Red Light Camera Update--New Law Ushers Changes

The Florida legislature passed changes to the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act, which is the law that pertains to the red light photo enforcement program. If the governor signs the bill, several changes will go into effect on July 1^st. Here are some of the most notable:

1.      Those who receive a Notice of Violation (NOV) will now have 60 days rather than 30 days to respond.

2.      If the vehicle owner fills out an affidavit naming another person as the driver of the vehicle, that person will now be issued a NOV with a $158 fine rather than a Uniform Traffic Citation (UTC) with a $264 fine.

3.      The “right on red” language has been clarified in the law. GPD will amend enforcement to comply with the new language, which states that it is not a violation if a vehicle stops at any point after the stop bar but prior to completing the turn. We will also increase our trigger speed from 12 to 15 miles per hour, which means that any vehicle entering the intersection at this speed and then failing to stop at any point during the turn will be issued a NOV.

4.      There is now an official grievance process for those who receive a NOV. Previously, anyone wishing to appeal would have to ignore the NOV, which would prompt the issuance of a UTC with a higher fine. Under the previous arrangement, only a UTC could be appealed.

5.      Under the new law, appeals of NOV’s will be heard by a local hearing officer. In Gulfport, we have made arrangements to use the code enforcement magistrate, who is Gulfport resident and attorney James Thaler.

6.      If the magistrate finds the party guilty, then the original $158 fine will be assessed, along with court costs. The law allows up to $250 in court costs to be charged, but we will likely ask for no more than $100. We want to encourage people to use this process, so we don’t want the total fine to be higher than that for a UTC, which is $264.

7.      Guilty parties who do not pay the fines assessed by the magistrate (or file an appeal to the circuit court within a designated time) will have their vehicle registration suspended. This means that corporate owners can no longer get away scot free. Under the previous law, only drivers licenses could be suspended, and since those are issued to individuals, businesses were often ignoring their NOV’s.

These new procedures put Florida more in line with how other states operate similar programs. I believe this is a much more fair and balanced approach, allowing everyone their due process rights while ensuring that cities are not overburdened with costs.

I have previously reported to city council and in this forum that injury crashes significantly decreased in Gulfport following the implementation of this program. I have also provided financial data indicating that the program covers its own costs but does not generate significant revenue for the city (approximately $25,000 net estimated in 2012).

A New Police Station?

With the proposal at a recent workshop to consider building a new police station, I knew it wouldn’t be long before folks started asking for my comments.

The fact is, this is not a new idea. I presented the concept during budget planning in 2009/2010 as an effort to help address rising concerns about safety on our city’s northeastern border.  It quickly became clear, however, this project was unlikely to become reality without an independent funding source.

Fast forward to now, when it’s been suggested that the city borrow money for this and other construction projects, and suddenly it’s the topic du jour. Everybody (well, lots of people anyway) want to hear my take on whether or not we should break a long-standing debt-free position so that we can build a police station.

I will say this first: we (as in, the police department employees) do not need a new police station. We operate in a building that is less than 20 years old and is completely functional for our work and our mission. Sure, it’s got some problems. The women’s locker room is too small; we have no exercise facility; we are using holding cells to store sensitive equipment; and our video/audio surveillance systems are inadequate. But the truth is that all of these things could be brought up to standard in the existing space for far less than it would cost to build a new building. Any argument in favor of new construction would not be justified, even in part, based on a claim that our working conditions merit a new building.

That being said, I do believe that establishing a new police station, located on 49^th Street, is a good idea. There are three primary reasons I make this claim: facility security, improved perception of safety, and economic development.

The current police headquarters is located in a flood zone that requires mandatory evacuation in the event of a major hurricane. Evacuating the building is itself a serious challenge for our operations, but the larger concern is the fact that many critical items (radio tower and transmitters, fuel storage tanks, emergency electric generator) are exposed to a greater risk of flood damage or destruction. It makes sense to have these items in an area with higher elevation, such as the site of the current Neighborhood Center on 49^th Street.

“Make 49^th Street safer” is a chant I hear all too often. In comparing Gulfport crime rates to those of the Child’s Park neighborhood, I can assure you that our streets and homes are much safer. There is clearly a different expectation of police service from our residents, and I think we do a great job of meeting those expectations. What the people of Gulfport cannot do (and should not try to do, in my opinion) is impose those standards on the city of St. Petersburg. Our neighbors have every right to determine the level of service they expect from their government, and our residents do not and should not have a vote in that decision. After all, I don’t tell my officers to pull back their efforts when St. Petersburg residents complain that they’re too heavy-handed.

