Title
Public Safety Improvements Update - Citywide
Description
On September 24, 2024, the Mayor and City Council approved a series of recommendations and actions to improve public safety. The recommendations included ways for the City to improve public safety. The Council-approved actions included efforts to address homelessness, updates to the Community Assistance Program (CAP), recommendations related to Office of Accountability and Transparency (OAT), and other measures for the Phoenix Police Department with the goal of "ensuring that Phoenix has the most professional, highly regarded public safety agency in the nation." Attachment A is a written report and status update on the progress toward completion of the public safety improvement recommendations and directives approved by the City Council during the Policy Session on September 24, 2024.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
Public Safety Continuous Improvement Efforts
Throughout the past decade, the City Council has guided the City of Phoenix to implement numerous updates and improvements to the Phoenix Police Department in response to concerns expressed by the community. Through the direction of City Council and engagement with the community, City staff have worked to improve public safety throughout the community.
The strategic focus on these three areas over the past twelve months has resulted in the achievement of crime reduction goals, increased community involvement in the creation and revision of policies, and the implementation of the continuous improvement model to strengthen policy, training, and compliance. Each of these factors are intrinsically linked and will continue to be the bedrock of the Police Department’s Strategic Vision and forthcoming Strategic Plan.
The Strategic Vision for the Police Department will see the incorporation of the Crime Reduction Plan and Continuous Improvement Plan into one cohesive Strategic Plan. These elements are intrinsically linked and will no longer operate as standalone improvement plans. To successfully implement a cohesive strategic vision, community and internal feedback must take prominence in the creation of the strategic plan.
Internal communication on the formation of the strategic plan has taken place with Command and Executive staff. In addition, the Department has implemented a number of initiatives since April 2025 to improve internal communication and provide a direct line between line officers and executives. These improvements include:
- Launching the ‘Briefing Bureau’ which takes a podcast approach to providing answers and updates to matters of interest.
- Launching the ‘Chat with the Chief’ email which enables officers to email the Police Chief directly with items of concern.
- Executive staff attendance at Patrol Briefings in June.
- Internal Surveys.
It is imperative that the community is included in any strategic plan for the Department and the community plan component of the Strategic Plan will be known as L.E.A.D.
L - Leadership at every level
E - Engagement with community and employees
A - Accountability at all levels/processes
D - Dedication to our mission
Prior to the formal launch of the Strategic Plan, all Department employees will have the opportunity to review the plan prior to it being shared for public input. Thereafter, the Strategic Plan will be finalized, and a reporting cadence of performance will be established.
City Council Action Items
Since September 2024, staff have made improvements to processes, policy, and training to address the 37 City Council actions identified and approved by the Mayor and City Council on September 24, 2024. At this time, nineteen items are complete, seven are complete/ongoing, and eleven are in progress.
A detailed status report on each of the City Council Action Items and Staff Recommendations for City Council direction assigned to the Police Department are included in Attachment A of this report. One of the Council's directives was an annual report on the Disciplinary Review Board recommendations, which is Attachment B of this report. Additionally, Mayor and City Councilmembers have requested data from the Police Department related to demographic information, bookings, citations, contacts, use-of-force, and other information which is outlined on Attachment C with the requested reports as additional addendums.
Continuous Improvement Projects
Since September 2024, staff identified and organized continuous improvement project deliverables into short-term projects (within six months), medium-term projects (six months to two years), and long-term projects (more than two years). To achieve this separation of deliverables, staff conducted an analysis to determine timelines for the project deliverables and resourcing status. This analysis served as the basis for the work plan for the short-term projects, now termed Phase One, and the proposed work plan for the medium- and long-term projects, now termed Phase Two, that staff seeks to receive feedback and guidance on from City Council and community.
Continuous Improvement Projects follow a project management methodology which includes a core project team, work groups comprised of practitioners drawn from the Department and relevant City Departments, a project assurance team comprised of sworn and professional personnel that oversee the relevant business area on a day-to-day basis, and a project board comprised of Department Executive staff and City leadership.
Phase Two Projects will follow the cyclical process of Strategic Review, Policy Planning, Policy Development, Training Development, Training Delivery, Implementation and Compliance.
