September 12, 2023
Human Resources
DATE: September 12, 2023
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Shasa Curl, City Manager
Nickie Mastay, Deputy City Manager, Internal Services
Sharrone Taylor, Interim Director of Human Resources
Subject:
Emergency Services Data Analysis Report by Matrix
Consultants
FINANCIAL IMPACT: N/A
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
October 19, 2021 and March 15, 2022
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
City Council directed City staff to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to conduct an emergency services data
analysis. City Council approved a contract with Matrix
Consulting Group as the desired consultant to perform
the analysis and associated details. Matrix has
completed the study and issued a final report.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
RECEIVE a report from Matrix Consulting Group
regarding their emergency services data analysis – City Manager’s Office/Human Resources Department (Shasa
Curl/Nickie Mastay/Sharrone Taylor 510-620-6803). This
item was continued from the July 11, 2023, meeting.
AGENDA
REPORT
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DISCUSSION:
Background
On October 19, 2021, City Council directed City staff to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a consultant to analyze emergency services data. Per the staff report, the purpose of the emergency services data analysis was to provide “A comprehensive assessment of the types of emergencies residents report and our city’s response to calls for service [in order to help] our city improve service delivery and determine where resources are needed.”
The objective of the study was to produce a comprehensive assessment of (1) the types of emergencies that residents report, and (2) our City’s response to emergency calls for service to determine where resources are needed and to help our City improve service delivery.
City staff issued the RFP on December 23, 2021, and Matrix Consulting Group was selected. On March 15, 2022, the City Council approved the contract with Matrix.
Study
The project commenced in April 2022, with Matrix staff meeting with various stakeholders about the project. City staff provided a significant amount of data in order for Matrix to conduct a four-year analysis of police and fire calls for service in Richmond.
Data utilized in this study was developed based on the work conducted by the Matrix project team, including:
• Collection and analysis of workload and service data. • A review of operational documents and reports, budget data, organizational structure, and key practices.
• Planning documents on anticipated developments in the city over the 20-year planning period.
In addition to reviewing data, Matrix interviewed key City personnel such as dispatch, fire, and police employees to develop an understanding of each department, including the organization, structure, and staffing. Matrix conducted interviews at all levels, including managers, supervisors, and line-level staff.
Community engagement was also an important part of the study. Multiple community meetings were held so that the community could provide feedback and input on emergency services in Richmond (police and fire). Matrix held open community forums and attended meetings with various community groups, including the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force, the West Contra Costa Fire Safe Council, Reimagine Richmond, Richmond Neighborhood Coordinating Council, and Richmond Neighbors for Safer Communities.
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While the study encompassed both police and fire issues, most of the discussion in these focus group meetings centered around police services. Matrix used a question guide to facilitate discussion directed toward obtaining valuable input from participants.
Topics included: Legitimacy and Trust; Transparency and Accountability; and Community Priorities.
Report
The study culminated in Matrix issuing two final reports, which are available on the study’s website at https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/4324/Richmond-Emergency-Services- Study. The final reports outline the full scope of the study, their methodology, and the data analyzed. They provide a detailed summary of each department including staffing, structure, and calls for service. The reports also provide an analysis of the data that they reviewed and include recommendations for addressing some of the issues identified through the course of the study.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Richmond Police Matrix Report
Attachment 2 – Richmond Fire Matrix Report
Attachment 3 – PowerPoint Presentation
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Table of Contents
Introduction and Executive Summary 1 Community Perspectives on Policing in Richmond 9 Summary of the Richmond Police Department 12 Patrol Bureau 28 Investigations Bureau 79 Administration Bureau 102 Office of the Chief 121 1690
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1. Introduction and Executive Summary This document provides the results of the services review for the Richmond Police Department. This report culminates the efforts of the Matrix Consulting Group team working with the Police Department on its operations and resource needs now and into the future. Scope of Work The scope of this study included the assessment of current law enforcement operations, response capabilities, staffing, and other resources necessary for the delivery of services to the city. A review of services and the delivery of those services should be performed periodically to ensure needs are being met. This project focused on the emergency services system delivery that included: • Proactivity • Resource allocations and staffing • Alternative service delivery • Management of resources • Responsiveness to the public The study and this report also set the stage for longer term improvements in departmental operations. Approaches Utilized in the Study Data utilized in this study was developed based on the work conducted by the project team, including. • Interviews conducted with staff. • Collection and analysis of workload and service data. • A review of operational documents and reports, budget data, organizational structure, and key practices. • Planning documents on anticipated developments in the City over the 20-year planning period. The study also provided opportunities for the public to provide input into the quality and responsiveness of resources. In all, six public meetings were held with the community. 1691
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The input received was valuable to this process and to help the project team better understand the City of Richmond and the community it serves. Executive Summary Richmond initiated this Emergency Services Review to address the need for a thorough examination of its current workloads and service delivery and determine what this means for its operations and staffing. The explicit goal for the City in this study of the Police Department (and Fire Department) was to seek a fact-based assessment of workloads and services with a goal of a maximizing efficiency for the resources being committed to public safety services. However, police services cannot just be examined from a workload and efficiency lens. The expectations of the community as it relates to transparency, accountability and support are important too. A renewed focus and scrutiny has been placed on law enforcement in recent years, with increased calls for reform and change in policing, particularly regarding interactions with marginalized communities. Responding to the new environment and facilitating a dynamic shift in the police-community relationship will require a new architecture and novel approaches to policing. Adopting a more holistic view of policing practices is critical in anticipating and responding to the heightened level of scrutiny. Richmond has not stood still waiting for reform. Reducing homicides and gun violence generally by over half from their peak over 10 years ago. The community has risen to help itself; the City has created and/or supported new programs such as the Office of Neighborhood Safety, and the Police Department has focused more on positive interactions and engagement. However, in the past few years these efforts have been in jeopardy in face of strong headwinds associated with questions associated with the legitimacy of policing in the community of and the profession’s inability to attract and retain a work force that supports these goals. The study undertaken by the Matrix Consulting Group balanced all these objectives – while analytically evaluating staffing needs in each departmental function; the study team also evaluated policies, training, recruitment and hiring. The perspectives of the community were vital to this process. The Matrix team held five (5) virtual meetings (four virtually and one in person) with community members. The meetings were general, and one was with the business community. While the study encompassed both police and fire issues, most of the discussion in these focus group meetings was on the police. One meeting was just on fire service issues to focus more on those issues. The topics for discussion in these meetings was:
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• Legitimacy and Trust • Transparency and Accountability • Community Priorities The first chapter of this report summarizes the input received in these discussions. • The Police Department has had to reduce its services in the past few years due to budget reductions. • While participants generally feel safe, perceptions of safety vary around the City, and many felt less safe at night. • Concerns about the impacts of homelessness and persons in mental health crises on crime and current approaches to policing marginalized populations. • Ensure that police officers are accountable for their actions. • The Police Department needs to better use data to make operational decisions. • Many participants felt that the RPD’s response priorities were inconsistent. • Many participants would like to see an increase in RPD engagement with neighborhood meetings, business and other community groups. • Not doing enough about ‘minor crimes’ (e.g., shoplifting). • Some community members felt that in some responses there was disparate treatment. • Generally, trust of the police has improved this year. These themes identified and strengthened the need to ensure that the Richmond Police Department not only had adequate resources to work with and support the community but they, too, need adequate support. Strategic Improvement Opportunities The following table provides a summary of recommendations established in this report. The report itself should be reviewed to understand the factual basis behind each recommendation as well as the analysis leading to each recommendation. 1693
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Summary of Recommendations Patrol Bureau Redistribute the number of officers on each patrol staff to mitigate severe service level issues on certain days, as follows: Team 1: 11 officers, unchanged from 11 Team 2: 9 officers, down from 10 Team 3: 7 officers, down from 9 Team 4: 13 officers, up from 12 Team 5: 11 officers, down from 12 Add 13 officer positions to patrol in order to achieve a proactive time level of 40%, for a total of 68 authorized officer positions. Add 1 additional full-time Sergeant to Traffic when supervisory span of control exceeds 7:1 for a total of 2 authorized full-time Sergeants. Add 1 full-time Lieutenant to manage the Traffic and Special Events Division As staffing allows, fill current vacant positions in Special Enforcement in order to implement an effective traffic safety program. Maintain current authorized staffing level of 9 officers in Special Enforcement. Establish policy mandating officers inform dispatch when conducting all traffic stops. Maintain current authorized staffing level of now 5 Parking Enforcement Representatives. Form a collaboration of government agencies and community partnerships in order to reduce the abandoned vehicle issue in the City of Richmond. Add two full-time Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officer positions to the Special Enforcement Section. Add two full-time Impaired Driving Enforcement Officer positions to the Special Enforcement Section. Incorporate the job functions of the Crime Scene Technician into a newly established job classification of Community Service Officer. Create a new civilian Community Service Officer classification within the department that responds to certain types of non-emergency calls in the field. Fill the two authorized part-time Cadet position vacancies. 1694
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Train dispatchers to incorporate new CSO methodology into call taking and dispatching protocols. Divert a wide range of non-emergency calls for service to civilian responders, comprising up to 12% of all calls currently handled by sworn officers. Add 8 full-time Community Service Officers to staff the new Community Service Officer Program. Create a crisis response unit staffed by civilians to provide a specialized response to calls involving homelessness and mental health crisis, diverting many of them from sworn response. Two teams should be created for crisis response, each comprised of 1 field clinician and 1 EMT. – In total, this represents an adding two field clinician positions and two EMTs. – The two teams would work 8-hour shifts, from 8:00AM to 4:00PM and 4:00PM to midnight. – One vehicle, one MDT, and two radios would be needed, given the common time for the first shift’s end and the second shift’s start. Investigations Bureau Increase authorized staffing in Homicides by 4 detectives for a total of 10 detectives assigned. Increase authorized staffing in Homicides by 1 sergeant for a total of 2 sergeants assigned. Increase authorized staffing in the Domestic and Sexual Violence Unit by 7 detectives for a total of 13 detectives assigned. Increase authorized staffing in the Domestic and Sexual Violence Unit by 1 sergeant for a total of 2 sergeants assigned. Increase authorized staffing in the General Crimes Unit by 10 detectives for a total of 18. Increase authorized staffing in the General Crimes Unit by 1 sergeant for a total of 2 sergeants. Split the General Crimes Unit into person crimes and property crimes (including financial crimes) RPD should stand up a proactive investigative team comprised of 1 sergeant and 4 detectives. Add 2 crime analysts to assist with cases for a total of 3 analysts assigned. Add a supervisor in Crime Analysis to oversee the 3 analysts. Maintain authorized staffing of 1 sergeant in the Safe Streets Task Force. Add 2 additional civilian crime scene technicians and a supervisor for a total of 3 crime scene technicians and 1 supervisor. Transition the sworn detective position in the crime scene unit to a civilian position upon 1695
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promotion, transfer or retirement of the current crime scene detective. Administration Bureau Reassign jail facility supervisory responsibilities to new jail supervisor position (more on jail supervisor recommendation in jail facility section of report). Create a departmental training committee comprised of a cross-section of employees and community members. Conduct a training needs assessment. Develop a yearly department training plan. Increase annual training to a minimum of 40 hours per year inclusive of state mandated training. Develop a comprehensive Recruitment, Hiring, and Retention Plan. Add 2 full-time Background Investigators to the Training and Personnel Unit in order to fill current vacancies. Add 1 full-time non-sworn Jail Supervisor. Add an additional 4 Dispatch positions for an authorized total of 1 Communications Manager, 4 Dispatch Supervisors, and 21 Dispatchers. Maintain the current authorized FTE of 9 Records Specialists in the Property and Records Section but hire to fill the three current vacancies within this position. Maintain the current authorized FTE of 1 Property Technician in the Property and Records Section but hire to current vacancy within this position. Maintain the current authorized staffing of 1 FTE Network Specialist II within the Public Safety Technology Section. Hire to fill the current vacancy. Office of the Chief Increase the Specialist position within the Crime Prevention Unit from 1 to 2 FTE to account for the increase in need due to the increase in homelessness in Richmond. Assign the two Crime Prevention Specialists to responsibilities surrounding acting as a homelessness liaison, and supporting operations-based crime prevention measures, respectively. Maintain current authorized staffing of 1 manager and 2 sergeants within the Office of Professional Accountability. 1696
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Summary of Recommended Staffing Levels The analysis of needs has determined that staffing levels in the Police Department are seriously deficient to meet the needs of the public in terms of the balance of workloads, service level and delivery needs. There are many indicators of this overall conclusion – ranging from a severe lack of proactive ability in patrol, cases not followed up or solved, lack of many supportive functions. The analysis has reviewed opportunities to reduce workloads and handle other workloads with different resources. Despite this, major needs remain. The reader is invited to review the report for the depth needed to understand these issues and the rationale behind the recommendations. Position Current Authorized Staff Current Staff Difference New Recomm. Positions New Authorized Total Staff Office of the Chief Chief of Police 1 1 0 1 Assistant Chief of Police 1 1 0 1 Public Information Officer 1 0 1 1 Admin. Services Analyst 1 1 0 1 Administrative Aid 2 2 0 2 Manager 2 2 0 2 Sergeant 2 2 0 2 Senior Accountant 1 1 0 1 Specialist 1 0 1 1 2 12 10 2 1 13 Patrol Operations Bureau Captain 1 1 0 1 Lieutenant 6 6 0 1 7 Sergeant 11 10 1 1 12 Officer 65 49 16 13 78 Crime Scene Technician 3 2 1 3 Parking Enforcement Rep. 5 2 3 5 Cadet 2 0 2 2 Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officer 0 0 0 2 2 Impaired Driving Enforcement Officer 0 0 0 2 2 Community Services Officer 0 0 0 8 8 Mental Health Field Clinician 0 0 0 2 2 Mental Health EMT 0 0 0 2 2 93 70 23 31 124 1697
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Position Current Authorized Staff Current Staff Difference New Recomm. Positions New Authorized Total Staff Captain 1 1 0 1 Lieutenant 1 1 0 1 Sergeant 4 4 0 3 7 Detective 19 12 7 21 40 Youth Program Assistant 1 0 1 1 Crime Analyst Supervisor 0 0 0 1 1 Crime Analyst 1 1 0 2 3 Crime Analysis Technician 1 1 0 1 Crime Scene Tech. Supv. 0 0 0 1 1 Crime Scene Technician 0 0 0 3 3 28 20 8 31 59 Administration Bureau Captain 1 0 1 1 Lieutenant 1 1 0 1 Sergeant 1 1 0 1 Detective (Backgrounds) 0 0 0 2 2 Officer 3 3 0 3 Jailer Supervisor 0 0 0 1 1 Jailer 6 5 1 6 Records Manager 1 1 0 1 Records Specialist 9 6 3 9 Office Assistant II 1 1 0 1 Property Technician 1 0 1 1 Assistant Property Technician 1 1 0 1 Supervisor 1 1 0 1 Systems Administrator 1 1 0 1 Network Specialist II 1 0 1 1 Network Specialist I 1 1 0 1 CCTV Specialist 1 1 0 1 Communications Manager 1 1 0 1 Communications Supervisor 4 4 0 4 Communications Dispatcher 17 7 10 4 21 52 35 17 7 59 Total 185 135 50 70 255 1698
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2. Community Perspectives on Policing in Richmond As a crucial part of the strategic planning process, project staff at Matrix Consulting Group met with numerous community members in the City of Richmond. These focus groups provided opportunities for stakeholders of Richmond to offer their input to ensure that the focus of policing in the City is tailored to the needs and desires of the community. This first chapter offers a summary of the key issues gathered from these focus groups. 1. Focus Groups The Matrix Team held seven (7) virtual meetings (four virtually and one in person) with community members. The meetings were general, and one was with the business community. Two of these meetings were with Richmond’s Reimagining Public Safety Task Force; one was with Richmond’s Neighborhood Coordinating Council. While the study encompassed both police and fire issues, most of the discussion in these focus group meetings was on the police. One meeting was just on fire service issues to focus more on those issues. 2. Question Guide This question guide was developed by the MCG team to help facilitate discussion directed toward obtaining valuable input from participants. The core questions in this question guide were utilized for both internal and external focus groups to provide parallels in needs and concerns among members of the community. The meetings were all well-attended with between 20 – 40 participants each and participation rates among attendees was high. The topics for discussion are described below: Legitimacy and Trust 1. How would you describe the historical relationship between RPD and the community? Is it getting better, worse or about the same in the past 5 years? 2. Do you feel safe in your community? 3. Do you have trust and confidence in RPD to respond and treat residents appropriately as an incident or event requires? 4. Do you believe RPD works to develop and maintain strong relationships with the community? 1699
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5. Do you think RPD works to develop and maintain strong relationships with minority communities? Transparency and Accountability 6. Do you believe RPD demonstrates transparency, accountability, and integrity as it relates to complaints? 7. Do you believe RPD is receptive to feedback and complaints from the public and does RPD make it easy for the public to express their concerns? Community Priorities 8. What do you believe should be the primary roles of police in Richmond? 9. Effective policing goes far beyond dealing with criminal matters. Would you like to see RPD continue these types of initiatives? 10. Do you believe police should help resolve cultural and social issues? 11. Would you be willing to work with the police to improve and strengthen your community for all residents? 3. Community Focus Group Key Themes Listed below are key themes that were consistently found throughout most internal and external focus groups. Following these key themes, a further expansion of meetings notes is provided. Issues Identified • The Police Department has had to reduce its services in the past few years due to budget reductions. • While participants generally feel safe, perceptions of safety vary around the City, and many felt less safe at night. • Concerns about the impacts of homelessness and persons in mental health crises on crime and current approaches to policing marginalized populations. • Ensure that police officers are accountable for their actions. • The Police Department needs to better use data to make operational decisions. • Many participants felt that the RPD’s response priorities were inconsistent. • Many participants would like to see an increase in RPD engagement with neighborhood meetings, business and other community groups. 1700
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• Not doing enough about ‘minor crimes’ (e.g., shoplifting). • Some community members felt that in some responses there was disparate treatment. • Generally, trust of the police has improved this year. Solutions Identified • Hire more officers; create more diverse roles for officers (e.g., bikes). • Provide resources inside and/or outside of police to support marginalized communities (e.g., homeless and persons in need of mental health services). • Improve police oversight internally as well as through the Police Review Commission. • More visibility, especially at night. • Manage expectations on response starting at dispatch. • While Covid19 may have driven perceptions of engagement, double down on program involvement. • More youth programs. • An enhanced recruitment effort can help the RPD be more reflective of the community it serves. • Provide greater transparency on complaints made against officers. • Implement multi-lingual support throughout the Department. • Provide my training to officers; provide more training on diversity, equity, and inclusion to officers. These perspectives provided an important base for the assessment conducted by the project team. 1701
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3. Summary of the Richmond Police Department The following descriptive profile outlines the organization, structure, and staffing of the Richmond Police Department (RPD). The information contained in the profile was developed through many interviews conducted within RPD at all levels of the organization, including managers, supervisors, and line-level staff. The structure of the profile is: • The organizational structure of each area of the Police Department. • High level descriptions of the main functions and work areas of each division. • The number of authorized (budgeted) and current (filled) positions by rank or classification assigned to each functional area. • The roles, objectives, and responsibilities of each functional area. The profile was the first deliverable of this project and was reviewed with managers in the Department. The profile helped to serve as a foundation for our assumptions regarding staffing and current organizational characteristics of the Department. 1. Police Department Organization The Richmond Police Department serves a diverse community of approximately 115,000 residents over a geographic area of 56 square miles, of which 33.7 miles are land and 22.3 miles are water area. Located within the city limits are numerous residential neighborhoods, an active port, industrial and technological resources, major retail and business centers, and several thousand acres of parkland. The Department is organized into three Bureaus: Patrol Operations, Investigations, and Administration. Each Bureau is subsequently organized into Divisions and Sections. Each Bureau, as well as the Office of the Chief are detailed in the following sections. The following chart outlines the organization of the Richmond Police Department:
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2. Office of the Chief The office of the Chief is comprised of the Chief of Police, the Assistant Chief, the Office of Professional Accountability, the Financial Services Unit, and the Crime Prevention Services Unit. Also located in the office of the chief is the Public Information Officer, the Administrative Services Analyst, and the Administrative Aide. Staff is comprised of a combination of sworn and non-sworn personnel. The Chief provides overall direction, guidance, and leadership for the Police Department. The Chief has responsibility for every area of the organization and ensures that the Department meets its mission in accordance with the established values and has overall responsibility for budget management. (1) Organization The following chart outlines the organization of the administrative functions of the office of the Chief:
City of Richmond Police Department
Chief of Police
Patrol Operations Bureau
Northern District Patrol
Central District Patrol
SouthernDistrict Patrol
Traffic & Special Events Division
Investigations Bureau
Investigative Units
Crime Scene Unit
Crime Analysis Unit
Task Forces
Administration Bureau
Personnel & Training Section
Records Section
Police IT Section
Communications Center
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(2) Staffing and Unit Descriptions The following table provides the personnel and major tasks of staff in the Office of the Chief: Unit/Division Filled Auth Position Unit Description Office of the Chief 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Chief of Police Assistant Police Chief Public Information Officer Admin. Services Analyst Administrative Aide • The Chief of Police provides executive leadership of the Police Department and serves as the chief law enforcement official of the city. The Chief interfaces with elected officials, city management, and the public as necessary. • The Assistant Chief assists with executive leadership, oversight of employees, and assists the Chief of Police as needed. • The Public Information Officer promotes cooperation between the department and news media, disseminates information, and interacts with community members. • The Administrative Services Analyst serves as the executive Chief of Police
Assistant Police Chief
Crime Prevention Services UnitFinancial Services UnitOffice of Professional Accountability Administrative Aide
Administrative AnalystPublic Information Officer
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Unit/Division Filled Auth Position Unit Description assistant to the Chief of Police and assists with administrative duties as needed. • The Administrative Aide assists with administrative tasks and functions. Office of Professional Accountability 1 2 1 2 Manager Sergeant • The Manager manages the day-to-day operations of the office and supervises the two sergeants. • The Sergeant conducts internal investigations related to potential department policy violations. • The office also conducts internal investigations of officer involved shootings and/or other critical incidents, and uses of force as mandated by department policy. Conduct internal audits of department policies and procedures. Financial Services Unit 1 1 1 1 Senior Accountant Administrative Aide (shared with Personnel & Training half time) • The Senior Accountant is responsible for the management of all purchases and requisitions. • Responsibilities include maintaining department budget, managing cash collections, assists with grants and proposals, assists with resource planning, and financial management of external contracts. • The Administrative Aide completes purchase orders and entries. Crime Prevention Services Unit 1 0 1 1 Manager Specialist • The Manager manages the day-to-day operations of the unit and provides oversight. Member of the city’s reimagining public safety task force, • The Manager and Specialist are responsible for the following tasks: All crime prevention services, education, special events training, and community outreach programs, department intern and volunteer programs, raising funds for emergency housing assistance and 1705
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Unit/Division Filled Auth Position Unit Description encampment resolution funds, and homeless outreach services. Sworn 4 4 Non-Sworn 6 8 Total Staff 10 12 3. Patrol Operations Bureau The Patrol Operations Bureau is led by a Captain and is comprised of the Patrol Division and the Traffic and Special Events Unit. Staff is comprised of a combination of sworn and non-sworn personnel. (1) Organization The following chart outlines the organizational structure within the Operations Division:
(2) Staffing and Unit Descriptions The following table provides the personnel and major tasks of staff in the Patrol Operations Bureau:
Patrol Operations Bureau
Team 1
Traffic &Special Events
Parking Enforcement
Cadets
Mental Health Team
Team 2Team 3Team 4Team 5
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Unit/Division Filled Auth Position Unit Description Patrol Operations Bureau 1 1 Captain • The Captain manages the overall operations of the bureau and provides oversight of all employees. Team 1 1 2 8 0 1 1 2 10 1 1
Lieutenant Sergeant Patrol Officer K9 Officer Crime Scene Tech. • The Lieutenant manages the overall operations of the team and provides oversight of all employees. • The Lieutenant is the Watch Commander while on shift and has the following collateral duties: Traffic/Special Unit, administrative oversight of the Southern District, PIO/Social Media, Marine Unit, Homeless Outreach/Public Dumping, Explores, Bicycle Coordinator, Cadets/Rangers, Honor Guard, CSI/CST Program, Youth Services, CCTV Manager, and Awards Committee. • The Sergeant serves as a first-line supervisor and has a collateral duty of administrative oversight of a city district. • The Officer is assigned to a beat, responds to community generated calls for service, and provides proactive law enforcement services. • The K9 Officer is assigned to a beat, responds to community generated calls for service, and assists officers with canine services when needed. • The Crime Scene Technician responds to calls which require evidence collection and scene processing. • Team 1 works 4/10 schedule Monday-Thursday, 6:30am-4:30pm. Mental Health Team 0 1 Officer • The Mental Health Task Force Officer is partnered with a mental health worker. A county wide team which responds to citizens in crisis and coordinates follow-up services. • Team 1 Sergeant supervises the Mental Health Team Officer. Team 2 1 2 7 0 1 1 2 9 1 1
Lieutenant Sergeant Officer K9 Officer Crime Scene Tech. • The Lieutenant manages the overall operations of the team and provides oversight of all employees. • The Lieutenant is the Watch Commander on shift and has the following collateral duties: Administrative oversight of the Northern District, department overtime 1707
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Unit/Division Filled Auth Position Unit Description signup, Asset Forfeiture Program, and Crime Free Multi Housing. • The Sergeant serves as a first-line supervisor and has a collateral duty of administrative oversight of a city district. • The Officer is assigned to a beat, responds to community generated calls for service, and provides proactive law enforcement services. • The Crime Scene Technician responds to calls which require evidence collection and scene processing. • Team 2 works 4/10 schedule Monday-Thursday, 3pm-1am. Team 3 2 2 8 1 2 2 9 1
Lieutenant Sergeant Officer K9 Officer (1 Lieutenant is currently on extended leave) • The Lieutenant manages the overall operations of the team and provides oversight of all employees. • The Lieutenant is the Watch Commander on shift and has the following collateral duties: Office of Emergency Services liaison and Civil Unrest Coordinator. • The Sergeant serves as a first-line supervisor and has a collateral duty of administrative oversight of a city district. • The Officer is assigned to a beat, responds to community generated calls for service, and provides proactive law enforcement services. • The K9 Officer is assigned to a beat, responds to community generated calls for service, and assists officers with canine services when needed. • The Crime Scene Technician responds to calls which require evidence collection and scene processing (duties currently assigned as an auxiliary function for an officer). • Team 3 works 4/10 schedule Monday-Thursday, 9pm-7am. Team 4 1 2 10 1 0 1 2 11 1 1
Lieutenant Sergeant Officer K9 Officer Crime Scene Tech. • The Lieutenant manages the overall operations of the team and provides oversight of all employees. • The Lieutenant is the Watch Commander on shift and has the following collateral duties: Administrative oversight of the Central District, use of force board, CIT program manager, Peer Support Team, 1708
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Unit/Division Filled Auth Position Unit Description Recruiting Team, employee pre-employment background investigator. • The Sergeant serves as a first-line supervisor and has a collateral duty of administrative oversight of a city district. • The Officer is assigned to a beat, responds to community generated calls for service, and provides proactive law enforcement services. • The K9 Officer is assigned to a beat, responds to community generated calls for service, and assists officers with canine services when needed. • The Crime Scene Technician responds to calls which require evidence collection and scene processing (duties currently assigned as an auxiliary function for an officer). • Team 4 works 3/12.5 schedule Friday- Sunday, 6:30am-7pm (1 Thursday payback day each month for training). Team 5 1 2 8 1 1 2 11 1
Lieutenant Sergeant Officer K9 Officer
• The Lieutenant manages the overall operations of the team and provides oversight of all employees. • The Lieutenant is the Watch Commander on shift and has the following collateral duties: Vehicle fleet, dirt bikes, Police Explores, Range/Firearms, and Armory. • The Sergeant serves as a first-line supervisor and has a collateral duty of administrative oversight of a city district. • The Officer is assigned to a beat, responds to community generated calls for service, and provides proactive law enforcement services. • The K9 Officer is assigned to a beat, responds to community generated calls for service, and assists officers with canine services when needed. • The Crime Scene Technician responds to calls which require evidence collection and scene processing (duties currently assigned as an auxiliary function for an officer). • Team 5 works 3/12.5 schedule Friday- Sunday, 6:30pm-7am (1 Thursday payback day each month for training). 1709
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Unit/Division Filled Auth Position Unit Description Traffic & Special Events Unit 0 4 1 9 Sergeant Officer • The Traffic & Special events unit is managed by the Patrol Team 1 Lieutenant. • The Sergeant is the first line supervisor. • The officer responds to community generated calls for service related to traffic crashes and provides proactive traffic enforcement. • Officers work 7am-5pm, Monday-Thursday or Tuesday-Friday. Parking Enforcement Unit 2 5 Representative • The Parking Enforcement Unit is supervised by the Traffic & Special Events Unit Sergeant. • Representatives tow abandoned vehicles, tag vehicles for later abatement, issue citations for illegally parked vehicles and vehicles parked in no parking zones during street sweeping days. Cadet Program 0 2 Cadet (PT) • Cadets complete certain past-tense crime reports and assist the Parking Enforcement Unit as needed. Sworn 65 83 Non-Sworn 4 10 Total Staff 69 93 4. Investigations Bureau The Investigations Bureau is led by a Captain and is comprised of the Homicide Unit, General Crimes Unit, Domestic Violence Unit, and Youth Services. Also located within the Investigations Bureau is the Crime Analyst, a Crime Scene Detective, and the FBI Task Force Sergeant. Staff is comprised of a combination of sworn and non-sworn personnel. Staff is comprised of a combination of sworn and non-sworn personnel. (1) Organization The following chart outlines the organizational structure within the Investigations Bureau:
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(2) Staffing and Unit Descriptions The following table provides the personnel and major tasks of staff in the Investigations Bureau: Unit/Division Filled Auth Position Unit Description Investigations Bureau 1 1 Captain • The Captain oversees the day-to-day operations and coordinates long term planning. • The Captain coordinates with other divisions/units and supervises the lieutenant. 1 1 Lieutenant • The Lieutenant oversees daily operations and coordinates internal resources. • The lieutenant supervises the four sergeants. Homicide 1 3 1 4 Sergeant Detective • The Sergeant supervises the detectives. • Assigns, monitors and reviews cases. • Coordinates resources.
