District 3 Advisory Board

District III Advisory Board Minutes for Jan. 3, 2018 District III Advisory Board Minutes January 3, 2018 www.wichita.gov The District III Advisory Board meeting was held at 6:30 p.m. at the WATER Center, 101 E. Pawnee, Wichita, KS 67211. Council Member James Clendenin, nine District Advisory Board members, eight City staff, and 10 members of the public were present. Members Present Staff Present Ron Tracy Chief of Police Gordon Ramsay, Wichita David Robbins Police Department (WPD) Marco Alcocer Capt. Jeffrey Weible, WPD Paul Davis Capt. Kevin Mears, WPD Elena Ingle Lt. Wendell Nicholson, WPD Gerald Henry Sgt. Brett Stull, WPD Catherine Johnson Officer Christopher Chrisman, WPD Daisy Olivar Lt. Michael Avila, Wichita Fire Department Bruce Grass (WFD) Council Member James Clendenin Firefighter Joshua Fajardo, WFD Maddy Campbell, Community Services Members Absent Representative Cindy Miles Guests Marjorie Griffith Richard H. George Theoharis Janet Wiebe Dan Kruse ORDER OF BUSINESS At 6:30 p.m. Council Member James Clendenin called the meeting to order. The agenda for the current meeting was approved. The minutes for Dec. 6, 2017 were approved. STAFF REPORTS Fire Report Lt. Michael Avila, Station 22, reported 25 fires were investigated in Wichita in December 2017 resulting in $959,000 of damage. Eight of the fires took place in District III. Of those eight, five were accidental, one is under investigation, one is undetermined, and one was an act of arson on a vehicle. He shared that Wichita exceeds the national average (one in five) in clearing arson cases. In 2017, 33 out of 135 arson cases were closed by the WFD. There were no DAB/public questions or comments. Police Report Capt. Jeffrey Weible and Officer Christopher Chrisman, Patrol South, presented the December 2017 crime statistics. There were 31 aggravated assaults, 50 auto thefts, one drive-by shooting, 31 auto larcenies, 21 larcenies to buildings, 16 nonresidential burglaries, 46 residential burglaries, and seven robberies. Capt. Weible spoke about a specialized team’s involvement with children and shared that every week officers meet with kids at various elementary schools to provide meals and build relationships. This is done in partnership with the Kansas Food Bank and several hundred 1  District III Advisory Board Minutes for Jan. 3, 2018 meals have been delivered in recent months. Officers are currently focused on decreasing auto theft by passing out literature and raising awareness. Participants of the meeting were again advised not to leave their cars running and to always lock up property in vehicles. Sgt. Stull, Patrol South, emphasized the importance of neighborly relationships and communication with local officers. He urged listeners to contact 9-1-1 (rather than leaving a message with an outstation) if there is a current, ongoing crime and to be perceptive of suspicious activity in the neighborhood. He also gave a brief update on the Homeless Outreach Team’s (H.O.T.) concerted effort to provide information about panhandling to the public. Chief of Police, Gordon Ramsay, and Sgt. Stull educated people in attendance about WPD’s role in the community with managing mental health and homelessness. There was discourse about officers’ obligation to intervene with the homeless and/or mentally ill and infringement of an individual’s rights. Sgt. Stull clarified that if a person is a threat to self or others (while not breaking a law), officers are obligated to take the person to the hospital for a screen. Chief Ramsay informed the public and members that there are 5,000 less beds (for mental health) than there were in the ‘90s. He said that police are often put in a position of acting as social workers as a last resort due to lack of community resources. He stressed the need to increase police staff to allow police to spend more time with individuals while assessing these issues. All WPD staff present participated in the following dialogue. DAB members asked the following questions: Q: How many stolen cars are recovered? A: Roughly 80% of stolen cars are recovered. There is a perception that stolen cars are quickly broken down and parts sold, but most cars are stolen by an individual trying to get from point A to point B in the city. In the past two days, WPD has recovered four stolen vehicles. Q: Is there a city ordinance about remotely starting your car? A: No, but WPD strongly advises against it. Q: Are you still recommending not to give cash to panhandlers? A: Yes. There’s confusion on how much you are helping someone. A lot of people panhandling have addiction and mental health issues. Providing them with cash they can use to purchase drugs circumvents our ability and the process to help. We try our best to get them into services, counseling, and/or housing. Public asked the following questions and made the following comments: Q: If I call to report a crime or suspicious activity in my neighborhood, can I request that officers not approach my home to speak with me? I don’t want retaliation from the suspect/perpetrator. A: Yes. You can request they call you. C: I witnessed an interaction between a police officer and homeless person in which I believe the homeless person was not treated with compassion or patience. A: If you see an officer’s behavior you’re concerned about, call 9-1-1 and request to speak to a supervisor. This allows supervisors to either coach and correct the officer on their behavior or explain to you what the situation was and why the officer needed to respond that way. Additionally, officers are now equipped with body cameras which can be viewed by supervisors and the public (at request) for further clarification. Q: If roughly 80% of panhandlers aren’t actually homeless, why isn’t pretending to be homeless illegal? A: That cannot be policed. The best way to help and fight panhandling is by donating to or volunteering for organizations that are officially helping the homeless. 2  District III Advisory Board Minutes for Jan. 3, 2018 Action taken: Receive and file PUBLIC AGENDA Scheduled Items: None NEW BUSINESS Scheduled Items: Chief of Police, Gordon Ramsay, briefed those in attendance about public concerns over a police shortage and police officers’ use of force. He briefed the crowd on “less-than-lethal” (LTL) weapons (bean bag and foam guns) and how WPD is working to increase the use of these weapons. He reiterated the demands placed on police, including lack of community mental health resources and training budget. He shared that the WPD’s training budget is similar to his previous city’s budget which is one-fourth the size of Wichita. PUBLIC AGENDA Off-agenda items None BOARD AGENDA Council Member Clendenin motioned to suspend to allow more time for Chief Ramsay to speak. This was unanimously agreed. Meeting was adjourned at 8:42 p.m. The next District Advisory Board III meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m., Feb. 7, 2018, at the WATER Center, 101 E. Pawnee, Wichita, KS 67211. Respectfully submitted, Maddy Campbell, Community Services Representative of District III 3