Meeting Information

Audit_Oversight

I.          CALL TO ORDER/AGENDA CHANGES                                                                 

The meeting was called to order at 10:05. The agenda was approved.    

II.       APPROVAL OF MINUTES

The minutes from the April 10, 2009 meeting were approved with one change:  Capt. Ehrlich clarified that Recommendation 1.IV.1d regarding the feedback system among DVRU inspectors and patrol has been implemented and is completed, and 1.II.2 regarding training of DVRU staff has also been completed.   

III.    BUSINESS

A. Resources

To follow up on last month’s discussion regarding the resources needed to carry out the recommendations in the Audit, each agency representative reported on resource concerns, primarily those related to the FY09-10 budget situation.  Kathy Black clarified that the discussion of resources should not necessarily lead to a new Resources Committee or other meeting body, but instead is meant to inform the Audit Implementation Committee about what it will take to meet the recommendations.  If any Resources Committee is formed down the road, Ms. Black recommended that it focus on advocacy with the Mayor/BOS rather than grant writing or direct fundraising activities. 

911:

This department is not hiring for the first time in 10 years, is almost fully staffed with 146 workers, and uses minimal overtime.  There are certain POST mandates for training of staff, but 911 can often get reimbursed for these through POST.  There is the possibility of furloughs through new union contracts.  If 911 reduces staffing, the impact would be a longer wait time for callers and a rise in dropped calls (i.e. the caller hanging up before dispatch answers).  When a call is dropped, dispatchers must call back.  About 10% of calls are dropped now, with about 1% of those actually needing service, as opposed to wrong numbers or mis-dials.  Currently, each call is answered in under 3 seconds, a rate much faster than the state-required 10 seconds.  There is a direct correlation between staffing and answer-time, and if staffing levels are reduced, the answer time will go up.  This is particularly important in cases of domestic violence.  Whereas someone calling about a fire or medical emergency will likely stay on the line until the call is answered, even if it takes a few extra second, a domestic violence victim in crisis or being attacked may only have a second or 2 to call for help, and a speedy answer time is crucial.

SFPD:

The Police Department intends to save money by not hiring new staff when positions become vacant.  This will have little short-term impact on services, but will begin to have an effect as people retire or leave their positions.  The current plan is to maintain the DVRU staffing levels at 13-15 inspectors.  However, these inspectors also handle elder abuse and U-Visa applications, so not all staff time is devoted to domestic violence.  The group discussed the “community policing” model proposed through the Police Effectiveness report, set to be piloted at Ingleside Station.  Through this model, DVRU inspectors could be assigned to stations, a change from the current system of a centrally located DVRU.  If this were to happen, the Police would need the DA’s commitment to be available for support.  Any decisions about budget or assignments could change once the department has a new Chief. 

Justice and Courage Panel members met with Chief Fong in April and discussed the move to the 5^th Floor.  They were informed that this was still under consideration, but that the renovations needed for new space may require a bond measure, which could take 2 – 3 years to approve. 

Another way that SFPD is considering reducing costs is by eliminating retired staff.  Retirees are allowed to work up to 960 hours per year, and provide expertise and critical services.  One such person is retired Inspector Al Duncan who supports the SafeStart program by ensuring that all child witnesses to domestic violence are documented in case files and triaged by all appropriate services.  This work would still need to be done by others, even without Mr. Duncan, but his experience makes him a valuable part of the process. 

APD:

There are currently 63 officers within APD, with 9 in the DV Unit.  This is a shortage overall for the Department, though the DV Unit is fairly well-staffed.  Budget shortfalls mean that APD cannot fill vacated positions, and this could result in staffing shifts within the department, leading to the DV Unit being understaffed at some point in the future.  APD has made budget requests for training money to try to meet state mandates, but will need to wait to see if the budget is approved. 

Sheriff:

The Victim Services and Survivor Empowerment programs are fairly safe in this budget round.  The Violent Offender dorm has been moved to San Bruno to accommodate expanded space needs.  The Sheriff has applied for Stimulus funding for several programs, including NOVA and the Survivor Empowerment program. 

