Napa County Grand Jury • 2023-2024 • Agency Response
Response to: Napa County Building Department: The Good, the Bad, and the Confusing

Superior Court of Napa County*

Published: June 18, 2024 6 pages
View Original PDF

Findings and Recommendations 9 findings

F1 Page 1
The Jury found that gang activity and gang association in Napa County are on the rise. The City of Napa agrees with the finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F2 Page 1
The Jury found that due to the employment demographics in Napa County, increasing numbers of children are left unsupervised. This situation was exacerbated by the Covid Pandemic. The City of Napa agrees with the finding. 1
No recommendations for this finding
F3 Page 2
The Jury found current gang activity and recruitment is more apparent in middle school and even younger ages. The City of Napa agrees with the finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F4 Page 2
The Jury found that despite it having been proved to be successful, vocational curriculum has been eliminated within the NVUSD. The City of Napa agrees with the finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F5 Page 2
The Jury found that Napa County has little to no after school activities for teens and preteens. There is a need for organized free programs, including sports and other after school activities. The City of Napa disagrees partially with the finding. While the City of Napa agrees that additional programs would be beneficial to the community, we disagree that there are little to no programs available. Programs are available, as discovered by the members of the Grand Jury, however not all families are aware of the programs or may experience barriers to participating in the programming. For example, some programs may require a guardian or parent to pick up the child at a specific time.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
Page 3
By September 30, 2024, the Napa County Board of Supervisors and Napa City Council identify financial resources to support community efforts to help families in need. This recommendation requires further analysis during the City's annual budget process. The recommendation is not clear on which programs named in the Grandy Jury report require additional financial support from the City of Napa. Additionally, the City's budget is adopted on a fiscal year (July 1 - June 30) basis. Requests for expanded or new programming would be best identified through the established budget process which will begin again in early 2025 with adoption of the fiscal year 2025-26 budget by the City Council in June 2025. The City of Napa can be immediately supportive of existing programs through additional communication via the Youth Services Bureau of the Napa Police Department, the School Resource Officers (SROs), Napa Police Department's Special Enforcement Unit (SEU), Homeless Intervention Coordinator, and the City of Napa's various social media platforms.
F6 Page 2
The Jury found that gang activity is supported by illegal money-making opportunities which can be attractive to underprivileged youth. The City of Napa agrees with the finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
Page 3
Beginning July 1, 2024, the Napa County Board of Supervisors and Napa City Council support legislation to roll back decriminalizing drug and theft crime. This recommendation will not be implemented because it is not reasonable. While there may be specific legislative efforts related to strengthening drug and theft crime laws that the City chooses to support, it is unreasonable to have a blanket statement of support for legislation without first reviewing proposals. The City is guided by both Policy Resolution R2019-083 and an annually adopted Legislative Platform to guide the process for supporting or opposing legislation or other legislative actions. For example, in May 2024 the City sent letters of support for AB 1772, AB 2943, AB 1960, AB 1990, AB 2814, AB 3209, SB 1242, AB 982, AB 1802, AB 1972, and other legislation strenghthening organized retail theft enforcement and penalties. These letters of support were sent only after careful consideration of the impacts to the City of Napa and its residents, as well as conformance with R2019-083 and the 2024 Legislative Platform. The City would similarly review and act in accordance with those policy guidance documents for any support or opposition of future legislation proposing roll backs to decriminalizing drug and theft crime. 3
F7 Page 2
The Jury found that coordination and communication among law enforcement, educators, and local service providers is not effective. The City of Napa disagrees partially with the finding. The City supports additional efforts and recommendations to improve coordination and communication between partner agencies, however information that impacts the safety of the children is freely shared between public safety and academic organizations. Napa Police Department Youth Services/Student Resource Officers (SROs) and Napa Valley Unified School District are in regular communication. Leadership of these organizations also meet quarterly.
No recommendations for this finding
F8 Page 2
The Jury found that data on gang membership and activity is limited and ineffective at gang intervention and prevention. The City of Napa agrees with the finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
Page 4
By September 30, 2024, the City of Napa Police Department create a succession plan for the Community Service Officer role in the Juvenile Diversion Program, including program expansion. This recommendation will not be implemented because it is not reasonable. The City of Napa Civil Services Rules govern how vacancies are filled and require a thorough, fair and competitive process, and therefore the City cannot pre- designate a replacement for any classified position. However, the City of Napa appreciates the Grand Jury's recognition of the importance of continuity in the Community Service Officer role in the Juvenile Diversion program and has created methods to document processes and procedures, and ensure that all program staff are knowledgeable about the services provided. Further, the City of Napa and the Police Department are supportive of professional growth for all employees and have expanded access to internal and external development trainings and will continue to do so to allow for multiple staff to seek promotion or transfer into the Juvenile Diversion Program as positions become available.
F9 Page 2
The Jury found that some state legislation and propositions passed by the voters are hindering law enforcement's ability to interdict gang crime and, in 2 doing so, improve gangs' ability to make money, which attracts more gang members. The City of Napa agrees with the finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R9
Page 4
By December 31, 2025, the Napa County Sheriff, the City of Napa Police Department, the City of St. Helena Police Department, the City of Calistoga Police Department, the District Attorney's office and the Napa County Probation Department create an integrated 22 data collection system to improve the efficiency of trend monitoring associated with gangs and gang crimes. This recommendation requires further analysis. With the dissolution of the CALGangs data system (AB90 – 2017), each law enforcement agency in Napa County now maintains their own data on criminal behavior in each community. Currently, Napa Sheriff's Office and Napa Police Department share a records management system (Mark43) that allows law enforcement staff to see unrestricted criminal data. These agencies are the larger agencies in our County and account for most of the criminal and gang related activity. Other agencies maintain their own records, but information is also shared among all agencies as needed. By October 1, 2024, the City of Napa Police Department will collaborate with partners at the Napa Sheriff's Office, St. Helena Police Department, Calistoga Police Department, District Attorney's Office and Napa County Probation to review current data collection systems and develop a joint recommendation on options for replacement or improvements to assist law enforcement in monitoring gang activity trends. The Police Chief will report outcomes of this collaborative effort to the Napa City Council. The City of Napa thanks the Grand Jury for its service during the 2023-2024 term. We take our responsibility to address gang activity in Napa very seriously and will continue to work with our partner agencies to address its causes and impacts. If 4 you or the Grand Jury Foreperson have any questions regarding the City's response, please contact me. Respectfully Submitted, MITO Steve Potter City Manager City of Napa Cc: Foreperson, 2023-2024 Napa County Grand Jury Sabrina Wolfson, Interim City Attorney Jennifer Gonzales, Police Chief . 5 ¥ ii. ž. . = * 1 2 . 2 10 . 8 ¥

* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.