory Board Review and Term of Service December 10, 2024
including the “veil of darkness” test. The Fellow presented his work and findings during the June 24, 2021 and August 26, 2021 PSAB meetings.
The Fellow found that there was no clear evidence that MVPD stop decisions were discriminatory, and there was mixed evidence of disparities with regard to the decisions to search a car. As noted by the Fellow, “mixed” evidence means that “clear conclusions are difficult to draw due to the small number of searches conducted by the MVPD over the time frame of interest.”
PSAB’s Fiscal Year 2021-22 Work Plan included a project to develop next steps from the work of the Fellow, including exploring options to make MVPD data more open and available to the public and a review of MVPD’s implementation of and data from the new Racial Identity and Profiling Act (RIPA) (AB 953). RIPA mandates that California law enforcement agencies collect certain data when a detention is made. For the purposes of RIPA, a detention is when a person is stopped by the MVPD and not free to leave, or they are contacted by MVPD and provide consent to be searched. The RIPA required fields are: date, time, and duration of the stop; location of stop; perceived race or ethnicity of person stopped; perceived gend er of person stopped; whether person stopped is perceived to be LGBT; perceived age of person stopped; whether person stopped has limited or no English fluency; perceived or known disability of person stopped; reason for stop; whether stop was made in response to a call for service; and actions taken by an Officer during a stop. In addition to collecting the above required data, MVPD collects information regarding whether the Officer making the contact believed the subject was having mental health-related challenges and at what point during the contact the Officer perceived the subject’s race and gender.
RIPA requires that the data collected be provided to the California State Department of Justice (DOJ) quarterly, among other requirements. The MVPD began collecting RIPA data on December 1, 2021, in advance of the January 1, 2022 deadline , and provided the first quarterly data submission to the DOJ on April 1, 2022.
Staff worked with a PSAB subcommittee to review RIPA data , relevant MVPD policies, seek community input, and develop recommendations regarding how to use and share this data. The RIPA subcommittee also met with the Research Fellow, who highlighted the challenge in trying to draw conclusions from the relatively small sample size of RIPA data and accounting for the impacts that different organizational and policy changes could have on the data. The recommendations from the subcommittee were presented at the January 26, 2023 PSAB meeting, which the MVPD is in the process of implementing. Accomplishments include development of a transparency dashboard that is posted on the MVPD webpage, the conversion of MVPD’s RIPA data to CSV format for public analysis, and twice-annual reports to PSAB on a wide range of MVPD contact and feedback data, including RIPA data. The MVPD continues to work on implementing the additional recommendations and has identified the next priority as selecting an external researcher to apply the Research Fellow’s methodology to new data.
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Community Mental Health Profile to Inform Alternative Responses to Mental Health Crisis
The Fiscal Year 2021 -22 PSAB Work Plan included an item “to explore existing and alternative responses to persons experiencing mental health crisis” with the intention to identify and support options that do not require the engagement of law enforcement. PSAB created a subcommittee to work on this item. Around this time, there were several important developments to provide such alternative responses. This includes Santa Clara County’s expansion of the existing Mobile Crisis Response Team to include a North County team and creation of the new TRUST (Trusted Response Urgent Support Team) program, with a team focused on North County. In addition, the MVPD formed the Behavioral Services Unit (BSU). The main focus of the PSAB subcommittee and staff was to develop an informal community profile of mental health crisis needs and resources in Mountain View to help inform the se programs, especially those new to Mountain View.
Over a nine -month period, staff and subcommittee members reached out to community members and service providers and gathered and analyzed information. This input and data were synthesized to develop the profile, which was presented to the PSAB at its November 17, 2022 meeting. The profile included an overview of the City Council’s Community for All strategic priority, information about City services for vulnerable populations , a map of key locations , Mountain View demographic data , and statistics regarding MVPD mental health and drug overdose calls for service and deaths related to drugs and suicide. The profile also summarized community input themes, barriers to accessing services, and recommendations to the Santa Clara County and the Momentum for Health TRUST program to help them be successful in reaching and serving Mountain View residents in need. Staff shared the profile with the County and TRUST.