All changes to business processes, and policy, will result in training for personnel. This training may be in the form of E-learning videos or in-person training. Compliance metrics will also be implemented as an assessment tool for the effectiveness of policy and training. The Phase Two timelines do not include training delivery or sustained compliance as these are unknown variables at this stage.
The status of deliverables related to the Continuous Improvement Projects is included in Attachment D of this report.
Office of Accountability and Transparency Updates
The Mayor and City Council established the Office of Accountability and Transparency (OAT) in 2021 to perform independent civilian oversight of the Phoenix Police Department (Department). OAT reviews Department administrative investigations of incidents involving sworn personnel and provides community members a way to freely communicate complaints, commendations, and concerns about officers and the Police Department without fear of retaliation.
Phoenix City Code, Chapter 20, as amended by City Council on May 15, 2024, states OAT's role is to:
- Take community complaints or commendations,
- Establish procedures for receiving anonymous complaints,
- Conduct outreach with the community,
- Provide support services to impacted community members,
- Review Police Department administrative investigations or civilian employee complaints,
- Make recommendations to the Police Chief regarding policy, rules, and training issues,
- Conduct mediation to resolve disputes,
- Administer a youth outreach program, and
- Address other issues of concern to the community.
Since February 2024, OAT has released 29 reports detailing its review of Police Department administrative investigations. OAT found that 20 of the reviewed investigations were thorough and complete and made recommendations for future investigations in 22 of its reports, the majority of which the Department has agreed to implement. These recommendations are detailed in Attachment E. OAT is actively reviewing 146 cases, a 65 percent increase over this time last year, and continues to add new cases to its review caseload.
OAT’s Community Engagement team has worked diligently to connect with community and expand OAT’s reach. Since OAT began recording individual community member engagements in July 2024, the team has engaged with more than 13,000 community members. Additionally, this three-person team has tabled, attended, or connected with more than 115 events in the first two quarters of 2025, compared to 31 in the first two quarters of 2024. In addition to their regular engagement efforts, the team has spent countless hours engaging community partners to meet the mandate to develop a youth outreach program that will begin this fall.
Consistent with the mandate to support services to impacted community members, OAT staff met with and began a partnership with the Family Advocacy Center’s (FAC) Critical Incident Liaisons. Through this partnership, OAT and the FAC’s team will work together to address the need for timely, transparent communication and information sharing between the Department and community members involved in critical incidents.
OAT’s Mediation Director has completed five mediations since February 2024. The Mediation Director has worked diligently in collaboration with the Police Department to build the processes, procedures, and parameters for individual officer-community member mediation, including reviewing draft operations orders, meeting with union leadership, and collaborating with other City departments including Law and Human Resources.
OAT administers the Phoenix Civilian Review Board (CRB), which is tasked with reviewing OAT review reports and recommendations as well as the Department’s responses to those reports. OAT staff developed and implemented a series of robust and detailed trainings to ensure that CRB members have the knowledge necessary to engage in their work. Training topics included:
- Phoenix City Code Chapter 20
- Arizona Revised Statutes Section 38-1117
- PSB processes and procedures
- Force Evaluation Review Unit
- Peace Officer’s Bill of Rights
- Constitutional Principles
After completing these trainings, the CRB participated in two mock meetings to finalize Board procedures and to practice deliberating and issuing findings on OAT reports. The Board’s first formal business meeting will be Friday, September 26, at 1:00 p.m. at the Agave Library.
Community Assistance Program Updates
In June 2021, the City Council approved a $15 million investment to expand the Community Assistance Program (CAP). CAP consists of Crisis Response Units (CRUs), Behavioral Health Units (BHUs), and Behavioral Health dispatchers. CAP is a proven model to assist residents experiencing a traumatic event, behavioral health crisis, or other social welfare concerns. CAP is the foundation of our efforts to address the gap between traditional emergency and public safety services and the needs of the community. To meet the diverse needs of those we serve, the CAP team continues collaborating with community partners and connecting individuals with appropriate resources.
The CAP expansion has made considerable progress to achieve long-term program success and sustainment. The plan is to increase the number of CRUs to ten and BHUs to nine. A multidisciplinary team of City departments have been working to support this vision. To date, there are six CRUs (60 percent to target) and nine BHUs (100 percent to target) in operation. The newest BHUs, BH6, BH7 and BH9 units went into operation in June 2025. BHU coverage is 24-hours daily. CRU coverage is 24-hour coverage for five days weekly and 22-hour coverage for two days weekly.
