[Public Safety on March 7, 2023.]
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IT IS ONE OH ONE, AND I'LL CALL TO ORDER THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING FOR MARCH 7TH, 2023.
THE FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM FEBRUARY 13TH.
IS THERE A MOTION COLLEAGUES ON THE COMMITTEE? IS THERE A MOTION FOR OUR MINUTES?
ANY OPPOSED? THE MINUTES ARE PASSED.
WE WILL NOW MOVE TO THE FIRST ITEM ON OUR BRIEFING AGENDA, ITEM B, WHICH IS THE VIOLENT CRIME REDUCTION PLAN.
MR. CHAIR MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, I WANT TO WELCOME THE DALLAS POLICE AND IPSS TEAM TO THE, UH, DIAS SO THEY CAN PROVIDE THIS MONTH'S UPDATE TO THE VIOLENT CRIME REDUCTION PLAN AND MAJOR SCOGGINS.
WE'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU WHEN YOU'RE READY.
MAY NEED TO PULL THAT A LITTLE CLOSER TO YOU.
LIKE MR. FORTUNE SAID, THE VIOLENT CRIME, UH, REDUCTION UPDATE.
UH, WE'RE GONNA START OFF TALKING ABOUT THE, UH, GRID CRIME, AND THEN HOW THE GRID IMPACT RESULTS, THE OVERALL CRIME.
THEN WE'RE GONNA MOVE INTO THE CRIME TRENDS, AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE VIOLENT CRIME WITH MURDER, UH, ROBBERY AG ASSAULTS.
THEN WE'LL FINISH IT UP WITH, UH, SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.
MR. ODEN IS HERE FOR, UH, INTEGRATED PUBLIC SAFETY SOLUTIONS.
AND THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT SOME NEXT STEPS.
SO, THIS IS OUR, UH, CRIME ON THE GRIDS.
NO MURDERS, ROBBERIES OF BUSINESS.
UH, OVERALL, WE'RE LOOKING, WE'RE LOOKING PRETTY GOOD.
I BELIEVE IT'S 11, 11 OFFENSES DOWN OVERALL.
WE'RE STILL COMBATING SOME OF THE RISING CRIME THAT HAPPENED IN JANUARY, BUT I BELIEVE WE'VE KIND OF EVENED IT OUT, AS YOU'LL SEE HERE IN A MINUTE.
UH, OVERALL VIOLENT CRIME RIGHT NOW STILL SITS AT AN INCREASE OF 6.63%, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS, WE'RE OVER 35% DOWN IN BUSINESS ROBBERIES, INDIVIDUAL ROBBERIES, TOTAL ROBBERIES, THEY'RE ALL DOWN.
WE CAN GO TO THE CRIME TRENDS.
LAST MONTH, WE DISCUSSED HOW THE CRIME TRENDS LOOKED DIFFERENT.
UH, WE IMPLEMENTED SOME EFFORTS, UH, DEPLOYED OFFICERS IN CERTAIN AREAS.
INVESTIGATORS WORKED THEIR TAILS OFF, AND THIS MONTH IT WE'RE GETTING IT GOING BACK IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THIS SLIDE RIGHT HERE, THIS IS THE VICTIM COUNT, LESS VICTIMS NOW, AND IT'S DROPPED BELOW THE, UH, DROP BELOW THE, UH, TREND LINE.
AND NOW IT'S LOOKING RELATIVELY SIMILAR, WHICH IS WHAT WE WANT.
THIS IS THE INCIDENT COUNT, AND THE INCIDENTS ARE GOING DOWN.
WE'RE STILL UP ALMOST 14%, AND THAT TRANSLATES TO FIVE MORE VICTIMS, UH, THAN THIS TIME LAST YEAR.
AND WE'RE STILL HAVING OUR HOMICIDES PRETTY MUCH BEING DRIVEN BY ARGUMENTS, CONFLICTS, DISAGREEMENTS, UH, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
AS I HIT ON A SECOND AGO, OUR ROBBERIES, UH, THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE PRESENTATION SO FAR.
UH, WE HAVE 51 LESS VICTIMS THIS YEAR THAN WHAT WE DID LAST YEAR, WHICH TRANSLATES TO A 13.71% DROP IN, UH, THAT CATEGORY.
AND BUSINESS ROBBERIES OVER 35%, AND IT'S 31 LESS VICTIMS. NEXT SLIDE.
UH, WE'RE STILL SEEING AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS WHERE ONE INCIDENT, MULTIPLE VICTIMS. UM, IF WE LOOK AT DECEMBER AND JANUARY, WE HAD OVER 50 INCIDENTS WHERE IT HAD THREE OR MORE VICTIMS
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INVOLVED IN EACH INCIDENT.UH, FEBRUARY THAT WENT FROM, LET'S SEE, JANUARY IS 54 INCIDENTS.
UH, FEBRUARY DROPPED DOWN TO 41 INCIDENTS, SO SIGNIFICANTLY LESS.
AND THAT'S WHY THE TREND LINES STARTED GOING, UH, BACK IN THE, UM, DECREASING DIRECTION.
OUR NORTHEAST NPOS HOSTED A, HOSTED A, UH, GATHERING WITH APARTMENT MANAGERS.
UH, HAD A REALLY GOOD ATTENDANCE, UH, THERE.
AND BASICALLY IT WAS, UH, MEANT TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS, UM, WITH OTHER APARTMENT MANAGERS.
UM, BASICALLY SHARE INFORMATION, WHICH THEY HAVEN'T REALLY BEEN DOING.
SO THEY WERE TAUGHT, YOU KNOW, SHARE EVICTIONS, CUZ IF SOMEONE GETS EVICTED AT ONE APARTMENT COMPLEX, THEY GO TO ANOTHER ONE.
AND SO IT'S IN IT'S GOOD INFORMATION TO HAVE, SO THAT IF YOU'RE TRYING TO CLEAN UP YOUR APARTMENT COMPLEX, THEN YOU WOULDN'T ALLOW SOMEONE WHO GOT KICKED OUT OF ANOTHER ONE INTO YOURS.
UM, UM, OFFICERS, UH, MORE ACCESS TO RENT ROLES, UH, WHICH DOES HELP US OUT ON A INVESTIGATIVE LEVEL AND OTHER LEVEL WHEN LOOKING AT, UH, A CRIME ASPECT.
UH, CERTAIN PROPERTIES, IT, IT DOES HELP OUT TO HAVE ACCESS TO RENT ROLL, ESPECIALLY WHEN CRIME IS FOCUSED ON ONE SPECIFIC APARTMENT.
AGAIN, THAT'S A GOOD INVESTIGATIVE TOOL.
UH, THEY WERE TAUGHT HOW TO NETWORK WITH EACH OTHER, UM, AND WE JUST GAVE UP SOME GOOD ADVICE AND PROVIDED THE ATMOSPHERE FOR IT.
AT THIS POINT, I, I'D TURN IT OVER TO MR. KEVIN ODEN, UH, WITH INTEGRATED PUBLIC SAFETY SOLUTIONS.
UH, HONORABLE CHAIR MEMBERS AND MR. DEPUTY CITY MANAGER TO UPDATE YOU ON THE WORK OF THE INTEGRATED PUBLIC SAFETY TEAM.
WE ARE CONTINUING TO SEE, UH, LOWER CALLS FOR SERVICE AND CRIMINAL OFFENSES IN FOUR OF A FIVE CURRENT WRIST TERRAIN AREAS.
THESE ARE AREAS WHERE THERE ARE MULTIPLE HIGH RISK CELLS THAT COME TOGETHER.
UH, ONE OF THE EXAMPLES I WOULD GIVE YOU IS THE NORTHWEST DALLAS LOMBARDI, UH, WEB CHAPEL AREA.
THESE ARE LARGE AREAS WHERE WE'RE WORKING, UH, WITH, WITH SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPE OF ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, ISSUES IN THEM.
I ALSO WANNA UPDATE THE COMMITTEE.
UH, AS WE MET LAST MONTH, THERE WERE 50 OF OUR CITY STAFF BETWEEN D P D IPS CODE AND THE, AND THE COMMUNITY PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS THAT TOOK CRIME PREVENTION THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN AS A TRAINING, AND ARE NOW CERTIFIED IN THE ABILITY TO DO THOSE ASSESSMENTS AT HIGH RISK PROPERTIES.
AND THAT ONLY HELPS OUR ABILITY TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLEMENT THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AT PROPERTIES WITH, UM, RISK BEHAVIORS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM.
FOR OUR NUISANCE ABATEMENT UNIT, IN FEBRUARY OF 23, WE INVESTIGATED 85 PROPERTIES AND HAD 67 PROPERTY OWNER CONTACTS.
AND THEN TO UPDATE THE COMMITTEE, UH, NEW THIS MONTH ON OUR CURRENT RISK DRAIN MODEL, THERE ARE CURRENTLY 1800 HIGH RISK CITY BLOCKS THAT ARE IDENTIFIED IN OUR CITY.
IN THOSE 1800 CITY BLOCKS, THERE ARE 104 PUBLIC SAFETY NUISANCE PROPERTIES.
THAT IS OUR SEPTE ORDINANCE THAT ORIGINATED OUT OF THIS COMMITTEE.
IN TOTAL, 3% OF THE LAND AREA OF THE CITY ACCOUNTS FOR 21% OF THE VIOLENT CRIME.
THAT'S WHAT THE RISK TERRAIN MODEL TELLS US, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING EVERY DAY TO TRY TO TURN AROUND SOME OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN THAT LAND AREA.
ON OUR URBAN BLIGHT ABATEMENT, WE IDENTIFIED 191 TOTAL SUBSTANDARD STRUCTURE CASES.
UH, AT THOSE 82 OF THOSE A HUNDRED AND, UH, 91 PROPERTIES HAD CODE VIOLATIONS, UH, ASSOCIATED WITH THEM.
AND EITHER THROUGH VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE OF OWNERS OR THE CITY INTERVENTION, THERE WERE 864 TOTAL CODE VIOLATIONS REMEDIATED.
UH, AS PART OF THIS PROCESS ON THE OUTDOOR PUBLIC LIGHTING IMPROVEMENTS, WE, UH, INSTALLED 167, UH, NEW IMPROVEMENTS.
THOSE ARE UPGRADES TO L E D ON EXISTING POLES, AND WE ARE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH TRANSPORTATION ON DOING LIGHTING ASSESSMENTS AND UPGRADES AROUND ALL OF THOSE 104 PUBLIC SAFETY NUISANCE PROPERTIES THAT WERE LISTED.
SO THERE WILL BE ADDITIONAL LIGHTING UPGRADES AND PURCHASES THAT COME OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.
ON COMMUNITY VIOLENCE INTERVENTION, UH, WE HAD 204 MENTORING CONTACTS AND 66 CONFIRMED SOCIAL SERVICE
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REFERRALS FOR INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE LIVING IN HIGH CRIME PROPERTIES.AND I WANT TO NOTE THE, UH, OUR TEAM AS WELL AS THE APARTMENT COMMUNITIES TEAM THAT ORGANIZED AND SCHEDULED A CLEANUP OF OVER 400 POUNDS OF TRASH AT THE 35 50 EAST OVERTON PROPERTY.
WE ACTUALLY HAD, UH, RESIDENTS FROM THE COMPLEX COME OUT AND JOIN US TO HELP TAKE BACK, SHOW OWNERSHIP AND, AND CLEAN UP AROUND THE PROPERTY.
AND, AND THIS IS SOME OF THE WORK THAT THE ACT TEAM IS DOING DAY IN AND DAY OUT AT, AT VARIOUS PROPERTIES.
AND THEN FINALLY, TO UPDATE THE COMMITTEE ON THE APARTMENT COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE, UH, ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THIS SLIDE IS, IS OUR DATA INFORMED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OR DICE MODEL.
I DON'T THINK WE'VE, WE'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO DOWN WHAT THAT MODEL LOOKS LIKE.
UH, BUT THIS IS WHAT I, PS STAFF AND OUR APARTMENT COMMUNITIES TEAM AND OUR NUISANCE ABATEMENT UNIT FOLLOW WHEN WE TAKE ON NEW PROPERTIES.
AND, UM, WE'VE CLOSED OUT SOME WORK AT THREE DIFFERENT SITES.
UH, ACTUALLY YESTERDAY WE PROVIDED CHAIRMAN ATKINS OUR REPORT ON THE SIMPSON STEWART AND BONVIEW AREA, WHERE THERE WERE SEVERAL, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS MADE THERE, AS WELL AS LOWERING RISK OF CRIME IN THE AREA.
UH, WE HAVE ALSO CLOSED OUT AN APARTMENT COMPLEX IN THE 3,300 BLOCK OF LOMBARDI LANE, UH, WHERE WE WERE HAVING SIGNIFICANT BREAK-IN ISSUES, AS WELL AS SOME QUALITY OF LIFE CONCERNS.
UH, AND WE'VE ALSO CLOSED OUT THE 35 35 BLOCK OF WEB CHAPEL, UH, WHICH WAS AN AREA THAT WE WERE HAVING SIGNIFICANT, UH, CODE VIOLATION CONCERNS ON OUR 104 NUISANCE, UH, PROPERTIES IN THE CITY.
UH, THERE ARE FOUR WE ARE CURRENTLY ASSESSING, AND ANOTHER 16, UH, THAT WE WILL, UH, BEGIN WORKING.
AND I'LL BRING YOU THAT LIST IN THE NEXT MONTH AS WE START THAT PROCESS OUT.
UH, BUT I WANT TO TELL THE COMMITTEE THAT ALL OF THE HIGH-RISK PROPERTIES IN THE CITY ARE BEING ASSIGNED.
THERE IS A PROCESS THAT HAS BEEN BUILT THAT INTEGRATES OUR WORK, THE ACT TEAM'S, WORK, COMMUNITY, PROSECUTORS, AND CODE TOGETHER WHERE WE CAN WORK THESE HIGH CRIME PROPERTIES AND, AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY, SIR.
AS FAR AS OUR CRIME PLANNING AND NEXT STEPS, UH, WE'RE ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH, UH, PHASE EIGHT OF OUR GRIDS, UH, WHICH THEY BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 1ST.
UH, AGAIN, WE'RE WORKING 50 GRIDS, OUR P AND I ASPECT, UH, OUR TEAMS ARE STILL OUT THERE EVERY DAY DOING AWESOME THINGS.
UM, RECENT EXAMPLE, UH, I GIVE YOU IS 11 6 11 FERGUSON ROAD MANAGEMENT CONTACTED OUR OFFICERS, UH, OF A DRUG COMPLAINT, PROBLEMS GOING ON, SPECIFIC APARTMENT, UH, INVESTIGATIVE MEASURES, UH, WERE TAKEN.
AND BASICALLY, LONG STORY SHORT, UH, THEY SET UP ON THE APARTMENT.
UH, ONCE THEY CONFIRMED THE SUSPICIONS AND HAD ENOUGH PROBABLE CAUSE, THEY USED, UH, OUR SWAT TO RUN A SEARCH WARRANT.
AND RESULT OF THAT SEARCH WARRANT, THEY RECOVERED THREE GUNS.
ONE WAS A LONG RIFLE, UH, MARIJUANA, COCAINE, METHAMPHETAMINES, OXYCODONE PILLS, UH, AND OTHER ASSORTED PILLS, AND I BELIEVE SOME SYRUP.
UM, HE WAS ALSO A DOCUMENTED GANG MEMBER.
SO THIS CASE WILL GO FOR FEDERAL CONSIDERATION AS WELL.
UH, AGAIN, WHY DO WE BRING THIS STUFF UP? IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A DIFFERENT WAY OF DOING POLICE WORK.
THE OLD STYLE POLICE WORK IS YOU KNOCK ON THE DOOR AND YOU GET IT FIGURED OUT FROM THERE.
UH, THIS STYLE TIME IS ON YOUR SIDE.
YOU USE PROPER INVESTIGATIVE SKILLS, AND YOU DON'T CHALLENGE, UM, UNTIL YOU HAVE EVERYTHING READY TO GO.
AND THEN YOU DO IT AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE WITH THE PROPER PEOPLE THAT HAVE THE PROPER TOOLS LIKE SWAT OR NARCOTICS OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES.
SO OUR, OUR PEOPLE ARE OUT THERE DOING AN AWESOME JOB EVERY DAY.
UM, AND LOOKING AT OUR FOCUS DETERRENCE ASPECT, WE ARE GOING FORWARD, UH, FULL STEAM AHEAD.
WE'RE STILL HAVING MEETINGS, STILL DOING THE PLANNING STAGES.
UM, WITHIN THIS PAST MONTH, WE'VE HAD MEETINGS WITH OTHER, UH, CITY DEPARTMENTS, UH, THAT INCLUDES THE RE-ENTRY PROGRAM, UH, AND THESE MEETINGS.
UH, WE ALSO HAD THE UTSA RESEARCHERS COME UP TO BE INCLUDED IN THESE MEETINGS.
UH, VERY SUCCESSFUL, SUCCESSFUL DAY, GOT A LOT OF THINGS DONE.
UM, WE ALSO HAD MEETINGS WITH, UH, PROBATION, UH, DALLAS COUNTY PROBATION, AND THE TEXAS STATE PAROLE BOARD AS WELL.
UH, AT THIS TIME FOR CLOSING REMARKS, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO CHIEF GARCIA.
PRIOR TO CHIEF GARCIA MAKING HIS FINAL COMMENTS.
JUST TO FURTHER ILLUSTRATE THE COMMITMENT BY D P D, THE MEN AND WOMEN ALSO IN OUR INVESTIGATIVE UNIT IN REGARDS TO THE VIOLENT CRIME IN OUR CITY.
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STILL COMMITTING TO THE FIDELITY OF THE PLAN.UH, AFTER ANY MAJOR INCIDENT, WE DO ANALYZE THE INCIDENT.
