Public Safety Committee
September 12, 2023
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Darren Allison
City Administrator Interim Chief of Police
SUBJECT: FY 2023-24 OPD Traffic Safety Grant DATE: August 23, 2023
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council A dopt A Re solution Authorizing The City Administrator To Accept And Appropriate Grant Funds In The Amount Of Five Hundred And Two Thousand Six Hundred Dollars ($502,600) From The State Of California’ s Office Of Traffic Safety (OTS) Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) For The Fiscal Year 2023-2024, To Be Administered By The Oakland Police Department (OPD), And Authorizing The General Purpose Services Fund To Contribute Eighty-Two Thousand Seven Hundred Seventy-Eight Dollars ($82,778) To Cover Related Central Services Overhead Charges.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Approval of this resolution will allow traffic safety OTS grant funds to be received by OPD Traffic Operations Section (TOS) for traffic safety. The $502,600 grant awarded to OPD will also be used to:
• Fund overtime costs for OPD officers engaged in DUI1 and other traffic safety and enforcement operations, including operations conducted in collaboration with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO)
• Purchase DUI checkpoint supplies
• Cover related In-State Travel
OTS does not allow grant funds to be used for overhead costs. OPD, therefore, requests
that the City Council waive the City's Central Services Overhead (CSO) costs of $82,778.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Every week, on average, two Oaklanders are killed or severely injured in traffic crashes on our streets. These crashes disproportionately harm people in Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities, people with disabilities, seniors, and low-income communities. Crashes are a leading cause of death among Oakland youth. All traffic crashes are preventable. Safe Oakland Streets (SOS) is a Citywide initiative that is taking a new approach to crashes, focusing on strategies that will save lives and deliver equitable outcomes.
The SOS collaboration
1 DUI = driving under the influence of alcohol
Sep 5, 2023
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FY 2022-23 OPD Traffic Safety Grant
Date: August 23, 2023 Page 2
Public Safety Committee
September 12, 2023
includes Oakland’s Department of Transportation (OakDOT), Department of Race and Equity, and OPD – in partnership with community groups, to implement the most effective and equitable strategies. As a component of this work, the SOS initiative identified enforcement strategies that were presented to City Council on April 20, 2021, and October 2022. The proposed investments are in alignment with these strategies.
The State of California and SOS have made positive strides in recent years in reducing the rate of motorist-related fatal and serious injury collisions. Vehicle collisions occur primarily due to alcohol consumption, speeding, running red lights, and other select vehicle code violations. Incidents involving these factors remain prevalent causes of death and injury nationally and in California. Traffic studies have shown that cities engaged in enforcement operations targeting dangerous moving violations have seen substantial reductions in fatal and injury collisions.
City Council previously approved acceptance and appropriation of the STEP grant via
Resolution No. 80130 C.M.S., dated September 19, 2006, Resolution No. 80578 C.M.S., dated May 15, 2007, Resolution No. 81223 C.M.S., dated April 15, 2008, Resolution No. 83555 C.M.S., dated September 20, 2011; Resolution No. 84712 C.M.S., dated November 19, 2013; Resolution No. 85274 C.M.S., dated November 18, 2014; Resolution No. 85768 C.M.S., dated September 8, 2015; Resolution No. 86491 C.M.S., dated November 3, 2016, Resolution No. 86920 C.M.S., dated October 3, 2017, Resolution No. 87363 C.M.S., dated October 16, 2018, Resolution No. 87878 C.M.S, dated September 12, 2019, Resolution No. 88403 C.M.S., dated December 1, 2020, Resolution No. 88883 C.M.S., dated November 2, 2021, and Resolution No. 89496 C.M.S., date December 6, 2022.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The acceptance and appropriation of these funds will advance the citywide priorities of holistic community safety and responsive, trustworthy government. The state of California and SOS are strategizing how to mitigate traffic injuries, collisions, and deaths. With the appropriate staffing, enforcement, and equipment, OPD and its partners can continue to address the issues causing harm in the community.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) funds OTS to administer the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP). These grant funds will provide OPD with the added tools to be more successful in curbing problems associated with impaired drivers, red light runners, speeding vehicles, and other aggressive and reckless driving.
OPD's goals for the use of the STEP grant fund include the following:
• increasing motorist, pedestrian, and bicyclist safety; and • reducing traffic fatalities and injuries.