Investigations Bureau
HomicideGeneral Crimes
Domestic and Sexual Violence / FJCYouth Services
Crime AnalysisCrime Scene
Task Forces
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Unit/Division Filled Auth Position Unit Description • The Detectives investigate homicides, shootings, serious assaults. • Detectives conduct interviews, write warrants and complete investigative reports. • Detectives work dayshift hours on a 4-10 schedule covering Monday through Friday. Domestic and Sexual Violence/FJC Unit 1 3 1 5 Sergeant Detective • The Sergeant supervises the detectives. • Assigns, monitors and reviews cases. • Coordinates resources. • The detectives investigate sex crimes cases including sex assault and sex abuse. • The Detectives also investigate domestic violence cases. • Detectives conduct interviews, write warrants and complete investigative reports. • Detectives work dayshift hours on a 4-10 schedule covering Monday through Friday. General Crimes 1 4 1 6 Sergeant Detective • The Sergeant supervises the detectives. • Assigns, monitors and reviews cases. • Coordinates resources. • The Detectives investigate all crimes that are not investigated by other units which includes assaults, robberies, and property crimes. • Detectives conduct interviews, write warrants and complete investigative reports. • Detectives work dayshift hours on a 4-10 schedule covering Monday through Friday. Youth Services 1 0 3 1 Detective Youth Program Services Assistant • The Detectives investigate youth related crimes. • Detectives conduct interviews, write warrants and complete investigative reports. • Detectives workday shift hours on a 4-10 schedule covering Monday through Friday. • The Youth Program Services Assistant completes various administrative assignments in support of the PAL crime prevention program, assists in oversight 1712
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Unit/Division Filled Auth Position Unit Description of PAL grant funds, and manages the truancy and diversion programs. Crime Analysis 1 1 1 1 Crime Analyst Crime Analysis Technician • The Crime Analyst prepares crime statistics. • Conducts cell phone downloads. • Assists detectives with other investigative tasks. • The Crime Analysis Technician assists the Crime Analyst as needed. Task Force 1 1 Sergeant • Assigned to FBI Safe Streets Task Force. • Supervises officers from multiple agencies. • Conducts long term investigations. Crime Scene 1 1 Detective • Processes crime scenes. • Recovers and documents evidence. Sworn 18 25 Non-Sworn 2 3 Total Staff 20 28 5. Administration Bureau The Administration Bureau is led by a Captain and comprised of the Personnel and Training Section, the Records Section, the Police IT Section, and the Communications Center. Staff is comprised of a combination of sworn and non-sworn personnel. 1713
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(1) Organization The following chart outlines the organization of the Administration Bureau:
(2) Staffing and Unit Descriptions The following table provides the personnel and major tasks of staff within the Administration Bureau: Unit/Division Filled Auth Position Unit Description Administration Bureau 0 1 1 1
Captain Lieutenant • The Captain manages the overall operations of the administration bureau and provides oversight of all employees (position is currently vacant – Investigations Bureau Captain currently oversees as collateral assignment). • The Lieutenant manages the day-to-day operations of the bureau. • The Lieutenant oversees department injury and long-term disability claims, oversees city external contracts. Personnel and Training Section 1 2 1 2
Sergeant Officer Administrative Aide (PT) (shared with Financial Services Unit – included in Office of Chief total) • The Sergeant supervises the day-to-day operations of the personnel and training section and the jail facility. • The Sergeant works Monday through Thursday, 6am – 4pm. • The sergeant has the following collateral duties: Oversees station upkeep/maintenance, SWAT Administration Bureau
Personnel and Training Section
Jail Facility
Property and Records SectionPolice Safety Technology SectionCommunications Center 1714
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Unit/Division Filled Auth Position Unit Description sergeant, K9 coordinator, Firearms and Defensive Tactics instructor/PTO coordinator. • The Sergeant also supervises the day-to-day operations of the jail. • One Officer is assigned to recruiting and hiring duties. One officer is assigned to coordinate department’s in-service training. • The part time Administrative Aide schedules applicant background investigation interviews and performs administrative functions. Works 2 days in personnel and training section and 2 days in finance section. Jail Facility 1 5 1 6 Officer Jailer • The Officer is the lead jailer and performs jailer functions and transports prisoners as needed. • The Jailer performs prisoner searches, conducts medical screenings, books prisoners into jail, and are responsible for the care and custody of prisoners in facility. • Jailers are broken up into 3 teams of 2 and work 6am-6pm, 6pm-6am, and 2pm-12am. Property and Records Section 1 6 1 0 1 1 9 1 1 1
Records Manager Records Specialist Office Assistant II Property Technician Assistant Property Technician • The Records Manager oversees the day-to-day operations of the section and provides oversight of employees. Reports to the Administrative Lieutenant. • Records Manager manages employee shift schedules and oversees compliance statistics and information related data bases. • The Records Specialist is responsible for records data entry and oversight. 2 work dayshifts, 2 work swing shift, and 1 works graveyard. • The Office Assistant II completes subpoena data entry and is liaison with Richmond court facilities. • The Property Technician conducts property and evidence entry, 1715
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Unit/Division Filled Auth Position Unit Description maintains storage and upkeep, and catalogues all property. Oversees management of all firearms and ammunition. • The Assistant Property Technician assists the Property Technician will all duties and functions. Police Safety Technology Section 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Supervisor Systems Administrator Network Specialist II Network Specialist I CCTV Specialist • The Supervisor manages the day-to-day operation of the section and provides employee oversight. • The Supervisor has oversight for all police and fire technology, technological based operating systems, CLEPT coordination, and liaison with CA DOJ. • The Supervisor is responsible for all section employee hiring and training. • The Systems Administrator supervises section employees. • The Systems Administrator maintains and updates CAD/RMS system and updates vendor contracts. • The Network Specialist II assists with data related tasks, maintenance of routers and switches, updates firewalls as needed. Assists technical administration contracts and vendors. Assists in on-going maintenance of mobile devices, tablets, laptops, and other devices. • The Network Specialist I performs P/C tech and oversees all technology reparations throughout department. Manages all equipment hardware updates and replacement as needed. • The CCTV Specialist is responsible for all on-site maintenance, cleaning, and upkeep of all CCTV cameras throughout Richmond and at the Hall of Justice building. Communications Center 1 4 1 4 Manager Supervisor • The Manager oversees the day-to-day operations of the communication center. 1716
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Unit/Division Filled Auth Position Unit Description 13 17 Dispatcher Responsible for building and equipment contracts and upkeep. • The Supervisor is the first-line supervisor of assigned team and oversees the team’s functions during shift. • The Dispatcher answers emergency and non-emergency telephone calls from citizens, gives medical instructions as needed, dispatches calls for services and assists field personnel. • Dispatch personnel are broken up into 4 teams of 1 supervisor/2 dispatchers who work 3, 12-hour shifts. • Each team is responsible for 3 dispatch channels during a shift. Sworn 5 6 Non-Sworn 36 46 Total Staff 41 52 1717
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4. Patrol Bureau 1. Patrol Workload Analysis The following sections provide analysis of patrol workload and other issues relating to the effectiveness of field services. (1) CAD Analysis Methodology Our project team has calculated the community-generated workload of the department by analyzing incident records in the computer aided dispatch (CAD) database, covering the entirety of calendar year 2021. Data for multiple years was received and analyzed as part of this study; however, the analysis of staffing needs focuses on a single year (2021) in order to compare current staffing capacity against workload. In the multi-year analysis, which is contained at the end of this chapter, a three-year period is used. This is because the department used a different CAD system prior to then that would not have provided useable data for the analysis. For incidents to be identified as community-generated calls for service and included in our analysis of patrol, each of the following conditions needed to be met: • The incident must have been unique. • The incident must have been first created in calendar year 2021. 2021 is the best of recent years to use as a base because of the unique nature of workloads in 2020 due to Covid19 and the timeliness of workloads pre-Covid. • The incident must have involved at least one officer assigned to patrol, as identified by the individual unit codes of each response to the call. • The incident type of the event must have sufficiently corresponded to a community-generated event. Call types that could be identified with a high level of certainty as being either self-initiated (e.g., traffic stops) or other kinds of activity generated by the department (e.g., directed patrol) are not counted as community-generated calls for service. • There must have been no major irregularities or issues with the data recorded for the incident that would prevent sufficient analysis, such as having no unit code or lack of any time stamps. 1718
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After filtering through the data using the methodology outlined above, the remaining incidents represent the community-generated calls for service handled by RPD patrol units. (2) Calls for Service by Hour and Weekday The following table displays the total number of calls for service handled by patrol units by each hour and day of the week: Calls for Service by Hour and Weekday (2021) Hour Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Total 12a 390 203 165 168 177 230 275 1,608 1am 289 181 121 139 138 180 219 1,267 2am 222 128 125 140 124 151 175 1,065 3am 214 125 121 117 116 137 152 982 4am 109 97 94 89 109 114 137 749 5am 125 110 90 113 97 116 121 772 6am 121 125 153 121 123 137 93 873 7am 152 199 184 202 189 171 158 1,255 8am 234 292 258 244 260 285 260 1,833 9am 298 345 313 318 280 299 315 2,168 10am 340 324 296 301 311 329 359 2,260 11am 322 336 305 322 356 359 335 2,335 12pm 313 366 312 364 320 354 370 2,399 1pm 372 330 315 315 306 356 346 2,340 2pm 342 365 335 356 362 374 341 2,475 3pm 342 362 373 343 360 358 365 2,503 4pm 367 348 389 379 400 375 352 2,610 5pm 329 373 399 400 375 389 362 2,627 6pm 364 370 352 363 387 381 392 2,609 7pm 384 368 357 341 374 444 421 2,689 8pm 404 284 309 346 364 387 449 2,543 9pm 358 312 305 318 330 414 521 2,558 10pm 350 298 266 306 345 404 608 2,577 11pm 243 235 257 277 250 364 484 2,110 Total 6,984 6,476 6,194 6,382 6,453 7,108 7,610 47,207 1719
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Call activity is approximately consistent throughout the week, except for Friday and Saturday evenings, which have increase call activity for several hours later than other nights. The following chart demonstrates how call activity is distributed specifically across a 24-hour period: Call for Service Activity by Hour (2021) Call for service activity forms a highly consistent plateau from the mid-morning until the late evening. During this period, activity levels fluctuate by only minimal degrees. Given that the plateau period is around 12 hours in duration, this finding provides important considerations for patrol officer deployment and scheduling. (3) Calls for Service by Month The following table displays calls for service totals by month, showing seasonal variation as a percentage difference from the quarterly average:
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Calls for Service by Month (2021) Month # of CFS Seasonal +/- Jan 3,897 -6.7% Feb 3,302 Mar 3,808 Apr 3,726 +2.1% May 4,267 Jun 4,056 Jul 4,212 +2.9% Aug 4,022 Sep 3,913 Oct 4,158 +1.7% Nov 3,845 Dec 4,001 Total 47,207 Seasonality is relatively even, except for the first quarter, which has markedly less call activity compared with the other months. This could be partially since COVID-19 restrictions were still largely in effect during this period, thus leading to reduced call activity. As restrictions were eased in later months, call activity appears to have picked back up. (4) Most Common Types of Calls for Service The following table provides the ten most common incident categories of calls for service handled by patrol units in 2021, as well as the average call handling time (HT)1 for each:
1 Handling time is defined as the total time in which a patrol unit was assigned to an incident. It is calculated as the difference between the recorded time stamps the unit being dispatched and cleared from the incident. 1721
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Most Common Call for Service Categories (2021) Incident Type2 # CFS HT 12a 4a 8a 12p 4p 8p
DISTURBANCE 4,189 26.2
ALARM AUDIBLE 3,049 19.2
UNWANTED PERSON 2,419 24.9
MUSIC 2,275 16.2
SUSP. PERSON 1,739 20.2
SUSP. VEHICLE 1,623 29.0
911 DISCONN. 1,418 23.5
MV THEFT 1,383 54.1
MENTAL PATIENT 1,295 29.5
PARKING VIOL. 1,290 32.4
All Other Types 26,527 39.4
Total 47,207 33.5
Motor vehicle thefts, which are the only call type on the list with a handling time over 50 minutes, have a narrow activity window centered around 9:00AM. This is likely as people wake and find that their car is missing, resulting in a significant uptick in workload. (5) Call for Service Response Time by Priority Level The following table displays call for service statistics priority level, showing the distribution of calls by response time for each category, with the median (middle value) response time3 indicated as a semitransparent blue line:
2 It should be noted that call types have been abbreviated, with each of those listed corresponding to the “(In Progress)” subtype. 3 Response time is defined in this report as the duration between the call creation timestamp and the arrival time stamp for the first patrol officer on the scene. 1722
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Call for Service Response Time by Priority Level (2021) Response times to emergency calls for service (P1) are excellent, with a median response time of just 6.7 minutes. The next-most severe priority category comprises 46% of all calls for service, indicating that it is an exceptionally broad grouping of call types. Even so, the median response time is low, at just 12.2 minutes. It is not until the least severe call type (P4), which comprises only 21% of all calls for service, that median response time rises above 30 minutes. In agencies where patrol is severely short-staffed, it is common for response times for lower-priority incidents to be high. This reflects situations where there are no units available to take these calls. The variation in response times by hour also tends to reflect this, with periods of higher workload relative to the number of on-duty officers having extended response times. This is true in Richmond as well, as shown by the following table displaying median response times by hour for all calls, as well as lower priority calls for service (P4) specifically: Median Response Times by Hour (2021) Hour All CFS P4 Only 0000 11.0 21.2 0100 9.9 20.9 0200 9.2 16.0 0300 9.3 14.8 0400 10.1 18.0 0500 10.7 21.0 0600 31.5 69.9 1723
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Hour All CFS P4 Only 0700 20.4 37.9 0800 16.3 33.7 0900 18.3 29.3 1000 19.7 35.0 1100 19.7 38.3 1200 21.5 43.4 1300 21.5 40.6 1400 21.9 39.1 1500 26.1 47.4 1600 19.8 44.1 1700 21.0 50.2 1800 27.0 50.2 1900 18.8 35.2 2000 15.0 34.2 2100 15.3 33.3 2200 11.9 22.6 2300 11.3 23.9 Overall 17.0 37.4 In addition to the sharp uptick at 0600, response time steadily increases in the afternoon and early evening hours. For P4 incidents, it reaches a level that is more than three times that of the late nighttime hours. 2. Analysis of Patrol Resource Needs Analysis of the community-generated workload handled by patrol units is at the core of analyzing field staffing needs. Developing an understanding of where, when, and what types of calls are received provides a detailed account of the service needs of the community, and by measuring the time used in responding and handling these calls, the staffing requirements for meeting the community’s service needs can then be determined. To provide a high level of service, it is not enough for patrol units to function as call responders. Instead, officers must have sufficient time outside of community-driven workload to proactively address public safety issues, conduct problem-oriented policing, and perform other self-directed engagement activities within the service environment. As a result, patrol staffing needs are calculated not only from a standpoint of the capacity of current resources to handle workloads, but also their ability to provide a certain level of service beyond responding to calls. 1724
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With this focus in mind, the following sections examine process used by the project team to determine the patrol resource needs of the Richmond Police Department based on current workloads, staff availability, and service level objectives. (1) Overview of the Resource Needs Analysis An objective and accurate assessment of patrol staffing requires analysis of the following three factors: i. The number of community-generated workload hours handled by patrol. ii. The total number of hours that patrol is on-duty and able to handle those workloads, based on current staffing numbers and net availability factors (e.g., leave, administrative time, etc.). iii. The remaining amount of time that patrol must be proactive, which can also be referred to as “uncommitted” time. This study defines the result of this process as, patrol proactivity, or the percentage of patrol officers’ time in which they are available and on-duty that is not spent responding to community-generated calls for service. This calculation can also be expressed visually as an equation: Total Net Available Hours – Total CFS Workload Hours Total Net Available Hours = % Proactivity The result of this equation is the overall level of proactivity in patrol, which in turn provides a model for the ability of patrol units to be proactive given current resources and community-generated workloads. There are some qualifications to this, which include the following: • Optimal proactivity levels are a generalized target, and a single percentage should be applied to every agency. The actual needs of an individual department vary based on several factors, including: – Other resources the department must proactively engage with the community and address issues, such as a dedicated proactive unit. – Community expectations and ability to support a certain level of service. – Whether fluctuations in the workload levels throughout the day require additional or fewer resources to be staffed to provide adequate coverage. 1725
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• Sufficient proactivity at an overall level does not guarantee, based on workload patterns, and deployment schedules, that resources are sufficient throughout all times of the day and week. Overall, the Richmond Police Department should generally target an overall proactivity level of at least 35-40% as an effective benchmark of patrol coverage. Additional context behind this range, and the service level that proactive time levels above and below this range translate to, are provided in the following dot points: • In agencies that are severely understaffed in patrol functions, and consequently have very little proactive time (under 35% overall), calls will frequently be held in queues as resources cannot handle the incoming workload. Proactivity also falls behind, as officers in such agencies would have little to no time to be proactive. When gaps do occur, the high rate of workload relative to available time can have a limiting factor on self-initiated generation, as officers avoid being tied up on a proactive activity such as a traffic stop in case priority calls for service occur. • As proactivity increases (around 35-45% overall), the generation of self-initiated activity rapidly increases, as officers can deal with already-identified opportunities to proactively address issues in the community, some of which are prioritized and project-oriented engagements. • Beyond those levels (at least 45-50% overall), depending on scheduling and deployment efficiency, the time available for proactive policing increases further, and opportunities to engage in self-initiated activity expand. However, the number of priority needs for self-initiated activity (e.g., addressing narcotics activity) also decrease. Despite this, no limitations exist on the time that can be spent on activities such as saturation/directed patrols and community engagement activities. (2) Patrol Unit Staffing and Net Availability The Richmond Police Department follows a hybrid shift configuration that assigns personnel to five teams with fixed workdays. Teams 1-3 work 10-hour shifts Monday through Thursday, while teams 4 and 5 work 12.5-hour shifts Friday through Sunday. The following table outlines this schedule, showing the number of positions that are assigned to each shift team (including those on long-term and injury leave, but excluding vacancies):
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Patrol Shift Configuration (Current/2021 Staffing Levels)4 Week 1 Week 2 Shift Hours Start End S M T W Th F Sa S M T W Th F Sa Actual Auth. Team 1 10.0 0630 1630 X X X X X X X X 11 11 Team 2 10.0 1500 0100 X X X X X X X X
10 10 Team 3 10.0 2100 0700 X X X X X X X X
9 10 Team 4 12.5 0630 1900 X X X X X X 11 12 Team 5 12.5 1830 0700 X X X X X X 10 12 Numbers are inclusive of filled (non-vacant) officer positions only. In total, this alignment results in 31 officers are assigned to work Monday through Thursday, while 24 officers are assigned Friday through Sunday. The effects of this schedule will be explored later in the analysis. While the table provides the scheduled staffing levels, it does not reflect the numbers that are actually on-duty and available to work on at any given time. Out of the 2,080 hours per year that each officer is scheduled to work in a year (excluding overtime), a large percentage is not actually spent on-duty and available in the field. As a result, it is critical to understand the amount of time that officers are on leave – including vacation, sick, injury, military, or any other type of leave – as well as any hours dedicated to on-duty court or training time, and all time spent on administrative tasks such as attending shift briefings. The impact of each of these factors is determined through a combination of calculations made from RPD data and estimates based on the experience of the project team, which are then subtracted from the base number of annual work hours per position. The result represents the total net available hours of patrol officers, or the time in which they are on-duty and available to complete workloads and other activities in the field:
4 Figures displayed in the table also include those in injury and long-term leave, but exclude permanent vacancies in which the position slot is actually open. 1727
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The table below outlines the calculation process in detail, outlining how each contributing factor is calculated: Factors Used to Calculate Patrol Net Availability Work Hours Per Year The total number of scheduled work hours for patrol officers, without factoring in leave, training, or anything else that takes officers away from normal on-duty work. This factor forms the base number from which other availability factors are subtracted from. Base number: 2,080 scheduled work hours per year Total Leave Hours (subtracted from total work hours per year) Includes all types of leave, as well as injuries, light duty, and military leave – anything that would cause officers that are normally scheduled to work on a specific day to instead not be on duty. As a result, this category excludes on-duty training, administrative time, and on-duty court time. Calculated from RPD data: 351 hours of leave per year On-Duty Court Time (subtracted from total work hours per year) The total number of hours that each officer spends per year attending court while on duty, including transit time. Court attendance while on overtime is not included in the figure. Without any data recording on-duty court time specifically for patrol officers, the number of hours is estimated based on the experience of the project team. Estimated: 20 hours of on-duty court time per year On-Duty Training Time (subtracted from total work hours per year) The total number of hours spent per year in training that are completed while on-duty and not on overtime. Calculated: 78 hours of on-duty training time per year 1728
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Administrative Time (subtracted from total work hours per year) The total number of hours per year spent completing administrative tasks while on-duty, including briefing, meal breaks, and various other activities. The number is calculated as an estimate by multiplying 90 minutes of time per shift times the number of shifts actually worked by officers in a year after factoring out the shifts that are not worked as a result of leave being taken. Estimated: 259 hours of administrative time per year Total Net Available Hours After subtracting the previous factors from the total work hours per year, the remaining hours comprise the total net available hours for officers – the time in which they are available to work after accounting for all leave, on-duty training, court, and administrative time. Net availability can also be expressed as a percentage of the base number of work hours per year. Calculated by subtracting the previously listed factors from the base number: 1,371 net available hours per officer The following table summarizes this calculation process, displaying how each net availability factor contributes to the overall net availability of patrol officers: Calculation of Patrol Unit Net Availability (2021) Base Annual Work Hours 2,080 Total Leave Hours − 351 On-Duty Training Hours − 78 On-Duty Court Time Hours − 20 Administrative Hours − 259
Net Available Hours Per Officer = 1,371 Number of Officer Positions × 51 Total Net Available Hours = 69,924 1729
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Overall, the 51 officer positions combine for a total of 69,924 net available hours per year, representing the time in which they are on duty and able to respond to community-generated incidents and be proactive. (3) Overview of Call for Service Workload Factors The previous chapter of the report examined various trends in patrol workload, including variations by time of day and of week, common incident types, as well as several other methods. This section advances this analysis, detailing the full extent of the resource demands that these incidents create for responding patrol personnel. Each call for service represents a certain amount of workload, much of which is not captured within the handling time of the primary unit. Some of these factors can be calculated directly from data provided by the department, while others must be estimated due to limitations in their measurability. The following table outlines the factors that must be considered in order to capture the full scope of community-generated workload, and provides an explanation of the process used to calculate each factor:
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Factors Used to Calculate Total Patrol Workload
Number of Community-Generated Calls for Service (2021) Data obtained from an export of CAD data covering a period of an entire year that has been analyzed and filtered in order to determine the number and characteristics of all community-generated activity handled by patrol officers. The calculation process used to develop this number has been summarized in previous sections. At 47,207 calls for service, this equates to approximately 0.43 calls for service per capita (using 2020 Census data). This is a relatively typical rate for communities the size of Richmond. Calculated from RPD data: 47,207 community-generated calls for service Primary Unit Handling Time (2021) The time used by the primary unit to handle a community-generated call for service, including time spent traveling to the scene of the incident and the duration of on-scene time. For each incident, this number is calculated as the difference between ‘call cleared’ time stamp and the ‘unit dispatched’ time stamp. In the experience of the project team, the average handling time is typically between 30 and 42 minutes in agencies where time spent writing reports and transporting/booking prisoners is not included within the recorded CAD data time stamps. At 33.5 minutes of handling time for the primary unit, RPD is comfortably within the middle of the distribution for similarly sized communities. Calculated from RPD data: 33.5 minutes of handling time per call for service 1731
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Number of Backup Unit Responses (2021) The total number of backup unit responses to community-generated calls for service. This number often varies based on the severity of the call, as well as the geographical density of the area being served. This number can also be expressed as the rate of backup unit responses to calls for service and is inclusive of any additional backup units beyond the first. Calculated from RPD data: 0.64 backup units per call for service Backup Unit Handling Time (multiplied by the rate) (2021) The handling time for backup units responding to calls for service is calculated using the same process that was used for primary units, representing the time from the unit being dispatched to the unit clearing the call. When CAD data lists unique time stamps for each unit on a call (rather than only for the first unit or overall for the call), the handling time calculated individually. In this case, the CAD data only displayed time stamps for the first unit, and as a result, handling time for backup units was estimated at a rate of 75% of the primary unit’s handling time on each individual call – a normative estimate based on the experience of the project team. Because calls featuring backup unit responses tend to be more severe, and consequently often require higher workloads for personnel on-scene, the average backup unit handling time is about the same as the average for all primary units – even after applying the 75% factor to the handling time value. Calculated/estimated from RPD data: 33.1 minutes of handling time per backup unit Number of Reports Written (2021) The total number of reports and other assignments relating to calls for service that have been completed by patrol units, estimated at one report written for every three calls for service. This includes any supporting work completed by backup units. In this case, the number has been calculated from RPD data, with approximately 0.16 reports written by patrol officers per call for service. Calculated from RPD data: 0.16 reports written per call for service 1732
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Report Writing Time (multiplied by the report writing rate) The average amount of time it takes to complete a report or other assignment in relation to a call for service. Without any data detailing this specifically, report writing time must be estimated based on the experience of the project team. It is assumed that 45 minutes are spent per written report, including the time spent by backup units on supporting work assignments. Estimated: 45 minutes per report Total Workload Per Call for Service (2021) The total time involved in handling a community-generated call for service, including the factors calculated for primary and backup unit handling time, reporting writing time, and jail transport/booking time. The product of multiplying this value by the calls for service total at each hour and day of the week is the number of hours of community-generated workload handled by patrol units – equating to approximately 48,631 total hours in 2021. Calculated from previously listed factors: 61.8 total minutes of workload per call for service Each of the factors summarized in this section contribute to the overall picture of patrol workload – the total number of hours required for patrol units to handle community-generated calls for service, including primary and backup unit handling times, report writing time, and jail transport time. These factors are summarized in the following table:
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Summary of CFS Workload Factors (2021) Total Calls for Service 47,207 54% Avg. Primary Unit Handling Time 33.5 min.
Backup Units Per CFS 0.64
34% Avg. Backup Unit Handling Time 33.1 min.
Reports Written Per CFS 0.16
12% Time Per Report 45.0 min.
Avg. Workload Per Call 61.8 min.
Total Workload 48,631 hrs.
Overall, each call represents an average workload of 61.8 minutes, including all time spent by the primary unit handling the call, the time spent by any backup units attached to the call, as well as any reports or other assignments completed in relation to the incident. (4) Calculation of Overall Patrol Proactivity Using the results of the analysis of both patrol workloads and staff availability, it is now possible to determine the remaining time in which patrol units can function proactively. The result can then function as a barometer from which to gauge the capacity of current resources to handle call workload demands, given objectives for meeting a certain service level. The following table shows the calculation process used by the project team to determine overall proactivity levels, representing the percentage of time that patrol officers have available outside of handling community-generated workloads:
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Calculation of Overall Patrol Proactivity (2021) Total Patrol Net Available Hours
69,924 Total Patrol Workload Hours
–
48,631 Resulting # of Uncommitted Hours
=
21,293
Divided by Total Net Available Hours ÷
69,924
Overall Proactive Time Level
=
30.5% At 30.5% proactive time, Richmond is below the 35-40% target range, indicating that resources are insufficient at an overall level. In terms of how this affects service levels on a day-to-day or hourly basis, the efficiency of how staff are deployed can exacerbate any existing deficiencies in staffing levels. But regardless of how staff are deployed, the results of this analysis indicate that the number of staff allocated to patrol is simply not enough. The following chart shows this analysis at a more detailed level, providing proactivity levels in four-hour blocks throughout the week: Proactivity by Hour and Weekday (Based on 2021 Workload) Even with a proactive time level of 30.5% at an overall level, the reality is much worse at certain times of the day. During the weekdays, morning and afternoon proactive time generally hovers within the 10-20%, indicating that calls are frequently backing up, as 1735
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there are not enough officers to handle them. However, the issue is significantly more severe on the weekends, where proactive time falls into negative values. Earlier in this analysis, it was demonstrated that call for service activity is somewhat higher Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, as shown in the following table: Call for Service Activity by Weekday (2021) Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Total 6,984 6,476 6,194 6,382 6,453 7,108 7,610 +/-% from Avg. +4% -4% -8% -5% -4% +5% +13% Clearly, workload is higher Friday through Sunday compared with Monday through Thursday. This contributes to the issue where on Monday through Thursday, overall proactive time is 39% – within the target range – while on Friday through Sunday, proactive time averages just 17%. However, the primary reason for this issue is that 30 officers are assigned to the Monday through Thursday teams, while just 21 officers are assigned Friday through Sunday teams. While it is true that the former works 10-hour shifts over four days, compared with 12.5-hour shifts over three days, the resulting on-duty staffing levels are equivalent after accounting for net availability factors. In fact, paired against the plateau RPD experiences in hourly call volume, the weekend schedule is ultimately more efficient in meeting workload demands. Nonetheless, the current allocation of staff between shift teams is extraordinarily inefficient in providing equitable service and consistent service levels. Even if the overall staffing issue in patrol cannot be immediately addressed, some of the most egregious issues facing patrol can be addressed with existing resources. To do this, officers can simply be shifted between shift teams as follows: • Team 1: 11 officers, unchanged from 11 • Team 2: 9 officers, down from 10 • Team 3: 7 officers, down from 9 • Team 4: 13 officers, up from 12 • Team 5: 11 officers, down from 12 1736
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The effect that this alternative allocation of officers has on proactive time levels by hour and weekday are shown in the following table, comparing the results against the current allocation of staff: Effects of Redistributing Patrol Officers on Proactive Time (Based on 2021 Workload) Current Allocation Alternative Allocation It is evident that, even if the overall staffing issue is not addressed, the service level experienced by residents is significantly better under the alternative allocation, with some of the most severe time periods having resource deficiencies mitigated to an extent. Minimum Staffing Levels To provide an adequate level of officer safety, Richmond PD’s policy 216.2 reads as follows: Minimum staffing levels should result in the scheduling of at least four regular supervisors on duty whenever possible. Patrol Sergeants will ensure that at least one field supervisor is deployed during each watch, in addition to the Patrol Sergeant. Geographically, the city of Richmond has been segmented in three Districts. Each District is comprised of three beats. At a minimum, at least one officer will be assigned to each beat on any given watch. The reallocations above will drop the necessary patrol units below that which is necessary to abide by Policy 216.2. However, in the experience of MCG project staff, the geographic beats that have a low call for service total should be combined. This 1737
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combination will result in a continual level of service provided by RPD patrol units and allow the staffing levels recommended above to abide by Policy 216.2. Recommendations: Redistribute the number of officers on each patrol staff to mitigate severe service level issues on certain days, as follows: Team 1: 11 officers, unchanged from 11 Team 2: 9 officers, down from 10 Team 3: 7 officers, down from 9 Team 4: 13 officers, up from 12 Team 5: 11 officers, down from 12 Combine the lowest calls for service beats throughout the city for staffing levels to meet minimum staffing levels in accordance with RPD Policy 216.2. (5) Patrol Staffing Levels Required to Meet Service Level Objectives To determine staffing needs, it is also important to consider the number of vacancies that currently exist, as well as the rate of turnover. An agency will never be fully staffed, as there will always be vacancies occurring as a result of retirement, termination, and other factors. When these events occur, it takes a significant amount of time to recruit a new position, complete the hiring process, run an academy, and complete the FTO program before the individual becomes an on-duty officer. Given this consideration, agencies must always hire above the number needed to provide a targeted level of service. The amount of ‘buffer’ that an agency requires should be based on the historical rate of attrition within patrol. Attrition can take many forms – if it is assumed that most vacancies are carried in patrol staffing, a vacancy at the officer level in any other area of the organization would consequently remove one officer from regular patrol duties. Likewise, promotions would have the same effect, in that they create an open position slot in patrol. Not included, however, are positions that become vacant while the individual is still in the academy or FTO program, and they are not counted in our analysis as being part of ‘actual’ patrol staffing. The following table provides sworn separation over the past four years, showing the total number of separations as a percentage of the authorized total. Given the number of departures, using the current filled number would provide a misleading count. 1738
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Sworn Turnover by Year (2018 – 2021) Year # Sworn Departures As % of Sworn Positions 2018 14 12.0% 2019 19 16.2% 2020 13 11.1% 2021 24 20.5% Avg. 17.5 15.0% This rate of turnover, at 15.0% far exceeds the normal rate for sworn turnover, which in most departments the project team has worked with is around 5-8%. Put simply, this is an unsustainable crisis, and makes it virtually impossible to recruit sufficient personnel to meet the gap. Nonetheless, given these considerations, an additional 15% authorized (budgeted) positions should be added on top of the actual number currently filled (actual) positions in order to account for turnover while maintaining the ability to meet the targeted proactivity level. This will be shown side-by-side with a more normal turnover rate, in order to illustrate how such a high rate of turnover affects staffing needs. The resulting figure can then be rounded to the nearest whole number, assuming that positions cannot be added fractionally. It is worth noting that the number of officers needed without turnover is fractional, as it is an intermediate step in the calculation process. It is important to note that the calculations do not consider the effect of cumulative vacancies that are not able to be replaced and filled over a multi-year period. This is intended, as budgeting for additional staff does not fix recruiting, hiring, or training issues. Instead, the turnover factor is designed to provide a balance against the rate of attrition, assuming new recruits can complete the academy and FTO program each year. These calculations are shown in the following table:
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Calculation of Patrol Unit Staffing Needs (Based on 2021 Workload) 5% Turnover (Normal) 15% (RPD Actual) Total Workload Hours 48,631 48,631 Proactivity Target 40% 40% Staffed Hours Needed = 81,052 81,052 Net Available Hours Per Officer ÷ 1,371 1,371 Turnover Factor + 5.0% 15.0%
Patrol Officer FTEs Needed = 63 68 RPD currently has four vacancies (excluding long-term leave and light duty, which have been factored into net availability calculations), for a total of 55 authorized (budgeted) positions. The 68 positions needed to achieve 40% at a turnover rate of 15% is 13 above this number. If turnover rates were more normal (around 5%), then only 8 additional positions would be needed to reach 40% proactive time. These calculations can also be adjusted for a lower target service level. If the proactive time target were 35%, at a turnover rate of 15%, 63 positions would be needed. To reach that same level of 35% with 5% turnover, just 58 positions would be needed. Recommendations: Add 13 officer positions to patrol in order to achieve a proactive time level of 40%, for a total of 68 authorized officer positions. 3. Patrol Self-Initiated Activity The analysis to this point has focused exclusively on the reactive portion of patrol workload, consisting of community-generated calls for service and related work. In the remaining available time, which is referred to in this report as proactive time, officers can proactively address public safety issues through targeted enforcement, saturation patrol, community engagement, problem-oriented policing projects, and other activity. Equally critical to the question of how much proactive time is available is how and whether it is used in this manner. There are some limitations on how the use of proactive time is measured, however. Not all proactive policing efforts are tracked in CAD data, such as some informal area checks, saturation patrol, miscellaneous field contacts, and other types of activity. However, 1740