WE UNDERSCORED, WE TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S THE ROOT CAUSE AND WHAT ARE THOSE UNDERLYING CONDITIONS, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE HAVE SINGLE INCIDENTS THAT'LL HAVE MULTIPLE VICTIMS. UM, THAT IS ONE THING THAT ACTUALLY DRIVES OUR CRIME HERE IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
AND SO TO KIND OF FURTHER ILLUSTRATE THAT FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE, UM, BESIDES WHAT MAJOR SCOGGINS ACTUALLY BROUGHT OUT TO THIS COMMITTEE, WHEN YOU LOOK AT VIOLENT CRIME INCIDENTS BY MONTH AND YEAR IN AND IN FEBRUARY, UH, JANUARY, 2023, AS WE DISCUSSED LAST MONTH, WAS THE LOWEST NUMBER INCIDENTS REGARDING STREET LEVEL VIOLENT CRIME.
THE PAST FIVE YEARS FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY, FEBRUARY, 2023, IS THE LOWEST NUMBER OF INCIDENTS REGARDING THOSE FOUR MAJOR CATEGORIES FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS OVER THE, OVER THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY.
I THINK THAT REALLY SIGNIFIES OUR, DIRECTIONALLY OUR INTENT, OUR STRATEGY, OUR PLAN.
UM, ALSO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE AGGRAVATED ASSAULT SNUFF, FAMILY VIOLENT INCIDENTS, UH, THAT ENDED ON FEBRUARY 28TH.
UH, FEBRUARY HAD THE SECOND LOWEST COUNT OF AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS, NON-FAMILY VIOLENCE IN THE FIVE YEARS FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY.
THOSE ARE NOT JUST VICTIMS. UH, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE VICTIM PIECE OF IT, UH, 2023 FOR THE VICTIM COUNT OF AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS, NON-FAMILY VIOLENCE, MURDERS AND ROBBERIES, UM, HAVE BEEN COMPARED TO 22 AT THE SAME TIMEFRAME.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S SOME REALLY IMPORTANT FACTS TO BRING OUT.
UH, WE'LL CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO INVOLVE EVERYBODY IN THE DEPARTMENT WHEN IT COMES TO A CRIME STRATEGY TO MAKE THE CITY SAFE.
UM, BUT I BELIEVE THAT THE JOURNEY AHEAD OF US HAS SOME REAL GREAT OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD OF US.
UH, THANK YOU, UH, ALONZO, JUST, UH, IN CLOSING UP BEFORE WE'RE UP TO QUESTIONS.
OBVIOUSLY, OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE LESS VICTIMS IN THE CITY.
THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
UH, WORKING WITH THE CRIMINOLOGIST AND WITH THE PLAN IN ORDER TO GET THERE, IS TO REDUCE INCIDENTS AS WE KEEP DISCUSSING.
YOU KNOW, ONE OF PARTICULAR, UM, ONE THAT CAME UP YESTERDAY AS AN EXAMPLE AND WHY, UM, AS WE TALK ABOUT, WE NOT, WE CAN'T NECESSARILY CONTROL THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS THAT, THAT ARE AT A PLACE, BUT WE CAN CONTROL THE INCIDENT ITSELF.
UH, YESTERDAY WE HAD ONE INCIDENT, ONE SHOOTING.
UH, HOWEVER, THERE WERE 15 PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE.
AS A POLICE DEPARTMENT, WE CAN CONTROL AS BEST WE CAN, THOSE INCIDENTS FROM NOT OCCURRING, WHICH IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING, AS YOU'VE HEARD, WHAT WE CAN'T CONTROL IS THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THAT WERE IN THAT RESIDENCE.
BUT WE KNOW BY STAYING TRUE TO THE PLAN AND LOOKING AT THE TRENDS, WHICH WAS AS IMPORTANT TO ME, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY JANUARY, UH, AND FEBRUARY, UM, WERE VERY BUSY FOR US.
AND CHALLENGING, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, AS CHALLENGING WITH COMING OFF, UH, BACK TO BACK YEARS OF REDUCTIONS.
UH, BUT IT'S THE TRENDS THAT ARE IMPORTANT THAT I LOOK AT.
AND JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, IF YOU LOOK AT 2021 VERSUS 2020, THE FIRST YEAR, THE FIRST MONTH HERE THAT WE STARTED ON THIS JOURNEY, UH, WE WERE 72% UP IN MURDER, UM, COMPARED TO THE YEAR PRIOR IN FEBRUARY.
AND AT THE END OF THE YEAR, THAT TREND LINE CONTINUED TO GO DOWN, AND WE ULTIMATELY FELL AT ALMOST 14% REDUCTION IN MURDER.
IN THAT SAME YEAR, IN MARCH, OUR AG ASSAULT SUBCATEGORY WAS ALMOST 9% OVER.
BUT LOOKING AT THE TREND LINES, WE ENDED UP THE YEAR, UH, BEING DOWN ALMOST A PERCENT AND A HALF.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT 2022 VERSUS 2021.
NOW, IF YOU LOOK IN JUNE, JUST IN MURDER ITSELF, IN JUNE, WE WERE 22, ALMOST 22% UP IN MURDER LAST YEAR.
BUT YET FINISHED OFF THE YEAR ALMOST 4% DOWN.
SO WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO ME, WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THIS POLICE DEPARTMENT, IS WHEN WE HAVE ISSUES AND WE HAVE CHALLENGES, IS WHAT ARE WE DOING TO ADDRESS THEM? AND THE TREND LINES CONTINUE TO GO DOWN.
UH, THIS IS A COMPLETE BODY OF WORK.
IT'S NOT EVEN, IT'S NOT A YEAR THING FOR US.
IT'S A JOURNEY THAT WE STARTED, UH, OVER TWO YEARS AGO.
UH, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO MOVE THOSE TREND LINES IN THAT, IN THE SAME DIRECTION THAT WE SAW TODAY.
AND THAT IS OUR ULTIMATE GOAL.
UH, SO WITH THAT, WE WILL OPEN UP THE QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
WE'LL OPEN UP TO QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE IF THERE ARE ANY.
UH, CHAIRMAN ATKINS, GO AHEAD.
UH, YES, UH, CHIEF, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE, THE UPDATE.
UH, MR. UH, KEVIN, A QUESTION TO YOU ON PAGE 13, UH, THE DEPARTMENT'S, UH, COMMUNITY INITIATIVE, AND WHAT IS COMPLETE ENGAGEMENT PROCESS? CAN YOU DEFINE, IS THOSE COMPLETE OR, OR WE DON'T SCRATCH THOSE OFF, OR WHAT ON THE, THE TOP LINE, THE COMPLETED? YES, SIR.
I BELIEVE THAT THERE'S SOME MAINTENANCE THAT WILL BE NEEDED IN THESE AREAS.
AS, AS I NOTED TO YOU IN THE, THE BONVIEW SIMPSON STEWARD AREA.
UH, THERE'S SOME WORK TO BE DONE WITH A VACANT LOT THAT WE BELIEVE IF THAT VACANT LOT WAS UTILIZED AS A COMMUNITY SPACE, IT WOULD ACTIVATE A LOT OF,
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UM, OF THAT AREA FOR THE COMMUNITY.SO THERE'S SOME MAINTENANCE THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE.
BUT AS FAR AS THE, UH, HEAVY DUTY IN THE WEEDS, UH, INSPECTIONS AND OPERATIONS, WE BELIEVE THAT THAT IS COMPLETE IN THOSE THREE AREAS.
AND, AND WE'RE READY TO START WORKING SOME ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES ON THE SAME PAGE.
UH, WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE 6,200 BLOCK OF HIGHLAND HILL DRIVE IN THE 8,600 BLOCK, OR OLD HICKORY TRAILER AND STAGE.
I THINK MOST OF THEM IN DISTRICT EIGHT.
SO CAN YOU GIMME THE STATUS OF THOSE? YES, SIR.
BOTH OF THOSE PROPERTIES ARE, UH, BEING ASSESSED BY OUR TEAM.
WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL OF THE DATA AVAILABLE TO US, WHETHER IT'S, UH, CURRENT CRIME STATS, UM, UH, CODE CONCERNS.
AND WE WILL BEGIN WORKING DIRECTLY WITH OWNERSHIP AT THOSE PROPERTIES, UH, TO DO OUR PROCESS OF GOING IN AND TRYING TO ELIMINATE RISK, WHETHER THAT IS THROUGH, UH, ELIMINATION OF CODE CONCERNS, UH, IMPROVEMENT IN CRIME PREVENTION MEASURES, UH, OR ANYTHING IN BETWEEN.
AND, AND, AND, AND CHIEF GARCIA, I, I JUST WANT TO REACH OUT AND SAY THANK YOU FOR THE NPOS OFFICERS, UH, FOR HELPING US OUT ON DISTRICT FOUR IN DISTRICT A.
WE DID A WALKTHROUGH AT THE CORNER OF BUN VIEW IN LED BELLON, YOU KNOW, BUT IT'S 70 11 AT WILLIAM CHICKEN ACT.
WELL, FARGO BANK AT, UM, UH, I, WE DID A WALK GAUGE.
WE HAD COLE, WE HAD A HARD TEAM.
UH, WE HAD, UH, THE HOMELESS SOLUTION THERE.
UH, I, I BELIEVE THAT WHEN WE WALK, UM, TOGETHER AT DIFFERENT DIVISION TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, THE, THE HOMELESS SOLUTION, THE NPO OFFICE, THE COAL AND THE HEART TEAM WALKING TOGETHER AND WALKING TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD, WE DO REDUCE CRIME.
CAUSE WHEN WE WERE WALKING THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS, UH, YESTERDAY, UH, THE, THE, THE, THE HOMELESS PEOPLE WENT AWAY, THE CRIME, THE DETER, IT'S A BLESSING.
WHEN WE DO MORE WALKING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, I THINK THAT WE NEED TO DO MORE WALKING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, WALKING THE COMMUNITY TO, TO, UH, UH, DECREASE THE CRIME.
SO I WANNA REACH OUT TO THE NPO OFFICER WHO WAS THERE.
THEY DID A GREAT JOB ALONG WITH THE COAL, BUT WE NEED MORE NEIGHBORHOOD POLICE OFFICERS WALKING THE BEAT, LIKE THEY DID ON, ON YESTERDAY.
I'LL TELL YOU, THE NPOS, UH, CONTINUE TO DO AN AMAZING JOB.
WE'VE HEARD NOT ONLY FROM, UH, THE SUPPORT, UH, THAT THEY GET FROM THEIR COMMUNITIES, THE LOVE THAT THEY HAVE FROM THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS, UH, WE RECOGNIZE HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS.
AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW AS AN ORGANIZATION, IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE WILL BE ADDRESSING.
UH, THERE'S NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, AS WELL AS I DO, UH, THERE'S NOT A NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, IN THE CITY OF DALLAS THAT DOES NOT WANNA SEE MORE OF US OUT ON THEIR STREET DOING EXACTLY WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED.
UH, AND THAT IS ONE OF OUR GOALS.
UH, WE'LL GO TO, UH, COUNCIL MORENO.
UH, THANK Y'ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION ON PAGE 11.
WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT INTEGRATED PUBLIC SAFETY SOLUTIONS, WHAT'S THE ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR APARTMENT COMPLEXES, ESPECIALLY AT OUR NEWER, UM, HIGHER END COMPLEXES WHERE WE'VE SEEN A RECENT, UH, UPTICK IN, UH, BMVS? WHAT IS THE, WHAT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE, UH, APARTMENT PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, AND WHAT'S THE RES AND WHAT'S THE RESPONSIBILITY FROM D P D AND HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER? AND IF WE'RE NOT, AT WHAT POINT DOES THAT PROPERTY BECOME A NUISANCE, UH, PROPERTY? I'LL, I'LL, I'LL TAKE THE FIRST POINT, AND IF THERE'S THINGS Y'ALL WANT TO ADD, PLEASE, PLEASE FEEL FREE.
SO, A PROPERTY OWNER IS RESPONSIBLE ULTIMATELY, FOR THE ACTIVITIES THAT OCCUR ON, ON HIS OR HER, UH, PROPERTY.
AND SO, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO QUITE FREQUENTLY IN THE DESIGN STAGE OF MULTI-TENANT, BUT ALSO AFTER THEY'VE BEEN BUILT AND ARE IN OPERATION, UH, IS WE DO A CRIME PREVENTION ASSESSMENT OF CAMERA SYSTEMS, GATES, NATURAL SURVEILLANCE, ACCESS CONTROL, ALL OF THE COMPONENTS, UH, THAT LOWER THE RISK OF, UH, BEHAVIOR FROM OCCURRING, RIGHT? THAT MIGHT BE A BURGLARY, BUT THAT CAN INCREASE THAT WHEN THOSE EVENTS DO OCCUR, THE INVESTIGATIVE RESPONSIBILITY TO BE ABLE TO SOLVE THOSE CRIMES, RIGHT? SO THEY FEED INTO ONE ANOTHER.
WE'RE TRYING TO LOWER THE RISK OF SOMETHING OCCURRING, BUT WHEN THINGS DO OCCUR, WE RAISE THE CHANCE OF BEING ABLE TO, TO CATCH THE PERSON, RETURN THE PROPERTY, UH, AND DISCOURAGE FUTURE ACTS.
SO I HOPE THAT THAT ANSWERS THE QUESTION, KIND OF AT A HIGH LEVEL AND, AND HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP, UH, IN DETAIL IF NEEDED.
I ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT I DO WANNA SAY HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE THIS MONTHLY REPORT AND THE DATA THAT YOU'RE PROVIDING.
I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT EVEN THOUGH I DON'T HAVE QUESTIONS, IT DOESN'T MEAN I DIDN'T READ IT IN ADVANCE.
AND, YOU KNOW, PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU WERE SAYING.
I DO THINK THE HIGHLIGHT IS THE TREND LINES, AND IT'S THAT EVERY
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MONTH IMPROVEMENT THAT WE'RE SEEING, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES SLIDES BACK AND FORTH, BUT LONG TERM, WE'RE SEEING THAT REDUCTION AND THAT CONSTANT, AS WHAT CHIEF GARCIA SAYS, GRIND IS REALLY NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.UM, AND I JUST ALSO WANNA SAY FOR OUR, UM, INTEGRATED PUBLIC SAFETY SOLUTIONS, YOU'RE PART OF THIS, AND WE CAN SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS CONTRIBUTING.
AND I DON'T WANNA SAY THANK YOU AND JUST WANT YOU BOTH KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO SUPPORT YOU.
AND SO PLEASE KEEP DOING THIS REPORT AND SHARING THIS INFORMATION.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT NOT JUST FOR US, BUT FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE EXACTLY HOW METHODICALLY WE'RE GOING ABOUT TACKLING OUR MOST VIOLENT CRIME.
THANK YOU, UH, CHAIRWOMAN WILLIS.
AND CLEARLY, I WANNA ECHO THAT.
UM, BUT I, I THINK, UH, CHIEF ANDERSON, YOU BURIED THE LEAD IN THIS PRESENTATION.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT FIVE YEARS, AND YOU READ OFF SOME REALLY GREAT STATISTICS.
AND I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO SEND THAT TO NOT ONLY ME, BUT THE REST OF COUNCIL, BECAUSE WE COME IN HERE AND WE LOOK AT THIS MONTH BY MONTH, AND THEN WE LOOK AT OUR THREE MONTH GRID PERIOD, ET CETERA.
BUT, UH, THAT IS SOMETHING REALLY SIGNIFICANT THAT I DON'T THINK SHOULD BE LOST HERE.
AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THAT SO I CAN SHARE THAT WITH MY RESIDENTS SO THEY CAN SEE THERE'S SOME IN THE MARKETPLACE WHO REALLY SENSATIONALIZE THINGS.
AND I THINK WE ALWAYS NEED TO SHARE THE REAL DEAL.
AND THAT'S A, THAT'S A PRETTY STRONG REAL DEAL.
UH, UH, JUST, UH, JUST TO PIGGYBACK ON THAT, I MEAN, THIS DEPARTMENT IS DATA DRIVEN.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE COMPLETE BODY OF WORK, UH, AND I'LL TELL YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, I, I RECALL THE, UH, NEWS ARTICLE THAT LEFT US DEAD IN THE WATER IN YEAR ONE WHEN WE WERE UP IN MURDER, UH, TOWARDS THE MIDDLE OF, OF THE YEAR.
UM, I HAVE IT PINNED UP SOMEWHERE AT MY HOUSE WHERE WE ENDED THE YEAR ALMOST 14% DOWN.
THIS IS A COMPLETE BODY OF WORK.
THESE MEN AND WOMEN ARE SACRIFICING EVERY DAY.
THEY'RE DOING MORE WITH WHAT THEY HAVE THAN I THINK MOST ANY OTHER DEPARTMENT IS DOING.
UH, WE'RE VERY PROUD ABOUT THEIR WORK, WHAT THE WORK OF THEIR WORK.
AND SO I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION ON, UM, SLIDE 13 AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE APARTMENT COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE.
UM, WE GAVE SOME SUMMARIES AND SOME UPDATES THERE.
I, I TOURED ONE OF OUR PROJECTS ON FOREST, AND I HAVEN'T SEEN UPDATE ON THAT ONE.
IS THERE, IS IT JUST NOT INCLUDED, OR DO WE NEED TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT PART OF IT? YOU, YOU'RE SPEAKING OF 90, UH, 9,600 FOREST LANE, THAT, THAT APARTMENT, CORRECT? MM-HMM.
I'LL MAKE SURE WE GET, UH, ANY UPDATES OVER TO YOU THAT WE HAVE.
