Contra Costa County Grand Jury
• 2019-2020
• Agency Response
Police Department Staffing*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F8, F10
Findings and Recommendations 12 findings
F1
maintaining police services. Lafayette agrees with Finding #1. Response: Low officer staffing ratios and/or unfilled officer positions, have resulted in
No recommendations for this finding
F2
reducing or eliminating staffing of traffic units, school resource officers, community outreach, or other police services. Lafayette agrees with Finding #2. Response: Due to low officer staffing ratios and/or unfilled officer positions, officers are often
No recommendations for this finding
F3
required to put in mandatory overtime to cover critical services. Lafayette agrees with Finding #3. Response: 3675 Mount Diablo Boulevard, Suite 210, Lafayette, CA 94549 Phone: 925.284.1968 www.ci.lafayette.ca.us ٠ Mandatory overtime can lead to officer stress, which creates retention challenges.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The City/Town Councils of Antioch, Brentwood, Clayton, Concord, El Cerrito, Hercules, Lafayette, Martinez, Moraga, Oakley, Orinda, Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Richmond, San Pablo, San Ramon and Walnut Creek should consider directing their police departments to apply annually, or when offered in 2021, to the Department of Justice COPS Hiring Program, which provides funding for hiring additional officers, by June 30, 2021. Response: The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted. The City of Lafayette contracts police services with Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department and therefore does not directly hire. The City is provided sworn personnel as requested, without delay. In addition, this relationship precludes the City from applying for Department of Justice COPS Hiring Program funding as the City cannot apply on behalf of the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department.
F4
Lafayette agrees with Finding #4. Response: Low officer staffing ratios and/or unfilled officer positions may contribute to
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The City/Town Councils of Antioch, Brentwood, Clayton, Concord, Danville, El Cerrito, Hercules, Lafayette, Martinez, Moraga, Oakley, Orinda, Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Richmond, San Pablo, San Ramon, and Walnut Creek should consider identifying funds to increase the number of authorized sworn officers to fill the understaffed units, such as traffic patrol. Response: The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted. The City of Lafayette contracts police services with Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department and therefore does not directly hire. The City is provided sworn personnel as requested, without delay.
F5
increased average response times for Priority 1 (emergency) calls. Lafayette agrees with Finding #5. Response: Recruiting officers is a challenge due to fewer applicants who meet the required
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
The City/Town Councils of Antioch, Brentwood, Clayton, Concord, Danville, El Cerrito, Hercules, Lafayette, Martinez, Moraga, Oakley, Orinda, Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Richmond, San Pablo, San Ramon, and Walnut Creek should consider identifying funds that would permit their police departments to over-hire officer positions officer positions as a strategy for keeping the department fully staffed, by June 30, 2021. Response: The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted. The City of Lafayette contracts police services with Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department and therefore does not directly hire. The City is provided sworn personnel as requested, without delay. The City appreciates the time and effort spent by Her Honor and the Grand Jury in consideration of these matters. Sincerely, Mayor Mike Anderson
F6
hiring standards and complete the rigorous testing process. Lafayette agrees with Finding #6. Response: Negative perceptions of policing and the availability of less dangerous job
No recommendations for this finding
F7
opportunities contribute to fewer applicants. Lafayette agrees with Finding #7. Response: The process of hiring and training new officers takes an extensive amount of time
No recommendations for this finding
F9
and resources to complete. Lafayette agrees with Finding #9. Response:
No recommendations for this finding
F11
Contra Costa cities that contract with the Sheriff for police services are generally able to fill vacancies faster than non-contract cities. Lafayette agrees with Finding #11. Response:
No recommendations for this finding
F12
Recruits and young officers have different expectations than in the past regarding work/life balance. Lafayette agrees with Finding #12. Response:
No recommendations for this finding
F13
Recruits and young officers' expectations about work/life balance contribute to the challenges of officer recruiting and retention. Lafayette agrees with Finding #13. Response:
No recommendations for this finding
F14
Wellness and Employee Assistance Programs offered by Contra Costa police agencies aid retention of police officers. Lafayette agrees with Finding #14 Response: * ٠. Grand Jury Recommendations
No recommendations for this finding
* 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.