Police Commission Minutes 05/02/2007

Present at this meeting was, Comm. Flanagan, Comm. Dumont, Chief Dubois, Capt. Callaghan, Capt. Dumas, Lt. Toussaint, Comm. Supervisor Martha Swats, Attorney Grossman, and Secretary Warburton. Also present were members of the public and the media.

Acceptance of the minutes was deferred to the following month. Comm. Dumont didn’t feel that he could motion to accept them, as he was not present at the April meeting.

A. Accreditation Update. Lt. Paul Toussaint discussed where we are on this project since the mock review. The biggest thing it did was give us proofs of what we need and how to improve. One thing we learned is that some policies were lacking in detail as to specifics. We are doing a general overhaul of the policies into a neater format. We visited with Durham Police Department and they have their policies organized by standard rather than topics and numbers like we do. We plan to reorganize ours in this way. It will take some time, but overall it will be better.

There is a CALEA conference in July in Montreal. This will be a valuable tool for the accreditation officer and probably other folks to attend some of the classes. Everyone involved in the accreditation process has said this is important for a new manager in order to prepare for an on site review.

Chief Dubois stated that Lt. Toussaint is doing a good job getting up to speed. We support what he recommends. It won’t change our content, but will put us in a better position to move forward. We feel this conference will be extremely important to attend. It will be a great opportunity to send a contingency from the city. I still sense questions at the Commission level and I think sending a representation will give a good feel for the process. It’s a low cost way to take a close look. I’d like to start planning that with your approval.

Chief Dubois stated that Lt. Turgeon took it to the level we are at now. There were a couple of things that drove that, one being the change in division commanders. We felt it was the right time for staff development and it was good for the program. Sometimes we recommend and make personnel changes that seem odd, but the timing was right for progress. For example Lt. Toussaint is recommending modifying the way we write our policies. When looking at accreditation standards our content is good, but our format needs work.

Chief Dubois replied, because we can then prove in the design and implementation of the policies and keep records that outside observers can look at. A review by outside observers that shows we follow our policies and we can prove it. This system allows us record keeping and a monitoring system in place that is a standard that others also follow. Right now we say we do a good job, but we are challenged to prove it from an accreditation standard. I honestly believe we are in good shape but from an accreditation standard, I can’t prove it. This outside assessment is better for the team and the city in many ways.

Chief Dubois said there is value in both the state program that mirrors the recognition phase, with the additional compliance of hiring that is part of the PSTC standards. We do that, but we don’t prove that we do that. The state system goes to the recognition phase, but CALEA doesn’t recognize the state system.

Comm. Dumont said these questions are worth it. If we aren’t going to be any better, we shouldn’t spend the money for a shingle. I will go along with this, but I have reservations.

Chief Dubois said that we have been talking about this for a long time. We are at a point in staffing and capability to make this a priority and make it happen. It is more than a shingle. It will give us a level of review and assurance that when I go to bed at night as the Chief Administrator in the City, my Department is running to the standard I expect. If I’m questioned, I can show them the standards and proofs.

B. Review of Adopted Job Descriptions. Chief Dubois noted that he sent these to the Commission for review because the two versions differ. I want to be sure we were all comfortable with them before I signed off.

Chief Dubois said I looked very closely at these, not just my position. All of these were done within the City when the pay plans were reviewed and these were factored into the salary scales for these positions. That’s why I think it’s important to look at these. There is more detail to them.

I think there is value to consider the one the city did and put so much thought into how the salary ranges work with it. There were a couple of areas that has me having dual superiors on who I report to and that’s an issue we’ve spent a lot of time on. I want to clear that up. Also the education requirements are not necessary and they are not in the old one. I think we only had one person in the history of this position that met the education requirement of this standard and I think it’s excessive. The Commission should have the freedom of choice on whom to appoint.

A. Distinguished Unit Action Awards: This is an award given when a unit works as a team on a particular issue, rather than individually. Specialists Bruce & Brian Daigle, Paul Barton, and Andrew Neal were presented this recognition by Capt. Scott Dumas for their team work in responding to the multiple issues surrounding the early April snow storm, which included power outages, trees down and motor vehicle accidents.

