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REPORT OF THE FENTY 06 ETRANSITION TEAM ON PUBLIC SAFETY Creating a Safer City
DECEMBER 2, 2006
Transition Action Program for the Mayor Adrian Fenty Administration
Ron M. Linton
Team Leader
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posted here....Download blue_ribbon_commission_report.pdf
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REPORTOF THE FENTY 06 PRE TRANSITION TEAM ON PUBLIC SAFETY NOVEMBER, 1, 2006 Creating a Safer City Pre Transition Action Guide for the Adrian Fenty for Mayor Transition
TEAM MEMBERS
Team leader: Ron M. Linton
Sub Leaders: Community Policing Kristopher Baumann
Strengthening investigative team work Tad Dibiase
Community reentry Laura Hankins
Incarceration alternatives Robert Hildum
Juvenile Justice Jason Ziednberg
Woman and girl’s protection Ellen Opper-Weiner
Emergency Medical service Anne Renshaw
Emergency Preparedness Erik Gaull
Team members: George Banks, Tom Blagburn, Leo Bosner, Robert Bossard, Linda Bowen, Dwight Bowman, Michael Carrington, Clarence Edwards, William Ellis, Juan Espinal, Mai Fernandez, Gail Fisher-Stewart, Harry Gates, Cedric Hendricks, Robert Hendricks, Ted Howard, Rahim Jenkins, Peter Jensen, Richard Jerome, Vincent Jones, Clifford Keenan, Ron Magnus Larry Martin, Tommy Musgrove, Chuck Paris, Steve Rickman, Enrique Rivera-Torres, Luis Rojo, Joyanna Smith, Lisa Swanson. Marcia Thompson, Jeffery Tignor, Ken Tolson, Marika Torok, Rod Wheeler, Peter Willner Lynda Young. Download report_of_the_fenty_pretransition_team_on_public_safety.doc
Posted by Ron Linton on Monday, 30 October 2006 at 09:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Hello, all! My name is Kathryn Aegis, and I have a background in community work, physical security, Homeland Security and disaster operations.
Regarding the MPD, I agree with the need to assess the problems regarding disparate treatment, as problems continue with treatment of minorities. There has, however, over the past ten years witnessed a growing competency on the part of MPD officers and commanders with regard to the treatment of subcultures and religions in the city. This is an area that surrounding jurisdictions are struggling with. It is partly due to the diversity training that was instituted at the academy in the mid-80's that brings in representatives of the different groups, and partly due to the officers' daily exposure to events that are held in public areas for entertainment or religious purposes.
The Halloween weekend provides examples of this -- events are being held by the Wiccan community, the GLBT community, and various gothic/industrial clubs. In neighboring jurisdictions, these events become a center of disputes between the police and citizens, but not in DC.
Therefore, I recommend that a review of 'best practices' in this area be included along with a review of the problems, to highlight areas of improvement along with areas of intrenchment. The DC MPD has learned some lessons that could set an example for other departments.
Kathryn Aegis
Posted by Kathryn Aegis on Sunday, 29 October 2006 at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Potential Near-Term Actions
1. Announce the mayor’s intention to establish an independent Capital City Program Analysis Office (well beyond “CapStat” per se, and surely not under CFO!) to explore municipal agency productivity compared to other relevant jurisdictions, and to challenge budget/program allocations between interdependent city functions.
2. Applaud current regional and federal cooperation in DC crime prevention and emergency care, but propose to explore additional areas for common practices and facilities to benefit national capital metro area safety and health.
Accepting the Broader Context:
a. On the Plus Side:
This is the only vision area that recognizes that the solution lies outside the purview of the agency devoted to the controlling the problem. We agree that DC’s (somewhat) above urban average crime statistics are largely caused by high poverty and high male school drop-outs. Elsewhere, we refer to this nationally-embarrassing reality as “the war between the drop-outs”. The solutions clearly lie in increasing success in improving education and health, thereby decreasing poverty. NARPAC strongly believes that “Poverty Reduction” is one of the four or five major overarching goals that should underpin the current, somewhat disconnected, “Fenty Visions.”
