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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 02 Springfield Police Department Long Range Planning AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 10/12/2015 Meeting Type: Work Session Staff Contact/Dept.: Michael Harman/Police Staff Phone No: 726-3729 Estimated Time: 30 Minutes S P R I N G F I E L D C I T Y C O U N C I L Council Goals: Strengthen Public Safety by Leveraging Partnerships and Resources ITEM TITLE: SPRINGFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT LONG RANGE PLANNING ACTION REQUESTED: Discuss and provide input and direction into the development of a 5-Year Strategic Plan for Police Services in Springfield. ISSUE STATEMENT: The Springfield Police Department is beginning work on a 5-Year Strategic Plan for Police Services, and wishes to solicit input and advice from the Council. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1 – Council Briefing Memo DISCUSSION/ FINANCIAL IMPACT: The current 20-Year Long Range Plan for Police Services was originally adopted by the City Council in 1996, and has been updated approximately every 5 years since. Most of the goals of the original plan have been implemented to some degree. The Department believes that it is time to develop a new, 5-Year Strategic Plan by assessing where we currently are as a Department and a Community, and is seeking input and direction from the Council. Attachment 1, Page 1 of 2 M E M O R A N D U M City of Springfield Date: 10/12/2015 To: Gino Grimaldi COUNCIL From: Michael Harman, Police Services Bureau Manager BRIEFING Subject: 5-Year Strategic Planning Discussion MEMORANDUM ISSUE: Should the Police Department develop a new 5-Year Strategic Plan for Police Services in Springfield? COUNCIL GOALS/ MANDATE: Strengthen Public Safety by Leveraging Partnerships and Resources BACKGROUND: In 1996 the Police Planning Task Force (recently renamed the Springfield Police Advisory Committee), in partnership with the Springfield Police Department and the Community, developed a 20-Year Long Range Strategic Plan for Police Services in Springfield. The Plan was updated in 2001, 2006 and most recently in 2010. Many of the goals of that Plan, including a greater emphasis on Crime Prevention, increased staffing, expanded volunteer opportunities, increased staffing, and a new facility and municipal jail, have been accomplished. It is a remarkable testament to the community and to the Council that such an ambitious plan has been implemented so well through the challenges of the last two decades. The Police Operating Levy has been in place since 2002, and has added 20 full-time employees to the Police Department. The Justice Facility bond was passed in 2006 and opened in September of 2008, with the Municipal Jail opening in January of 2010. The Operating Levy continues to fund the additional 20 FTE in Police, and now also supports the ongoing operation of the Jail, including 19 additional full time employees. In addition to the new facilities and capacity brought by the additional staffing, the Department has expanded the use of volunteers through the development of student internship programs, Fleet Maintenance volunteers, and expanded the use of Crime Prevention volunteers in the Lock Out Crime programs, Neighborhood Watch, and the Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association. The Department has made significant strides forward with the use of technology, including paperless report writing in the field, improved technology in the Computer-Aided Dispatch and Records Management systems, automated fingerprint scanning in the jail, and participation in a Regional Radio System. Looking ahead, the Springfield Police Department recognizes that the role and the methods of policing are changing in our country. New technologies exist that can foster transparency and accountability between police and citizens. Changing demographics will require new skills and capabilities in order to meet the changing face of public safety services. As the City continues to grow and expand, the Department will need new resources and strategies to meet community expectations for response times, safe neighborhoods, crime prevention, detection and deterrence. MEMORANDUM 10/8/2015 Page 2 As part of our next steps, the Department is proposing the development and implementation of a new 5-Year Strategic Plan, with input from employees, community members, and this Council. We will likely seek outside assistance from either the University of Oregon Planning, Public Policy, and Management (PPPM) Program or the Portland State University Masters in Public Administration Program to gather and interpret data, and develop strategic goals and measureable outcomes. The Department intends to develop goals that are consistent with current City Council goals for Public Safety in Springfield, again with significant input from stakeholders in the community. The scope of the 5 year plan will focus on three major topic areas as follows: Serving our Community: This topic area will focus on the Police Department’s external relationships with the community, including our response to mental health crises, our response to returning combat veterans, relationships with the school and park districts, community dynamics and transparency, and appropriate responses to homelessness. Serving our People: This topic area will focus on the internal needs of the Department, including employee recruitment and retention, workforce diversity, and training and career development needs. Resources and Technology: This topic area will focus on the short and long range financial needs of the Department, resource development opportunities, capital needs identification and tracking, and long term program sustainability. This area may also identify needs for new programs or technologies to address changing crime demographics, crime analysis needs and best practices for policing in the 21st century. The Department will begin meeting with community stakeholder groups in early 2016. Those groups will likely include employee workgroups, the Springfield Police Advisory Committee (SPAC), the School District, Business Community, Minority Community, Neighborhood Watch groups, Senior Citizen groups and possibly youth community representatives. The Department is proposing that representatives from the City Council be invited to attend each of these group meetings and have opportunity to provide feedback to the Council from the groups they attend. The Department intends to complete the next 5 year strategic plan by December 2016. In order to meet that timeline, group meetings will begin in the spring of 2016, information will be compiled and analyzed during the summer months, and the fall will be dedicated to producing measureable goals and outcomes, and formulating the information into a Strategic Plan for final approval and adoption by the Council. This evening, we are requesting a discussion with the Council regarding direction for this planning effort, and input regarding issues on the horizon that may affect policing in our community over the next 5 years. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Discussion and input regarding the development of a new 5- Year Strategic Plan.