Faced with the simple fact that crime of all types is much higher in the communities that share our border to the east, many folks in Gulfport feel unsafe when they live or traverse near that border. This perception was confirmed in a 2010 “survey of community partners,” where respondents from all over Gulfport indicated in high percentages that the 49^th Street corridor should get more police attention than other areas of our city. There is also some factual basis to support the negative perception of the area. While overall crime is not necessarily higher in the 49^th Street corridor, one type of crime happens to be—robbery. Almost half of all robberies (taking property by force) occur within three blocks of 49^th Street.

Many academic studies have been published which discount the belief that police presence decreases crime. On the contrary, several other studies have confirmed that increased police presence can significantly reduce the perception or fear of crime. That may seem superficial, but such an effect is very desirable and can produce exponential benefits. We’ve already done several things to increase police presence on 49^th Street. I reconfigured patrol zones so that three (as opposed to two) officers patrol this roadway every shift. I designated the Neighborhood Center parking lot as the preferred location for officers to transfer prisoners from their patrol cars to the transport van. I assigned a community resource officer specifically to focus on problems in the 49^th Street redevelopment area, and he works primarily out of an office in the Neighborhood Center. While these things have had some effect, I can think of nothing else that would make the impact of building a conspicuously-placed police headquarters on 49^th Street.

Helping people to feel safer is an important part of improving the economic viability of any area. Police presence goes a long way toward this goal, but we also need more legitimate activities that attract people, particularly at night. There are two properties on 49^th Street that lend themselves to evening activities. One is the theater, and the other is the former Czech hall, both of which are located in the 1600 block of 49^th Street, adjacent to the site where any new police headquarters would likely be built. Being next door to the cop shop would certainly boost the confidence of any prospective investor who may want to open a new, or boost existing business. I would even suggest reserving a portion of the new building for lease to a private enterprise that would attract night-time activity.

Obviously, the council faces a tough decision here. While I maintain that the cops don’t need a new police station, there is no question that there would be significant community benefits to building a new headquarters on 49^th Street. The question is, are those benefits worth the costs? How many other city projects would be delayed or eliminated in favor of this one? As our elected officials mull over the data and try to answer that and other questions, I certainly don’t envy them of their task.

Whatever happens, rest assured that the men and women of GPD will continue to do our best to uphold the expectations our residents have established.

Snapshot of Gulfport's Finest

Our professional standards lieutenant, Mary Farrand, gave me some interesting information this afternoon. It turns out the state-maintained database for law enforcement officer certification and training can generate some pretty interesting statistical reports. I'll let the numbers speak for themselves, but it's pretty clear that we're an educated, experienced, and diverse organization.

Some interesting tidbits:

• Gulfport officers are more than twice as likely to have a college degree when compared to their colleagues around the state.
• Almost half of GPD officers have at least ten years on the job.

	GPD	All Florida Agencies Combined	City of Gulfport Population	State of Florida Population
Race
Asian	6.9%	0.8%	1.2%	2.4%
Black	10.3%	19.2%	9.2%	16%
Hispanic	3.4%	12.4%	4.9%	22.5%
White	79.3%	66.4%	86.1%	75%
Gender
Male	75.9%	78.2%	47.1%	48.9%
Female	24.1%	21.8%	52.9%	51.1%
Law Enforcement Experience
Less than one year	6.9%	4.4%	Comparable data not applicable
1-3 years	13.8%	7.1%
3-5 years	6.9%	9.2%
5-10 years	24.1%	25.0%
10-15 years	41.4%	17.2%
15-20 years	3.4%	15.3%
20-25 years	0	11.4%
More than 25 years	3.4%	10.4%
Education
HS Diploma	13.8%	63.3%	Comparable data is not available
Associate’s Degree	31.0%	11.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	37.9%	21.8%
Graduate Degree	17.2%	2.8%

These facts are reflected in our hiring and promotion policies. Police applicants must possess 60 college credit hours or they must have prior law enforcement or military experience. In order to test for promotion to sergeant, candidates must have an associate's degree. To be considered for appointment to lieutenant requires a bachelor's degree, and it is preferred that the chief of police have a master's degree.

Education is valuable in this high-liability profession, but it cannot be the sole ingredient to a successful policing team. As noted above, almost half of GPD officers have at least ten years' service. That kind of experience gives us a tremendous base of knowledge about the community, and combined with the academic credential and a diversity that fairly represents our population, I think we're exactly where we need to be.