b. On the Minus Side:
We believe, however, that this vision statement only addresses “Reducing Current Crime Rates” and ignores other aspects of the overall safety and justice problem area, such as:
o the compounding effects of repeat offenders magnifies the impact of so many juveniles entering the world of crime so young. Reducing recidivism is the subject of a recent Neil Pearce (citistate) article and bears serious consideration;
o the importance and apparent inefficiency of DC’s FEMS efforts must be addressed. It is closely related to DC’s failing image in health statistics, the overlap in fire and ambulance functions, the misuse of emergency transportation and facilities, etc. All are related to the larger poverty issue;
o police and FEMS workers are frequently cited as among those needing and deserving more affordable housing within DC. This is another “cross-cutting” issue deserving further attention. These dedicated people are often singled out as potential role models for aimless youth, and it might be possible to exchange affordable housing for after-hours contributions of time and effort with the target young population. There is, of course, an active Police Boys & Girls Club, but there are other areas involving teenagers’ spare time that deserve expanded participation by the S&J community. [On the Education blog, we proffer the idea of “settlement houses” or “kibbutzes” as means of “recycling” wayward youth, partially staffed by willing city workers].
c. Increasing Workforce Effectiveness, Efficiency, Accountability, Etc.:
The Fenty “Fiscal Discipline” Vision (not now supported by a blog), proposes an initiative by which he hopes to “root out waste and discover (in)efficiencies”. This Capital Accountability System (CapStat) is an outgrowth of similar map-based data presentations used in Baltimore (CitiStat) and New York (CompStat) to improve management allocation of resources. Similar systems are now used in other cities, and are described on the web. Early versions of this “high-tech” system were featured in the TV series about the brief of police in “The District”. Many viewers thrilled at the thought of such a splendid management panacea. Fenty proposes to use this technique across many municipal agencies, and reap millions in cost-avoidance.
NARPAC has no objection to such high-tech initiatives, and would particularly support them in the (bad) health arena. However, these “current event” tracking and display systems are not likely to catch DC’s basic failures in workforce productivity. DC clearly has way more MPD/FEMS personnel than comparable urban jurisdictions even excluding the several thousand additional law enforcement officers in DC from other agencies, ranging from the Park Police and GSA, to Metro and the 2300 (!) members of the Capitol Police. The nation’s capital city is awash in costly starched safety/security uniforms, and awash in juvie criminals just the same.
NARPAC firmly believes that Fenty should establish an independent program analysis group to compare DC personnel and performance levels to those of other relevant jurisdictions, and to challenge budget allocations among municipal agencies devoted to attaining the city’s same overarching goals. This office could easily manage (and expand) the CapStat system as well.
d. developing a regional context:
DC’s MPD and FEMS(?) are somewhat ahead of other DC agencies in seeking out and accepting both regional and federal assistance in their duties, recognizing that neither crime prevention nor emergency care can afford to be compromised by jurisdictional boundaries. Such obvious steps as interoperable communications and ER use are no-brainers. We believe there are more significant opportunities to share facilities and functions whereby DC could benefit from the relative wealth and expertise of nearby jurisdictions, and federal agencies as well. These could range from training and data storage/analysis facilities, to morgues, “CSI” labs, and specialty trauma centers.
e. free plug for NARPAC
We took an extended look at DC’s MPD and FEMS workforce compared to those of other cities in our response to the finally-fading, originally- flawed GAO report trying to “prove” DC’s supposedly enduring “structural imbalance”, which we consider a hoax. Our analysis can be found at http://ww.narpac.org/REXGAO.HTM . The GAO concluded DC was paying enough for public education, but was under-funding its Police/FEMS needs by several hundred million dollars a year! We also look at comparative crime figures at http://www.narpac.org/SJI.HTM#crimstat05.
Posted by Len Sullivan on Sunday, 29 October 2006 at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Ron,
Attached you will find my comments on the above subject report. If you have questions or concerns, please contact me at one of the following telephone numbers:
Home (301) 476-7788
Cell (240) 426-7497
Clarence Edwards
COMMENTS ON FENTY DRAFT TEAM REPORT
By
Clarence Edwards
Strengthen Community Policing Partnership
1. Request that the transition team analyze the existing organizational culture within the MPD to determine if it is compatible with the Fenty vision of making our streets and neighborhoods safe.