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many categories of officer-initiated activity are nonetheless recorded, such as traffic stops, predictive policing efforts, and follow-up investigations. Nonetheless, CAD data does provide for a significant portion of officer-initiated activity to be analyzed to examined for how utilized uncommitted time is for proactive policing. (4.1) Self-Initiated Activity by Hour and Weekday Self-initiated activity displays different hourly trends compared to community-generated calls for service, as illustrated in the following table: Self-Initiated Activity by Hour and Weekday (2021) Hour Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Total 12am 64 38 50 49 58 58 80 397 1am 57 38 56 33 53 49 53 339 2am 56 31 38 29 44 34 52 284 3am 28 26 26 30 40 21 30 201 4am 22 26 16 22 18 15 22 141 5am 7 7 11 9 8 18 10 70 6am 5 2 12 12 7 7 4 49 7am 10 101 117 95 76 25 30 454 8am 56 168 195 203 170 80 90 962 9am 61 128 137 107 136 70 103 742 10am 72 118 126 155 110 79 84 744 11am 70 97 125 128 108 65 70 663 12pm 57 88 117 102 81 70 68 583 1pm 46 74 101 102 91 44 68 526 2pm 72 57 100 67 72 58 86 512 3pm 76 60 64 57 55 74 92 478 4pm 73 93 100 109 74 85 104 638 5pm 53 78 123 90 81 82 91 598 6pm 26 78 117 98 73 36 27 455 7pm 49 74 74 99 63 58 51 468 8pm 72 68 89 77 53 95 107 561 9pm 82 61 89 60 58 99 92 541 10pm 74 120 159 135 89 95 95 767 11pm 57 115 104 104 96 94 80 650 Total 1,245 1,746 2,146 1,972 1,714 1,411 1,589 11,823 1741
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Self-initiated activity peaks sharply at certain hours, with 8:00AM representing the most active hour. Interestingly, this does not coincide with the start of a shift coming on duty. (4.2) Self-Initiated Activity by Category Unlike community-generated calls for service, self-initiated activity is typically more concentrated over a few call types: Most Common Categories of Self-Initiated Activity (2021) Incident Type # CFS HT 12a 4a 8a 12p 4p 8p
TRAFFIC STOP 4,951 19.4
SUSP. VEHICLE 1,502 28.3
SECURITY CHECK 1,444 22.4
EXTRA PATROL 781 22.3
FOLLOW UP (RPT) 747 36.3
FLAG DOWN 525 28.5
BEAT PROJECTS 390 27.1
ABANDONED AUTO 248 42.7
PEDESTRIAN STOP 176 29.7
RECOVERED STOLEN 130 67.0
All Other Types 929 61.1
Total 11,823 27.3
Coinciding with the map of all activity by hour, many of the common categories of self-initiated activity most prevalent in the morning hours, such as suspicious vehicle and security checks. Overall, self-initiated activity on behalf of RPD patrol units is lacking in the experience of MCG project staff. In calendar year 2021, RPD patrol units reported only 11,823 instances of self-initiated activity compared to that of the 47,207 calls for service responded to in 2021. This results in only 25% self-initiated activity, a percentage that is significantly low in the experience of MCG project staff. 1742
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This finding signifies the relevance of taking the necessary steps to increase the proactivity levels of RPD patrol units. Not only does the increase in proactive time provide patrol units the ability to conduct more enforcement-related activity to combat crime but provides them the ability to increase their community policing presence throughout the city. At the moment, RPD does not have the manpower to field a police presence with adequate staff to conduct the community policing practices that have been proven to improve relationships with community members and address quality of life issues that are plaguing cities like Richmond across the country. 4. Multi-Year Trends in Patrol Workload and Self-Initiated Activity The analysis of CAD data has focused on 2021, as it is the most recent full calendar year of data available. 2018 data is not available because it is in a different CAD system and its output is not useable, especially in a multi-year comparison. It is important, however, to view of the findings of the analysis within the context of how workload has shifted beyond that timeframe, particularly given the cumulative effects of turnover in recent years. Both the number of calls for service, as well as self-initiated incidents, have declined precipitously since 2019: Calls for Service Self-Initiated Year # +/-
# +/- 2019 54,600
29,922 2020 49,964 -4,636
13,730 -16,192 2021 47,207 -2,757
11,823 -1,907 The cause of the decline is readily apparent, with impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic beginning to affect call for service demand in March 2020. Ongoing restrictions through a significant percentage of 2021 limited recovery in both call for service and self-initiated activity. The following chart shows these overall trends graphically:
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Call for Service and Self-Initiated Activity Trends by Year Calls for Service and Self-Initiated Activity by Month (2019 – 2021) By the end of 2021, call for service activity largely recovered to its seasonal normal level of activity; however, the same is not true for self-initiated activity, which continued to be generated at around one third of the normal pre-pandemic level. 1744
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Self-initiated activity declined more precipitously than calls for service due to the nature of proactive activity, which often includes initiating contacts with high numbers of individuals over a short period of time. The COVID-19 pandemic was inherently discouraging to these types of activities. For instance, if an officer were to conduct a series of traffic stops in a proactive enforcement effort, the risk of exposure from contacting that many individuals would be reasonably high. The following pages demonstrate this issue by comparing the most common types of self-initiated incidents conducted by patrol officers in 2019, 2020, and 2021: Most Common Self-Initiated Incident Types by Year 2019 Incident Type # CFS HT 12a 4a 8a 12p 4p 8p
TRAFFIC STOP 12,837 16.8
BEAT PROJECTS 4,835 20.5
SUSPICIOUS VEHICLE 2,979 21.7
SECURITY CHECK 2,310 20.3
PEDESTRIAN STOP 1,399 24.7
Total – All Types 29,922 22.6
2020 Incident Type # CFS HT
12a 4a 8a 12p 4p 8p
TRAFFIC STOP 5,887 19.0
SECURITY CHECK 1,545 21.6
SUSPICIOUS VEHICLE 1,117 28.4
BEAT PROJECTS 1,030 16.8
EXTRA PATROL 705 21.5
Total – All Types 13,730 25.7
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2021 Incident Type # CFS HT
12a 4a 8a 12p 4p 8p
TRAFFIC STOP 4,951 19.4
SUSPICIOUS VEHICLE 1,502 28.3
SECURITY CHECK 1,444 22.4
EXTRA PATROL 781 22.3
FOLLOW UP 747 36.3
Total – All Types 11,823 27.3
From 2019 to 2020, traffic stops decrease by about half, and further decline by around 1,000 in 2021. Activities such as pedestrian stops decrease from a high of 1,399 in 2019 to falling off the list – in 2021, they occurred just 179 times. Activities such as security checks and extra patrol, which involve less interaction with the public, also declined. With the department experiencing high rates of turnover, the number of vacancies in patrol by 2021 has also likely impacted the ability of self-initiated activity to recover even as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. The table below compares hourly call for service using the same color shading scale:
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Trends in Hourly Call Activity by Year Hour 2019
2020
2021
12a 1,755
1,810
1,608 1am 1,435
1,338
1,267 2am 1,113
1,092
1,065 3am 949
914
982 4am 848
850
749 5am 880
787
772 6am 1047
841
873 7am 1,695
1,272
1,255 8am 2,323
1,821
1,833 9am 2,540
2,127
2,168 10am 2,647
2,363
2,260 11am 2,778
2,474
2,335 12pm 2,719
2,447
2,399 1pm 2,786
2,523
2,340 2pm 2,849
2,509
2,475 3pm 2,959
2,650
2,503 4pm 3,082
2,735
2,610 5pm 3,083
2,859
2,627 6pm 3,141
2,881
2,609 7pm 3,036
2,914
2,689 8pm 2,969
2,756
2,543 9pm 3,055
3,010
2,558 10pm 2,734
2,745
2,577 11pm 2,177
2,246
2,110
Total 54,600
49,964
47,207 The overall pattern of call activity, in terms of the range of hours where activity levels rise and fall, is essentially the same throughout the three-year time period. The difference is in its magnitude, with individual hours having fewer calls for service in 2021 compared to 2019. In most hours, this equates to a difference of around 200-400 calls. The main conclusion that can be drawn from this analysis is that 2022 CAD data should be examined at the end of the year in order to gauge whether community-generated workload has reached pre-pandemic levels, as well as whether there has been any upward shift in self-initiated activity, which showed virtually no signs of recovery by the end of 2021. This could likely be compounded by staffing shortages caused in part by attrition. 1747
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As officers have less time to be proactive, less self-initiated activity will occur. This underscores the critical need to fill vacancies and incentivize retention for sworn personnel at all levels. 4. Traffic and Special Events Division The Traffic and Special Events Division is comprised of the Traffic Enforcement Section and the Special Enforcement Section. Within these sections are the parking enforcement representatives, motor officers, and cadets. The Traffic Section is primarily responsible for traffic collision investigation, traffic-related criminal investigations, traffic law enforcement, problem solving, and collision prevention. The section also provides traffic control for city festivals and escorts city events and parades. Administrative oversight of the division is assigned to the Patrol Team 1 Lieutenant as a collateral assignment and the Traffic and Special Events Division Sergeant is assigned first-line supervisor duties. The Sergeant works 7am – 5pm, Monday through Thursday. Other Sergeant duties include personnel scheduling, special event planning and scheduling, special event permit review, and grant management. The Sergeant is on-call on all off-duty workdays. The Sergeant also has the following collateral duties: • Police cadet / Ranger Programs Coordinator • Vehicle Fleet Coordinator • Dirt Bike Motorcycle Program Coordinator • Office of Emergency Services Coordinator • SWAT Sergeant • Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC) Coordinator There are clear advantages in assigning managers and supervisors collateral duties. These advantages include being more cost effective than the alternative of retaining more personnel and providing for opportunities to enhance their professional experience. Caution should be used not to overburden employees with collateral duties which take away from primary supervisory functions. Given the primary duties associated with the Traffic and Special Events Sergeant position, it is recommended that the current collateral duty assignments not exceed the current number. Officer to Sergeant span of control ratios have a significant impact on the performance of first-line supervisors and their ability to fulfill the range of their duties effectively. While factors such as job functions, available technology, and the competencies of the 1748
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supervisor and staff may play a role in this ratio, the recommended supervisory span of control is seven Officers to one Sergeant. The below chart depicts the traffic and special events division’s current supervisory span of control: Supervisory Span of Control Ratio Sergeant 6:1 The current authorized staffing level for the division is fourteen employees. At full strength, supervisory span of control will increase to 14:1. It is recommended that an additional Sergeant be added to the division in order to ensure proper supervisory span of control as the total number of employees increase. Taking into consideration the total number of collateral duty assignments the current supervisor has assigned; this additional supervisor should be added when the supervisory span of control exceeds 7:1. As mentioned previously, the Patrol Team 1 Lieutenant is currently assigned administrative oversight of the division as a collateral duty. This Lieutenant also has eight other administrative oversight collateral duty assignments (in addition to patrol team 1 Lieutenant responsibilities). As such, many of the management functions associated with the division are fulfilled by the Sergeant. These management functions include planning and scheduling special events, special event permit review, managing all department traffic related grants, directing proactive enforcement efforts, preparing work schedules, and overseeing records and equipment. Along with the previously mentioned management functions, the Sergeant is responsible for the following tasks: • Supervising subordinate officers in the performance of their duties. • Maintaining inventory of equipment. • Training subordinates. • Disseminating information to subordinates. • Ensuring policies and procedures are followed. • Observing subordinates in handling calls for service and other duties. • Reviewing and approving various reports. • Listening to problems voiced by subordinates. • Providing direct supervision for potential high-risk calls or situations. • Interpreting policies and informing subordinates. 1749
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One of the most important tasks assigned to police first-line supervisors is the supervision of subordinate officers in the performance of their duties. Given the amount of management functions currently assigned to the Traffic and Special Events Sergeant, little time is given to supervising subordinates. The supervision of subordinates is imperative given the nature of the Police Officer function. It is recommended that a Lieutenant be assigned to the Traffic and Special Events Division in order to perform the various management functions and provide the Sergeant with adequate time in order to sufficiently supervise subordinates. Recommendations: Add 1 additional full-time Sergeant to Traffic when supervisory span of control exceeds 7:1 for a total of 2 authorized full-time Sergeants. Add 1 full-time Lieutenant to manage the Traffic and Special Events Division. (1) Special Enforcement Section The Special Enforcement Section is currently staffed with four officers (authorized nine). These four officers work 7am – 5pm, Monday through Thursday or Tuesday through Friday. The unit is supervised by the traffic and special events division sergeant. The unit’s primary functions are conducting proactive traffic enforcement on police motorcycles and investigating traffic collisions. These four Officers are trained in traffic collision reconstruction and investigate all fatality and serious injury collisions. Each officer is also assigned an investigative case load. Other duties include assisting traffic control in special events and other large crowd events. One Officer is on-call during non-work hours each week. The following table provides the ten most common incident categories of calls for service handled by the special enforcement section in 2021, as well as the average call handling time (HT)5 for each:
5 Handling time is defined as the total time in which a unit was assigned to an incident. It is calculated as the difference between the recorded time stamps the unit being dispatched and cleared from the incident. 1750
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Traffic Special Enforcement Section – Most Common Incident Types Incident Type # CFS HT 12a 4a 8a 12p 4p 8p 1179 - ACCIDENT 1141 89 120.1
1182 - ACCIDENT NO INJURY 51 53.3
20002 - HIT AND RUN NO INJURY 37 61.5
1183 - ACCIDENT NO DETAILS 19 64.8
1181 - ACCIDENT MINOR INJURY 16 69.3
1125 - TRAFFIC HAZARD 16 67.2
20001 - HIT & RUN WITH INJURY 12 111.9
23103 - RECKLESS DRIVING 11 13.7
23152 - DRUNK DRIVING 10 150.3
MGUN - MAN WITH A GUN 8 45.9
All Other Types 106 84.1
Total 375 83.7
In 2021, the Special Enforcement Section handled a total of 375 calls for service which were entered into the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system. Accidents are the most common incident type, with the highest number occurring between 12pm and 4pm. The average handling time for each call for service is 120.1 minutes. As depicted in the above table, nine out of the top ten calls for service are traffic related. The following table provides the ten most common incident categories of officer self-initiated activity conducted by the special enforcement section in 2021, as well as the average call handling time (HT)6 for each:
6 Handling time is defined as the total time in which a unit was assigned to an incident. It is calculated as the difference between the recorded time stamps the unit being dispatched and cleared from the incident. 1751
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Traffic SI Incident Types Incident Type # CFS HT 12a 4a 8a 12p 4p 8p 1195 - TRAFFIC STOP 900 21.4
1059 - SECURITY CHECK 41 63.4
1124 - ABANDONED AUTO 33 70.2
FOLLOW - FOLLOW UP 27 118.0
1182 - ACCIDENT NO INJURY 22 60.6
1154 - SUSPICIOUS VEHICLE 16 76.0
PMISC - POLICE MISC 11 78.5
1125 - TRAFFIC HAZARD 11 31.7
FLAG - FLAG DOWN 10 55.4
1184 - TRAFFIC CONTROL 10 86.4
All Other Types 38 100.5
Total 1,119 32.5
In 2021, the Special Enforcement Section conducted a total of 1,119 self-initiated incidents which were entered into the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system. An overwhelming majority of self-initiated activity are traffic stops, with the highest number occurring between 8am and 10am. The average handling time for each traffic stop is 21.4 minutes. As previously mentioned, a total of 900 reported traffic stops were conducted by the traffic enforcement section. The base number of workdays in an officer’s year is 208 (not including leave time, training, or anything else which will take an officer away from normal on-duty work). Using the above base workday total, traffic enforcement section officers completed an average of 2 traffic stops each workday. Many departments throughout the United States have a policy in place which dictates that an officer must inform dispatch when conducting all traffic stops. The Richmond Police Department does not have such a policy. As such, there may be instances where a traffic stop may not be captured in the above data. Such policies are crucial in promoting police transparency and establishing mutual trust within the community. 1752
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The Motor Officers are also tasked with conducting traffic collision investigations and are assigned an investigative caseload. The below chart depicts the total number of traffic collision investigations completed in a one-year period (8/18/21 – 8/18/22): Traffic Collision Investigations Total Investigations 122 The length of a traffic collision investigation is dependent on several factors, to include the complexity of the collision itself. As depicted in the above Traffic CFS Incident Type chart, the average handling time for each traffic collision investigation with injuries was 120.1 minutes each. Hit and run traffic collision investigations with injury, take an average of 61.5 minutes each. Additional investigative time is typically required which is performed in the station and is not accounted for in CAD data. During this same time frame, officers investigated a total of four fatal traffic collisions. Fatal, near fatal, and traffic collisions causing serious bodily injury are typically labor intensive and may take several weeks to complete. Each year, the Special Enforcement Section assists with traffic control during city sponsored special events. The unit participated in the following special events in 2021: 2021 Special Events Brazen Half Marathon Little League Opening Day Good Friday Lao Parade Cinco De Mayo Parade Cinco De Mayo Festival California Police Memorial Juneteenth Parade Juneteenth Festival Richmond Half Marathon 3rd of July Fireworks 4th of July Fireworks National Night Out GRIP 5k Walk/Run Halloween Night Operation St. Marks – Christmas Parade New Year’s Even Operation Total Events: 17 Each year, the Special Enforcement Section conducts several operations in support of the State of California Traffic Safety Grant. The following grant operations were conducted in a one-year period (10/1/21 – 9/30/22):
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Traffic Safety Grant DUI Checkpoints 9 DUI Saturation Patrols 16 Traffic Enforcement Operations 4 Distracted Driving Operations 4 Bike/Pedestrian Safety Operations 4 Collaborative DUI Saturation Operations 2 Collaborative Traffic Enforcement Operations 2 DUI/Wanted Person Bulletin Distributions 12 Total Operations 53 Motor vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of death in the United States and most crashes are preventable. The Richmond Police Department has a traffic safety program dedicated towards increasing awareness for traffic safety and changing risky driving behaviors, thereby preventing vehicle collisions. High visibility enforcement is a universal traffic safety approach designed to create deterrence and change unlawful traffic behaviors. High visibility enforcement combines highly visible and proactive law enforcement targeting a specific traffic safety issue. Police efforts should be combined with visibility elements and a public strategy to educate the public and promote voluntary compliance with traffic laws. Although the Richmond Police Department has a dedicated Traffic Unit focused on traffic safety, the unit is currently not fully staffed, and has not been fully staffed for some time. A successful program requires full time Officers dedicated towards both enforcement efforts and public education. When staffing allows, the remaining authorized positions should be filled in order to implement an effective traffic safety program. In 2020, 7.3% of all fatal vehicle crashes in the State of California involved large trucks (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics). A large majority of these large trucks are commercial vehicles. The City of Richmond has a large portion of commercial vehicles which travel on city streets each day. In order to expand upon the department’s current traffic safety program, an effective and proactive commercial vehicle safety and enforcement program should be established. This program should combine enforcement of commercial vehicle safety laws with extensive communication, education, and community outreach. It is recommended that two full-time Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officers be added to the Special Enforcement Unit in order to establish this program. According to United States Department of Justice research, the average DUI violator commits that offense approximately eighty times in a one-year period. The psychophysical faculty generally affected first by alcohol is reaction time. Nationally, 1754
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more than half of the drivers who die in vehicle crashes have been drinking. In 2020, the State of California had the second highest number of alcohol impaired driving crash fatalities in the United States (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics). On average, one alcohol impaired driving fatality occurred every 45 minutes throughout the United States. It is recommended that the department add two Impaired Driving Enforcement Officers in order to establish an impaired driving safety program. This program should combine proactive enforcement with extensive communication, education, and community outreach in order to reduce the number of alcohol and drug impaired drivers within the City of Richmond. Recommendations: As staffing allows, fill current vacant positions in Special Enforcement in order to implement an effective traffic safety program. Maintain current authorized staffing level of 9 officers in Special Enforcement. Establish policy mandating officers inform dispatch when conducting all traffic stops. Add two full-time Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officer positions to the Special Enforcement Section. Add two full-time Impaired Driving Enforcement Officer positions to the Special Enforcement Section. (2) Parking Enforcement Unit The Parking Enforcement Unit is currently staffed with five (5) Parking Enforcement Representatives (two within that have just been authorized and funded). The unit is supervised by the Traffic and Special Events Division Sergeant. The unit is responsible for towing abandoned vehicles, tagging vehicles for later abatement, issuing citations for illegally parked vehicles and vehicles parked in no parking zones during street sweeping days. Abandoned vehicles are often viewed as a quality-of-life problem due to being unsightly and symbolizing and contributing to signs of disorder and decay in neighborhoods. In some instances, abandoned vehicles can undermine the quality of life while potentially contributing to further problems such as containing gasoline and other dangerous fluids, becoming targets for arson, and obstructing street-cleaning. The total number of vehicles towed by the Parking Enforcement Unit in a one-year period (8/1/21 – 8/1/22) was 719. 1755
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The base number of workdays in a parking representative’s year is 208 (not including leave time, training, or anything else which will take the representative away from normal on-duty work). Using the above base workday total, parking enforcement representatives towed an average of 2 vehicles each workday during the one-year time frame. Currently, police department personnel have sole responsibility for targeting abandoned vehicle issues in the city. A collaboration of government agencies and community partnerships should be formed in order to address this issue at its root cause. City government agencies include code enforcement, environmental protection, streets and transportation, and public works. Community partnerships include vehicle towing and storage operators and area scrap yards. Recommendations: Maintain current authorized staffing level of 5 Parking Enforcement Representatives. Form a collaboration of government agencies and community partnerships in order to reduce the abandoned vehicle issue in the City of Richmond. (3) Cadet Program The cadet program is supervised by the Traffic and Special Events Sergeant. Currently, the program is not staffed (authorized two part-time paid employees). Cadets complete certain past-tense crime reports and assist the parking enforcement unit as needed. cadet programs are used in departments which employ a community-oriented policing philosophy and are used as a strategy to bridge the gap between the community and police. Cadet programs are also used as an avenue for a person seeking to become a Police Officer once they are able. It is recommended that the authorized two part-time positions be filled as soon as possible. (4) Community Service Officer Program Development Many citizens calls for police service do not require a sworn police officer to enforce laws. For this reason, many agencies use non-sworn positions for a variety of functions which have been traditionally performed by police officers. The Richmond Police Department currently uses non-sworn Crime Scene Technicians in order to assist Officers. In order to enhance service delivery, it is recommended that the Crime Scene Technician functions be incorporated into a newly established job classification of Community Service Officer. Community Service Officer programs are non-sworn positions which support crime prevention, investigations, and other responses where full police powers are unnecessary. Typically, Community Service Officers handle a wide variety of call types such as crime scene investigations, certain traffic crash investigations, crimes not in 1756
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progress, or where a suspect is currently not on scene. Community Service Officers spend a majority of their workday in the field. As such, a new Community Service Officer program should be contained within the Patrol Division and under the direct supervision of Patrol Sergeants to ensure proper supervisory oversight. (4.1) Scope of Call Diversion Programs in Other Communities The project team has conducted a comparative review of agencies which deploy civilian Community Service Officers (CSO) to handle calls for service in the field. For each of these agencies, CAD data has been analyzed using the same methodology, which uses records showing all units that respond to a call, how it originated, and a means of identifying what type of unit each radio call sign corresponds to. It should be noted that the call types shown in the comparative data do not comprise all the calls that each agency’s CSOs respond to. Call types have been selected for their comparability between different agencies, as well as their impact (i.e., how many calls of that type were handled by CSOs). Consequently, there are a plethora of call types that each agency’s CSOs handle but are not included as table category. Many of these additional call types correspond to various types of minor ordinance/code violation, report, or other information for police. Furthermore, there are important considerations for how the percentages should be interpreted. The data shown is based on the number of calls that CSOs responded to out of all occurrences of those call types during the hours and days they were on duty for. There may have been significant numbers of additional calls that CSOs could have handled – in that there were no characteristics of the call that required a sworn officer – but did not for a variety of reasons that do not relate to the call itself. For instance, the CSO(s) could have been sick, on vacation, or another type of leave, or calls could have occurred concurrently and prevented a CSO from responding to both, resulting in a patrol officer being assigned the call. The overall diversion rate statistic shown in the table displays the percentage of calls for service that CSOs handled during the hours and days they are on duty for. This includes the calls that are diverted that do not fit under any of the categories included in the table. Nonetheless, the overall diversion rate functions as an effective barometer of how well diversion has been implemented. The following table summarizes the results of this comparative analysis, showing percentage of calls that were diverted to CSOs in each agency by type of call:
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% of Calls Handled by CSOs During Their On-Duty Hours
Type Fremont Rancho Cordova Roseville Mountain View West Sacramento Avg. Max Traffic Hazard 50% 11% 50% 37% 50% Theft 25% 41% 39% 35% 53% 39% 53% Accident (Non-Inj.) 20% 22% 14% 42% 25% 42% Theft From Vehicle 65% 41% 56% 46% 66% 55% 66% Auto Theft 66% 45% 42% 55% 62% 54% 66% Recovered Stolen 65% 44% 35% 58% 21% 45% 65% Lost/Found Property 70% 18% 47% 67% 50% 50% 70% Graffiti 56% 80% 50% 62% 80% Vandalism 15% 20% 37% 47% 49% 34% 49% Runaway/Missing 50% 25% 40% 48% 37% 40% 50% Burglary-Residential 60% 38% 39% 52% 50% 48% 60% Burglary-Comm. 74% 60% 39% 60% 50% 57% 74% Fraud 15% 33% 49% 63% 40% 63% Parking Complaint 82% 27% 70% 60% 82% Grand Theft 21% 31% 30% 59% 35% 59% Accident (Min. Inj.) 16% 15% 12% 47% 23% 47% Pickup 12% 93% 53% 93% Diversion Rate 20% 11% 10% 29% 12% 16% 29% From this analysis, it is clear that there are prevailing practices and significant precedent for a wide range of calls to be handled alternatively by civilian responders. This includes many calls involving the report of crimes, such as burglaries (cold only/past tense), fraud, and theft incidents; as well as several process-oriented workloads such as events involving lost/found property or recovered stolen property. The common traits among the selected call types principally include the following: • Lack of on scene suspects/perpetrators; consequently, low risk involved. • Lack of two conflicting parties (such as in a domestic incident). 1758
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• Arrests do not need to be made in responding to the call. (4.2) Implementation Considerations Dispatchers would need to be trained and provided with a list of call types that can potentially be diverted, at around 26 different types. Within these call types, dispatchers would check for the first two conditions to be met – lack of on-scene suspects, and a lack of two conflicting parties involved. In other words, they would differentiate that the event is a past-tense report. Existing processes for call notes that are provided by call takers typically provide this differentiation already. Consequently, likely the only training needed would be on the part of dispatchers to check for these conditions and dispatch a CSO over a patrol officer if they are on duty.
Illustrative Dispatcher Checklist If YES to the following: Does the incident type assigned by the call taker match the list of those eligible for CSO? Did the issue already occur (i.e., it is not in progress) If the event is a traffic accident, are there injuries? And if NO to the following: If the event is a burglary, has the caller entered the house? Is the event a dispute (i.e., involving multiple parties? Is there a suspect identified? Are there weapons involved or any form of violence, including threat of violence? As an additional layer, patrol supervisors examining call notes as they come out, as well as the CSO who is assigned to the call, would be able to provide an additional check to ensure that the calls meet the criteria assigned. Nonetheless, the characteristics that have been outlined ensure that a civilian would be able to safely handle the call. Information obtained through the normal dispatching process would be able to confirm that the reports are past tense, and that the event is not in progress. This is particularly important for burglary calls and is a key reason why the diversion percentages are limited to an average of 48% and max of 60%. It should be 1759
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noted that police labor groups will need to be consulted and on be on board for some of these changes, however. In many cases, particularly Rancho Cordova, Roseville, and West Sacramento, the percentages may have been driven down due to staffing, as theoretically the characteristics of a call that would make a civilian eligible to handle them would not be significantly different from city to city, to a reasonable extent. As a result, the max values for the percentage of calls diverted are ultimately more relevant to this analysis, in examining what the upper potential is for Tacoma to divert calls for service. In order to implement a new Community Service Officer program, it will require City of Richmond officials, department leadership, and the Richmond Police Department Officers Association to meet, discuss, and agree to program functions. This Community Service Officer program recommendation is not a recommendation to reduce the total number of authorized sworn Police Officer positions. Likewise, any increase in sworn Police Officer recommendations made throughout this report should not be affected by the Community Service Officer program implementation. Recommendations: Hire and fill the two authorized part-time Cadet position vacancies. Create a new civilian Community Service Officer classification within the department that responds to certain types of non-emergency calls in the field. Incorporate the job functions of the Crime Scene Technician into a newly established job classification of Community Service Officer. Train dispatchers to incorporate new CSO methodology into call taking and dispatching protocols. (4.3) Determining the Potential for Call Diversion in Richmond Based on the comparative analysis of other departments that deploy CSOs to respond to lower priority calls for service, the project team conducted an analysis of the feasibility of implementing program with similar scope in Richmond. Richmond Police Department call types were mapped against the categories used in the comparative analysis, with percentages assigned that reflect the upper potential (max) values from the other agencies. Some discretion is used based on the experience of the project team, which includes former law enforcement, to accurately gauge the types and percentage of calls that a civilian responder could safely and effectively respond to. The following table presents the results of this analysis:
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Estimated Potential for Non-Emergency Call Diversion Category Call Type Total # CFS % Div. # Diverted Cold Report MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT 1409 66% 930 BURGLARY 288 60% 173 BURGLARY – COMMERCIAL 211 74% 156 FRAUD 272 63% 171 FRAUD (REPORT) 47 64% 30 BURGLARY 13 62% 8 Missing/Runaway JUV OUT OF CONTROL/RUNAWAY 238 50% 119 MISSING PERSON 222 50% 111 JUV OUT OF CONTROL 91 51% 34 MISSING JUVENILE 67 51% 34 RUNAWAY JUVENILE RETURN 16 50% 8 Parking/Traffic PARKING VIOLATION 1310 82% 1074 TRAFFIC HAZARD 971 50% 486 ACCIDENT – NON-INJURY 730 42% 307 TRANSPORTATION 79 92% 73 ACCIDENT – MINOR INJURY 74 47% 35 Property PETTY THEFT 1092 53% 579 GRAND THEFT 466 59% 275 VANDALISM 927 49% 454 AUTO BURGLARY 536 66% 354 RECOVERED STOLEN 516 65% 335 In total, the analysis demonstrates that up to 5,746 calls for service, or 12% of all calls for service handled by Richmond Police Department Patrol Officers can be diverted to civilian responders, subject to discussion with police labor groups. These numbers reflect 2021 data using the same methodology that was used for the original study of Richmond Police Department patrol workload. Decisions regarding when to deploy civilian call responders should be based on activity levels in order to maximize diversion of calls. Most of the above divertible calls for service occurred between the hours of 7am and 8pm. Implementing a 10-hour shift, a 7am – 5pm 1761
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and 10am – 8pm shift is recommended. Implementing a 12-hour shift, an 8am – 8pm shift is recommended. (4.4) Staffing the Civilian Call Responder Alternative There is significant potential for implementing a call diversion program based on the analysis of divertible call types. Consequently, the staffing resources that would be needed to staff such a program must also be examined. Approaches to deployment vary among the agencies included in the comparative review, with most deploying CSOs across two shifts in order to achieve greater coverage. Almost all have CSOs working seven days per week. Among the cities included in the comparative review, CSOs handle and divert an average of just over 500 calls per year: Overview of Comparative Call Diversion Programs City % Diverted # CSOs Calls/Yr. Per CSO Fremont 20% 7 688 Rancho Cordova 11% 4 471 Roseville 10% 4 238 Mountain View 29% 4 516 West Sacramento 12% 2 702 On 10-hour shifts with standard net availability factors (accounting for leave, training, etc.), the average of 523 calls per CSO equates to around 3.3 calls per shift. Consequently, the higher number of around 700 per CSO for Fremont and West Sacramento CSOs is easily attainable and is akin to a more reasonable levels of staff utilization. At 700 calls per CSO, each is handling around 4.4 calls per shift. With report time factored in, the resulting utilization levels allow for workload to be sufficient while still allowing for a buffer factor should activity be higher on certain days. This is particularly important because the narrower the scope of calls that a civilian responder can handle, the greater day-to-day variability there will be in how busy they are, which impacts staff utilization considerations. Staffing needs can be determined based on this ratio. Using the 700 calls per CSO target, staffing needs can be calculated as follows:
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Calculation of CSO Staffing Needs: Ratio Method % of CFS Diverted 12% # of Calls Diverted 5,746 Target Calls Per CSO 700 FTEs Needed 8 As mentioned previously, most of the divertible calls for service occurred between the hours of 7am and 8pm. If implementing a 10-hour shift, the 8 positions confirmed by analysis may be staggered across two shifts, with each shift being organized with 4 CSOs each. One shift covering 7am – 5pm and the other shift covering 10am – 8pm. Alternatively, implementing one 12-hour shift would ensure scheduling across a 7-day week more efficiently. If implementing a 12-hour shift, an 8am – 8pm shift is recommended. Two of the positions should function as working leads, reporting to a Patrol Sergeant on duty. Recommendations: Divert a wide range of non-emergency calls for service to civilian responders, comprising up to 12% of all calls currently handled by sworn officers. Add 8 full-time Community Service Officers to staff the new Community Service Officer Program. (5) Mental Health Crisis Response In recent years, more and more has been asked of police officers. As homelessness has grown and access to mental health treatment has diminished, police have been increasingly asked to function as social workers in the field. This requires officers to function in situations that benefit greatly from extensive expertise and knowledge of underlying mental health crisis response strategies, ones that can also be high-risk. Alternative response, including the civilian call diversion program outlined previously, as well as the prospect of implementing mental health crisis response, aims to refocus the long-term trend of broadening police officer roles and divert calls to other types of response:
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Before Implementing Call Diversion Approaches
After Implementing Call Diversion Approaches
Crisis response teams are an effective strategy for providing a specialized response to calls involving homelessness and mental health crisis, diverting a significant percentage away from sworn response. This approach has been implemented with great success in a number of cities, such as Eugene (CAHOOTS program) and Portland (Portland Street Response) in Oregon. (5.1) Evaluating the Need for Crisis Response To evaluate the potential for a mental health crisis response team to be implemented, the project team analyzed CAD data covering the same time period that was used in the patrol analysis. A challenge to this analysis is that there are no events that correlate exactly to an incident involving mental health crisis, and more specifically, the types of events that a crisis response team would be able to respond to and divert from regular patrol. 1764
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Consequently, proxy events must be selected that most likely involve mental health crisis and meet eligibility requirements for a crisis team response. However, not every occurrence of these events could likely be handled by a crisis response team. As with the CSO call diversion analysis, estimates must be made based on the percentage of calls that a mobile crisis team could potentially respond to. This is done based on the experience of the project team, which includes former sworn law enforcement personnel. Using RPD incident types, the selected proxy events, and the percentage of those calls that could be diverted, are as follows: Scope of Mental Health Divertible Calls UNWANT - UNWANTED PERSON (IN PROGRESS) 15% 5150 - MENTAL PATIENT (IN PROGRESS) 60% WELFCK - WELFARE CHECK (IN PROGRESS) 25% 1053 - MAN DOWN (IN PROGRESS) 70% It is important to note that the “MAN DOWN” events do not necessarily signify a critical life-threatening emergency and are selected here for their correlation to events involving homelessness. Estimated Mental Health Call Diversion Workload # CFS % Diverted # Diverted Avg. HT UNWANTED PERSON 2,419 15% 363 24.9 MENTAL PATIENT 1,295 60% 777 29.5 WELFARE CHECK 1,264 25% 316 29.3 MAN DOWN 461 70% 323 20.6 SUICIDE ATTEMPT 74 50% 37 41.7 Total 5,513 – 1,816 26.9 The findings suggest that there is significant opportunity to implement a mental health crisis team in Richmond. At 1,816 calls for service that can be diverted, this equates to approximately five calls per day, or around 3.9% of the calls handled by the department. Of course, the figures shown include calls occurring on a full 24-hour basis. It is critical to examine further when these types of calls are happening, as a 24-hour crisis team may not be feasible for several reasons. 1765
