Report 2015-129 Recommendation 5 Responses

Report 2015-129: King City Police Department: Strengthening Management Practices Would Help Its Efforts to Prevent Officer Misconduct and to Regain the Public's Trust (Release Date: July 2016)

Recommendation #5 To: King City

The City should consider whether to establish a community advisory group, ombudsman position, or city council committee as an additional resource for receiving complaints.

1-Year Agency Response

The City Council has approved a proposal by the Police Department to form a Police Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee will be responsible for providing input and feedback on community concerns and complaints, assist in review and implementation of proposals to address neighborhood public safety issues, and advise on public outreach efforts. They will be noticed meetings open to the public. It will be composed of five members selected by the City Council and five selected by the Police Chief and City Manager. The Council has selected their five members. The Police Chief and City Manager are finalizing their appointments and the first meeting with be held in September. An announcement was included in the City Newsletter sent to all households in order to open it up to the entire committee to identify individuals interested in participating. A copy of the staff report approving the formation of the Committee and the announcement in the City Newsletter are attached in Exhibits 2 and 3.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

6-Month Agency Response

As previously reported, the City formed a 23-member community task force to develop a comprehensive plan to end youth violence.

That effort has been completed, the plan has been finalized, and implementation is under way. The Plan includes an extensive public outreach effort. As the next community involvement step, a Police Advisory Committee is being formed. A proposal was submitted by the Police Chief to the City Council at the January 10, 2017 meeting, which was approved. The City is now soliciting interest of potential members.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Partially Implemented

The City informed us that the city council approved in January 2017 the Department's recommendation to establish an advisory board. The advisory board would help the Department address issues pertaining to community trust and accountability, effectively implement critical policy changes, and address concerns from the community and assist in finding solutions for those concerns. Although these tasks are important factors for the Department to further engage the public, there is no mention of the role of the board as a resource for receiving complaints. We look forward to reviewing the City's one-year response to understand how the board serves in this capacity.

60-Day Agency Response

The City formed a community task force to develop a comprehensive plan to end youth violence. It was appointed by the City Council and includes 23 individuals representing key stakeholders in the community. The task force meets twice per month. Once the plan is developed, the City proposes to create an ongoing advisory committee to provide feedback and support to the Police Department on an ongoing basis, including help with implementation of the plan. Therefore, the committee will be a follow-up step to the planning process and is projected to be formed in February 2017 after the plan is complete. It is anticipated some of the Task Force members will continue to be involved with the Advisory Committee.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2015-129

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.