2. Provide the transition team with an understanding of why “community policing” can only be successful in an environment where “community government” is also being employed. This action would help the Mayor explain why all organizational entities within city government must work collaboratively to ensure the most efficient and effective delivery of services to residents and visitors to the city.
3. Recommend that the transition team evaluate the feasibility of using the District’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission system to identify and/or develop instruments to accurately gauge community satisfaction with law enforcement services currently provided to city residents by the MPD. Involving Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners in the evaluation of the delivery of public safety services could firm-up political support for the Mayor’s community policing initiatives.
4. Request that the transition team identify career long term training opportunities supportive of community policing for all police officers, supervisors and managers. This training must reinforce the need for equity and condemn disparate treatment in the provision of police services.
5. Request that the transition team require the MPD to provide its supervisors and managers with training that helps identify, effectively counsel and if necessary discipline the proverbial “bad apples” found in any police organization.
6. Recommend that the transition team carefully evaluate enabling MPD personnel to serve within the same police District throughout their careers, even as they are promoted up the ranks. Big city police departments abandoned this practice after detecting problems with corruption and also determining that officers, supervisors and managers need broad based experience to maximize their effectiveness.
7. Suggest to the transition team that it consider the use of outside consultants to evaluate and make recommendations on the MPD’S current organizational structure to determine the most efficient and effective use of supervisors and managers. The civilianization of positions not specifically requiring a sworn officer should be an outcome of this evaluation.
8. Recommend to the transition team that the MPD be required to recruit applicants who have a willingness to serve “all” segments of the District’s population equitably and effectively. For community policing partnerships to be effective they must be more than empty convenient sayings used by police and government officials to placate citizens concerns and complaints.
Procure Appropriate Federal Public Safety Reimbursement
• Recommend that the transition team identify other jurisdictions that have successfully obtained reimbursement for regular operational expenses from the federal government e.g. VIP motorcycle escorts for national and international officials, the use of emergency response teams in support of federal government protective responsibilities and the use of patrol resources taken away from neighborhoods during public demonstrations aimed at the federal government.
Overhaul Juvenile Justice
• Request that the transition team evaluate the feasibility of reviving and enhancing the Recreation Department’s “Roving Leader Program.” In the past this program was successful in helping the MPD reduce violent crime in neighborhoods with large numbers of “at risk” youth. Roving leaders were also used to assist the MPD restore order when police-citizen civil unrest occurred in problematic neighborhoods.
Support Community Reentry Program for Adult Offenders
• Suggest that the transition team evaluate a Baltimore PD initiative that uses police officers to assist adult offender’s transition back into the community. Baltimore police officers assigned to this unit carefully screen adult offenders desiring employment and assist them complete job applications and obtain credible job references. Such a program could help reduce recidivism and also assist the city identify ex-offenders capable of providing credible preventive counseling to “at risk youth.”
Develop Incarceration Alternatives
• Recommend that the transition team review the National African American Drug Policy Coalition’s Blue Ribbon Commission Report on Racial Disparities in Substance Abuse Policies published in September 2006. This document “Racial Disparities in Substance Abuse Policies Report and Recommendations” contains important insights on alternatives to incarceration. It carefully analyzes the impact of policies which treat drug and alcohol addictions as a moral failure that must be punished and not as a public health problem. The National African American Drug Policy Coalition’s approach appears to mirror the Fenty vision for making our streets and neighborhoods safe.
Strengthen Emergency Preparedness and First Responders
• Recommend that the transition team advise the Mayor to initiate an immediate evaluation to determine the adequacy of the city’s existing evacuation protocols. This evaluation should determine the availability of bus transportation for persons without automobiles; highway exit capacity and internal traffic flow capacity during an emergency requiring the evacuation of the city.
• Suggest that the transition team review the U.S. Government Accountability Office testimony provided before the Senate Committee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, which convened on September 28, 2006 to receive an update on the National Capital Region’s strategic plan.
