Title
Consideration of Citizen Petition by Estela Varela Related to Community Safety - Citywide
Description
This report provides the City Council with information in response to a citizen petition submitted by Estela Varela at the June 4, 2025, Formal City Council meeting, requesting the Mayor and Council's adoption of a resolution that encompasses 10 policy and administrative items related to community safety. The petitioner's request was extensive and mentions multiple City departments and functions including the Phoenix Police Department, the Parks and Recreation Department, the Law Department, and the Office of Accountability and Transparency. The items are detailed in the citizen petition on Attachment A.
Report
Summary
The petitioner requests the City Council adopt the resolution that directs or establishes the following:
The Police Department implement cite and release practices for all non-violent offenses, to the fullest extent allowed by law.
The Police Department end traffic stops that have historically been used as a pretext for searches and seizures, including, but not limited to, stops based solely on equipment violations or other non-moving-related violations, unless such violations pose an immediate and demonstrable threat to public safety.
The Police and Parks and Recreation departments end stops for quality of life offenses, including, but not limited to, sleeping at a bus stop, public urination, and manifestation. If a response is requested, the City will dispatch service providers that will not result in criminalization.
The Police Department end the use of sanctioned and unsanctioned arrest, citation, and stops quotas, including the use of discipline if an officer has a reduced number of stops, citations, or arrests.
To not use General Fund dollars to carry out immigration enforcement.
To collect and publicly report comprehensive data from the Police Department on all traffic stops, pedestrian stops, arrests, and citations, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, gender, reason for the stop, and outcome of the stop.
To have the City Manager, with the Office of Accountability and Transparency, develop and implement a community feedback system, so the community can provide feedback on these policies and police interactions.
The City Attorney to review existing City ordinances and policies to ensure consistency with this resolution and to recommend any necessary revisions to ensure alignment with the resolution.
The City Attorney to identify all municipal codes, criminal and civil, that punish residents beyond the extent required by Arizona Revised Statutes, and present those codes within 90 days of this resolution taking effect so City Council can vote to remove them.
The resolution to take effect immediately upon adoption.
The City of Phoenix is committed to providing public safety that is equitable, transparent and responsive to the diverse needs of the community. With direction from the Phoenix City Council and community input, the City of Phoenix has implemented a comprehensive effort to improve public safety. In September 2024, the Mayor and City Council took action to approve a series of staff recommendations and formal action items as well as Council-directed enhancements within the Police Department, the Fire Department's Community Assistance Program, the Office of Homelessness Solutions and the Office of Accountability and Transparency. These public safety improvement efforts, along with existing department policies and operations, already address many of the items within the petitioner's resolution.
Examples of these public safety improvement efforts include:
Continued the expansion of the Community Assistance Program (CAP), which was a $15 million investment made by the Mayor and City Council. As of March 30, 2025, CAP has established dispatch coverage 24/7 as directed by the Council.
After receiving public feedback, in February 2025, the Police Department implemented a new use of force policy, which states officers "shall use only the force that is objectively reasonable, necessary, and proportional to effectively and safely resolve an incident." The new policy requires all use of force encounters to be reported, which increases the standards for reporting to provide a better understanding in making future policy and training decisions.
Implemented a continuous improvement framework with ongoing data collection and policy improvements based on national best practices. This framework includes a process of public engagement and feedback on major policy revisions, such as the Youth Interactions policy currently in development. As of June 3, 2025, over 2,000 responses have been received to the youth interaction survey, which will be incorporated into the policy draft that will be released for further public comment.
Office of Accountability and Transparency and Phoenix Police Department have implemented an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to ensure a seamless working relationship in facilitating accountability.
Approved the conversion of 14 temporary positions within the Office of Homeless Solutions (OHS) to permanent positions to continue OHS's work in the community in connecting individuals experiencing homelessness with resources and services.
With leadership from Mayor and City Council, the Phoenix Community Court launched in 2024 to provide an alternative to the traditional criminal justice system to empower, assist, and provide unsheltered individuals with the tools and resources necessary to establish stable housing, receive services to assist with any addiction issues, connect with mental health professionals, and reduce repetitive criminal behavior.
Implementation of a new Records Management System (RMS) in progress and expected to be completed later this year. This system will allow for improved data collection and reporting, both internally and to the public.
Staff provides a comprehensive update on all public safety improvement efforts each quarter. The most recent presentations to the Mayor and City Council occurred on December 10, 2024, and April 15, 2025. Information about these updates is also provided to the Civilian Review Board.
With consideration of the comprehensive ongoing public safety improvement efforts already approved by Mayor and City Council and being implemented by City staff, staff recommends the City Council deny the citizen petition. The citizen petition, as presented, is complex and extensive in scope, contains items already in place or in progress as noted above which do not require additional Council action, recommends sweeping policy changes that differ from recent City Council direction, creates potential conflicts with state law, and requires extensive research and vetting regarding the potential implications of such changes. Additionally, the petition was presented in the form of a formal resolution, which does not adhere to the intended purpose and process for citizen petitions. Petitions submitted in this manner are improper. Formal resolutions for consideration by the Mayor and City Council should be written by City staff and appropriately vetted by the City's Law Department after appropriate policy discussion and direction.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by the City Manager's Office.