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BACKGROUND <br /> After the murder of George Floyd, the Council initiated outreach opportunities with the <br /> community in the form of listening sessions, a review of the police department's Use of <br /> Force policy and an update on the implementation of the recommendations from <br /> President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Two outcomes from the <br /> meeting on 21st Century Policing was the formation of a Community Advisory Board and <br /> initiating the practice of providing bi-annual reports to the City Council on community <br /> policing strategies and department updates. This first bi-annual report will provide a <br /> general update to include calls for service, crime trends, use of force incidents, <br /> personnel investigations, and current and future initiatives. <br /> DISCUSSION <br /> The police department continues to provide a service model that supports a "no call too <br /> small" philosophy in its work. The department is authorized for 83 sworn positions and <br /> 35 professional staff under the leadership of the Chief of Police. The department has <br /> two Captains who serve as Division Commanders who provide oversight and direction <br /> for the Operations and Investigations divisions. The Operations Division includes <br /> uniform patrol, traffic, special events, crime prevention and animal services. The <br /> Investigations Division includes Professional Standards, Criminal Investigations, Special <br /> Enforcement, Youth and Community Services, Dispatch and Records. <br /> Community Policing and Engagement <br /> While some engagement efforts were curtailed due to the pandemic, the police <br /> department continued to maintain a focus on community policing. Community policing <br /> takes many forms and is grounded in a "no call too small" philosophy of service. This <br /> high-touch level of service is a long-standing cornerstone of the police department's <br /> service model. While a focus on community projects previously existed, a formal <br /> tracking mechanism was not in place. The department implemented a tracking <br /> mechanism that better ensures coordinated efforts from our six patrol teams to provide <br /> a single point of coordination even though multiple officers are involved in the solution — <br /> resulting in a higher level of ownership and follow-through for the resident. <br /> Other community policing strategies include engagement efforts such as crime <br /> prevention, youth and adult programming and social media as further described below. <br /> Crime Prevention. A community's safety is directly related to its ability to prevent crime. <br /> While crime is prevented through proactive patrols, the primary strategy for crime <br /> prevention is to make committing a crime more difficult for offenders. Since property <br /> crime is the most prevalent crime type, the Department's crime prevention efforts are <br /> focused on how to make homes, businesses and vehicles less appealing to thieves. <br /> Prior to the pandemic, crime prevention efforts occurred in person at community <br /> meetings; however, COVID 19 expanded crime prevention to virtual settings. The <br /> Department's Crime Prevention Officer, who also serves as the President of the <br /> California Crime Prevention Officers Association, has coordinated dozens of <br /> Neighborhood Watch meetings using virtual platforms. These virtual settings also <br /> assisted in facilitating a city-wide community safety meeting focused on concerns <br /> Page 2of11 <br />