OPD staff plans to achieve these goals by deploying comprehensive, consistent, targeted traffic enforcement. In January 2021, OPD’s Traffic Enforcement Unit personnel was cut due to limited budget funds. On October 15th, 2022, 1 Sergeant and 6 Officers formed a Traffic Enforcement Team on a full-time basis. The officers and sergeant were cut again from the 2023-2024 fiscal year budget; however, they temporarily remain on loan in the Traffic Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FY 2022-23 OPD Traffic Safety Grant
Date: August 23, 2023 Page 3
Public Safety Committee
September 12, 2023
Enforcement Unit. The STEP grant funding would provide much needed traffic enforcement in the City of Oakland.
OPD Traffic Operations Section (TOS) will use the grant funds to promote vehicular safety through education and enforcement. OPD will partner with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) to conduct high visibility collaborative DUI and Traffic enforcement operations. Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) devices are used to enforce speed limits around schools, certain residential neighborhoods, and roads with a current speed survey (which allows for using LIDAR). Also, OPD will purchase DUI/Driver’s License Checkpoint supplies needed for those operations.
Staff will continue to operate the STEP grant in accordance with OPD policies and the OTS grant requirements. These requirements include the performance of the following operations planned between October 1, 2023, and September 30, 2024:
• 6 Conduct DUI/DL Checkpoints
• 20 DUI Saturation Patrol Operations
• 12 Traffic Operations, including, but not limited to, select primary collision factor violations
• 6 Bicycle and Pedestrian enforcement operations in identified areas of high bicycle and pedestrian traffic collisions
• 6 Distracted driving enforcement operations targeting drivers using hand-held cellular phones and texting
• 2 Conduct Specialized Enforcement Operations focusing specifically on street racing and sideshow activities
• 2 Motorcycle Safety Operations
• 2 Night-time (1800-0559) “Click it or Ticket” seatbelt enforcement operations • 12 Highly Visible DUI Enforcement operations in collaboration with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO)
• 12 Highly Visible Traffic Enforcement operations in collaboration with Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO)
• 2 Send Law Enforcement Personnel to DUI Checkpoint Planning and Management Training
• 1 Traffic Safety Educational presentations with an effort to reach out to community members
• Participation in NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) winter and summer mobilizations, National Walk to School Day, National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, National Click It or Ticket mobilization period, National Bicycle Safety Month, National Motorcycle Safety Month, National Teen Driver Safety Week, National Child Passenger Safety Week, California Pedestrian Safety Month • Maintain a “HOT Sheet” program to notify patrol and traffic officers to be on the lookout for identified repeat DUI offenders on a monthly basis • 16 Send law enforcement personnel to the NHTSA Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) POST2-certified training
• 5 Send law enforcement personnel to the NHTSA Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) POST-certified training
2 POST = California Commission on Police Officer Standards and Testing Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FY 2022-23 OPD Traffic Safety Grant
Date: August 23, 2023 Page 4
Public Safety Committee
September 12, 2023
• 3 Send law enforcement personnel to the Drug Recognition Expert DRE recertification training
• 3 Send Law Enforcement Personnel to the Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) training
OPD administered STEP grants in FY 2010-2011, FY 2011-2012, FY 2013-2014, FY 2014- 2015, FY 2015-2016, FY 2016-2017, FY 2018-19, FY 19-20, FY 20-21, FY 21-22, and FY22-23. Table 1 below provides collision data for the prior three years.
Many factors (undetermined in many cases) can contribute to collisions. Table 1 below shows that traffic collision injuries have decreased in FY 2022-2023 compared to the prior fiscal year.
The number of victims has also decreased from FY 2021-2022. The decrease could be attributed to our traffic enforcement operations on the High Injury Network.
There was a decrease in fatal collisions in FY2022-2023. The number of fatalities related to collisions happening at nighttime also decreased in FY2022-2023. Our enforcement efforts appear to be working, with the decrease in injury and fatal collisions. These efforts positively impact the lives and safety of Oakland community members.