DA:

The DV Unit is already short-staffed, with 7 now, down from 12 in 2005.  No additional cuts are expected for this unit, but it is unclear how staff members may be shuffled throughout the department, possibly reducing the number allocated to the DV Unit even more.  Also, there will likely be furloughs, reducing staff time even further. 

Action Steps:

• Ken Theisen will bring this information to the June Justice and Courage Oversight Panel meeting for further discussion about how to best advocate for resources for these agencies. 

B. Review of Implementation Worksheets

At the March 13, 2009 meeting, the SFPD, DA’s Office, and Adult Probation Department were given implementation worksheets to highlight recommendations specific to those departments.  Each department filled out the worksheets to indicate the current status of the implementation, concerns or questions that would hinder implementation, a timeline, contact person, and resources needed.  The SFPD and APD discussed their responses in April, and at this meeting, the DA’s Office went over outstanding issues in its worksheet.    All but 1 DA-specific recommendation have been completed.

Gap 1: Risk Assessment – II. Training

1.II.9. Within the District Attorney’s Office, create domestic violence training DVDs to be distributed to each police station and the Department of Emergency Management with updates on domestic violence legislation, guidelines for taking photographs and collecting other forms of evidence, etc.

Jim Rowland reported that he had just seen a great 10-minute DVD created by the Police Department about “cold show” procedures (a way of presenting a possible suspect to a victim different from a standard line-up).  The DA plans to pattern another DVD on this model, to cover evidence collection on a DV case (e.g., what to do when an officer arrives at a scene).  The Cold Show DVD was produced by SFPD, using police officers as actors, and the police AV resources to produce the final product.  To make this new DVD, the police will need to take the lead since they have the equipment, “actors,” and authority, and Mr. Rowland will vet the legal issues presented.  Drafting the script and receiving official signatures will take the majority of the time.  Once the DVD has been made, it will take about a month to distribute to station training sergeants and have all officers watch the video.  The DA’s Office has looked at stats to analyze the most common reasons for rejecting cases sent by SFPD, and hopes to improve investigation and promote safety of victims by creating a video to correct common mistakes.  Such a video could also be used with other counties, as well.   

C. Department Resource Guide Review

1.IV.2a: Enhance communication between criminal justice system agencies and community-based organizations that serve domestic violence survivors by regularly updating all CBO Resource/User Guides available to criminal justice system agencies; consider standardizing one resource guide across all criminal justice agencies.  This could be enhanced by the use of a communications network or website to quickly update information as needed. 

To accomplish this recommendation, agencies were asked to bring the resource guides currently in use by staff members for review by the committee.  Representatives also provided Laura Marshall with the names of those individual for updating the resource guides.  She will add those names to an outreach list for receipt of the Family Violence Resource Guide when it is updated quarterly. 

The Sheriff has pocket cards from 2008 which are user-friendly and well-designed.  However, there is no funding for a re-print if any information changes.  These cards are distributed at the Women’s Re-Entry Center, where each woman exiting jail is encouraged to participate in case management. 

APD uses the Public Defender’s resource guide when working with probationers.  This guide is available as a book, but is also located online on the PD’s website.  APD refers all victims to the DA’s Victim Services Unit for resources and services.

SFPD updates the resource cards given to patrol officers, but faces the problem of old stockpiles of forms and cards that find their way into usage sometimes. 

With ongoing updates of materials, this recommendation is now completed. 

D. Safety Audit Recommendations Review

Discussion tabled. Discussion of worksheets stood in lieu of this topic.

IV.    PUBLIC COMMENT   

Mr. Theisen raised the issue of scheduling of meetings for the summer based on possible conflicting vacations, but the current dates appear to work for most people, and they have been left as-is.

V.       ADJOURNMENT      

The meeting was adjourned at 11:25 am.  The next meeting is June 12, 2009.