One Year of Police Fitness Testing

You may have seen us down behind the Gulfport recreation center lately, running around and jumping hurdles, climbing walls, dragging test dummies, and more. This was our second annual physical abilities test, and I’m happy to report that it was very successful!

Beginning in 2012, I implemented a fitness standards and testing program here. This is something I’ve always felt should be essential in law enforcement, and when I was appointed chief in 2010, I set things in motion to make it a reality (up until this point, we had tested applicants prior to employment, but not the incumbent officers). To minimize resistance from the rank and file, I let the officers decide what the standards would be and how they would be applied. A committee of them came to the conclusion that the existing state standards for police applicants would be the best measure.

Although several agencies throughout Florida require their officers to pass fitness tests, Gulfport PD and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office are the only agencies in this county with such programs.

This test starts an officer sitting in a patrol car with the seat belt fastened and his hands on the steering wheel. On the command of “go,” the officer must unfasten the seatbelt, remove the car keys from the glove box, get out of the car, run to the rear of the car, remove two flags from a belt in cross-draw fashion, open the trunk and remove a baton, close the trunk, and then run 220 yards around the ball field. Following the run, the officer must complete an obstacle course consisting of jumping a 40-inch wall, jumping three hurdles of varying height, running serpentine through a 45-foot section of closely-spaced cones, and low-crawling under 27-inch hurdles for eight feet. After the obstacle course, the officer must drag a 150 lb. test dummy for 100 feet, then repeat the obstacle course in reverse and run the 220 yards back to the car. Once back at the car, the officer must open the trunk and remove an unloaded handgun. After dry-firing the handgun six times in each hand, the officer must secure the gun and baton in the trunk, get back in the car, close the door, put the keys back in the glove box, refasten the seat belt, and put his hands back on the steering wheel. When both hands are on the wheel, the clock stops.

The minimum passing time is six minutes and four seconds.

In 2012, our average time was 5:03. This year, the average was 4:39. That’s an improvement of 24 seconds! Overall, 81 percent of officers improved their time compared to last year. The most significant reduced his time by 65 seconds!

In 2012, three officers required two attempts to pass the test. In 2013, all officers passed on their first attempt, and there were no reported injuries.

These results make it clear that the program is working. Officers are getting in better shape so they can more safely and more effectively provide their crucial service with a lower chance of injury or illness.

I also recently conducted a survey of sworn officers on the subject of fitness for duty. Twenty-three of thirty officers responded to the survey. Of these respondents, 83 percent agree that police officers should be required to maintain a specified level of fitness, and only 26 percent oppose routine fitness testing.

I support the program 100%, and from what I hear from residents, I believe the Gulfport community does as well. Please let me know what you think.

Beach Patrols--Concerns and Answers

I would like to use this venue to provide some feedback to the public on some concerns I've recently been made aware of. Here goes.

Concern #1: Police refuse to enforce city ordinance violations, particularly in the beachfront area

I have never said that Gulfport officers will not enforce code violations. I did say once during a council meeting that officers will enforce state law in any case where the conduct in question violates both a city ordinance and the state statute. This is simply because enforcement of state law is a much more efficient process. It should not have been understood to mean that officers do not enforce ordinance violations.

The fact is-GPD officers routinely enforce code violations. Last year, there were multiple arrests for persons sleeping in public places and bothering residents and visitors. There were arrests (including one by me personally at the beachfront) for persons in possession of open containers of alcohol in public. In total, there were 347 documented incidents of police response to ordinance violations in 2012.

So the question need not be whether we enforce code violations, but how we prioritize that enforcement action. Here are some things to consider on this subject:

a.       If there is a specific complaint about an in-progress violation, an officer will respond and investigate every time. How the officer handles the situation depends on a great many things, but this is critical to understand: enforcement does not mean an arrest or issuance of a citation. The goal is compliance, not punishment.

b.      Police will take proactive enforcement action if there are ongoing violations of a similar nature that either:

                                 i.            Are indicative via professional analysis of contributing to criminal activity or the perception of criminal activity, or

                               ii.            Are the subject of repeated and extensive complaints from residents, visitors, or business owners. Professional analysis has revealed that in 2012, police received 24 complaints about code violations on the beachfront. Nine of those were related to boating violations. That leaves about one complaint per month for other violations, and I believe most would agree that does not constitute repeated or extensive.

c.       Some have suggested that police should enforce ALL code violations regardless of complaints. This is simply not possible. There are thousands of codes. An officer would never make it to the end of a single street if he were to stop, investigate, issue a citation, and complete a report for every single violation he saw. It would be possible to find a code violation of some kind on nearly every property in the city. We must prioritize based on complaints.

d.      Some have suggested that we should prioritize enforcement based on priorities established by the City Council via the passing of new ordinances. While I agree that the sitting council has authority to set priorities, I do not agree that the simple act of passing a new law should establish that law as the enforcement priority. To suggest that new ordinance are somehow more important than existing ordinances, absent some specific direction otherwise, is disrespectful to those (many of whom are still residents) who worked hard to see those laws passed in the first place. In deploying police resources, I will always take my direction from the city council via the city manager, but I will not assume that each new law passed should become our priority.

