Police Committee

Police Committee Minutes July 1, 2024 The meeting was called to order at 9:05. In attendance were CAO Devon Golden, City Attorney Emilee Buttrum, Council Member Hambrick, Council Member Stone, Chief Allgood, Captain Lodal, City Clerk Tracie Hoffman, and Director of Public Works Robert Bruin. The minutes from the last meeting were approved. Todd Stone made the motion and seconded by Willow Hambrick. Current Staffing Report – 68 of 73 positions have been filled. Officer Alicia Gregory was recently sworn in. Recruiting Update – As the new budget and salary numbers begin in July – new recruiting efforts will be initiated including a Job Fair at Georgetown College and plans for other significant outreach. It is felt that our recent city council salary decisions will make a significant difference to retain and recruit offices. Body Worn Camera Update – Captain Lodal says despite ongoing and labor-intensive training, onboarding, and installation efforts – the GPD should “go live” mid-July. There has been on-site training, training with other police departments, and coordination with the SC Sheriff’s department. Allen James is the Body Worn Camera administrator. Installation on each vehicle is ongoing as well as IT coordination with Sarah. There is some needed tweaking with the original contract because of an increase in officers and therefore a need for the purchase of more licenses. Open Records requests will go through CIS Lieutenant Don Mather and Administrator Allen James – both of whom will get information and records to City Clerk Tracie Hoffman. Willow Hambrick asked about security of the camera data and all is encrypted and carefully protected by our Axon contract. Also, it was stated that State law dictates what can and should be withheld from open records and public viewing to protect the integrity of ongoing investigations. SRO positions were discussed – All GPD positions will be filled by the start of school. Council Member Willow Hambrick asked for a list of which officers are assigned to what schools and Chief Allgood said he would send out that list. The Chief also mentioned that if at all possible the same officers who have worked in a school in the past would stay at that same school as important relationships with students and staff had been formed. City Attorney Emilee Buttrum then presented a Draft of a new article of Chapter 38 of the Georgetown Code of Ordinances regarding the regulation of Special Events – including guidelines for the issuance of special events permits to regulate events that impact, among other things, street closures, sidewalks, alleys, or parks in the city in the interest of the health, safety, and welfare of our citizens. The application process for an event, the legal requirements for permits, the scheduling of such events, public works involvement, safety issues, and how to let the public know of such events were among the items discussed as part of the Draft Ordinance. Street closure discussion, the formation of pre-determined routes for parades, races, and other events, the permit process, the insurance needs, sanitation, clean-up, and destruction of city property were all discussed as part of the Draft. Penalties for non-compliance were also discussed. Discussion continued on how the police can keep citizens and streets as safe as possible, fees that could be charged to event organizers to help with clean-up, repair of property, or the overtime salaries of officers – and how to enforce compliance. General Discussion - As a follow-up to earlier police committee discussions about keeping people safe during parades and events – It was mentioned that ARPA funds previously allocated to GSC Tourism have not been used for the originally contemplated project and might be able to be redirected to purchase sturdy plastic barricades to keep citizens out, of danger during parades and events. A security plan is being worked on. Also, ways to give notice to the media and to downtown businesses are being discussed. All of these items in the Draft are being discussed with Tourism and other City Departments. This is only in the Draft stage and all input is welcome. Willow Hambrick congratulated the GPD and SC Sheriff’s Office for the capture of the recent dangerous fugitive – especially thankful that no one was hurt or injured. It was discussed how efforts in these types of situations are coordinated between so many different responders including perhaps the FBI, the County Sheriff Department, the GPD, and any other county or state police officers coming to our aid. Chief Allgood said the effort was well organized among so many responding entities and protocols are in place. He mentioned that looking to the future, two items of purchase would be helpful for the GPD to have – a Bearcat, and the “Drone as a First Responder” program. It was mentioned that perhaps there is grant money that might fund some of these considerable expenses. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned around 10:15.