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Home My WebLink About31-Mayor's Office CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO - REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION From: Mayor Patrick Morris Subject: COUNCIL REVIEW OF THE PROPOSED ADDITIONAL FOCUS AREAS FOR POSSIBLE EXPANSION OF THE OPERATION PHOENIX NEIGHBORHOOD INITIATIVE Dept: Mayor's Office Date: June 1, 2007 Meeting Date: June 4, 2007 Synopsis of Previous Council Action: March 5th and 27th, 2007 - Mayor and Council received a status report regarding the initial eight months of the Operation Phoenix crime-fighting strategy launched by the Mayor in June 2006. The report listed the various city-wide crime suppression, intervention, and prevention initiatives that had been deployed during the eight months since June 2006, and detailed the Neighborhood Initiative component of Operation Phoenix, explaining the various crime-fighting efforts that had been focused in the 20- block area of most crime-ridden neighborhood in San Bernardino. Recommended motion: That the Council approve in concept the five focus areas for expansion of the Operation Phoenix Neighborhood Initiative, and direct city staff to work with the county and school officials to bring back for Council review, recommended crime-fighting strategies for each focus area, including a draft budget for implementation of the str~~i~ ~ t :i'" ~ nature Contact person: Jirn Morris Phone: 384-5133 Supporting data attached: staff report and map Ward: All FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: Amount: $0 Source: N/A Finance: Council Notes: Agenda Item No. S I u/If/(jr STAFF REPORT Subiect: Council review of the proposed additional focus areas for possible expansion of the Operation Phoenix Neighborhood Initiative. Background: On March 5"1 and March 21st, 2007, officials from the city, county, and California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB) provided a status report to the Council and Mayor regarding the initial eight months of the Operation Phoenix crime-fighting strategy launched by the Mayor in June 2006. The report listed the various city-wide crimc suppression, intervention, and prevention initiatives that had been deployed during the eight months, and found that overall crime in the city had decreased almost 15% in 2006 compared with 2005, and that overall city crime in the last six months of 2006 had decreased more than 21 % compared to the previous year. The report also dctailed the Neighborhood Initiative component of Operation Phoenix, explaining the various crime-fighting efforts that had been focused in the 20-block area of most crime-ridden neighborhood in San Bernardino. The report provided details regarding the efforts of police, code enforcement, parks and recreation, public services, the district attorney, probation department, county social agencies, and the school district to work collaboratively toward permanently reducing crime in the focus area by immediately suppressing crime through law enforcement actions, intervening in the lives of at-risk families and youth, and creating programs to prevent crime in the neighborhood by attacking the social and environmental factors that contribute to criminal activity. The Operation Phoenix report on the Neighborhood Initiative found that as a result of the focused crime-fighting efforts, overall crime in the neighborhood had decreased almost 38% in the first seven months of the initiative. A quality of life survey of residents in the focus area conducted by CSUSB found that in eight months, the percent of residents who perceived the neighborhood as unsafe declined by 38%. In the four months ofthis year, crime has continued to decline in the focus area by another 5% compared to the prior year. At the end of the Operation Phoenix report, city and county officials noted that the selection of the initial focus area had been a data driven selection process to ensure scarce public resources were spent in an area that would havc the greatest impact in reducing crime. In the selection of the initial focus area, the following process was utilized: . Began with crime data - looked at Police Reporting Districts with highest Part I crimes. . Cross referenced five highest Part I crime Reporting Districts with code enforcement data, caseload data from all relevant county service agencies (Probation, District Attorney, Public Ilealth, Behavioral Ilealth, Children's Services), and data from public schools that scrve the identified Reporting Districts. . Based on all data, the Reporting District with the highest Part I crimes, was also the area identified by code enforcement, the county agencies and the school district as the area where they have the highest caseload demand, calls for service, and problems. -1- The rcport concluded that any expansion of the Operation Phoenix Ncighborhood Initiative should also be data driven and follow the same basic process, to ensure continuation of our succcssful partnerships with other agencies and to leverage our scarce city tax dollars. Finally, the report noted that the Neighborhood Initiative is not a "one-size-fits-all" strategy, and that the crime-fighting stratcgy for any additional focus areas should be tailorcd to the particular characteristics, cnvironment, and assets of the focus area. Proposed Additional Focus Areas for Opcration Phoenix: Consistent with thc criteria identified in thc March 2007 Operation Phoenix report, city and county ofIicials have revicwcd the crime data across thc city to determine thc areas with the highest Part I crimes. The Part I crime data from the past two years was geographically mapped based both on reporting districts and individual crime locations in order to determine which areas in the city had the highest concentration of Part I crimes. After thc initial data-identificd "crime hot spots" were determincd, the police chief reviewed these areas with thc police command staff to confirm that the data-idcntified "hot spots" corrclated with the officcr's understanding of thc problematic crimc areas within the city. The crime data focus arcas were then ovcrlaid with the social servicc and caseload data from the County, to ensurc the County data would support the County agencies being partners in the focus arcas. Additionally, codc cnforcement, parks and rccreation, and public services also surveycd the areas to concur that these areas also needed focused attention trom the city departments. As a rcsult ofthe above analysis, five focus areas wcrc identified for review by the Council. Thc five fCJCUS areas are morc spccifically identified in the attached map, with the crime data fClr the corrcsponding reporting districts that are gencrally encompassed by thc focus areas. To ensurc the focus areas encapsulatc, to the greatest extcnt possible, the fClctors contributing to thc focus arcas' crime problem, specific boundaries for the focus areas wcrc not identified at this time. Instead, a centcr point for the focus area was mapped, and a mile radi us was drawn around that center point to create the initial general focus area for further study. If the Council concurs with the general five focus areas, thcn city, county, and school officials will undertake a detailed assessment of the focus areas and devclop a set of recommcnded collaborative strategies for attacking crime in and around thc focus areas, based on the particular charactcristics, environmcnt, and assets of the area. Recognizing that thc five proposed focus areas cncompass more geography than the initial 20-block focus area, the stratcgics developed by staff will [(JCUS on the spccific crime-contributing locations, conditions, and f(letors within and around thc focus areas. Financial Impact: There is no financial impact for thc continued study and dcvelopment of stratcgies for the proposed five focus areas. When city and county staff brings back a draft set of rccommended crime-fighting stratcgy for each focus arca, a draft budget for thc rccommended stratcgies will be included. Recommendation: That the Council approve in concept the five focus areas for expansion ofthc Opcration Phoenix Ncighborhood Initiative, and direct city staff to work with thc county and school ot1icials to bring back for Council review, recommended crime-fighting strategies for each focus area, including a draft budget for implementation of the stratcgies. -2-