Contra Costa County Grand Jury • 2019-2020 • Agency Response
Response to: Wildfire Preparedness in Contra Costa County

City Manager's Office*

Published: July 21, 2020 4 pages
View Original PDF

Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F2, F3, F4, F11, F12, F13

Findings and Recommendations 8 findings

F1
Low officer staffing ratios and/or unfilled officer positions present challenges in maintaining police services. Response: We agree with this finding. Low officer staffing rations and/or unfilled officer positions have resulted in reducing or eliminating staffing of traffic units, school resource officers, community outreach, or other police services. Response: We agree with this finding. Due to low officer staffing rations and/or unfilled officer positions, officers are often required to put in mandatory overtime to cover critical services. Response: We agree with this finding. Mandatory overtime can lead to officer stress, which creates retention challenges. Response: We agree with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F5
Low officer staffing ratios and/or unfilled officer positions may contribute to increased average response times for Priority 1 calls. Civic Center Plaza, Richmond, CA 94804-1630 Telephone: (510) 620-6512 Fax: (510) 620-6542 www.ci.richmond.ca.us : CoR Response – "Police Department Staffing" Response: We agree with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
The City/Town Councils of Antioch, Brentwood, Clayton, Concord, El Cerrito, Hercules, Martinez, Moraga, Oakley, 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 as a strategy for keeping departments fully staffed, by June 30, 2021. Response: The recommendation will not be implemented due to budget cuts made to the department budget for this fiscal year. While a laudable goal, given budget constraints, over-hiring is not possible at this time. The Richmond City Council reviewed and approved this response at their meeting on July 21, 2020. Should there be an interest in additional clarification, please contact Captain Louie Tirona at Itirona@richmondpd.net. Sincerely, Laura Snideman City Manager Tom Butt, Mayor CC: Rachel Sommovilla, Interim City Attorney
F6
Recruiting officers is challenging due to fewer applicants who meet the required hiring standards and complete the rigorous testing process. Response: We agree with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
Negative perceptions of policing and the availability of less dangerous job opportunities contribute to few applicants for law enforcement positions. Response: We agree with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
Each Contra Costa police agency conducts its own recruiting program to attract potential candidates. Response: We agree with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F9
The process of hiring and training new officers takes an extensive amount of time and resources to complete Response: We agree with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F10
Each Contra Costa police agency manages its own screening process for police officer positions, resulting in a replication of efforts across the county. Response: We agree with this finding, however believe that each municipality has unique needs that require attention during the screening and hiring process. Recruits and young officers have different expectations than in the past regarding work/life balance. Response: We agree with this finding. Recruits and young officers' expectations about work/life balance contribute to the challenges of officer recruiting and retention. Response: We agree with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F14
Wellness and Employee Assistance Programs offered by Contra Costa police agencies aid retention of police officers. Response: We agree with this finding. , CoR Response – "Police Department Staffing"
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.