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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPD Police Advisory and Accountability Committee____________________________________________________________________________________ FOR CITY CLERK ONLY Meeting Date: June 5, 2023 Disposition: Resolution 15225 Agenda Item No: 6.b Meeting Date: June 5, 2023 SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Department: Police Department Prepared by: D.C. Spiller, Police Chief City Manager Approval: ______ TOPIC: POLICE ADVISORY AND ACCOUNTABILTY COMMITTEE SUBJECT: ADOPT A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL POLICE ADVISORY AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: Adopt a resolution establishing the City of San Rafael Police Advisory and Accountability Committee (PAAC) and direct staff to facilitate a city-wide call for applications. BACKGROUND: Over the past year, Mayor Kate Colin, Councilmember Llorens Gulati, and Police Chief Dave Spiller, along with other leadership representatives from the City of San Rafael, hosted numerous community meetings seeking feedback from residents about policing in San Rafael. Five major themes emerged from what the community shared, creating opportunities for the city and the police department to address the community’s concerns. The five key themes of feedback include: 1.Improve the feeling of safety and security. 2.Increase cultural competencies, empathy, and customer service skills. 3.Build trust and improve relationships with the community. 4. Increase diversity of the police department workforce. 5. Improve transparency, communication, and accountability. The fifth item listed, specifically as it relates to transparency and accountability, is an area where the city is seeking to create a committee composed of community members to work in collaboration with the police department to improve upon all of the five key themes listed above. Major themes from community conversations and what city leadership heard from the community can found at the “Policing in San Rafael” website: https://www.cityofsanrafael.org/policinginsanrafael/ . SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 2 The primary goals of the PAAC would be to cultivate trust between the police and community, improve transparency and accountability of the San Rafael Police Department (SRPD), and build relationships with the community that will serve to improve policing in San Rafael. Additionally, the PAAC would provide greater community participation as their meetings will be open to the public and they would be making recommendations on police department policies, practices, and procedures. The PAAC would serve as an advisory committee to the City Council. The PAAC would be comprised of seven members. Selection for membership would be made following a community-wide call for application to participate on the committee. Committee members would be selected based on interviews conducted by the full City Council. Committee members must be City of San Rafael residents at least 18 years old (with the exception of one designated seat for a youth/young adult member between ages of 17-26), who have pledged to be impartial, unbiased and objective. With the intent to ensure the PAAC can serve in perpetuity, the Police Chief and the City Manager would not have the authority to disband or substantively modify the structure of the committee absent a formal resolution or action of the City Council. The membership of the PAAC should be inclusive and reflective of community members of diverse backgrounds including but not limited to race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, economic status, and various communities of interest. Community members with lived experiences with law enforcement interactions (specifically the SRPD) would be strongly encouraged to apply. The city would conduct extensive outreach efforts to the community at large, community-based organizations, and civil rights organizations, among others to solicit applications from a wide array of candidates. Applicants would not be required to have any specialty knowledge or particular skills to be eligible to participate. Staff recommends that there be a co-creation process with the PAAC members to establish the specific work plan and objectives for the committee. Broadly speaking, the advisory role of the committee would be to: • Act as a sounding board for the City Council, the City Manager, and the Police Department regarding community needs and concerns, as well as provide community feedback to proposed police programs and priorities. • Make recommendations to the City Council regarding police policy, procedures, and best practices, including those related to community relations, hiring, and training best practices. • Provide a report (at least annually) to the full City Council regarding the activities of the committee and the SRPD’s efforts to strengthen community-police relations and the progress made toward improving upon the five key themes of community feedback. In addition to the advisory role, an important element of the PAAC would be to engage and participate in training to support their success. Potential training may include topics such as public meeting laws, cultural competency, implicit/explicit bias, police department SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 3 operations and policies, police ride-a-longs, etc. Once the committee is formed, staff will work with the PAAC to determine the specific training curriculum. Next Steps If establishing the PAAC is approved by the City Council, staff will facilitate a city-wide call for applications beginning no later than July 1st. Staff will conduct extensive community outreach to educate the community about this opportunity and to encourage a diverse pool of candidates to apply. The applicants would be interviewed by the City Council this September, and the inaugural session of the newly formed PAAC would be in the