HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packet - November 25, 2013 - CC Special 4 eItVtZe; t:fes ` • 1?, *CO
j FO a
� ,, Yr:121;i ill
` ..,....� -- ' ' =r �
i..4 '� ;'k ,sro '` ,t.:.;�'," _4,,,,¢� f C'9tr PP v.`�`. = '' I
ilAZUS
NOTICE AND CALL OF A SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA:
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Special Meeting of the City Council of the City of Azusa is hereby
called to be held MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2013 immediately following the Utility Board Meeting
which begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Azusa Light and Water Conference Room located at 729 N. Azusa Avenue,
Azusa, California.
Said Special Meeting shall be for discussing, hearing and taking action on the items listed below:
AGENDA
A. PRELIMINARY BUSINESS
• Call to Order
• Roll Call
B. PUBLIC COMMENT—Limited to items listed on this Special Meeting Notice.
Each person or representative of a group shall be allowed to speak without interruption for up to five (5)
continuous minutes, subject to compliance with applicable meeting rules, on items listed on this agenda only.
Questions to the speaker or responses to the speaker's questions or comments shall be handled after the
speaker has completed his/her comments.
C. AGENDA ITEM
1. Presentation by Police Chief Sam Gonzalez, on the Police Department's proposed Website.
•
D. CLOSED SESSION
NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC FOR CLOSED SESSION
Prior to going into closed session the City Council will take public comment on the closed session item.
1. CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR Pursuant to California Government Code, Section
54957.6.
City Negotiators: City Manager James Makshanoff
Organizations: ACEA (Azusa City Employees Association) and AMMA (Azusa Middle Management
Association).
E. ADJOURNMENT
1. Adjourn
In compliance with Government Code Section 54957.5, agenda materials are available for inspection by
members of the public at the following locations: Azusa City Clerk's Office - 213 E. Foothill Boulevard,
Azusa City Library - 729 N. Dalton Avenue, and Azusa Police Department Lobby - 725 N. Alameda, _
Azusa, California.
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in a
city meeting,please contact the City Clerk at 626-812-5229. Notification three (3) working days prior to
the meeting when special services are needed will assist staff in assuring that reasonable arrangements
can be made to provide access to the meeting.
2
I HEREBY CERTIFY that I received a copy of the attached "NOTICE OF A SPECIAL
MEETING" of the Azusa City Council to be held on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2013,
following the Utility Board Meeting which begins at 6:30 P.M. in the Azusa Light and Water
Conference Room located at 729 North Azusa Avenue, Azusa, California.
NAME DATE & TIME DELIVERED BY
&
JOSEPH R. ROCHA
/Zt,EDWARD J. A AREZ
ANGEL CARRILLO
URIEL MACIAS
ROB T GO ZA
/s/JUANA HERNANDEZ
ASSISTANT/DEPUTY CLERK
INTEROFFICE MEMO
DATE: OCTOBER 17, 2013 / y
TO: JAMES MAKSHANOFF, CITY MANAGER
FROM: SAM GONZALEZ, CHIEF OF POLICE ;
SUBJECT: POLICE DEPARTMENT WEBSITE `•LI .
The purpose of this memo is to clarify the intent and purpose of the Police Department
maintained website. As indicated in the formal written proposal (copy attached), the
reasons are many, but I will provide more insight as to why I recommended and support
this proposition.
I have been the Chief for nearly two years and have attended numerous local, county,
and statewide chiefs meetings, conferences, and training seminars. I have tried to take
away all that I can to ensure that the Police Department stays as progressive and
contemporary in our public safety effort. A common theme I have heard is to maximize
an on-line presence via a police website and various social media platforms to enhance
community outreach, community relations, crime prevention,public safety education,
awareness, and solving crimes.
Based on my training thus far, coupled with professional magazines and journal articles I
have read,the most effective police department websites are maintained and operated
within the agency. The reason for this is that the website needs to be welcoming, visually
bold, customer-centric, and updated regularly. It cannot be a standard, generic format if it
is going to be an effective communication tool.