B. Chief’s Awards: Capt. Dumas, Deborah Houle, Martha Swats. Chief Dubois gave out award plaques. He noted that the awards are prestigious because they're not given out often and are the only awards that require the support of both himself and Deputy Chief Mike Allen before Police Commission approval.

Capt. Scott Dumas was recognized for his work during the last year serving as a patrol captain. He has focused on community policing, officers and citizens working together to address crime and quality of life issues, and "laid the groundwork" for the newly formed group of neighborhood coalitions called Rochester United Neighborhoods. Capt. Dumas was also credited with increasing the volunteer base within the department.

Chief Dubois said, "Without what I consider to be superior leadership and a very strong and passionate commitment to the city, these things couldn't be accomplished."

Communications Supervisor Martha Swats was awarded for her leadership in the city's communications center. Chief Dubois credited Ms. Swats for fostering the growth of the communications center and managing both police and fire calls, along with helping to set up dispatching for Frisbie EMS and her part in coordinating the city's tactical dispatch program for high-profile incidents.

Chief Dubois said, "What makes a difference between problems and good things happening is the leadership and the people that are in place to communicate throughout an organization and Martha does an outstanding job in that area."

Also recognized was Deb Houle for her work with juveniles in the city. Ms. Houle is the juvenile court diversion coordinator and works with the department on many of its youth initiatives.

Chief Dubois said, "When I look at the work Deb does and the things she's doing within the police department, I think of community policing at its best. It's a perfect example of the law enforcement profession reaching out to non-sworn folks in city government who have no police background and bringing their skills into policing field to make the policing field a better place."

C. Donation from Wal-Mart to DARE: Chief Dubois noted that Wal-Mart had made a significant donation to our DARE Program in the amount of $3,000.00 (three thousand dollars and no cents). We are asking the Commission to accept those monies into our DARE account.

Chief Dubois replied that we go to all the schools that want us there currently. This helps us fund the programs that we run. It goes into a line item for DARE related issues. It could be used for overtime for the classroom (which we don’t historically use it that way), or for supplies for the program, like certificates or shirts, refreshments for graduations, etc. Those are things we’ve used it for.

Comm. Dumont MOVED to accept the donation of $3,000.00 (three thousand dollars and no cents) from the Wal Mart Corporation to the Rochester DARE Program. SECOND by Comm. Flanagan and PASSED 2 - 0.

1. Orbacom Radio. Chief Dubois noted that this is an older radio system that we used to have. We no longer need it due to the state funded grant that has equipped the center. We checked to see if another department could use it. We had one vendor indicate an interest in the equipment, offering $8,500.00 (eight thousand five hundred dollars). We recommend sending this off to the finance department to have the funds credited to our revenue lines.

Comm. Flanagan MOVED to accept the bid from Beltronics in the amount of $8,500.00 (eight thousand five hundred dollars, for the Orbacom Radio Equipment. The motion was SECONDED by Comm. Dumont and PASSED 2 - 0.

2. Bi-Annual Maintenance Bids. The Commission was advised that we are holding the bids for Radio Repair and Cruiser Maintenance and Repair for more review and will bring them to the next meeting.

A. Carwash Bid. There was only one vendor who responded to this bid. Splash and Dash Carwash bid $2,500.00 (two thousand five hundred dollars and no cents) for 500 car washes. We have used this vendor in the past. They met the bid criteria.

B. Dry Cleaning. The vendor we are currently using (Fuller’s Dry Cleaning) submitted the only bid. No item bid was higher than $6.00 (six dollars and no cents) and we would recommend accepting their bid.

C. Cruiser Scheduled Maintenance (Oil/Filter & Fluids). We received two bids on this from Speedee Oil and from Matt Scott’s Auto. We asked for a price by service supplied. The highest item bid was $89.99 (eighty nine dollars and ninety nine cents) for transmission on one of the specialty vehicles. Speedee Oil was significantly lower in all areas except one. We recommend awarding the bid to Speedee oil.

Comm. Dumont MOVED to award the bids for car washing, dry cleaning and general cruiser scheduled maintenance as submitted and recommended by staff. SECOND by Comm. Flanagan and PASSED 2 - 0.

1. Patrol Division: Capt. Paul Callaghan. Capt. Callaghan indicated that the weekly mission statement, which is attached shows that ideas bubble up from the line officers as to what we want to accomplish. The park and walks in the high crime areas have netted 18 motor vehicle stops and five arrests. The street crime unit made two arrests, one of which turned into a good investigation.