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(2) Deployment Considerations Hours of deployment would need to be focused around the times in which mental health crisis events are most likely to occur in order to maximize the number of call diversion opportunities. The following table provides a visualization of the frequency of the event types selected for a civilian community crisis response team: Frequency of Divertible Homelessness and Mental Health Calls At the overall level, is clear that the bulk of these calls occur from around 8:00 AM to midnight; however, this is not that different from the hourly activity levels for all calls for service handled by the department. Interestingly, however, there is somewhat of a divergence in the high-activity periods by type of call. Unwanted Person incidents occur highest in the morning and early afternoon hours, presumably as residents are active and out of their homes, as well as during the hours during which most businesses are open. For the Mental Patient incidents, there is a sharp uptick around 7:00PM until around midnight or just after. In contrast, welfare check incidents decrease around this time. These findings indicate that two shifts would likely be needed to fully implement a strategy that shifts these types of workloads away from regular patrol: • A day shift, working from 8:00AM until 4:00PM. • A swing shift, working from 4:00PM until 12:00AM. 1766
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Importantly, the common start/end time between shifts would allow for a single vehicle to be shared between two shifts. (5.3) Staffing Needs for a Crisis Response Team The types of staff needed are a function of the roles and responsibilities handled by the unit. These include: • Communication and field social services case work. • Mental health crisis events, requiring clinical mental health background. • Response to events with unconscious individuals, where an emergency medical issue may need to be identified. – Some of these may involve overdose on opiate narcotics, requiring the administration of naloxone (Narcan). With these considerations in mind, two distinct roles would be needed in a mental health crisis response unit: • A field clinician, with a background in mental health crisis and social services. • An EMT, who can provide immediate medical care, including the administration of naloxone. For a fully functional team, a unit would be comprised of two personnel – one of each role – in a single vehicle that would respond to certain 911 events in the field. Most of these responses would not require backup from law enforcement personnel, as has been the experience of similar programs such as CAHOOTS and Portland Street Response. In order to staff two teams working a day and swing shift five days per week, four positions would need to be added. Each team would need to be outfitted with one vehicle, two radios, and one MDT (in-car computer). To increase utilization and potentially share costs, the department should examine opportunities to utilize the team regionally with other nearby municipalities. Recommendations: Create a crisis response unit staffed by civilians to provide a specialized response to calls involving homelessness and mental health crisis, diverting many of them from sworn response. Two teams should be established for crisis response, each comprised of 1 field clinician and 1 EMT. 1767
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– In total, this represents an adding two field clinician positions and two EMTs. – The two teams would work 8-hour shifts, from 8:00AM to 4:00PM and 4:00PM to midnight. – One vehicle, one MDT, and two radios would be needed, given the common time for the first shift’s end and the second shift’s start. 1768
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5. Investigations Bureau The Investigations Bureau consists of the Homicide, Domestic and Sexual Violence, General Crimes, Youth Services, Crimes Analysis, Crime Scene, and Safe Streets Task Force. The Investigations Bureau is led by a Captain who is supported by a Lieutenant. 1. Investigations Workload Analysis In reviewing investigative units, it is important to understand the amount of reported crime as this directly impacts potential caseloads. Most agencies report their crime statistics to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for purposes of tracking crime nationally. There are two types of crimes reported to the FBI Part 1 and Part 2. Part 1 are the most serious types of violent and property crime. Part 1 crimes include: Homicide, Rape, Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Larceny-Theft, Motor Vehicle Theft and Arson. Part 2 crimes include: Simple Assault, Forgery, Fraud, Vandalism Weapons Possession, Prostitution, D.U.I., etc. The following table shows the UCR reported Part 1 crime for the last 5 years. 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Violent Crime 849 780 766 622 566 Criminal Homicide 18 17 22 18 18 Sexual Assault 77 104 93 65 83 Robbery 409 328 255 244 234 Aggravated Assault 345 331 396 295 231 Property Crime 4225 4018 3257 3143 3013 Arson 55 36 52 37 33 Burglary 1608 1335 787 653 631 Larceny-Theft 1,351 1,702 1,334 1349 1304 Motor Vehicle Theft 1211 945 1084 1104 1045 Violent Crime - 33% Property Crime - 28% As can be seen by the preceding chart, reported violent crime is down 33% over the last 5 years while property crime is down 28% during the same period. The following chart displays the same information graphically:
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As the chart demonstrates reported violent and property has decreased over the last five years. In 2012 the Investigations Bureau had 32 detectives assigned including proactive units. In the years since there have been staff reductions even though the rate of crime has been relatively consistent. This means potential caseloads have been consistent, though the number of detectives the cases has declined. Additionally, detective caseloads have become much more complex and time consuming due to increased technology, electronic and DNA evidence and legal requirements increasing the need for subpoenas and warrants. 2. Calculation of Detective Net Availability Before determining availability and staffing needs, it is important to first review the number of net available hours detectives are available to conduct investigations. To conduct this analysis, it is critical to understand the amount of time that detectives are on leave – including vacation, sick, injury, military, or any other type of leave – as well as hours dedicated to on-duty court or training time, and time spent on administrative tasks. The impact of each of these factors is determined through a combination of calculations made from RPD data and estimates based on the experience of the project team, which are then subtracted from the base number of annual work hours per position. The result represents the total net available hours of detectives and other positions, or the time in which they are on-duty and available to complete workloads and other activities in the field. 849780766622566
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050010001500200025003000350040004500
20182019202020212022
Reported Part 1 Crimes
Violent CrimeProperty CrimeLinear (Violent Crime)Linear (Property Crime) 1770
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Net availability for detectives is different from patrol, in part because of court and administrative responsibilities. Workloads such as case plans, search warrant execution, and so forth that do not fit directly into case investigative hours are included within an estimated administrative time figure. The table below outlines this process in detail, outlining how each contributing factor is calculated: Factors Used to Calculate Detective Net Availability Work Hours Per Year The total number of scheduled work hours for detectives, without factoring in leave, training, or anything else that takes detectives away from normal on-duty work. This factor forms the base number from which other availability factors are subtracted from. Base number: 2,080 scheduled work hours per year Total Leave Hours (subtracted from total work hours per year) Includes all types of leave, including injuries and military leave, FMLA – anything that would cause detectives that are normally scheduled to work on a specific day to instead not be on duty. As a result, this category excludes on-duty training, administrative time, and on-duty court time. From RPD Data: 351 hours of leave per year On-Duty Training Time (subtracted from total work hours per year) The average total number of hours spent per year in training that are completed while on-duty and not on overtime. This is calculated at 45 hours per detective per year with six detectives on SWAT receiving an additional 260 hours per year. Because not all detectives are on the SWAT team, the additional training is only calculated for the detectives that are. From RPD Data: 78 hours of on-duty training time per year 1771
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On-Duty Court Time (subtracted from total work hours per year) The total number of hours that each detective spends per year attending court while on duty, including transit time. Court attendance while on overtime is not included in the figure. Without any data recording on-duty court time specifically for detectives, the number of hours is estimated based on the experience of the project team. Estimated: 120 hours of on-duty court time per year Administrative Time (subtracted from net available hours after leave, court and training hours deducted) The total number of hours per year spent completing administrative tasks while on-duty, including staff meetings, returning phone calls, emails, maintaining contact with victims and victim’s families, search warrant preparation and planning and various other activities including some operations that may not be directly captured in the case hours calculations. The number is calculated as an estimated 20% of net work hours after other deductions. Estimated: 306 hours of administrative time per year Total Net Available Hours After subtracting the previous factors from the total work hours per year, the remaining hours comprise the total net available hours for detectives – the time in which they are available to work after accounting for all leave, on-duty training, court, and administrative time. Net availability can also be expressed as a percentage of the base number of work hours per year. Calculated by subtracting the previously listed factors from the base number: 1,225 net available hours per detective The following table summarizes this calculation process, displaying how each net availability factor contributes to the overall net availability of detectives:
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Calculation of Detective Net Availability
Base Annual Work Hours 2,080
Total Leave Hours – 351 On-Duty Training Hours – 78 On-Duty Court Time Hours – 120 Administrative Hours – 306 Net Available Hours Per Detective = 1,225
Overall, the detective has approximately 1,225 net available hours per year, representing the total time in which they are able to conduct investigations. These hours will be used in the following sections to analyze detective caseloads. 3. Caseload Hours Not all investigative cases require the same number of investigative hours, for example a homicide investigation requires more investigative time (and resources) than a burglary. To factor for this, Matrix Consulting Group developed several case type investigative caseload work hours. These were developed through dozens of studies and interviews with detective working cases. The following case type caseload workload hours were used to calculate staff resource needs: (3.1) Homicide Homicide cases are among the most complex and time-consuming investigations that are conducted. These cases receive a high level of scrutiny and therefore almost all investigative techniques are used. Additionally, because of their complexity they are typically handled by a group of detectives and additional resources are often used. The following table shows a breakdown of approximate caseload hours for a homicide case or officer involved shooting: Task Processes Involved Approximate Time % of Time Completed DNA Evidence to Crime Lab 4 hours 100% Crime Scene Material Evidence to Property Control 4 hours 100% Cell Phones Cell Phone Downloads, with some taking longer than others. 30 hours 100% 1773
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Task Processes Involved Approximate Time % of Time Completed Video Review of video recovered from scene and BWC 40 hours 100% Social Media/Electronic Records/Physical location Warrants/Subpoenas/Review of Evidence Obtained. 60 hours 100% Location Data Warrants/Subpoenas/Review of Evidence Obtained. 40 hours 100% Surveillance Surveillance, including locating suspect and report writing. 10 hours 100% Postmortem Exam Autopsy performed by ME (Detectives observe and consult) 6 hours 100% Victim / Witness Interview(s) Interview(s), including report writing. 40 hours 100% Suspect Interview(s) Interview(s), including report writing. 12 hours 50% Jail Call Monitoring Listen to calls, write reports. 20 Hours 100% Consult with DA Conduct follow up, write additional reports. 10 hours 100% Total 276 hours- If all tasks completed On Average 276 hours This list is not all inclusive and does not contain all elements and not every homicide will have the same amount of evidence or interviews conducted. Included in these hours is the assumption that detectives will be using RMS searches, social media searches, checking association files, receiving informant information and other investigative techniques (trackers, cell tower data, etc.), if available. It also assumed that detectives work as a team and not all investigative hours will be worked by a single detective (These are hours for lead detective only). Many cases will not require the number of hours listed, but some cases may require significantly more. Using the case time estimates and the percentage of the time that each subtask is completed, this translates to approximately 276.0 hours allotted per solvable case. 1774
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Additionally, on average most departments assign a team of other detectives to assist during the early stages of a homicide investigation which represents approximately 40 hours per investigator assigned. (3.2) Person Crimes Person crimes cases are treated more seriously by the judicial system and tend to have more witnesses and evidence requiring more time in interviews and recovering and processing evidence than property crimes. Approximate case hours were developed through numerous interviews with detectives, and are summarized in the following table:
Task Processes Involved Approximate Time % of Time Completed DNA Evidence to crime lab, includes submission and report. 3 hours 10% Crime Scene Material Evidence to property control, inspection, and report writing. 4 hours 30% Cell Phones Cell phone downloads, with some taking longer than others. 10 hours 50% Video Review of video recovered from scene and BWC, report writing. 10 hours 50% Social Media/ Elec. Records Warrants/subpoenas, including submission and report. 10 hours 20% Location Data Warrants/subpoenas, including submission and report. 20 hours 20% Surveillance Surveillance, including locating suspect and report writing. 10 hours 10% Victim / Witness Interview(s) Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 100% Suspect Interview(s) Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 50% Jail Call Monitoring Listen to calls, report writing. 10 hours 10% Consult with DA Conduct follow up, write additional reports. 1 hours 20% 1775
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Task Processes Involved Approximate Time % of Time Completed Total If all tasks completed: 82.0 hours On average: 22.6 hours This list is not all inclusive and does not contain all elements of an investigation and not every case will have same amount of evidence or interviews conducted. Included in these hours is the assumption that detectives will be using RMS searches, checking association files, receiving informant information, and other investigative techniques (trackers, cell tower data, etc.), if available. Many cases will not require the number of hours listed, but some cases may require significantly more. Based on the percentage for how often each subtask is completed, each solvable case equates to an average of approximately 22.6 hours. (3.3) Sexual Assault Sexual assault and crimes against children are even more complex cases that are treated more seriously by the judicial system; they tend to have less witnesses, thus requiring more time in interviews and recovery and processing of evidence than other person crimes. The following chart describes approximate investigative times for sex crimes:
Processes Involved Approximate Time % of Time Completed DNA Evidence to crime lab, includes submission and report. 2 hours 50% Crime Scene Material Evidence to property control, inspection, and report writing. 2 hours 50% Cell Phones Cell phone downloads, with some taking longer than others. 4 hours 40% Video Review of video recovered from scene and BWC, report writing. 4 hours 50% Social Media/ Elec. Records Warrants/subpoenas, including submission and report. 10 hours 20% Location Data Warrants/subpoenas, including submission and report. 20 hours 40% 1776
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Processes Involved Approximate Time % of Time Completed Surveillance Surveillance, including locating suspect and report writing. 10 hours 20% Sex Assault Kit Sex Assault Exam including report writing. 6 Hours 90% Victim / Witness Interviews Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 100% Suspect Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 50% Jail Call Monitoring Listen to calls, report writing. 2 hours 40% Consult with DA Review case, perform follow up, includes report writing. 1 hours 20% Total If all tasks completed: 65.0 hours On average: 26.6 hours This list is not all inclusive and does not contain all elements of all investigations. Not every case will have same amount of evidence or interviews conducted. Included in these hours is the assumption that detectives will be using RMS searches, checking association files, receiving informant information and other investigative techniques (trackers, cell tower data, etc.), if available. Many cases will not require the number of hours listed, but some cases may require significantly more. Using the above work hour estimates and the percentage of the time that each subtask is completed, this translates to approximately 26.6 hours per solvable case. (3.4) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Internet Crimes Against Children are complex investigative cases which rely heavily on digital forensic evidence that requires unique processes. These cases are treated more seriously by the judicial system; they tend to have less witnesses, thus requiring more time in interviews and recovery and processing of evidence than other crimes. The following chart describes approximate investigative times for sex crimes:
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Processes Involved Approximate Time % of Time Completed Cell Phones Cell phone downloads, with some taking longer than others. 4 hours 30% Video Review of video recovered from scene and BWC, report writing. 4 hours 30% Social Media/ Elec. Records Warrants/subpoenas, including submission and report. 6 hours 20% Location Data Warrants/subpoenas, including submission and report. 20 hours 30% Surveillance Surveillance, including locating suspect and report writing. 10 hours 20% Document / Digital Evidence Review Review/ recover images, files, and write reports. 30 Hours 100% Victim / Witness Interviews Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 50% Suspect Suspect interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 50% Jail Call Monitoring Listen to calls, report writing. 4 hours 10% Consult with DA Review case, perform follow up, includes report writing. 4 hours 10% Total If all tasks completed: 86.0 hours On average: 44.4 hours This list is not all inclusive and does not contain all elements and not every sex assault case will have same amount of evidence or interviews conducted. Included in these hours is the assumption that detectives will be using RMS searches, checking association files, receiving informant information and other investigative techniques (trackers, cell tower data, etc.), if available. Many cases will not require the number of hours listed, but some cases may require significantly more. Using the above work hour estimates and the percentage of the time that each subtask is completed, this translates to approximately 44.4 hours per solvable case. 1778
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(3.5) Burglary / Property Crime Burglary / Property Crimes are typically less complex investigative cases than person crimes and generally require less investigative time or resources. These cases are treated less seriously by the judicial system, and they tend to have less witnesses. The following chart describes approximate investigative times for Burglary / Property Crimes:
Processes Involved Approximate Time % of Time Completed DNA Evidence to crime lab, includes submission and report. 2 hours 20% Crime Scene Material Evidence to property control, inspection, and report writing. 2 hours 20% Cell Phones Cell phone downloads, with some taking longer than others. 4 hours 50% Video Review of video recovered from scene and BWC, report writing. 2 hours 50% Social Media/ Elec. Records Warrants/subpoenas, including submission and report. 6 hours 30% Location Data Warrants/subpoenas, including submission and report. 20 hours 40% Surveillance Surveillance, including locating suspect and report writing. 10 hours 20% Victim / Witness Interviews Interview(s), including report writing. 1 hours 50% Suspect Interview Interview(s), including report writing. 1 hours 50% Jail Call Monitoring Listen to calls, report writing. 2 hours 10% Consult with DA Review case, perform follow up, includes report writing. 1 hours 10% Total If all tasks completed: 51.0 hours On average: 16.9 hours This list is not all inclusive and does not contain all elements of all investigations. Not every case will have same amount of evidence or interviews conducted. Included in these 1779
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hours is the assumption that detectives will be using RMS searches, checking association files, receiving informant information and other investigative techniques (trackers, cell tower data, etc.), if available. Many cases will not require the number of hours listed, but some cases may require significantly more. Using the above work hour estimates and the percentage of the time that each subtask is completed, this translates to approximately 16.9 hours per solvable case. (3.6) Financial Crimes Financial crimes are exceedingly difficult cases to pursue and typically take longer to investigate as much of the evidence must be subpoenaed or obtained with a search warrant. In addition, much of the evidence belongs to financial institutions and detectives must wait for them to comply with legal requests for information before they can proceed, and this can take weeks to months depending on the type and amount of data requested. They also tend to have much lower solvability rates (approximately 50% less solvable than person crimes). These types of cases typically do not require a detective to respond to a scene and are often handled as follow up a day or more after the occurrence. The following chart details processes and times associated with investigating financial crimes:
Processes Involved Approximate Time % of Time Completed Document / Digital Evidence Review Review/ recover financial data, files, and write reports. 12 hours 100% Video Review of video recovered from scene and BWC, report writing. 4 hours 10% Social Media/ Elec. Records Warrants/subpoenas, including submission and report. 8 hours 10% Cell Phone / computer evidence Warrants/subpoenas, including submission and report. 8 hours 50% Location Data Warrants/subpoenas, including submission and report. 20 hours 50% Victim / Witness Interview(s) Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 100% 1780
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Processes Involved Approximate Time % of Time Completed Suspect Interview(s) Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 20% Total If all tasks completed: 56.0 hours On average: 29.6 hours This list is not all inclusive and does not contain all elements of all investigations. Not every case will have same amount of evidence or interviews conducted. Included in these hours is the assumption that detectives will be using RMS searches, checking association files, receiving informant information and other investigative techniques (trackers, cell tower data, etc.), if available. Many cases will not require the number of hours listed, but some cases may require significantly more. Using the above work hour estimates and the percentage of the time that each subtask is completed, this translates to approximately 29.6 hours per solvable case. (3.7) Domestic Assault Domestic Assault cases are generally less investigative intense the victim and suspect are known; however, they do require some investigation for successful prosecution. The following chart describes approximate investigative times for these cases:
Processes Involved Approximate Time % of Time Completed DNA Evidence to crime lab, includes submission and report. 2 hours 20% Crime Scene Material Evidence to property control, inspection, and report writing. 2 hours 10% Cell Phones Cell phone downloads, with some taking longer than others. 4 hours 50% Video Review of video recovered from scene and BWC, report writing. 2 hours 100% Social Media/ Elec. Records Warrants/subpoenas, including submission and report. 4 hours 20% Surveillance Surveillance, including locating suspect and report writing. 2 hours 20% 1781
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Processes Involved Approximate Time % of Time Completed Victim / Witness Interviews Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 100% Suspect Interview Interview(s), including report writing. 2 hours 50% Jail Call Monitoring Listen to calls, report writing. 2 hours 10% Consult with DA Review case, perform follow up, includes report writing. 1 hours 10% Total If all tasks completed: 21.0 hours On average: 8.7 hours This list is not all inclusive and does not contain all elements of all investigations. Not every case will have same amount of evidence or interviews conducted. Included in these hours is the assumption that detectives will be using RMS searches, checking association files, receiving informant information and other investigative techniques (trackers, cell tower data, etc.), if available. Many cases will not require the number of hours listed, but some cases may require significantly more. Using the above work hour estimates and the percentage of the time that each subtask is completed, this translates to approximately 8.7 hours per solvable case. (3.8) Missing / Runaway Missing / Runaway cases typical involve interviewing reporting party, last person to have seen them, checking last known locations, close friends and relatives and entering information into teletype. Depending on leads and investigation required by law or agency policy these cases range from 2 to 4 hours with an average of about 3 hours. (3.9) General Crimes / Officer Assist General crimes / officer assists can vary greatly depending on the type of crime or assistance needed. These cases are typically lower-level crimes where some follow up is needed or an officer needs assistance with a case they are working. This can include assisting with a cell phone download, social media or open sources search, warrant preparation or other investigative techniques. Depending on the type of crime and investigative need these cases take between 4 and 8 hours with an average of 6 hours. 1782
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4. Caseload Workload Hours Analysis by Unit To determine the caseload the project team reviewed the detective caseload and then sorted the cases by case type. The case types were divided into the detective units responsible for that type of investigation. Using the caseload hours by case type the total caseloads per work unit were then calculated. (4.1) Homicide Unit The following table details the homicide unit caseload with associated work hours: 2021 Homicide Unit Caseload # Investigative Hours Per Total Hours Homicide 12 275 3,300 Homicide Assist 12* 160 1,920 Person Crimes (Assaults / Shootings / Other) 264 22.6 5,966 Total 276 N/A 11,186 *Not included caseload count total. As the table above indicates, the caseload assigned is represents approximately 11,186 hours. As mentioned above there are a total of 6 authorized detective positions assigned to work cases with 1 current vacancy. Using the previous calculation of net available caseload hours and total 2021 caseload the number of detectives needed to investigate the caseload can be determined: Calculation of Detective Staffing Needs Total Caseload Hours
11,186 Divided by total net available hours for 1 detective (1,225) ÷
1,225
Number of Detectives Needed
=
9.13 As the chart indicates the number of detectives recommended to work the assigned caseload hours assigned is 9.13 and there are a total of 5 detectives currently assigned with 6 authorized. As noted in a previous section RPD has a very low clearance rate on person crimes compared to peers. To achieve workable caseloads levels with current assigned caseloads a total of 10 detectives is needed. Additionally, to provide supervisory support an additional sergeant is needed to maintain a recommended ratio of no more than 6 to 9 direct reports per supervisory. 1783
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Recommendations: Increase authorized staffing in Homicides by 4 detectives for a total of 10 detectives assigned. Increase authorized staffing in Homicides by 1 sergeant for a total of 2 sergeants assigned. (4.2) Domestic and Sexual Violence Unit The following table details the special victims unit caseload with associated work hours: 2021 Domestic and Sexual Violence Unit Caseload # Investigative Hours Per Total Hours Sex Assault / Abuse – Elder / Child Abuse 557 26.6 14,816 Domestic Violence 147 8.7 1,278 Total 704 N/A 16,094 As the table above indicates, the caseload assigned is represents approximately 16,094 hours. As mentioned above there are a total of 6 authorized detective positions assigned to work cases with 1 current vacancies. Using the previous calculation of net available caseload hours and total 2021 caseload the number of detectives needed to investigate the caseload can be determined: Calculation of Detective Staffing Needs Total Caseload Hours
16,094 Divided by total net available hours for 1 detective (1,225) ÷
1,225
Number of Detectives Needed
=
13.1 As the chart indicates the number of detectives recommended to work the assigned caseload hours assigned is 13.1 and there are a total of 5 detectives currently assigned with 6 authorized. As noted in a previous section RPD has a very low clearance rate on person crimes compared to peers. To achieve workable caseloads levels with current assigned caseloads a total of 13 detectives is needed. Additionally, to provide supervisory support an additional sergeant is needed to maintain a recommended ratio of no more than 6 to 9 direct reports per supervisory. 1784
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Recommendations: Increase authorized staffing in the Domestic and Sexual Violence Unit by 7 detectives for a total of 13 detectives assigned. Increase authorized staffing in the Domestic and Sexual Violence Unit by 1 sergeant for a total of 2 sergeants assigned. (4.3) General Crimes Unit The following table details the property crimes unit caseload with associated work hours: 2021 General Crimes Caseload # Investigative Hours Per Total Hours Burglary 328 16.6 5,444 Fraud / Forgery 38 29.6 1,124 Other Person Crimes 418 22.6 9,446 Robbery 149 22.6 3,367 Stolen Vehicles* 151 16.6 2,506 Total 1,084 N/A 21,887 *Estimated on historically only 10% of reported stolen vehicles being investigated. As the table above indicates, the caseload assigned is represents approximately 21,887 hours. As mentioned above there are a total of 6 authorized detective positions (1 youth crimes) assigned to work cases with 2 current vacancies. Using the previous calculation of net available caseload hours and total 2021 caseload the number of detectives needed to investigate the caseload can be determined: Calculation of Detective Staffing Needs Total Caseload Hours
21,887 Divided by total net available hours for 1 detective (1,225) ÷
1,225
Number of Detectives Needed
=
17.8 As the chart indicates the number of detectives recommended to work the assigned caseload hours assigned is 17.8 and there are a total of 6 detectives currently assigned with 8 authorized. As noted in a previous section RPD has a very low clearance rate on person/property crimes compared to peers. To achieve workable caseloads levels with current assigned caseloads a total of 18 detectives is needed. Additionally, to provide 1785
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supervisory support an additional sergeant is needed to maintain a recommended ratio of no more than 6 to 9 direct reports per supervisory. General crimes are a combination of two prior units that included person crimes and property which were consolidated due to staffing shortages. The focus of these two units is very dissimilar and they are not typically combined in other police departments serving a similar sized population as Richmond. General crimes should be separated into two separate units to better focus investigative efforts. Recommendations: Increase authorized staffing in the General Crimes Unit by 10 detectives for a total of 18 detectives assigned. Increase authorized staffing in the General Crimes Unit by 1 sergeant for a total of 2 sergeants assigned. Split the General Crimes Unit into person crimes and property crimes (including financial crimes) (4.4) Crime Analysis The Crime Analysis Unit consists of 1 crime analyst. The crime analyst position operates more like an investigative analyst in that they assist with investigations by performing cell phone data extraction and other investigative tasks. The crime analyst also prepares crime statistics and reports. Performance measures are not tracked for this position. There is a currently a backlog on processing cell phone downloads and other investigative tasks and only priority cases are handled. There were 1,074 Part 1 violent crimes reported in 2020 and only 1 crime analyst to assist with these cases. This does not include other cases where a crime analyst would be helpful in securing more evidence, especially cell phone and location data. With current resources fewer digital devices are processed than would be expected. The following table illustrates potential crime analyst caseloads. Potential Crime Analyst Activities Category Number Average Hours per Phone /Device* Total Hours 70% of Reported Part 1 Violent Crime Cases (1,074 X .70) 751 3 2,253 20% of Reported Part 1 Property Crime Cases (3,745 X .20) 749 3 2,247 Total 1,500 N/A 4,500 *Includes digital extraction (cell phone downloads), interpreting data, documenting, and writing reports. 1786
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As the table indicates the unit should be processing approximately 1,500 Part 1 crime related digital evidence which represents approximately 4,500 hours of work. As mentioned above there is 1 authorized position assigned to process digital evidence. Using the previous calculation of net available hours and the estimated total of digital evidence that should be processed the number of staff needed to process the cell phones / digital evidence can be determined: Calculation of Staffing Needs Total Caseload Hours
4,500 Divided by total net available hours for 1 staff (1,225) ÷
1,720
Number of Detectives Needed
=
2.61 As the chart indicates the number of staff recommended to work the estimated caseload is 2.61 and there is a total of 1 analyst currently assigned. Adding 2 more analysts to assist with cell phone downloads, interpreting location data and conducting social media searches could greatly increase the case solvency rate for the department. With added staff the unit should have a dedicated supervisor assigned to maintain a reasonable span of control. The supervisor should be a working supervisor that also maintains a smaller caseload in addition to supervises the unit. Recommendation: Add 2 crime analysts to assist with cases for a total of 3 analysts assigned. Add a supervisor in Crime Analysis to oversee the 3 analysts. (4.5) Safe Streets Task Force One sergeant is assigned to the Safe Streets Task Force. The Safe Streets Task Force combines local, state, and federal partners to target violent crimes. The sergeant assigned to the unit supervises officers from multiple agencies. The multi -agency task force provides Richmond with investigative resources and financial support they could not as easily accomplish on their own. As a proactive unit, there is not set specific benchmark for case solvency as there are many variables involved in each case that can be unique. Violent crime and gang cases require extensive surveillance, search warrants and the use of other investigative techniques which can labor intensive. This task force, though reduced in staff provides a benefit to the City of Richmond through additional investigative resources and financial benefits that cover overtime and other operational expenses. 1787
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Recommendation: Maintain authorized staffing of 1 sergeant in the Safe Streets Task Force. (4.6) Crime Scene The Crime Scene Unit consists of 1 detective. The CSU responds to serious violent crimes assisting mostly just the homicide unit. There are 3 crime scene techs that assist patrol with lower-level cases. This is currently a collateral duty for 3 officers. The crime scene unit in investigations photographs and recovers evidence at serious crime scenes. As noted earlier there were 1,074 violent crimes reported in 2020. There were and additional 3,745 Part 1 crimes reported in 2020. With current resources fewer crimes scenes are processed than would be expected. There are digital evidence recovery technicians so all on scene digital evidence recovery is done by officers on scene, investigative detectives, or the crime scene detective. This is not a best practice as digital evidence recovery requires technical skills that should be certified for court testimony expertise and consistency. The table below shows potential workload if major crime scenes were processed in 2021: Potential Crime Scene Activities Category Number Avg Hours/Scene* Total Hours 70% of Reported Part 1 Violent Crime Cases (1,074 X .70) 751 3 2,253 30% of Reported Part 1 Property Crime Cases (3,745 X .30) 1,123 2 2,246 Total 1,874 N/A 4,499 *Includes travel time, documenting, recovering evidence, placing evidence into the property room, and writing reports. As the table indicates the crime scene unit should be processing approximately 1,874 Part 1 crime scenes which represents approximately 4,499 hours of work. As mentioned above there is 1 authorized detective positions assigned to process crime scenes. Using the previous calculation of net available hours and the estimated total of crime scenes that should be processed the number of staff needed to process the crime scenes can be determined:
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Calculation of Staffing Needs Total Caseload Hours
4,499 Divided by total net available hours for 1 detective/ staff (1,225) ÷
1,225
Number of Detectives Needed
=
3.67 As the chart indicates the number of staff recommended to work the estimated caseload is 3.67 and there is a total of 1 detective currently assigned. Crime scene processing does not require law enforcement credentials or specific officer training. Many agencies successfully process crime scenes using all civilian staff. Civilian staff are typically paid less than the sworn personnel and are therefore more economical. Over time the police department should transition to all civilian staff for crime scene staffing. If crime scene were to be civilianized the number of net available work hours would increase due to less on duty training, court, and time off. The following table shows staffing needs using civilian staffing: Calculation of Staffing Needs Total Caseload Hours
4,499 Divided by total net available hours for 1 detective/ staff (1,720) ÷
1,720
Number of Crime Scene Technicians Needed
=
2.61 As the chart indicates the number of staff recommended to work the estimated caseload is 2.61 and there is a total of 1 detective currently assigned. The unit should be transitioned to civilian staff with new hires being civilian and the sworn detective position should be transitioned to civilian staff upon transfer, promotion, or retirement of the current detective. With added staff the unit should have a dedicated supervisor assigned to maintain a reasonable span of control. The supervisor should be a working supervisor that also maintains a smaller caseload in addition to supervises the unit. Recommendation: Add 2 additional civilian crime scene technicians and a supervisor for a total of 3 crime scene technicians and 1 supervisor. 1789
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Transition the sworn detective position assigned to crime scenes to a civilian upon retirement, transfer or promotion. 5. Proactive Investigations The Richmond police department had proactive investigative units until staffing shortages required the positions to be eliminated to focus on responding to calls for service. The investigative proactive units focused on repeat offenders and high crime locations. Proactive investigative units have time to conduct surveillance, write warrants and safely conduct stops along with other investigative techniques. Dedicated staffing to conduct proactive investigations of problem locations or repeat offenders is a very common among progressive law enforcement agencies. Proactive investigations provide law enforcement agencies the ability to perform investigations that require additional time and equipment to be successful. The RPD lacks proactive investigative resources which a proactive investigative team would prefer. Proactive units can help make communities safer by mitigating chronic crime locations and by focuses on repeat offenders. Proactive investigation teams do create some liability because their work is self-initiated and some of the investigations can be very complex. To mitigate the liability a sergeant should be included as a direct supervisor in the unit and the unit should consist of two teams of two detectives so that stops can be conducted with at least to detectives present. Recommendation: RPD should stand up a proactive investigative team comprised of 1 sergeant and 4 detectives. 6. Summary of Investigation Bureau Staffing Needs Based on the 2021 workload, detective net availability, and average time by case load type the number of staff needed was determined. The following table summarizes the number of staff needed by type. 1790
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Recommended Investigative Staffing by Unit Case Type Captain Lieutenant Sergeants Detectives Civilian Total Investigations Admin 1 1 0 0 0 2 Homicide Unit 0 0 2 9 0 11 Domestic and Sexual Violence Unit 0 0 2 13 0 15 General Crimes Unit (Eliminate) 0 0 0 0 0 0 Person Crimes Unit (NEW) 0 0 1 9 0 10 Property Crimes Unit (NEW) 0 0 1 9 0 10 Proactive Investigations (New) 0 0 1 4 0 5 Safe Streets TF 0 0 1 0 0 1 Crime Analysis 0 0 0 0 4 4 Crime Scene Unit 0 0 0 0 4 4 Total 1 1 7 40 8 62 The recommended staffing is a large increase over current staffing with 34 additional staff recommended. 1791
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6. Administration Bureau The Administration Bureau is led by a Captain and comprised of the Personnel and Training Section, the Records Section, the Police IT Section, and the Communications Center. Staff is comprised of a combination of sworn and non-sworn personnel. 1. Personnel and Training Section The Personnel and Training Section is responsible for several administrative functions within the police department. These functions include the development of training plans, procurement of equipment, and compliance maintenance with the California Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST). The Section is also responsible for the recruitment and hiring of all sworn Police Officers and Professional Support Staff for the department. The Section is comprised of one Sergeant, two Officers, and one Administrative Aid. The Sergeant works 6am – 4pm, Monday through Thursday. One Officer works 8am – 6pm, Monday through Thursday and the other Officer works 7:30am – 5:30pm, Tuesday through Friday. The Administrative Aid works 6am – 4pm, Monday through Thursday but is only assigned to the Section two days each week. The other two days are assigned to the Financial Services Unit. The Personnel and Training Section Sergeant is assigned first-line supervisory duties and the following collateral duty assignments: • SWAT • Armory coordinator • Police service dog program coordinator • Jail operations • Building services • Probationary review board • Police training officer program • Defensive tactics and taser programs There are clear advantages in assigning managers and supervisors collateral duties. These advantages include being more cost effective than the alternative of retaining more personnel and providing for opportunities to enhance their professional experience. 1792
