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HomeMy WebLinkAbout19 - Analysis of July 4 Police OperationsCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT September 12, 2000 September 12, 2000 Agenda Item No. 19 To: Honorable Mayor, Members of the City Council and City Manager From: Bob McDonell, Chief of Police Subject: Analysis of Police Operations — July 4, 2000 RECOMMENDATION Review the contents of this report and the videotape shown at the meeting and provide staff direction on which (if any) areas of focus Council would like brought back for possible implementation prior to July 4, 2001. OVERVIEW OF POLICE ACTIVITIES Each year since the late 1970's, the Newport Beach Police Department has deployed virtually all of its resources in dealing with the crowd and traffic control problems associated with the July 4th holiday. This year was no exception. While normal police services were provided to the rest of the City, a large number of uniformed officers, reinforced by personnel of the California Highway Patrol and the Orange County Sheriff's Department were deployed to potential problem areas. The main objective of our deployment plan is to create a strong presence of uniformed officers in potential problem areas with an emphasis on high visibility and deterrence. The principal elements of this uniformed presence are "tactical" and "footbeat" teams, each consisting of one sergeant and three police officers. Tactical teams are mobile and capable of being assigned to any area where a problem may be developing. Footbeat teams are assigned to relatively small, pre- designated areas and tasked with maintaining order in that area. These teams are augmented by beat officers, bicycle officers, motorcycle officers, transportation officers, helicopter crews and a variety of non -sworn support personnel. Experience has taught us that large numbers of people are drawn to the West Newport area on the Fourth of July. This fact of life has existed for many years and has remained a reliable assumption in the development of our deployment strategy. The inescapable reality is that the West Newport area will be inundated with holiday visitors regardless of what measures the City may or may not Analysis of Police Operations — July 4, 2000 Page 2 employ. The best that city government can do in this type of situation is implement reasonable measures that maximize public safety. The system of street closures and restricted access to the West Newport area that was implemented this year has been employed for several years and has worked reasonably well. Our existing plan allows us to restrict our most serious crowd problems to a relatively well- defined area. It minimizes hazards to pedestrians that result from vehicles moving through areas heavily congested by people on foot or bicycles. It has allowed us to maintain avenues of access for emergency vehicles and we are able to rapidly deploy police personnel to deal with developing problems. Regrettably, these benefits do not come without sacrifice. The residents of the West Newport area must endure City- imposed street closures and interference with access to their homes from noon on July 4th until after midnight. Some residents of the area stridently object to these restrictions while other residents accept the restrictions as a good faith attempt on the part of city government to make the best of a bad situation. While the existing plan may not qualify as a perfect solution, I think it is important to keep in mind this basic fact: there were large crowds in West Newport before we started closing streets. Some residents seem to have come to the conclusion that the crowds are there because of the street closures. Imperfect though it may be, the existing plan has been a relatively effective means of preventing riotous behavior and insuring public safety. Nevertheless, it is important to remain open to new and potentially better approaches. In an effort to address the concerns of West Newport residents, we will critically examine our existing plan and explore alternatives. This issue is further addressed in the "PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR" section of this report. In general, field activity this year was similar to past years. No major incidents occurred and crimes of violence were few. Enforcement activity, as reflected in the number of arrests and citations were consistent with prior years (see ENFORCEMENT SUMMARY). In Huntington Beach, the Police Department experienced problems similar to ours although at a lesser scale. It is difficult, if not impossible to correlate problems or lack thereof in one city to the other. As part of our planning process, we made mutual aid arrangements with the Huntington Beach Police Department. Fortunately, neither agency needed additional assistance. ENFORCEMENT SUMMARY Beginning in 1998, we established a uniform deployment period for the purpose of capturing enforcement data from one year to the next. This time frame Analysis of Police Operations — July 4, 2000 Page 3 commences at 4 p.m. on July 3rd and concludes at 6 a.m. on July 5". Historically, most of our July 4t" problems occur during this time period regardless of what day of the week July 4t" falls on. Along with the enforcement statistics for this year, I have included 1999 information for comparison purposes. Arrests 2000 1999 Felony 19 Felony 15 Misdemeanor 137 Misdemeanor 169 Total 156 Total 184 Citations 2000 1999 B &P' 80 B &P 86 H &S` 1 H &S 9 Muni Code' 344 Muni Code 356 Vehicle Code 169 Vehicle Code 139 Fireworks 9 Fireworks 13 Parking 753 Parking 814 Total 1356 Total 1417 Disturbance Advisements 2000 1999 33 51 TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT Our plan for controlling traffic in the West Newport area centered around the installation of barricades preventing vehicular traffic on West Balboa Boulevard between West Coast Highway and 32d Street. Also closed were Seashore Drive and the 100 blocks of streets connecting Balboa Boulevard with Seashore Drive. We were assisted by a contingent of thirty officers of the California Highway Patrol. This group was divided into a team of nine motorcycle officers commanded by a sergeant and another group of nineteen officers assigned to ' B &P refers to the California Business and Professions Code. Almost all citations issued pursuant to this code relate to minors in possession of alcohol or possession of false identification documents. 