BUT I KNOW SOME GREAT WORK BY THE ACT TEAM AND OUR FOLKS HAVE, HAVE TAKEN PLACE THERE.
WE'LL GET THAT TO YOU WITH HASTE.
I DIDN'T KNOW, IS THIS LIST, UM, INCLUSIVE OF EVERYTHING, OR IS THIS JUST, UH, PULLED OUT? SOME OF THEM, UH, THIS IS KIND OF A, A SUM OF THEM BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY THAT COME IN AND, AND GO OUT.
UM, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE SURE WE GET YOU DIRECT UPDATES QUICKLY ON, UH, ON YOUR PROPERTY, SIR.
YEAH, I JUST WANNA REVISIT ALL OF THAT, WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THOSE APARTMENTS, CUZ THAT'S, THAT JUST CONTINUES TO BE SOMETHING THAT COMES UP EVERY, EVERY MONTH.
UM, I'LL ADD MY, UH, VOICE TO THE COMMENTS OF THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFORTS AND, AND YOUR CONTINUED DEDICATION TO THE PLAN.
UM, IT IS SHOWING FRUITS AND WE'LL JUST KEEP SUPPORTING YOU ANY WAY WE CAN FROM THIS COMMITTEE.
WE WILL, UH, NOTHING ELSE ON THIS ITEM.
WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM C ON OUR AGENDA, WHICH IS THE PEDESTRIAN TRAIL SAFETY UPDATE.
UM, I HAVE INCLUDED WITH D P D, WE HAVE, UH, RENEE JOHNSON, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF PARKS AS WELL.
AS THE TEAM MAKES THEIR WAY TO THE, UH, DIAS.
I WANTED JUST TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IT WAS, UH, YOUR LEADERSHIP THAT LED US TO PROVIDING THIS ITEM AND, AND WANTED TO JUST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS A TOPIC THAT WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT FREQUENTLY AT THIS COMMITTEE.
AND SO WE HOPE THAT TODAY'S CONVERSATION WILL AT LEAST EDUCATE US AS TO KIND OF WHERE WE ARE AT THIS PLACE IN TIME AND KIND OF SET THIS, THE, THE STAGE AND THE FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE CONVERSATIONS.
AND SO THANK YOU FOR MAKING THE SUGGESTION THAT WE DO THIS.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MS. JOHNSON.
I BELIEVE YOU'RE GONNA START US OFF WITH A PRESENTATION.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE.
UH, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO BE HERE TODAY, UH, TO DISCUSS TRAIL SAFETY.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, WE'D LIKE TO TELL YOU THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY, UH, ON TRAIL SAFETY AS WELL AS, AS WELL AS PARK SAFETY.
AND SO WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON A STRATEGY, OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, PARK SAFETY, AND OF COURSE, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS WHO WE DEPEND AND RELY ON HEAVILY THE DALLAS MARSHALS AND, UH, D P D NEXT SLIDE.
SO THE PARK BOARD, UH, WE WORK DILIGENTLY WITH THE PARK BOARD.
WE HAVE AN AD HOC COMMITTEE, SAFETY AD HOC COMMITTEE, UH, THAT WAS FORMED ON LAST YEAR.
AND WITH THAT AD HOC COMMITTEE.
AND UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF THEM, OUR DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN WORKING TOWARD OUR PRIMARY FOCUS AREAS.
UH, SO WE'VE CREATED A STRATEGY, AND
[00:30:01]
I'M GONNA KIND OF WALK THROUGH SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THAT STRATEGY TODAY.UM, AND WE ARE FINALIZING, WE HAVE SUBMITTED THIS STRATEGY TO THE MARSHALLS AS WELL AS D P D, UH, FOR THEIR INFORMATION TO PROVIDE TO US SO THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD AND HAVE THIS STRATEGY APPROVED BY OUR PARK BOARD.
SO THIS STRATEGY CONSIDERS ALL PARKS AND TRAILS, UH, AND IT'S DEFINITELY CHARTING THE COURSE AS TO HOW WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR PATRONS ARE SAFE IN PARKS AND TRAILS.
SO, FIRST OF ALL, IT'S OUR INTERAGENCY INITIATIVES.
UH, THESE ARE THE GROUPS THAT WE WORK WITH DILIGENTLY, UM, TO, UM, MAKE SURE THAT OUR PATRONS ARE SAFE.
IT'S A HOLISTIC APPROACH BECAUSE AS OF COURSE, WE ARE PARK AND RECREATORS, UM, THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
UM, AND SO, UH, WE NEED ASSISTANCE AS IT RELATES TO, UH, SECURITY.
SO THE, SOME OF THE PARTNERS THAT DEFINITELY WE'RE WORKING WITH BESIDES D P D AND THE MARSHALS, OF COURSE, ARE OHS, UH, AS WELL AS THE HEART TEAM AND CODE COMPLIANCE.
SO THESE INITIATIVES, UM, THAT WE WORK ON WITH THESE DIFFERENT AGENCIES, UH, FOR SURE, UH, WE WANT TO COORDINATE.
WE WANNA DEFINITELY HAVE BETTER COMMUNICATION.
SO WE'RE WORKING ON OUR COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES, UM, BETTER SYNERGY NOT WORKING SOLO, UM, UM, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER AND THAT HAND IN HAND AND THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING ON, UH, IN OUR PARKS.
SO, JUST AS, UH, MR. ATKINS HAD MENTIONED EARLIER, WE'RE DOING A LOT OF SITE VISITS AS WELL, WHERE WE'RE BRINGING OUT THESE GROUPS, UH, ONSITE.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD MANY CHALLENGES, UH, WITH THE COTTONWOOD TRAIL.
UM, WE BRING THE ROOFS OUT, UH, OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS, THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF PROGRESS.
WE DO HAVE STILL CHALLENGES, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT FROM BEING OUT ON SITE 18 MONTHS AGO AND BEING OUT ON SITE NOW, WE CAN SEE, UH, THAT WE'VE IMPROVED, UH, THAT TRAIL SYSTEM AND IT'S BETTER FOR OUR PATRONS.
UM, WE'VE WORKED HARD WITH O H S, UH, FOR THAT SITE TO BE DECOMMISSIONED, AND IT'S REALLY PROVIDED DEFINITELY, UH, SOME IMPROVEMENTS.
UH, BUT AS I SAID, WE WERE OUT LAST WEEK AND WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH, UH, CHALLENGES AS WELL.
SO, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, THIS IS WHAT WE DO BEST.
UH, WE WORK WITH OUR BEAUTIFICATION AGREEMENTS.
WE MAINTAIN OVER A HUNDRED AGREEMENTS, OF COURSE, WITH, UH, PARK STAKEHOLDERS AS WELL AS COMMUNITY GROUPS, HOAS, UH, UH, AND TASK FORCE.
AND, UH, FOR SURE OUR FRIENDS GROUPS, THEY ARE OUR EYES IN EARS ON TRAILS, AS WELL AS PARKS.
UH, A LOT OF TIMES WE HEAR ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON FROM ALL OF THE, THE PATRIOTS THAT USE OUR PARK SYSTEM.
UM, AND SO THEY'RE, WE ARE WORKING WITH TRAIL GROUPS AND, UM, FOR SURE, JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON THROUGH THE EYES AND EARS AND, AND THOSE CONTACTS THAT WE WORK THROUGH WITH, UH, THROUGH OUR COORDINATORS.
UH, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS, WE'VE SHOWN SOME ENTHUSIASM, IS TO WORK WITH OUR V I P PROGRAM, UH, AS IT RELATES TO, UM, OUR VOLUNTEERS IN PATROL.
SO WE HAVE SOME PILOT PROGRAMS GOING ON WHERE THOSE PARK PARTNERS ARE BEING TRAINED, SO THEY CAN ALSO ACT AS VOLUNTEERS IN PATROL.
AND THAT'S BEEN A GREAT INITIATIVE FOR US.
UM, THEY DO THAT ANYWAY FOR SURE, AS FAR AS BEING OUT THERE ON THE PARKS, BUT, UH, GETTING THE TRAINING WILL DEFINITELY MAKE THEM MORE EFFECTIVE AND WORK IN BETTER, UH, SYNERGY WITH US.
UM, OUR PRIMARY FOCUS AREA, UH, DEFINITELY IS EQUIPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY, UH, UH, WITH COURTS AND DETENTION SERVICES AS IT RELATES TO OUR FUNDING AND HOW WE'RE GONNA UTILIZE, UH, THAT FUNDING AS IT RELATES TO TRAIL SAFETY.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, OUR PRIORITIES DEFINITELY HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, UH, RECREATION CENTERS, AQUATIC FACILITIES, PARKING LOTS, YOU KNOW, WHERE MANY PEOPLE GATHER.
UM, FOR SURE OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AS IT RELATES TO TRAIL DEVELOPMENT.
UH, I THINK OUR STRATEGY IS SOMEWHAT CHANGING.
AND I'M GONNA ASK TONY TO KIND OF GIVE US A LITTLE BACKGROUND ABOUT OUR TRAIL DEVELOPMENT AND WHAT THE INDUSTRY STANDARDS HAVE NORMALLY BEEN AND VERSUS WHERE WE'RE GOING TO, UH, WHERE WE'RE GOING TODAY.
GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, MR. CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
SO, UM, I HAVE A DESIGN BACKGROUND WITH TRAILS AND I'VE DESIGNED FOR OTHER AGENCIES.
AND SO OUR TYPICAL APPROACH HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN WITH TRAIL DESIGNS IS TO PUT IN THAT BASELINE INFRASTRUCTURE, SUCH AS FLAT WORK, RETAINING WALLS AND SUCH CURB RAMPS WHERE THEY'RE NEEDED.
UM, BUT WHERE YOU'RE DEALING WITH A LINEAR TRAIL, TYPICALLY YOU WON'T SEE LIGHTING THAT EXISTS ON THAT LINEAR TRAIL.
FOR EXAMPLE, A ONE MILE TRAIL, YOU WILL NOT TYPICALLY SEE, UH, LIGHTING FOR THE EXTENT OF IT.
THERE ARE SOME OUTLIERS, I DO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT.
BUT WHAT YOU TYPICALLY WILL SEE IS TR UH, LIGHTING INCORPORATED AT POINT LOCATIONS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH TRAILS SUCH AS PARKING LOTS, UH, MAYBE TRAIL
[00:35:01]
HEADS, AND SOMETIMES SOME OTHER RESPITE AREAS IS WHERE YOU WOULD SEE THAT.UM, A LOT OF THAT IS DRIVEN BY NUMBER ONE, TYPICALLY MOST OF YOUR TRAIL USAGE IS DURING THE DAYLIGHT HOURS.
AND THEN NUMBER TWO IS DRIVEN BY COST.
FOR EXAMPLE, A A LIGHT, JUST A STANDARD LIGHT AND NOT BEING SPACED ALONG A TRAIL WILL RUN YOU APPROXIMATELY $6,000 PER LIGHT.
AND OF COURSE, THAT'S DEPENDENT ON OTHER FACTORS, THE SCOPE OF THE WORK, SO THAT COST COULD REALLY GO UP.
SO WHEN YOU ADD THAT UP OVER A MILE OR TWO OR THREE, UH, MILES OF TRAIL, THAT CAN REALLY ADD UP.
AND SO HISTORICALLY, WE'VE APPROACHED IT FROM POINT LOCATIONS, AND AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE 2024 BOND PROGRAM, WE'RE ALREADY HAVING DISCUSSIONS WITH THE PARK AND RECREATION BOARD, UM, PARTICULARLY TO CONTINUE THAT APPROACH WITH INCORPORATING LIGHTING, UH, AT STRATEGIC LOCATIONS SUCH AS POINT LOCATIONS.
BUT ALSO LOOKING AT, ARE THERE OTHER LOCATIONS ALONG THE TRAIL THAT MAY NOT BE, SAY, POINT LOCATIONS, LIKE RESPITE AREAS WHERE LIGHTING MAY MAKE SENSE TO MAYBE CURB SOME OF THAT ILLICIT ACTIVITY THAT IS HAPPENING AFTER HOURS WHERE YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR PREDOMINANT USERS.
SO WITH THAT, WE'RE IDENTIFYING OPTIONS IN OUR OPERA FUNDING, UH, THAT WE'RE DEFINITELY UTILIZING, UM, FOR OUR PARK SAFETY AND, UH, LIGHTING AREAS.
SO SOME OF THOSE OPTIONS FOR SURE.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT SOLAR LIGHTING.
UM, SO OUR PARK BOARD, UH, DEFINITELY WANTS US TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
UM, AND WE'RE MOVING THROUGH OTHER STRATEGIES AS WELL AS IT RELATES TO TRAIL LIGHTING.
SO, UH, ANOTHER PRIMARY FOCUS AREA, UH, SAFETY STRATEGY GUIDELINES.
UH, THERE ARE DEFINITELY, UM, UH, PROCESSES THAT WE WANNA PUT IN PLACE AND PROCEDURES WE WANNA PUT IN PLACE.
AND SO ONE THING THAT WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IS OUR BICYCLE PATROL.
UH, WE HAVE NOW SIX RANGERS WHO ARE CERTIFIED ON BIKES.
AND SO WHAT THEY WILL BE DOING AND WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN DOING FOR THIS PAST MONTH IS STARTED IN FEBRUARY.
UH, THEY ARE GOING OUT TO TRAIL, UH, LOCATIONS, UH, TWICE PER WEEK, UH, AS ONE TEAM, TWO MEMBERS OF THE TEAM.
AND SO WE WANNA CONTINUE TO LEVERAGE THAT PROGRAM.
UH, HAVING THAT LEVEL OF VISIBILITY AND EXPOSURE FOR OUR COMMUNITY, UH, WE THINK IS A VERY GOOD THING.
UM, ALL OF THESE STRATEGIES FOR SURE COME WITH SOME COST.
SO WE WILL BE LOOKING AT, UH, PUTTING TOGETHER BID PACKAGE IN REGARD TO ENHANCEMENT AS IT RELATES TO SECURITY THAT WILL MOVE FORWARD, UH, BASED ON THE PARK BOARD'S RECOMMENDATION.
AND SO OUR NEXT STEPS WE WANT TO CONTINUE, UH, TO GET THIS PLAN IMPLEMENTED, LOOKING THROUGH OUR STRATEGIES AND WORKING IN COLLABORATION WITH OUR PARTNERS.
UH, WE WILL DEFINITELY BE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH THE PARK BOARD AND HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS AS TO SEE WHAT THEY WANT TO MOVE FORWARD.
UH, TO ENHANCE OUR TRAIL SAFETY, WE WANT TO LEVERAGE OUR PARK RANGER BICYCLE PROGRAM, AND WE WANT TO DEFINITELY INCLUDE ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS AS WELL AS ACTIVE, UM, TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE SUPPORT THE TRAILS, UH, AS IT RELATES TO COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS.
AND SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO CHIEF PEWS, DAVID PEWS, CITY MARSHALL.
AS RENEE SAID, IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT AMONGST MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS TO KEEP THE PARKS AND SAFE, UH, RECREATION CENTER SAFE.
IN 2021, THE, THE MARSHALS FORMALLY PARTNERED WITH THE PARK DEPARTMENT, AND THE PARK UNIT WAS CREATED AT THE TIME, IT ONLY HAD ONE SERGEANT AND THREE DEPUTY MARSHALS RESPONSIBLE FOR PATROLLING ALL THE PARKS.
IT WAS, IT WAS SUCCESSFUL AND WE SAW CHANGES HAPPENING IN SOME OF THE AREAS THAT THE MARSHALS WERE PATROLLING.
AND SO IT WAS EXPANDED IN 2022.
FOUR MORE WERE ADDED TO THE PARK UNIT, AND WE CREATED AN EVENING SHIFT.
FURTHER EXPANSION IN 2023 CAME TO WHERE NOW WE HAVE TWO SERGEANTS AND 10 MARSHALS DEDICATED TO THE PARK UNIT.
IT'S, UH, TWO SHIFTS, 9:00 AM TO 5:00 PM FOR THE DAY SHIFT, AND 3:00 PM TO 11:00 PM FOR THE EVENING SHIFT.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE, UH, THREE VACANCIES THAT WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING FILLED SO THAT WE CAN BE FULLY STAFFED IN THE, IN THE MARSHALLS PARK UNIT.
BUT WE KNOW THAT THAT'S, THAT'S ONLY THE BEGINNING, THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO GROW THAT, THAT UNIT AND MAKE SURE THAT AS WE EXPAND, WE ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE GREATER COVERAGE TO THE ALMOST 400 PARKS AND REALLY ONE OF THE LARGEST PARKS AND RECS DEPARTMENT IN THE UNITED STATES.
ONE OF THE ASPECTS THAT WE ARE EXPANDING THE PARK UNIT INTO IS A TRAIL SAFETY UNIT.
AND ON APRIL 1ST, WE'LL WE'LL BEGIN TO, TO LAUNCH THIS TRAIL SAFETY UNIT WHERE WE'LL BE UTILIZING THE, THE DEPUTY MARSHALS THAT ARE CURRENTLY FAMILIAR ON PARK OPERATIONS, AND WE'LL GIVE THEM SPECIAL TRAINING AS IT RELATES TO THEIR ABILITY TO PATROL ALL THE VARIOUS TRAILS AND GIVE THEM EQUIPMENT TO DO THAT.
PART OF THAT WILL BE UTILIZING BICYCLE PATROLS.
[00:40:01]
DON'T HAVE BICYCLES CURRENTLY AT THE MARSHALS OFFICE, BUT, UH, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT IS ACTUALLY FUNDING SOME BICYCLES.AND D P D HAS ALLOWED US TO SEND SOME DEPUTY MARSHALS THROUGH THEIR BICYCLE TRAINING SCHOOL, SO THAT WE'LL BE CERTIFIED TO OPERATE THOSE BIKES ON THE TRAILS.