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Caution should be used not to overburden employees with collateral duties which take away from primary supervisory functions. Given the primary duties associated with the personnel and training sergeant position, it is recommended that the current collateral duty assignments not exceed the current number. Officer to Sergeant span of control ratios have a significant impact on the performance of first-line supervisors and their ability to fulfill the range of their duties effectively. While factors such as job functions, available technology, and the competencies of the supervisor and staff may play a role in this ratio, the recommended supervisory span of control is seven officers to one sergeant. The below chart depicts the Personnel and Training Sergeant’s current supervisory span of control: Supervisory Span of Control Ratio Sergeant 1:10 The current supervisor span of control exceeds the recommended ratio of 1:7. Seven of the Personnel and Training Section Sergeant’s subordinates work within the 24- hour jail facility. As such, there are times when a direct supervisory gap exists among jail personnel. Recommendation: Reassign jail facility supervisory responsibilities to new jail supervisor position (more on jail supervisor recommendation in jail facility section of report). 1.2 Training The Personnel and Training Section Officers coordinate the department’s yearly in-service training. All Richmond Police department trainers are part-time (collateral duty assignments). The Range and Firearms Program, Defensive Tactics and Taser Program, and the Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC) Program are each managed by a Lieutenant and coordinated by a Sergeant (collateral duty assignments). The following table depicts all department mandated training in 2021: Richmond Police Department Training Topic Hours Firearms 16 Defensive Tactics 1.5 Driver Training 4 High Speed Vehicle Pursuit 2 1793
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Each year, Police Officers in the State of California are mandated to complete twenty-four or more hours of POST qualified training during a two-year cycle. The following table depicts the total number of hours mandated by the State of California, Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST): California POST Mandated Training Requirements Topic Requirement Domestic Violence Complaints Every 2 years First Aid and CPR Every 2 years High Speed Vehicle Pursuits 2 hours each year Racial and Identity Profiling Every 5 years Firearms 4 hours minimum each year Driver Training/Awareness 4 hours minimum each year Arrest and Control (Defensive Tactics) 4 hours minimum each year Strategic Communications 2 hours minimum each year Use of Force 4 hours minimum each year While the two-year California POST training cycle is not complete, the Richmond Police Department was deficient in arrest and control training hours (defensive tactics) in 2021. Effective and consistent education and training is of strategic importance in modern policing. The current California POST mandated training hours are a limited requirement which does not meet current best practices; forty hours of in-service training per year. In 2014, a Presidential Task Force on 21st Policing was created in order to strengthen community policing and trust among Law Enforcement Officers and the communities they serve. One key task force recommendation focused on the need for police training to be expanded upon and more effective in order to meet the scope of current and future police responsibilities. The task force also recommended that police organizations engage community members, particularly those with special expertise in the training process and provide leadership training to all personnel throughout their careers. In order to expand upon its current training, it is recommended that the Richmond Police Department conduct a training needs assessment and develop a yearly training plan. 1.3 Training Needs Assessment Prior to the development of a training plan, an organizational needs assessment should be conducted. This assessment should be based on current issues within the department, as well as emerging trends in policing. Topics such as crisis intervention, de-escalation, arrest and control techniques, and complaints or performance issues which affect more than one employee should be addressed. This assessment should be conducted with stakeholders at the officer, non-sworn and supervisory levels. 1794
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A training needs assessment should include the following: • Review of statutory changes. • Review of policy changes. • A review of department needs for training on specific tasks. • A national survey of emerging trends. • A local survey of trends. • Data from the department on use of force, complaints, officer involved traffic collisions, process or procedure failures, lawsuits to determine if any issues could be mitigated through training. • Legal updates. • Career advancement training. • Leadership training. A well thought-out assessment will include needs from each role/ function within the department and may be different for each unit. Community participation and input should be solicited while conducting the training needs assessment. 1.4 Training Plan There is no formalized training plan developed by the agency to ensure police trends or department needs are incorporated into training cycles. A training plan should be developed once a needs assessment has been completed. A formalized training plan will help to ensure all employees receive the training they need to be effective at their job. A training plan would also detail when training should be conducted so that all state training mandates are met and that all employees receive the needed training to be most effective. A training committee should be created to develop the plan. This can help with employee “buy in” for the plan and can also help explain “the why” and “how” the plan was developed. A training committee should consist at a minimum of one person from each major area of the department since different units of areas may have specific needs. Community members can be a valuable asset to a police organization’s training. As such, community representatives should also participate in the training committee. Once the plan is developed a matrix should be completed so that time frames and attendance goals are met. This yearly training plan should be developed and approved by department leadership at the beginning of each year. 1795
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Recommendations: Create a departmental training committee comprised of a cross-section of employees and community members. Conduct a training needs assessment. Develop a yearly department training plan. Increase annual training to a minimum of 40 hours per year inclusive of state mandated training. 1.5 Recruitment and Hiring The Personnel and Training Section Officers coordinate all department pre-employment background investigations. These Officers also coordinate the department’s recruitment efforts. The Police Executive Research Forum recently surveyed its members regarding staffing, hiring, retirement, and resignation trends among officers from 2019 through 2021. Although the hiring of new officers increased in 2021 after falling sharply in 2020, officer resignations and retirements continue to strain overall staffing levels. Staffing at agencies in the Western United States decreased more than the overall average. Agencies continue to face serious staffing shortages. The Richmond Police Department currently has forty-one vacant positions throughout the department. The Richmond Police Department utilizes various social media platforms and recruitment approaches, including a link to its recruitment page on the front page of the department’s website. A diverse workforce is essential in building trust between police departments and the communities they serve. Nationally, police agencies have altered recruitment and hiring approaches such as offering hiring bonuses and changing eligibility requirements. Police agencies have also begun giving retention bonuses or pay increases to target staffing issues. The Richmond Police Department does not currently have a strategic recruitment, hiring, and retention plan. Such a plan will build trust within the community and ensure the department is representative of the community in terms of characteristics, ability, background, and experience. A comprehensive recruitment, hiring, and retention plan should be created with the following goals: • Engage department stakeholders in order to ensure the Richmond Police Department’s organizational culture is guided by community policing, procedural 1796
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justice, and cultural inclusivity. • Engage community stakeholders in order to ensure the Richmond Police Department’s workforce reflects the characteristics of the community members of Richmond. • Evaluate employment criteria, standards, and benchmarks to ensure that they are tailored to the skills needed to perform job functions, and consequently attract, select, and retain the most qualified and desirable employees. A comprehensive recruitment, hiring, and retention plan should include the following: (1) Recruitment • Modify recruitment efforts to expand the diversity and volume of young adults who perceive a career on the department is a viable career field to consider. • Proactive and targeted community outreach efforts in order to encourage applicants from diverse populations to consider all careers within the department. (2) Hiring • Evaluate the current selection processes used to reduce the time and burden traditional approaches place on applicants and the expense these efforts create for the department. • Evaluate current hiring process to ensure testing requirements correspond with job-related functions. • Evaluate the pre-employment background process in order to adopt a holistic view of skills and strengths applicants bring to the department. • Cultivate awareness among current employees that they play a key role in recruiting future employees as they perform their duties within their communities. • Consider how the orientation and structure used to train new employees might work against efforts to recruit sufficient diverse personnel. (3) Retention • Explore how job sharing and part-time positions might enable the department to retain employees, even during life phases when employees have demanding responsibilities as caregivers. • Pursue a workplace that is welcoming to increase a wide range of diversity and inclusion efforts within the department. • Evaluate traditional organizational practices in ways that might make careers more desirable and sustainable. 1797
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• Develop a department mentorship program and institute leadership training which is critical to providing officers the support, guidance, and resources needed to succeed and earn promotions. • Evaluate potential incentives in order to retain officers. Pre-employment background investigations are currently assigned to part-time Investigators as a collateral duty assignment. These part-time Background Investigators are assigned to various units from within the department. The department also utilizes an outside pre-employment background investigation company as needed. In 2021, six department part-time Background Investigators and two private Background Investigators were used. In 2021, the department received one hundred and sixty applications (one hundred and five sworn and fifty-five non-sworn). Background Investigators completed a total of seventeen background investigations (eleven sworn and six non-sworn). The department hired four sworn positions and three non-sworn positions in 2021. There are currently forty-five vacant positions throughout the department (twenty-six sworn and nineteen non-sworn). Based on historic processing rates, sworn positions require approximately fifty applications in order to fill three to seven positions. Many applicants fail the background process, however that is after time and effort has been invested in starting the background process and preliminary investigation on personal history questionnaires. The following table indicates the workload associated with processing backgrounds based on interviews and previous studies:
Positions # of positions needed
Number of Applicants to process based on ratio of 7 successes to 50 applicants Hours per background process Total workload hours Sworn 26 182 80 14,560 Civilian 19 133 80 10,640 Total 45 315 N/A 25,200 As the table indicates it will take approximately 25,200 work hours in order to fill current department vacancies. Though part time Background Investigators are ideal for a limited number of pre-employment investigations because of their flexibility, they are limited in the number of hours they can work. This means there is limited ability to assign more backgrounds to them when needed. Part-time Investigators are generally limited to 960 hours per year. The following table indicates how many part time Investigators are needed to fill current vacancies in one year. 1798
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Calculation of Staffing Needs Total workload hours 25,200 Divided by total net available hours for 1 investigator (960) ÷ 960 Number of investigators needed = 26.25 As the table indicates, 26 part time Background Investigators are required in order to complete the total number of pre-employment backgrounds required to fill current vacancies. Though it is unlikely this number of pre-employment investigations would need to be completed in a one-year period, the tables illustrate that with current part time resources there are capacity issues. Adding 2 full-time background investigators will increase flexibility and capacity. Recommendations: Develop a comprehensive Recruitment, Hiring, and Retention Plan. Add 2 full-time Background Investigators to the Training and Personnel Unit in order to fill current vacancies. 2. Jail Facility The Richmond Police Department maintains a type II jail facility which is used as a temporary holding facility. All prisoners brought into the jail are either issued a citation and immediately released or transported to the Martinez Detention facility within twenty-four hours of booking. The jail does not house prisoners serving sentences, nor do personnel transport prisoners to court proceedings. Although a large majority of prisoners booked into the facility are from the Richmond Police Department, the California Highway Patrol utilizes the facility as well. The Administration Bureau’s Lieutenant manages the jail facility and provides employee oversight. The Personnel and Training Section Sergeant is assigned first-line supervisory duties of all jail employees. The jail facility is comprised of one Officer and five Jailers (authorized 6). The Officer serves as the Lead Jailer and performs jailer functions and transports prisoners as needed. Jailers perform prisoner searches, conduct medical screenings, book prisoners into the jail facility, and are responsible for the care and custody of prisoners inside the facility. The Jailers are broken up in to three teams of two, who work either 6am – 6pm, 6pm – 6am, or 2pm – 12am shifts. All jailers are required to participate in an eight-hour course once every two years in order to remain in compliance with State of California regulations. 1799
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The below chart depicts the total jail facility bookings from 2021 through 2019: Jail Bookings 2021 1,944 2020 2,040 2019 2,651 Current jail facility best practices specify that Jailer observation posts should be immediately adjacent to inmate living areas in order to allow jailers to hear and respond promptly to emergency situations. The Richmond Police Department maintains observation posts and has a minimum of two Jailers on duty at all times. Although the jail facility is used as a temporary holding facility, there are certain risks and liability which accompany this type of facility operations. Prisoners may arrive with varying degrees of medical, mental health, substance abuse, and family issues. While inside the jail, these prisoners may display a wide range of behaviors, including fear, anger, and anxiety, as well as violent, anti-social, and suicidal behaviors. Although the department maintains adequate jailer staffing, there is a need for a full-time primary supervisor within the jail facility. The following tasks should be assigned to this full-time primary supervisor: • Immediate supervision of subordinates in the performance of their duties. • Maintain inventory of equipment. • Train subordinates. • Disseminate information to subordinates. • Ensure policies and procedures are followed. • Review and approve various reports. • Provide direct supervision for potential high-risk situations. • Perform employee and jail facility audits. • Ensure proper care / custody of prisoners is maintained. As previously discussed, the current immediate supervisor for all jail facility employees is the Personnel and Training Sergeant. This Sergeant currently has a total of eight collateral duty assignments, outside of primary work functions. In order to ensure proper supervision of jail facility employees and proper care and custody of prisoners, a full-time supervisor is needed. This supervisor will assist in minimizing risk and liability concerns 1800
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from within the jail facility. It is also recommended that this jail facility supervisor be a non-sworn Police Officer position. Recommendation: Add 1 full-time non-sworn Jail Supervisor. 3. Communications Center The Richmond Police Department Communications Center is the contact and answering point for all emergency and non-emergency phone calls for the cities of Richmond and El Cerrito. All employees working within the center are California POST and National Academy of Emergency Medical Dispatchers EMD certified and participate in yearly training updates. The Communications Center is led by a Communications Manager and comprised of four Dispatch Supervisors and thirteen Dispatchers (authorized seventeen). Employees work twelve-hour shifts, 6am – 6pm or 6pm – 6am. Dispatch duties include gathering critical information during emergencies and coordinating the needed response by dispatching appropriate police, fire, and medical units. When encountering calls for medical assistance, dispatch staff are trained to provide both critical and non-critical medical instructions over the telephone to aid in the care of patient prior to emergency units arriving on scene. Dispatcher to Supervisor span of control ratios have a significant impact on the performance of first-line supervisors and their ability to fulfill the range of their duties effectively. While factors such as job functions, available technology, and the competencies of the supervisor and staff may play a role in this ratio, the recommended supervisory span of control is seven Dispatchers to one Supervisor. The below chart depicts the Communications Center Dispatch Supervisor’s current supervisory span of control: Supervisory Span of Control Ratio Supervisor #1 1:3 Supervisor #2 1:3 Supervisor #3 1:3 Supervisor #4 1:4 Although the current supervisory span of control is well within the recommended ratio, current staffing levels reduce proper supervisory oversight. Dispatch Supervisors are often performing dispatch functions during a given shift due to current reduced staffing 1801
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levels. This oversight includes overseeing dispatchers while handling emergency calls and other citizen requests. Supervisors also have other duties assigned such as training new employees, reviewing performance evaluations, and providing feedback to help improve overall performance. None of these supervisory functions can be performed while a Supervisor is receiving and dispatching calls. Employees are currently working mandatory overtime to cover vacancies and have done so for quite some time. The below chart depicts the total number of overtime hours collectively worked in 2021: 2021 Communications Center Overtime Total Overtime Hours 9,531 In 2021, the thirteen Dispatchers worked a total of 794 extra 12- hours shifts for the year. 3.1 Dispatch Workload and Staffing The project team has utilized emergency communications workload/staffing methodologies in its work with dispatch centers around the country; these methodologies are also supported by the Public Safety Dispatch Professional Association (APCO). Based on emergency communications workloads associated with handling requests for service from the public and supporting officers in the field on the radio, the number of FTE’s needed in each hour to accommodate this volume can be determined for each hour. This analytical process includes taking the number of calls for service per hour and multiplying this by the average time needed to handle the phones and the radio for each call. The following table depicts the total weekly average number of calls for service handled by dispatch in 2021 (both dispatched and self-initiated):
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Weekly Average CFS Per Hour (CAD) Hour Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 12am 8.73 4.63 4.13 4.17 4.52 5.54 6.83 1am 6.65 4.21 3.40 3.31 3.67 4.40 5.23 2am 5.35 3.06 3.13 3.25 3.23 3.56 4.37 3am 4.65 2.90 2.83 2.83 3.00 3.04 3.50 4am 2.52 2.37 2.12 2.13 2.44 2.48 3.06 5am 2.54 2.25 1.94 2.35 2.02 2.58 2.52 6am 2.42 2.44 3.17 2.56 2.50 2.77 1.87 7am 3.12 5.77 5.79 5.71 5.10 3.77 3.62 8am 5.58 8.85 8.71 8.60 8.27 7.02 6.73 9am 6.90 9.10 8.65 8.17 8.00 7.10 8.04 10am 7.92 8.50 8.12 8.77 8.10 7.85 8.52 11am 7.54 8.33 8.27 8.65 8.92 8.15 7.79 12pm 7.12 8.73 8.25 8.96 7.71 8.15 8.42 1pm 8.04 7.77 8.00 8.02 7.63 7.69 7.96 2pm 7.96 8.12 8.37 8.13 8.35 8.31 8.21 3pm 8.04 8.12 8.40 7.69 7.98 8.31 8.79 4pm 8.46 8.48 9.40 9.38 9.12 8.85 8.77 5pm 7.35 8.67 10.04 9.42 8.77 9.06 8.71 6pm 7.50 8.62 9.02 8.87 8.85 8.02 8.06 7pm 8.33 8.50 8.29 8.46 8.40 9.65 9.08 8pm 9.15 6.77 7.65 8.13 8.02 9.27 10.69 9pm 8.46 7.17 7.58 7.27 7.46 9.87 11.79 10pm 8.15 8.04 8.17 8.48 8.35 9.60 13.52 11pm 5.77 6.73 6.94 7.33 6.65 8.81 10.85 In 2021, the Communications Center received a total of 238,816 telephone calls. 84,659 of these calls were received on emergency telephone lines and 154,157 were received on non-emergency telephone lines. Each call was an average of 106 seconds in length. Data representing telephone calls specific to each day and hour in 2021 was unable to be provided. As such, an overall yearly average of telephone calls was determined based on available data. On average, 47.7 minutes of occupied call taking time occurred during each hour in 2021. The following table illustrates this calculation process: Calculation of Occupied Call Taking Time Total Telephone Calls 238,816 Divided by total days in year ÷ 365 = 654 Divided by total hours in day ÷ 24 = 27 Multiplied by average call time x 106 = 2,862 seconds (47.7 minutes) Based on the above workload factors, the number of occupied minutes in each hour can 1803
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be determined. For call-taking, this entails multiplying the number of calls by the average number of minutes occupied by each call (the call duration), data which was provided by the Department. For dispatching, a figure of 3.5 minutes per incident is used, a number which aligns with the typical radio operation and dispatch processing time for joint police and fire communications centers, based on the project team’s experience with scores of similar agencies. The following table depicts the average number of occupied minutes in each hour for call-taking and dispatch operations: Weekly Average Occupied Minutes Per Hour Hour Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 12am 78.26 63.92 62.17 62.31 63.52 67.08 71.59 1am 70.99 62.44 59.61 59.28 60.56 63.11 66.01 2am 66.41 58.40 58.67 59.08 59.01 60.15 62.98 3am 63.99 57.86 57.59 57.59 58.20 58.33 59.95 4am 56.52 55.98 55.10 55.17 56.25 56.38 58.40 5am 56.58 55.58 54.50 55.91 54.77 56.72 56.52 6am 56.18 56.25 58.81 56.65 56.45 57.39 54.23 7am 58.60 67.89 67.96 67.69 65.54 60.89 60.35 8am 67.22 78.66 78.19 77.79 76.64 72.27 71.26 9am 71.86 79.54 77.99 76.31 75.70 72.54 75.83 10am 75.43 77.45 76.10 78.39 76.04 75.16 77.52 11am 74.08 76.84 76.64 77.99 78.93 76.24 74.96 12pm 72.60 78.26 76.58 79.07 74.69 76.24 77.18 1pm 75.83 74.89 75.70 75.77 74.42 74.62 75.57 2pm 75.57 76.10 76.98 76.17 76.91 76.78 76.44 3pm 75.83 76.10 77.11 74.62 75.63 76.78 78.46 4pm 77.32 77.38 80.61 80.55 79.60 78.66 78.39 5pm 73.41 78.06 82.83 80.68 78.39 79.40 78.19 6pm 73.95 77.85 79.27 78.73 78.66 75.77 75.90 7pm 76.84 77.45 76.71 77.32 77.11 81.49 79.47 8pm 79.74 71.39 74.49 76.17 75.77 80.14 85.12 9pm 77.32 72.81 74.22 73.14 73.82 82.23 88.96 10pm 76.24 75.83 76.31 77.38 76.91 81.29 95.02 11pm 67.89 71.26 72.00 73.34 70.99 78.53 85.66 Since it is not desirable to have a dispatcher be on the phone or the radio constantly, the combined number of minutes is divided by a target utilization rate – 50% of total time. This means that on average, staff would be occupied 30 minutes per hour with call-taking and dispatching, with the other 30 minutes free as marginal time to decompress, make outbound calls, and handle non-dispatch related work. The following table shows these 1804
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calculations illustrating the need for FTE’s for each hour of the week based on this analysis: FTE / Hour Needed at 50% Occupancy Hour Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 12am 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 1am 3.00 3.00 2.00 2.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 2am 3.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 3.00 3.00 3am 3.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 4am 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 5am 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 6am 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 7am 2.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 8am 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 9am 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 10am 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 11am 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 12pm 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 1pm 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 2pm 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3pm 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 4pm 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 5pm 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 6pm 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 7pm 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 8pm 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 9pm 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 10pm 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 4.00 11pm 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 As the table indicates, during a given time, a minimum of two dispatch positions and a maximum of four dispatch positions are needed in order to cover the current workload volume. Caution should be used while interpreting these results. As previously mentioned, the call time average is based off a yearly average versus day and hour specific averages. In order to meet the maximum four dispatch position staffing requirement, employees must cover a total of 35,064 hours in a one-year period. The base number of hours in an employee’s work year is 2,184. After accounting for vacation, sick leave, training, and other off-floor absences a figure of 1,720 hours is typically more appropriate. Using this 1,720 hour figure, a total of twenty-one dispatch positions are needed. The following table 1805
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illustrates this calculation process: Calculation of Dispatcher Staffing Needs Total hours in 1 year period 8,766 Multiplied by dispatch positions needed x 4 = 35,064 Divided by total work hours ÷ 1,720 = 20.38 Total Number of Dispatchers Needed 21 As previously mentioned, the Communications Center is currently staffed with four Dispatch Supervisors and thirteen Dispatchers (authorized seventeen). It is recommended the authorized seventeen dispatch positions be elevated to twenty-one. Recommendations: Hire 5 additional Dispatchers in order to fill current authorized positions. Add an additional 4 Dispatch positions for an authorized total of 1 Communications Manager, 4 Dispatch Supervisors, and 21 Dispatchers. 4. Property and Records Section The Property and Records Section at the Richmond Police Department is tasked with the oversight of property and evidence as well as the imputation of data and records processing for the Department. The Section is overseen by a single civilian manager who is tasked with the general oversight of the Section and conducts all scheduling, budget, and supervisory tasks associated with the Section. This position is currently fully staffed at 1 FTE and should be maintained moving forward. The Section manager is supported directly by an Office Assistant II position. There are no workload indicators for this position; however, this position should be maintained for logistical support to the Section moving forward. 4.1 Records Specialists Records Specialists within the Unit are tasked with data entry and oversight. There are currently 6 FTE staffed of the 9 authorized positions. These positions are spread throughout the three shifts that correspond with RPD’s patrol staff (Day, Swing, and Graveyard). Records Specialists are also required to complete records entry for the neighboring El Cerrito Police Department. The table below exhibits the workload indicators associated with the records entry that Specialists are responsible for:
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Workload Indicator 2018 2019 2020 2021 Accident Report 1,559 1,240 983 425 Fingerprinting 137 112 26 4 Incident Report 15 8 32 72 Offense Report 1,002 928 731 979 Photo 27 37 21 21 Police Clearance 144 142 101 112 Video 3 1 5 1 911 Tapes 4 2 1 Citation Entry 6,299 6,364 4,001 4,982 Weapon License Denial 2 1 0 6 Weapon License Approval 3 0 2 0 Request a Report (Online Website) 91 COPLOGIC 2,200 2,771 2,729 2,891 Total 11,391 11,608 8,633 9,585 As can be seen, there was an approximate 25% decrease in workload in calendar year 2020 as a result of the COVID19 pandemic. However, 2021 workload statistics show a rise in workload and 2022 figures should expect workload for records specialists to return to pre-pandemic norms. As such, the staffing of Records Specialists within the Unit should be maintained and kept at pre-pandemic staffing numbers, filling the three vacant positions to reach the authorized staffing level of 9 FTE. Recommendation: Maintain the current authorized FTE of 9 Records Specialists in the Property and Records Section but hire to fill the three current vacancies within this position. 4.2 Property Technician There is currently 1 FTE authorized for the Property Technician position within the Property and Records Section at RPD. The Property Technician is responsible for conducting property and evidence entry, maintaining evidence storage and upkeep, and catalogues all property and evidence. The Property Technician is also responsible for the oversight and management of all firearms and ammunition. This position is currently vacant. The following table provides an overview of the workload of the Property Technician: Workload Indicator 2018 2019 2020 2021 Property Taken In 4,307 5,135 4,307 4,307 Property Purged 445 451 857 1,418 Total Actions 4,752 5,586 5,164 5,725 1807
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The workload associated with property and evidence at RPD has shown a slight increase over the past four calendar years: however, not exceeding the need for any additional authorized FTE for the position, as there is adequate assistance provided by the assistant property technician position (listed below). Most importantly, the Property Technician is responsible for the conduction of audits of property and evidence under the purview of Richmond PD. These audits are to be completed on an annual basis, abiding by best practices. Seeing as this vacancy does not facilitate the conduction of necessary annual audits, administration at RPD should seek to fill the current vacancy of the Property Technician immediately. Recommendation: Maintain the current authorized FTE of 1 Property Technician in the Property and Records Section but hire to current vacancy within this position. 4.3 Assistant Property Technician There is currently 1 authorized FTE for the position of Assistant Property Technician within the Property and Records Section at RPD. The Assistant Property Technician is tasked with assisting the Property Technician with all duties listed above in their purview. This position is a direct support position without any difference in workload indicators. This position is currently fully staffed. The table provided in the previous section shows that, while there is a slight increase in property workload over the past 4 years, there is no justification for increasing the authorized staffing levels for Assistant Property Technicians. Recommendation: Maintain the current authorized FTE of 1 Assistant Property Technician in the Property and Records Section. 5. Public Safety Technology Section The Police Safety Technology Section within the Richmond Police Department services all technology-related equipment and devices for operational and support personnel throughout the Department. The Public Safety Technology Section oversees both police and fire department technology resources. The Section is supervised by a Section Supervisor who is tasked with all oversight responsibilities for the Section, including staffing, scheduling, budgeting, and day-to-day oversight of the Section. The Supervisor is also responsible for maintaining standards 1808
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and reporting requirements outlined by CLEPT and the Department of Justice. The Supervisor position is currently fully staffed at 1 FTE. Recommendation: Maintain the current authorized FTE of 1 Supervisor in the Public Safety Technology Section. 5.1 Systems Administrator The Systems Administrator position reports directly to the Section Supervisor and is tasked with the supervision of section employees in coordination with the Supervisor. The Systems Administrator is also responsible for the maintenance and updating responsibilities of the Computer Automated Dispatch (CAD)/Records Management System (RMS) program. The Systems Administrator also upholds, and coordinates vendor contracts associated with these two technology services. There are no workload indicators associated with the Systems Administrator position. This position is currently fully staffed at 1 FTE. Recommendation: Maintain the current authorized staffing of 1 FTE Systems Administrator within the Public Safety Technology Section. 5.2 Network Specialists Network Specialists are tasked with a variety of network-related responsibilities spanning data-related tasks, the maintenance of routers and switches, firewall maintenance, the maintenance and replacement of all technology resources deployed to public safety personnel. There are two authorized Network Specialist positions currently within the Public Safety Technology Section, one at the Network Specialist I level and one at the Network Specialist II level. Currently, the Network Specialist I position is staffed at 1 FTE, while the Network Specialist II position is vacant at this time. There are no workload indicators associated with the Network Specialist positions. Recommendation: Maintain the current authorized staffing of 1 FTE Network Specialist II within the Public Safety Technology Section. Hire to fill the current vacancy. Maintain the current authorized staffing of 1 FTE Network Specialist I within the Public Safety Technology Section. 1809
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5.3 CCTV Specialist The CCTV Specialist within the Public Safety Technology Section at RPD is tasked with the maintenance and upkeep of all CCTV cameras and the associated systems throughout the entire Richmond jurisdiction. This includes all CCTV cameras deployed in the field (i.e., throughout the city) as well as those that are deployed at the Hall of Justice building to assist in security measures. The CCTV Specialist also coordinates with neighborhood police officers in the requests for CCTV camera deployment to certain areas for a variety of issues. The CCTV Specialist position is currently fully staffed at 1 FTE. There are currently no workload indicators associated with the CCTV Specialist position, however, there are plans to introduce additional cameras (~10) to the jurisdiction. Recommendation: Maintain the current authorized staffing of 1 FTE CCTV Specialist within the Public Safety Technology Section. 1810
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7. Office of the Chief The Office of the Chief at the Richmond Police Department consists of one Chief of Police, one Assistant Chief of Police, a Crime Prevention Services Unit, a Finance Unit, and the Office of Professional Accountability. The Public Information Officer is also present within the Office of the Chief; however, does not fall under one of the organizational units. The Chief provides overall direction, guidance, and leadership for the Police Department. The Chief has responsibility for every area of the organization and ensures that the Department meets its mission in accordance with the established values and has overall responsibility for budget management. The Chief can delegate responsibilities as they deem fit to the Assistant Chief of Police. The Crime Prevention Unit, Finance Unit, and Office of Professional Accountability report directly to the Chief of Police and are evaluated in the following sections. (1) Finance Unit The Financial Services Unit at the Richmond Police Department is tasked with the conduction and oversight of all fiscal duties associated with police department budgets and functions. It is currently staffed and supervised by one (1) FTE Senior Accountant. The Senior Accountant is assisted (on a part-time basis with the Personnel & Training Unit) by an administrative aid. Seeing as the roles and responsibilities of the Unit, and namely the Senior Accountant, relies in fiscal reporting, the sole workload indicator associated with this Unit directly translates to any changes within the overall police budget. Recommendation: Maintain the current staffing of one (1) FTE Senior Accountant in the Financial Services Unit. (2) Crime Prevention Unit The Crime Prevention Unit at the Richmond Police Department is tasked with a variety of job duties that encompass both internal crime prevention matters, as well as balancing relationships with external entities within the social service providers of the City of Richmond and Contra Costa County for social issues such as homelessness and poverty. Crime prevention methods utilized by RPD are overseen by the Unit Manager and include education (case management updates for patrol officers, informational flyers for the public, etc.) and engagement activities and events (monthly meetings, holiday outreach 1811
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measures, etc.). Beyond these assignments, the Crime Prevention Unit also oversees social media monitoring and the volunteer/internship program at RPD, as well as oversees all external communication and reporting duties associated with the homelessness crisis that is plaguing Richmond. As mentioned, the Crime Prevention Unit is led by a Unit Manager who is responsible for the oversight of all the projects and programs under the purview of the Unit, as well as responsible for the scheduling, payroll, training, policy direction and budgeting responsibilities of the Unit. This position is currently fully staffed at 1 FTE. The succeeding section will highlight the fact that this position has been conducting all Unit responsibilities alone, as there is a vacancy in the supporting position within the Unit. In this time, the Unit has still been able to uphold all the requirements of the Unit, as well as raise $60,000 in funds for Emergency Housing Assistance, $80,000 in funds for the Richmond Coordinated Outreach Referral and Engagement, and $4.8 million for encampment resolution funds. Recommendation: Maintain the current staffing of one (1) FTE for the Manager of the Crime Prevention Unit. (2.1) Crime Prevention Specialists There is currently a vacancy of the one (1) FTE position for the Crime Prevention Unit Specialist position. This position is integral in the proper functioning of the Unit, as the wide variety of topics that the Unit is tasked with overseeing mandates the work of, at least, one FTE Crime Prevention Specialist. While there are no direct indicators of workload with the Crime Prevention Unit, there are external workload indicators that can be utilized to evaluate the need for additional staff within the Unit. Seeing as a main responsibility of the Unit over the past several years, and moving forward, has been the relationships and focus on homelessness issues in the City, statistics related to unsheltered individuals throughout the City serves as an adequate proxy for workload for the Unit. The homelessness outbreak spanning most localities throughout Northern California, that has been compounded as a result of the COVID19 pandemic, has hit the City of Richmond harder than any locale in Contra Costa County. The County conducted a census report targeting homelessness statistics and results related to Richmond are as follows: • There has been an 90% increase in unsheltered individuals from 2019 to 2022 in the City of Richmond, rising from 333 to 6327. 7 See: https://cchealth.org/h3/coc/pdf/PIT-infographic-2022.pdf. 1812
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• The 632 unsheltered persons is: – The highest number of unsheltered individuals by City throughout all of Contra Costa County, – Accounts for 72% of all unsheltered individuals in the West County, and – Accounts for 27% of all unsheltered individuals throughout the entirety of Contra Costa County. This drastic increase in unsheltered individuals, on top of the traditional crime prevention activities and work that is overseen and conducted by the Unit, mandates the proper staffing of the Crime Prevention Specialist position within the Unit. As such, administration at RPD should seek to 1) fill the vacant Specialist position currently authorized, and 2) add an additional FTE position to support the efforts of the Unit as it pertains specifically to the homelessness issue in the City of Richmond. These two Specialist positions should be isolated to focus on specialties and areas of interest. One should be tasked with the focus on homelessness issues and external relationships with Contra Costa County and City of Richmond social services (i.e., CORE), while the other Specialist position should be tasked with the production of crime prevention material that is currently being completed by the Unit Manager. This staffing will result in the following organizational chart within the Crime Prevention Unit:
This realignment of duties will allow for Specialists to conduct work associated with their areas of interest, facilitation efficiency and an increased work product. Further, it will allow the Unit Manager to focus on managerial tasks such as contract management, fundraising efforts, meetings (both community and internal meetings related to crime prevention), policy direction, and training. Recommendation: Increase the Specialist position within the Crime Prevention Unit from 1 to 2 FTE to account for the increase in need due to the increase in homelessness in Richmond.
