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CC SR 20180412 01 - Revised Public Safety Strategic Plan RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 04/12/2018 AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business AGENDA DESCRIPTION: Consideration and possible action to update the Public Safety Strategic Plan. RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION: (1) Direct Staff to update and continue implementation of the Public Safety Strategic Plan and authorize additional appropriation to fund outreach activities. FISCAL IMPACT: Some items in the proposed Public Safety Strategic Plan Update have been previously budgeted (e.g., the Ring Camera program and the HOA Security Camera grant program), or will be brought back to the City Council (e.g., the Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras in Eastview. The funding being requested at this point is primarily for new Outreach and Awareness programs and projects. Amount Budgeted: $35,800 Additional Appropriation: $13,500 Account Number(s): 101-400-6120-5101 ORIGINATED BY: Gabriella Yap, Deputy City Manager Captain Dan Beringer, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department REVIEWED BY: Gabriella Yap, Deputy City Manager APPROVED BY: Doug Willmore, City Manager ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS: A. Samples of Public Safety Messages (page A-1) B. Sellable Streetlights GIS map (page B-1) C. GIS Heat Maps of Residential Burglaries (page C-1) D. GIS Heat Maps of Vehicle Theft (page D-1) E. GIS Heat Maps of Theft from Vehicle (page E-1) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Staff and the Sheriff’s Department are providing an update to the Public Safety Strategic Plan that was approved by the City Council in April 2016. The updated plan will focus on innovative uses of technology, pilot programs, and outreach and awareness to combat the following Part I crimes: burglary, vehicle burglary, and theft from unlocked vehicles. This report also includes an update on the Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) regional project and the addition of ALPR cameras in the Eastview neighborhoods, all of which continue to play a big part in our public safety plan. We believe that a concentration of technology, especially layering different types at the 1 regional, neighborhood, and individual residence levels, will make a difference in crime prevention and crime solving. TARGETED CRIME TRENDS FOR UPDATED PLAN In late 2015 and early 2016, the City was extremely focused on residential burglaries, which increased at an alarming rate to a high of 184 in 2015. With the implementation of the Public Safety Strategic Plan and efforts of the City Council, Sheriff’s Department, Staff, and residents, we saw the rate dramatically decrease in 2016, reaching one of the lowest rates in the past decade. While there was a slight increase in residential burglaries to 112 in 2017, this is 39% below the 2015 rate and still remains lower than the average of 122 burglaries over the period from 2007 to 2017. Curtailing increases in residential burglaries will continue to remain a focus area of this plan. wtwĻƭźķĻƓƷźğƌ.ǒƩŭƌğƩǤ ЊБЍ ЋЉЉ ЊБЉ ЊЍЎ ЊЏЉ ЊЌА ЊЋЍ ЊЍЉ ЊЊБЊЊБ ЊЊЏЊЊЏ ЊЊЋ ЊЋЉ ВЋ ЊЉЉ БЌ БЉ ЏЉ ЍЉ ЋЉ Љ ЋЉЉАЋЉЉБЋЉЉВЋЉЊЉЋЉЊЊЋЉЊЋЋЉЊЌЋЉЊЍЋЉЊЎЋЉЊЏЋЉЊА In addition to burglaries, crimes that appear to require more attention are vehicle burglaries (burglaries from locked vehicles) and theft from unlocked vehicles. 2 wtĻŷźĭƌĻ.ǒƩŭƌğƩǤ ЊЏЏ ЊБЉ ЊЏЉ ЊЍЉ ЊЋЌ ЊЊЉ ЊЋЉ ВВ ВЎ ББ БЏ ЊЉЉ БЋ АВ ЏА БЉ ЎВ ЏЉ ЍЉ ЋЉ Љ ЋЉЉАЋЉЉБЋЉЉВЋЉЊЉЋЉЊЊЋЉЊЋЋЉЊЌЋЉЊЍЋЉЊЎЋЉЊЏЋЉЊА As depicted in the chart above, vehicle burglaries rose from 2016 through 2017 by 28%, from 67 to 86 incidents. While the 2017 total is significantly lower than the average of 96 annual incidents for the 2007-2017 period, this is an area that we believe can be positively impacted through continued education of residents and visitors. wtŷĻŅƷŅƩƚƒ ƓƌƚĭƉĻķĻŷźĭƌĻ ЊЌЉ ЊЍЉ ЊЋЉ ЊЉЌ ЊЉЋ ЊЉЉ БЎБЎ БЋ АА АЋ БЉ ЏЏ ЎЋ ЏЉ ЌЎ ЍЉ ЋЉ Љ ЋЉЉАЋЉЉБЋЉЉВЋЉЊЉЋЉЊЊЋЉЊЋЋЉЊЌЋЉЊЍЋЉЊЎЋЉЊЏЋЉЊА In the chart above, there was a substantial increase in theft from unlocked vehicles in 2016, prompting Staff and the Sheriff’s Department to do more outreach to increase awareness in 2017 in the form of fliers (Attachment A), newsletter articles, public service announcements (PSAs), and social media, all of which appear to have helped to reduce the number of incidents in 2017 from 102 to 72.Staff proposes to continue these efforts to remind people to be vigilant, lock their vehicles, and place valuables out of sight. 