CAP is currently at 93 percent filled positions and 7 percent vacancies. In 2025, CAP completed four on-boarding classes. Class 25-05 began on August 4, 2025 and the 11 specialists and 9 peer support specialists will complete the on-boarding process in October. Class 25-06 has begun and will conclude in November. CAP anticipates hosting a Class 25-07 on-boarding prior to the end of December 2025.
Hiring for Behavioral Health Dispatchers/Supervisors has concluded, and CAP achieved the goal of 24-hour daily coverage in the Fire Alarm Room on March 31, 2025.
In July 2025, there were 389 calls transferred from Police Communications to CAP Behavioral Health Dispatchers. Between January and July 2025, the number of calls transferred from Police Communications to CAP Behavioral Health Dispatchers increased by 98 percent compared to the same period in 2024. In July 2025, half of the calls for the BHUs were generated from a transferred call from Police Communications. The remaining half of the BHUs’ calls for service were either a co-response with police/fire or the call was generated by a BHU.
In July 2025, there were 785 calls for service for the BHUs. Between January and July 2025, the calls for service for BHUs’ increased by 102 percent compared to the same period in 2024. Of the 785 calls for service, the BHUs made contact with a customer(s) on 466 calls (59 percent). The remaining calls were either cancelled prior to arrival or the units were not able to locate the customer upon arrival on-scene. For the month of July, single-unit BHU responses totaled 73 percent of the total calls for service and did not involve a co-response by Fire or Police. In July, the average response time for a BHU was 19 minutes.
In July 2025, there were 517 calls for service for the CRUs’. Between January and July 2025, the calls for service for CRUs’ increased by 8 percent compared to the same period in 2024. Of the 517 calls for service, the CRUs contacted a customer(s) on 288 calls (56 percent). The remaining calls were either cancelled prior or upon arrival. Single-unit CR response in July was 10 percent of total calls for service. In July, the average response time for a CRU was 21 minutes.
The CAP will continue to focus on filling remaining vacant positions to bring more units into service, investing in the development and training of staff, and streamlining processes to improve community outreach and services.
City's Efforts to Address Homelessness
With direction from City Council, the Office of Homeless Solutions (OHS) was created in July 2022, and became operational in October 2022. Since the inception of OHS, the changes in the way in which the City has addressed homelessness and the impact have been transformational.
For many years, the City has funded non-profit community organizations that provide essential services to individuals experiencing homelessness. In 2022, in addition to being a funder of services, the City became a direct service delivery provider and owner/operator of City-owned sites. In the last three years, OHS has prioritized the creation of shelter capacity and its investments have created over 1,200 new beds and 300 outdoor spaces. OHS is now prioritizing the improvement of operations at shelter sites, preventing individuals and families from experiencing homelessness and housing solutions while maintaining an effective emergency response shelter system.
Additionally, OHS’s transformation included an increase in staffing and the implementation of an expanded proactive outreach approach, through leading with services and increasing visibility throughout the community. OHS has built a diverse team with expertise through work experience and/or lived experience who directly engage with people experiencing homelessness to connect them with services and work with the community to address encampments.
OHS continues to work with the Phoenix Police Department in several ways including coordinating efforts in highly frequented areas, which will often include additional supporting City departments such as Neighborhood Services, Street Transportation, Public Works, and Parks and Recreation. Additionally, OHS has developed and deployed an E-learning opportunity in early August for sworn Police Department staff conveying OHS’s mission, information on how officers can connect with outreach resources during or after business hours, and how officers can directly connect individuals experiencing homelessness with services. Through August 19, 58 percent have completed the E-learning module. Finally, OHS is collaborating with the Phoenix Police Department on utilizing OHS’s existing property storage program, which includes an assessment and notification process, as a framework to meet their needs while ensuring safe property storage and reunification with property.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays, Deputy City Managers Ginger Spencer and Gina Montes, the Police Department, the Fire Department's Community Assistance Program, the Office of Accountability and Transparency, and the Office of Homeless Solutions.