Crime Prevention Unit Manager
Crime Prevention Specialist (Homelessness Liaison)Crime Prevention Specialist (Operations) 1813
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Assign the two Crime Prevention Specialists to responsibilities surrounding acting as a homelessness liaison, and supporting operations-based crime prevention measures, respectively. (3) Office of Professional Accountability The Office of Professional Accountability is an independent office within the Richmond Police Department. The unit is responsible for investigating complaints against members of the Richmond Police Department. The office consists of a manager and 2 sergeants (1 vacancy). The unit works closely with the Community Police Review Commission which has oversight into appeals and has responsibility for reviewing police use of force and racial bias. The office also tracks all use of force, makes entry into IAPro and Blue team and they assist the Community Review Commission with producing body worn camera video for commission review. The manager is a liaison to the commission. (3.1) Office of Professional Accountability Workload Analysis In reviewing professional standards or internal affairs investigative units an average investigative case ours is used. This is developed by interviewing personnel in the unit and developing task hour metric. It is important to understand that every case is different, and some cases are very complex and require significantly more hours to investigate and some cases are relatively simple and do not require more than a few hours to investigate and document. The average hours are used as performance metric designed to establish approximate work hours for a typical internal affairs case. Case Time Estimates for Administrative IA Investigations (Non-OIS) Common Tasks Processes Avg. Time % of Cases Complaint Review Determine if allegation is a policy violation. Time figure includes reviewing complaint. 2 hours 100% Find relevant CAD entry, police report, video or other documentation relevant to the complaint Determine subject(s) of allegation. Time figure includes CAD enquiry and report(s) review. 4 hours 100% Review Body Worn Camera or other Video / Audio Evidence Document evidence to sustain or exonerate department member. 8 hours 100% 1814
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Common Tasks Processes Avg. Time % of Cases Interview Complainant Determine all complaint allegations (including writing summary / notes) 3 hour 100% Write Complaint and Allegation(s) Determine which policy or policies could have been violated. Includes review and report writing time. 4 hours 100% Schedule subject officer Interview Includes sending written notice within proper timelines. 0.5 hours 100% Write Interview Questions N/A 1 hour 100% Conduct witness interviews (Includes Scheduling)- Some cases only have officer or complainant as witnesses 4 hour 50% Conduct subject interviews Interviews are recorded, and the time estimated includes report writing. 4 hours 100% Write Investigative Finding Includes report writing. 16 hours 100% Total On average 44.5 hours This list is not all inclusive and does not contain all steps that may be taken. Some cases may have several witnesses. (3.2) Office of Professional Accountability Caseload The following chart includes the 2020 caseload for OPA: 2019 Professional Standards Number Case Hours Total Administrative Investigation 27 44.5 1,201 Citizen Complaints 8 44.5 356 Total 35 N/A 1,557 As the table indicates there were a total of 35 complaints investigated in 2020. 27 of these complaints were internal administrative investigations while 8 were citizen generated. (3.3) Summary of Workload Hours for OPA As mentioned above there are a total of 2 authorized sergeant positions assigned to work cases with 1 current vacancy. Using the previous calculation of net available caseload 1815
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hours and total 2020 caseload the number of sergeants needed to investigate the caseload can be determined: Calculation of Staffing Needs Total Caseload Hours
1,557 Divided by total net available hours for 1 position (1,225) ÷
1,225
Number of Staff Needed
=
1.27 As the chart indicates the number of sergeants recommended to work the assigned caseload hours assigned is 1.27 and there are a total of 2 sergeants (1 vacancy). The caseload hours are not inclusive of all tasks and functions assigned to the sergeants / staff assigned. The manager coordinates all of the activities in the office of professional accountability and is responsible for the day to day operations. The manager is a liaison to Community Police Review Commission. The manager has additional responsibilities for reporting and documenting the unit activities. There are no task time performance metrics for this position. The number of investigations requires more time than 1 sergeant and with other assigned tasks to the unit requires two sergeants and a manager assigned to be effective. Recommendations: Maintain current authorized staffing of 1 manager and 2 sergeants within the Office of Professional Accountability. 1816
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Table of Contents Introduction and Executive Summary 1 Scope of Work 1 Approaches Utilized in the Study 1 Executive Summary 2 Strategic Improvement Opportunities 5 Organization and Overview 7 Background 7 Demographic Profile 7 Organization 10 Operations 12 Training and Education 20 Fire Prevention 20 Financial Resources 21 Emergency Services System Dynamics 23 Emergency Medical Services 23 Fire Suppression Services 25 National Response Time Criteria 27 Effective Response Force 30 Evaluation of the Richmond Fire Services 36 1818
Response Time Data 36 Community Performance Standards 36 Call Processing 38 Turnout Time 39 Distribution of Resources 39 Concentration of Resources 39 System Reliability 47 Strategic Operational Improvement Opportunities 50 Community Growth and Emergency Services Demand 50 Staffing and Overtime 51 Call Processing 57 Turnout Time 58 Distribution of Resources 60 Concentration of Resources 62 Emergency Medical Services 65 Essential Services 67 Fire Prevention Division 67 Wildland Urban Interface 69 Training and Education 70 Emergency Management 71 1819
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Introduction and Executive Summary This document provides the results of the services review for the Richmond Fire Department. This report culminates the efforts of the Matrix Consulting Group team working with the fire department on its operations and resource needs now and into the future. This report also took a great level of input, support and collaboration from fire department staff. Scope of Work The scope of this study included the assessment of the current fire protection system operations, response capabilities, staffing, and other resources necessary for the delivery of services to the city. A review of services and the delivery of those services should be performed periodically to ensure needs are being met. This project focused on the emergency services system delivery that included: • Response capabilities. • Response time analysis. • Resource locations. • Available resources to serve the city. • Staffing and manpower. The study and this report also provide projections of service needs and resources over a 20-year planning period. Approaches Utilized in the Study Data utilized in this study was developed based on the work conducted by the project team, including. • Interviews conducted with staff. • Collection and analysis of workload and service data. • A review of strategic documents and reports, budget data, organizational structure, and key practices. • Planning documents on anticipated developments in the City over the 20-year planning period. 1820
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This study, then, was a comprehensive review of current and projected resource needs now and into the future. Executive Summary The City of Richmond is located in northwest Contra Costa County along the San Francisco Bay. Within the city is a Chevron Oil refinery and the Port of Richmond, a deep-water port. Encompassing approximately 56 square miles, the fire department provides service to the city from 7 fire stations. The fire department is a part of the overall county fire protection system in that automatic aid is available from Contra Costa County Fire Department, El Cerrito, Kensington, and Pinole. In terms of distribution, the measure of getting initial resources to an emergency to begin mitigation efforts, the fire stations are located in an effective manner to provide the services. For concentration, the ability of the emergency services system to get the appropriate number of personnel and resources to the scene of an emergency within a prescribed time to effectively mitigate the incident, the fire protections system can provide appropriate resources. The latter, uses the automatic aid companies to ensure the resources are available to respond. Challenges ahead for the Richmond Fire Department are centered on personnel. For the operations section of the fire department, the minimum staffing for each shift is 25 personnel. To meet this need, the fire department has used an average of 51,800 hours of overtime for the past four years with worker compensation leave accounting for the largest part. Based on the leave taken for the past four years it will require 1.31 personnel per position to provide staffing for one year or 33 (32.75) personnel per shift. This translates to 99 personnel assigned to the operational staffing to provide the minimum staffing required for operations. While this will not eliminate the use of overtime, it will significantly reduce the use of overtime. Training and education are considered a major function in a fire department as it is critical for personnel to maintain perishable skills and become proficient to handle low frequency – high consequence events. For Richmond, this area of the fire department is managed and coordinated by a Battalion Chief. Recruitment to fill this position is currently underway. Until the position is permanently filled the duties are being handled by the Deputy Fire Chief. This in in addition to the operational duties of the Deputy Chief to ensure the fire protection system is properly staffed and ready to deliver emergency services. Risk reduction activities are a part of the Fire Prevention Division. Included in this division is code enforcement, fire investigations, public education, and the needs of the Chevron 1821
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Refinery. With a total of five personnel assigned to the division, one is assigned as the Fire Marshal to manage the division and one is assigned to the Chevron Refinery. This leaves three personnel to address public education, code enforcement, plan review, fire investigations, and defensible space inspections. Engine companies do perform some of the fire safety inspections that relieves some of the workload from the fire prevention staff. However, based on the number of annual inspections to be completed, the code enforcement activities will need to be increased from three personnel to four personnel. This allows each inspector to complete 600 initial inspections per year and approximately 300 follow-up inspections per year. Wildland fires are a continual threat with the number and intensity of these fire increasing throughout the region and the state. There is a significant wildland urban interface on the east side of the city with the Wildcat Canyon Regional Park and the Kennedy Grove Regional Recreation area. These two areas are adjacent to a larger area that includes Briones Regional Park. With the recent history of wildfires in the urban areas such Santa Rosa and Paradise, it is imperative the city prepare for this potential fire threat. Using defensible spaces around homes and businesses, the threat can be reduced. There are over 4,300 defensible space inspections to be completed in the city that could be completed using a civilian inspector to provide education and inspection activities to the residents. Another unmet need is emergency management and the planning that accompanies this section. Recruitment to fill this position is currently underway. With the current position is unfilled, the duties for this position fall to the Fire Chief. Planning is a key function of this position and without a focused staff these plans can become outdated and of little use in the event of an emergency. As well, there are grant funds that are available to assist the city in mitigation efforts that also requires the planning to be current and approved by various other agencies such as FEMA. To provide context to the staffing issues, the following table provides a comparison of authorized personnel, unfilled positions, and future needs. This information is as of December 31, 2022. 1822
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Richmond Fire Department Staffing Comparison Position Authorized Staff Current Staff Deviation Recommended Staffing Revised Authorized Staff Fire Chief 1 1 0 1 Deputy Fire Chief 1 1 0 1 Battalion Fire Chief 4 3 1 4 Fire Marshal 1 1 0 1 Deputy Fire Marshal 1 1 0 1 Captain 24 21 3 3 27 Engineer 24 21 3 3 27 Firefighter 30 26 4 15 45 Fire Inspector I 1 1 0 1 2 Fire Inspector II 2 2 0 2 Emergency Services Manager 1 0 1 1 Administrative Service Analyst 1 0 1 1 Associate Admin Analyst 1 0 1 Emergency Services Analyst 1 0 1 1 Administrative Aid 1 1 0 1 Fire Adaptive Community Coordinator 0 0 0 1 1 Public Education Coordinator 0 0 0 1 1 Total 94 80 14 24 117 The City Human Resources Department has contracted with CPS Consulting to assist with filling the sworn and promotional vacancies in the Department. Human Resources is recruiting for two (2) open civilian administrative positions. The plan is to hod promotional recruitment processes in January and February 2023 to fill the promotional openings. Interviews with for firefighter openings were conducted in October 2022. These candidates are having background investigations completed and will begin their firefighter training at the Firefighter Training Academy once they pass the background check. Emergency medical services are delivered using a tiered response between the fire department and American Medical Response (AMR). The county provides, through contract, emergency medical services with the fire departments providing additional response capabilities on critical calls. As an alternative, the city could use smaller vehicles such as a quick response vehicle to deliver the service instead of the fire apparatus. This would reduce the wear and tear on the larger apparatus and could reduce the cost of delivering the service. This would entail the quick response vehicle responding with two personnel leaving the third with the fire apparatus to respond to fire calls as needed. This type of staffing would create a tandem response meaning the quick 1823
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response vehicle and fire apparatus would respond together on a fire related call if the quick response vehicle was already out of the station. Strategic Improvement Opportunities The following table provides a summary of recommendations established in this report. The report itself should be reviewed to understand the factual basis behind each recommendation as well as the analysis leading to each recommendation. SUMMARY OF RECOMENDATIONS ADMINISTRATIVE AND ORGANIZATIONAL Review the worker compensation process within the city to streamline the processes to ensure employees are receiving appropriate services and a return-to-work authorization within an appropriate time frame reducing the amount of time employees are off duty. Increase the number of personnel per shift over the next three to five years to reduce the amount of overtime needed to provide services and to address the fatigue and sleep deprivation issues. Establish a Fire Adaptive Community Coordinator civilian position, in the next 12 to 24 months, to handle the defensible space inspections and create proactive programs increasing education efforts EMERGENCY OPERATIONS The city should establish performance objectives for turnout time for medical calls and fire related calls. Establish a reporting system to create a mechanism to monitor progress of improvements to turnout time. Establish baseline performance objectives for call processing, turnout time, and travel time for the dispatch center and fire department. Monitor the various response time components as compared to the established performance objectives. Work with Contra Costa Fire Protection District and Contra Costa County Emergency Medical Services to address any changes to be made to the emergency medical response in the city. Consider utilizing cross-staffed quick response EMS vehicles as part of the medical response system to allow a quicker response and potentially reducing the cost of these responses. 1824
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ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS The city should establish performance objectives for the communications center for call answering and call processing. Work with the dispatch center to improve the dispatch processes, to improve data capturing, and to meet the established performance objectives. Establish a reporting system to create a mechanism to monitor progress of improvements to the dispatching services. Work the dispatch center to improve the use of the Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) system to reduce any unnecessary responses of resources to emergency medical calls for service. Utilize civilian personnel to provide public education and increase the exposure of fire safety education to the school aged children and targeted audiences in support of Community Risk Reduction principles Monitor fire investigation workload to ensure code enforcement activities are not adversely affected by this collateral duty 1825
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Organization and Overview This section provides an overview of the general characteristics of the Richmond Fire Department. Background In 1901, after a significant fire event, it was decided that the community needed fire protection and created a volunteer fire service. 1902 brought about the purchase of the first fire engine, a chemical fire engine. This type of engine was purchased due to the fact that water supply had not yet been established in the city. Eventually, there were a total of five volunteer departments created to serve the city. After functioning as a volunteer department for over a decade, the Richmond Fire Department became a full-time fire department in 1915. The Fire Department serves the City of Richmond, which is located in northwest Contra Costa County along the San Francisco Bay. The city encompasses nearly 56 square miles of which 22.2 square miles are water and the remaining 33.8 land. Overall population density for the city is approximately 3,425 people per square mile based on the 2020 population of 116,448 and 33.8 square miles of land. Within Richmond resides a Chevron Oil refinery, an Amtrak station, and the Port of Richmond, a deep-water port. The city is also well served by both interstate highway and railroad systems. The city is governed by six elected Council members and a separately elected Mayor who is also a member of the council. The City also has a City Manager, selected by the Council, who oversees the day-to-day city operations and department heads. The Fire Chief and staff are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Fire Department. Demographic Profile The following table illustrates the demographic profile of City of Richmond and changes that have occurred since the 2010 Census. 1826
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City of Richmond Demographics U.S. Census Bureau 2010 2015 2020 Estimated Richmond Population 102,264 107,597 116,448 Median Age 34.5 35.2 37.2 Children Under Age 5 7.2% 7.2% 5.6% Children Ages 5 to 19 years 21.5% 18.7% 18.3% Persons Age 20 to 59 years 56.8% 57.3% 56.4% Persons Age 60 and Over 14.5% 16.7% 19.6% Median Income $27,646 $26,335 $32,714 Employment Sectors: Education, Health Care, Soc. Svc. 21.8% 20.7% 22.8% Retail Trade 10.8% 11.8% 9.4% Professional, Scientific, Mgmt. 11.1% 13.5% 14.9% Finance, Insurance, Real Estate 7.2% 5.1% 4.0% Entertainment, Recreation, Food 10.1% 12.0% 11.7% Construction 8.5% 9.2% 9.4% Manufacturing 7.1% 5.7% 4.8% Transportation, Warehousing, Util. 7.1% 5.5% 7.5% Public Administration 4.4% 4.0% 3.7% Other Services 5.7% 6.9% 6.5% Wholesale 2.9% 2.7% 2.7% Information 2.7% 1.9% 2.2% Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing 0.5% 1.1% 0.6% The population of the City has increased approximately 14% since 2010 adding an estimated 14,184 residents. The largest change between the age groups is the over 60 age group with a 5.1% increase. Additionally, there was a 4.8% decrease in the combined categories under 20 years of age. The median age of the city has risen to 37.2 years, which is an increase of 2.7, for the past nineteen years. The following map provides a view of population density by census blocks. 1827
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Population densities are significantly higher in the areas west of I-80 and more evenly dispersed in the east. The greatest density is located in the center of the incorporated area bordered by I-80 and Richmond Pkwy. There are a few pockets of higher density throughout the eastern portion of the City. 1828
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Organization The RFD operates with a Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, and 3 Battalion Chiefs. The Battalion Chiefs, who report directly to the Deputy Chief, manage three shifts that work a 48 hours on and 96 hours off schedule. Shifts begin and end at 0730 hours. Each shift is made up of 1 Battalion Chief, 8 Captains, 8 Engineers, and 10 Firefighters. Fire Prevention reports directly to the Fire Chief and currently consists of a Fire Marshal, Deputy Fire Marshall, and 2 inspectors. Also reporting to the Fire Chief are an Administrative position, an Emergency Services Analyst and an Office of Emergency Services which is currently vacant. The delivery and planning of training currently falls under the Deputy Fire Chief while awaiting a process to promote a Battalion Chief to be over Training Mission Statement The Richmond Fire Department is a dedicated workforce of highly motivated and technically skilled professionals of rapid response. It is our purpose to protect life and preserve property. We are a profession that knows no limit to what we will respond to and we prepare without constraint to meet the challenges of our chosen profession. The citizens, businesses, and visitors to the City of Richmond can expect a caring, courteous, and competent response when rendered our aid. The organizational chart that follows illustrates the current Fire Department organization. 1829
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Richmond Fire Department Organizational Chart
Fire Chief
Operations Deputy Fire Chief
A Shift Battalion Chief
Fire Captain (8)
Fire Engineer (8)
Firefighter (10)
B Shift Battalion Chief
Fire Captain (8)
Fire Engineer (8)
Firefighter (10)
C Shift Battalion Chief
Fire Captain (8)
Fire Engineer (8)
Firefighter (10)
Training Division Battalion Chief
Fire Prevention Fire Marshal
Deputy Fire Marshal
Fire Inspectors (3)
Office of Emergency Services
Administration
Emergency Services Analyst
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Operations This section provides an overview of the emergency operations of Richmond Fire Department. Physical Resources Service to the city is provided from seven (7) fire stations located throughout the incorporated city limits. The following map illustrates the location of the fire stations.
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The fire department is authorized 81 operational personnel of which 74 operational positions are currently filled. Each operational shift staffs 7 engine companies and 1 truck company with a minimum of 3 personnel on each apparatus. Including the Battalion Chief, each shift has a minimum staffing of 25 personnel. In addition to fire suppression, the department also provides hazardous materials response, technical rescue, BLS medical first responder, marine response, fire prevention and fire investigations. The fire department utilizes both automatic aid and mutual aid. Primary automatic aid departments are El Cerrito and Albany south of the city and Contra Costa County Fire in the north. The City of Berkley provides mutual aid when called. The tables that follow outline the apparatus and staffing for the station. Station 61 140 W. Richmond Ave. Description of Use Provides service to the western section of the city near the Chevron Refinery. Apparatus Space 3 bays-drive through Assigned Apparatus
Unit ID Year Description Type Minimum Staffing E 61 2008 Spartan Gladiator – Hi Tech Type I Engine 3 BA 61 2004 Spartan Metro – SVI Breathing Support 2013 Moose Vessel M2-37 Fire Boat 2008 Ford F-150 Marine 2008 Spartan Gladiator – Hi Tech Reserve Engine Station 62 1065 7th St. Description of Use Located in the northwest area of the city providing services to the north and central sections of the city. Apparatus Space 2 bays-drive through Assigned Apparatus Unit ID Year Description Type Minimum Staffing E 62 2020 Spartan Gladiator– Hi Tech Type I Engine 3 BR 62 2001 Chevrolet 3500 Type 6 Engine Cross Staffed 2008 Spartan Gladiator Reserve Engine 1832
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Station 63 5201 Valley View Rd. Description of Use Provides service to the eastern areas of the city and is bordered by the San Pablo Ridge to the west. Apparatus Space 2 bays-drive through Assigned Apparatus Unit ID Year Description Type Minimum Staffing E 63 2012 Spartan Metro Star – Hi Tech Type I Engine 3 BR 63 2009 Ford F-450 – Hi Tech Type 6 Engine Cross Staffed Station 64 140 Richmond Ave. Description of Use Provides service to the southern section of the city and houses the on-duty Battalion Chief. Apparatus Space 3 bays-drive through Assigned Apparatus
Unit ID Year Description Type Minimum Staffing E 64 2020 Spartan Gladiator – Hi Tech Type I Engine 3 T 64 2008 Spartan Gladiator – LTI Aerial Ladder 3 BC 64 2015 Ford Explorer Command 1 HM 64 2005 Spartan Metro Star – SVI Hazardous Materials Cross Staffed Station 66 4100 Clinton Ave. Description of Use Located in the eastern areas along I-80 provides service to the east area but also to the central section of the city. Apparatus Space 2 bays-drive through Assigned Apparatus Unit ID Year Description Type Minimum Staffing E 66 2020 Spartan Gladiator – Hi Tech Type I Engine 3 BR 66 2001 Chevrolet 3500 Type 6 Engine Cross Staffed Station 67 1131 Cutting Rd. Description of Use Located along the southwest area of the city provides service to the harbor area and the south central section of the city. Apparatus Space 3 bay no drive through with 2 bay entrance on East side rear Assigned Apparatus Unit ID Year Description Type Minimum Staffing E 67 2019 Spartan Gladiator – Hi Tech Type I Engine 3 R 67 2015 Spartan Metro Star – EVI Heavy Rescue Cross Staffed 2008 Spartan Gladiator – Hi Tech Reserve Engine 1833
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Station 68 2904 Hilltop Rd. Description of Use Provides service to the northeast area of the city in the area of the Hilltop Mall. Apparatus Space 3 bays-drive through Assigned Apparatus
Unit ID Year Description Type Minimum Staffing E 68 2019 Spartan Gladiator – Hi Tech Type I Engine 3 BR 68 2009 Ford F-450 – Hi Tech Type 6 Engine Cross Staffed R 68 1999 Navistar Rescue Ambulance Cross Staffed T 68 2001 Spartan Gladiator – LTI Aerial Ladder Cross Staffed Historical Workload The Richmond Fire Department responds to emergency and non-emergency calls for service. The following table illustrates the activities of the RFD grouped by the type of call over the last four years. 1834
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Calls for Service 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total Pct. Auto Accident 641 726 646 726 2,739 4.7% Medical Calls 8,159 7,739 7,497 7,302 30,697 53.1% Total Medical and Auto Accidents 8,800 8,465 8,143 8,028 33,436 57.8% Fire Alarm – Activation 410 470 399 465 1,744 3.0% Fire Alarm – False 44 33 24 21 122 0.2% Fire Alarm – Malfunction 130 162 165 145 602 1.0% Auto / Mutual Aid 996 917 824 800 3,537 6.1% Smoke Scare 219 241 270 218 948 1.6% Structure Fire 40 52 59 61 212 0.4% Other Type Fire 104 98 99 90 391 0.7% Vegetation/Debris/Grass 408 592 894 857 2,751 4.8% Vehicle Fires 130 95 144 142 511 0.9% All Fire Calls 2,481 2,660 2,878 2,799 10,818 18.7% Rescue Calls - Extrication 25 32 20 21 98 0.2% Rescue Calls - Other 14 2 13 4 33 0.1% Rescue Calls - Search 2 5 0 1 8 0.0% Rescue Calls - Water 5 3 3 10 21 0.0% All Rescue Calls 46 42 36 36 160 0.3% Dispatched/Cancelled 2,242 2,358 2,313 1,961 8,874 15.3% Overpressure Rupture/Explosion/Overheat 4 8 4 3 19 0.0% Good Intent Calls 82 182 184 160 608 1.1% Hazardous Condition 235 293 244 322 1,094 1.9% Hazardous Materials 3 4 2 2 11 0.0% Service Calls 371 402 379 454 1,606 2.8% Severe Weather Alerts 1 22 14 17 54 0.1% Non-Coded Calls 48 300 440 346 1,134 2.0% Other Type of Calls 2,986 3,569 3,580 3,265 13,400 23.2% Total Calls for Service 14,313 14,736 14,637 14,128 57,814 Overall, medical calls combined with auto accidents represent 57.8% of the total call volume. Fire alarms, fire alarm activations, and fire alarm malfunctions, combined total 4.3% of the total call volume. For the four years combined, 15.3% of the calls were dispatched and subsequently cancelled. The following table displays the total number of calls for service handled by the Richmond Fire Department by each hour and day of the week for the past four years. Both emergency and non-emergency calls were included to provide an overall view of the call demand on the emergency services system. 1835
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2018 – 2021 Calls for Service by Hour and Weekday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 12 am 0.5% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 0.5% 1 am 0.5% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 0.3% 0.4% 0.5% 2 am 0.4% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.4% 3 am 0.4% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 4 am 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 5 am 0.4% 0.4% 0.3% 0.4% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 6 am 0.3% 0.4% 0.5% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 7 am 0.4% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.4% 8 am 0.5% 0.6% 0.7% 0.6% 0.7% 0.6% 0.5% 9 am 0.5% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.8% 0.7% 0.6% 10 am 0.7% 0.8% 0.7% 0.7% 0.8% 0.8% 0.7% 11 am 0.6% 0.7% 0.7% 0.8% 0.7% 0.7% 0.8% 12 pm 0.7% 0.7% 0.8% 0.7% 0.8% 0.8% 0.7% 1 pm 0.8% 0.7% 0.8% 0.8% 0.7% 0.8% 0.8% 2 pm 0.7% 0.7% 0.8% 0.8% 0.7% 0.7% 0.8% 3 pm 0.7% 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 0.7% 4 pm 0.7% 0.8% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 5 pm 0.7% 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 0.7% 0.7% 6 pm 0.8% 0.8% 0.7% 0.8% 0.7% 0.8% 0.7% 7 pm 0.8% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.8% 0.7% 8 pm 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 9 pm 0.7% 0.7% 0.6% 0.6% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 10 pm 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 0.7% 11 pm 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.6% The call volume is heaviest during the middle part of the day from mid-morning to the early evening with Friday having the most calls and Sunday the fewest. The calls for service varied by time of day and day of the week. The busiest hour of the day is 5 pm with the slowest hour being 4 am. 1836
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The following chart further illustrates the calls for service by hour of the day.
As illustrated above, calls continue to increase through the morning hours then remain steady through most of the day peaking at 5 pm. The calls begin to decline at the 7 pm hour and sharply decline at the 11 pm hour. Calls then continue to decline with 4 am being the slowest hour of the day. The following map illustrates the call demand using GIS technology to outline where the majority of the calls are occurring. 05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500
12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
2018 -2021 Calls by Hour of the Day
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As illustrated, the highest volume of calls is in the west central portion of the city. There is also a clustering of calls in the northeast located around Station 68. 1838
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Training and Education Training and education for the RFD is managed by the Deputy Fire Chief. Currently there is a vacancy for a Battalion Chief to oversee Training. The following table illustrates the man hours for a variety of topics for 2018 to 2021. Topic 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total Academy 77.0 0.0 9,516.0 0.0 9,593.0 Administration, Management or Supervision 908.0 661.5 1,005.0 704.5 3,278.5 Aircraft/Airfield Operations 56.0 30.0 50.0 56.0 192.0 Construction Technology and Fire Protection Systems 3,776.0 257.0 618.5 550.0 5,201.5 Emergency Medical 1,025.0 902.5 1,379.3 613.0 3,919.3 Emergency Operations 2,193.0 2,163.5 2,454.0 1,956.0 8,766.3 Fire and Arson Investigation 61.0 118.0 438.5 334.0 951.0 Hazardous Materials 503.0 503.0 548.0 147.0 1,700.5 ICS and NWCG Courses 78.0 48.0 30.5 48.0 204.5 Instructor Training 78.0 0.0 132.0 138.0 348.0 Office and Clerical Skills 174.0 392.5 489.0 448.0 1,503.5 Portable and Fixed Accessory Equipment 1,139.0 1,052.5 1,011.5 1,027.0 4,230.0 Preventative Maintenance 1,841.0 1,367.0 2,086.0 1,536.0 6,829.9 Prevention 948.0 1,536.5 990.5 937.0 4,411.5 Rescue Practices 1,252.0 1,068.0 1,221.0 1,292.0 4,832.5 Vehicle Operations and Pump Use 930.0 993.5 1,358.5 1,455.0 4,736.3 Total Man-Hours 15,038.0 11,094.0 23,328.0 11,239.0 As illustrated 11,239 man-hours were expended for training and education in 2021, an average of approximately 148 hours per person based on 76 personnel records. Hands on training supplemented by online training platforms are both being utilized. Fire Prevention Fire safety inspections and public education programs are the responsibility of this section that is headed by the Fire Marshal, Deputy Fire Marshal, and 2 Fire Inspectors. In addition to fire inspections, this section is over fire investigations, plan review, and vegetation management of Very High Hazard Zones. Engine companies will assist with low-risk fire inspections as Fire Prevention performs inspections on high-risk properties and new construction. In the following table the activities of this section are illustrated. 1839
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Prevention Activity 2019 2020 2021 Inspection Activities 4,059 3,273 2,830 Plan Review Activities 300 284 102 Fire Investigations NR NR 37 Total Activities 4,359 3,557 2,969 As illustrated above, fire prevention activity has declined over the past three (3) years. Much of this reduction is due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has limited access to commercial occupancies requiring code compliance inspections. Financial Resources The City operates on a fiscal year ending on June 30 of each year. The Fire Chief collaborates with the City Manager and the Finance Department to develop the annual budget for the Fire Department. Revenues The Fire Department obtains its funding primarily through the general fund. The largest sources of revenue for the City includes sales tax at 29%, utility user tax at 26%, and property taxes at 24% of the General Fund total. The following table illustrates the funding sources for the Fire Department within the General Fund and other sources as identified for the past three years. Financial Resources FY 2019/20 FY 2020/21 FY 2021/22 General Fund-0001 $32,481,310 $36,811,379 $37,236,465 Outside Funded Svc-1006 $3,501 $20,000 $0 Emergency Med Svc-1007 $218,705 $301,900 $215,586 Hazmat-1013 $260,528 $360,335 $0 ECIA-1017 $97,415 $67,000 $0 Emergency Operation & Disaster-1304 $123,302 $0 $0 Impact Fee-2113 $74,637 $126,762 $0 Total Financial Resources $33,259,398 $37,687,376 $37,452,051 1840
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Expenditures The following table is a historical and budgeted summary of the operating expenditures for the Fire Department over the past three years. Line Item FY 2021 Actual FY 2022 Adjusted FY 2023 Budgeted Salaries $16,915,495 $18,632,677 $18,574,259 Benefits $13,815,750 $14,428,325 $14,824,371 Professional Services $669,161 $1,865,420 $1,599,815 Other Operating Expenses $256,769 $407,877 $426,677 Utilities $28,207 $33,500 $33,500 Equipment & Contract Services $152,248 $177,950 $234,850 Provision for Insurance Loss $10,618 $24,861 $23,000 Cost Pool $892,331 $1,642,331 $1,214,448 Asset/Capital Outlay $77,811 $33,639 $80,500 Debt Service Expenditure $114,991 $114,778 $114,613 Operating Transfer Out $326,018 $326,018 $326,018 Total Fire Department Expenditures $33,259,399 $37,687,376 $37,452,051 Salaries and Benefits represent 89% of the Fire Department’s overall budget. The next significant items, Professional Services and Cost Pool, combined represent 8% of total expenditures. 1841
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Emergency Services System Dynamics In making decisions about the emergency services system, it is important for the leadership of Richmond to understand the science behind the location of resources, the deployment strategies of those resources, and other parts necessary to form an effective emergency services system. For many years the Insurance Services Office (ISO) had set the standard for deployment through their Public Protection Classification system. This system was designed to provide insurers a basis for setting insurance rates and to limit their exposure to large losses and catastrophic events. While these efforts provided a good starting point, there is much more for the leadership to know while making decisions about the emergency services in Richmond. Nationally, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Commission for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE), American Heart Association (AHA), United States Fire Administration (USFA), Underwriters Laboratories (UL), Factory Mutual (FM), National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST), and Insurance Services Office (ISO) have put considerable effort into data collection, analysis, and the eventual development of performance objectives for the delivery of fire and emergency medical services. This effort is critical for local governments making decisions about deployment and location of emergency resources. The objectives promoted for Fire/Rescue and EMS providers have their basis derived from research that has been conducted in these two critical issues: • What is the key point in a fire’s “life” for gaining control of the blaze while minimizing the impact on the structure of origin and on those structures around it? • What is the impact of the passage of time on survivability for victims of cardiac arrest? The next sections explain the decision points for these factors. It begins with the analysis, followed by how the Boise Fire Department compares to the standards. Emergency Medical Services Delivery of emergency medical services is a function of the emergency services system to be considered. Emergency medical calls are rising in the fire district, and the types of calls are wide ranging. However, as a part of a community’s healthcare system, one of the primary factors in the design of the emergency medical response is the ability to deliver basic CPR and defibrillation to victims of cardiac arrest. The graph below demonstrates the survivability of cardiac patients as related to time from onset:
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This graph illustrates that the chances of survival of sudden cardiac arrest diminish approximately 10% for each minute that passes before the initiation of CPR and/or defibrillation. These dynamics are the result of extensive studies of the survivability of patients suffering from cardiac arrest. While the demand for services in EMS is wide ranging, the survival rates for full arrests are often utilized as benchmarks for response time standards as they are more readily evaluated because of the ease in defining patient outcomes (a patient either survives or does not). This research results in the recommended objective of provision of basic life support (BLS) within 4-minutes of notification and the provision of advanced life support (ALS) within 8 minutes of notification. Considering the response time continuum, the response time goal for emergency services is to provide BLS within 6 minutes of the onset of the incident (including detection, dispatch, and travel time) and ALS within 10 minutes. This is often used as the foundation for a two-tier system where fire resources function as first responders with additional (ALS) assistance provided by responding ambulance units and personnel. Additionally, recent research is beginning to show the impact and efficacy of rapid deployment of automatic defibrillators to cardiac arrests. This research – conducted in King County (WA), Houston (TX) and as part of the OPALS study in Ontario, Canada – shows that the AED can be the largest single contributor to the successful outcome of a cardiac arrest – particularly when accompanied by early delivery of CPR. It is also important to note that these medical research efforts have been focused on a small fraction of the emergency responses handled by typical EMS systems – non-cardiac events make up the large majority of EMS and total system responses and this research Detection 9-1-
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Unmanageable Time
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does not attempt to address the need for such rapid (and expensive) intervention on these events. Fire Suppression Services The chart that follows, shows a typical “flashover” curve for interior structure fires based on data from NFPA, ISO, and the NIST. The point in time represented by the occurrence of “flashover” is critical because it defines when all the contents of a room become involved in the fire. This is also the point at which a fire typically shifts from “room and contents” to a “structure” fire – involving a wider area of the building and posing a potential risk to the structures surrounding the original location of the fire.