3 UPDATE ON AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE RECOGNITION (ALPR) PROJECTS ALPR Regional Project The joint regional ALPR project between the four cities on the Peninsula has finally concluded with the last five cameras in Palos Verdes Estates being installed and becoming fully operational in January 2018.The other 40 cameras in the cities of Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, and Rolling Hills Estates were installed in 2016, and have been a huge success for the region. The statistics for these cameras in 2017 alone are as follows: Arrests for Auto Theft – 62 Wanted Vehicles – 3 Recovered Stolen Vehicles – 43 Missing Persons Located – 1 Residential Burglary Arrests – 2 Pursuits of Stolen Vehicles Canceled for Warrants – 2 Safety Reasons – 2 ALPR Eastview Project (estimated $650,000 - $700,000) On December 20, 2016, the City Council approved fixed ALPR cameras for the ingress/egress points to the Eastview neighborhoods. Equipping the Eastview area with ALPR cameras continues to be one of the biggest areas of focus for the Public Safety Strategic Plan. Surveys of potential camera sites revealed that there were specific challenges with certain Eastview streets that would prevent new infrastructure from being placed to allow camera installation. Examples included sidewalks that were not wide enough to accommodate new poles, view/aesthetic considerations for areas in front of residents’ homes, and the cost per site. The ALPR subcommittee, comprised of Mayor Pro Tem Duhovic and Councilman Dyda, provided valuable feedback regarding residential impacts, locations, and other structures that could potentially house cameras. Staff has been exploring the possibility of purchasing streetlights from Southern California Edison (SCE) because of the savings and benefits it would provide with a lowered tariff rate and improved service to residents. The acquisition of streetlights creates many more possibilities for the placement of ALPR cameras on existing poles, rather than new pole construction. SCE is required to provide the City with the opportunity to purchase some of its streetlights, but has tried to retain as many as possible. On October 3, 2017, the City Council, recognizing the numerous benefits of owning the streetlights, approved the purchase and sale agreement with SCE. Staff was then able to take the final list of 1,799 streetlights that SCE is willing to sell and put this information into the City’s geographic information system (GIS) to determine which poles could be used in the Eastview ALPR project (Attachment B). The acquisition will significantly cut down on the cost, time, view impairments and disruption at many locations, reducing the number of potential sites that would have required new pole construction from thirteen (13) to six (6). 4 While the City awaits final approval of the streetlight acquisition from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and SCE, Staff has been working with Vigilant Solutions, the City’s ALPR vendor, to survey the sites again. Staff also suggests breaking the project into two phases, with Phase 1 including areas where the City will not have an eligible City-owned streetlight, thereby requiring new infrastructure and construction, and Phase 2 including areas where the City will have an eligible City- owned streetlight. Vigilant Solutions has prepared an initial cost estimate and options for the construction, cameras, and installation for all of the Eastview ALPR sites. After reviewing the options, Staff will bring the final recommendation, corresponding pricing, and contract for Phase 1 back to the City Council for review and approval. Staff will bring back Phase 2 upon approval from the CPUC and SCE. OTHER TECHNOLOGY HOA Security Camera Grant Program The City Council previously approved grants through a City program to assist homeowners’ associations (HOAs) with funding for security cameras for their neighborhoods. At the time of this writing, three neighborhoods have installed cameras and a fourth is going through the process. The City grant pays half the security camera system equipment cost, and, in addition to streamlining the process, waives the permit fees. Each HOA is responsible for the infrastructure, such as poles and electrical connections, as well as communication line costs. The City has been assisting HOAs by setting up communication lines through the City and charging HOAs the pass-through cost so that they can take advantage of the City’s discounted rate. There has been significant interest in the program, but many HOAs were concerned about the infrastructure costs, which vary widely by location depending on how far away an electrical power source is located. With the City’s impending purchase of nearly 1,800 streetlight poles from SCE, this provides a valuable opportunity for those neighborhoods with future City-owned streetlights to save on installation costs. Staff will be reaching out to these HOAs to see if they would like to consider the grant program again. Predictive Policing In the last plan, there was discussion about potentially using predictive policing software and the Sheriff’s Department was looking at various companies to provide this service. At that time, another contract city had implemented a version and was still testing it. Since then, there have been updates to the technology that far exceed the capabilities that were available at that time such as: Having information automatically uploaded to deputies’ vehicles rather than requiring a printout Using exact addresses rather than hundred blocks for