HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-12-23; Update on Police Community Input Meetings; Ray, KristinaI,,,
To the members of the:
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Council Memorandum
Dec.23,2020
To: Honorable Mayor Hall an rs of the City Council
From: Kristina Ray, Communica 1 ,~~~agement Director
Via: Scott Chadwick, City Ma ag
Re: Update on Police Community Input Meetings
· {cityof
Carlsbad
Memo ID #2020275
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide an overview of upcoming public involvement
. about civilian oversight of the City of Carlsbad Police Department, following the City Council's
Oct. 20, 2020, direction.
Background
On June 23, 2020, the City Council voted to place on a future agenda a presentation on police use
of force, the Police Officers Bill of Rights and citizen-review committees on police practices and
procedures. On Aug. 18, 2020, city staff presented this information to the City Council. At this
meeting the City Council voted to request that staff return with a report providing greater detail
on three models of civilian oversight of police departments and a staff recommendation.
On Oct. 20, 2020, city staff presented the overview of the different options for citizen oversight
of police departments and the following recommendation: to obtain input from the community
regarding law enforcement concerns and desired aspects of police oversight and hire an expert
consultant to design a police oversight and review program that is tailored to the needs of the
City of Carlsbad. The City Council instead voted to direct staff to hold four public meetings, one in
each of the four City Council districts, and bring back a report to the City Council by March 2021.
Approach
An interdepartmental team of city staff has worked together to develop a public involvement
approach to accomplish the City Council's direction. This group includes:
• Sheila Cobian, Assistant to the City Manager
• Jesse Flores, Corporal
• Allegra Frost, Deputy City Attorney
• Kristina Ray, Communication & Engagement Director
• Mickey Williams, Assistant Police Chief
• James Willis, Sergeant
The project team has engaged a professional facilitator to advise staff on the public involvement
process and to lead the discussions at the four meetings. City staff also recommends an on line
Office of the City Manager
1200 Carlsbad Village I Carlsbad, CA 92008 I 760-434-2820 t
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Council Memo -Update on Police Community Input Meetings
Dec.23,2020
Page 2
survey be conducted in January to help ensure the broadest input possible. Attached is the draft
plan outlining the goals, objectives, methods and outputs expected from this process.
Next steps
City staff is ready to proceed with scheduling the four meetings, working with City Council district
representatives to ensure availability to attend the meeting in their districts. Meeting promotion
will begin the first week of January, with meetings taking place in late January and early
February. The online survey would be launched in January and available for a minimum ofthree
weeks.
If you have any questions about this process, staff would be happy to respond.
Attachment A: Draft Police Community Input Public Involvement Plan
cc: Celia Brewer, City Attorney
Geoff Patnoe, Assistant City Manager
Neil Gallucci, Police Chief
Sheila Cobian, Assistant to the City Manager
Jesse Flores, Corporal
Allegra Frost, Deputy City Attorney
Mickey Williams, Assistant Police Chief
James Willis, Sergeant
Attachment A
DRAFT
Law enforcement and our community
A conversation with Carlsbad residents
Approach
As directed by the City Council, city staff will engage Carlsbad residents in each of the four City
Council districts in a conversation to better understand their perspectives related to civilian
oversight of the City of Carlsbad Police Department. Specific topics will include:
• Resident experiences, assumptions or expectations that could indicate a need for civilian
oversight of the City of Carlsbad Police Department
• Perceptions about the value of civilian oversight
• Potential goals and objectives of civilian oversight of the Police Department
• What residents would like to be considered if the city were to proceed with civilian
oversight to ensure this is done in a meaningful and informed way
Public involvement goals
Staff has identified the following goals to indicate success of this public involvement effort:
Input provided to the City Council
• Input provided to the City Council represents the views of a broad cross section of their
constituents.
• The input provided helps guide City Council decision making about civilian oversight of
the Police Department.
Participant experience
• Residents interested in and affected by the issue of civilian oversight of law
enforcement are aware of their opportunity to provide input to the city.
• Residents who want to participate consider the opportunities to be convenient and the
environment conducive to sharing their input.
• Residents who participate feel their perspectives are valued.
• Residents who participate are aware of how their input will be used.
Due to the COVID-19 public health order, in person meetings are not allowed. This will limit
input opportunities to those who are comfortable with digital tools. The city has seen good
participation from previous online surveys, however, the limitation should be noted.
This public involvement process is not designed for advocacy groups or for residents who prefer
to communicate in a language other than English. The survey will be available in Spanish,
however, to effectively engage Spanish speaking community members, staff would recommend
a tailored approach that is beyond the scope of this effort.
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DRAFT
Commitment to the public
This process commits to the 11lnvolve" level on the International Association of Public
Participation Spectrum of Public Participation (see below) where the goal is to work directly
with the public throughout the process to ensure that public concerns and aspirations are
consistently understood and considered.
IUCRG:ASIHO lr..lP. CT ON THE Otc!S10,·
INFORM
To .provide: the pubilc
with balanced and
obie.ctive information
.lo assist them in
understanding ll1e
problem, alternatives;
·opportunities and/or
solufions.
We will keep you
lntorrned.
CONSULT
To obtain public
feeeback on analysis.
alternatives and/or
decisions.
We will keep you·
Informed. listen m
and acknowledge
concerns, and
aspirations, and
provide feedback
on l1ow public
input influenced the
decision. We will seek
yoor feedback ·on
drafts and proposals.
Public involvement tools
INVOLVE
To work directly vviih
the public throughout
the process 10 ensure
that public concerns
and aspirations
are consisfenUy
underslood and
consider.ed.
We will work 'Mlh
you to ensure that
your concerns and
aspirations are directly
ceflected in tt1e
alternatives developed
and provide feedback
on hOW public
input inHuenced lhe
decis,on.
COLLABORATE
To partner with
the pubnc in each
aspect of the
decision including
the development of
alternatives and Ille
identification of the
preferred solution.
We'MII work
together 'Mth you to
formulate solutions
and inCOIJ)Olate
yoor advice and
recommendations
into me decisions to
the maximum extent
possible.
City staff will plan one virtual public meeting in each City Council district and supplement these
opportunities with an online survey.
Virtual meetings
• Held in late January/early February on weekday evenings
• Meetings will be scheduled for 90 minutes via Zoom
• Meetings will be run by a professional facilitator
• The district City Council member will be invited to make opening remarks and to listen
to the feedback shared live during the meeting
• The meeting format will include breakout groups to more easily allow for group
discussions, with report outs to the entire group of participants. The Zoom polling
feature will also be used to keep the meetings interactive and allow participants to learn
about each other's perspectives
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DRAFT
Online survey
To encourage broad participation, residents will have the option of providing input via an online
survey in addition to the virtual meetings. The survey will launch in mid-January and be
available for three weeks.
Communication plan
City staff will utilize the following channels and methods to promote awareness of this public
involvement process:
• News releases
• Social media postings (including NextDoor)
• Social media ads
• Emails to city email lists
• Information on the home page of the city's website
• Networking through neighborhood watch groups and HOAs
In addition, City Council members will be encouraged to share information about the meetings
and online survey through their own communication channels.
Output
Input will be summarized into themes and presented in a written report and verbal
presentation to the City Council. Verbatim responses from the online survey will be presented
as well as responses to closed ended questions.
The input from this process will be qualitative in nature, meaning it can be considered similar to
public comments at a City Council meeting. If the City Council desires community feedback that
can be considered representative of the entire resident population, staff could accomplish this
in summer 2021 during the resident survey conducted by a professional researcher.
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