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 two pilot projects to address community safety through a multidepartment, collaborative approach that would leverage technology and community-based resources. The Neighborhood Services (NSD), Police, Street Transportation (Streets), and Parks and Recreation departments, along with the Office of Homeless Solutions (OHS), Prosecutor’s Office, and the Office of Public Health are working together to improve the safety and quality of life along 27th Avenue, adjacent to the I-17, and along Hatcher Road in west Sunnyslope. In the Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget, a second phase was approved and includes focus areas along 19th Avenue adjacent to the I-17. The second phase implementation kicked-off in March 2023.
The City Manager’s Office is coordinating the multidepartment effort through leveraging strategic resources with community partners, proactively addressing community issues and concerns, and deploying technology solutions to support the Police Department’s field operations. Additionally, the City is partnering with Arizona State University (ASU), to conduct pre- and post-intervention studies of the areas including the development of desired outcomes and performance measurements.
Community Committees
To guide staff in the implementation of the CSPs, the City Council requested ongoing community participation in the oversight of the plans. Therefore, Community Committees (Committees) were established for each focus area to provide staff with ongoing feedback throughout the implementation, to assist staff in identifying problem areas within neighborhoods, and to act as liaisons to multiple community and business associations. The Committees are composed of a wide range of neighborhood, business, and educational leaders within each focus area. Since summer 2022, the 27th Avenue and Hatcher Road Committees have met every other month. The 19th Avenue Committees held their first meetings last month.
The Committees have provided valuable feedback to staff on the implementation of the CSPs and ensured the appropriate community stakeholders are involved. Through feedback from the initial meetings of the Community Committees, staff readjusted the initial CSP strategies of Outreach, Education, and Partnerships; Prevention and Intervention; and Enforcement into strategy areas that better define the concerns of the communities within the CSP corridors. The revamped strategies better align with the concerns the communities are facing and view their concerns through an overall community health viewpoint. The strategy areas are:
- Safety of public spaces;
- Access to services;
- Education and prevention; and,
- Crime detection and response.
These strategies align closely with the previous CSP strategies. However, by better defining the concerns and needs of the community, the appropriate intervention methods can be deployed within each CSP area.
Below are key updates within each strategy area for the CSPs to date.
Safety of Public Spaces
This strategy builds and maintains relationships with residents, businesses, and stakeholders to improve the safety around buildings and public spaces. City staff continue to engage with the Committees and the community to implement the on-going intervention methods for the Safety of Public Spaces strategy.
Through this strategy, NSD received funding for a dedicated Neighborhood Specialist and a Neighborhood Inspector for the areas. Both positions have been filled and have been engaging with the communities. NSD staff is working with the community and multiple City departments to identify an ongoing list of top properties within each area for code compliance concerns. Additionally, the specialists within the area have worked with the City Council offices, neighborhoods, and businesses to coordinate community celebrations bringing free and safe activity to the areas. NSD Specialists within each focus area have coordinated community cleanups this past fall and spring. The Neighborhood Specialists and OHS Homeless Liaisons also work closely in the management of PHX C.A.R.E.S. cases within the corridors to assist with providing services and addressing neighborhood impacts.
NSD staff have also worked closely with the community to identify potential alleys within the CSPs to recommend further expansion of the Gated Alley Program. To date, 23 alley segments and/or utility easements have been funded in the Gated Alley Program. An additional 16 segments have been identified and are potentially eligible for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. The full City Council will consider using CDBG funding for the additional CSP gated alley segments at a future Formal City Council meeting.
Along the 27th Avenue corridor, the Street Transportation Department received funding for additional lighting in the I-17 underpasses from Peoria Avenue to Bell Road. The lighting was installed last summer. Furthermore, Street Transportation and Police departments worked together to identify specific areas for improvement in streetlighting levels along 27th Avenue. Phase One included an upgrade in existing streetlight wattage and has been completed. Phase Two will include the installation of four new lights and will be installed by fall 2023. Within the Hatcher Road corridor, Street Transportation staff received funding for contractual costs for once per week street cleanings around Hatcher Road and 10th Avenue. These cleanings are conducted weekly with support from OHS to provide outreach services to individuals experiencing homelessness in the area.
The Parks and Recreation Department is piloting additional security services between the hours of 8 p.m. and 10 a.m. at three parks within the CSPs: Cortez Park, Cielito Park, and Washington Park. The City’s security contractor works with OHS on outreach within the Parks. NSD, OHS, and the Parks and Recreation Department collaborate to ensure the safe access and use of the City’s parks.
The City Manager’s Office and City departments continue to work closely with the Committees, and other partners, within the areas to activate and create safe public spaces. This includes ensuring the CSPs and its goals are connected to development and other community initiatives along the corridors such Innovation 27 and Metro Center Development.
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.
Office of Homeless Solutions (OHS) staff are leading 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 through the PHX C.A.R.E.S. process, the City’s behavioral health services contract with Mercy Care, the Community Assistance Program, and other City departments and services. Additionally, the Office of Public Health staff have engaged with local partners within the CSP focus areas to identify ways they can support the City’s efforts to address substance use disorder and other social issues.