Table 1
- Oakland Collisions, Injuries, and Fatalities: 2020-2023
Collision
Type
FY 2020-21 FY 2021-22 FY 2022-23
Collisions Victims Collisions Victims Collisions Victims Fatal 34 34 36 38 23 23
Injury 1647 3607 1490 3218 905 1231
Fatal Injury Killed Injured Fatal Injury Killed Injured Fatal Injury Killed Injured Alcohol -
Involved 3 49 3 83 2 64 2 91 2 50 2 79
Hit &
Run 12 379 12 903 15 388 16 748 10 261 10 327
Nighttime
(2100-
0259
hours) 15 188 15 221 20 174 21 214 11 134 11 184
Top 3 Primary Collision Factors* Fatal Injury Killed Injured #1 - 22107 - Improper Turn 2 161 2 202
#2 - 22350 - Unsafe Speed 3 124 3 180
#3 - 21453(a) – Red Light 1 183 1 281
* Estimated data
Funding from OTS will position OPD to continue its efforts to make the streets safer for pedestrians and the motoring public. Table 2 below provides the total number of reported collisions from FY 2021-2022 and FY 2022-2023. The number of overall collisions has increased, but this could be COVIDbecause the city was recovering from COVID restrictions, and there were fewer drivers on the road in FY 2021-2022.
Table 2: Collision Incidents: July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022, July 1, 2022- June 30, 2023
FY 2021-2022 FY 2022-2023
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FY 2022-23 OPD Traffic Safety Grant
Date: August 23, 2023 Page 5
Public Safety Committee
September 12, 2023
Collisions 3218 100% 4002 100%
The data in Table 3 below represents Total Parties by Race who were injured in collisions from Jul 1, 2021 – Jun 30, 2022, and Jul 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023.
Table 3: Total Parties by Race in Injury Crashes: Jul 1, 2021 – Jun 30, 2022, and Jul 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023
FY 2021-2022 FY 2022-2023
Race Number Percentage Number Percentage
Black 997 31%
1016
25%
Hispanic 801 25% 979 24%
White 364 11% 387 10%
Asian 230 7% 228 6%
Other 80 2% 140 3%
Not Stated* 746 23% 1252 32%
Total 3218 4002
*Not Stated includes Hit and Run Drivers
Traffic Officers are directed to focus on areas identified in the Oakland Department of Transportation (“OakDOT”) High Injury Network, locations where the city has its highest number of injuries and fatal collisions. Areas of focus also include locations with current speed surveys and Oakland public school sites. Officers are also directed to areas where Area Commanders have requested support due to resident complaints involving traffic violators or when there is an increase in crime and high visibility enforcement has been requested. The stops are focused on public safety violations, such as speeding, failure to yield, unsafe turning, red light running, and driving under the influence of alcohol and /or drugs. Beginning this grant year, OPD directed motor officers to focus on public safety stops; equipment and bicycle/pedestrian violations are the lowest priority stops.
Traffic Officers have all attended Procedural Justice Training and Implicit Bias Training to ensure that officers are aware of how police efforts can negatively impact communities of color.
All stops are reviewed by the first-level supervisor and the Traffic Section Commander. OPD recently rolled out a new risk management dashboard for review; OPD plans to use this tool and reduce the high number of stops made in communities of color. OPD considers equity and the geographic distribution of traffic enforcement while recognizing that there continues to be opportunities to improve how equity informs local traffic enforcement. Table 4 below shows the top violations by type for stopped vehicles during STEP Grant-funded operations.
Table 4: Top Violations by Traffic Officers 7/1/2022 to 6/30/2023
Violation Violation Description # %OTS
21461(A) Driver Fail Obey Sign 337 30%
21453(A) Red Light 228 20%
22450(A) Stop Sign 182 16%
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FY 2022-23 OPD Traffic Safety Grant
Date: August 23, 2023 Page 6
Public Safety Committee
September 12, 2023
Violation Violation Description # %OTS
23123.5 Cell Phone Use - Text 105 9%
22350 Speeding 94 8%
23123(A) Cell Phone Use - Handheld 69 6%
21655.5 Bus Lane Violation 51 5%
21950(A) Fail to Yield to Ped 38 3%
27315 Seatbelt 31 3%
Total 1107
FISCAL IMPACT
OTS will reimburse the city up to $502,600 for the various enforcement operations and education programs during the grant period of October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. The budget for the OTS STEP grant award is outlined in Table 5 below.
Table 5 OTS STEP Funding Plan
Use of Funds Amount
Overtime to conduct enforcement operations $247,100
Overtime to conduct collaborative enforcement operations in partnership with ACSO $240,000
Travel/Training Expenses $4,000
DUI Checkpoint Supplies $8,000
Crash Retrieval System Update $3,500
TOTAL $502,600
Funds will be allocated in the State of California Grant Fund (2159), Traffic Enforcement Division Organization (107510), Traffic Operations Program (PS14), in Project 1007171. The program will be managed by the Traffic Operations Section Commander.