Fall of 2023. The PAAC would adhere to the established procedures commensurate with the City of San Rafael Boards, Commissions and Committees Rules and Procedures which was adopted by the City Council by formal resolution in March of 2023 (Resolution 15196 https://www.cityofsanrafael.org/documents/board-commission-committee-rules- procedures/ ). The city wishes to work collaboratively with the community as we continue developing the specific scope of work for this committee. Staff are planning more community engagement efforts to seek input regarding the creation of the PAAC’s bylaws, which will be brought to the City Council for approval at a future date. The bylaws include specific details regarding the PAAC’s responsibilities and its meeting frequencies. COMMUNITY OUTREACH: In the Fall of 2022 and early 2023, the city held community meetings of approximately 200 participants, and the diversity of meeting participants represents multiple perspectives across San Rafael. Two of those meetings were held in Spanish (with English interpretation), where residents met in small groups with a community facilitator, to create a safe space for residents to share their experiences and have their voices heard. Following the small groups, the community facilitators shared back the feedback directly to the Police Chief and city leadership. The city met with community groups, high school students, racial justice activists, local non-profits, and residents to hear their concerns and seek input. FISCAL IMPACT: All costs for supporting the PAAC, including staff time, will be absorbed by the existing General Fund budget. Staff resources including an assigned Staff Liaison from the Police Department, as well as administrative support to manage meeting minutes and agenda postings will be assigned to current employees. Any potential consultant support necessary to support and facilitate the work of the PAAC will be funded from the proposed FY 2023-24 General Fund Budget. OPTIONS: 1. Adopt a resolution establishing the Police Advisory and Accountability Committee (PAAC) and direct staff to facilitate a city-wide call for applications. 2. Do not adopt the resolution and provide staff with alternate direction. SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 4 RECOMMENDED ACTION: Adopt the resolution establishing the Police Advisory and Accountability Committee and direct staff to facilitate a city-wide call for applications. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Resolution 1 RESOLUTION NO. 15225 RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL POLICE ADVISORY AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE WHEREAS, the City of San Rafael, hosted community meetings which resulted in the feedback on policing in San Rafael; and WHEREAS, the City of San Rafael seeks to improve transparency, communication, trust, and accountability between the San Rafael Police Department and the community; and WHEREAS, the creation of a Police Advisory and Accountability Committee will serve to improve public transparency and accountability and community relationships with the San Rafael Police Department and the City; and WHEREAS, the creation of a Police Advisory and Accountability Committee will purposefully serve as a sounding board for the City Council, the City Manager and the Police Department regarding community needs and concerns. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the San Rafael City Council as follows: 1. The City of San Rafael Police Advisory and Accountability Committee is hereby established as an advisory committee to the City Council to improve public transparency and accountability with respect to the San Rafael Police Department and provide greater community participation in making recommendations on police department policies, practices, and procedures. 2. The Committee will be comprised of seven members appointed by the City Council and may include alternate(s). Committee members must be City of San Rafael residents, who have pledged to be impartial, unbiased, and objective. The membership of the Committee should be inclusive and reflective of community members of diverse backgrounds including but not limited to race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, economic status, and various communities of interest. Committee members must be City of San Rafael residents at least 18 years old (except for one designated seat for a youth member between ages of 17-26) Members are not required to have any specialty knowledge or particular skills to be eligible. The City Council will appoint the Chair and Vice-Chair for the initial first-year term of the Committee. 3. Each Committee member will serve a term of four (4) years, except for certain initial appointments which will be shorter to ensure that the terms are staggered, and not all of the appointments expire in the same year. Members will be limited to two consecutive four-year terms. 4. The City Clerk is hereby authorized to conduct an open, community-wide call for applications for Committee members. 5. The Police Advisory and Accountability Committee shall be governed by the City of San Rafael Boards, Commissions and Committees Rules and Procedures, adopted 2 by the City Council by resolution in March 2023 (Resolution 15196). Staff will propose Police Advisory and Accountability Committee bylaws for City Council adoption at a future date following further community engagement. The bylaws will include specific details regarding responsibilities and meeting frequencies of the Committee. I, LINDSAY LARA, Clerk of the City of San Rafael, hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was duly and regularly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of said City held on Monday, the 5th day of June, 2023, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: Councilmembers: Bushey, Hill, Kertz, Llorens Gulati & Mayor Kate NOES: Councilmembers: None ABSENT: Councilmembers: None Lindsay Lara, City Clerk