HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-12-10 - AGENDA REPORTS - CITIZEN PUBLIC SAFETY GRANT (2)CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
DATE: December 10, 2002
City Manager Approval
Item to be presented by: Adele Macpherson
SUBJECT: RENEWAL OF CITIZEN'S OPTION FOR PUBLIC SAFETY GRANT
DEPARTMENT: Parks, Recreation, and Community Services
RECOMMENDED ACTION
1. Approve the request from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, Santa Clarita
Station, to use the Citizen's Option for Public Safety Funds, under Assembly Bill 3229,
to continue the City's Youth Intervention Team.
2. Establish estimated revenue of $314,433 in account number 211-5211, Supplemental
Law Enforcement Services Fund.
3. Appropriate $1,500 to account number 7441-7011 for Grant Administration, $2,000 to
account number 7441-7302 for Travel and Training, and $310,933 to account number
7441-8110 for program implementation.
4. Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute any contracts, agreements, or
change orders arising out of this program.
BACKGROUND
Under Assembly Bill 3229, the Citizen's Option for Public Safety bill, funding is allocated to
municipalities for public safety programs. The 2002-03 funding year marks the seventh
program year the City has been eligible to receive grant dollars from this program.
According to grant requirements, City Council shall appropriate the funds in accordance
with a written request submitted by the Chief Administrator of the local law enforcement
agency. The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, Santa Clarita Station, has proposed
continued funding of the Youth Intervention Team, an umbrella entity overseeing all youth -
related law enforcement efforts and crime prevention.
The Citizen's Option for Public Safety funding will continue to be used to fund a Youth
Probation Officer, Youth Investigator, Crime/Gang Prevention Officer, clerical support, and
equipment. As a result of past funding, two additional deputies have been able to devote
their time to juvenile cases, which account for over 60% of all criminal cases. The
additional personnel have also been able to provide both a 3 -day gang awareness and
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prevention program and a 2 -day drug awareness and prevention program to all 7" grade
students as part of the teen issues curriculum. The personnel increase has also enabled the
City to prosper from having a probation officer dedicated to juveniles, handling a caseload
between 50-60 youth. This juvenile probation officer has been able to work closely with the
juvenile investigators to effectively address probation violators.
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS
1. Determine alternate use for the Citizen's Option for Public Safety Grant.
2. Other action as determined by City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
None. The anticipated cost of this program is estimated to be $314,433 to be offset
completely by grant revenue.
ATTACHMENTS
Letter of Request from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, Santa Clarita
Station - Attachment A.
PM:ns
council \ognmpts\2002 \COPS.doc
LEROY D. BACA. SHERIFF
November 26, 2002
Tountut of icIIg Z1ttgetro
'sheriff'o fMgartment 1�rabquartero I1�
47011 Ramona Noulebnrb
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vnterq Fark, California 1317'54-2169
(661)255-1121
Frank Ferry, Mayor
City of Santa Clarita
23920 Valencia Boulevard #300
Santa Clarita, California 91355-2196
Dear Mayor Ferry:
For the past two years, the City of Santa Clarita has received a significant criminal justice
grant that has aided us in our efforts to make the City of Santa Clarita a safer place in which
to live and work. This grant was structured under Assembly Bill 3229 and provided
$328,271 from the State of California for a Citizen's Option for Public Safety (COPS)
Program. This grant funding is available again this year.
The COPS grant was used to enhance our efforts to curb youth crime in Santa Clarita.
Funding has enabled us to increase the COBRA Team staffing. We have a dedicated
Probation Officer, a Youth Crime Investigator, deputies to deliver an anti -gang and anti-drug
message in the schools, and a Station Clerk to assist with the paperwork and case filings
generated by our increased activities. We also reorganized our Community Relations and
Detective Bureau to form the Youth Intervention Team. As an additional bonus, monies not
dedicated for personnel use were used to provide additional directed patrols to address
pressing issues dealing with vandalism, assault related gang activity and auto burglaries.
Some highlights from this year's activities included:
Continuation of the Gang Education and Drug Education Programs for all seventh -
grade students in Santa Clarita.
57 `.7r¢dfion 16eroice
Mayor Frank Ferry -2- November 26, 2002
• Expanding the School Emergency Operations Response Plans by including all
elementary schools, along with each high school and junior high school.
• The COBRA Team continues to enhance their parent -youth counseling efforts. They
have also increased the scope of their public presentations to groups of parents,
school employees, community groups, and business persons.
Continuation of the Teen Court Program.
• The COBRA Team has handled 1,749 juvenile cases for the year 2001 involving 728
suspects.
I am encouraged by the continuing results of COPS -FUNDED activities. We have made
quarterly reports to the Prevention Policy Board who oversee the grant and have received a
favorable response. I am asking for your approval to use the 2002-2003 COPS Grant fund:
to continue these programs.
Sincerely,
LEROY D. BACA, SHERIFF
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Donald A. Rodriguez, Captain
Santa Clarita Valley Station
cc: City Council Members