Title
Community Safety Plans Update
Description
This report provides the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee with an update on the City’s Community Safety Plans (CSP) dedicated to improving the safety and quality of life in focused areas along the Interstate-17 (I-17) corridor and along Hatcher Road in west Sunnyslope.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
Background
In 2022, the City Council approved the 27th Avenue and Hatcher Road Community Safety Plans to address community safety through a multi-department, collaborative approach leveraging technology and community-based resources. The Neighborhood Services (NSD) and Phoenix Police departments along with the Office of Homeless Solutions (OHS) and Prosecutor’s Office are working together to improve the safety and quality of life for the area residents, students, and businesses. In March, a second phase was implemented to include 19th Avenue adjacent to the I-17.
Established Community Committees (Committees) for each focus area provide staff with ongoing feedback in the implementation of the CSPs, assist staff in identifying problem areas within neighborhoods, and act as liaisons to multiple community and business associations. Through feedback from the Committees staff has:
- Adjusted the strategy areas to better align with the concerns of the communities within the corridors;
- Organized a Bell Road Community Committee as part of the 19th and 27th Avenue CSPs;
- Distributed a Perceptions of Safety survey to area neighborhoods and businesses; and
- Set the desired outcomes and outcome measures for each focus area.
Staff continues to meet monthly with the Committees to provide updates and gather feedback while also identifying additional collaborations between the City and the community to improve safety and the quality of life in the areas.
Below are key updates within each strategy area for the CSPs.
Crime Detection and Response
This strategy focuses on reducing violent crime and quality of life offenses through the Phoenix Police Department’s use of Real Time Operations Centers (RTOC) in conjunction with field operations and criminal investigations.
The Police Department continues to implement the RTOCs in the Cactus Park and Desert Horizon precincts along with the associated technology. This includes gunshot detectors, license plate readers and tilt-point-zoom cameras that will relay real-time information into the RTOCs to assist the Police Department with field operations and criminal investigations. The full build-out of the RTOCs has been greatly impacted by global supply chain challenges in 2022 and early 2023.
Throughout the summer, the department received the remaining gunshot detectors and license plate readers. To date, the full footprint of more than 266 gunshot detectors and more than 84 license plate readers have been installed within the CSP corridors. In September, the full order of cameras was received. The department is currently working with Information Technology Services to bring the servers for the cameras online while also preparing the cameras for installation in strategic locations throughout the corridors as soon as possible. Despite the delay in receiving the full coverage of technology, the RTOCs have shown early success in aiding patrol in criminal investigations.
- Earlier this year, gunshot detection technology identified dozens of incidents of gunfire in the area of 29th Avenue and Maryland. Detectives and patrol officers collected casings and were able to determine these incidents were related. Neighborhood Enforcement Team officers and Crime Gun Intelligence Unit Detectives, as well as RTOC personnel, were able to identify and apprehend the suspect.
- In August, the RTOC received a stolen vehicle notification from a license plate reader in the area of 27th Avenue and Indian School Road. Coordination with Tactical Support Bureau personnel resulted in a vehicle grapple with all five suspects taken into custody. Two handguns and two ski masks were located inside the vehicle.
- In September, RTOC staff was assisting patrol with a shooting along the corridor. The RTOC was able to start working the information on the call and identified a suspect. The information was sent out to the Neighborhood Enforcement Team and officers located the suspect. Additional resources arrived at the location and the suspect was arrested within hours of the shooting.
Throughout the CSP corridors, the Police Department continues to provide increased operations to strategically address violent and repeat offenders.
Efforts to date include:
- The Transit Unit implemented the Enhanced Light Rail Security Program Sept. 4 through Sept. 28. More information on this effort is available in the Light Rail Safety Update information only report in the Nov. 1 Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee agenda.
- Over the course of the summer, Neighborhood Enforcement and patrol officers collaborated with Adult Probation to apprehend subjects with felony warrants and probation violations. This collaboration focused primarily along the I-17 corridor and resulted in 83 felony arrests and the seizure of more than 6,500 Fentanyl pills, 130 grams of Methamphetamine, and two firearms.
- In June, Neighborhood Enforcement officers investigated drug activity along the 19th Avenue corridor. The investigation resulted in the seizure of 500,000 Fentanyl pills, 3.5 pounds of Methamphetamine, and a handgun.
- In July, Neighborhood Enforcement officers investigated drug activity in the 19th Avenue corridor. The investigation led to the seizure of 42,000 Fentanyl pills, one pound of Methamphetamine, 15 guns, two vehicles and cash.
Additionally, the Police Department, NSD, and Prosecutor’s Office are working collaboratively to identify properties with the highest, or increasing, levels of criminal/code compliance activity to address the issues through a coordinated approach. For each focus area within the CSPs, staff has identified the top properties driving crime or quality of life offenses. Staff has relied upon calls for service and community feedback within the focus areas to identify the locations. The departments meet regularly to discuss the issues and identify solutions to improve the safety of the properties.