Following completion of the profile, the PSAB mental health subcommittee has continued monitoring development of the TRUST, MCRT, and BSU programs and providing suggestions for how to promote awareness of these programs within the Mountain View community.
Military Equipment Policy
State Assembly Bill 481 (AB 481) calls for local agencies who use what the legislation defines as military equipment to adopt a policy regarding the funding, acquisition, and use of such equipment and to subsequently review, renew, and approve the policy on an annual basis. Staff developed a draft policy and presented it to the PSAB for review and comment on March 24, 2022. Council adopted the policy on May 10, 2022 and directed staff to present future annual reports to the PSAB, with PSAB serving as the host of the AB 481 -required community engagement meeting. The annual presentation of the report and community meeting was subsequently included in the Fiscal Year 2022-23 PSAB Work Plan as an ongoing item.
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As noted in the AB 481 reports, the MVPD has equipment in eight of the 15 categories. The MVPD does not have equipment in the categories most often associate d with military use, such as armored or weaponized vehicles, firearms designed to launch explosive projectiles, or shockwave, microwave, or water cannon devices. The equipment that is in the City’s inventory has generally been in place for decades and is highly specific and limited in its use requiring special authorization and training.
Challenges
Work Plan Scope
When the PSAB was first formed in 2021, there was a high level of public input on policing matters and specific concerns raised about having Police Officers on school campuses , the potential for bias in police stops and contacts, and the use of Police Officers to respond to calls involving mental health crisis. These themes and the broader call for racial justice were prevalent across the nation. This was echoed locally with many members of the public sharing their experiences and fears and urging the City to engage th e community and explore how these issues were playing out in Mountain View.
These specific concerns provided a clear focus for the PSAB’s initial work plan in 2021 and 2022, which resulted in the PSAB’s most significant accomplishments, as summarized above.
Development and achievement of the PSAB’s work plan has been more challenging in subsequent years. PSAB members have expressed interest in a wide range of potential projects, and it has not always been clear how these projects would be structured to have a clear scope of work with clear beneficial outcomes and be feasible within the capacity of both PSAB members and City staff. As a result, it has been difficult to complete work plan items within the one -year work plan period. Table 3 below shows the number and status of work plan items by year.
Table 3: PSAB Work Plan Projects and Status
Number of Projects
Year Fiscal Year 2021-22 Fiscal Year 2022-23 Fiscal Year 2023-24 Fiscal Year 2024-25 Ongoing 1 5 5 5
Short-Term 3 (2 carried forward) 6 (3 carried forward) 4 (2 carried forward) 4 (3 carried forward) TOTAL 4 11 9 9
Another tension has been between PSAB’s areas of interest and the purpose of the body as established by Council. At times, during the work plan process and at meetings, PSAB members would advocate for changes to existing City policy or to set significant new policy, which staff counseled was not consistent with established Council policy and/or was beyond the PSAB’s advisory role. Examples include an interest in shaping parking enforcement related to vehicles used for living purposes , having a role in the review and determination of personnel Public Safety Advisory Board Review and Term of Service December 10, 2024
investigations, reviewing the Fire Department operations, and exploring enforcement of traffic violations by unarmed personnel.
PSAB and Staff Capacity
There has been an additional tension between the PSAB’s desire and capacity to take on new substantive items. Looking further at the issue of capacity, it is important to note that PSAB members are volunteers with work, school, and family obligations, which must be balanced with any subcommittee assignments necessary to carry out work plan items. It has been difficult at times to find this balance in light of the broad range of interests and potential subcommittees suggested by PSAB members during the wor k plan process . As a result, there have been challenges in scheduling subcommittee meetings, completing tasks, and , most recently, maintaining PSAB membership and meeting quorum (as will be discussed in the section below).
