10/16/13 Board of Public Safety Meeting

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PUBLIC AGENDA SESSION OCTOBER 16, 2013 80 The Board of Public Safety met in the Public Agenda Session at 8:12 a.m. on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 in the 13t" Floor Board Conference Room, County -City Building, 227 West Jefferson Blvd., South Bend, Indiana, with Board Members Laura Vasquez, Eddie Miller, John Collins, and Luther Taylor present. Also present was Fire Chief Stephen Cox, Police Chief Ronald Teachman, and Attorney Cory Hamel. ADDITION TO THE AGENDA Mr. Hamel announced the addition to the agenda of the election of the interim President of the Board for the remainder of the year 2013 due to the resignation of former President, Patrick Cottrell. Board members discussed the following agenda items: - Permanent Promotion to Lieutenant - Police Department Police Chief Ronald Teachman stated that since his arrival at the end of January he has observed the work of Lieutenant Eugene Eyster, and his job performance is exemplary. He stated Lieutenant Eyster handles all of the Special Events in the City, and they have doubled since 2012. He noted Lieutenant Eyster also handles the Notre Dame football game traffic and responds to traffic accidents. Chief Teachman stated he is extremely detail oriented. He added that Lieutenant Eyster is one of his senior -most officers. - Letters of Resignation — Police Department Chief Teachman stated there are two (2) officers resigning from the Police Department. One officer, Patrolman Christopher Deak was still in training. Chief Teachman noted he did not complete the program and chose to resign. Chief Teachman noted he is a current St. Joseph County officer. Employee of the Month — August 2013 — Police Department Chief Teachman stated this officer, Patrolman Greg Early, was nominated for Employee of the Month for his self - initiated work while on patrol, that resulted in the arrest of two (2) individuals for theft at a business. He observed them leaving the area of the business, with their truck overloaded with large steel pipes. It was later learned that the business has had previous burglaries of this type and these individuals may have been responsible for these recurring thefts. - Statistical Analysis - Police Department Chief Ronald Teachman stated this month's statistics have raised the reduction in crime down 3 %. He noted robbery and larceny are the reasons for the raise in the numbers. Chief Teachman stated the Police Department is in the process of installing auto license reader technology to aid in identifying individuals by matching license plates against a database and alarming the police if there is a previous record associated with the license number. Chief Teachman stated there is funding available for four (4) of these readers and they can be installed in vehicles or fixed locations. Quarterly Travel and Training Report- Fire Department Ms. Vasquez asked Chief Stephen Cox about the conference on Training for Fire Rescue. Chief Cox stated this is a fantastic conference. He noted they got ideas for engaging local Girl Scout troops at their Fire Training Center to encourage females to get involved and help increase female fire fighter applications. He noted another idea gained from the Fire Prevention Conference is having firefighters go door -to -door for inspection of alarm systems and fire prevention education. Another City used as a model chose fire districts with heavy fire occurrence. He noted they have seen a 40% decrease in fire damage through education of the public. Chief Cox stated he is working with City representatives to map out and identify heavy fire damage districts to have firefighters reach out to homeowners on fire safety training. Mr. Taylor noted that one thing to note that came out of these conferences is the implementation of CPAT. He noted the Fire Department adopted physical agility training due to attendance at these conferences. - Monthly Statistical Analysis —September 2013- Fire Department Chief Cox noted that arsons are up since last year. He informed the Board of a house fire that occurred the previous night where an individual was severely burned. Chief Cox stated the EMS personnel did an unbelievable job and basically saved this person's life. Chief Teachman added that a citizen, Charles Turner, who drove by, risked his life and went in and helped get the victim out before the Fire Department arrived. Chief Teachman noted it was due to his actions and the Fire Department that this individual's life was saved. He suggested the Board might want to honor Mr. Turner for his actions. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, Ms. Vasquez declared the meeting adjourned at 8:43 a.m.