Title
Public Safety Improvements and Community Transparency Initiative Updates - Citywide
Description
On September 24, 2024, the Mayor and City Council approved a series of recommendations and actions to improve public safety. The Council-approved actions included efforts to address homelessness, enhancements to the Community Assistance Program (CAP), recommendations related to Office of Accountability and Transparency (OAT), and a series of other measures aimed at improvements to the Phoenix Police Department. This report provides updates since the last presentation to the City Council on June 9, 2026. In addition, the report outlines progress on the Community Transparency Initiative, as directed by the Mayor and City Council on March 25, 2026.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
Police Department Update
The Department continues to work on advancing the initiatives approved by City Council during the September 24, 2024, City Council Policy Session. This update reflects the continued progress since the Department last provided a report in June 2026.
Strategic Plan
The Department is developing a Strategic Plan built around Continuous Improvement, Crime Reduction, Community Engagement, and Business Operations, centered on the guiding principles of L.E.A.D. with P.R.I.D.E. at its core.
The Plan will be a series of measurable deliverables which will be evaluated and reported annually. The Department has begun engagement with stakeholders including community members, employees, Chief’s Advisory Boards, Blockwatch/Neighborhood leaders, and the Mayor and City Council to gain input on the Strategic Plan. Following community, employee, and Council feedback, the Department will seek to publish the finalized plan in January 2027.
City Council Action Items
On September 24, 2024, City Council approved 37 action items for the improvement of Public Safety Services to the residents of Phoenix, and the Department has provided approximately quarterly updates on its progress related to these action items. Following the Department’s last updated report on June 9, 2026, 29 of the 37 items are complete with eight of those items containing ongoing components, and eight items are still in progress. Information on the new updates since the last report can be found below. A summary of all recommendations and directives can be found in Attachment A.
- Youth Interactions Policy: This new policy for the Department was drafted after significant engagement with City of Phoenix youth and adults with connections to youth and was made available for public comment for 30 days. The focus of the policy is to recognize youth development and to communicate with youth accordingly. Training materials are being finalized and the target go-live date for the policy is November 2026.
- Interactions with Individuals Experiencing Homelessness Policy: This is also a new policy for the Department and was drafted in partnership with the Office of Homeless Solutions. It was also made available for public comment for 30 days. This policy emphasizes offering services and managing the property of individuals experiencing homelessness. Training materials are being developed and the target go-live date for the policy is December 2026.
- Training: The Training Academy’s annual in-service training series for all sworn employees includes training topics such as cultural awareness, autism and sensory awareness, and customer service. Training updates have also been made to recruit training to include cultural awareness, ethics and professionalism, and active bystandership. In addition to specific training courses, the Department has paid particular attention to developing and evolving the method of training delivery for both Basic Training and Post-Critical Incident Training. Additionally, the Communications Bureau of the Police Department has partnered with the Community Assistance Program (CAP) to provide training in pre-Academy to police recruits in understanding the CAP’s role, functions, and when to utilize those services for community members.
- Crisis Intervention Resources: Following the passing of SB1113, employees of evaluation or screening agencies are now permitted to serve Notice of Court hearings to patients within mental health evaluation facilities. Previously this service was required to be completed by a member of law enforcement. This legislation has now been implemented. A second bill, HB2404 will become effective on January 1, 2030, and police officers will no longer be required to transport individuals, who are subject to involuntary treatment, between mental health facilities. These new laws will assist in increasing the availability of Crisis Intervention Teams to respond to CIT-related calls and for patrol officers to respond to calls for service. Since the Department’s last updated report, the Department continues to offer the recently introduced third option during initial call intake to people calling 9-1-1 in Phoenix. 9-1-1 operators on both emergency and non-emergency lines ask callers during the call, “Do you need police, fire or behavioral health?” This addition comes after the Phoenix City Council unanimously adopted a series of measures aimed at modernizing public safety services and expanding community-focused support. The goal is to ensure the right help is sent to the right calls, reducing unnecessary police responses while providing faster, more specialized support for behavioral health-related emergencies.
Crime Reduction
Over the past year the City has continued to see a downward trend in violent crime and property crime from 2024 to 2025 violent crime decreased by 13.5 percent and property crime decreased by 14.1 percent. This downward trend continues in 2026.
Crime reduction efforts over the past two years have focused on the Crime Plan which uses data driven activities for crime reduction and prevention. These activities include the use of technology such as shot detection equipment and rapid DNA analysis.
Additionally, partnerships with the community and other City Departments such as the Office of Homeless Solutions and Community Assistance Program assist in identifying and addressing quality of life issues.
