Sabha, Tamer
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
humaira afzal
Thursday, May 28, 2026 12:34 PM
Sabha, Tamer; Gao, Beilei; Diaz, Eligio
Public Safety Committee Agenda Item 2A - public comment [ * ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Dear Public Safety Committee members,
Excessive PPD Budaet
I'm writing to object to the nearly 9% proposed increase for the Pasadena Police Department. The proposed budget is a staggering 19% increase over the FY 2024 actual spending. This unchecked spending by PPD takes funding away from other community needs (such as shelter for homeless residents, affordable housing, bike and pedestrian infrastructure, street repairs, mental health responders, etc). I have sat through countless meetings where residents hear about budget shortfalls and our inability to pay for the things that the community needs and wants. In the meantime, PPD continues to purchase more equipment (helicopters and radio consoles) with funds that could have gone to other community priorities. It is way past time for City Council to have a rigorous discussion about trimming (not increasing!) the already bloated PPD budget.
No Scientific Analysis of Effectiveness of Technology Acquisitions I urge the Pub'ic Safety Committee to require PPD to provide peer-reviewed statistical analysis of the effectiveness of various technology purchases (ALPRs, drones as first responders, stingrays, etc) as an initial step that precedes any procurement process. The City continues to purchase technology (and more) without any statistical evidence for the role that various technologies play in crime reduction. Stop signing off on purchases based on anecdotal evidence and the sales pitches of manufacturer or vendor representatives. Purchases funded by grants should receive the scrutiny as purchases paid for with City funds.
The Elusive Community Engagement
I'm also concerned that, regardless of the source of funds (city funds vs grants), there is no meaningful community engagement about the va!ue or the appropriateness of the PPD technology acquisitions. LA28 should not be an excuse for unchecked and unquestioned acquisition of surveillance and other technology. Referencing "community" eight times in a report is not community engagement! Giving people ONE minute to speak about their concerns about Automated License Plate Readers at a Public Safety Committee meeting is not public engagement.
Community membe'-s have been sharing concerns about technology purchases for years and, until recently, have mostly been ignored. Once again, there's a PPD report referencing the Active Intelligence Center (aka Real Time Crime Center) as if it's assumed that it will be acquired (and the PPD in fact keeps acquiring key elements) yet there has never been a public discussion about it. The report even calls it a "partnership" with the PD and Community.
That's not how partnerships work. . . . The same report also references an "increase footprint of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs)", yet the PPD has not responded to any of the multitude of serious concerns that community members have raised about them. Bringing a Flock representative to a Public Safety meeting is not engagement.
Concerns only finally got some attention because community members organized and exerted public pressure.
Slide on Making Pasadena Safer for Pedestrians and Bicyclists I'm happy to see a slide in the May 28 report that notes "Improve Roadways and Implement Pedestrian/Bike Safety Strategies" as a pnority. Unfortunately, the emphasis is on "educating" pedestrians and bicyclists about traffic laws, with the goa! of "improved awareness and fostering safer behaviors contributing to reduced incidents and safer streets for pedestrians and bicyclists". This approach implicitly blames pedestrians and bicyclists for getting hit. The core problem is the DRIVERS and a road system that prioritizes the safety and convenience of drivers at the expense o+ pedestrians and. bicyclists. This is the only siiae in the report on pedestrian/bike safety strategies, so it is presumably the PPD's primary plan for making our city safer for people who get around by walking or riding a bike.
There are countless more effective ways to make our city safer for bicyclists and pedestrians. I recommend that the 1 PPD have a long talk with Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition, Streets are for Everyone, or another bicyclist and pedestrian advocacy group. I have been been hit twice while on my bicycle in the last 8 years. Neither was my faultand neither would have been prevented by an outreach program to increase my "knowledge of traffic laws".
Quarterly education outreach programs are a meaningless KPI.
Regards,
Humaira Afzal, PhD
Pasadena District 7
Sent with Proton.Mail secure email.
/
2 Sabha, Tamer
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Attachments:
Yadi
Thursday, May 28, 2026 12:46 PM
Sabha, Tamer; Diaz, Eligio; Gao, Beilei; PublicComment-AutoResponse Public Comment - Pasadena Public Safety Committee Meeting 05/28/26 Public Comment - Pasadena Public Safety Commitee - 05-28-26 PPD FY 2027 Operating Budget.pdf
[ l ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you frnowthe content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DotT portal.
Hi,
Please find attached my public comment for the May 28, 2026 Pasadena Public Safety Committee Special Meeting, agenda item 2.A. Police Department FY 2027 Operating Budget.
Thanks,
Yadi
1 ACTIVE INTElllGENCE
CENTER (Alt)
^RTCC)R£AL TIME
CRIME CEHTER
ism
s® m,,;"•
~<]
When a city government withholds
crucial details about projects, it
brutally undermines public trust,
sidesteps accountability as well as
makes it near impossible for constituents to justify their support.
Residents are well within their right to expect honesty, openness and transparency from their government.
Yadi
Pasadena Special Public Safety Committee Meeting
May 28,2026
2.A. Police Department FY 2027 Operating Budget