Concern #2: Police spend very little time patrolling the beach area.

On average, the beachfront area is patrolled four to six times per twelve-hour shift. This does not include patrols by me or either of the two lieutenants. I personally conduct a beach patrol four to five times per week. In total, there were 1,616 logs documenting police activity on Shore Blvd. in 2012.

Concern #3: Police have not done enough to address violations committed by certain children residing in the beachfront area.

While it would be inappropriate to name the children in this blog, the fact is that GPD officers have taken eight offense reports in 2012 regarding these specific children. In each case where the youth have been identified as a suspect in a criminal incident, the officer made an arrest and/or notified the parents. Appropriate referrals to the juvenile court and to the state department of juvenile justice have been made. We have done everything within the authority of the law, and we will continue to do so.

I hope I’ve been able to get some good information out to the public regarding enforcement of code violations on the beachfront. If you would like more information, or if you have additional concerns, please call or e-mail me.

Thank you.

Where Was I Last Week?

I worked most of last week for the City of Auburndale. On Gulfport’s dime. Yes, that’s correct, but before you call for my termination, let me explain.

Since 2000, the Gulfport Police Department has been an accredited law enforcement agency. For most of that time, I have been serving as an assessor for the accreditation commission. That means that, once or twice a year, I go to other agencies and work as part of a team of three who conduct an in-depth review to ensure that policies and operations are in line with industry best practices.

The assessment team evaluates compliance with hundreds of standards covering everything from employment and discipline practices to evidence collection and storage. Typically, the agency being evaluated pays for lodging and per diem, while the assessor’s employing agency pays the salary during the time of the assessment. This is a mutual arrangement in that, when GPD is up for review, we get our assessors the same way.

To be clear, there is no obligation for Gulfport to provide assessors to other agencies; it’s a completely voluntary move on our part, and we would get our assessors even if we didn’t return the favor. So why do it? Well, other than the fact that it’s the right thing to do, there are tremendous operational benefits. Every time I return from an assessment, I have a list in hand of things I want to look at back home. The diversity of people and places in this state mean that there are many, many variations on how to get the job done. If I were to rely solely on my own experiences here in Gulfport, I would be severely limiting my opportunities.

In this case, for example, I am “stealing” from Auburndale their forms for documenting employee orientation and for providing notice to an employee about an internal affairs investigation. Theirs are the best I’ve seen in my years of doing assessments, and I want to use them to improve our own processes.

I do not limit this exposure to my own office. To ensure that this kind of knowledge reaches our police department on a broader level, I require that both of my lieutenants serve as accreditation assessors as well. Between the three of us, we visit between five and six other law enforcement agencies every year. This keeps us up to speed on how things are being done around the state, and it opens up contacts and resources that prove beneficial on a regular basis.

Accreditation is a tremendously valuable program in other ways as well. Some have argued against it, suggesting that a good police administrator could do the same things without the fancy name and expense. I suppose there is some truth to this. I could simply tell you that GPD is a professional agency with up-to-date policies, well-trained personnel, and procedures for accountability. Or, you could hear it from an independent team of experts whose report is vetted publicly by a commission of government executives. No matter the perspective, there is much more value in the latter of these two alternatives.

The accreditation process also establishes a very good system of checklists and reminders that make it much easier for me to ensure that we are doing things the right way. Without them, I would need extra staff to develop and keep track of audits, inspections, personnel actions, and litany of other behind-the-scenes activities that ensure you, the citizens, are getting the best service possible for the least possible cost.

Gulfport just completed an assessment earlier this year, and we were awarded our fourth reaccreditation certificate. We will be assessed again in February of 2015. When that time comes, if we prove once again that we have complied with the standards and our policies, GPD will become one of a very few in the state recognized as an “excelsior” law enforcement agency. To qualify, an agency must be reaccredited five consecutive times without conditions. Such recognition is the result of no less than sixteen years’ work and commitment to professionalism.