Moreover, another trend in law enforcement to combat shrinking budgets is for agencies
to utilize the talents of its employees outside traditional police work to maximize the
department's effectiveness. We have done exactly that at Azusa P.D. For example, we
have officers build covert surveillance cameras in lieu of buying them and we have an
officer with web design expertise that has developed our proposed website. The Burbank
Police Department recently paid $30,000 for an outside vendor to design and build their
website; whereas, our website was designed and built as a collateral duty of our officer.
We appreciated your approval to proceed with our proposal and that although you have
previewed a snapshot of our new website; I believe both you and the City Council would
benefit greatly from previewing it in its more complete format. Perhaps consideration
could be given to such a preview at the October 28th Utility Board meeting.
Sam Gonzalez, Chief of Police
A.
POLICE DEPARTMENT
weite
bslie
l
sa
prop °
Captain John Monzvf artd Officer Mike Bires
F
'r
f
Introduction
The Police Department recognizes the growing need for it owning and maintaining its own
website, apart from the City's current website. With Azusa being a college town, the creation of
new housing developments, and the rise of social media and websites as a means of favored
communication, a website solely dedicated to, and maintained by, the Azusa Police Department
would be very beneficial to not only the Department, but the City's visitors, residents, and
business owners.
Current Website's Limitations
Traditionally, city governments have utilized major software/website companies who offer a
generic, economical website solution which allows non-IT personnel to update the information
provided on the site, with general ease. However, in using these companies, the customer or
end-user, such as us, sees a lack of use of this tool by the public, due to the visitors quickly
becoming "lost."The reason for this is that although these companies have made it easy for the
end user to update the site,they have sacrificed what is known as the user experience. For
example, various sized photos, fonts, layouts and un-organized "business" on a page leads to a
boring and overwhelming website.
The department is currently allotted a share of pages on the City's website. This has proven to
be difficult to find, lackluster of the Department's professional image, and unsuccessful in
communicating with our community.
In its current configuration, the updating of time sensitive material is a problem for the
Department. Each time the Department wants to post an article, press release, or other
notification, we must bring it to the City's IT personnel for posting. This system prohibits the
department from having 24 hour access to make necessary changes and updates to previously
released notifications. In addition to this dilemma, information that we request for website
posting is not always displayed for the amount of time desired. With Department policies,
general information, and news always changing, it is paramount that we have the ability and
access to make the necessary changes, updates, and management of the release of public
information.
By having our own website designed solely for the Azusa Police Department, we can;
• Use the culture of the Department, City government, and the community to assist in the
design and layout
• Continually improve and/or modify the site to meet the needs of not only the
Department, but the needs of our community
• Improve the user experience by using web development expertise which will lead to
capturing the attention of the user
Wage
• Get "real time" information out to the public regarding crime and safety that will aid in
capturing suspects and keeping the community safe.
• Improve the interactivity with the user, by creating navigation structures, opinions/polls,
social media and commenting features which draws the user "in" and creates a stronger
likelihood they will return to the website in the future.
• Creates a positive image for the Department and the city, and increases the popularity
of our outstanding reputation, personnel, service, and training
With the departments own website, we are able to rapidly disseminate information not only to
the public, but to our personnel as well. This information can be updated at any time of the day
or night, without the need of any specialized personnel.
A Modernistic Community Policing Leader
A website maintained and operated by law enforcement personnel provides the community
with more up-to-date information, crime prevention tips, and closer communication with the
public. In addition to this, the information being directly authored, published, and controlled by
law enforcement officers' garners credibility as well as accountability for the information
disseminated. All too often, information released by law enforcement is modified or re-written
in a manner not consistent with what was originally released when handled by non-law
enforcement personnel.
Due to past and current budget challenges, community policing efforts have suffered. Crime
prevention units, DARE programs, and Community Policing Academies have all been eliminated.
The Azusa Police Department can turn this unfortunate outcome into a positive one by seizing
the opportunity to connect with our community through a more modernistic and reliable
source—the internet.The department recognizes the importance of using the technology our
community uses, rather than using technologies we,the Police Department, think they should
use.