Note that this illustration depicts a fire from the moment of inception – not from the moment that a fire is detected or reported. This demonstrates the importance of early detection and fast reporting as well as rapid dispatch of responding units. This also shows the critical need for a rapid (and sufficiently staffed) initial response – by quickly initiating the attack on a fire, “flashover” can be averted. The points below describe the major changes that occur at a fire when “flashover” occurs:
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• It is the end of time for effective search and rescue in a room involved in the fire. It means the likely death of any person trapped in the room – either civilian or firefighter. • After this point in a fire is reached, portable extinguishers can no longer have a successful impact on controlling the blaze. Only larger diameter fire hoses will have enough water supply to affect a fire after this point. • The fire has reached the end of the “growth” phase and has entered the fully developed phase. During this phase, every combustible object is subject to the full impact of the fire. • This also signals the changeover from “contents” to “structure” fire. This is also the beginning of collapse danger for the structure. Structural collapse begins to become a major risk at this point and reaches the highest point during the decay stage of the fire (after the fire has been extinguished). It should be noted that not every fire will reach flashover – and that not every fire will “wait” for the 8-minute mark to reach flashover. A quickly responding fire crew can do things to prevent or delay the occurrence of flashover. These options include: • Use of a master stream device, using a handline through a window, or other “fast attack” methodology. • Ventilating the room to allow hot gases to escape before they can cause the ignition of other materials in the room. • Not ventilating a room – under some circumstances this will stifle a fire and prevent flashover from occurring. Each of these techniques requires the rapid response of appropriately trained fire suppression resources that can safely initiate these actions. In the absence of automatic fire suppression systems, access to interior fires can again be limited by a safety requirement related to staffing levels. OSHA and related industry standards require the presence of at least 2-firefighters on the exterior of a building before entry can be made to a structure in which the environment has been contaminated by a fire unless there is an immediate threat to life. Staffing levels also impact property damage, loss of business, and other economic impacts such as utilities, sales and income tax, and property taxes. The results of the research efforts previously noted have been utilized by communities and first responders, often on their own with no single reference, to develop local response time and other performance objectives. However, there are four major sources of information to which responders and local policymakers can refer when determining the most appropriate response objectives for their community:
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• The Insurance Services Office (ISO) provides basic information regarding distances between fire stations. However, this “objective” does little to recognize the unique nature of every community’s road network, population, calls for service, call density, etc. • The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) promulgated a document entitled: “NFPA 1710: Objective for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments.” This document (NFPA 1710) was published in 2001 and generated a great deal of dialogue and debate – which is still ongoing. • The Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) in its “Objectives of Coverage” manual, places the responsibility for identifying “appropriate” response objectives on the locality. These objectives should be developed following a comprehensive exercise in which the risks and hazards in the community are compared to the likelihood of their occurrence. • The American Heart Association (AHA) provides information on the response to cardiac events, the preferred methods of treatment, and the timing of the delivery of the medical care and treatment. The next section examines the issue of response time. National Response Time Criteria The expression of response time has changed. In years past, the measurement was expressed as an average of time. This essentially represents how the system or district is performing 50% of the time and is not a true reflection of how the fire district is performing. With the research that has been performed in developing performance standards and practices, the use of fractal time has become the best practice in the measurement and presentation of response time components. Fractal response time measures how often (as a percent of calls) a department can perform within each response time component. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) use the 90th percentile as the standard to meet for benchmark and baseline criteria. Benchmark measurements are described as the industry best practice. Baseline measurements are described as the actual performance of the organization. Response time to an emergency or call for assistance has been broken down into measurable and non-measurable segments. The response time continuum begins when the state of normalcy changes to a recognizable emergency. The following chart outlines the cascade of events that occurs once an emergency starts or is recognized. Those 1846
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highlighted points represent hard data or that which is quantitative versus soft data or that which is subjective and unknown. Response Time Continuum State of Normalcy Discovery of Emergency Reaction to Emergency Call Received by PSAP Call Processing Response Units Notified Turnout Time Units Responding Travel Time Units Arriving Mitigation Begins Mitigation Completed State of Normalcy Returns The highlighted points in the chart above represent three segments that can be used for evaluation: call processing, turnout time, and travel time. Each of these components represent a different point in the response time continuum and through their measurement and evaluation, areas for improvement can be identified. Below are the definitions for the three components: • Call Processing is the defined as beginning when the call taker answers the call and ends with the dispatching of appropriate emergency services. • Turnout Time is defined as beginning when the emergency service receives the call and is on the apparatus responding (wheels rolling) to the call. • Travel Time is defined as beginning when the apparatus and personnel begin the response (wheels rolling) and ends once on location of the emergency (wheels stopped). The National Fire Protections Association (NFPA), Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE), and the Insurance Services Office (ISO) offered reference points for communities to follow relative to fire service responses; however, only NFPA 1710 offers any specificity. It is important to note that the performance objectives (in terms of response 1847
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times) provided in the NFPA 1710 document are derived from the basic research previously described. These include the following (all are taken from section 4.1.2.1 of NFPA 1710): • One minute four seconds (64 seconds) for the processing of an incoming emergency phone call, including the completion of the dispatching of fire response units. • “One minute twenty seconds (80 seconds) for turnout time for fire related incidents.” This is also called reflex time, reaction time, “out-the-chute” time, etc. This is the time that elapses between dispatch and when the units are actively responding. • “One minute (60 seconds) for turnout time for emergency medical incidents.” This is also called reflex time, reaction time, “out-the-chute” time, etc. This is the time that elapses between dispatch and when the units are actively responding to an emergency medical incident. • “Four minutes (240 seconds) or less for the arrival of the first arriving engine company at a fire suppression incident and/or 8 minutes (480 seconds) or less for the deployment of a full first-alarm assignment at a fire suppression incident.” • “Four minutes (240 seconds) or less for the arrival of a unit with first responder or higher-level capability at an emergency medical incident.” • “Eight minutes (480 seconds) or less for the deployment of a full first-alarm assignment at a fire suppression incident.” • In section 4.1.2.4, NFPA 1710 goes on to state: “The fire department shall establish a performance objective of not less than 90 percent for the achievement of each response time objective specified in 4.1.2.1” • The American Heart Association (AHA) does not promulgate or identify performance objectives; it does, however, provide the background information and motivation for the responses to cardiac arrest and other health related issues. It is also critical to note that these time objectives apply to emergency calls for service – there is nothing in the NFPA documents (nor in any other objective) that suggests that communities cannot establish a differential response to calls for service determined to be non-emergency in nature. In the response timetables included below, non-emergency responses were removed; only emergency responses are included. The expression of response time has changed. In years past the measurement was expressed as an average of time. This essentially represents how the system or department is performing 50% of the time and is not a true reflection of how a department is performing. With the research that has been performed in developing performance standards and practices, the use of fractal time has become the best practice in the 1848
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measurement and presentation of response time components. Fractal response time measures how often (as a percent of calls) a department can perform within each response time component. The NFPA and CPSE use the 90th percentile as the standard to meet for benchmark and baseline criteria. Previously the Center for Public Safety Excellence had defined benchmark and baseline response times for each of the three components. They have since determined they are not a standard making organization and decided to leave the establishment of response time standards to others. However, their body of work is significant and has been used by numerous communities across the country to assist with determining what baseline services should be for a community. The definitions for the criteria of each service area are defined in the table below. CPSE also gives a community a range of acceptable performance standards from “Baseline”, minimally accepted performance or to “Benchmark”, fully compliant with best practices. CPSE had previously set the following performance standards for urban, suburban, and rural areas: Service Area/Population Density Response Travel Time Standards Urban: Population density of over 1,000 per square mile 1st Unit 2nd Unit 1st Alarm Balance Performance Benchmark 4 minutes 8 minutes 8 minutes 90% Baseline 5 minutes/12 seconds 10 minutes 24 seconds 10 minutes/24 seconds 90% Suburban: Population density between 500 and 1,000 per square mile Benchmark 5 minutes 8 minutes 10 minutes 90% Baseline 6 minutes/30 seconds 10 minutes/24 seconds 13 minutes 90% Rural: Population density of less than 500 per square mile Benchmark 10 minutes 14 minutes 14 minutes 90% Baseline 13 minutes 18 minutes/12 seconds 18 minutes/12 seconds 90% Effective Response Force There are several tasks, which must occur simultaneously, to adequately combat different types of fires. The absence of adequate personnel to perform these tasks requires each task to be prioritized and completed in chronological order. These fire ground tasks include command, scene safety, search and rescue, water supply, fire attack, pump operations, ventilation, back up, and rapid intervention. 1849
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An initial full alarm assignment should be able to provide personnel to accomplish the following tasks: • Establish incident command outside of the hazard area. This will allow coordination and direction of the incoming emergency response personnel and apparatus. A minimum of one person should be dedicated to this task. • Establish an uninterrupted water supply of at least 400 gallons per minute for 30 minutes. Once established the supply line can be maintained by the pump operator to ensure uninterrupted water supply. A minimum of one person is assigned to this task that can then assume support role. • Establish an effective water flow rate of 300 gallons per minute. This will be supplied to a minimum of two hand lines each operating at a minimum flow of 100 gallons per minute. Each hand line must have two individuals assigned with one serving as the attack line and the other as a back-up line. • Provision of one support person to handle the hydrant hookup, utility control, forcible entry, and assist in deploying fire hose lines. • Establish a search and rescue team. Each team will consist of a minimum of two. • Establish a ventilation team. Each team will consist of a minimum of two personnel. • Establish an initial rapid intervention team (RIT). Each RIT team shall consist of a minimum of two properly trained and equipped personnel. Critical tasking will vary depending on the size and nature of the incident. The Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) provides a suggestive list of tasks that need to be completed at a fire situation based on the risk. A similar list is provided within the NFPA 1710 document. The CPSE analysis, from the 8th edition, is summarized in the table below showing the minimum required personnel to mitigate the initial emergency response requirements by occupancy risk:
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Critical Tasks for the Effective and Efficient Control of Structural Fires Critical Task Maximum Risk High Risk Moderate Risk Low Risk Attack Line 4 4 4 2 Search and Rescue 4 2 2 0 Ventilation 4 2 2 0 Backup Line 2 2 2 2 Rapid Intervention 2 2 2 0 Pump Operator 1 1 1 1 Water Supply 1* 1* 1* 1* Support (Utilities) 1* 1* 1* 1* Command 1 1 1 1 Safety Officer 1 1 1 1 Salvage/Overhaul 2 0 0** 0 Command Aid 1 1 0 0 Operations Chief 1 1 0 0 Logistics 1 0 0 0 Planning 1 0 0 0 Staging Officer 1 1 0 0 Rehabilitation 1 1 0 0 Division Supervisors 2 1 0 0 High-rise Evacuation 10 0 0 0 Stairwell Support 10 0 0 0 Total Personnel 50 – 51 21 – 22 16 – 17 8 – 9 *Tasks can be performed by the same individual. **Task can be performed by the attack crew Adding to the critical tasks and staffing issues is the OSHA requirement of two in – two out in 1910.134(g)(4). These regulations state that if entry into an Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH) atmosphere is necessary, two firefighters must enter together and remain in contact with each other. In addition, there must be two firefighters located outside the IDLH atmosphere for potential rescue if needed. This is a mandatory requirement. The concept of an effective response force carries through for other response types by the Fire Company. The tables below outline the critical tasks for an effective response force for those response types. 1851
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Critical Tasks for Hazardous Materials Critical Task High Risk Low Risk Command/Safety 2 1 Liaison 1 1 Decontamination 4 4 Research Support 2 1 Team Leader, Entry Team, Backup Team 6 6 Total Personnel 15 13 Critical Tasks for Initial Wildland Urban Interface Fires Critical Task No Hydrants With Hydrants Command/Safety 1 1 Pump Operations 1 1 Attack Line 2 2 Structure Protection 3 2 Water Supply 1 0 Tender Operator 2 0 Exposure Lines 2 0 Total Personnel 12 6 Critical Tasks for Technical Rescue Operations Critical Task Swift Water High/Low Angle Confined Space Command/Safety 1 1 2 Rescue Team 3 2 2 Backup Team 2 2 2 Patient Care 2 2 2 Rope Tender 2 0 0 Upstream Spotter 2 0 0 Downstream Safety 2 0 0 Rigger 0 1 1 Attendant 0 1 1 Ground Support 0 4 4 Edge Person 0 1 0 Shoring 0 0 0 Total Personnel 14 14 14 The previous tables illustrate the needs for a sampling of hazardous materials, wildland urban interface, and technical rescue incidents and there are numerous other response types. Each of the technical rescue incidents will require similar numbers of personnel or 1852
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more depending on the complexity of the incident. Further, many of the positions require personnel to be certified in those positions or that discipline. As with the emergency services system, an effective response force is needed for the effective and efficient delivery of emergency medical services. A task analysis for emergency medical calls analyzes three different types of calls or patient conditions. These three types of calls usually require the most effort on the part of the response team. Other calls or patient types can generally be handled with two or three personnel. Many times, especially in trauma calls, there are multiple patients. The table below outlines the tasks for handling these critical patients and the number of responders it may require for a successful outcome. It is important to note that some tasks are accomplished by the same personnel, so the total is not simple addition of the positions noted. Critical Tasks for Effective Patient Care Critical Task Cardiac Arrest Stroke Multi-System Trauma Patient Assessment 2 per patient 2 per patient 2 per patient Airway Management/Intubation 2 per patient 2 per patient 2 per patient Cardiac Defibrillation 1 N/A N/A CPR 1 N/A N/A EKG Monitoring 1 1 1 IV/Pharmacology 1 1 1 Splint/Bandage/Immobilization N/A N/A 1 Patient Lifting/Packaging 2 – 4 2 – 4 2 – 4 Medical Information Collection 1 1 1 Total per Patient 6 - 8 5 - 7 6 - 8 1853
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Critical Tasks for Technical Rescue Operations Critical Task Swift Water High/Low Angle Confined Space Command/Safety 1 1 2 Rescue Team 3 2 2 Backup Team 2 2 2 Patient Care 2 2 2 Rope Tender 2 0 0 Upstream Spotter 2 0 0 Downstream Safety 2 0 0 Rigger 0 1 1 Attendant 0 1 1 Ground Support 0 4 4 Edge Person 0 1 0 Shoring 0 0 0 Total Personnel 14 14 14 1854
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Evaluation of the Richmond Fire Services This section compares and evaluates the current deployment and performance of the Richmond Fire Department as it relates to the benchmark and baseline performance objectives. Response Time Data Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) data for 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 was examined and evaluated. The data is not without issues such as coding problems, transcription errors, and equipment failures. The project team used the following mechanism to address these issues. Only qualified data is used to calculate response time and any related components. To be considered the data must meet the following criteria: • The incident must have been unique. • The incident must have involved at least one Fire Department unit being dispatched to the call. • Calls that are missing data are not used in the computations for call processing, turnout time, travel time, or call duration. • Any call with usually long times or times sorted incorrectly (arrived before dispatch time) were removed. • Non-emergency responses are removed; only emergency responses, Charlie, Delta, and Echo types, are included. After filtering the data using the methodology outlined above, the remaining incidents represent the response time for calls for service handled by the Fire Department. Community Performance Standards As noted previously there are three nationally recognized models to use to design and improve a fire protection system in our communities. Each model is based on different aspects of a community from population density, the type of fire department, and the road miles in the area. The applicability for the NFPA models is based on the definitions of the fire department servicing the community. 1855
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NFPA 1710 Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments was last published in 2020. • Defines a career fire department as one that utilizes full-time or full-time equivalent (FTE) station-based personnel immediately available to comprise at least 50 percent of an initial full alarm assignment. ISO continues to use their standard 1.5-mile and 2.5-mile criteria for engine company and ladder company placement. Although they now accept a systematic performance evaluation that demonstrates the department can meet the time constraints outlined in NFPA 1710. Appendix A contained in the NFPA 1710 document provides additional information and background as it pertains to service delivery objectives for the jurisdiction as follows: “There can be incidents or areas where the response criteria are affected by circumstances such as response personnel who are not on duty, unstaffed fire station facilities, natural barriers, traffic congestion, insufficient water supply, and density of population or property. The reduced level of service should be documented in the written organizational statement by the percentage of incidents and geographical areas for which the total response time criteria are achieved. Additional service delivery performance objectives should be established by the AHJ for occupancies other than those identified within the standard for benchmark single-family dwellings. Factors to be considered include specific response areas (i.e., suburban, rural, and wilderness) and occupancy hazards.” This passage acknowledges the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) is responsible for determining the level of service to be provided by the emergency services. Considerations for the level of service include, but not limited to, the way the emergency service responds, travel time, staffing, emergency calls versus non-emergency calls, roadways, financial resources, and those calls involving different occupancies. Previously the Center for Public Safety Excellence had defined benchmark and baseline response times for each of the three components. These baseline performance objectives were derived from the benchmark response times to a lesser 70% of the benchmark. They have since determined they are not a standard making organization and decided to leave the establishment of response time standards to others. However, their body of work is significant and has been used by numerous communities across the country to assist with determining what baseline services should be for a community. 1856
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Call Processing Performance Standards Dispatch services for the fire department is provided by the police department communications center. As such the fire department does not have direct control over the dispatch center or the call processing performance. NFPA 1221 Standard for the Installation, Maintenance and Use of Emergency Services Communications Systems establishes the call processing benchmarks as outlined in the following chart. NFPA 1221 Benchmark Performance Objectives Component Target Performance Calls Answered Within 15 seconds 90% Within 20 seconds 95% Call Processing Within 60 seconds 90% Call Processing for:
These types of calls are exempt from the call processing time illustrated above. * Language Translation * TTY/TDD Device Services * Hazardous Materials * Technical Rescue * Text Message * Calls Received during a Disaster * Unable to Determine Location Both CPSE and ISO use the 60 second call processing time benchmark performance objective as outlined in NFPA 1221 for their requirements. System Performance The table below summarizes the performance of the communications center. Richmond Communications Center Performance All Emergency Calls – 90th Percentile Times 2018 – 2021 2018 2019 2020 2021 Benchmark Call Processing Pick-up to Dispatch 3:47 3:27 3:34 3:59 4:05 1:00 For the four-year period, call processing was over the performance objective benchmark established by NFPA 1221 by 2 minutes and 47 seconds. 1857
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Turnout Time Performance Standards Turnout time is a measurable time segment that begins when the emergency service unit receives the call and is on the apparatus responding (wheels rolling) to the call. The following tables provides a comparison between the four models for benchmark performance objectives and the ACCESS performance objectives. Turnout Time – Performance Objectives Call Type NFPA 1710 ISO CPSE Emergency Medical Calls 60 seconds or less 90% of the time No Requirement 60 seconds or less 90% of the time Fire or Special Operations Calls 80 seconds or less 90% of the time No Requirement 80 seconds or less 90% of the time System Performance The table below illustrates the performance for the Richmond Fire Department. Richmond Fire Department Turnout Time Performance All Emergency Calls – 90th Percentile Times 2018 – 2021 2018 2019 2020 2021 Benchmark Turnout Time 1st Unit Medical Calls 2:36 2:42 2:30 2:38 2:34 1:00 Fire Calls 2:22 2:27 2:22 2:19 2:18 1:20 All times shown is the 90th percentile time for the four-year period and then for each of the four years. The benchmark performance objective time shown to the right represents industry best practice. As shown, turnout time for medical calls for the four-year period was 1 minute and 36 seconds over the benchmark performance objective. For the same period, fire related calls were 1 minute and 2 seconds over the benchmark performance objective. Distribution of Resources Distribution is the measure of getting initial resources to an emergency to begin mitigation efforts. This is measured in a variety of ways including percentage of square miles, percentage of road miles and travel time. The Insurance Services Office (ISO) has used road miles for many years advocating one and a half miles for an engine company and two and a half miles for a ladder company. With the advent of GIS technology and improved computer aided dispatch (CAD) systems, the use of actual travel time is another more accurate measure for the distribution of resources. 1858
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Performance Standards Travel time is a measurable time segment that begins when the apparatus and personnel begin the response (wheels rolling) and ends once on location of the emergency (wheels stopped). It is the most appropriate measurement available for the distribution of resources that has a proven record of success. The table that follows is used for the travel time dynamics of the emergency services system. First Arriving Unit - Benchmark Performance Objectives Demand Zone Demographics NFPA 1710 ISO CPSE Urban Greater than 1,000 per sq. mile 4 minutes or less 90% of the time. 1.5 road miles in the built-upon area 4 minutes or less 90% of the time Suburban 500 - 1,000 per sq. mile 4 minutes or less 90% of the time. 1.5 road miles in the built-upon area 5 minutes or less 90% of the time Rural Area Less than 500 per sq. mile 4 minutes or less 90% of the time. 1.5 road miles in the built-upon area 10 minutes or less 90% of the time Remote Area Travel Distance greater than / equal to 8 miles 4 minutes or less 90% of the time. 1.5 road miles in the built-upon area No Requirement There are several notable items contained in the previous table. NFPA 1710 does not address the various demographics or population densities. CPSE addresses the travel time for the various demographics with differing travel times and ISO only addresses the built upon area defined as those areas with fire hydrants available. System Performance Richmond fits the urban demographic definition with a population density 3,425 residents per square mile, however areas adjacent to Wildcat Canyon Regional Park and Sobrante Ridge have lower population densities. The table that follows illustrates the travel time for the urban demographic as compared to the recommended benchmark performance objectives as represented by National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) Standard 1710. All Emergency Calls – 90th Percentile Times 2018 – 2021 2018 2019 2020 2021 Benchmark Travel Time 1st Unit – Distribution 6:44 6:30 6:38 6:52 6:55 4:00 For 2021, the travel time performance in the city is 6 minutes and 55 seconds, which is 2 minutes and 55 seconds over the benchmark performance objective. Travel times have slightly increased from 2018 to 2021. For a visual perspective the following map illustrates the four-minute travel time expectations using the existing fire stations in the city. 1859
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This map illustrates the fire stations used by the Richmond Fire Department to serve the city using the four-minute benchmark performance objective. There are areas to the south of I-580, the central section of the city, and to the east of station 63 that are outside the travel time polygon. 1860
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Concentration of Resources Concentration of resources is generally described as the ability of the emergency services system to get the appropriate number of personnel and resources to the scene of an emergency within a prescribed time to effectively mitigate the incident. There are two segments to this component – the first is the arrival of second suppression apparatus and the second is the arrival of an effective response force both of which use travel time as the measurement. Performance Standards As noted, there are two segments to the concentration of resources, the first segment uses travel time for the second arriving fire suppression apparatus. The second segment involves the number of personnel. Again, these two segments represent the most appropriate measurement available for the concentration of resources and these measurements has a proven record of success nationally. Second Arriving Suppression Apparatus Travel time is the primary measurement for the second arriving fire suppression unit. The following table summarizes the differing viewpoints for the travel time of the second arriving unit. Demand Zone Demographics NFPA 1710 ISO CPSE Urban Greater than 1,000 per sq. mile 6 minutes or less 90% of the time No time or mileage requirement 8 minutes or less 90% of the time Suburban 500 – 1,000 per sq. mile 6 minutes or less 90% of the time No time or mileage requirement 8 minutes or less 90% of the time Rural Area Less than 500 per sq. mile 6 minutes or less 90% of the time No time or mileage requirement 14 minutes or less 90% of the time Remote Area Travel Distance greater than / equal to 8 miles 6 minutes or less 90% of the time No time or mileage requirement No Requirement As can be noted in the previous table, CPSE and NFPA 1710 have requirements for the second arriving apparatus, ISO is silent on this topic. First Alarm Assignment Travel time and number of personnel arriving at the scene of an emergency is the measurement for the first alarm assignment. The next table illustrates the travel time for the first alarm assignment. 1861
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Demand Zone Demographics NFPA 1710 ISO CPSE Urban Greater than 1,000 per sq. mile 8 minutes or less 90% of the time No time or mileage requirement 8 minutes or less 90% of the time Suburban 500 – 1,000 per sq. mile 8 minutes or less 90% of the time No time or mileage requirement 10 minutes or less 90% of the time Rural Area Less than 500 per sq. mile 8 minutes or less 90% of the time No time or mileage requirement 14 minutes or less 90% of the time Remote Area Travel Distance greater than / equal to 8 miles 8 minutes or less 90% of the time No time or mileage requirement No Requirement In the previous table, a moderate risk structure fire is used as the basis for the benchmark performance objectives. As mentioned previously, the second part of the concentration of resource arrival time concerns the number of personnel arriving with the first alarm assignment. The next table summarizes NFPA, ISO, and CPSE standards for the number of personnel arriving for a first alarm assignment for a single-family dwelling. Demand Zone Demographics NFPA 1710 ISO CPSE Urban Greater than 1,000 per sq. mile 16 personnel No specific requirement 16 personnel Suburban 500 – 1,000 per sq. mile 16 personnel No specific requirement 16 personnel Rural Less than 500 per sq. mile 16 personnel No specific requirement 16 personnel Remote Travel Distance greater than / equal to 8 miles 16 personnel No specific requirement 16 personnel As illustrated, ISO does not specify the number of personnel that is expected or anticipated to arrive, and instead provides points for the personnel – meaning the more on-duty personnel the more points are added to the overall evaluation. NFPA 1710 and CPSE base their personnel requirements on creating an effective response force using critical tasking. For the effective response force, 16 personnel were used for the concentration of resources representing a moderate risk structure fire (single family house). The following tables illustrate the performance of the fire department for the past four years for each the city. 1862
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Structure Fires – 90th Percentile Times 2018 - 2021 2018 2019 2020 2021 Benchmark Travel Time
1st Unit – Distribution 5:28 6:40 4:49 5:29 5:23 4:00 n = 215 n = 40 n = 52 n = 58 n = 65 2nd Arriving Suppression Unit 8:32 9:13 6:38 8:42 8:31 6:00 n = 167 n = 37 n = 37 n = 44 n = 49 ERF – Concentration 24:45 26:59 16:42 12:00 29:33 8:00 n = 40 n = 18 n = 10 n = 9 n = 65 Statistically these travel times use a small data set and therefore should be viewed with a certain amount of skepticism In terms of travel time, the response time for the first arriving unit is relatively close to the benchmark performance objective. However, the second arriving suppression unit for the past four years is 2 minutes and 32 seconds over the benchmark performance objective. The data for the previous table is limited to structure fires only as coded in the CAD data from the dispatch center. With a smaller data set, one or two calls for service can have an effect on the response time shown. For example, in 2018 of the 18 structure fire calls 2 calls had a travel time of 33 minutes and 46 seconds and the other had a travel time of 44 minutes and 35 seconds to meet the 16 personnel effective response force. Removing these two incidents, the travel time for the remaining 16 incidents was 9 minutes and 23 seconds. The following map illustrates the expected performance staffing concentrations assuming all resources in each station are available to respond using the 8-minute travel time. In this illustration, only Richmond resources are shown. 1863
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As illustrated, the western core of the city can achieve a 16-person effective response force however, areas to the northern sections of the city are not able to meet the effective response force in the eight-minute travel time benchmark performance objective. For additional perspective, the following map illustrates the arrival of an effective response force using the same travel time performance objective that also includes mutual aid partners. 1864
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In terms of an effective response force, there are improvements within the city with mutual aid partners. However, the area to the north and east of station 63 is not within the benchmark performance objectives. 1865
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System Reliability The concept of distribution and concentration of resources can be influenced by other contributing factors including unit hour utilization and concurrent calls for service. Unit Utilization Unit utilization is a factor in determining whether there is an appropriate emergency services system response. For purposes of this analysis, unit utilization is calculated by taking the total hours the unit is committed to incidents for the year divided by the total hours in a year. Expressed as a percentage, it identifies the amount of time the unit is committed but more importantly the amount of time the unit is available. In 2016 Henrico County, Virginia conducted a study of unit utilization. Through their study they developed a scale to identify the community impact on travel time and availability of their emergency medical units.1 Factor Indicator Description 16% to 24% Ideal Commitment Range Personnel can maintain training requirements and physical fitness and can consistently achieve response time benchmarks. Units are available to the community more than 75 percent of the day. Units below 0.16 should be evaluated for more efficient use as additional operating capacity is available. 25% System Stress
Community availability and unit sustainability are not questioned. First-due units are responding to their assigned community 75 percent of the time, and response benchmarks are rarely missed. At this level, agency leaders must understand that commitment factor increases are imminent. The community this unit serves will begin to see increasingly longer response times as neighboring stations send apparatus during one out of four calls. 26% to 29% Evaluation Range In this range, the community served will experience delayed incident responses. Just under 30 percent of the day, first-due ambulances are unavailable; thus, neighboring responders will likely exceed goals. Agency leadership should immediately begin identifying funding sources to provide relief. At this range, commitment factors are only expected to increase. 30% or more Line in the Sand Not Sustainable: Commitment Threshold – shows our community has less than a 70 percent chance of timely emergency service and immediate relief is vital. Personnel assigned to units at or exceeding 0.3 may show signs of fatigue and burnout and may be at increased risk of errors. Required training and physical fitness sessions are not consistently completed. 1 https://www.fireengineering.com/apparatus-equipment/how-busy-is-busy/#gref 1866
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Richmond Fire Department Actual Unit Utilization Unit 2018 2019 2020 2021 Duration Pct. of Time Avg. Duration Pct. of Time Avg. Duration Pct. of Time Avg. Duration Pct. of Time Avg. E67 835:11:59 9.5% 0:16:15 782:55:26 8.9% 0:13:57 849:28:00 9.7% 0:15:19 847:33:49 9.7% 0:16:46 E62 712:20:10 8.1% 0:16:16 593:44:57 6.8% 0:14:23 652:45:18 7.5% 0:16:10 825:25:57 9.4% 0:22:56 E64 666:15:42 7.6% 0:17:10 706:34:56 8.1% 0:17:05 778:16:57 8.9% 0:17:38 801:54:17 9.2% 0:18:07 E66 684:51:41 7.8% 0:14:19 642:28:22 7.3% 0:14:25 644:25:54 7.4% 0:14:19 795:50:58 9.1% 0:17:54 E68 651:58:57 7.4% 0:17:23 644:02:39 7.4% 0:15:28 711:06:13 8.1% 0:16:54 776:37:52 8.9% 0:17:22 E61 415:30:33 4.7% 0:19:23 379:28:04 4.3% 0:17:44 370:11:16 4.2% 0:16:47 554:01:05 6.3% 0:25:31 E63 258:15:17 2.9% 0:20:27 239:34:45 2.7% 0:17:14 236:57:57 2.7% 0:17:07 275:55:43 3.1% 0:21:44 T64 306:17:29 3.5% 0:15:05 277:58:32 3.2% 0:13:07 264:58:03 3.0% 0:17:27 266:07:46 3.0% 0:18:22 Generally, the unit utilization is not an issue until it begins to reach 20% to 25% and/or if it begins to interfere with the travel time of the unit. Typically, unit utilization is more of an issue for medical units as they handle a high call volume. It is a useful tool with fire suppression units as these units also respond to medical calls although there is no transport involved. In 2021, no units were over 10% with Engine 67 the closest at 9.7% in terms of committed time to emergency calls. 1867
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Concurrent Calls It is common for an emergency services system to have multiple requests for service occurring simultaneously. The larger the system the more frequently this will occur and with the appropriate resources this can be handled efficiently. Calls 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total % 1 6,119 5,954 5,825 5,694 23,592 43.4% 2 4,627 4,622 4,591 4,538 18,378 33.8% 3 2,107 1,842 1,986 2,196 8,131 15.0% 4 722 606 700 792 2,820 5.2% 5 248 158 214 249 869 1.6% 6+ 154 85 127 226 592 1.1% Total 13,977 13,267 13,443 13,695 54,382 100% The measurement for concurrent calls is based on the occurrence of additional calls for service while another call is in progress. In this instance, when one call is occurring, 57% of the time more than one request for service is being handled. Further, when one call is in progress, for approximately 49% of those calls there are two or three calls occurring simultaneously. 1868
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Strategic Operational Improvement Opportunities During this study, several opportunities for improvement were identified. Some of those are related to the growth of the community, while others are gaps in service levels. This chapter provides recommendations intended to provide improvements to the emergency services system within the City of Richmond. Community Growth and Emergency Services Demand Using the US Census Bureau data, the annual growth rate for the past nine years has been approximately 1.5% for the city. The chart that follows visualizes this trend.
Based on an annual population growth rate of 1.5%, the City of Richmond would reach a population of approximately 158,000 by 2040. However, there are published reports indicating the population growth is slowing. For example, the California Department of Finance projections indicate the population in the city reduced by 0.1% between 2021 and 2022 and a reduction in population of 0.4% for Contra Costa County. Based on the demographics, the population of the city is also aging. In 2010 approximately 14.5% of the population was 60 years or older. According to the 2020 census, data that age group increased to approximately 19.6% of the population, an annual increase of approximately 0.6%. As the population ages, service demands also begin to change, especially in emergency medical needs. 020000400006000080000100000120000140000160000180000
201020202025203020352040
Population Projection
PopulationOver Age 60
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Based on the 2020 population of the city and the calls for service, the average call per person is 0.13 calls. However, based on the calls for service over the past four years, there has been an average reduction in calls by approximately 0.4% per year. The following chart provides a visual perspective for calls for service.