WE'LL ALSO UTILIZE THE ATVS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, AND DEPENDING ON WHETHER WE'LL DEPLOY THOSE OUT AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, UH, PROVIDING GREATER COVERAGE ON THE TRAILS, WE'LL BE DEPLOYING AROUND SPECIFIC TIMES AND DATES AND BE DATA DRIVEN AS TO HOW WE'RE PATROLLING THOSE TRAILS.
AS WE WORK THESE TRAILS, WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING IN COLLABORATION, NOT ONLY WITH D P D NPOS, WHO ARE ALSO GONNA BE AS, UH, CHIEF, I WILL TALK ABOUT LATER, UH, GOING THROUGH SOME OF THE BICYCLE TRAINING.
AND WE'LL COLLABORATE AND DO SOME SPECIFIC OPERATIONS AND, AND PARTNER UP, UH, AND PUT MORE PEOPLE OUT THERE AND INCREASE THE VISIBILITY AND, AND WORKING TOGETHER.
WE'LL ALSO BE DOING THAT WITH THE PARK RANGERS AND, AND THEIR BIKE PATROLS AS WE'RE OUT THERE.
AND WE KNOW THAT WE'LL ENCOUNTER SOME THINGS THAT WILL REQUIRE THE, UH, THE INTERVENTION OF THE HEART TEAM.
AND SO WE'LL BE WORKING WITH AND COLLABORATING AND SHARING INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION WITH OUR MARSHALS THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO THE HEART TEAM SO THAT THEY CAN, UM, THAT THEY CAN GO IN AND INTERVENE IN SOME OF THOSE AREAS WHERE WE SEE WE'RE GETTING BEGINNING TO GET HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS OR, OR THINGS THAT REQUIRE THAT, THAT IMMEDIATE RESPONSE BY THE HEART TEAM AND ALSO THE OFFICE OF INTEGRATED PUBLIC SAFETY.
AS, AS THE DEPUTIES ARE OUT PATROLLING SOME OF THESE TRAILS, I WANT THEM TO IDENTIFY AREAS OF RISK, AREAS THAT THEY SEE AS IT RELATES TO, UM, DEBRIS THAT MAYBE HAS BEEN, UH, LEFT AT THE LOCATION IN AND AROUND THE TRAILS THAT ARE INDICATIVE OF, OF SOME SORT OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AREAS THAT THEY, THAT THEY OBSERVE THAT ARE IN NEED OF ADDITIONAL LIGHTING.
ANYTHING THAT, UH, THAT THEY SEE DURING THEIR PATROLS THAT WE CAN THEN BRING THE OFFICE OF INTEGRATED PUBLIC SAFETY IN AND WE CAN GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO PARTNER WITH US AND, AND GET SOME LIGHTING ENHANCEMENTS OR EVEN GET, JUST GET SOME ENVIRONMENTAL IDEAS FROM THEIR SEPTE TRAINED PEOPLE ON HOW TO MAKE THOSE PLACES SAFER FOR, FOR EVERYBODY.
SO IT'S DEFINITELY A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT AND WE'LL, WE'LL ALL BE WORKING TOGETHER GOING FORWARD TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF, OF PARKS AND, UH, AND OUR REC CENTERS THROUGH THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
WITH THAT, I'LL THROW IT OVER TO D P D, CHIEF MIKE IGO.
ASSISTANT CHIEF IGO, DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT PATROL BUREAU.
TODAY I'LL BE BRIEFING, GIVING YOU AN OVERVIEW ON OUR, THE DEPARTMENT'S VISIBILITY ENFORCEMENT, UH, CRIME METRICS, UH, NEXT STEPS IN TRAILS, TRAIL SAFETY TIPS.
SO CURRENTLY THERE'S OVER 175 MILES OF TRAILS, UH, WITHIN THE CITY.
FREQUENTLY PATROLLED TRAILS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT ARE WHITE ROCK LAKE TRAIL, SANTA FE TRAIL, KATY TRAIL, AT AND T TRAIL, AND TRINITY FORD'S TRAIL.
WE DO PATROL OTHER TRAILS, HOWEVER, THESE ARE PATROLLED MORE FREQUENTLY BASED ON THE USAGE OF THESE TRAILS BY OUR RESIDENTS.
THE WHITE ROCK TRAIL IS A 9.4 MILE TRAIL AND ENCIRCLES THE WHITE ROCK LAKE.
OUR PATROLS ARE CONDUCTED DAILY ON THIS TRAIL, UH, BY EITHER THE BIKE PATROL MOUND UNIT.
ALL TRAINED VEHICLE OR VEHICLE PATROLS ARE ANY COMBINATION OF THOSE SANTA FE TRAILS, A 4.7 MILE TRAIL.
NEXT POSITION PARK AND CONNECTS INTO THE WEST SIDE OF WHITE ROCK LAKE.
UH, THIS TRAIL, IT'S SELF INITIATING COMPLAINT DIRECTED PATROLS, AND WE USE OUR BIKE PATROL IN MOUNTAIN UNIT, UH, TO CONDUCT OUR, OUR TRAIL ENFORCEMENT.
IT'S A THREE AND A HALF MILE TRAIL.
IT BEGINS NORTH AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER AND ENDS AT CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY.
PATROLS ARE CONDUCTED DAILY ON THIS, UH, TRAIL, AND IT'S EITHER DONE BY OUR BIKE PATROL AND OR MOUNTED UNIT.
AND THE LAST TRAIL THAT WE, UH, FREQUENTLY MONITORS AT AND T TRAIL AND TURNING FOURS TRAIL, IT'S AN 8.1 MILE TRAIL.
THERE'S MULTIPLE ACCESS POINTS TO THIS TRAIL, AND PATROLS ARE SELF-INITIATED AND COMPLAINT DIRECTED, UH, AND DONE BY OUR BIKE PATROL AND OUR MOUNTED UNIT.
NEXT SLIDE, LOOKING AT OUR CRIME METRICS FOR ALL CITY TRAILS.
AND THESE WERE TAKEN, UH, WITHIN A HUNDRED FEET OF THE TRAILS.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE 2023 DATA, WE'VE HAD FIVE AGGREGATE AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS, SIX ROBBERIES IN ZERO MURDERS, YEAR TO DATE.
FOR THOSE TRAILS THAT WE, UH, CONTINUOUSLY MONITOR, UH, YEAR TO DATE, AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS ARE ZERO ROBBERIES ONE AND MURDERS ARE ZERO.
LOOKING AT ARREST WITHIN A HUNDRED FEET OF
[00:45:01]
ALL CITY TRAILS, TOTALS FOR 20 20, 21, 22, AND 23, UH, 80 AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS, 27 ROBBERIES AND THREE MURDERS.UH, JUST A NOTE THAT MOST OF THESE ARRESTS ARE COMING FROM CALL INITIATED OR WHEN WE HAVE OFFICERS ON THE TRAILS, UH, CONDUCTING SELF-INITIATED STOPS.
SOME OF OUR TRAIL SAFETY TIPS.
OF COURSE, BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS.
REPORT SUSPICIOUS PERSONS OR BEHAVIOR, AVOID WEARING EARBUDS, RUN, BIKE, OR WALK WITH A FRIEND OR IN A GROUP.
UH, YOU WANNA WEAR BRIGHT OR REFLECTIVE CLOTHING.
UM, IF YOU CAN VARY YOUR EX EXERCISE ROUTINE, CARRY PEPPER SPRAY OR WHISTLE, AND CARRY A FULLY CHARGED TELEPHONE WITH YOU.
OUR NEXT STEPS IS TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH DALLAS CITY PARKS AND THE MARSHALL'S OFFICE ON CRIME PREVENTION ON CITY PARKS AND TRAILS.
COLLABORATE WITH OFFICE OF HOMELESS SOLUTIONS TO PROVIDE ALTERNATIVE HOUSING SOLUTIONS.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO USE OUR DEPARTMENTAL RESOURCES LIKE MOUNTED IN OUR NPOS.
WE WANNA INCREASE THE NUMBER OF CERTIFIED BIKE OFFICERS ON THE DEPARTMENT, AND WE'LL DO THIS BY CROSS-TRAINING OUR NPO OFFICERS, UH, TO ASSIST US ON SOME OF THESE BIKE PATROLS AT THE PARKS AND TRAILS.
WE WANNA LEVERAGE ADDITIONAL TECHNOLOGY TO MONITOR THESE TRAIL LOCATIONS.
WE'LL, UH, PUT OUT A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT ON TRAIL SAFETY, AND THAT'LL INCLUDE WHAT THREE WORDS APP.
UH, JUST TO REMIND YOU OF THIS, THIS WAS ROLLED OUT LAST SEPTEMBER, UH, BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT AND D F R AND ITS APP THAT'S ACTUALLY DONE WORLDWIDE.
IT GIVES A 10 BY 10 GRID, UH, WITH A UNIQUE SET, UH, THREE SET OF WORDS.
SO IF SOMEBODY'S IN A POSITION WHERE THEY'RE IN EMERGENCY OR THEY'RE LOST, THEY CAN CALL OUR NINE ONE ONE DISPATCH CENTER AND OR FIRE, GIVE 'EM THOSE THREE WORDS AND THEY'LL GIVE 'EM A DIGITAL GEOFENCE OF THAT AREA WHERE THOSE EMERGENCY SERVICES CAN RESPOND IMMEDIATELY.
AND WE WOULD LIKE TO, UH, SECURE ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR EQUIPMENT, WHICH INCLUDES BIKES AND ATVS.
WE'LL OPEN IT UP TO THE COMMITTEE.
I SEE, UH, CHAIRWOMAN MENDELSON.
UM, HOW DO YOU THINK, UM, PEOPLE COULD EASILY CALL FOR HELP? AND I KNOW YOU'VE JUST DONE THE, WHAT, THREE WORDS AND I'VE SHARED THAT WITH MY COMMUNITY, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S REALLY WIDELY KNOWN.
I MEAN, DO WE HAVE A ROBUST SYSTEM OF MILE MARKERS THAT BOTH THE RESIDENTS WHO MIGHT BE ON THE TRAILS CAN IDENTIFY AS WELL AS RESPONDING OFFICERS KNOW WHERE TO GO? YES.
UM, WE DO HAVE TRAIL MARKERS, UH, ON OUR TRAIL SYSTEM.
SO OUR DEPARTMENT DOES WORK, UM, TO MAKE SURE WITH, UM, 9 1 1, UM, THAT OUR TRAIL MARKERS ARE INSTALLED.
YES, WE DO HAVE A SYSTEM OUT THERE.
SO I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA WALK PRESTON RIDGE AND I'M GONNA SEE, BUT I HAVE NOT NOTICED THAT FOR AT LEAST THAT TRAIL.
UM, CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, IF THERE'S CAMERAS ON THE TRAIL AND IF SO, HOW MANY? WHAT I CAN TELL YOU AS FAR AS OUR, UH, CAMERA SYSTEM AND WHERE WE ARE WITH THAT, UM, FOR SURE IT'S A PRIORITY.
UH, BUT MOST OF OUR CAMERAS DO EXIST IN PARKING LOTS AROUND RECREATION CENTERS.
UM, IT, IT'S MORE LIMITED ON THE TRAIL SYSTEM, SO THAT'S WHY FOR SURE WE'RE PUTTING TOGETHER THIS SECURITY BID, UM, TO TAKE A LOOK IN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE MAKE THAT REQUEST SO THAT WE CAN MAKE THAT MORE OF A PRIORITY.
UM, WITH THE APER FUNDING, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED SOME LOCATIONS THAT WE WANNA MOVE FORWARD WITH AS WELL.
AND THEN, UM, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE ATVS.
CAN YOU TELL US HOW MANY ATVS ARE BEING USED THROUGH PARKS TO MONITOR TRAILS AS WELL AS THROUGH THE MARSHALL'S OFFICE? WE HAVE FOUR ATVS AT THE MARSHALL'S OFFICE.
ARE YOU, ARE YOU USING 'EM AS WELL? NO, WE DON'T HAVE ANY.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE THE BREAKOUT OF SOME OF THE, UM, MORE FREQUENT TRAILS THAT YOU'RE ON.
CLEARLY YOU'RE ON OTHER TRAILS THAN THAT.
IS THERE SOME SORT OF SCHEDULE OR IS IT AS NEEDED AND CALLS FOR SERVICE? YES.
COUNCIL MEMBER, A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH.
OBVIOUSLY WITH THE FREQUENT TRAILS, WE HAVE SCHEDULES FOR THOSE TRAILS.
UH, THE OTHER TRAILS BASED ON THERE BEING OVER 300 PLUS TRAILS, THOSE WERE KIND OF CALL INITIATED AND ARE SELF-DIRECTED ON COMPLAINTS THAT WE GET.
AND, AND I'M GONNA SAVE MY OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT UM, AT ONE POINT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALSO AN INTEREST IN MAYBE EVEN LOOKING AT SOME OF THE ROBOTS THAT COULD ADDRESS TRAILS.
AND SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO KEEP LOOKING AT THAT.
[00:50:01]
HOURS A DAY.I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT WE DO HAVE ONE ATV COMING ONLINE VERY SOON.
AND, UH, JOHN JENKINS IS MY, UM, DIRECTOR.
NOT EVERY TRAIL HAS, UM, MAR NO, MY MARKERS.
I THINK I, I THINK I KNOW ONE THAT DOESN'T.
THANK YOU MR. CHAIR, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR JOHNSON, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU FOR WHAT Y'ALL DO EACH AND EVERY SINGLE DAY, UH, TO KEEP OUR PARKS CLEAN AND SAFE.
UH, AND THANK YOU FOR ALL ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WE STILL HAVE WORK TO DO.
UM, OUR FAMILIES DESERVE TO ENJOY OUR PARKS.
WE SPEND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN INVESTMENT FOR OUR PARKS, FOR FAMILIES, FOR MAMAS PUSHING STROLLERS NOT TO FEEL SAFE TO STOP AT OUR PARKS.
I WANNA GO OVER A FEW RULES AND ORDINANCES.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERY AGENCY THAT, UH, IS IN PARTNERSHIP IS, UH, UNDERSTANDS WHAT OUR ORDINANCES ARE.
AND SO IF YOU CAN PLEASE HIGHLIGHT HOURS OF OPERATION, ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO USE, AND SLEEPING IN PUBLIC SPACES.
IF YOU DON'T MIND SHARING WITH US WHAT THOSE CURRENT ORDINANCES ARE.
I'M GOING TO ASK JEREMY MCMAHON TO COME UP.
HE REALLY MANAGES THE DAY, THE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS AS IT RELATES TO THE RANGERS.
AND HE, I'M SURE HE'LL BE BETTER SUITED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PROVIDE DEFINITELY CORRECT INFORMATION.
SO THE ORDINANCES, I'LL HAVE TO PULL UP A, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, HONESTLY, I DON'T HAVE 'EM, BUT I DO HAVE PICTURES OF WHAT THEY ARE.
SO, SO HOURS OF OPERATION ON, BUT HOURS ARE OPERATION ARE 5:00 AM TO 11:00 PM OKAY.
AND THEN, UH, ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO USE, THAT IS ON OUR PARK RULE SIGN.
I DON'T HAVE THE ACTUAL ORDINANCE OF WHAT IT IS, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY POSTED.
UH, SLEEPING IN PUBLIC PARKS, THAT IS ON OUR PARK ID SIGN AS WELL.
AND SO WHO'S RESPONSIBLE TO ENFORCE THOSE ORDINANCES? SO THE WAY WE WORK AT IT IS OUR RANGERS NOTE IT, THEY'LL NOTIFY THE REPORT AND THEN WE'LL REPORT IT OVER TO OUR MARSHALLS PARK UNIT AND THEN THEY CAN ENFORCE IT FROM THERE, WHETHER IT BE WARNING, CITATION, ARREST, IF IT'S A PUBLIC INTO, OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE.
AND WHAT'S THE CURRENT PRACTICE ON? I GET GREAT EDUCATION IS, IS THE FIRST STEP IN WARNINGS.
HOW MANY WARNINGS ARE WE ISSUING TO, UH, THOSE VIOLATING THE ORDINANCES? IS THERE A PROTOCOL THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE? OUR, OUR RANGERS, UM, PRIMARILY DEFINITELY WORK TOWARD, UM, TRYING TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE COMPLIANCE AND RE AND AS FAR AS HOW MANY NUMBERS WE HAVE PER DAY, I CAN'T GIVE YOU THAT INFORMATION, BUT NORMALLY WE COME UP WITH A 90 PLUS PERCENT COMPLIANCE RATE.
NOW I'M GONNA LET, UH, CHIEF HUGHES KIND OF TALK ABOUT WHAT THE MARSHALS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH, UH, SINCE THEY'VE BEEN ON SITE WITH US.
IT'S MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN REGARDS TO ESPECIALLY TARGETED AREAS, UH, WHERE WE'VE HAD CONSISTENT PROBLEMS OR CHALLENGES.
THE MARSHALS HAVE COME IN AND REALLY HELPED US, UH, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, PARKS SUCH AS BACHMAN.
IT'S, IT'S ALL PART OF, UM, DISCRETION, BUT ALSO A PART OF INTELLIGENCE AS IT RELATES TO, TO PARK ACTIVITIES AND BEING ABLE TO, TO IDENTIFY AND DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN WHAT'S, WHAT'S REALLY HAPPENING.
UH, AND SO THEY'VE GOTTEN PRETTY GOOD AS, AND THE LONGER THAT YOU SPEND IN PARKS, THE, THE, THE MORE OF THAT EXPERIENCE YOU GAIN.
AND OBVIOUSLY THE, THE KEY FOR US IS EDUCATION WARNINGS.