Staff capacity is also limited. PSAB’s staff liaisons, the Assistant City Manager and Police Chief, spend an estimated 15 hours and 20 hours per meeting, respectively, preparing for and attending PSAB meetings. They fulfill a range of roles, including meeting with the PSAB Chair and Vice Chair; planning agendas ; meeting with subcommittees ; writing and/or reviewing reports and presentations; supervising and supporting other staff ’s work on PSAB items ; attending and providing staff support at PSAB meetings ; and attending PSAB events . In addition, an Administrative Assistant performs the following essential administrative functions: coordinating the finalization of agenda materials ; preparing and post ing agenda packets (online and hard copy); handling both the in -person and online meeting setup ; attending PSAB meetings to manage audio-visual services for remote participation and slide presentations , posting meeting videos, preparing meeting minutes, monitoring the PSAB email box; and managing scheduling and routine communication with the PSAB . The estimated average time spent by the Administrative Assistant is eight hours per meeting. In total, the core staff to the PSAB spend s an estimated average of 43 hours per meeting.
There are other staff with expertise and responsibilities in specific areas, such as Human Services, MVPD Neighborhood and Events Services, Behavioral Services Unit, and the SRO program , who spend time working with subcommittees , conducting outreach, gathering information, doing analysis, writing reports and presentations, planning events, a nd attend ing PSAB meetings .
There are typically two to three Police or City Manager’s Office staff in attendance at each meeting from the following positions:
• Deputy City Manager;
• Human Services Manager;
• Police Captains;
• Police Lieutenants;
• Police Sergeants;
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• Police Officers; and
• Community Service Officers.
The amount of time spent by all of these additional staff members in support of the PSAB is significant, but difficult to quantify. Staff sought to quantify the number of staff hours spent on select PSAB work plan projects as listed in Table 4 below.
Table 4: Staff Time on Select PSAB Work Plan Projects
Project Estimated Staff Hours
SRO program review, development of MOU and procedure manual 300 SRO Annual Report 80
Twice-annual report on MVPD contact and feedback data 80 Community mental health profile 90
Annual AB 481 report on military equipment 120
Vacancies and Meeting Attendance
As noted above, the PSAB was established to have up to seven members. The City Council conducted the interviews and first appointed seven members in April 2021 with staggered terms of either two or four years. The three positions for two-year terms were up for appointment in April 2023, at which point there were five applicants for the three positions, and the positions were successfully filled with two incumbents and one new member.
Since that time, three members of PSAB have resigned, two in May 2024 and one in August 2024.
The application period for PSAB and other Council -appointed advisory bodies recently closed , and there were five applicants for the three current vacancies. The CARC conducted advisory body interviews on November 22, 2024, and the City Council is scheduled to make appointments on December 17, 2024. If and when these vacancies are filled, one of them will fill a term expiring in April 2025, and two will fill a term expiring in April 2027.
Table 5 below summarizes the current status of PSAB membership.
Table 5: PSAB Membership Status
Current Status Resignation Date Term Expiration
Filled N/A April 2025
Filled N/A April 2025
Filled N/A April 2025
Filled N/A April 2027
Vacant May 2024 April 2025
Vacant May 2024 April 2027
Vacant August 2024 April 2027
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The percentage of PSAB meetings at which one or more PSAB members have been absent has increased over time since the PSAB was established, with absences at 29%, 63%, 71% , and 86% of the meetings in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 respectively. This has been driven both by vacancies and the availability of seated members to attend regularly schedule d meetings. The last two meetings in 2024 needed to be canceled due to a lack of quorum.
Community Engagement
As mentioned above, community engagement and serving as a bridge between the community and the MVPD are core to PSAB’s purpose. The methods for PSAB’s community engagement include outreach to community members as part of work plan projects, such as the surveys and meetings held to seek input about the SRO program, the planning of community forums, such as the forums on the future of community policing, and public comment at PSAB meetings. Table 6 below provides information about speakers at PSAB meetings.
