CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
July 18, 2022
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: James Makshanoff, City Manager
Submitted By: Michael Ellis, Chief of Police
SUBJECT: AcceptANCE OF the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Edward Bryne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Award (JAG) in the amount of $66,879 RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the following resolution (Attachment No.1):
RESOLUTION NO. 2022-48– A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF POMONA, CALIFORNIA, ACCEPTING THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (DOJ) EDWARD BRYNE MEMORIAL JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT AWARD (JAG) IN THE AMOUNT OF $66,879, AND AMENDING THE FY 2022-23 OPERATING BUDGET BY INCREASING REVENUE ESTIMATES AND APPROPRIATIONS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Action on this item will accept the U.S. DOJ Edward Byrne Memorial JAG FY 2021 Local Solicitation grant in the amount of $66,879. The grant has been awarded for targeted gang violence suppression, community policing efforts through the Police Department’s Area Commander Program and targeted human trafficking operations. The grant period is for a four (4) year period, beginning October 1, 2020 and ending on September 30, 2024.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact is neutral due to an increase in the Grant - JAG Fund revenues (239-2090-40875-58734) and corresponding appropriations (239-2090-5XXXX-58734) in the amount of $66,879 in the FY 2022-23 operating budget.
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION:
On December 7, 2020, City Council accepted the U.S. DOJ Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) FY 2020 Local Solicitation grant in the amount of $53,590.
DISCUSSION:
The focus of the U.S. DOJ Edward Byrne Memorial JAG FY 2020 local solicitation grant is threefold: (1) Gang violence suppression, (2) Community policing - through the police department’s Area Commander Program, addressing quality-of-life issues and, (3) Human trafficking operations.
Gang Violence Suppression
A primary mission of the Pomona Police Department’s efforts to address gang violence is to deploy work units and assets to reduce gang-related activities. This is accomplished by utilizing technology and information to predict, document, and identify crime patterns and criminal offenders. The first element consists of using the police department’s crime analysis capabilities to identify locations that provide a data-driven approach to field operations. The Police Department’s comprehensive operational plan incorporates a multi-agency approach to gang and gun violence, which includes special details that at times involve outside law enforcement agencies. These specialized deployments, supported by JAG funding will be planned and supervised at the direction of the Investigative Services Division.
Community Policing through the Police Department’s Area Commander Program The Pomona Police Department utilizes an Area Commander Program as part of its community oriented policing strategy. Under this program, the City is divided into six districts with a Police Lieutenant managing each district. Each Police Lieutenant (Area Commander) is responsible for Community Problem Oriented Policing (CPOP) strategies within their assigned quadrant. On a monthly basis, Area Commanders host a community meeting where residents and business owners are invited to attend. Police personnel provide updated crime information specific to the local community while soliciting the input and involvement from the audience. Deployments funded by JAG funding to address quality-of-life issues within a quadrant will be planned, implemented and supervised at the direction of each Lieutenant.
Human Trafficking Operations
In response to human trafficking activity, the Pomona Police Department developed a plan to mitigate increased activity. The plan includes a variety of different strategies; undercover decoy operations that result in arrests for solicitation for prostitution, operations that result in arrests for those loitering for prostitution, and investigations targeting “pimping.” Funding from the JAG grant supports additional efforts to conduct enhanced human trafficking enforcement deployments implemented and supervised by the Investigative Services Division.
COUNCIL PRIORITIES & GOALS:
This item supports the 2021-22 City Council Priority 4: Safe and Clean Community- Goal N: Take actions to eliminate prostitution, human trafficking, and gang-related violence.
Prepared by:
_____________________________
Claudia Huerta
Management Analyst
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment No. 1 - Resolution No. 2022-48
Acceptance of U.S. DOJ JAG FY2021 Local Solicitation Grant Award