UH, PEOPLE ARE AT THE PARKS TO, TO HAVE A GOOD TIME AND, AND WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE THAT, BUT WE ALSO WANNA KEEP IT SAFE.
SO WHAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY IS THOSE SITUATIONS OR INSTANCES THAT ARE OCCURRING AROUND DRINKING OR SMOKING IN PART IN A PARK, THAT THE OFFICER HAS THE ABILITY TO DIFFERENTIATE THAT FROM A FAMILY THAT IS THERE HAVING FUN AND POSSIBLE ILLEGAL ACTIVITY.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE EXPERIENCE AND DISCRETION COMES INTO PLAY.
WE, WE ALWAYS GIVE WARNINGS FIRST, BUT OFTENTIMES IT DOES END UP LEADING TO ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY.
AND WHAT WE SEE, OR WHAT WE HAVE SEEN MANY TIMES IS AS A RESULT OF THAT ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY FOR, FOR ALCOHOL IN THE PARKS OR THE PUBLIC CONSUMPTION OR THE, THE SMOKING, IT HAS THEN LED TO OTHER CHARGES, UH, REVOLVING AROUND NARCOTICS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE RELY ON THE EXPERTISE OF THOSE OFFICERS ASSIGNED TO THE PARKS TO, TO MAKE SURE.
BUT, UM, BUT LIKE I SAID IN THE BEGINNING, IT IS, WE, WE INSTILL ON OUR FOLKS THAT THE, THE NUMBER ONE THING IS TO EDUCATE AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GIVING PEOPLE WARNINGS FIRST.
BECAUSE I, I UNDERSTAND, AND I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE GOING OUT, BUT I SEE THE ISSUE CON CONTINUING, ESPECIALLY OVER AT MARIA LUNA PARK.
UH, BUT DO WANT TO THANK YOU FOR, FOR BEING HERE AND
[00:55:01]
I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GIVING YOU THE RESOURCES THAT Y'ALL NEED.IF WE NEED MORE MARSHALS, IF WE NEED MORE LIGHTING AND WE NEED MORE BIKES, WE ARE HERE, AT LEAST I AM, TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THOSE TOOLS AND RESOURCES.
CUZ AGAIN, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR PARKS ARE BEING UTILIZED TO, TO THEIR FULLEST OPPORTUNITY.
UM, WHEN WE'RE DOING SAFETY CHECKS AT OUR RECREATION CENTERS OR TRAILS, UM, DO WE HAVE STAFF AT REC CENTERS THAT ARE, UH, REPORTING LIGHT OUTAGES, UM, TO, TO YOU RENEE, TO LET YOU KNOW THAT LIGHTS AREN'T OUT OR RECOUNTING ON CONSTITUENTS, UH, TO GIVE US THAT INFORMATION? YES.
WELL, WELL I WILL SAY, YOU KNOW, IT COMES FROM ALL SOURCES.
UH, SOMETIMES WE GET CALLS FROM PARK BOARD MEMBERS.
WE, UH, DEFINITELY WITH THE COMMUNITY, UM, ALSO STAFF MEMBERS, PARK MAINTENANCE STAFF, UH, FACILITY SERVICES.
SO THERE ARE AN ARRAY OF WAYS THAT WE HEAR, UM, WHEN WE HAVE LIGHT OUTAGES.
BUT A LOT OF TIMES IT IS A COMMUNITY BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, AFTER 11 O'CLOCK, IT'S MOSTLY THE COMMUNITY THAT THAT KNOWS AS, AS FAR AS WHAT'S GOING ON BECAUSE OUR STAFF IS GONE.
AND, UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR, UH, BEING HERE AND UH, FOR EVERYTHING THAT Y'ALL DO.
AND I WANNA FOLLOW UP ON THAT JUST REAL QUICK BECAUSE I, I WISH IT, IT'S A GOOD BRIEFING.
IT'S, YOU'RE DOING A LOT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE, HAVE TO WORK WITH, BUT I THINK WHAT I WANT TO SEE IN THESE BRIEFINGS IS WHAT WE'RE NOT ABLE TO DO.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE DOING A GOOD JOB.
AND I'M NOT SAYING WE AREN'T, BUT WE, WE'RE NOT GIVING 'EM ENOUGH RESOURCES.
WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MARSHALS.
I MEAN, YOU SAID IT, WE HAVE ONE OF THE LARGEST PARKS AND REC OPPORTUNITIES IN THE COUNTRY AND WE HAVE ONE ATV ON THE WAY, LIKE THAT'S SEVERELY INADEQUATE.
AND WE ARE EXPANDING OUR TRAILS ACROSS THE CITY IN AMAZING WAYS FROM PREVIOUS BOND PACKAGES TO UPCOMING BOND PACKAGES.
IT'S ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE REAL JEWELS OF THE CITY OF DALLAS IS WHAT'S COMING ONLINE AND WHAT WE'RE BRINGING TOGETHER AND HOW WE'RE CONNECTING TRAILS.
AND WE ARE NOT ADEQUATELY ADDRESSING THE SAFETY IN THAT AS WE'RE DOING THIS NOT ANYWHERE CLOSE.
AND I REALLY, REALLY WANT Y'ALL TO RAISE THE FLAG AND SAY, WE'RE NOT DOING THIS GOOD ENOUGH.
UM, I, I CAN'T IMAGINE US NOT HAVING CAMERAS, AT LEAST AT SOME REALLY KEY AREAS ON TRAILS WHERE WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS OR WHEN WE JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T PATROL EVERYTHING.
WE CAN'T EVEN MONITOR THE CAMERAS.
WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH STAFF TO DO THAT, BUT AT LEAST LET'S HAVE 'EM WHERE, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE TIMES A DAY WE, WE GO MONITOR AND SAY WHAT'S GOING ON AND START LOOKING AT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN SOME KEY AREAS OF THIS CITY.
THAT'S THE PART OF THE STRATEGY THAT, THAT I WANT TO HEAR ON THE NEXT STEPS AND THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO BE DOING.
WE, WE SHOULD BE USING ARPA AND WHATEVER ELSE FUNDING WE HAVE TO, TO REALLY COVER SOME OF THOSE AREAS.
WHAT'S HAPPENED, AND YOU'VE MENTIONED COTTONWOOD TRAIL.
COTTONWOOD TRAIL IS UNUSABLE AT MOST PLACES BY ANY REGULAR CITIZEN.
IT, IT, IT'S, IT'S BEEN TAKEN OVER AND UNTIL WE TAKE IT BACK, I MEAN THE BEST THING TO KEEP TRAILS SAFE ARE WIDE USAGE, RIGHT? THAT'S, WE NEED PEOPLE ON TRAILS AND AT REC PLACES AND WE'RE WHAT'S, WE'RE NOT DOING THAT RIGHT NOW.
AND SO THAT'S A, AGAIN, AND I DON'T WANT TO COME ACROSS NEGATIVE CUZ Y Y'ALL ARE DOING THE ABSOLUTE BEST JOB WE CAN WITH WHAT WE HAVE TO WORK WITH, BUT WE'RE JUST NOT THERE.
AND SO I WOULD REALLY ENCOURAGE Y'ALL TO CONTINUE AS WE ENTER THIS BUDGET.
THERE'S TOWN HALL MEETINGS STARTING NOW, AND WE'RE EN ENTERING THE BUDGET DISCUSSION, MAN, BLESS Y'ALL FOR DOING THE BEST YOU CAN WITH WHAT'S THERE, BUT THAT'S NOT ENOUGH.
LIKE WE'VE GOT TO HEAR THE TRUTH WITH ALL THESE TRAILS COMING ONLINE, THAT MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE.
AND, UM, I FOR 1:00 AM HUGELY SUPPORTIVE OF DOING THAT.
AND I'M FEARFUL OF NOT DOING ENOUGH.
AND YET WE'RE GONNA BE ASKING D P D TO DO MORE.
THAT'S THE MOST ACTIVE PART WE HAVE IN, AT LEAST IN NORTHEAST OF TRYING TO DIG OUT OF PROBLEMS ONCE WE HAVE THEM.
UM, BUT A LOT OF THESE THINGS, YEAH, ABSOLUTELY SOLAR LIGHTS, LET'S LIGHT UP OUR TRAILS.
THAT SHOULD BE A, A BASE POLICY OF THE CITY, LIGHT UP OUR TRAILS.
UM, AGAIN, BEING COGNIZANT OF NEIGHBORS AND IMPACTS AND THINGS LIKE, LIKE THAT, WHICH WE'RE CAPABLE OF DOING.
UM, BUT I, I'M JUST, I'M, I DON'T SEE ENOUGH HERE OF WHAT I THINK WE SHOULD BE DOING WITH THE AMOUNT OF TRAILS THAT WE HAVE COMING ONLINE AND WHAT THIS CITY NEEDS TO LOOK AT.
I, I'M ONE THAT CAME ON WHEN I FIRST GOT ELECTED AND WE HAD EVERYBODY'S CELL PHONES GETTING STOLEN EVERY TIME THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, AND, AND SOME ATTACKED, YOU KNOW, SPECIFIC INTENTIONAL THINGS GOING ON AT THAT.
AND WE'VE HAD SOME OTHER REAL SERIOUS INCIDENTS OVER THE YEARS.
AND, UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT FROM THIS COMMITTEE, WE ARE SUPPORTING THE PUBLIC SAFETY ASPECT OF OUR TRAIL NETWORK MORE THAN WE HAVE BEEN IN THE PAST.
I SAW OUR, UH, LEADER COME SIT DOWN PLEASE, JENKINS.
[01:00:01]
YOU.CHAIRMAN MCGEE AND ALL MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
I'M JOHN JENKINS, DIRECTOR OF THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.
AND, UH, YOU ALL ARE RIGHT ON POINT.
UH, THERE WILL BE A BE A BIGGER ASS THIS YEAR.
UH, IT'S NOT REFLECTING THE BUDGET CAUSE WE'RE STILL, I MEAN, THROUGH THE PRESENTATION CAUSE WE'RE STILL WORKING ON THAT COMPREHENSIVE SECURITY PLAN.
AND I THINK WE'RE IN THE, BEEN IN THE PROCESS NOW FOR ABOUT SEVEN TO EIGHT MONTHS.
BUT ONCE THAT'S COMPLETED, UH, WE WILL HAVE PHASE ONE OF THAT ASK.
AND I CAN TELL YOU IT WILL BE A BIG ASK.
IT WILL INCLUDE JUST WHAT YOU MENTIONED.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAVE MORE SECURITY AND LIGHTING ON THE TRAILS.
WE WANT TO UTILIZE TECHNOLOGY, CAMERAS, DRONES.
UH, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE STRATEGICALLY WE'RE PLACING THOSE CAMERAS, AS YOU MENTIONED, CUZ WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL WHEN WE'RE DEALING WITH LINEAR TRAILS.
BUT THERE'S MORE ECO-FRIENDLY TYPE LIGHTING WE CAN PUT OUT THERE.
AND SO THERE'S GONNA BE A BIG ASK, CUZ YOU'RE RIGHT, WE NEED DAYTIME PATROL AND WE NEED NIGHTTIME PATROL.
WE DO NEED MORE, UH, TECHNOLOGY.
SO I CAN TELL YOU, I DON'T MIND SAYING THIS PUBLICLY.
THAT ASK FOR SECURITY THIS YEAR IS DEFINITELY GONNA BE NORTH OF A MILLION DOLLARS.
BUT THIS WILL BE DONE IN, IN PHASES.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT AND PLEASE CONTINUE TO, TO DO THAT.
I, I I THINK THAT'S EVEN SMALL WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE COMING IN, I, I THINK AS WE'VE GOT THE, THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE COMING AROUND AND HELPING US TREMENDOUSLY PRIVATELY, I THINK THAT SHOULD BE PART OF THE, THE ASK IN THAT YOU NEED TO BUILD THE SAFETY PIECE ALONG WITH THE TRAILS THAT WE'RE, THAT ARE COMING IN AND SOME ARE DOING SOME REALLY BEING AWARE OF THAT, AND I'M THANKFUL FOR THAT.
UM, BUT ANYWAY, THOSE ARE A FEW OF MY COMMENTS.
AND I'LL, I'LL PASS IT TO, UH, SHERONE WILLIS.
SO SPEAKING OF ASKS, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW I FEEL ABOUT SPONSORSHIPS AND WE FINALLY PROCURED A SPONSORSHIP AGENCY, SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ASKS, UM, AND CHAIR SCHULTZ HAD ALSO PROMPTED THIS, UH, VIA TEXT, SO I WANNA GIVE HER CREDIT, BUT, UH, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT AN ATV, A LIGHT POLE, A MILE MARKER, THESE ARE SPONSORABLE.
AND SO, UM, I WOULD HOPE THAT THIS IS PART OF WHAT THE AGENCY IS EVALUATING IN OUR WHOLE PORTFOLIO, ARE THESE SORTS OF THINGS.
WHAT'S BEING CONSIDERED? OH, YEAH.
WHEN, UH, THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT WHERE THERE'S OPPORTUNITY FOR SPONSORSHIPS, YES.
AND SO IT'S INCLUDING TRAILS, JUST SCOREBOARDS ANYMORE.
AND WHEN YOU ADD THE HALO OF PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, FOR OUR CITIZENS THAT CAN GO AROUND A BRAND AND PARKS AND TRAILS, I MEAN, I WOULD THINK THAT WOULD BE APPEALING.
I HAVE A DIFFERENT QUESTION NOW ABOUT MARSHALLS.
UM, AND THIS IS AROUND, UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE GOT PENSIVE TRAILHEAD DRINKING GUNFIRE.
SO IS THIS A NINE ONE ONE CALL AND THEN IT WILL COME TO A MARSHALL WHO MIGHT BE ON THAT TRAIL OR CLOSER TO GETTING TO THAT, THAT TRAIL HEAD VERSUS A DEEP, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER OFFICER OR HOW DOES THIS WORK? I MEAN, I DO SEE THEIR EVENING HOURS AND I'M, I'M REALLY GLAD THAT WE'VE, WE'VE GOT THOSE, BUT WHAT, WHAT, WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION FOR A CITIZEN TO TAKE? IT'S FOR SURE A 9 1 1 CALL.
AND THEN AFTER THE NINE ONE ONE CALL IS LOGGED, IT GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO, IT CAN BE DISPATCHED IF, IF DIS IF, UH, COMMUNICATIONS IS AWARE OF, UH, US HAVING SOME MARSHALS EITHER ON THE TRAIL OR EVEN IN A, IN A PARK NEAR OR ADJACENT TO THAT AREA, THEY CAN GO.
SAME WITH D P D AS CHIEF IGO POINTED OUT, SOME OF THESE OFFENSES, OR EVEN SOME OF THE GUNFIRE CALLS ARE HAPPENING WITHIN A HUNDRED FEET OF A TRAIL ON, ON EITHER SIDE.
AND SO IT MAY NOT BE SPECIFIC TO THE TRAIL, BUT THERE'S THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN OFF TRAIL THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED ALSO.
AND SO THE, THE NINE ONE ONE CALL IS GONNA RESULT IN THE QUICKEST RESPONSE AND IT GIVES US THE ABILITY TO TRACK.
WE WERE, WE TALKED EARLIER ABOUT BEING DATA DRIVEN ON HOW WE DO THIS.
AND, AND IT'S, IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT WHEN, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A LIMITED NUMBER OF RESOURCES THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING HERE AS, AS BEING DATA DRIVEN AND RESPONDING TO THESE INCIDENTS IN A SMARTER FASHION.
SO 9 1 1, AND THEN ANYONE THAT'S AROUND THERE BETWEEN THE MARSHALS, EVEN THE PARK RANGERS, WE WOULD, UM, THEY COULD AT LEAST RESPOND TO MAYBE GET A VISUAL OF WHAT'S HAPPENING DOWN THE TRAIL AND, AND GUIDE MARSHALS IN OR D P D IN.
BUT, UM, ALL OF US HAVE THE ABILITY TO RESPOND TO A 9 1 1 CALL.
AND IF THIS IS HAPPENING WITH SOME FREQUENCY, UH, YOU KNOW, ANTICIPATING THIS AND BEING PROACTIVE, SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD JUST COORDINATE BETWEEN DVDS AND MARSHALS OR, OR LET YOU ALL KNOW THAT THIS IS HAPPENING NEAR A PARK SPACE OR A TRAIL HEAD AND, UH, WE'D LIKE TO GET AHEAD OF IT.
HOW WOULD THAT BEST BE? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
IF YOU CAN JUST SHOOT ME SOME INFORMATION ON, ON WHAT YOUR CONSTITUENTS ARE SENDING YOU WITH REGARDS TO, UH, THE PREVALENT TIMES AND, AND LOCATIONS WHERE THEY THINK THE, THE GUNFIRES COMING FROM OR THIS OR SPECIFIC ILLEGAL ACTIVITY IN AND AROUND THE TRAIL.
AND THEN I'LL SHARE THAT INFORMATION IN INTELLIGENCE WITH D P D.
[01:05:01]
COLLABORATE, DEVELOP A PLAN AND ADDRESS IT PREEMPTIVELY, LIKE YOU SAID.ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, VIRTUAL? YES, GO AHEAD.
UH, HOW MAY RESENDEZ COUNCIL MEMBER, YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN? CHAIRMAN? UH, I, I WON'T BE, UM, I'LL BE QUICK.
UM, UH, I WANTED TO ECHO THE, THE, THE, I AGREE WITH A LOT WHAT, UH, OF WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN SAID.
AND I WANTED TO ECHO THE URGENCY EXPRESSED BY, UM, CHAIRMAN MAGUE.
UH, I WAS GONNA ASK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE AT AND T TRAIL TRAILING THE 24TH TRIAL.