We will be working hard toward achieving this goal in 2015. In the mean time, please let me know of your thoughts on the accreditation process and what it means to you.

Benefits of Local Policing

Since John C. White was appointed city marshal in 1910, Gulfport has had its own officers patrolling the city. Some are wondering if that’s soon to change. In case you haven’t heard the news, St. Pete Beach residents recently voted by an approximate 60/40 margin to allow the city commission to contract law enforcement services to an outside agency. As that vote was taking place, the Gulfport City Council directed its city attorney to draft an ordinance that would strengthen the standing of the police department in Gulfport. With all this going on, lots of people have been asking for my opinion. I thought I would make it easy and just put my thoughts here on the old blog.

First, we should ask why there are so many local police departments in the first place. This kind of arrangement is fairly unique to the United States. Most other countries rely on national or regional police agencies. Here, the founding fathers made it clear that they wanted as much control as possible to be in the hands of the smallest governments possible. They wanted the people, and not the big governments, to have the power. This was the birth of the home rule concept, and local police departments are the most visible embodiment of its application.

“Home Rule” means that the elected body of government for a municipality gets to independently (within the law) determine the direction and application of its resources. The input of the council and administration on these subjects directly affects the well-being of the residents, as well as the reputation of the city as a whole. When it comes to the police department, here are some examples of precisely what that means:

• Professionalism—Is the law enforcement agency accredited? What are the officer selection standards in terms of education, background, etc? What is the commitment to training employees
• Operational risk—What sort of weapons do the officers use-rifles, tazers, chemicals, rubber bullets? To what extent are officers permitted to use intermediate weapons? What is the vehicle pursuit policy?
• Tolerance—what are the enforcement priorities, and how strictly are laws and local regulations enforced?

Regardless of which agency provides law enforcement service, the above factors affect the reputation of the city as a whole. For example, visitors will recall how they are treated by the law enforcement during their trip to Gulfport, and it will not matter what the patch on the uniform says (many won’t even notice or recall). The reputation of the agency has a direct and powerful effect on the reputation of the city, and when the law enforcement services are outsourced, the city has little influence over the agency’s reputation. 

Aside from these broad and far-reaching aspects, maintaining a local police department has more tangible and direct benefits to the residents, businesses, and visitors in the community. Here are some examples:

• The chief of police is involved in the community. When I spend hours every week engaging with residents, business owners, and community leaders, and when I routinely participate in community events, I build on a nearly twenty year history of direct involvement with Gulfport. That translates directly into how I set priorities and policies for the entire agency. 
• Because I serve as the chief of the Gulfport Police Department and not simply as a command officer from another agency, I have the power to influence other decision-making entities directly on behalf of the residents of Gulfport. I hold influential positions on the Pinellas Police Standards Council, Tampa Bay Area Chiefs of Police Association, Florida Police Chiefs Association, and law enforcement accreditation authorities. In these capacities, I help to ensure that state and regional policies and best practices are established and maintained with representation from OUR city.
• Gulfport police officers have an average tenure that fluctuates between eight and ten years IN THE CITY. This means that they have extensive knowledge of the people, places, and politics that influence day to day life in the city. This knowledge gives them a tremendous advantage in recognizing problems, setting response and enforcement priorities, identifying criminal perpetrators, recovering stolen property, and more.
• The people have direct and efficient access to decision-making authorities. Those with complaints or concerns can easily meet with the chief of police to share ideas or request a grievance. My time is committed to the City of Gulfport and the city’s residents are always my priority.
• The people have more influence over decision-making authorities. Decisions about policy, personnel actions, equipment, training, and every other aspect of police operations are made entirely by local officials whose interests lie with Gulfport’s 13,000 residents and not the other 986,000 residents of the county. When a resident comes to my office to express a concern, I take into consideration how my response and concurrent decision will affect Gulfport, understanding that my job is subject to the wishes of the people of Gulfport and not Palm Harbor, for example.

Readers should not take away from this message any disparaging or negative opinions of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office or any other law enforcement agency. Sheriff Gualtieri runs an outstanding agency with men and women dedicated to professionalism and service to the residents of Pinellas. My message in this blog post is simply to explain that there are many powerful benefits for a city to maintain its own independent law enforcement.

Before I close, I would like to thank the council and city manager for maintaining a working relationship that allows and encourages me to share my thoughts and ideas directly and publicly in a forum such as this. I’ve learned from colleagues that this is often not the case. 

As always, I do welcome and encourage your feedback.