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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-23-15 MINUTES OF THE CITIZEN ADVISORY COUNCIL OF THE OCOEE POLICE DEPARTMENT MEETING HELD JULY 23, 2015 CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Laney called the meeting to order at 7:01. p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Hall, located at 150 N. Lakeshore Drive. Chairperson Laney led the invocation and Vice - Chairperson Santana led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, the roll was called, and a quorum was declared. PRESENT: Member Ball, Chairperson Laney, Vice - Chairperson Santana, Member Clark, and Member Titus. Also present were Staff - Liaison Sgt. Bryan Pace and Recording Clerk Garza. ABSENT: Member Zielinski (excused) Member Alcuri (unexcused), and Member Watson (unexcused). Approval of Minutes from the April 23, 2015 Meeting Member Clark made a motion to approve the minutes from April 23, 2015, seconded by Vice - Chair Santana. Motion passed unanimously. Welcome New Member Renee Watson Chairperson Laney asks the board members if someone knows Member Watson and Member Clark replies she knows her; she works for Fifth Third Bank and is on vacation. Discussions ensued. Recording Clerk Garza explains there was a mistake on the Agenda for the April 23, 2015 Meeting which read Approval of Minutes from the October 23, 2014 Meeting; it should have read Approval of Minutes from the January 22, 2015 Meeting. The minutes approved on the April 23, 2015 Meeting are in fact the Minutes from the January 22, 2015 Meeting. Budget Update Chairperson Laney asks for an update on the budget but since Rob McKey was the Treasurer and he resigned, she continues to ask if the board is able to elect a new treasurer today. Recording Clerk Garza replies it cannot be done at this time since there has to be a one week prior notice to all board members. Chairperson Laney continues by asking this be added to the Agenda for the next meeting. Discussions ensued. The budget update is tabled to the next meeting. Update on Gun Safety Class, and S.A.F.E. Staff - Liaison Sgt. Bryan Pace tells the board members there were 23 people who attended the last Gun Safety Class and the date for the next one is still not set. The last S.A.F.E. Class had 20 attendees, and the next class is scheduled for August 19; the June class was cancelled due to the update to the Police Department's mobile reporting system. Chairperson Laney asks if there are many teens registered for the Teen Academy and Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace replies he does not have that information since he is taking Sgt. Iannuzzi's place for this meeting. Discussions ensued. CACOPD Meeting July 23, 2015 Neighborhood Restorative Justice Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace tells the board members he does not have an update; however he was told there is always the need for volunteers. Chairperson Laney says she was under the impression that as of July 1, 2015 changes to the legislature would affect how juvenile offenders are handled and would like more information; Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace replies he has no information concerning these changes. Update on Neighborhood Safety Summit Chairperson Laney states she is working on it and at this time there is nothing to report. Update on Community Picnic Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace informs the board members the picnic was a huge success and by far, the largest one; the intentions are to have the next one at the same location or at Tiger Minor Park. Chairperson Laney tells the board members she heard there were 400 people at the event and Staff - Liaison Sgt. Bryan Pace adds it may be attributed to the location, the publicity, social media and the marquees on the road. Member Titus says he attended the community picnic and there was a huge crowd; many prizes were given away such as televisions and gift certificates. Discussions ensued. Vice -Chair Santana states the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner was very nice and Chairperson Laney adds hopefully everyone from the board can attend next year's. Discussions ensued. Update on Coffee with a Cop Chairperson Laney thanks Member Titus for attending this event and continues by saying she does not believe this one was as well attended as the last one. She adds she invited Mr. Carlos Morales from the Consumer Fraud Unit who brought a lot of literature and information. Discussions ensued. Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace adds he does not have a date for the next Coffee with a Cop and Chairperson Laney asks members be notified by email when the date has been set to attend. Update on Kicks for Guns Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace states this event is scheduled for August 20, 2015 from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; he continues by saying the number of guns recovered has been declining. Chairperson Laney asks why is this event named Kicks for Guns to which Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace replies he does not know why but the program consists of giving gift cards in exchange for firearms and sometimes some of the firearms turned in are stolen. Discussions ensued. Vice - Chairperson Santana asks if BB guns are accepted to which Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace replies it is only firearms. He continues by saying he is not sure about the location yet but will ask Sgt. Iannuzzi to email the information when she gets back. Update on the Citizens' Public Safety Academy Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace informs the board members Commissioners Wilsen and Grogan, and Mayor Vandergrift attended the graduation. He continues by saying Cpl. Mullan was awarded the most entertaining presenter. Chairperson Laney tells Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace that in the past the C.A.C.O.P.D. members have been invited to the graduation to talk to the attendees about the C.A.C.O.P.D., and to bring brochures; she would like board members be invited to the next one. 2 CACOPD Meeting July 23, 2015 Causes to Support Chairperson Laney brings forth three ideas for the board members to consider, and she continues by saying she has a DVD for a movie called the Cokeville Miracle and suggests the board members get together to watch it; it is about police responding to a bomb threat at an elementary school. Another suggestion is to go to a new attraction called Crime Scene Investigation where groups of people get to solve a murder. She believes this would be an opportunity for team building. Vice -Chair Santana agrees and maybe some of the money in the budget can be used towards an outing. Discussions ensued. Chairperson Laney says another possible cause to support could be Global Positioning Systems (G.P.S.) for seniors. Maybe the C.A.C.O.P.D. can find unused G.P.S. devices to donate to seniors and Member Clark says she thinks it is going to be hard to get the G.P.S. devices without giving something in return, just like the Kicks for Guns program. Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace adds it is technology that seniors will have to learn. Discussions ensued. Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace further tells the board members there is a new part to the S.A.F.E. program called R.A.D. which is a more physical training than just the awareness of your surroundings. The Ocoee Police Department needs three suits and gear for participants; each suit and gear costs $250.00, and also the instructor's suit and gear. There is also the S.T.A.R.S. backpack program for kids in need of school supplies. (Mayor Scott Vandergrift and his assistant, Maria Vargas, arrive at 7:29 p.m.) Chairperson Laney greets Mayor Vandergrift and asks him to have seat and talk for a moment. She further explains the C.A.C.O.P.D. would like to present him with something for his upcoming retirement and asks him to tell the members how he got involved in politics and if he would like to share some of his experiences as Mayor of the City of Ocoee. Mayor Vandergrift shares some of his experiences with the board members. Chairperson Laney asks who is in charge of the Chaplains and Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace replies it is Sgt. Berish but is unaware of who are the current chaplains; Chairperson Laney suggests it would be a good idea to have Sgt. Berish or one of the chaplains come to a meeting and explain what they do. Mayor Vandergrift and his assistant, Maria Vargas, keep sharing their experiences with board members. Chairperson Laney tells the Mayor he is very much appreciated and presents him with a certificate from the C.A.C.O.P.D. members to show their appreciation for his years in public service. Member Clark also presents the Mayor with a City of Ocoee flag. (At 7:50 p.m. Mayor Vandergrift and his assistant, Maria, leave). Chairperson Laney retakes the subject of the R.A.D. suits and asks how much money is left in the budget to sponsor backpacks and the suits to which Recording Clerk Garza replies $650.00. Vice Chair Santana asks Staff Liaison Sgt. Pace what is the cost of the suits and he replies $250 each for the participant, and $12.00 for each filled backpack. Vice -Chair Santana made a motion to sponsor 8 backpacks and one participant suit, seconded by Member Clark. Discussions ensued. Vice -Chair Santana amended the motion to sponsor two participant suits in the amount of $500.00 and $144.00 to purchase 12 S.T.A.R.S. backpacks (6 male and 6 female), seconded by Member Clark. Motion passed unanimously. Discussions ensued. Update on Promotional C.A.C.O.P.D. video 3 CACOPD Meeting July 23, 2015 Tabled to the next meeting. Officer of the Quarter Award Chairperson Laney asks all the board members if they have read the nomination, although there is only one, a motion is still needed. Member Ball made a motion to select the Officer in Nomination #1 as the Officer of the Second Quarter 2015, seconded by Member Clark. Motion passed unanimously. Recording Clerk Garza revealed the name of the officer as Detective Loretta Ganoe. Chairperson Laney encourages board members to attend the Commission Meeting when Detective Ganoe gets presented with this award. Activity Report Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace informs the board members there were nearly 12,000 calls for service from April 15 to June 15, including 362 traffic crashes, 55 hit and runs and the data does not show any specific patterns. There was a rise in home burglaries in the area of Johio Shores and officers used an unmarked car to patrol the area; they were able to stop a vehicle that did not match the area and had three occupants with criminal histories, including burglary, and one had an expired driver license. The officers may have prevented more burglaries from happening with that one traffic stop. Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace also adds graffiti has been located in the area of Good Homes Plaza moving towards the West Oaks Mall and the Police Department has been conducting extra patrol in the area. Chairperson Laney asks if taggers or tags are indicative of gang activity to which Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace replies it can be but he has not seen the graffiti yet. Discussions ensued. Vice - Chairperson Santana asks if the Starke Lake area is being patrolled since there are people drinking at the park and he is concerned with the youth and people visiting the park getting exposed to that. Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace replies he is not aware of how it is being handled since he is the Accreditations Sergeant but will ask Sgt. Iannuzzi to bring the information for next meeting. Discussions ensued on using vacant patrol cars parked in strategic areas to deter crime. Chairperson Laney asks if there have been any bank robberies lately and Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace says he does not recall any happening recently. Discussions ensued. Vice - Chairperson Santana says he would like to see statistics that reflect how neighboring cities affect crime in the City of Ocoee and what is the Police Department doing about it; this will also help by informing the homeowners' associations. Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace replies the detectives have a monthly meeting with the surrounding agencies to share information of the criminal activities in Apopka, Winter Garden, Pine Hills, and other surrounding areas. Chairperson Laney asks about harassing phone calls and how is it possible in the age of caller identification, and Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace explains there are many options, such as pay as you go type phones and other applications; it is not uncommon. Sometimes it is kids playing on the phone, other times it can be an ex. There are scams out there where people call posing as the IRS or the Power Company, etc. Vice- Chairperson Santana also adds it is also a good idea to teach people to keep a record of serial numbers for electronics and, especially guns, that can later assist in the recovery of stolen property and also asks if the board can get information of any recovered guns at the Kicks for Guns event. Chairperson Laney asks if the Ocoee Police Department enforces or arrests people for not paying child support and Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace replies although we may issue the warrants, Orange County Sheriff s Office serve the warrants and are not necessarily classified as such. Discussions ensued. 4 CACOPD Meeting July 23, 2015 Set Next Agenda Chairperson Laney asks members to support the Founders' Day Festival by volunteering in the C.A.C.O.P.D. tent giving out information and flyers. A. Welcome New Member Renee Watson B. Budget Update C. Election of Treasurer D. Update on Gun Safety and S.A.F.E. Class E. Update on Neighborhood Restorative Justice F. Update on Neighborhood Safety Summit G. Coffee with Cop H. Update on Kicks for Guns I. Update on the Citizens' Public Safety Academy J. Poker Run K. Causes to Support L. Update on Promotional C.A.C.O.P.D video M. Officer of the Quarter Award N. Parade Application for Christmas O. Set Next Agenda Member Ball asks who is in charge of the accreditation process now that Sgt. Conyers retired and Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace replies he is in charge of Accreditations full time; it is a long and tedious process. There are over 260 Standards that have to be met and this involves reviewing current policies; some are old and have to be brought up to date to meet the standard or a new one has to be written to meet the standard. He adds one third of the process consists of the policy writing, the second third is acquiring supporting documentation, which requires collaboration from other units. The last third of it is uploading the new documentation for the assessor to review followed by the approval process. Some turn into projects of data gathering and such. This is why it is difficult to put a timeline on it but it is moving along. Chairperson Laney would like to know who is retiring so the C.A.C.O.P.D. can give a card to that person, or if there are any significant events as well. Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace tells the board members Deputy Chief will be retiring in October after 30 years of service. Discussions ensued. Member Ball asks about the removal of the red light Camera on Blackwood and who is the hearing officer. Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace replies he does not know who the hearing officer is and knows the camera on Blackwood is temporarily disconnected. Recording Clerk Garza adds the hearing officer is Andrew Hand and says the red light camera on Blackwood is temporarily removed due to the road construction on Colonial Drive. Chairperson Laney asks about security at the mall and Staff - Liaison Sgt. Pace replies he knows there is off duty security but Sgt. Iannuzzi will be better able to provide information. Meeting Adjourned at 8:32 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, VL Madeleine Garza, Recording Clerk Victoria Laney, Chairperson 5