Education and Prevention
This strategy focuses on proactively addressing community concerns by providing the community with information on resources and services and actively working with the community to identify solutions and inform the service approach.
Police staff have worked with property and business owners throughout the CSP corridors to conduct nearly 50 Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) educational opportunities while enrolling or renewing nearly 1,000 Authority to Arrests. In the coming months, Police, NSD and the Prosecutor’s Office will focus on providing CPTED training to new property managers at the properties identified with the highest levels of criminal or code compliance activity as identified in the Crime Detection and Response strategy.
The Prosecutor’s Office primary goals are to provide education, partner on crime prevention, and to support the enforcement efforts of the various departments involved in the CSPs. To understand the various issues presented, Community Prosecutor’s continue to meet with community members and partners to discuss their concerns. They continually participate in ride alongs with Police and NSD staff to directly observe areas of concern. In 2023, the Prosecutor’s Office has developed and presented numerous trainings across the CSP focus areas on the criminal justice system, the Phoenix Community Court, Human Trafficking, Authority to Arrest, and attended multiple community meetings. Upcoming, the Prosecutor’s Office will begin working with the area schools to discuss quality of life issues and provide resources to address their concerns.
NSD staff have spent the year working closely with the community to identify potential alleys within the CSPs to provide technical assistance in the gating of those alleys. To date, 43 alley segments have been gated or are under construction, 12 additional alley segments were recently approved, and 11 segments are under review and/or further technical assistance from NSD.
NSD staff also continues to provide focused community education on the Graffiti Busters program and reporting tools to empower neighborhood leaders and residents to quickly report graffiti. To date, staff has closed more than 4,100 graffiti cases in the CSP focus areas. Additionally, staff has developed graffiti heat maps along the corridor arterials to proactively discourage recidivism by removing graffiti as soon as possible.
The Public Health Office has partnered with the CSP Committees to provide education and training on the use of Narcan/Naloxone to prevent fatal overdoses in the CSP areas. The Public Health Office has conducted two trainings on the use of Narcan/Naloxone for CSP partners and residents with opportunities for attendees to obtain Narcan to take home. Following the initial training, one attendee quickly put their training to use when an overdose occurred at their business a few days later. The business owner contacted the City’s partner to thank them for the training and inquire on how they may get additional doses of the life saving medication.
To provide additional crime prevention and improve safety in the area, the Street Transportation Department is installing new streetlights in the area from Bethany Home Road to Maryland Avenue. This project entered the construction phase in early October with installation estimated for early 2024.
Safety of Public Spaces
This strategy builds and maintains relationships with residents, businesses, and stakeholders to improve the safety around buildings and public spaces.
NSD staff continues to work with internal and external partners to identify proactive solutions in priority areas to prevent encampments from forming. To date, more than 430 PHX C.A.R.E.S. cases have been opened within the CSP focus areas and staff has provided nearly a dozen educational opportunities on the PHX C.A.R.E.S. program. Staff meets regularly to discuss and identify solutions for areas along the corridors such as under/overpasses, bus stops, alleys, etc. Throughout the months of July and August, an interagency outreach event was organized to address quality of life issues and encampments on the I-17 under/overpasses along the CSP corridors. The outreach operation brought together multiple police precincts, OHS, Street Transportation Department, Prosecutor’s Office, Community Bridges Inc., and the Arizona Department of Transportation. Through this effort nearly 12 tons of waste and 6,000 square feet of graffiti was removed. The collaborative effort of the team to address the quality-of-life problems was a success. Numerous community members and business owners have provided positive feedback about impact of the operation. Moving forward, the agencies will continue to meet to determine the frequency in which future operations will need to be conducted to maintain the under/overpasses.
In April, NSD began weekly enhanced cleanups of Hatcher Road from 7th to 16th avenues, these efforts are part of the Private Property Cleanup Pilot that enables NSD to conduct clean ups on private property up to 25 feet from the edge of the curb to the edge of the property line while leveraging existing resources. Each week the areas is cleaned of all biohazards and trash as well as sanitized to ensure any odors are reduced and or eliminated. The cleanups are scheduled around existing efforts funded by the CSPs that are being conducted by Street Transportation and OHS that are conducted in public right of way. The coordinated effort to reduce these issues on both the public and private property have been very well received by the business owners with an overall reduction in complaints.
Additionally, the NSD Specialists continue to work closely with the City Council offices, neighborhoods, and businesses to coordinate community cleanups and celebrations within the focus areas. Multiple cleanup events are currently being planned for late 2023 and early 2024. Additionally, NSD Specialists continue to work closely with community initiatives such as the 27th Avenue Midtown Public Safety Collaboration, 19 North, Bell Road Business Alliance, Thrive Phoenix, and other businesses to address quality of life concerns.