Table 6: Public Speakers at PSAB Meetings
Number of Public Speakers Per Meeting
Year Low High Average
2021 2 17 7.1
2022 2 6 4.3
2023 1 6 3.4
2024 1 5 3.4
Since 2021, there have been an average of three to four public speakers at PSAB meetings, often consisting of regular, dedicated attendees . The average was higher in 2021 ( seven speakers), driven by 17 speakers commenting on the SRO program. In addition to commenting on agendized items, public comment covered a range of topics, including calls for:
• More frequent report-outs by the subcommittees and that these reports be presented by subcommittee members rather than City staff;
• More frequent PSAB meetings;
• Transition of various services currently provided by MVPD to unarmed personnel;
• Defunding/reallocation of funding from the MVPD budget to support other community needs;
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• Expansion of the scope of the PSAB to include Fire services, traffic safety, public health, and mental health, reflecting a broader definition of public safety; and
• Access to personnel investigation details and ability to make recommendations in disciplinary findings and outcomes.
As noted above, the PSAB’s review of the SRO program resulted in the highest level of community engagement, with 17 speakers at a single meeting . In addition, there were approximately 550 students, parents, school staff, and community members who provided input through a survey and outreach meetings about the SRO program. This high level of participation in this item was achieved through significant planning, effort, and hours of staff and PSAB subcommittee member time (as listed in Table 4 above).
As another measure of community engagement, the Fiscal Year 2023 -24 PSAB Work Plan included a project to hold up to three forums on the future of community policing. Two of these forums were conducted in Fiscal Year 2023 -24. The project was carried forward into the Fiscal Year 2024-25 Work Plan, during which the third forum was held. The attendance at the forums were eight, 18, and 33. The first two forums were planned and facilitated in coordination between the PSAB subcommittee and MVPD staff. After the resignation of some PSAB members, the PSAB subcommittee did not have capacity to work on the third forum, which was planned and facilitated by the MVPD.
PSAB Member Input
Staff reached out to the PSAB’s four current members to discuss the accomplishments and challenges outlined above and seek their feedback.* The input received is summarized below.
• There was general agreement that the PSAB has addressed the primary issues of concern expressed by the community in the initial call for the creation of the body.
• One member commended the City for creating the PSAB, noting that it was a timely response to what was going on.
• It was acknowledged that some community advocates, prior to the PSAB’s formation, suggested a limited-term body with an emphasis on review of the SRO program.
• Other members of the community have consistently advocated for a scope beyond Council’s direction, to play an investigatory role as a “community watchdog” or cover a broader definition of public safety.
• There was general agreement about challenges related to work plan scope, PSAB capacity, and public engagement.
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• Regarding the challenge in balancing PSAB-driven work plan projects and member capacity, members noted that work was becoming increasingly staff driven. One member reflected that this seems counter to the purpose of having a community member body.
• It was noted that the MVPD has established good practices and positive community relationships. One member said a city like Mountain View may not need a body like PSAB.
• It was also noted that there is always more that can be done to improve practices and transparency, and a group like the PSAB can play a role in maintaining current positive community-police relationships over the long term.
• There was a general sense that in Mountain View the need for a body like PSAB is not to address current significant problems, but to help prevent such problems in the future.
• PSAB members saw options for the future of PSAB such as sunsetting it, maintaining the body with a reduced meeting schedule and scope, or, conversely, expanding its scope and taking on work plan items covering a broader range of public safety issues.
• One member said that ending or otherwise evolving the PSAB could be seen as a sign of innovation and forward thinking in response to changing needs and circumstances. _____________________
* It was not possible to discuss this at a PSAB meeting since the October and November PSAB meetings were canceled due to the lack of a quorum.