Continuous Improvement and Community Trust
The Department has focused on its hiring efforts overall as well as our commitment to the 30x30 initiative, that being female recruitment achieving 30 percent of incoming recruits by 2030. Additionally, the Department has experienced its largest class of recruits in five years. Some of these gains are attributed to the opening of the new Police Headquarters at 100 W. Washington, with these new facilities enhancing services and supporting the community and employees.
The Department continues to review, revise, and align its policies with the highest standards of law enforcement, with every policy receiving an in-depth review at least every two years, with core policies such as Use of Force and First Amendment Activity Support and Management being reviewed annually.
In the past year, the Department has launched two major systems to support policing; Call Triage, for non-emergency calls, and the P1 Motorola Records Management System for documentation of all law enforcement activities conducted by the Department. The Records Management System provides much of the data that populates the Police Department transparency dashboards.
Real-Time Customer Engagement Tool: Since the Department’s last updated report, the Versaterm CommunityConnect platform, which is a public safety engagement solution designed to enhance trust and transparency between the Department and the community continues to provide valuable feedback to the Department on its community engagement and services. CommunityConnect automatically sends updates to 9-1-1 callers, crime victims, and reporting parties using information from the Department's dispatch and records systems. It provides real-time notifications, multilingual messaging, feedback tools, and extended support for victims. This means people get timely updates, greater certainty, and enhanced transparency about their cases.
Community Assistance Program Update
The Community Assistance Program (CAP) continues to see a steady number of calls transferred from Police Communications to the Behavioral Health Dispatcher following a critical update to the 9-1-1 screening process, although there has been a recent decline in call transfers that is being monitored. The process now prompts callers to identify whether they require police, fire, or behavioral health services. As a result, calls for service are being directed to Behavioral Health Units (BHUs), allowing individuals to receive appropriate behavioral health support without the need for police or fire response.
Year over year comparisons highlight this growth. From 2024 to 2025, calls transferred from Police Communications to CAP increased by 128 percent. During the same period, BHU calls for service rose by 96 percent. This trend reflects the growing community demand for behavioral health crisis response and demonstrates the effectiveness of enhanced call triage in connecting individuals with the most appropriate resources.
Office of Accountability and Transparency Update
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. OAT reviews Police 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.
- Address other issues of concern to the community.
OAT released 66 reports since 2024 detailing its review of Police Department investigations and its findings as to the completeness and thoroughness of those reviewed investigations. OAT issued recommendations for future investigations in 44 of the 66 reports, the majority of which the Department has agreed to implement. OAT is actively monitoring 175 cases.
As 2026 has progressed, OAT has continued to see a significant increase in community member contacts. In the first three quarters of 2026, OAT received 631 complaints and 779 inquiries. Complaints received increased over all of 2025 by 550 percent and inquiries received increased over all of 2025 by 3,000 percent.
OAT’s mediation program saw a jump in numbers, from 8 at the end of 2025 to 17 at the end of the third quarter. OAT staff continue to work diligently with the Department to review all complaints for mediation suitability and to promote the benefits of community-police mediation for the public, officers, and the Department as a whole.
OAT worked with the Phoenix Union High School District to enter into an intergovernmental agreement earlier this year that allowed for OAT’s youth outreach program, Reform Rising, to officially launch. The first cohort began at South Mountain High School and is wrapping up in the next couple of weeks. There are 26 students currently participating. At the conclusion of this cohort, OAT will assemble a report for Mayor and Council of the student initiatives. OAT plans to expand to Maryvale High School in spring 2027 and will continue to add schools each semester.
City's Efforts to Address Homelessness
The Office of Homeless Solutions (OHS) was created in 2022 to address a growing community concern about the increasing numbers of people in need of homeless services in our region. OHS built a diverse team and went to work on several high-profile initiatives including adding geographically dispersed shelter resources throughout the city, decreasing barriers for people looking for shelter resources, humanely decommissioning the state’s largest encampment offering indoor resources to everyone displaced, diversifying outreach strategies, and creating the Community Court for people experiencing homelessness with misdemeanor offenses.
As 2026 progresses, major initiatives focus on putting the recently approved Strategies to Address Homelessness Plan into action. This involves improving shelter outcomes, rolling out prevention programs, expanding housing options for people ending their homelessness, and seeking out private partnerships and funding to grow organizational capacity.
OHS is collaborating with the Phoenix Police Department to adapt its existing property storage program into a framework to meet police needs while ensuring safe property storage and successful reunification for individuals.