New Technologies Need To Be Used
There are many different social media websites, applications, and features used by the public
today. In fact, the Azusa Police Department and the community we serve use these same
websites, applications and features, whether it be for personal or professional reasons. Because
of this, it is safe to say we will have greatest contact with our community by using Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Google Hangouts, Pinterest, and various smart phone applications.
2IPage
The American public uses technology such as smart phones,tablets, websites, and social media
outlets to interact with each other on a by-the-minute basis. From online college courses to
consulting with your doctor via instant video messaging, the world relies on technology.
The public would rather use the Azusa Police Department's smart phone application to report a
suspect spray painting a wall, than call the department on the telephone.
Utilizing the technology available to law enforcement, we are fortunately able to make this
application a friendly, enjoyable experience. In the scenario given above,the person reporting
the graffiti can remain anonymous, and even take a photo of the suspect as he or she commits
the crime.
With the department having control over the design and maintenance of our own website, we
are able to immediately add features like the capability for the Chief of Police to hold an online
"Ask the Chief" webinar, or the City Council and the Chief can hold a "Town Hall Meeting,"
where they can field questions from residents, students or business owners.
Branding and Marketing
With the addition of these new technologies, it is important to draw the attention of our
community to these tools. Using creative means, many of which we already have, we will be
able to inexpensively advertise our tools. Business cards, mandated victim provided brochures,
our new website, vehicle decals, banners and electronic bill boards will assist us in
accomplishing this task.
Since our department would be designing and maintaining these technologies, we are able to
ensure every application, social media account, brochure, and decal would be identical in
design, font, color, etc. As a department, it is absolutely imperative we brand our "product,"to
lend credibility as an official conduit to the Department.
A Positive Reputation
The Azusa Police Department can create a positive media situation, which would bring great
credit and notability to the City, its Council members and the Department itself. The advent of
such technology and publicity would greatly aid in keeping Azusa and the Azusa Police
Department in the forefront of modeled cities for others to follow.
The Azusa Police Department has the opportunity to have the premier law enforcement
website in the San Gabriel Valley, if not in all of Los Angeles County. Unlike the communities
surrounding us, our website would not have the standard "static" contact information, but a
more "dynamic" website, with constantly changing information, tips, photos, videos, video
chatting, live video feeds, etc.
The Reality—A Professional Website Represents a Professional Organization
31 Page
In today's world, people are drawn to visually stimulating websites and products. Regardless of
personal opinions, perceptions, or beliefs, the public will trust almost anything they see on the
internet.
Knowing that the majority of the community obtains their news, information, sports, facts,
trivia, etc., from the internet, we cannot ignore the fact the Department's reputation, as well as
the City's reputation, may in fact be based off the website which is viewed by the public. It is a
very real possibility, especially since we could be considered a "college town," that we are one
of the last areas in Los Angeles County currently developing new homes,the advancement of
the Gold Line, and the increased positive image the City has been portraying through these
tough economic times.
A professional website maintained and updated by the Azusa Police Department could prove
helpful to parents deciding to send their child to APU, or a new young couple looking for a great
City to raise their family in.
Seeking Only the Best—A Recruitment Tool
The Azusa Police Department prides itself on the highest of hiring standards, and the standards
we set for our current employees to adhere to.
A new website for the Police Department would allow us to become a highly desired agency to
work for. We want only the best to apply for our Department, as our community and the
Department members deserve nothing less.
A clean, organized, sharp website obviously indicates a clean, organized, and sharp
Department. This is the message we wish to portray to potential candidates.
Saving Lives and Solving Crimes through Technology
In maintaining a visually appealing, user-friendly, informative, and thought provoking website,
we will create a "following" in our community, through social media and a custom designed
website. Through social media,the people we will reach with information will be far greater
than those we can reach via our current website. By reaching more people, we create a better
image and opportunity for people to reach out to law enforcement.
As recent as January 24, 2013, a teen in Johnston, Colorado, was forcibly kidnapped and stuffed
into a vehicle. The teen used an "iPod type device," to notify her friends using the social media
venue "Facebook" to call the police. She has since been located and her life was saved as the
result of social media.