Staff Recommendation for the PSAB’s Term of Service
The creation of the PSAB was an important step in the City’s demonstration that it heard and understood the community upset in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and other tragic instances of police misconduct nationwide. While local advocates from Mountain View and the broader region referenced these national tragedies in their communications to the City, many also acknowledged the circumstances in Mountain View were different, noting that there has generally been a high level of police -community engagement, transparency, and trust. Rather, the intention noted by some public comment ers calling for the creation of a police -community board was to solidify and build on Best Practices already in place in Mountain View and serve as an example for other law enforcement agencies.
Seeking to confirm and monitor the general climate of police -community engagement and potential issues with police conduct, the PSAB included in their work plan a twice -yearly report on Police contact and feedback data and an annual review of the SRO program. The twice-yearly report includes information on social media engagement, the MVPDx program, informal Chief advisory groups, customer survey feedback, RIPA data, personnel complaints, and SRO program Public Safety Advisory Board Review and Term of Service December 10, 2024
complaints. Issues of concern have not been demonstrated in these regular reports. Table 7 below summarizes social media, customer survey, and personnel complaint data points since the first twice-yearly report.
Table 7: Data from the Twice-Yearly Report on MVPD Contacts and Feedback
Type of Data Jul-Dec 2022 Jan-Jun 2023 Jul-Dec 2023
Nextdoor social media engagement
• Claimed households
13,595
22,1851
13,595
• Engagements 247,700 237,924 247,700
My90 Customer Feedback Survey2
• Very positive/positive view of MVPD following
encounter
89%
88%
86%
• Strongly agree/agree treated respectfully 84% 93% 92% Personnel complaints
• Total
7 7
8 • Generated external to PD 4 3 6
• Sustained 2 1 0
2021-22
School Year
2022-23
School Year
2023-24
School Year
SRO complaints 0 0 0
1 This number is likely overstated due to an unintentional reporting error or change in data collection methodology. 2 The My90 Survey collects feedback from people who received police services or were contacted by a Police Officer.
The PSAB has made significant accomplishments since its establishment in 2021, relatively quickly reviewing and making recommendations on the specific areas of concern raised through community feedback during the initial calls for the creation of such a bo dy. These areas of concern included the SRO program, analysis and reporting of police contact data (including Racial Identity and Profiling Act data), and alternative, nonlaw enforcement responses to mental health crises. At Council’s direction, the PSAB has also served as the vehicle for the state -mandated annual community meeting on military equipment.
With these accomplishments, it is staff’s perspective that the PSAB can be considered to have largely achieved important aspects of its mission. Staff also notes that over time, there have been carried-forward work plan projects, a relatively low level of public participation , and challenges with meeting absences and member vacancies. Other considerations include the City Manager’s Office and MVPD staff resources required to conduct PSAB work plan projects and plan for and attend PSAB meetings. Finally, staff is aware that there are alternative methods to continue to achieve much of the underlying intent and functions of the PSAB.
In consideration of the analysis above, staff recommends that the PSAB be dissolved and that certain ongoing priority functions be addressed as indicated in the section below.
Public Safety Advisory Board Review and Term of Service December 10, 2024
Approach to Addressing Priority Functions
It is essential that police agencies mak e a commitment and implement effective methods to achieve high levels of community engagement, positive public relations, trust, transparency, and accountability. A police-community board is one possible way to do that. This section highlights other methods currently used by the MVPD , or that could be newly instituted , to accomplish these objectives.
Annual Military Equipment Report and Community Meeting
In 2021, California enacted Assembly Bill 481 (AB 481), which asserted the public’s right to know and participate in the decision -making process related to the funding, acquisition, or use of equipment defined by the bill as military equipment by state or local law enforcement agencies.
AB 481 requires that law enforcement agencies, at least annually, prepare a military equipment report with one “well-publicized and conveniently located community-engagement meeting” to allow for public discussion of the re port. Council directed that the PSAB convene this public discussion at one of its meetings.