Table 6 - Location of OTS STEP Grant Funds
Fiscal Year Fund Source Organization Project Award Amount 2023-24 2159 107510 1007171 24457 $502,600
General Purpose Fund Contributions
Based on the City's Central Services Overhead (CSO) rate of 16.74 percent, overhead charges associated with the grant’s personnel costs will be approximately $82,778. However, per the granting agency, indirect costs such as CSO charges are disallowed. Staff, therefore, requests the City's General-Purpose Fund contribute $82,778 to cover the CSO charges.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FY 2022-23 OPD Traffic Safety Grant
Date: August 23, 2023 Page 7
Public Safety Committee
September 12, 2023
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
This item is of interest to the public as these grant funds will promote public safety and support Safe Oakland.
COORDINATION
This report and legislation have been reviewed by the Office of the City Attorney and the Budget Bureau.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic:
There are no economic activities associated with this report.
Environmental: There are no environmental opportunities identified in this report.
Race and Social Equity: OPD recognizes that STEP Grant-funded traffic stop data shows that a high percentage of African Americans and Latinos are stopped. As this report explains, officers are directed to focus on areas identified as locations where the city has its highest number of injuries and fatal collisions. Traffic Officers have all attended Procedural Justice Training and Implicit Bias Training to ensure that officers are aware of how police efforts can negatively impact communities of color. The first level supervisor and the Traffic Section Commander review all stops. OPD recently rolled out a new risk management dashboard for review; OPD plans to use this tool and reduce the high number of stops made in communities of color. OPD considers equity and the geographic distribution of traffic enforcement while recognizing that there continue to be opportunities to improve how equity informs local traffic enforcement.
Safe Oakland Streets aims to eliminate severe and fatal injury inequities, including racial disparities impacting BIPOC communities that exist today in Oakland. In 2018, the Oakland Equity Indicators Report found troubling disparities in pedestrian deaths in Oakland. The City of Oakland experiences approximately two severe or fatal traffic crashes each week, with crashes disproportionately impacting BIPOC, high-priority communities, and seniors. In December 2020, OPD reported a surge in traffic-related fatalities where 36 people were killed on Oakland’s roadways, compared to the 26 people killed in 2019. Fatalities decreased only slightly to 30 people killed in 2021. In the first nine months of 2022, 29 people were killed, and in the first 6 months of 2023, 13 people were killed. The most common causes of collisions are speeding, failure to yield, unsafe turning, red light running, and driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. The majority (60%) of crashes are concentrated on just 6% of the 800 miles of Oakland’s city-maintained streets, as identified as Oakland’s high injury network. Furthermore, the High Injury Network (HIN) generally overlaps with Oakland’s map of priority neighborhoods, as found in Oakland’s Geographic Equity Toolbox. The toolbox prioritizes neighborhoods based on concentrations of people with demographic factors determined to have experienced historic and current disparities. Reckless driving, speeding, unlicensed vehicle operation, DUI, and other traffic problems negatively impact public safety and the quality of life of all Oaklanders. Efforts to address these problems will lead to life improvements for all residents and visitors.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: FY 2022-23 OPD Traffic Safety Grant
Date: August 23, 2023 Page 8
Public Safety Committee
September 12, 2023
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Authorizing The City Administrator To Accept And Appropriate Grant Funds In The Amount Of Five Hundred And Two Thousand Six Hundred Dollars ($ 502,600) From The State Of California’ s Office Of Traffic Safety (OTS) Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) For The Fiscal Year 202 3-2024, To Be Administered By The Oakland Police Department (OPD), And Authorizing The General Purpose Services Fund To Contribute Eighty-Two Thousand Seven Hundred Seventy -Eight Dollars ($
82,778) To Cover Related Central Services Overhead Charges.
For questions about this report, please contact A/Lieutenant Greg Bellusa, OPD, Traffic Operations Section, at (510) 777-8707.
Reviewed by:
Greg Bellusa, A/ Lieutenant of Police
OPD, Traffic Operations Section
LaRaija Marshal, Fiscal Services Manager
OPD, Fiscal Services Division
Megan Weir, Safe Streets Division Manager
City of Oakland Department of Transportation
Prepared by:
Tracey Jones, Police Services Manager
OPD, Research and Planning