In Sanford, North Carolina, the police have used an innovative way of having people text
message crime tips to their police department. The system supplements a 25 year old phone tip
system which is not being used as much.
•
Wage
According to Police Major Kevin Gray, the police are capitalizing on the fact that the younger
generation would rather text than talk, to solve crimes.
In 2011, a poll of over 1,221 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, found four out
of five officials used social media to gather intelligence during investigations. Tips obtained
through social media also allowed for the faster solving of crimes. In this same survey, it was
learned that Facebook and YouTube were the most effective tool for law enforcement to use
for this purpose. A full review of this study may be found
at http://www.lexisnexis.com/media/press-release.aspx?id=1342623085481181.
Unlike our current website, the proposed new website would have automated social media
integration. More information on the use of social media and law enforcement may be found
by reviewing an article written by CNN, at http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/30/tech/socialmedia/
fighting-crime-social-media/index.html.
Preventing Tragedies And Diverting Criminal Activity
In using these technologies, coupled with training, members involved with this program
become subject matter experts. In doing so,they will be able to use those tools and training to
do "counter-surveillance" on potential criminal activities, as well as reach out to people who
are trying to contact us during their "darkest hour." People, like the despondent teen who has
been bullied online or at school, or helping the suicidal father who just lost his job, can easily
access the Police Department.
As police officers, we are able to use our training to potentially discover a criminal plot against a
political figure or civilian. Moreover, we can use techniques to scan the social media venues for
keywords, such as "guns" and "azusa," thus alerting us to a potential threat.
Updating the Community During Times of Tragedy
It is unfortunate that if we do not employ the recommendations in this proposal, we will
become one of the many governmental entities who is losing our position as a first-line trusted
source of important public information.
If the Azusa Police Department is not immediately broadcasting information, updates, photos
and videos of an incident, then someone else on social media will. For example, there is a
Twitter user using the handle of"@eSGVscanner" who reports on incidents happening in Azusa.
Unfortunately, he perpetuates inaccurate information because he adds his own "two cents"
into his report.
This person has 683 people "following" and listening to him. Those people need to be listening
to us first, for the accurate information.
•
Wage
By using this technology, we also have the opportunity to update the information we give to
the community immediately, as opposed to waiting for the 6 or 11 o'clock news to distribute a
suspect's photo or relay information to the public.
During research for this proposal, I found there are 299 people (as of 02/06/2013) who have
requested to be notified of any public safety message distributed for the City of Azusa or the zip
code of 91702. This request has been made through a public safety social media tool known as
"Nixle." The Azusa Police Officers' Association currently has a Nixle account, and uses it to reach
out to supporters in the community.
Of particular note, there was a 500% increase in Twitter "tweets" immediately after the
earthquake in Japan. At it's peak, there were 5530 tweets per second during this disaster. In
review of this disaster, government authorities were given "live-time" photo and video of areas
damaged, through Twitter. The public safety force was essentially multiplied through extra sets
of eyes-the public. Social media outperformed traditional voice and text messaging.
Virtual Mutual Aid
In times of a major emergency in which every available resource needs to be utilized,the local
law enforcement social media community is able to offer "back-up" to Azusa, to ensure
information is being distributed and intelligence is obtained. This is only possible if we use the
same technologies the public and other agencies are using.
Recommendation
Based on growing needs, the Police Department would like to create a separate website from
the City of Azusa. With our own Azusa Police Department website, we will be able to
accomplish the previous listed improvements and alleviate those short comings also
mentioned.
After the configuration of the new website, and the implementation of the various
technologies,there will need to be at least one person who can manage the current
information, as well as implement new ideas and broadcast information, photos, and videos.
Among the design and development of this project, the co-author of this proposal will take on
this assignment as a collateral duty. This will allow him to essentially design, test and modify
the infrastructure so future officers will have easy understanding and use of the technology.
Return of Investment
Although a larger city and police department, Philadelphia has one officer assigned as the Social
Media Public Relations Officer. Through his direct work at cultivating a large following and
support of the program,the Philadelphia Police Department arrested a total of 121 people
during a 13 month period. This was made possible by posting crime videos on social media
venues. They found during that same time period there was a 39% chance a suspect would be
6IPage
arrested if their photo or video was placed on social media venues. Currently, the PPD has
51,000 Facebook likes, 16,000 Twitter followers, 250,000 page views on their website, and their
YouTube videos have received 2.8 million views.