NSD Inspectors continue to conduct arterial reviews within the focus areas to proactively address common blight issues. To date, staff has opened nearly 140 cases and resolved 128 cases through the arterial reviews. Total to date, more than 1,600 blight cases have been opened with more than 1,550 resolved across all CSP focus areas. Additionally, staff work closely with the Community Committees to address issues of concern within the neighborhoods, remove blight within the corridors, and promote resources to report common blight violations.
In the coming year, staff will continue to identify business and community partners to engage in discussions regarding the safety of public spaces as well as identifying and forming new neighborhood groups. As the RTOC comes online and is operating, this will include the launch of the SafePHX Program for area businesses to become partners in the Police Department’s RTOC.
Access to Services
This strategy focuses on the increased coordination of outreach services to residents experiencing homelessness, mental/behavioral health issues, and/or those victimized by human trafficking.
OHS continues to lead the ongoing coordination of outreach services within the CSP focus areas. This includes efforts and collaborations to improve referrals to health and social services through multiple service access points. For 2023 to date, OHS has conducted 11 coordinated outreach events across the CSP focus areas including participating in the I-17 under/overpass outreach and a Project Connect and Heat Relief on Hatcher Road. This outreach has resulted in more than 150 individuals connected with services. Additionally, OHS continues to work with Community Bridges, Inc. for focused, on-going engagement in the CSP areas resulting in more than 1,100 duplicated individuals enrolled in CBI services for the fiscal year ending in June 2023. Additionally, OHS staff is partnering with community cleanups to provide outreach services and Narcan/Naloxone distribution during the events.
On Hatcher Road, OHS staff continue to work with St. Vincent de Paul to address Community Committee and neighborhood concerns regarding the Chris Becker Resource Center/dining room.
The Sunnyslope Family Services Center was used as a Heat Relief Network respite site between May 15 and Sept. 29. The site was staffed with OHS Caseworkers in partnership with St. Vincent de Paul and operated Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The respite site saw an average of 271 duplicated individuals each week. Over the summer, 145 individuals were connected to services, with medical detox and emergency shelter being the top two services sought.
In the coming year, OHS staff and the Public Health Office will be coordinating community agency roundtables with area service providers to establish new partnerships and increase access to substance use treatment and harm reductions resources. Additionally, staff will continue to coordinate outreach events throughout the focus areas through events such as Project Connect and community partnerships/clean up events to increase the rate of positive street outreach.
The City’s Human Trafficking Task Force is partnering with the Community Safety Plans to deploy a public education campaign on the harmful effects and penalties of the solicitation of sex within the 27th Avenue Community Safety Plan. The education campaign will consist of streetlight signs and transit ad posters discouraging the solicitation of sex while providing the Arizona Trafficking Hotline for individuals to report tips or request services. This campaign is estimated to launch in January 2024.
Performance Measurements
The City is collaborating with Arizona State University (ASU) to study the areas pre- and post-intervention. The success of the initiative is measured through desired outcomes and outcome measurements established through feedback from the City, the Community Committees, and the Perceptions of Safety Survey. The desired outcomes identified across all CSPs are below.
Desired Outcomes:
- Fewer incidents of trespassing;
- Decreased encampments;
- Fewer incidents of trespassing;
- Less visible usage of illicit drugs;
- Fewer instances of open drug sales;
- Reduction in the number of prostitution related incidents;
- Fewer incidents of theft;
- Fewer blighted properties;
- Less graffiti in public areas;
- Decreased overdoses/fatal overdoses.
The desired outcomes will be measured through outcome measures identified through discussions with ASU and the City departments and presented to the Community Committees. The success of the desired outcomes will be measured using Police Department incident data, additional Perceptions of Safety surveys and public health data. The outcome measures are:
Police Incident Data:
- Reduction in non-consensual crime incidents;
- Reduction in consensual crime incidents;
- Reduction in assault incidents;
- Reduction in aggravated assault incidents;
- Reduction in drug incidents;
- Reduction in theft incidents;
- Reduction in prostitution related incidents; and
- Reduction in trespassing incidents.
Perception of Safety:
- Overall safety;
- Level of crime;
- Encampments identified as an issue;
- Encampments affecting safety;
- Open drug use identified as an issue;
- Blight identified as an issue; and
- Graffiti identified as an issue.
Additional Outcome Measures:
- Reduction in overdoses;
- Reduction in fatal overdoses;
- Reduction in EMS response to overdoses; and
- Graffiti incidents.
Police incident data for the first seven months of 2023 is currently be analyzed by ASU for each focus area and will be presented to the Community Committees in the coming months. The outcome measures will offer a preliminary measurement of the Community Safety Plans as full implementation of the plans is not able to be measured until the full launch of the RTOCs.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays, Deputy City Manager Gina Montes and the Neighborhood Services and Police departments, and the Homeless Solutions and Prosecutor’s offices.