SO I WAS GLAD TO HEAR, UH, ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES GOING ON THERE, THE POSITIVE ACTIVITIES IN TERMS OF PRESENCE, UH, BECAUSE OVER, OVER THE YEARS THAT I'VE, THAT I'VE USED IT, UH, IT WAS ONLY A HANDFUL OF TIMES THAT I SAW SOME THINGS.
UM, AND, AND, AND I'VE WORKED WITH THE PARTS DEPARTMENT AT D P D TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE ISSUES THERE.
SO I APPRECIATE, APPRECIATE THAT.
UH, BUT MOVING FORWARD, I WANNA CON CONTINUE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, FOCUS ON, ON THAT AREA.
IT IS A RELATIVELY ISOLATED AREA, AND I WANT TO CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO USE THOSE TRAILS.
UM, AND IF WE COULD GET SOME OF THOSE, UM, SOLAR OR NON-SOLAR, SOLAR LIGHTS OUT THERE, I THINK, I THINK IT'D BE GREAT.
UH, THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS, MR. CHAIR.
WITH THAT, UM, APPRECIATE Y'ALL VERY MUCH.
UM, AND WE WILL MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA, WHICH TAKES US TO DI DALLAS FIRE AND RESCUE QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, MR. CHAIR MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, UM, AS THE TEAM MAKES A WAY TO THE, UH, DIAS, UM, AS YOU KNOW, I, I'D LIKE TO JUST PROVIDE SOME COMMENTS.
AS YOU KNOW, OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS WITH THE COUNCIL SUPPORT, UM, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE ENHANCEMENTS TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT'S QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
WITH THE ADOPTION OF THIS LAST BUDGET, THERE WAS SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES IN THE LEVEL OF OVERSIGHT AND THE LEVEL OF PROGRAMMING THAT HAS BEEN, THAT IS BEING IMPLEMENTED.
AND THE PURPOSE OF THIS PRESENTATION TODAY IS TO, TO LET THE TEAM TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THEIR PROGRESS TO DATE, UM, KIND OF WHAT'S NEXT AND WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE GOING, HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT FEW, FEW YEARS.
AND SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN OVER TO CHIEF ARTIS.
I HOPE I DIDN'T TAKE ALL OF YOUR THUNDER, BUT ANYWAYS, I'LL LET YOU, UH, INTRODUCE THE TEAM IN THE TOPIC.
TODAY, UM, I WANNA THANK THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE FOR ALLOWING US TO PRESENT OUR QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM UPDATE.
UM, WE TAKE CONSIDERABLE PRIDE IN MAKING SURE THAT OUR EMS SERVICE IS ONE OF THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY.
AND GLAD TO SAY WE'VE TAKEN SOME HUGE STRIDES, BUT WE STILL HAVE A WAY TO GO.
AND SO TODAY OUR PRESENTERS WILL BE EXECUTIVE DEPUTY CHIEF DELRIDGE WILLIAMS AND CAPTAIN ROBERT BOES.
ISAACS UP UP HERE AS WELL AS ASSISTANT CHIEF JUSTIN BALL.
I AM, UH, DELRIDGE WILLIAMS. I'M THE EXECUTIVE DEPUTY FOR DALLAS FIRE RESCUE, AND I WILL BE PRESENTING WITH, UH, CAPTAIN BORIS TO MY RIGHT.
SO, AS IN THIS FIRST SLIDE, UH, WHAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT TODAY IS WE'RE GONNA GO OVER OUR IMPROVED QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
UH, WE'LL TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE RE RECENT ENHANCEMENTS, UH, THE GOALS, HOW IT'S COMPOSED, UH, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO WITH IT.
AND THEN I'LL GIVE IT TO, UH, CAPTAIN BORIS, AND HE'LL COVER SOME OF THE COMPONENTS, DATA AND RESULTS, AS WELL AS THE NEXT STEPS.
SO, AS YOU MAY HAVE, BE AWARE THAT WE RECENTLY SIGNED A NEW CONTRACT FOR OUR MEDICAL DIRECTION.
UH, PRIOR TO THIS, WE HAD TWO SEPARATE CONTRACTS, ONE WITH BIO TAIL FOR OUR ONLINE MEDICAL DIRECTION, AND THEN WE HAD A SECOND ONE WITH PARKLAND FOR OUR OFFLINE.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANTED TO DO TO BECOME MORE EFFICIENT IN WHAT WE DO, WE COMBINE THEM IN TWO, ONE WITH PARKLAND PROVIDING BOTH THE ONLINE AND OFFLINE MEDICAL DIRECTION.
THEY HAVE, IN TURN, SUBCONTRACTED SOME OF THE MEDICAL DIRECTION, THE ONLINE, I'M SORRY, THE OFFLINE MEDICAL DIRECTION TO DR.
ISAACS AND HIS TEAM OF DOCTORS THROUGH PARKLAND.
NOW, ANOTHER THING THAT HAPPENED DURING THIS, THIS NEW CONTRACT, WE DID ADD AN ADDITIONAL MEDICAL DIRECTOR AS WELL AS A CLINICAL PRACTICE DIVISION WITH THREE CLINICAL PRACTITIONERS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING DIFFERENTLY, LIKE THIS TIME THAT WE REALLY WANTED TO DO IS THAT WE BELIEVE THAT IN ORDER FOR OUR MEDICAL DIRECTION TEAM TO TRULY UNDERSTAND WHAT OUR PARAMEDICS ARE GOING THROUGH AND TRULY BE ABLE TO EVALUATE THEM, WAS THAT THEY NEEDED TO GET OUT AND ACTUALLY BE BOOTS ON THE STREETS RIDING WITH OUR PARAMEDICS TO GIVE THEM A PROPER EVALUATION AND TO ALSO EVALUATE OUR SYSTEM.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT OUR TEAM HAS BEEN DOING SINCE THEN.
SO, FROM CHIEF ARTISTS ON DOWN TO THE
[01:10:01]
PARAMEDIC ON THE STREET, UH, FROM TEL, UH, PARKLAND, OUR GOAL IS TO PROVIDE THE BEST SERVICE THAT WE CAN TO THE PEOPLE THAT WE SERVE HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.UH, SO BECAUSE OF THAT, WHAT WE DO IS, WITH OUR QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, WE DO A 360 DEGREE TOP DOWN EVALUATION CONSISTENTLY AND CONSTANTLY TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE DOING THE RIGHT THINGS.
UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN, CAN IMPROVE, AND WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THOSE MEASURES.
SO FROM EVERY PATIENT WE TRY TO LEARN AND TRY TO, TO GET BETTER FOR THE NEXT TIME.
UM, ANOTHER THING, BECAUSE WE'RE PROVIDING MS SERVICE, WE FOLLOW UNDER BOTH SOME STATE AND FEDERAL, UH, REGULATIONS.
SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE IN LINE WITH THEM.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE TO, UH, MAKE SURE THAT OUR PARAMEDICS ON THE STREET ARE GIVING THE BEST QUALITY SERVICE THAT THEY CAN, AND THAT WE ARE SUPPORTING THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE THINGS THAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THAT SERVICE.
SO THIS NEXT SLIDE SHOWS THE CURRENT ORGANIZATIONAL CHART FOR OUR QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
AT THE TOP OF THAT CHART IS DR.
ISAACS, WHO IS SITTING TO, TO MY RIGHT.
HE HAS A HIGH FUNCTIONING GROUP OF THREE DEPUTY MEDICAL DIRECTORS.
UM, HE ALSO WORKS WITH OUR QUALITY MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR, WHO OVERSEES THREE QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTITIONERS, SPECIALISTS, AND THREE CLINICAL PRACTICE SPECIAL SPECIALISTS.
ALL OF THIS IS OVERSEEN BY OUR DFR QUALITY MANAGEMENT LIEUTENANT AND OUR SECTION CHIEF OF E M S.
SO, THE DFR MEDICAL DIRECTOR HAS THE ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR QUALITY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND OUR AREAS OF FOCUS WITHIN THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, THE QUALITY, THE, UM, MEDICAL DIRECTOR ALSO HAS OVERSIGHT OF ALL THE PERSONNEL WITHIN THE QUALITY FUNCTIONS OF THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, AND HE ALSO OVERSEES THE CREDENTIALING OF OUR DFR PARAMEDICS.
UH, TO EXPAND ON THAT, SO WHEN OUR PARAMEDICS, WHEN THEY GO TO PARAMEDIC SCHOOL, THEY GRADUATE PARAMEDIC SCHOOL, THEY HAVE, UM, SOME EXAMS THAT THEY'LL HAVE TO TAKE WITH THE NATIONAL REGISTRY, UH, ONCE THEY GET PAST THE NATIONAL REGISTRY, AND THEN THEY GET LICENSED BY THE STATE.
THE CREDENTIALING PROCESS IS OVER AND ABOVE THAT.
SO IT'S AN ADDITIONAL EVALUATION AND TRAINING THAT OUR MEDICAL DIRECTOR DOES THAT WILL CERTIFY OUR MEMBERS IN ORDER SO THAT THEY MAY THEN WORK UNDER HIS LICENSE.
SO, THE DEPUTY, THE DEPUTY MEDICAL DIRECTORS, ASSISTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINES.
THEY ASSIST IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE QUALITY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.
UH, THEY'RE ALSO INGRAINED AND EMBEDDED IN OUR EDUCATION AND TRAINING.
THEY PERFORM REVIEWS OF OUR PATIENT CARE REPORTS AND OUR DOCUMENTATIONS.
THEY HELP TO, TO RETRAIN AND SUPPORT OUR PARAMEDICS.
THEY TOO RIDE OUT REGULARLY WITH OUR PARAMEDICS TO EVALUATE THEM.
UH, THEY ALSO HELP US TO MONITOR THEIR TRENDS AND SPECIAL VARIANCES VARIANCES WITH OUR, WITH OUR SYSTEM.
THE DFL, THE DFR MS COORDINATOR IS A PARAMEDIC WITH EXPERIENCE IN BOTH QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND QUALITY ASSURANCE.
THIS PERSON REVIEWS AND THEIR REVIEWS WILL FOCUS ON OUR HIGH RISK INCIDENT TYPES, SUCH AS CARDIAC ARRESTS, OUR, OUR ADVANCED AIRWAY MANAGEMENT, WHICH MEANS WHEN WE INTUBATE PEOPLE, AND THEY ALSO LOOK AT OUR TRANSPORT DECISION MAKING AMONG OTHER THINGS.
THEY OVERSEE OUR CLINICAL REVIEWS AND THEY MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OUR SYSTEM-WIDE IMPROVEMENTS AND TRAINING.
THEY PROVIDE REPORTS ON OUR QUALITY MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE MEASURE MEASURES, SUCH AS, UH, THE RETURN OF SPONTANEOUS CIRCULATION RATES.
THEY MONITOR OUR COMPLIANCE WITH OUR CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINES, AND THEY ALSO HELP TO EVALUATE OUR TRANSPORT DECISIONS.
NEXT LINE, THE DFR EMS QUALITY MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST IS A PARAMEDIC AS WELL WITH EXPERIENCING QUALITY MANAGEMENT INSURANCE.
THIS GROUP INITIATES OUR CLINICAL REVIEWS.
AND OUR CLINICAL REVIEWS ARE WHEN, WHEN OUR, WHEN THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT TEAM, THEY REVIEW OUR, THE REGULAR REVIEW, OUR EPCR, OUR ELECTRONIC PATIENT
[01:15:01]
CARE REPORTS.IF THERE ARE THINGS THAT THEY SEE THAT NEED FURTHER EXPLANATION, OR IF THEY FLAG SOME THINGS THAT, UM, THAT MAY BE ISSUES OR MAY BE TRAINING ISSUES, THEN THEY CAN INITIATE A CLINICAL REVIEW IN ORDER TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CALL AND TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE PROVIDING THE SERVICE FROM THIS, UM, THEY CAN EITHER SEE IF THERE'S SOMETHING THERE THAT THEY NEED TO FOCUS AND PASS ON TO THE HIGHER REVIEW FOR THE MEDICAL DIRECTORS, OR IF IT'S DOCUMENTATION OR PAPERWORK ISSUES.
THEY'LL ALSO HELP TO IDENTIFY PARAMEDIC TRAINING NEEDS AS WELL AS DEFICIENCIES IF FOUND.
THE CLINICAL PRACTICE COORDINATOR IS A PARAMEDIC AS WELL WITH EXPERIENCE IN PROVIDING EMS EDUCATION TO ADULTS.
THE PARAMEDICS CURRENTLY, THEY GO UNDER UNDERGO A SIX MONTH.
UH, IT'S THE PT PROGRAM, IT'S ARY TRAINING AND EVALUATION PROGRAM.
ONCE THEY GET DONE WITH THEIR, THEIR TRAINING AT THE ACADEMY, UH, THEY'LL ALSO GO THROUGH A EMS BOOT CAMP PUT ON BY THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR, WHICH IS A PHYSICIAN DIRECTED EDUCATION AND TRAINING BEYOND WHAT IS PROVIDED DURING THE INITIAL PARAMEDIC TRAINING, WITH THE GOAL OF SUPPORTING OUR NEW PARAMEDICS IN PROVIDING EXCELLENCE IN CARE, THEY, THE, UH, CLINICAL PRACTICE COORDINATOR WILL HELP TO ASSIST AND TO, TO, TO DEVELOP FURTHER DEVELOP THIS PROGRAM.
AND HE ALSO OVERSEES THE CREDENTIALING, WHICH IS THE PROCESS THAT I EXPLAINED ABOUT ALLOWING, ALLOWING THEM THE RESOURCES TO WORK UNDER THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR'S LICENSE.
THE CLINICAL PRACTICE SPECIALISTS, THEY EVALUATE AND MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF OUR NEW PARAMEDICS ONCE THEY HIT THE FIELD.
THEY COLLABORATE WITH THE DFR LEADERSHIP FOR THE OVERSIGHT OF FIELD TRAINING, AND THEY CONDUCT THE CREDENTIALING INTERVIEWS.
THE EMS QUALITY MANAGEMENT OFFICER IS A LIEUTENANT WITH THE DALLAS FIRE RESCUE, WHO HOLDS A PARAMEDIC LICENSE, WHO HAS EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD, AND HE, HE SERVES AS THE PRIMARY LIAISON BETWEEN THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT TEAM AND THE DFR EMS LEADERSHIP.
I'M CAPTAIN ROB BOS WITH THE OFFICE OF THE, UH, CHIEF OF STAFF.
UM, I'M GONNA TAKE IT OVER AND COVER SOME OF THE COMPONENTS OF THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
UH, CHIEF WILLIAMS ALREADY DISCUSSED THE CREDENTIALING, UH, MEDICAL DIRECTOR'S BOOTCAMP, WHICH IS A 40 HOUR INTENSIVE PHYSICIAN-LED PROGRAM, UH, USING MULTIMODAL TEACHING METHODS.
UH, BUT WE'VE ALSO RECENTLY, ANOTHER, UH, ENHANCEMENT WE'VE MADE, OR OF ENHANCE COMPONENT IS, IS THE CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINE EXAM.
UH, THIS IS WHEREBY EVERY D FFR PARAMEDIC IS TESTED ON THEIR KNOWLEDGE, UH, OF OUR PROTOCOLS, UH, REGULARLY.
AND, UH, THIS, THE RESULTS OF THAT TEST MAY RESULT IN RETESTING ATTEMPTS, RETRAINING, AND IF NECESSARY, UH, REMEDIATION.
SO EVERYTHING WE DO, YOU'LL HEAR YOU HEAR THIS A LOT, IS, UH, DATA DRIVEN.
UM, THE, THAT IS A PRIMARY PILLAR OF THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
UH, THEY TRACK, UM, AND MONITOR A GREAT DEAL OF DATA FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND STRATEGIC DECISIONS.
UM, OVERALL, THEY CONCENTRATE ON A NUMBER OF HIGH-RISK INCIDENT TYPES AND, UH, OUTCOMES.
FOR INSTANCE, WHAT WAS THE PATIENT'S DISPOSITION? WE'LL, WE'LL IDENTIFY CERTAIN DISPOSITIONS THAT ARE, BY DEFINITION, HIGH RISK OUTCOMES.
UM, ALSO ANY, UH, MISSING REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION BASED ON THAT DISPOSITION OR, OR THE, UH, COMPLAINT TYPE.
UM, ALSO TRANSPORT DECISIONS, UM, WHETHER OR NOT TO TRANSPORT AND WHO TRANSPORT THAT, THAT PATIENT, UM, AT THE END OF THE CALL.
UM, AND, UM, ALSO WE LOOK AT METRICS THAT WOULD SUGGEST POSITIVE OUTCOMES, THE PRESENCE OF AN EMS FIELD SUPERVISOR, FOR EXAMPLE, ON HIGH ACUITY CALL TYPES AND AS WELL AS OUTCOMES AS CHIEF WILLIAM'S, UH, MENTIONED ALREADY, THE RETURN OF SPONTANEOUS CIRCULATION AND OUR OVERALL TRANSPORT RATE.
AND, AND ONE OF THE REASONS WE, WE MONITOR THESE AND CONCENTRATE ON 'EM IS THAT WE, IT GIVES US A FOCUS TO OUR EDUCATION, OUR TRAINING, AND OUR MENTORING.
SO WE'LL GO THROUGH SOME OF THOSE, UH, DATA POINTS THAT I HAD MENTIONED.
UM, AND SO THESE ARE STATISTICAL, UM, GRAPHS THAT WILL SHOW YOU THE RECENT TRENDS ON SOME OF THOSE THAT I MENTIONED.
SO, ONE HIGH RISK DISPOSITION THAT WAS IDENTIFIED IS NOT A SICK OR INJURED PERSON.
