02/15/12 Board of Public Safety Meeting

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AGENDA SESSION FEBRUARY 15 2012 11 The Board of Public Safety met in the Public Agenda Session at 8:07 a.m. on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 with Board President Patrick D. Cottrell, and Board Members Laura Vasquez, Eddie Miller, John Collins, and Luther Taylor present. Also present were Police Chief Darryl Boykins, Fire Chief Steve Cox, and Board Attorney Andrea Beachkofsky. The meeting was held in the Board of Public Works Meeting Room, 13th Floor County City Building, South Bend, Indiana. Board members discussed the following items from the agenda: - Acknowledge Assistant Chief Appointments — Fire Department Fire Chief Steve Cox stated two Assistant Chiefs would have their badges pinned by the Mayor today. He stated Andy Meyer would be appointed the EMS Chief, and Todd Skwarcan would be the new Chief of Services. - Annual Statistical Analysis — Fire Department Chief Steve Cox informed the Board that two changes within the Fire Department have had a big effect on response time. The first is the re- districting of the Medics. He stated Medics Nos. Two, Three, and Four were re- districted to even out the number of runs and reduce response time. Chief Cox noted that Medic. One was not changed because it was found that due to their location they have the best response time for their entire district. The second change made this year, Chief Cox noted was a change to the ladder truck districts. They looked at the drive time and found the airport districts could be improved. These changes were made over the last year and have resulted in quicker response time. - Special Police Commissions — Police Department Chief Darryl Boykins stated these Police Commissions are for parking enforcement that is now being handled by Downtown South Bend who is subcontracting this service to a company named "Block by Block ". Ms. Beachkofsky asked if there is a map available that shows which blocks are being enforced. Chief Boykins stated that is held by a private company and he has never seen one. The Chief stated that enforcement is now also being done at Eddy Commons due to problems with extended parking by residents, taking up on- street business parking. Ms. Beachkofsky noted that parking enforcement is one of the biggest complaint calls her office receives. She explained there is a little known Ordinance that prohibits parking in the same block more than once within the stated time limit for that block. - Promotion in Special Assignment — Police Department Chief Darryl Boykins stated Bryan Miller will be promoted to Sergeant in Special Assignment in the K -9 Unit. He stated PFC Miller is the main trainer of the dogs. Chief Boykins noted the department recently instituted a new program that few people are aware of. He stated they have been training their dogs to sniff for weapons and are using them to search school parking lots. If any weapons are found, the students are pulled out of school and they will be prosecuted. Chief Boykins noted the schools are placed under lock -down during the search. Mr. Collins asked if they notify the school leaders ahead of time. Chief Boykins stated he doesn't even know when or where they are going until an hour before they go. Ms. Beachkofsky asked who makes the decision on what school and when. Chief Boykins stated it is just a toss of the coin, but they try to rotate every school once a month. - Employee of the Month — Police Department Chief Darryl Boykins stated Patrolman I" Class John Ryans was selected as employee of the month for December, 2011, due to his apprehension of two suspects in a Taco Bell robbery. Chief Boykins stated Patrolman Ryans noticed a suspicious looking vehicle parked and running in the back of the Taco Bell parking lot while making a routine drive and moved toward it. When the call came in of the robbery of the Taco Bell with a sawed -off shotgun, he began pursuing the vehicle which had taken off when the second suspect jumped in the car. Patrolman Ryans pursued the vehicle until it pulled over and the pursuit continued on foot. He was able to apprehend both suspects and make arrests. - Monthly Statistical Analysis — December, 2011 — Police Department Chief Darryl Boykins stated there have been numerous arrests for burglaries, explaining the decrease in the statistics. He noted a lot of them are drug related. Chief Boykins informed the Board that the latest trend the Department is working on is store fronts being hit hard. He noted they have a new fingerprinting system that puts fingerprints into their system and allows the Police Department to check comparisons. He added that most burglary suspects have been previously arrested for something.