If the Council approves staff’s recommendation to dissolve the PSAB, staff will plan and conduct a stand-alone community meeting focused on the City’s annual military equipment report and conduct wide outreach to ensure awareness and encourage participation.
SRO Annual Report Meeting
Currently, as part of its work plan, the PSAB receives the SRO Annual Report. This report is a summary of the work of the SRO program and Youth Services Unit , including assigned staff , services provided, outcomes, any anticipated programmatic changes , and any complaints received. If Council approves staff’s recommendation to dissolve the PSAB, staff will plan and conduct a standalone annual meeting presenting the SRO Annual repor t to the school community, highlighting the SRO program’s youth-focused approach and collaboration with the school districts.
MVPDx: Partnering for the Future of Policing
MVPDx is a community -based program that began in 2020 and hosted its sixth cohort in 2024.
The eight -week interactive program consists of experiential, scenario -based exercises and in-depth conversations about current police incidents, community concerns, and topics of interest to the cohort. The MVPD will continue the program and has plans to add similar programs for youth and Spanish-speaking residents.
Public Safety Advisory Board Review and Term of Service December 10, 2024
Chief’s Advisory Councils
The MVPD created two informal advisory groups that meet with the Police Chief and command staff on a periodic basis: the Latino Community Advisory Committee (LCAC) and Faith Leaders Advisory Council (FLAC). Meeting with these groups helps the MVPD hear diverse community voices and concerns, fosters discussion of important public safety topics, generates ideas for improving communication , and enables sharing of information about the resources that are available to meet community needs.
Regular Meetings with the Mountain View Coalition for Police Reform and Accountability (MVCPRA) Steering Committee
The Police Chief and command staff have had a practice of meeting periodically with the MVCPRA Steering Committee to discuss topics of interest. If the PSAB is dissolved, staff proposes instituting a regular twice-yearly meeting between the MVPD and the Steering Committee.
Other Community Engagement Events
The MVPD actively plans and/or participates in a variety of community engagement events to strengthen connections and foster trust. These include bilingual presentations at places of worship, recurring “Coffee with a Cop” gatherings at coffee shops and other venues, such as the Senior Center or a neighborhood panadería (Mexican bakery), attending neighborhood association meetings and presentations to community groups like Cafecito (Con Aroma de Justicia). Additionally, MVPD engages with the community at-large City events, such as National Night Out, the holiday tree lighting ceremony, and the annual Co ps and Gobblers Thanksgiving food drive.
Transparency Dashboard
The MVPD’s Transparency Dashboard, launched in October 2024, is the Department’s latest effort in its ongoing commitment to transparency and building trust with the community. The MVPD Transparency Dashboard features a wide range of data, including traffic collisions, property crime data, crime and arrest statistics, internal investigations, RIPA data, hate crimes, elder crimes, and more. There is also an interactive map for MVPD’s calls for service, which can be broken down by date and time period. The information displayed on the dashboard will continue to evolve based on the availability of data and types of information requested by the community. The community can provide this feedback through the Survey webpage on the dashboard. Feedback about the Transparency Dashboard has been largely positive, with many users highlighting the increased accessibility and transparency it provides. Some suggestions for improvement include adding a category related to parking citations and their revenue generation as well as changing the visual display to utilize drop-down menus instead of tables and graphs.
Public Safety Advisory Board Review and Term of Service December 10, 2024
As of mid-November 2024, in the weeks since it was launched, there have been 1,849 visits to the site.
Posting of MVPD Reports and Policies
In addition to the Transparency Dashboard, t he MVPD ’s Transparency webpage provides information about a wide range of policing policies and practices, including:
• Antibias expectations, training, and policy;
• MVPD Code of Ethics;
• Personnel complaint procedure;
• Disciplinary process;
• Use of force and deescalation policy;
• Limited-English Proficiency services;
• Hiring standards and recruitment and selection process; • Crisis intervention incidents policy;
• Officer-worn camera policy; and
• SRO Procedure Manual, MOU, and Annual Report.