Within the focus areas, OHS staff will be engaged in behavioral health outreach to connect individuals with available services and/or shelter. OHS staff are working with multiple departments to coordinate the outreach events in specific areas of the CSPs as identified internally through feedback from the Community Committee members.
OHS staff are also investing in two projects in the area that will add 270 indoor shelter beds with support services. The first of the two projects will be completed by Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS) for a new shelter called The Haven. Estimated to begin serving clients by mid-2023, the City’s investment of $4 million will fund the rehabilitation of a hotel and conversion into 170 new units of shelter for seniors over age 55. The second project will be completed by Community Bridges, Inc., for a project called the North Mountain Healing Center. The City of Phoenix investment of $4 million will fund the rehabilitation of a commercial building that will result in 100 new shelter units in the area.
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. St. Vincent de Paul’s executive leadership has been willing to work with the City to address issues as they arise and examining changes to the model of services for the long term.
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.
NSD has participated in numerous strategic meetings with businesses and neighborhoods to discuss safety and crime prevention in the areas including re-establishing business alliances and providing resources for the potential creation of additional business alliances.
Phoenix Police has worked with property owners to conduct more than 25 Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design audits. Additionally, Police and NSD staff are working closely with state and federal agencies to collaborate on crime prevention programs and utilization of available resources.
The Community Bureau of the City Prosecutor’s Office has hired three Community Prosecutor’s, two Criminal Justice Specialists (Administrative Assistants), and a Legal Assistant to work collaboratively with criminal justice partners in the CSP focus areas. In addition, the Prosecutor’s Office has assigned three existing attorneys to supplement and support the work in the CSP area.
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 Bureau staff have met onsite with community members and partners to discuss concerns. They have also participated in ride alongs with Police and NSD staff to directly observe areas of concern. Attorneys have met with apartment owners and managers to address crime and blight at those properties. Attorneys and staff have participated in the strategic meetings with our partners, as well as businesses and neighborhood community groups, to implement the various strategies discussed herein to address crime in the CSP. Attorneys and staff have developed and presented trainings for police to improve case submittals. They have provided community training on crime prevention, trespassing and Authority to Arrest, and the criminal justice process.
Working with partners, the City Prosecutor’s Office's CSP Team has been instrumental in providing information to the community on human trafficking, and crime prevention. While partnering with subject matter experts, staff is working to develop presentations on victim’s rights and the impact of fentanyl. The Community Bureau Attorneys continue to appear in court on recidivist, high-profile cases, and Neighborhood Preservation Violation cases to advocate for appropriate sentencing, travel restrictions, and court ordered removal of blight.
The Community Committees for each CSP have been established and are meeting bimonthly with City staff to provide ongoing feedback and input on the implementation of the CSPs. The Community Committee members continue to serve as liaisons to multiple neighborhood, business associations and school districts to further disseminate information and resources provided by City staff.
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 is actively engaged in standing up the RTOCs in the Cactus Park and Desert Horizon precincts along with the associated technology along the CSP corridors. This includes gunshot detection technology, license plate readers and fixed-point cameras that will relay real-time information into the RTOCs to assist the Police Department with field operations and criminal investigations. Due to the continued global supply chain challenges, the Police Department is awaiting approximately 50 percent of the technology procured for the CSPs. The department has received and installed a portion of the gunshot technology and license plate readers while the remaining gunshot detection, license plate readers and the fixed-point cameras are expected to arrive in late spring or early summer. To date, the 27th Avenue CSP corridor has a portion of the gunshot detection technology installed throughout the focus areas and the Hatcher Road CSP has license plate readers installed at strategic locations along Hatcher Road. The Hatcher Road CSP does not include gunshot detection technology as an intervention method. Once fully operational, the RTOCs will provide 20 hours of coverage per day.
Throughout the summer, staff worked quickly to recruit and fill the positions approved for the CSPs. For the Police Department this included 10 Police Assistants and one Lead IT Specialist for the implementation and monitoring of the technology solutions feeding into the RTOCs. These positions have been filled and the Police Assistants have been training in other neighboring municipalities at their respective crime centers to better prepare for the launch of Phoenix’s program.
Through the 27th Avenue and the Hatcher Road CSPs, the Police Department continues to provide increased field operations through the bike squad’s collaboration with other departments, service navigators and regional partners.
On the 27th Avenue CSP, the Police Department has had nearly 40 collaborations with the Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit as well as additional operations with the narcotics unit and Neighborhood Enforcement Teams. Additionally, the department remains a partner in the National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) and continues to utilize resources available from the PSP in the 27th Avenue CSP.
Performance Measurements
The City is collaborating with Arizona State University (ASU) to study the areas pre- and post-intervention. The success of the initiative will be measured through desired outcomes and outcome measurements established by ASU through feedback from the City and the Community Committees. Feedback provided from the Community Committees provided additional insight to ASU on the concerns the communities are experiencing. Based on this feedback, ASU is currently re-evaluating data collected from the Police Department, NSD, OHS and the Office of Public Health to determine performance measurements and the baseline data.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays, Deputy City Manager Gina Montes and the Neighborhood Services, Police, Street Transportation, and Parks and Recreation departments, and the Homeless Solutions, Public Health and Prosecutor’s offices.