Clarence Edwards
The strategic plan addresses national priorities and target capabilities from the National Preparedness Goal, an Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) assessment of local and regional preparedness and emergency management capabilities against recognized national standards, and the Department of Homeland Security Nationwide Plan Review of emergency plans.*
• Suggest that the transition team evaluate and make recommendations to the Mayor on the following areas of his vision to make the District better prepared to respond to a wide range of natural and man-made disasters.
1 Improve Voluntary Agency Coordination
2 Identify Federal Funding Mechanisms for Emergency Management Programs
3 Identify effective strategies for integrating the Private Sector into the District’s All Hazards Emergency Management Plans
4 Review and make recommendations on the adequacy of the District’s Pandemic Influenza Planning and Emergency Management Plans
5 Identify Best Practices to enhance City Council and Congressional Budget Presentations on Emergency Management Issues
*Emergency Management Accreditation Program October 19, 2006 E-News
Clarence Edwards
Posted by Ron Linton on Monday, 23 October 2006 at 09:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
1. Strengthen Community Policing Partnership
Ensure police officers are intimately familiar with the community in which they are hired to protect. Giving officers incentives to live in or near that community and understand its dynamics helps nurture the relationship, leading to better dialogue and safer communities.
Committee Recommendation # 1.1: Enable MPD personnel to serve within the same police District throughout their career, even as they are promoted up the ranks.
Comment: Ensure that the Chief of Police retains his authority to increase or reduce manpower assignments to a specific district when crime patterns change in that district, criminal activity moves from that district to another, or manpower needs otherwise change over time.
Committee Recommendation # 1.2: Encourage “ownership” by officers and line officials of their individual areas and provide them the flexibility and resources to try new policing initiatives.
Comment: Identify a team of experts in both community policing and police training from both outside and within MPD to develop the curriculum that would be used for this portion of officer field training. Request that the team develop the curriculum and implement the training within the first six months of office. Require that MPD develop and implement a field training inspection process to ensure that the community-oriented policing field training is appropriately delivered.
Comment: Identify a team of experts in both community policing and police training from both outside and within MPD to define the nature of this additional training and develop the curriculum for it.
Comment: Identify a team of experts in both community policing and police training from both outside and within MPD to develop the curriculum for this portion of officer field training.
Comment: Request that a team of experts in both community policing and police training from both outside and within MPD define the nature of this additional training and develop the curriculum for it.
Comment: Require that MPD assign one lieutenant, one sergeant, one officer and one civilian in each police district to that district’s Community Outreach Unit. Require that the unit function as a specialized unit, i.e., a unit that is free of performing patrol and PSA functions.
Comment: Request that MPD dedicate one PSA meeting per quarter to evaluating focused law enforcement efforts and community/police problem solving efforts conducted within the PSA. Use a standardized evaluation tool to engage residents and document findings.
Comment: Require that they provide regular updates on any targeted problem solving actions or plans that were created collaboratively and can be viewed online by all partners.
Comment: District Community Outreach Teams can provide counseling and support to officers who encounter problems in the community.
Comment: The proposed District Community Outreach Teams can train officers in problem solving and community planning.
Committee Recommendation # 1.3: Provide an adequate orientation period for officers or officials transferring into a PSA.
Committee Recommendation # 1.9: Provide police officers and their partners with the funding, technology and training they need to do their job. In addition, streamline administrative jobs so more police can be on the beat
Comments: a) Request that the Mayor commission an evaluation of the Institute of Police Science’s classes and instructors within the first six months of his administration. The evaluators should be experts in best practices within police academies. B) Appoint a panel to provide a long-term plan to overhaul the Police Academy. The plan should incorporate community policing in every class for recruits and lateral officers and in all in-service training. Have the plan reviewed by team of sworn and civilian experts from outside and within MPD.
Committee Recommendation # 1.12: Train police officers to be culturally competent with special populations such as the deaf and English language learners.
Comments:
Committee Recommendation # 1.13: Encourage citizens to report unusual incidents in their neighborhood and demand that police officers address all crimes—whether they are big or small.