Community Transparency Initiative Update
The Community Transparency Initiative (CTI) framework outlined below reflects the directives issued by the Mayor and City Council, as well as feedback gathered from community stakeholders through meetings, listening sessions, conversations, and the sharing of relevant information. Staff have continued active engagement with Council offices, City departments, and community members to ensure ongoing dialogue and alignment with CTI objectives. The following updates reflect the continued progress on each directive since June 2026.
CTI Directive #1: Document and preserve information on federal immigration enforcement activities within Phoenix city limits that may violate criminal statutes and/or individual civil rights with the intent to investigate crimes committed by federal agents who act outside the scope of their duties.
Update:
- To strengthen consistency in reporting and documentation, the City developed an online reporting portal managed by the Office of Accountability and Transparency (OAT). The portal now serves as a dedicated case management system for tracking federal enforcement activities in Phoenix. Community members can submit incidents and complaints through the portal or by contacting Police for active incidents or OAT for non-emergency reports. The system streamlines workflow and ensures seamless information sharing from community members to OAT and then to the Police Department. All complaints are first documented by OAT before being forwarded to the Police Department’s Special Investigation Detail (SID) for review and, when appropriate, further investigation followed by referral to the Attorney General’s Office. To date, 30 cases have been reported; 17 were federal enforcement related and have been routed to SID for investigation, and 13 have been identified as non-criminal complaints and/or comments.
CTI Directive #2: Collect data on impacts to City services as a result of federal immigration enforcement.
Update:
- The Phoenix Police Department, Fire Department, and the Office of Accountability and Transparency have incorporated internal tracking codes into their systems to document staff time and resources dedicated to calls involving federal law enforcement. Since April 2026, these departments have recorded 89 such reported calls, equating to 429 staff hours at an estimated cost of $73,200.53. In addition to these operational impacts, departments have incurred an estimated $65,000 in CTI related expenses to date.
- To further assess broader community effects, the Community and Economic Development Department developed the Phoenix Business Impact Questionnaire, a tool designed to capture how federal enforcement activities influence small businesses and the local economy while connecting business owners to available resources and support. The questionnaire is available on the City of Phoenix Community Transparency Initiative page at Phoenix.gov/CTI, as well as in the “Grow & Expand” section at InvestInPhoenix.com/Grow Expand.
CTI Directive #3: Identify potential partnerships and volunteer opportunities to facilitate the initiative.
Update:
- As outlined in the CTI Directive #1 update, staff have established an ongoing partnership with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office to facilitate regular coordination and information sharing related to federal enforcement activity.
- Staff are partnering with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to create employer-focused training regarding hiring and supporting refugee employees. This training is on track to be available by December 2026.
CTI Directive #4: Ensure multilingual communication channels across City services and resources.
Update:
- The CTI webpage, including the Know Your Rights webpage, provides translation capabilities in more than 120 languages. Additionally, Administrative Regulation (A.R.) 5.32, Use of City Property for Civil Law Enforcement, featured on the CTI webpage, has been translated into Spanish, Pashto, Swahili, Somali, Arabic, Dari, and Kinyarwanda.
- English and Spanish Know Your Rights posters installed at the Information Counters and in the restrooms at the Airport.
CTI Directive #5: Implement training for City employees who may encounter federal enforcement actions, including protocols related to administrative and judicial warrants.
Update:
- The City launched two CTI training courses for employees covered under A.R. 5.32 to ensure consistent protocols when encountering federal enforcement actions, including administrative and judicial warrants. The training outlines appropriate responses during federal law enforcement encounters and provides direction on referring community members to the CTI complaint portal and “Know Your Rights” resources.
- Completion rates reflect strong organizational engagement: as of October 14, COP108 reached 99.7 percent completion (15,860 employees), and COP109 reached 97 percent completion (15,683 employees).
CTI Directive #6: Develop options for the Council to consider relating to outside organizations, staging in our parks and preserve and other city property.
Update:
- The City Council approved Administrative Regulation (A.R.) 5.32, which establishes clear guidelines governing the use of City-owned or City-controlled property for civil law enforcement purposes. The regulation was formally published and distributed to all City of Phoenix employees on March 27, 2026, ensuring consistent awareness across departments.
- As part of implementation, the City produced standardized signage in both English and Spanish to communicate the restrictions outlined in A.R. 5.32, including the requirement that any use of City property for staging, processing, or other civil enforcement activities must receive prior written authorization.
- To support compliance and improve visibility, a total of 446 CTI signs have been installed across key City public places and spaces, within the Housing, Human Services, Library, Neighborhood Services, Parks and Recreation, and Public Transit departments.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays and the City Manager’s Office.