THIS WOULD BE WHERE OUR, OUR UNITS GO OUT AND OUR PERSONNEL MEET WITH SOMEONE AND THEY DETERMINE THAT THEY WERE ACTUALLY NOT A SICK OR INJURED PERSON.
HISTORICALLY, THIS TURNS OUT TO BE A FAIRLY HIGH RISK OUTCOME THROUGH EDUCATION, THROUGH TRAINING, UM, AND THROUGH ENHANCED EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT, WE ARE GETTING, UM, MORE SPECIFIC AND MORE ACCURATE PATIENT, UH, DISPOSITIONS.
[01:20:01]
IN EFFECT REDUCES OUR RISK AND IMPROVES PATIENT OUTCOME AND HAS AN, UH, A REAL EFFECT ON OUR TRANSPORT DECISIONS AND, AND OUR RATES.SO YOU SEE A DOWNWARD TREND OVER THAT TIME PERIOD, WHICH IS A POSITIVE SIGN.
ANOTHER IDENTIFIED METRIC THAT, UH, THAT WE'LL HIGHLIGHT TODAY IS, UH, UH, A MISSING DOCUMENTATION AND AGAIN, UH, HIGH RISK.
THIS, UH, THIS GRAPH REPRESENTS MISSING AUDIO RECORDINGS FOR, UM, PATIENT REFUSALS.
SO WHEN A PATIENT DECIDES NOT TO ACCEPT TRANSPORT TO A, UH, EMERGENCY, UH, MEDICAL FACILITY, UH, WE ARE REQUIRED TO GET AN AUDIO RECORDING THAT THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR CHOICES ARE AND THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT, UH, THAT THEY ARE REFUSING TRANSPORT AT THAT TIME.
SO THERE ARE A NUMBER OF FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO WHEN THAT AUDIO RECORDING MAY BE MISSING, MAY BE PERSONNEL PERFORMANCE, IT MAY ALSO BE SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE PERFORMANCE.
UM, WE ARE, UM, ATTACKING THIS ISSUE OF, WITH A MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH, AND YOU SEE A DOWNWARD TREND OVER THAT, WHICH IS ANOTHER POSITIVE SIGN.
IT, I, AGAIN, IT IMPROVES PATIENT OUTCOME AND REDUCES RISK.
THIS NEXT, UH, METRIC IS A HIGH-RISK TRANSPORT DECISION.
UM, THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR IS WHERE LAW ENFORCEMENT TRANSPORTS A PATIENT.
UH, AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THIS, UM, TRANSPORT DECISION WOULD BE MADE IS IF THE, UH, THIS PATIENT WAS IN POLICE CUSTODY AND UNDER ARREST, THEY MAY BE GOING TO A, UH, FACILITY WITH, UM, MEDICAL PERSONNEL ON SCENE.
SO THE DECISION MIGHT BE MADE, HEY, THEY'RE GONNA BE OKAY.
THEY'RE GONNA GO TO A FACILITY WITH MEDICAL PERSONNEL, SO I WILL ALLOW LAW ENFORCEMENT TO TRANSPORT THEM, OR LAW ENFORCEMENT WILL TAKE 'EM TO THE HOSPITAL.
AGAIN, THIS WAS IDENTIFIED AS A HIGH RISK DECISION BECAUSE YOU WERE TAKING THEM OUT OF THE CARE OF DFR PARAMEDICS.
SO THROUGH ENHANCED, UM, EDUCATION AND TRAINING, WE GET MORE IN-DEPTH, UH, EVALUATIONS, MORE ACCURATE ASSESSMENTS, MORE ACCURATE DISPOSITIONS, AND DIFFERENT AND LOWER RISK, UH, AND DARE I SAY, BETTER TRANSPORT DECISIONS.
AND YOU SEE A DOWNWARD TREND, WHICH AGAIN, IS A POSITIVE SIGN.
WE HAVE, UH, EMS FIELD SUPERVISORS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, AND WE HAVE NOW MADE IT STANDARD THAT THEY ENTER HIGH, UH, THEY, I'M SORRY.
UM, THEY GO TO, THEY ARE DISPATCHED AUTOMATICALLY TO HIGH ACUITY CALL TYPES.
UH, FOR INSTANCE, THIS SLIDE REPRESENTS TIMES WHEN, UH, A FIELD SUPERVISOR WAS ON SCENE OF A CARDIAC ARREST, AGAIN, UPWARD TRENDING.
UH, THIS REPRESENTS, UH, MORE LEADERSHIP, MORE KNOWLEDGE, MORE EXPERTISE, UH, AND BASICALLY MORE HELP, MORE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO OUR MEDICS AND THEREFORE TO THE PATIENT.
UH, THIS IS VIEWED AS A, AS A POSITIVE SIGN, AGAIN, IMPROVING PATIENT OUTCOMES AND REDUCING RISK.
SO, AGAIN, A POSITIVE SIGN THAT THIS IS AN UPWARD TREND.
WE'VE MENTIONED ROSK SEVERAL TIMES, RETURN OF SPONTANEOUS CIRCULATION.
THIS IS AN OUT OF HOSPITAL SUDDEN CARDIAC EVENT WHERE CPR IS REQUIRED, AND ROCK SIMPLY MEANS YOU GET A HEARTBEAT BACK.
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ROSK AND SURVIVABILITY.
WE CAN DISCUSS THAT A A LITTLE BIT, UH, LATER AT A, A SUBSEQUENT SLIDE.
BUT YOU SEE OUR RATE, AGAIN, TRENDING UPWARD.
UM, I WILL TELL YOU THAT, UH, ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION, THE CURRENT, UH, RATE FOR ROSK NATIONWIDE IS 9.1%, IS THE MOST CURRENT DATA.
AND YOU CAN SEE WE ARE ABOVE, UH, THAT LEVEL, WHICH AGAIN, IS A POSITIVE SIGN, WHICH WE ATTRIBUTE TO INCREASED PERFORMANCE DUE TO INCREASED TRAINING, EDUCATION, AND THOSE SUPERVISORS GETTING OUT TO A GREAT MANY OF THOSE OF THOSE CALLS.
AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS CONTRIBUTE TO OUR OVERALL TRANSPORT RATE.
UH, THIS IS AN UPWARD TREND, AS YOU CAN SEE, STEADY.
AND THOSE, UH, THE, THAT PERCENTAGE IS VERY HIGH.
THIS IS THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS THAT WE ENCOUNTER WHERE THEY ARE ACTUALLY TRANSPORTED TO A MEDICAL FACILITY.
HISTORICALLY, OUR TRANSPORT RATES HAVE BEEN, UH, IN THE LOW, LOW TO MID FORTIES.
WE ARE NOW UP OVER 60%, UM, OVER THE LAST, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE TIME PERIOD.
UM, THIS IS THROUGH ENHANCEMENTS IN EDUCATION AND FIELD SUPERVISION.
UM, THIS IS THE SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR THAT WE HAVE TRANSPORTED OVER 100,000 PATIENTS, UH, OVER A CALENDAR YEAR.
SO WHAT DOES ALL THAT MEAN? WE CAN SHOW YOU A LOT OF GRAPHS, WE CAN SHOW YOU A LOT OF STATISTICS, BUT WHERE DOES THE RUBBER HIT THE ROAD, SO TO SPEAK? WHAT DOES THIS ACTUAL MEAN? SO THESE ARE THE RESULTS THAT WE ATTRIBUTE DO IN LARGE PART, TO NOT ONLY THE HARD WORK AND DEDICATION OF OUR PARAMEDICS IN THE FIELD, UH, BUT ALSO TO THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
SO FIRST AND FOREMOST, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS PATIENT OUTCOMES.
WE ARE SEEING IMPROVED PATIENT OUTCOMES THROUGH OUR, THROUGH THE ANALYTICS OF OUR, UM, OF THE RESULTS THAT WE GET FROM THE HOSPITAL ABOUT, UH, PATIENT DISCHARGE INFORMATION AND THROUGH OUR DOCUMENTATION.
UM, I'LL HIGHLIGHT ONE D, FFR PARAMEDICS SAVED THE LIVES OF 51 PEOPLE LAST YEAR, UM, WHO HAD, WHO HAD SUFFERED CARDIAC ARREST.
AND WHEN I SAY THEY SURVIVED, THEY WALKED OUTTA THE HOSPITAL NEUROLOGICALLY INTACT.
THIS IS THE SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR THAT WE HAVE CLEARED OVER 50 PATIENTS THAT WE, THAT, THAT, THAT WENT HOME AND ENJOYED TIME WITH THEIR FAMILY AFTERWARDS.
THIS IS A HUGE NUMBER, AND THAT'S WHAT I MEAN BY THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GETTING A HEARTBEAT BACK AND ACTUALLY WALKING OUTTA THE HOSPITAL LATER.
THIS IS, THIS IS A TESTAMENT TO OUR DEDICATION, HARD WORK
[01:25:01]
AND THE PROGRAMS WE'VE PUT IN PLACE.UM, ANECDOTALLY, WE JUST HAD ONE, UH, RECENTLY WHERE A, UH, A FATHER OF A, OF A RESIDENT, UH, SUFFERED CARDIAC ARREST.
DFR RESPONDED, AND WE HELPED BE PART OF THE CHAIN OF SURVIVAL WHERE THAT, THAT FATHER WALKED OUTTA THE HOSPITAL.
ABOUT A MONTH LATER, WE WENT BACK TO THE SAME ADDRESS WHERE THE HOUSEKEEPER SUFFERED CARDIAC ARREST.
DFR RESPONDED, WE HELPED BE PART OF THE CHAIN OF SURVIVAL WHERE THAT HOUSEKEEPER WALKED OUTTA THE HOSPITAL NEUROLOGICALLY INTACT.
WE CAN TALK LATER ABOUT WHAT SORT OF WATER FILTER THEY MAY HAVE THAT ALLOWS THAT, BUT AGAIN, THIS IS A SORT OF POSITIVE STORY THAT WE WANT TO HAVE MORE WHEN WE LOOK FORWARD TO MORE OF THOSE STORIES WITH IMPROVED PERFORMANCE, UM, UH, IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FUTURE.
UM, NEXT UP REDUCED EMS COMPLAINTS.
DFR IN 2022 MADE OVER 250,000 RUNS FOR EMS SERVICES.
WE HAD TWO PATIENT, UH, STATE COMPLAINTS THAT IS COMPARED TO EIGHT IN THE YEAR BEFORE.
THAT IS A VERY POSITIVE TREND AS WE'RE GOING DOWNWARD.
COMPLAINTS THAT REACH THE STATE LEVEL ARE USUALLY, UH, VERY SERIOUS IN, IN NATURE, UM, WITH ALLEGATIONS OF, OF, OF PERHAPS SIGNIFICANT, UM, TREATMENT DEFICIENCIES.
AND THE FACT THAT WE ONLY HAD TWO OUT OF THOSE NUMBERS IS A POSITIVE SIGN, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO FURTHER LIMITING THAT NUMBER IN THE FUTURE.
ANOTHER OUTCOME THAT WE ATTRIBUTE, UH, DO, UH, IN LARGE PART TO OUR INCREASED PERFORMANCE, UH, BETTER, UH, ASSESSMENTS BETTER, UM, DOCUMENTATION IS THAT WE HAD INCREASED REIMBURSEMENT FOR OUR AMBULANCE SERVICES.
UM, OUR, UH, CASH RECEIPTS FOR AMBULANCE BILLING WAS UP 14.8% OVER THE PREVIOUS FISCAL, UH, YEAR.
UM, AND I ALSO WANNA HIGHLIGHT, UH, I WOULD BE REMISS TO SAY THAT NO DECISION WE MAKE AND NO CHANGE WE MAKE IS MADE IN A BUBBLE.
THERE ARE BUTTERFLY EFFECTS, THERE'S RIPPLE EFFECTS THAT SOMETIMES WE THEN HAVE TO ADJUST TO ONE OF THOSE AS EVERYONE IN THIS, UH, ON THIS COMMITTEE KNOWS, AS YOU'VE SEEN ON THE DASHBOARD, IS OUR RESPONSE TIMES HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY PRIMARILY THE TRANSPORT RATE TRANSPORT TAKE MORE THAN TWICE AS LONG AS A NON TRANSPORT.
WHEN WE'RE TRANSPORTING OVER 60%, WE HAVE LESS UNITS AVAILABLE AND THEREFORE OUR TRANSPORTS HAVE OUR TRANSPORT PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN IMPACTED.
UM, WE WILL TALK ABOUT HOW WE'RE ADJUSTING TO THAT, BUT I WILL, I WANNA STRESS THAT EVEN WITH THAT REDUCED RESPONSE TIMES, AS, UH, WE'VE SHOWN IN THESE, IN THESE DATA ANALYTICS, OUR OVERALL SYSTEM PERFORMANCE IS IMPROVING.
SO THAT'S A VERY POSITIVE SIGN.
SO WHAT ARE OUR NEXT STEPS? UH, AS I SAID, WE'RE TAKING A LOOK AT, UH, OPERATIONAL AND STRATEGIC, UM, DECISIONS AND INITIATIVES THAT WE CAN IMPROVE OUR PERFORMANCE, UM, IN THE FACE OF EVER INCREASING CALLS FOR SERVICE.
UM, ONE IS OUR RESOURCE REVIEW.
WE LOOK AT WHERE OUR STATIONS ARE, WHERE OUR UNITS ARE, WHERE OUR PERSONNEL IS, UM, AND WE MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, PLACING ALL OF OUR RESOURCES, UH, EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY.
UM, WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE REVIEW PROJECT, WHICH IS A HUGE UNDERTAKING.
WE ARE GOING THROUGH EVERY SINGLE CALL TYPE, HOW WE RESPOND TO IT, AND MAKING SURE THAT WHAT WE SEND IS THE MOST APPROPRIATE AND EFFICIENT USE OF OUR RESOURCES, UM, AND THAT PEOPLE ARE GETTING THE HELP THAT THEY NEED.
AND WE'RE NOT OVER OR UNDER RESPONDING TO THESE CALL TYPES.
UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT, UH, HISTORICAL DATA FOR THAT, UM, BEST PRACTICES, ALL OF THAT.
AND THERE WILL BE MORE TO THAT.
UH, MORE TO COME ON THAT SUBJECT.
UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT FURTHER EXPANSION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
IT IS A QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, IS NOT ONLY ABOUT THE SYSTEM, IT'S ABOUT ITSELF.
THEY DO THEIR OWN ANALYTICS ON THEIR OWN PERFORMANCE, UM, AND LOOKING FORWARD TO A FOCUS, UH, UM, A SHIFT OF FOCUS FROM QUALITY ASSURANCE TO ACTUAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT, WHICH IS AN EXCITING THING.
AND WE CAN CONTINUE TO IMPROVE PROCESSES AND PERFORMANCE OVERALL.
AN EXAMPLE OF THAT IS THE PEER REVIEW PROGRAM WHERE WE UTILIZE, UM, FIELD PERSONNEL TO DO SPOT CHECKS ON, ON DOCUMENTATION AND PERFORMANCE OF THEIR PEERS.
THIS IS A TRIED AND TRUE METHOD IN THE MEDICAL FACILITY, UH, MEDICAL COMMUNITY, AND WE WILL INSTITUTE THAT IN DALLAS FIRE RESCUE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
WE WILL ALSO LOOK AT OUR, UH, RESPONSE DEVELOPMENT AND EXPANSION.
WE LOOK AT FACILITY EMBEDDED, UH, MEDICS.
UM, WE LOOK AT SPECIAL RESPONSE, UM, TEAMS LIKE THE OPIOID RESPONSE TEAM, RIGHT? CARE AND COMMUNITY PARAMEDICS, AND OUR, UH, NEWLY LAUNCHED SINGLE FUNCTION PARAMEDIC PROGRAM.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION.
AND BEFORE WE TAKE QUESTIONS, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE DR.
ISAACS, UH, JUST COMMENT ON OUR QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, WHICH HE MANAGES FOR DALLAS FIRE RESCUE.
UH, MR. CHAIR, MADAM VICE CHAIR COMMITTEE MEMBERS, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, MR. FORTUNE.
UM, THANKS FOR HAVING US TODAY.
I WANT TO ECHO CHIEF ARTIS GRATITUDE FOR IT IS NOT WITHOUT YOUR EFFORTS IN TERMS OF SUPPORT OF DALLAS FIRE RESCUE AND THE DALLAS FIRE RESCUE OFFICE OF THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR, THAT WE'VE GOTTEN TO THIS POINT THAT WE HAVE A STATE-OF-THE-ART EMS QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
[01:30:01]
THAT RECENTLY, UM, WAS GIVEN ACCOLADES BY THE STATE EMS DIRECTOR, UH, JOE SCHMEER AND HIS STAFF AS A MODEL FOR QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS IN EMS THROUGHOUT THE STATE.UM, THIS PLAN AND THIS PROGRAM IS THE CULMINATION OF MANY, MANY YEARS OF EFFORT ON THE PART OF THE DEPARTMENT AND ON THE DE ON THE PART OF THE CITY.
AND, UM, I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE SOME OF THE FOLKS IN THE AUDIENCE THAT ARE PART OF THIS TEAM.
HOPEFULLY THEY'LL ENTHUSIASTICALLY WAVE AT YOU AS THEY HEAR THEIR NAMES.
BUT WE HAVE TWO OF OUR THREE DEPUTY MEDICAL DIRECTORS, UH, DR.
BRIAN MILLER, COULDN'T BE WITH US TODAY.
WE ALSO HAVE THE DFR OFFICE, THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR, UH, ADMINISTRATOR, MS. BETSY ORTIZ, WHO KEEPS US TOGETHER AN ONLINE.