Comments: Many Senior Citizens Police Academy graduates offer their volunteer services to MPD after completing the academy, however, volunteer service opportunities at MPD are difficult to identify. The planning for a Citizens Police Academy will need to include plans for placing graduates in volunteer service opportunities at non-MPD locations. The plans should also establish a process by which volunteers can evaluate their volunteer assignment and supervisor, and for volunteers to be evaluated.
Comment: Request that MPD incorporate this subject in its quarterly district community forums and encourage residents to form neighborhood watch and citizens patrol groups.
Comment: Commission a study examining best practices regarding quality-of-life issues that do not require law enforcement involvement. Incorporate the experience of ward Neighborhood Services Coordinators in this study. Evaluate and modify DC laws and regulations to assign a role in quality-of-life issues to non-law-enforcement agencies.
Comments: Request that the Mayor establish an inter-agency working group to study and propose an appropriate government response to quality of life issues and consider the use of “asset-based community development.”[1] Some of the quality of life problems can be addressed through the Mayor’s Neighborhood Action and Neighborhood Services programs in each ward, by having MPD work in collaboration with other District agencies on quality of life issues that arise on a daily basis.
2. Strengthen Investigative Teamwork
Enhance the relationship between police, prosecutors, investigators and forensic technicians.
3. Procure Appropriate Federal Public Safety Reimbursement
Request that the Federal Government pay its fair share of the costs of public safety in the District.
Make the government intervene in the lives of at-risk youth so that they can grow into productive members of our community.
Committee Recommendation # 4.5: Treatment.
Comments: Establish a comprehensive case review process that begins with a thorough rebuilding of each youth file to create a unique rehabilitation process based on needs or potential. Pilot a longitudinal study with 25 test and 25 control subjects.
Committee Recommendation # 4.6: Treatment.
Comments:
· Improve availability of programs that address gang prevention and leadership development; couple those Committee Recommendations with jobs programs and youth court exposure
· Appropriate more funds for prevention and treatment and provide grants through the DC Children and Youth Investment Corporation.
· Establish a think tank Review Board to evaluate agencies and programs providing treatment to youth.
5. Support Community Reentry Program for Adult Offenders
Treat community supervision of Adult Offenders as both a public safety and a community service commitment. If we reduce recidivism, we reduce the number of District residents who become victims, and increase the number of productive members of society in our City.
Committee Recommendation # 5.1: Develop a reentry strategy that includes pre-release planning, education, employment, family and community support, and short-term and long-term housing, to enable ex-offenders to reenter the community and become productive residents, by working with justice experts, faith-based organizations, and community and business leaders to make this reentry strategy a reality.
Comments: CSOSA provides adults released to community supervision with a very wide range of monitoring and support services. Social service programming, strict supervision, and post release monitoring are very strong components of CSOSA. What hampers community reentry efforts is the lack of job training, job placement, housing, and family support opportunities for returning offenders.
Committee Recommendation # 5.2: Convene a summit headed by the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety in which all the relevant stakeholders, including Court Supervision and Offender Services Agency (CSOSA), prisoner advocacy groups and ex-offenders, explore a strategy for re-entry programs.
Comment: Focus the summit on the development of a strategy to provide returning offenders job training, job placement, housing, and family support opportunities.
6. Develop Incarceration Alternatives
Reentry issues are only one correctional challenge facing our city. It is also important to explore alternatives to incarceration, thus saving us millions of dollars spent to house inmates awaiting trial, while maintaining citizen protection.
7. Strengthen Emergency Preparedness and First Responders
The District must be prepared to respond to a wide range of natural and man-made disasters.
Committee Recommendation # 7.1: Improve coordination with the federal government and states within our region so that in the event of a disaster, citizens receive a consistent and secure reaction from first responders.
Comments:
Committee Recommendation # 7.2: Provide adequate funding, updated training and technology to our first responders so they can provide citizens the best protection available. This includes improving communication within DC FEMS and its medical providers, such as hospitals and clinics, so wait time for citizens is cut to a minimum, and working with traffic partners for more efficient first responder arrival and patient transport.
Comments:
Posted by Rivera Enrique on Sunday, 22 October 2006 at 08:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)