Layout, Theme and Content
The website's content will be laid out in a manner which will provide easy reading and quick
identification of the user's primary interest. Knowing that most visitors to a law enforcement
website are there for the following reasons will provide the scheme of the website:
• Parents of prospective APU college students wanting crime information or statistics for
where their child will be living and/or going to school
• Prospective new residents curious about the Department, it's personnel,training, and
effectiveness at controlling or reducing crime
• Job applicants
• Victims seeking follow-up information on their case
• Victims seeking guidance and/or referrals in obtaining restraining orders, domestic
violence shelters, etc.
• Victims or witnesses wishing to give crime information or tips
The home page layout and content will focus on the most sought after information we believe
the community will be inquiring about. Law enforcement websites contain an abundance of
information, and if not laid out properly, can overwhelm, confuse, and frustrate visitors.The
Azusa Police Department website's home page will essentially be a large menu laid out in a
manner which does not cause the visitor distress. All information provided on the home page
will "draw" in the visitor by redirecting them to the appropriate area on the website where they
can retrieve all the information they are looking for.
Each page will have a uniform layout consistent with other pages on the website. Images will be
of high quality, uniform style (portrait, landscape, etc.), and size. These images would also be of
positive community policing efforts. All copy or text shall be professionally written in a manner
which captivates the audience.
Standard website "logic" will be employed. For example, any place in the website where a
visitor is instructed to contact someone, there will be hyper-linked words the visitor can click on
to bring them to a contact form or automatically open in their computer's email program.
Content will consist of a virtually limitless amount of information highly sought after by the
public. General crime prevention tips to specialized instructions on how to obtain a restraining
71Page
order will be available to the public. In keeping with the "logic"theory, our information for
obtaining a restraining order will not just redirect them to the superior court's webpage, but
will guide people in every step of the process to include the forms ready for download. This will
serve our patrol officers as well because the information can be given out to the public while
they are handling calls for service.
In keeping with the community policing spirit of the website, we will strive to have local
businesses and schools "like" our social media sites and the Department's website. In doing so,
we foster improved communication, transparency, and bring a sense of working together to
solve problems.
The "Topic of The Day"—Staying On Top Of Trends
Having our website maintained by Department personnel will allow us to stay "on top" of the
latest crime trends, as well as safety trends. When topics, such as online bullying, become
popular and a focal point of discussion in the media, public, and on the Internet, we intend to
stay ahead of others by immediately addressing it and having solutions and recommendations
on our website for our visitors.
Increasing Our Workforce To Over 50,000 Strong
Our website will have the capability to display photos of wanted suspects, videos of criminals
we are seeking and videos of crime acts we wish to alert the community about. We will also
have the capability to have crime victims upload surveillance videos to the website for retrieval
by the investigating officer or detective. These videos are not always available at the time of the
investigation. Often times, victims decide not to deliver the videos to the Department or call
the police back. By making it easier for them, we now have a greater chance of retrieving
evidence.
When children or elderly adults become lost or found, we will have the capability to broadcast
this information through our website and social media platforms. This will allow us to
potentially use the entire Azusa population as additional manpower in returning or finding
these individuals.
Financial Consideration
The new website will be developed by our own officers under the guidance and supervision of
Department command staff personnel. There will be minimal hard costs to the Department in
the design and implementation of the website, as this will be a collateral duty of Azusa Police
Officers who are knowledgeable in this field. The set up cost of the Website will be
approximately 80 hours of officer time. The yearly cost of maintaining the Website will be
approximately 2 hours of officer time per day, and would be divided among several officers.
8IPage
Additional add-on features, such as on-line crime reporting, would add recurrent costs which
would be funded through the Police Department's budget.
Upon review of this proposal, if there are any further questions, please feel free to contact
Captain John Momot or Chief Sam Gonzalez.
9IPage