Alternatives
Two alternatives to staff’s recommendation are outlined below.
1. Continue the PSAB with a two -time-per-year meeting schedule with a set work plan , including the topics below and any referrals from the City Council, City Manager , or Police Chief.
Month Topic
April Annual Military Equipment Report and Community Meeting MVPD Annual Report
October SRO Annual Report
Annual Report on MVPD Contact and Feedback Data
2. Continue the PSAB with its current meeting schedule of approximately bimonthly meetings with a work plan , including the current ongoing items and no more than one additional special project.
FISCAL IMPACT
Dissolving the PSAB will free up staff time in the City Manager’s Office and MVPD to work on other City Council project priorities, community engagement opportunities, and ongoing operational matters.
Public Safety Advisory Board Review and Term of Service December 10, 2024
LEVINE ACT
California Government Code Section 84308 (also known as the Levine Act) prohibits city officials from participating in any proceeding involving a “license, permit, or other entitlement for use” if the official has received a campaign contribution exceeding $250 from a party, participant, or agent of a party or participant in the proceeding within the last 12 months. A city official is similarly prohibited from accepting, soliciting, or directing a campaign contribution exceeding $250 from a party, particip ant, or agent of a party or participant to any proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use for 12 months after a final decision is rendered in said proceeding.
Please refer to the “X” in the checklist below for information about whether the recommended action for this agenda item is subject to or exempt from the Levine Act.
SUBJECT TO THE LEVINE ACT
___ Land development entitlements
___ Other permit, license, or entitlement for use
___ Contract or franchise
EXEMPT FROM THE LEVINE ACT
___ Competitively bid contract
___ Labor or personal employment contract
X General policy and legislative actions
For more information about the Levine Act, please see the Fair Political Practices Commission website: www.fppc.ca.gov/learn/pay-to-play-limits-and-prohibitions.html.
CONCLUSION
On December 1, 2020 , Council approved the staff recommendation to create a Public Safety Advisory Board. Council approved the appointment of seven members on April 13, 2021 , and the PSAB held its first meeting on May 27, 2021. A core PSAB purpose is serving as a forum for public discussion and a liaison between the community and Police Department. At its September 24, 2024 meeting, in response to a Councilmember request, the City Council directed staff to return to Council with a “review of the Public Safety Advisory Board (PSAB) and Senior Advisory Committee (SAC), evaluating the current state of the membership and body of work and any challenges, and provide a recommendation on whether or not these advisory bodies should be sunset or taken in a different direction.” The PSAB has made significant accomplishments since its establishment in 2021 , addressing the primary areas of concern communicated by community members in their call for the creation of a police-community body. In light of these accomplishments, it is staff’s perspective that the PSAB can be considered to have largely Public Safety Advisory Board Review and Term of Service December 10, 2024
achieved important aspects of its mission. Staff also notes trends over time related to carried- forward work plan projects, relatively low levels of public participation, challenges with meeting absences and member vacancies, and impacts on staff resources. Taking into account all of these considerations and the availability of alternative methods to continue to achieve much of the underlying intent and functions of the PSAB, staff recommends that the PSAB be dissolved.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Continue the PSAB with a two -time-per-year meeting schedule with a set work plan, including the topics below and any referrals from the City Council, City Manager, or Police Chief.
2. Continue the PSAB with its current meeting schedule of approximately bimonthly meetings with a work plan, including the current ongoing items and no more than one additional special project.
3. Provide other direction.
PUBLIC NOTICING
Agenda posting and a copy of report to PSAB and Mountain View Coalition for Police Reform and Accountability.
Prepared by:
Audrey Seymour Ramberg
Assistant City Manager
Approved by:
Kimbra McCarthy
City Manager
ASR/MS/1/CAM
602-12-10-24CR
204775
Attachment 1. Resolution