11 - Laserfiche WebLink

BACKGROUND This bi-annual report provides an update on key initiatives to include the School Resource Officer (SRO) program, stop-data collection and the current challenges in hiring new police positions. DISCUSSION Toward creating consistency in the biannual reporting, each Spring report will summarize and compare year-end data points and each Fall the report will focus on programmatic areas of interest and identify the most significant challenge(s) facing the Police Department. The areas of focus in this September 2022 report are the School Resource Officer program, the Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA), and hiring and staffing of new police positions. School Resource Officer Program In November 2021, the City Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and Pleasanton Unified School District (PUSD). In addition to other areas, the MOU outlined how PUSD will collaborate and be involved in the selection process of the SRO. A recent opportunity to involve PUSD staff in the selection of a new SRO was presented when one of the SRO's terms was completed at the conclusion of the 2021-2022 school year. The selection panel included two PUSD employees and a police department employee who recommended Officer Nicole "Nikki" Olah to fill the open position at Amador Valley High School. Consistent with the MOU, Officer Olah completed the 40-hour basic SRO training class prior to the start of the school year. The MOU also recommends joint training for officers and school staff. In July 2022, the Police Department hosted a two-day training at the Firehouse Arts Center for school administrators, campus supervisors, SROs, and other school personnel on topics related to managing a school environment, including rights of the school and police personnel, search and seizure laws, drug recognition, gang intervention, and current case law for school administrators and best practices when working in a school environment. This class was recommended by prior PUSD attendees who participated in the training in 2017. The MOU also encourages the involvement of SROs in classroom presentations. At the beginning of this current school year, SROs partnered with school staff and presented to students in the middle schools about their respective roles on campus and relayed important information on how to be successful in middle school and beyond. The SROs are also in the process of planning similar presentations to high school freshman to introduce themselves and provide an overview of the SRO role at the high schools. Another area of focus was sensitivity when making arrests of students on campus. Since March 2022, officers have made three arrests at Pleasanton schools. One case was a fight between 15-year-old and 16-year-old males witnessed by the SRO. The juveniles, who had run away from the officer, were later identified and were recommended for diversion through Horizons Family Services. The other case was the arrest of a 15-year-old student for drug sales. The drugs were discovered after the Page 2 of 6