reports The ability to integrate with GIS 5 The Sheriff’s Department is in talks with a few predictive policing software companies, and is optimistic about the newer technologies available and are looking at integrating them Department-wide. If the Sheriff’s Department’s talks are successful, the intent is to provide a predictive policing platform on a Department-wide basis. Both the Sheriff’s Department and Staff are of the opinion that waiting for the County to select a provider is the best option, because the contract will ensure the software works with other existing systems and allow access to our databases. Captain Beringer has also told the project manager that he would like the Lomita Station to be part of any pilot project they have in the future. Because of our geography and potential signal losses, he believes we are a perfect candidate for system testing. Ring Cameras Ring Camera Program As you may recall, the City, as an early adopter of technology, was able to negotiate a more substantial discount on Ring’s Doorbell Pro model and is encouraging residents to take advantage of this discount and the City’s $50 incentive. The City’s agreement with Ring allowed for up to 2,000 residential discounts, with over 1,000 residents utilizing the discount and incentive so far. March 25, 2018, will be the kickoff for one final round of Ring cameras being offered with the City’s incentive. Pilot Program with Ring – Ring App and Neighborhood Saturation The City, who has been at the forefront of investing in public safety technology to reduce crime, has continued to look for opportunities and innovative ways to partner with companies and agencies to provide additional benefits to our residents. We continue to provide feedback to Ring to assist them in making their products, programs, and processes better. Staff had seen one of Ring’s pilot programs where they saturated an entire Los Angeles neighborhood with Ring Doorbell cameras and saw a 50% reduction in crime as compared to surrounding neighborhoods, and inquired about the possibility for such pilot program in the City. Ring is now working on a free app to help connect neighbors by allowing them to virtually share and receive real-time public safety information on their smart devices. Ring has worked with Staff to create a mutually- beneficial relationship where Ring will credit one camera for every fifteen (15) signups to their app. If the City can get 1,500 residents signed up, Ring will provide free doorbell cameras for two entire neighborhoods. These neighborhoods were identified by the Sheriff’s Department, Staff, and Ring based upon crime rates and a limited number of homes (approximately 100 each) to allow for truly full saturation. The City, in partnership with Ring, has created a QR code to help residents easily download and sign up for the Ring app. Staff will be encouraging residents to enroll and, with the City Council’s approval, will be working toward the goal of getting 1,500 residents enrolled. 6 OUTREACH AND AWARENESS Staff and the Sheriff’s Department will continue to do more outreach to make residents aware of Part I Crimes through continual distribution of information in the City’s Quarterly Newsletter, the City’s website, social media outlets (Facebook, Nextdoor and Twitter), PSAs, distribution of fliers at City events, and Volunteers on Patrol. However, we would also like to include the following items listed below. Pilot Neighborhood Watch in Multi-Family Neighborhoods ($1,500) Staff created GIS “heat maps” of Part I crimes for the 2012-2016 period to get a visual sense of crime trends throughout the City (Attachments C, D, and E). From the maps, it appears that the neighborhoods along Hawthorne Boulevard (near Ridgegate Drive and Highridge Road), which is mostly multi-family housing, is an area that requires attention. Relative to other areas in the City, this area seems to have had higher rates of crime in residential burglaries, vehicle burglaries, and theft from unlocked vehicles. Previously, Neighborhood Watch has indicated that it generally does not focus on multi-family neighborhoods as much because of high resident turnover, creating challenges in retaining consistent block captains. Staff would like to assist in this area by ensuring that residents receive information that is useful to preventing crime in multi-family neighborhoods. If this multi-family housing pilot program appears successful, Staff would then seek to replicate it in other areas of the City with multi-family housing. Signage for Visitor-Serving Areas ($5,000) The City’s Nature Preserve and beaches routinely draw many people to the area, bringing thousands of visitors on some weekends. Staff recommends placing signage in areas where visitors park, reminding them to lock their doors and not leave any valuables in their car or in sight. This would help to reduce theft from locked and unlocked vehicles. Home Safety Audits The Sheriff’s Department’s Community Resource (CORE) Team continues to make themselves available to residents who want home safety audits to assess how they