2 H &S refers to the California Health and Safety Code. Most citations issued pursuant to the code relate to possession of marijuana. 3 Muni Code refers to the Newport Beach Municipal Code. While the NBMC contains a wide variety of enforcement ordinances, most citations issued pursuant to this section are for drinking in public and possession of open alcoholic beverage containers. Analysis of Police Operations — July 4, 2000 Page 4 four wheel vehicles or fixed posts. This group was also under the command of a Highway Patrol sergeant. Installation of the barricades by General Services personnel was complete by approximately noon. The barricades remained in place until approximately 1 a.m. the following morning, at which time they were removed and normal traffic flow resumed. Brief but severe traffic congestion resulted from the fireworks display at Newport Dunes. As noted in the past, this problem defies simple solution short of discontinuing the display. This year, Highway Patrol personnel were diverted from their West Newport assignments to assist with traffic control at the fireworks display. In regard to the street closures in West Newport, we are presently evaluating the feasibility of experimenting with some sort of alternate plan next year. See "PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR" for additional discussion regarding this issue. DEPARTMENT SUPPORT ACTIVITIES A Command Post and field booking facility were established in the rear parking lot of the City Hall complex. This arrangement has worked successfully since first implemented in 1977. In addition to serving as an initial receiving point for arrestees, the Command Post houses field communications personnel and equipment, allowing for more efficient coordination of activities. The Command Post also serves as a staging area for personnel, a storage point for supplies and equipment, as well as a location where City officials may gather for situation briefings. The field booking facility is staffed by NBPD personnel (largely reserve officers) and deputies of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Other NBPD reserve officers and deputies staffed transportation units whose main purpose was to transport arrestees from the point of arrest to the Command Post then, after booking, to the Police Facility. Other department support personnel, largely communications, records and jail personnel worked hard behind the scenes to insure a smoothly functioning operation. Without the efficient performance of these employees, successful completion of operations such as the July 4th deployment would be impossible. SUPPLEMENTAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND SALARY COSTS As in past years, supplemental law enforcement assistance was provided by the California Highway Patrol and the Orange County Sheriff's Department. This year's cost for Highway Patrol services was $23,361. The Orange County Analysis of Police Operations — July 4, 2000 Page 5 Sheriff's Department charged $9,653.50 for their services this year. These costs are consistent with amounts billed in recent years. Per the Memorandum of Understanding with our employee associations, personnel receive "premium pay" for working on July 4t". This has allowed us to significantly decrease salary costs for the July 4'" deployment. Our additional salary cost for this year was $46,908 as opposed to almost $82,000 in 1997, prior to implementation of the premium pay agreement. PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR In keeping with past practice, this year's July 4t" deployment will be critiqued at each staff level. A general critique discussion is an agenda item for our Management Team Meeting involving all Department Supervisors scheduled for next month. September's Management Team Meeting will be the platform from which we will initiate an in -depth examination of our street closure policy in the West Newport area. I intend to form a committee that will approach the problem with open minds, seek input from the community, and have considerable latitude in making recommendations for next year's operation. I intend to keep the Council apprised of the progress of this committee and seek Council input in the event of, or prior to implementing any major changes. CONCLUSION I believe our efforts were instrumental in allowing our citizens to enjoy a relatively safe Fourth of July and I am satisfied our personnel performed professionally and efficiently. As in past years, we appreciate the assistance of our colleagues from the California Highway Patrol and Orange County Sheriff's Department. A successful July 4t" operation would also not be possible without the capable assistance of other City departments and employees. As already noted in this report, the planning effort for next year has already commenced. Hopefully, next year will see even more refinement of our operational plan to cope with the event. Respectfully submitted, &�/ Bob McDonell CHIEF OF POLICE