The overall trend for calls for service has a reduction over the past four years. It should be noted that many departments across the country experienced a reduction in the calls for service due to the pandemic. Some of those departments have reported a sharp increase in calls for service since the pandemic is on the decline while others, such as Richmond, are not witnessing the same increase. The average between the population-based projection and the calls for service, based projection indicates an increase in calls for service from approximately 14,000 in 2021 to approximately 16,500 in 2040. Staffing and Overtime In every industry a certain minimum staffing level is formally or informally identified to meet work demands. These work demands can vary widely, from developing a product within recurring deadlines, to meeting specific customer service goals, to ensuring safe practices. If the industry/agency does not have sufficient initial staff resources to meet this baseline (minimum) staffing requirements, overtime will be required unless the agency chooses to allow work demand outputs and outcomes to decline/suffer. In general, overtime dedicated consistently to this category will result in long-term negative consequences, such as a decrease in productivity, reduced quality of work, increased safety risks, increased stress, and increased turnover rates. 05,00010,00015,00020,00025,000
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Calls for Service Projection
CFS by PopulationCFS by CallsAverage CFS
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Characteristics of Overtime The use of overtime has significant potential benefits as well as disadvantages, and balancing these requires close management, best practice protocols and thoughtful consideration of a variety of other factors related to staff and operations. There are key positive and negative characteristics of overtime, as discussed in the following sub-sections. Benefits of Overtime As is well known, the primary benefits an organization derives from using overtime is the cost avoidance of hiring additional personnel. Indeed, proper management of overtime can avoid many undesirable outcomes such as missed deadlines, poorer customer service, cost overruns, staff lay-offs, and a variety of other consequences detrimental to both the organization and employee. Furthermore, overtime to a certain degree is perceived by most to be a desirable benefit, thereby allowing an organization to attract and retain personnel if a moderate amount of overtime is a regular part of the operational culture. While overtime is fiscally advantageous to an organization based on the avoidance of paying for additional fixed costs such as insurance, sick leave earning, vacation earning, etc., it is only beneficial to a point. There is a “break-even” point where the variable costs (time and-one-half payment, retirement costs, employment taxes, etc.) do not compensate for fixed cost savings. While every single agency would be different dependent upon their unique compensation structures, a general rule of thumb that should be used when considering the fiscal elements of overtime usage compared to the use of new staff positions is: As a guideline, 54 work hours per employee per week represents the fiscal benchmark break-even point for paying (14-hours weekly) overtime.2 It needs to be recognized that the above benchmark is a guideline only and based on a 40-hour employee, not the 56 average work week the personnel in Richmond Fire Operations work. Every unique position in any different agency will have its own “fiscal benchmark outcome” based on the salary, benefit, retirement, and taxing structure that influences overtime costs. The noted benchmark provides guidance that once overtime approaches this benchmark “ceiling,” from a fiscal standpoint exclusively a new position should be hired in the vast majority of instances. As discussed subsequently, the fiscal 2 Municipal Solid Waste Professionals article: http://www.mswmanagement.com/MSW/Articles/Overtime_The_Effect_on_Cost_4174.aspx 1871
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reasons to hire personnel instead of use overtime should be considered of secondary importance. Research data suggest that many employees appreciate the opportunity to earn a moderate amount of overtime over the course of a year. According to Shiftwork Solutions LLC, “Employers that offer modest amounts of overtime will not only satisfy a majority of their employees, but also will improve their competitive position in the local market.” This is reflected by the results of their shift work surveying which demonstrated that the majority of employees would like some level of weekly overtime (averaging 7.3 hours per week), but with more than 4-in-10 desiring less than 6 hours per week3: When the desired level of weekly overtime by employee is compared against the fiscal benchmark break-even point for overtime, a clear difference emerges. On average employees would desire approximately one-half the fiscal benchmark with only one-in-six employees having a willingness to work that much overtime on a weekly basis. This differential helps frame the potential negative characteristics of overtime, as discussed further below. Negative Effects Consideration must be given such factors as fatigue, sleep deprivation, and quality of life issues for any shift that has 24-hour components. In terms of fatigue, studies have documented a root cause in human fatigue is the work and rest patterns in the preceding seven-day period. According to a study by Dr. Susan Koen of Round the Clock Systems, a minimum of a 3:4 ratio is needed to ensure that shift employees obtain a sufficient amount of rest and sleep in order to prevent cumulative physical fatigue as well as a sleep debt. The 24/48 schedule as well as the 48/96 schedule both have a 1:2 ratio, which is significantly better than the recommended minimum. Therefore, the structural design of both schedules supports employees’ needed sleep and rest cycles.4 However, sleep deprivation is another factor that needs to be considered. According to Dr. Sara Jahnke, your body operates on circadian rhythms, which is a 24-hour cycle of physiological processes. Going without sleep for too long and interrupting that rhythm leads to physical and cognitive problems. Chronic sleep deprivation increases risk for hypertension, cancer, ulcers, heart attack and stroke.5 The Koen study identifies sleep disruptions as the issue in sleep deprivation. The number of calls during the nighttime 3 Why Overtime? Shift Schedule Design: www.shift-schedule-design.com 4 https://pueblowestmetro.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/821?fileID=1323 5https://www.firerescue1.com/health-wellness/articles/is-the-firefighter-4896-shift-a-health-hazard-BtSYBb011J5sHVB3/ 1872
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hours, nighttime identified between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am, could have an effect on the sleep deprivation factor. In terms of the 48/96 shift, the concern is the first 24-hour shift and those overnight calls. Koen finds for firefighters who typically have one call during the night (depending on the length of the call and how easy it is for them to return to sleep), they will typically start their second day on shift with only mild sleep deprivation. She further reports those firefighters who average two calls during a typical on-duty night will most likely be in a state of moderate sleep deprivation, where cognitive fatigue problems will begin surfacing. However, if managed correctly, these instances can be addressed and not become a problem. Quality of life issues were also addressed in the Koen study. Family interaction is a large part of the off-duty time. Many of those interviewed indicated they spend their first off-duty day sleeping as their call volume creates sleep deprivation issues. This means they are not positively interacting with their family members. This study identified key aspects of off duty time to consider. • Consecutive hours available to be a fully present, active family member. • The amount of weekend off-duty time. • The frequency of weekend off-duty time. • The consecutive time spent away from the family. According to the Koen study, the 48/96 schedule provides additional off duty time allowing the personnel to become fully engaged with their family. However, sleep deprivation is a concern but can be managed. Jahnke states paying attention to sleep, education about proper screening and treatment for sleep disorders, appropriate use of caffeine and appropriate use of napping for busy stations will likely be useful in decreasing the negative effects of shift work among firefighters. Overtime Management It is critical to recognize that the underpinnings of overtime usage are an exercise in risk management. Balancing employee, department, city, and community needs through the use of overtime as opposed to other work-related options is ultimately an effort in judging risk. This framing element should be a core management principle as recognizing the symptoms of poorly used overtime as well as solutions that overtime use can bring is tantamount to efficient and effective agency operations. A March 2013 study entitled 1873
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‘Management of Overtime’ by the Amtrak Office of Inspector General went into detail to discuss overtime (and related issues) in the context of managing risk.6 The following table illustrates the use of overtime for the past four years in the Richmond Fire Department. 2018 2019 2020 2021 Minimum Staffing 34,749 51,687 58,130 54,500 Other types of Overtime 1,802 878 4,244 3,114 Total OT Hours 36,551 52,565 62,374 57,614 The overtime hours shown in the previous table are for those operational personnel and do not include administrative or fire prevention personnel. In 2019, the country was at the height of the global pandemic with many front-line first response personnel contracting the disease. Some of the effects of the pandemic have carried on into 2020 and 2021. Operational Shift Staffing As noted previously, the fire department is staffing its operations with 81 personnel, with a minimum staffing of 25 personnel, across seven stations using a three-platoon system. To staff the shifts, 27 personnel are assigned to a shift which allows 2 personnel to be off duty for vacation, holidays, sick leave, or other paid time off without the use of overtime. The following table illustrates the number of hours used by the operational personnel for the past four years. Type of Leave 2018 2019 2020 2021 Avg. Catastrophic Leave 86 4 336 142.0 Comp Time Off 4,764 5,392 4,953 6,290 5,349.8 COVID 3,859 1,273 2,566.0 Death in Family 802 498 634 432 591.5 Floating Holiday 32 32 32 16 28.0 Jury Duty 9 10 22 31 18.0 LWOP‐ Disability 2,440 576 3,240 2,085.3 LWOP‐LOA 720 720.0 Paid Admin Leave (HR) 384 288 792 488.0 Parental Leave 244 472 360 144 305.0 Sick 7,784 9,116 7,391 10,711 8,750.5 Unpaid Leave 408 655 5,232 2,501 2,199.0 Vacation 14,767 14,687 13,393 15,337 14,546.0 Work Comp (Injury, TTD) 10,982 17,714 20,366 17,137 16,549.8 Total Hours 39,792 51,486 57,110 58,960 51,837.0 6 Management of Overtime Report OIG-A-2013-009, March 26, 2013 pgs 14-16 1874
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For the past three years, worker compensation hours averaged 33% of the total leave taken by the operational personnel. Vacation leave accounts for an average of 26% for the same time frame. Breaking down the shift into hours for the year provides a clear view of staffing issues. There are 8,760 hours in the calendar year and the fire department operates with three shifts. One position requires 2,920 hours to fill that position for the year. Using data from the past four years, the average paid-time-off (PTO) was used to determine the number of hours available for each position. The following table illustrates the hours available. Hours for One Position 2,920.00 Catastrophic Leave 1.8 Comp Time Off 67.7 COVID 32.5 Death in Family 7.5 Floating Holiday 0.4 Jury Duty 0.2 LWOP‐ Disability 26.4 LWOP‐LOA 9.1 Paid Admin Leave (HR) 6.2 Parental Leave 3.9 Sick 110.5 Unpaid Leave 27.8 Vacation 184.1 Work Comp (Injury, TTD) 209.5 Hours Available 2,232.39 Number of Personnel for One Position 1.31 Using the average number of operational personnel for the four years of leave data provide an average number of hours for each employee for the type of leave. As shown, it will require 1.31 personnel (2,920 / 2,232.39) to provide staffing for one year or 33 (32.75) personnel per shift. This translates to 99 personnel assigned to the operational staffing to provide the minimum staffing required for operations. For perspective and using the data from the previous table, to staff an engine company with a minimum staffing of 3 personnel, it will require 3.93 or 4 personnel to staff the apparatus. The number used to staff one position will fluctuate from year to year due to unforeseen circumstances such as long-term injury or illness. One type of leave that stands out is the worker compensation leave. For the past four years there is an average of over 200 hours per year for each employee. Removing this leave type reduces the staffing coefficient changing from 1.31 to 1.2. Using the 1.2 coefficient the number of personnel needed to staff operations goes from 99 personnel to 90 personnel. While the spike in workers compensation coincides with the pandemic, 1875
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COVID leave is shown separately. The worker compensation process can become a cumbersome process as there are many moving parts some of which may not be in local control. The process in the city should be reviewed and streamlined as much as possible to ensure the employee receives the appropriate care and more importantly can be returned to the workforce. Recommendations: Review the worker compensation process within the city to streamline the processes to ensure employees are receiving appropriate services and a return-to-work authorization within an appropriate time frame reducing the amount of time employees are off duty. Increase the number of personnel per shift over the next three to five years to reduce the amount of overtime needed to provide services and to address the fatigue and sleep deprivation issues. Call Processing The call processing time is measured from the time the call is answered by the dispatcher until the field units are dispatched. Dispatching services in the city is the responsibility of the police department. Establishing performance objectives for call answering and call processing not only provides direction to the employees but also establishes expectations for the public and the agencies served. These performance objectives also provide the basis for staffing and operations within the center. With the establishment of performance objectives, there will need to be mechanism created to monitor the actual performance against the established objectives. This will also provide an avenue for the improvement of performance and operations of the center The call processing component is not in the direct control of the fire department however, the department should work with the communications center to improve their call processing performance. Times illustrated in the following table is the call processing performance for a four-year period and were obtained via the computer aided dispatch system. All Emergency Calls – Call Processing 2018 - 2020 Benchmark 90th Percentile 3:47 1:00 80th Percentile 2:50 70th Percentile 2:22 1876
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As can be seen, the past four years combined of call processing time for emergency calls was 3 minutes and 47 seconds for 90% of the time 2 minutes and 50 seconds for 80% of the time. The previous table shows the achievable incremental improvement to the call processing time segment of the response time continuum. For example, improving the 90% fractal time from 3 minutes and 47 seconds to 2 minutes and 50 seconds represents a 10% improvement. As well, reducing the 90% fractal time to 2 minute and 22 seconds would represent a 20% improvement. Incremental improvements are measurable and provide a baseline to measure those improvements. Recommendation The city should establish performance objectives for the communications center for call answering and call processing. Establish a reporting system to create a mechanism to monitor progress of improvements to the dispatching services. Turnout Time There are several factors that will influence the turnout time for apparatus including the station layout. Such considerations include stairs, detour to restroom, policy for signaling enroute, opening the bay doors, policy for gathering response information, and the personal protective gear that must be donned. In any case, formally establishing turnout time performance objectives provides direction to the employees and establishes the expectations of their performance. As well, the public understands and knows what to expect from their fire services. The following table illustrates the turnout time for the past four years, derived by combining the last four-years of turnout time data using the same filtering mechanisms as previously noted. It is shown as a fractal time ranging from 90% to 70% for emergency medical calls and fire-related calls. 2018 - 2021 90% 80% 70% Benchmark Turnout Time – EMS 2:36 1:57 1:39 1:00 Turnout Time – Fire 2:22 1:45 1:27 1:20 For the past four-years combined the turnout time for medical calls was 2 minutes and 36 seconds for 90% of the time and for 80% of the time the turnout time was 1 minute and 57 seconds. 1877
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This table illustrates the achievable incremental improvement to the turnout time segment of the response time continuum. For example, improving the 90% fractal time from 2 minutes and 36 seconds to 1 minute and 57 seconds represents a 10% improvement. As well, reducing the 90% fractal time to 1 minute and 39 seconds would represent a 20% improvement. Incremental improvements are measurable and provide a baseline to measure those improvements. Recording the time a unit begins its response is a function of the dispatch center and the dispatcher handling the call. The process used in the Communications Center is for the unit to notify the dispatcher of the response and the dispatcher then records or time stamps the enroute time. It is possible for the dispatcher to be handling several issues simultaneously resulting in a delay in the recording of the enroute time. It is also possible for the unit to be delayed in notifying the dispatcher of the response due to other radio traffic or other issues that may be occurring simultaneously. The times and variances previously illustrated is the first step to identify any issues or problems with how response times and unit performance is currently captured and reported. The next step is to establish guidelines for accurately capturing the turnout time performance and identify those times when the turnout time is beyond established thresholds. This will allow for the evaluation of the problem, identify if it is a data issue, an operational issue, or other technical problem and the process further refined to improve the reliability of the data. Improvement to the turnout time component can take several forms. Some departments have installed timers in the station at the apparatus bay doors that indicate the amount of time that has elapsed since the dispatch was received. This allows the crews to instantly see their turnout time performance and according to some departments has helped to improve their turnout time. Many departments have also encouraged and required the on-duty crews to place their gear at or on the apparatus instead of leaving it in the locker or other location within the station. Other remedies include the posting of turnout time by station and by shift. This allows the company officer to see the results and work to improve the turnout time of his or her units. Some departments have instituted a process to hold the company officer accountable for excessively long turnout times by creating a written report as to why the turnout time was excessive. This could be established using the current baseline turnout time as a trigger point to generate a time variance report. Another option is to establish a standard operating procedure as to when a unit is to place themselves enroute. For example, one shift will place themselves enroute from the living quarters while another shift will place themselves enroute once they are on the truck. Still yet, another shift may wait until they have cleared the bay doors, all of which will vary the 1878
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reported turnout time and possibly skew the data related to actual performance. Establishing a procedure will improve the accuracy of the data. Recommendations: The city should establish performance objectives for turnout time for medical calls and fire related calls. Establish a reporting system to create a mechanism to monitor progress of improvements to turnout time. Distribution of Resources Distribution is the measure of getting initial resources to an emergency to begin mitigation efforts. This is measured in a variety of ways including percentage of square miles, percentage of road miles and travel time. The Insurance Services Office (ISO) has used road miles for many years advocating one and a half miles for an engine company and two and a half miles for a ladder company. With the advent of GIS technology and improved computer aided dispatch (CAD) systems, the use of actual travel time is another more accurate measure for the distribution of resources. In terms of the distribution of resources, it was previously noted the travel time for the past four years is 6 minutes and 44 seconds as shown in the following table. All Emergency Calls – 90th Percentile Times 2018 – 2021 2018 2019 2020 2021 Benchmark CPSE Baseline Travel Time 1st Unit – Distribution 6:44 6:30 6:38 6:52 6:55 4:00 5:20 Previously the Center for Public Safety Excellence had defined benchmark and baseline response times for each of the three components. These baseline performance objectives were derived from the benchmark response times to a lesser 70% of the benchmark. They have since determined they are not a standard making organization and decided to leave the establishment of response time standards to others. However, their body of work is significant and has been used by numerous communities across the country to assist with determining what baseline services should be for a community and is shown here for comparison purposes. The following map illustrates the travel time for the city using the Richmond fire stations and the surrounding fire stations that provide automatic and mutual aid. The cooperative efforts between the various fire service agencies provide the region with appropriate responses regardless of the boundary. 1879
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In as much as the city has not adopted performance objectives for travel time, using the CPSE baseline travel time the distribution of resources appears to be appropriate based on the GIS analysis. This also illustrates the use of all automatic aid partners which is a common practice throughout the country. With the GIS analysis illustrating a 5 minute 20 second drive time from all the resources providing appropriate service, a further review of the CAD data indicates there may be 1880
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issues that are not providing accurate data. The following table illustrates some of the data issues. 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total No Dispatch Time Recorded 1.8% 9.9% 7.2% 1.3% 5.1% No Enroute Time Recorded 11.2% 12.2% 10.1% 9.2% 10.7% Call Processing Time at 00:00 4.5% 3.8% 6.2% 6.8% 5.3% Turnout Time at 00:00 9.5% 2.0% 2.1% 2.3% 4.0% For the past four years, approximately 5% of the records examined did not have a dispatch time recorded and over 10% of the records examined did not have an enroute time recorded for the unit. More importantly, there are records that have identical time stamps for call received, dispatch and enroute time as illustrated by the approximately 10% of the calls that did not have any time registered for call processing and turnout time. As previously noted, the CAD data is not without coding problems such as an enroute time shown at an earlier time than a dispatch time. The data presented here is after these types of coding issues were removed. As an example of the issue, consider an enroute time that is the same as a dispatch time, this likely means the turnout time is included in the travel time. As such, this extends the travel time and does not provide an accurate measurement and skews the data that would be used for any evaluation of resources. Additionally, sharing the data with the city administration and the general public does not accurately portray the services being provided. Recommendations: Establish baseline performance objectives for call processing, turnout time, and travel time for the dispatch center and fire department. Work with the dispatch center to improve the dispatch processes, to improve data capturing, and to meet the established performance objectives. Monitor the various response time components as compared to the established performance objectives. Concentration of Resources Concentration of resources is generally described as the ability of the emergency services system to get the appropriate number of personnel and resources to the scene of an emergency within a prescribed time to effectively mitigate the incident. There are two segments to this component – the first is the arrival of second suppression apparatus and the second is the arrival of an effective response force both of which use travel time as the measurement. 1881
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As previously shown, the travel times for structure fires in the city are illustrated in the following table. Structure Fires – 90th Percentile Times 2018 - 2021 2018 2019 2020 2021 Benchmark CPSE Baseline Travel Time
1st Unit – Distribution 5:28 6:40 4:49 5:29 5:23 4:00 5:20 n = 215 n = 40 n = 52 n = 58 n = 65 2nd Arriving Suppression Unit 8:32 9:13 6:38 8:42 8:31 6:00 10:24 n = 167 n = 37 n = 37 n = 44 n = 49 ERF – Concentration 24:45 26:59 16:42 12:00 29:33 8:00 10:24 n = 40 n = 18 n = 10 n = 9 n = 65 Statistically these travel times use a small data set and therefore should be viewed with a certain amount of skepticism Note this table includes the CPSE baseline travel times of 5 minutes and 20 seconds for the first arriving unit and 10 minutes and 24 seconds for the second arriving unit and the effective response force. The following map illustrates the arrival of the effective response force in the city using all automatic aid partners. 1882
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As illustrated a large area of the city is capable of receiving an effective response force of 16 personnel within the baseline travel time. Areas outside the baseline performance objective are to the east of Station 63 and the far west sections of the city near the bay. As with the distribution section, the CAD data may not be accurate as there is a large disconnect between the data and GIS analysis. Once the issues with the CAD data are corrected and can portray the data more accurately, a more thorough analysis can be completed. 1883
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Emergency Medical Services Contra Costa County Fire Protection District provides emergency medical services to the county through a contract with Contra Costa County. The fire district sub-contracts with American Medical Response (AMR) for service delivery. The contract requires the ambulances to be staffed with one paramedic and one EMT for responses into Contra Costa County and the City of Richmond. As well, the contract has response time requirements and penalties if those are not met. In terms of response by the fire department, the communications center uses an emergency medical dispatch (EMD) system so the calls being responded to by the fire department are priority calls. EMD is a mechanism used by the dispatch center to ensure the right resources are sent to a call for service. This is accomplished through the interrogation of the caller through a series of preset questions to determine the nature of the call. The following table is data from the patient care reports of the fire department. Richmond Fire Department Patient Care Responses DISPOSITION 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total Pct. Technical Assistance Only (No Patient Contact) 3,108 3,293 2,805 2,819 12,025 37.2% Transport By AMR (No Fire Ride In) 1,682 2,077 2,000 2,327 8,086 25.0% Transport by AMR (Fire Ride In) 122 116 140 127 505 1.6% Cancelled at Scene - No Patient Contact 1,485 1,460 1,869 1,775 6,589 20.4% Transferred Care (Trans. Outcome TBD) 743 495 378 375 1,991 6.2% Cancelled Prior To Arrival 361 581 514 571 2,027 6.3% Dead at Scene 95 117 145 153 510 1.6% Release At Scene (RAS) 100 166 159 139 564 1.7% Transport By Other EMS Agency 10 11 21 14 56 0.2% Declines Care or EMS Transport 3 0 0 0 3 0.0% Refusal of Care After Treatment 2 0 0 0 2 0.0% TOTAL 7,711 8,316 8,031 8,300 32,358 100.0% Over the past four years approximately 27% of the calls were cancelled at the scene or prior to arrival and less than 2% required the fire department to provide personnel to complete patient care during transport. Further evaluation of the data found approximately 96% of the calls had the nature of the call listed as none or unknown. To reduce the number of emergency medical calls fire companies are responding to, the EMD system may need to be adjusted. As well, additional training of the dispatchers may be needed to ensure they are current with EMD system and its use. While the EMD functions in the dispatch center are used to ensure the appropriate resources are sent to a medical call, another service delivery method could be employed. The current delivery system is to send an engine company to the call. Using a smaller 1884
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quick response vehicle, such as an SUV or similar vehicle, to respond to the call for service would reduce the wear and tear on the apparatus and potentially reduce the cost of the operation (fuel, oil, etc.) of the apparatus. The operation would be to have two personnel respond in the SUV to the call leaving one at the station with the engine. Should a fire call be received while the medical crew is out, the engine would respond as would the quick response vehicle to create the 3-person crew. In essence, the engine company would become a two-vehicle unit. Recommendations: Work with Contra Costa Fire Protection District and Contra Costa County Emergency Medical Services to address any changes to be made to the emergency medical response in the city. Work the dispatch center to improve the use of the Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) system to reduce any unnecessary responses of resources to emergency medical calls for service. Consider utilizing cross-staffed quick response EMS vehicles as part of the medical response system to allow a quicker response and potentially reducing the cost of these responses. 1885
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Essential Services The primary purpose of the Richmond Fire Department is to respond to and mitigate fire and medical emergencies within the city. To support these responses, there are a variety of other functions and responsibilities assigned to the fire department such as fire prevention and training. Historically the fire service has been tasked only with fire suppression however, in the past few decades there have been changes that now entails a fire protection system to provide service to the community. Fire Prevention Division Fire prevention and loss control is the first defense against unwanted fires and is an integral part of the Community Risk Reduction programs. The goal of any fire prevention program is to prevent the fire from occurring, prevent the loss of life, reduce the severity of a fire if one does occur, and if a fire does occur to enable the fire suppression forces to perform their tasks more effectively. These goals are accomplished through building inspections, public education activities, and the planning before a building is built. This division is responsible to provide code enforcement, fire investigations, and public education. Staffing for this division is a Fire Marshal, Deputy Fire Marshal and three Fire Inspectors. One of the Fire Inspectors is assigned to The Chevron Refinery through a contract with Chevron. The Fire Marshal reports to the Fire Chief. Code Enforcement There are performance objectives that have been established to provide direction to the code enforcement operations. These objectives use the type of occupancy to determine the frequency of fire safety inspections. As illustrated in the following table, the type of occupancy determines the frequency of fire safety inspections. Occupancy / Risk Classification Occupancy Type Inspection Frequency State Mandated Inspections – Use Groups A, I, F, E, Daycare Places of Assembly, Hospitals, Assisted Living Facilities, Residential Care, and Educational Occupancies. Annually Fire Prevention Inspections – Use Groups R and H Hotels, Motels, Boarding Houses, Apartment Houses, Dormitories, and High Hazard Occupancies. Annually Engine Company Inspections – Use Groups M and R Mercantile Stores, Banks, Retail Sales, and Business Offices, Low Risk Apartments Annually All the properties have been established as annual inspections, Fire Prevention staff handle all the inspections with the exception of the Mercantile Use Group and lower risk 1886
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apartment buildings that are performed by the engine companies. The following table illustrates the workload for the Fire Prevention staff. Occupancy Type Number of Occupancies Target per Staff Staff Needed High Risk 566 600 0.9 Moderate Risk 1,160 600 1.9 Follow-Up Inspections 863 1,000 0.9 Total Inspections 2,589 3.7 For follow-up inspections, it is estimated that half of the occupancies inspected will have code violations that will require a follow-up inspection. These inspections are targeted as only the violations are to be reviewed so more can be completed. The current staffing for the fire safety inspections section is 2 personnel for code enforcement activities outside the Chevron Refinery. To meet the established performance objectives, this section should have 4 personnel. The Chevron Refinery has an inspector assigned to that facility. The mandatory inspections for that facility will need to be monitored to ensure those inspections are being completed as mandated by state regulations. In addition to the Chevron facility, many cities are grappling with the homeless issues and the lack of housing. In many jurisdictions small tent cities are popping up and creating fire safety issues in addition to other challenges. It is not unusual for Fire Prevention staff to become involved as a part of a city’s effort to address this issue that will also have an impact on the daily activities of the Fire Prevention Division. As this challenge grows, the staffing for a Fire Prevention Division may need to be increased to handle the influx of the homeless. Recommendations: Increase the staffing for code enforcement activities from 3 2 personnel to 4 personnel and continue to monitor code enforcement activities to address the staffing needs related to fire safety inspections, fire investigations, and other challenges faced by the city. Public Education Public education is a key component of the Community Risk Reduction process. Through this process fire data is collected and used to target audiences within the community about specific fire related issues. Through these education efforts, the fire problem can be reduced. Within the city there is no public education program or staff to organize or manage such a program. Many cities utilize civilian personnel to deliver the message to the public. Adding a civilian public educator would allow the current staff to concentrate their efforts 1887
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on the technical inspections and code enforcement aspects of the Fire Prevention Division. In addition, the wildland fire threat is another area the public educator could be utilized to provide information to the public. Recommendation Utilize civilian personnel to provide public education and increase the exposure of fire safety education to the school aged children and targeted audiences in support of Community Risk Reduction principles. Fire Investigations Fire investigations are typically handled by the Fire Prevention Division. In 2021 there were 38 fire investigations in the city. The following table provides some context to fire investigations in terms of time spent to complete an investigation. Target Hours per Investigation Fire Investigations Incendiary 80 Accidental 10 Undetermined 10 Vehicle Fire Investigations Vehicle incendiary 30 Accidental/Undetermined 5 It should be noted the target hours for an incendiary fire investigation is not necessarily for an investigator but rather for the investigation itself meaning some of those hours are attributable to evidence collection and report writing. Based on the 38 investigations in 2021, that translates to approximately 3 investigations per month. Depending on the type of investigation and the time spent to complete the investigation, this will impede the ability of the inspectors to complete their assigned code enforcement activities. Recommendations: Monitor fire investigation workload to ensure code enforcement activities are not adversely affected by this collateral duty. Wildland Urban Interface Wildland fires continue to increase in number and intensity throughout the United States. In Richmond, there is a significant wildland urban interface on the east side of the city 1888
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with the Wildcat Canyon Regional Park and the Kennedy Grove Regional Recreation area. These two areas are adjacent to a larger area that includes Briones Regional Park. Mitigation is the largest component of any strategy to minimize the threat and reduction of damage. The National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy, a collaboration between the Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture, is one such document that highlights the effective use of mitigation. Fire Adapted Communities is another resource for information and programs for the mitigation efforts in the wildland fire arena. Mitigation efforts begin with the individual homes and the creation of defensible spaces around the structures on the property. In large part this involves education of the homeowner and an inspection of the property to assist the homeowner to become firesafe. Other mitigation efforts are more regional in nature to include clearing of debris, prescribed burns, and other methods to reduce the fuel. The current program in Richmond uses fire prevention personnel to provide homeowner assessments and other mitigation efforts. There are approximately 4,300 defensible space inspections to be completed on an annual basis. Staffing a Fire Adaptive Community Coordinator would allow for an improved defensible space inspection program. This civilian position would also work in conjunction with the public education specialist to improve the communications with the homeowners and neighborhood associations. Recommendation Establish a Fire Adaptive Community Coordinator civilian position, in the next 12 to 24 months, to handle the defensible space inspections and create proactive programs increasing education efforts. Training and Education Training and education are considered a major function in a fire department as it is critical for personnel to maintain perishable skills and become proficient to handle low frequency – high consequence events. In Richmond this division is responsible for continuing education to the existing workforce. Training programs offered by the Training Division include fire suppression, emergency medical care, hazardous materials containment and recovery, and technical rescue. There is a Battalion Chief that provides training and education services to the fire department. This position is currently vacant, so the Deputy Fire Chief is managing the programming. 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total Staff-Hours 15,038.0 11,094.0 23,328.0 11,239.0 1889
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As illustrated 11,239 man-hours were expended for training and education in 2021, an average of approximately 148 hours per person based on 76 personnel records. Hands on training supplemented by online training platforms are both being utilized. Without the Battalion Chief, the Deputy Chief must directly oversee the training function as well as the daily operations of the department. At the time of this report, there is an active recruitment process to fill the position. Filling this position is essential for the continued success of the personnel and fire department. Emergency Management Emergency Management essentially contains four phases with each phase containing individual processes or phases.
As shown the four phases are preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. • The purpose of mitigation efforts is to reduce or eliminate the impact from any potential hazards. • The preparedness phase is building the capacity and capabilities of the County to manage an event or disaster. • Responding to an event or disaster is the act of mitigating the negative effects of the event or disaster. This can be in the form of a single fire department or health department to several agencies working together. • Recovery from a large-scale event or disaster can take a considerable amount of time to complete. The complexity of the community involved, and the extent of the damage will challenge the community. 1890
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Each phase relies on the other to be successful. The response phase is only successful if the plans were appropriately written and tested. Recovery in the aftermath is successful if the continuity of operations plans were successfully completed and tested. The response to an event is successful if the members of the public are appropriately educated. With emergency management organizations being a clearinghouse agency, they need to be resources for planning, training, education, mitigation, and recovery efforts. Moreover, there are grant funds available for mitigation projects and for building capacity to handle the emergency event that may occur. Richmond has a dedicated position for the emergency management role; however, it is not filled and the responsibility for these activities shifts to the Fire Chief. The detail required of these plans and activities require a concentrated effort on the part of the emergency management staff. As well, there are likely grant funds that are available to assist the city that are not being acquired due to a lack of focus in this arena. For example, with a Presidential Disaster Declaration in the State of California there are grant funds that become available to any jurisdiction for mitigation projects provided the mitigation plan is up to date and approved by FEMA. At the time of this report, there is an active recruitment process to fill the position. It is imperative the emergency management section be staffed to not only ensure the city is prepared for a large-scale emergency but also to manage any grant funds that may become available. 1891
Richmond Emergency Services Review
Presentation on the Final Report
1892
Scope of Work and Approach
The purpose of the study is to evaluate police and fire workloads and service delivery to maximize efficiency – we analyzed 3 years of data through 2021
This was thorough process including the following steps:
Input from Police and Fire Department staff through interviews Community input through interviews and focus group meetings Comprehensive data collection on workloads and services Evaluation of service delivery and resource needs and options. Collaboration to review findings and conclusions
1 1893
Police Analysis – Patrol Principles
Key to the analysis of patrol is evaluate the balance of ‘reactive’ and ‘proactive’ time.
Reactive time is the time spent by patrol officers handling calls for service
Proactive time is the time spent engaging with the community, deploying in areas assistance could be needed, etc.
Generally, the approach utilized by the Matrix Consulting Group places a high value on proactive time because of its problem- solving nature and the partnerships it should forge.
Targeting proactivity at about 40% provides that balance on an overall basis.
1894
Resulting Patrol Proactivity Levels
At current staffing levels, proactivity is
not adequate.
As calls peak from late morning into the
evening, proactivity becomes very low.
The only hours meeting the 40%
threshold are late at night.
Clearly, vacancies have been a factor.
Redeployment could have only a minor
impact on this.
To achieve that targeted level of
proactivity would require 13 additional
officers in patrol (68 in total).
1895
Alternative Response
Many departments around the country have created ‘alternative response’ programs relating to:
Responses to low risk, low priority calls for service Crisis responses
Hiring civilian responders to address lower priority calls is efficient and cost effective – Richmond could support 8 civilian staff given the distribution and number of lower priority calls. A co-response model on mental heath and other crisis calls would support better outcomes – Richmond could support 2 teams, each with a clinician and and an EMT.
1896
Investigations
Major crime reported to the FBI is down in Richmond:
In 2022 major person crime was down 33% since 2018.
In 2022 major property crime was down 24% since 2018. However, caseloads are up because cases are more
complicated and there are fewer staff to handle cases.
To handle all of these cases at recommended caseload levels would require a significant number of new detectives and support staff (34).
1897
Other Opportunities
As soon as staffing allows, fill vacant positions in Special Enforcement.
Focus more on training by creating a community-centric plan and increasing the amount of training staff receive.
Focus on more creative recruiting efforts and expedite hiring decisions.
1898
Fire Service Performance
Fire suppression units cannot meet established performance standards.
1899
Fire Service Performance
1900
Fire Service Overtime Issue
High levels of overtime have been used to achieve targeted staffing.
1901
Emergency Operations
Establish community- based performance goals for turnout and travel times to emergency fire and EMS calls.
Monitor and report turnout time performance by station and shift monthly.
As funding allows increase shift staffing levels to reduce excessive overtime requirements in the Fire Department. 1902
Emergency Communications
Establish a goal of processing emergency fire and EMS call in 1- minute 90% of the time for the Communications Center.
Develop systems to improve the accuracy of data.
Fully implement the use of Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) to reduce responses to low acuity EMS calls.
Excessive and mandatory overtime is not sustainable in emergency communications – fill vacant positions and
increase staffing overall to 21 dispatchers and 4 supervisors. 1903
Fire Service Opportunities
Develop strategies to increase on duty staffing:
Return to work policies
Controlling overtime
Improve dispatch processes and data capture
Consider utilizing cross-staffed quick response EMS vehicles. Filling vacant positions
Hire a civilian to staff a Fire Adaptive Community Coordinator position to improve defensible space investigations and public education.
Hire a civilian public education coordinator to improve Community Risk Reduction efforts.
1904
Overall Conclusions
Current staffing in the Police Department are not sufficient effectively to meet either workload or service demands. This issue is made worse by position vacancies.
The Police Department has major opportunities to utilize alternative service approaches for many calls.
For the Fire Department, position vacancies, injury leave, vacation and sick time have resulted in very high levels of overtime to meet daily staffing needs.
There are opportunities for civilianization in Fire too. 1905