We have started the “cop baseball trading card” program through Crime Line and those are being handed out to children and families in that area. The officers are talking to kids and putting out a zero tolerance message to improve the quality of life. The cards are developing positive relationships with obvious benefits.

2. Support Division: Capt. Scott Dumas. Capt. Dumas said that he and Capt. Callaghan have spent the better part of the month getting up to speed with the change in bureau commands. All in the support division have been responsive, especially with accreditation. Lt. Toussaint has done an outstanding job grasping what we want to do and where we want to go. Already in this short period he has reviewed 26 standards and putting them together for our review.

The cyber crime unit has done a great job with their work with the Attorney General’s office. We’ve had this unit since 2005 and even I wasn’t aware of all that they have been doing and the investigations coming into the Department. Their efforts are impressive. We may not arrest every time we do an investigation, but we have been successful in returning property to some people.

The Mental Health Council efforts are continuing. Paul and I have attended some meetings, which mirror the drug court program the County has. Judge Cappiello and Lt. Fricano are doing a lot of work in this as are a lot of other folks involved in the program. I think it will be a great program once it bears out, with folks needing mental health help versus the criminal justice system.

Our volunteer program continues its success. Based on some articles that we have read on volunteers, we are working on a more defined responsibility description for the volunteers and you should be seeing that within a month.

I have been working with Capt. Callaghan on the juvenile intervention and gang group and the programs do overlap some. Many people in the City have dedicated time to this, including Deb Houle, and our SRO’s. They are developing a curriculum to teach the officers different ways to interact and be successful with youth. We want to bring this into the program we are doing with the Recreation Department, building on the SRO relationship and bring this back in the fall.

Chief Dubois advised that happens on occasion. She has been sent to training for this and it is part of her goals during her last review. It helps him and he can also help her with juvenile issues.

Chief Dubois advised he does not, but he may work with the County Attorney on probable cause hearings and things of that nature. He may also help the County Attorney with misdemeanor appeals at the County.

3. Communications. Supervisor Swats advises that three vendors are due on site tomorrow to finish up. A contract has been signed with a start date of May 7^th to go live with the ambulance dispatching.

4. Executive Report: Deputy Chief Mike Allen advised that the website upgrades are on going. It is a tedious process but it is going well and there has been good feedback at all levels of the agency to improve the site. For example, we plan to add a frequently asked questions page that may answer some of the more common questions that we are often asked. Other upgrades are progressing albeit a bit more slowly than anticipated.

We are working on the implementation of a tactical medic program to our SWAT team, which will provide us with the ability to address medical issues during a call out. The drill at the Middle School identified this as a deficiency. We plan to meet with the hospital to discuss logistics and cost issues.

Chief Dubois advised that it is a complicated process and the City does not do it on any other accounts. We plan to get on our second notices sooner. We don’t want to start a practice without trying other things first.

A. Appreciation and Recognition: Specialists Bruce Daigle, Carol Griffin, Andrew Neal and Thomas O’Connor are recognized for teamwork during a recent structure fire. Off. Kimbrough is thanked for assisting with the disposal of a tear gas canister found in a home. Specialist Tom O’Connor is thanked for assistance with excel thereby streamlining a tedious but necessary task. The Police Department was nominated for a proactive department award through the Police Standards and Training “Looking Beyond the Traffic Ticket” program. Det. Balint and Mangum are nominated for an award through the Police Standards and Training “Looking Beyond the Traffic Ticket” program. Off. Anthony Macaione is thanked by the Make a Wish Foundation for assisting and participating in a young child’s wish.

Comm. Dumont MOVED to enter a non-public session at 8:05 P.M. for the purpose of personnel and legal matters. SECOND by Comm. Flanagan. The motion PASSED by roll call vote, Comm. Dumont-yes, Comm. Flanagan-yes. The non-public session closed at 8:47 P.M. on a MOTION by Comm. Dumont, SECOND by Comm. Flanagan and PASSED 2 - 0.

Comm. Dumont MOVED to award merit increases top of grade adjustment based on passing evaluations to Officer Christopher Mangum. The Motion was SECONDED by Comm. Flanagan and PASSED 2 - 0.