could better fortify their homes. The CORE Team has completed a few audits thus far and will be taking a “customer care” approach where they will educate residents if they see crime risk factors that can be prevented. We plan to continue to aggressively promote this service to residents, especially in neighborhoods where there has been recent victimization, because there is a higher likelihood that such neighborhoods may be struck again due to existing risk factors. Translation and Distribution of Key Outreach Materials ($4,500) Criminals appear to be targeting residences that are believed to have significant amounts of cash and/or jewelry on hand. In response, the City has drafted a letter warning residents about this, which will be sent as a direct mailer to residents. The cost 7 will also include translations of key materials into Korean, Chinese, Hindi, and Farsi, since there has been some evidence that a number of burglary victims have been non- native English speakers and may not have read the other outreach materials sent via other methods. In addition, these translated handouts will be distributed to local faith- based and community groups that have members who speak these languages. ADDITIONAL PROPOSED MEASURES Loaner Cameras ($2,500) This program was one that was adopted in the previous plan, but Staff has not yet completed. Currently, residents can fill out a form when they will be on vacation and the Sheriff’s Department will do random checks while they are away. However, the Sheriff’s Department also suggests using portable motion-triggered cameras for residents to set up when they are on vacation and no one should be in their home. The cameras can be set up to send alerts directly to the homeowner with a brief clip when the motion is triggered, and, if needed, the owner could report a burglary in progress. It is important to note that these cameras are not monitored and will only send an alert to the homeowner via a smart device if motion triggers it. Staff is seeking authorization to work with the Sheriff’s Department to purchase five (5) cameras at an estimated cost of $500/camera, and to work with the Sheriff’s Department to set this up as a pilot program. If it proves to be popular, Staff would return for authorization for more cameras. The program would include certain caveats, such as no house sitters or pets who could potentially trigger the sensor, and that the camera would have to be returned to the City within a specific number of days upon the residents’ return. Since this equipment would belong to the City and we would like to ensure it is used specifically for our residents, it is suggested that the cameras be available for check out from City Hall during office hours. Bi-Annual Public Safety Meetings with the Sheriff for Emerging Trends The Sheriff’s Department will be asked to hold a public safety meeting if there appears to be an emerging public safety trend developing within the community. For instance, 2015 saw an increase in residential burglaries, while 2016 saw an increase in theft from unlocked vehicles, necessitating different messages and outreach needed for the community. Staff suggests continuing this practice up to twice each year, as needed. Sheriff’s Department Substation at Civic Center Staff continues to work with the Sheriff’s Department about the possibility of including a Sheriff’s Substation at the Civic Center, and has obtained general guidelines for a footprint of such as building. Staff is also continuing to work with the Civic Center Advisory Committee on the Master Plan regarding more specific information. 8 CONCLUSION It is recommended that the City Council: 1) Direct Staff to continue implementation of the Public Safety Strategic Plan, including authorization to fund $13,500 for new Outreach and Awareness efforts outlined in report; 2) Direct Staff to return with an agreementwith Vigilant Solutions, in a form approved by the City Attorney, for Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras for the first phase of the Eastview ALPR Project; and, 3) Direct Staff to return with an agreementwith Vigilant Solutions, in a form approved by the City Attorney, for the second phase of the Eastview ALPR Project upon completion of the SCE streetlight acquisition. ALTERNATIVES In addition to the Staff recommendations, the following alternate actions are available for the City Council’s consideration: 1. Authorize and fund all, some, or none of the items listed above. 2. Direct Staff to discontinue working on elements of the Public Safety Strategic Plan, or add new elements not listed above. 9 A-1 A-2 A-3 SCE'S SELLABLE INVENTORY: STREET LIGHTS ´ 0.5 Miles *Street lights from SCE's sellable inventory were compared to City's inventory using Structure/Pole IDs. Legend Unmatched Street Light Matched Street Light City of Rancho Palos Verdes Sources: Esri, HERE, DeLorme, USGS, Intermap, INCREMENT P, NRCan, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), Esri Korea, Esri (Thailand), MapmyIndia, B-1 NGCC, © OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community