Police Department Emergency Services Review RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA March 6, 2023
matrixconsulting group
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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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,
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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).
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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
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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.
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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
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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,
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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,
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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,
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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.
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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
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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).
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
42254018325731433013
050010001500200025003000350040004500
20182019202020212022
Reported Part 1 Crimes
Violent CrimeProperty CrimeLinear (Violent Crime)Linear (Property Crime)
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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
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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%
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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.
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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%
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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%
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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.
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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
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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%
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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%
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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)
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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%
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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
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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.