WE ALSO HAVE ONE OF OUR EMS FELLOWS AND ONE OF OUR EMERGENCY MEDICINE RESIDENTS FROM PARKLAND, UT SOUTHWESTERN.
UM, WE ALSO WOULD NOT BE HERE WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF PARKLAND AND BIOTECH.
AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, THEIR SENIOR DIRECTOR, MS. MELODY GARDNER.
UM, THEY ARE OUR PARTNER IN WHAT WE ARE DOING TO ENHANCE AND SUPPORT THIS QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
UM, QUALITY MANAGEMENT IS THE DES DESIGNED TO CRITICALLY EVALUATE, UH, THE CARE THAT WE PROVIDE EACH DAY TO MORE THAN 13,000, UH, PATIENTS IN DALLAS.
IT'S ONE OF THE BUSIEST DMS SYSTEMS IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND I WANT TO COMMEND CHIEF ARTIS, HIS COMMAND STAFF, THIS WHOLE TEAM, AS WELL AS THE TRAINING DIVISION AND OTHER PARTS OF THE DEPARTMENT THAT COME TOGETHER TO SAY, UM, THAT WE ARE ABLE TO CRITICALLY EVALUATE THE CARE WE PROVIDE, LOOK FOR AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT, AND THEN WORK DILIGENTLY TO ENHANCE THE SUPPORT, MENTORING AND ADVOCACY OF OUR FIREFIGHTERS, PARAMEDICS, AND OFFICERS TO DO THE BEST JOB POSSIBLE FOR EACH AND EVERY PATIENT THAT WE ENCOUNTER.
MR. CHAIR, IF I COULD BEFORE GO TO QUESTIONS, I WOULD LIKE TO JUST, UM, ALTHOUGH I, I DON'T THINK I'M EVEN QUALIFIED TO ADD TO THIS CONVERSATION BASED ON THE LEVEL OF EXPERTISE THAT'S BEEN PRESENTED TODAY, BUT I DID WANNA HIGHLIGHT SOMETHING THAT CHIEF ARTIS SAID IN HIS OPENING COMMENTS.
WE'VE COME A LONG WAY, BUT WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT FIVE YEARS AGO, THIS SYSTEM WAS VERY REACTIVE TO PROBLEMS. AND, UM, WE TALKED THEN ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA CHANGE THE CULTURE OF THE DEPARTMENT AND HOW WE'RE GONNA CHANGE THE CULTURE OF SERVICE.
AND I WANT TO COMMEND THE CHIEF AND HIS STAFF AND HIS TEAM, DR.
ISAACS, FOR TAKING A VERY PROACTIVE LOOK AND HOW WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO, TO SELF EVALUATE AND CHANGE THE CULTURE OF THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, WE'RE GONNA ST THE, THE DOWNSIDE OF THOSE TYPE OF APPROACHES IS SOMETIMES WE FIND UGLY THINGS AND THINGS THAT WE NEED TO FIX.
AND I WANT TO COMMEND THE TEAM.
WE APPRECIATE THE, THE ABILITY TO TAKE A VERY CONSTRUCTIVE AND HARD LOOK AT HOW WE DO THINGS.
AND I, I JUST APPRECIATE THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMITTEE SUPPORT AS WE CONTINUE TO FIND AND IDENTIFY AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT THAT WE CONTINUE TO GET THE SUPPORT THAT WE HAVE BEEN FROM THIS BODY.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND I WANT TO THANK THE CHIEF AND HIS TEAM.
SO WHAT THAT WE'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT SHE MAY HAVE.
WE'LL OPEN IT UP TO QUESTIONS, SEE CHAIRWOMAN MENDELSON.
UM, I KNOW I HAVE BEEN VERY ACTIVE IN ADVOCATING FOR, UM, ADDITIONAL QUALITY MEASURES, AND SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR FOCUSING SO STRONGLY ON IT.
UM, I DO HAVE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU, BUT UM, ACTUALLY I'LL START WITH YOU MR. FORTUNE.
SO YOU'RE REITERATING WHAT THE CHIEF SAID.
SO BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU, MAYBE YOU CAN ANSWER THE PART THAT WAS LEFT UNSAID, WHICH IS, YOU SAY YOU'VE COME FAR, BUT THERE'S STILL FAR TO GO.
WHAT ARE, WHAT DO WE STILL NEED TO DO? OH, I'LL TAKE THAT.
UM, AS ANY SYSTEM, WE'RE VERY, WE ARE VERY, VERY BUSY.
UM, WE STILL HAVE A NUMBER OF ITEMS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO.
UH, AS LIEUTENANT CAPTAIN BOS TALKED ABOUT, BEING ABLE TO PEER REVIEW OUR ELECTRONIC PATIENT CARE REPORTS IS A HUGE PART OF, OF MOVING THIS DEPARTMENT INTO THE FUTURE.
WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, POSSIBLY CARRYING WHOLE BLOOD ON OUR, UH, SEVEN 80 CARS, OUR SHIFT DUTY OFFICERS, WHERE WHEN WE HAVE A VERY BAD TRAUMATIC INCIDENT, WE'RE ABLE TO GIVE BLOOD RIGHT THERE TO ALSO GIVE BETTER OUTCOMES IN THE ER.
UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR SINGLE ROLE PARAMEDIC FUNCTIONS, HOW THAT CAN HELP US TO BRING OUR RESPONSE TIMES BACK IN LINE TO WHERE WE WANT 'EM TO BE AS WE'RE SEEING OUR TRANSPORT RATE CONTINUE TO GO UP, WHICH IS A GREAT THING FOR US AND OUR CITIZENS, BUT ALSO THAT THAT'S ONE OF THE, THE BUTTERFLY EFFECTS THAT HAPPENS WHEN THAT HAPPENS.
WE ALSO HAVE TO LOOK AT, AT WAYS TO, UH, CONTINUE TO GET BETTER.
[01:35:01]
A WAY TO BRING DOWN A WORKLOAD ON OUR PARAMEDICS AS WELL AS BRING THE SERVICE LEVEL UP.UM, SO I DO HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT, UM, SLIDE 16.
IF WE COULD GO TO THAT ONE REAL QUICK.
AND SO IF IT'S NOT A SICK OR INJURED PERSON, SO ARE YOU STILL SENDING SOMEBODY FOR EVERY SINGLE CALL OR LIKE WHAT HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS DECREASE THAT YOU'VE GOT? SO, UH, YES, IF, IF SOMEONE CALLS 9 1 1, WE'RE ABSOLUTELY SENDING, UH, RESOURCES THERE TO DO THAT IN-DEPTH EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT.
UM, WHERE THE CHANGE AND WHERE YOU'VE SEEN THIS IS THE ACTUAL, THE DISPOSITION, THE ENDING OF THAT CALL, HOW THEY INTERPRET WHAT THEY FIND WHEN THEY TALK TO THAT PERSON AND HOW THEY, HOW THEY DOCUMENT IT.
UM, SO CAN I JUST INTERRUPT, SIR? ARE YOU SAYING THAT THEY ARE THEN FINDING A DIAGNOSIS TO PUT IN DRILLING DOWN TO A MORE SPECIFIC YES.
UM, AND WE DON'T DIAGNOSE BUT, UH,
AND THIS IS ABOUT HIGH RISK TRANSPORT AND TRANSPORT BY LAW ENFORCEMENT.
SO ULTIMATELY, WHO DECIDES WHETHER THE PATIENT IS GOING WITH DFR OR D P D? SO IF YOU HAVE SOMEBODY'S COMBATIVE, MAYBE HAS COMMITTED A HORRENDOUS CRIME, LIKE HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHERE, HOW THAT'S BEING HANDLED? MADAM VICE CHAIR, ALL INDIVIDUALS WHO COME TO THE ATTENTION OF DALLAS FIRE RESCUE EMS, EITHER BECAUSE LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS SOME OF THEM OR SOMEONE ELSE HAS CALLED, UM, WHO MEET THE DEFINITION OF A PATIENT, WHICH IS A STRICT DEFINITION, WHICH ALL OF YOU WOULD RECOGNIZE AS MOSTLY COMMON SENSE, UM, UH, ARE REQUIRED TO UNDERGO A COMPLETE EVALUATION BY D FFR PARAMEDICS.
ALRIGHT, FOLLOWING THAT EVALUATION, THERE IS VERY GOOD POLICY DELINEATING WHEN THOSE INDIVIDUALS MUST BE TRANSPORTED TO A HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT BY AN AMBULANCE, BY A DFR RESCUE, ALRIGHT? THOSE THAT DON'T MEET THE CRITERIA OR ARE ALLOWED TO BE LEFT WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR THEIR LAW ENFORCEMENT DISPOSITION, BUT IT'S A VERY, VERY CONSERVATIVE POLICY.
ANYTHING, ANY PATIENT THAT IS IN A GRAY AREA OR IN WHICH IT IS UNCLEAR ARE CALLED DIRECTLY INTO PARKLAND, BIOTECH PARKLAND BY ROUTE THOSE CALLS TO ME OR ONE OF THE DEPUTY MEDICAL DIRECTORS.
AND WE MAKE A DECISION ALWAYS ACTING IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THAT INDIVIDUAL AND THE SAFETY, UH, OF THAT INDIVIDUAL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AS WELL AS OUR D F R PARAMEDICS AND FIREFIGHTERS.
SO YOU HAVE A MASSIVE DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF TRANSPORTS.
I MEAN, WAS THERE A CHANGE IN POLICY? WHAT HAPPENED THAT CREATED THAT? I MEAN, YOU'VE GONE FROM LIKE 2250, UM, IN JUNE, 2020 TO UNDER 500.
SO DECREASE THAT DECREASE IS NOT IN THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE WHO WE'VE ACTUALLY TRANSPORTED.
THAT DECREASE IS THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE WHO WERE TRANSPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT.
THE MAJORITY OF THOSE WOULD BE TRANSPORTED, WILL BE TRANSPORTED BY A DFR INSTEAD.
BUT SO HOW IS IT IF, IF WE DIDN'T HAVE A POLICY CHANGE, HOW DO YOU HAVE SUCH A DIFFERENCE IN THE NUMBER THAT D P D IS TRANSPORTING? SO, I MEAN, ALMOST, SO WE DID ALMOST 2000 LESS.
SO THERE WAS, THERE WAS CHANGES IN OUR, IN OUR POLICY.
YES, THERE WERE CHANGES IN OUR POLICY, BUT IN ADDITION, WE DID A, A, A SEVERAL TRAININGS ON TRAINING OUR PARAMEDICS ON HOW TO RESPOND AND HOW TO EVALUATE IN THOSE SITUATIONS SO THAT, THAT DIRECTLY LED TO THAT AMOUNT.
AND, AND IF I COULD, I'LL JUST PIGGYBACK ON THAT.
UM, A LOT OF THE EDUCATION AND TRAINING AND THE, AND THE GUIDELINE CHANGES CLOSED UP THOSE GRAY GRAYS BECAUSE WHEN THERE WAS A QUESTION WE ERRED ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION NOW, AND IT'S A CULTURAL CHANGE WITHIN OUR MEMBERSHIP AND, AND MUCH KUDOS TO THEM FOR EMBRACING THESE CHANGES AND, AND THIS NEW ATTITUDE ABOUT THE DISPOSITION OF THESE PATIENTS.
SO INSTEAD WHERE YOU SAY, HEY, THEY'LL PROBABLY BE FINE, I'LL LET LAW ENFORCEMENT TAKE THEM, THEY'RE NOW AIRING ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION AND SAYING, NO, I'M GONNA TAKE THEM IN THE AMBULANCE TO THE HOSPITAL.
WELL, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD PRACTICE.
UM, SO CAN YOU TELL ME FOR REIMBURSEMENTS FOR AMBULANCE SERVICES, IS THAT GOING BACK INTO PUBLIC SAFETY BUDGET OR IS THAT GOING TO GENERAL FUND? IT, IT GOES INTO THE GENERAL FUND.
WHICH IS ALMOST ALL PUBLIC SAFETY BUDGET, BUT YES, IT GOES TO GENERAL FUND
I UNDERSTAND THE CIRCULAR NATURE THERE.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT WE'RE ESTABLISHING THOSE FEES FOR COST RECOVERY AND
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OBVIOUSLY IF YOU HAVE MORE RUNS, THE LIKELIHOOD IS THAT REVENUE WOULD INCREASE.BUT I'M WONDERING IF YOU'VE SEEN A PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN, UM, IN SUBMITTING PAYMENTS.
SO I MEAN, WE HAVE SOME THAT SUBMIT NOTHING.
I'LL, UM, HAVE OUR BUDGET MANAGER, MR. SHAWN MCGREW, ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
AND SHAWN, AS YOU COME TO THE, THE DIOCESE, IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER, THE QUESTION, WE CAN GET BACK TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS ON ON THE ANSWER.
IF YOU KNOW IT, GREAT, AND IF NOT, WE CAN DO IT LATER.
SHAWN MCGREW DALLAS FIRE RESCUE YOU, THAT IS ONE WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON TO GET MORE.
OKAY, WELL, UM, I THINK THE REST OF MY QUESTIONS ARE FOR YOUR NEXT PRESENTATION.
ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS ONE BEFORE WE GO TO THE NEXT? OKAY, I HAD ONE MORE, I'M SORRY.
SO MY QUESTION, QUESTION IS, WHEN YOU'RE GIVING THE EXAM TO, UM, THE EXISTING FIREFIGHTER PARAMEDICS, UM, HOW ARE THOSE EXAMS LOOKING? I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE GOING BACK AND DOING TRAINING IN PLACES YOU SEE DEFICIENCIES, BUT I MEAN, ARE YOU GIVING IT ANNUALLY? ARE YOU GIVING IT AS NEEDED BASED ON OUTCOME DATA, YOU SEE? HOW IS THAT WORKING? SO CURRENTLY IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN BLY BUT MOVING TOWARDS ANNUALLY IT'S JUST A QUESTION OF BANDWIDTH AND SCHEDULING, UH, AND JUST GETTING THE NUMBERS IN.
BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT THERE, IT'S LOOKING QUITE GOOD, QUITE, QUITE REAFF UH, ASSURING.
WE HAD A 97.1% PASS RATE, UM, ON THIS LAST GO RUN ON FIRST ATTEMPTS, THE AVERAGE SCORE WAS, UH, 16 PERCENTAGE POINTS OVER THE PAST POINT.
SO THE PERCENTAGE HAS BEEN, I MEAN THE, THE PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN VERY, VERY STRONG.
AND SO THAT'S BEEN A, A GOOD INDICATION OF, OF THE EDUCATION TRAINING THAT WE'RE SAVING.
AND DO YOU FEEL LIKE IT'S THE, THE NEWER OFFICERS THAT ARE STRUGGLING MORE OR IS IT THE, UM, I'LL SAY OLD TIMERS CUZ YOU KNOW, I'M ONE, BUT IS IT MORE OF THE OLD TIMERS WHO ARE LIKE, OH YEAH, I FORGOT ABOUT THIS PROCEDURE, OR I WAS TRAINED DIFFERENTLY AND IT SWITCHED AND IT'S HARD FOR ME TO RECALL.
SO, SO I WON'T TAKE OFFENSE TO THE THE OLD TIMER, UH, COMMENT
I DON'T HAVE THAT IN FRONT OF US.
AND I WOULD SAY, UM, ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS IS WE HAVE THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR BOOTCAMP NOW, AND THAT HAS MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THE ONE-ON-ONE TIME THAT HE HAS WITH THE MEDICS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MEDICS UNDERSTAND AND FEEL COMFORTABLE ABOUT HIS, THE PROTOCOL THAT HE HAS, AS WELL AS MAKING SURE THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY NEED TO DO WHEN THEY GET OUT IN THE FIELD.
SO DOC, IF YOU COULD SPEAK A LITTLE ABOUT THAT, I THINK THAT, UM, THAT'S ONE OF A, A PROGRAM THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE BEFORE.
UH, BUT NOW IT'S, IT SEEMS TO BE PAYING A HUGE DIVIDENDS FOR US.
CHIEF, UM, JUST QUICKLY, WE DIDN'T MENTION THE FULL QUALITY MANAGEMENT TEAM AS WELL AS THE CLINICAL PRACTICE DIVISION THAT PARKLAND IS, IS HIRING AND WILL ASSIST US IN PROVIDING ADDITIONAL EDUCATION TRAINING AND MENTORING OUT IN THE FIELD TO OUR YOUNG PARAMEDICS AND, AND THOSE VETERANS THAT, LIKE YOU SAID, HAVE NOT MAYBE KEPT UP AS MUCH AS THEY SHOULD OR THERE'S A CHANGE IN SCIENCE OR PROTOCOL.
AND SO THAT'S A CRITICAL ASPECT.
THE BOOTCAMP IS ONE OF THE GREATEST THINGS THAT WE'VE IMPLEMENTED.
AND AGAIN, UH, I I WANT TO GIVE KUDOS TO THE CHIEF AND THE STAFF AS WELL AS THE COMMITTEE FOR THE SUPPORT THAT ALLOWS US TO PROVIDE A FULL WEEK OF DFR OFFICE OF THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR, UM, SPECIFIC TRAINING TO NEW PARAMEDICS, RIGHT? WHEN THEY COME OUT OF PARAMEDIC SCHOOL.
IMAGINE TAKING A YOUNG MEDICAL STUDENT, UH, FRESH OUT OF UT SOUTHWESTERN, RIGHT, AND UNLEASHING THEM ON A, THE BUSIEST EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT IN THE UNITED STATES AT PARKLAND.
UM, WITHOUT ADDITIONAL MENTORING, WITHOUT ADDITIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING, AND, UM, NOT BY ANY MALICE.
UM, IN THE PAST, UNDER DIFFERENT CITY ADMINISTRATIONS AND CERTAINLY DEPARTMENT ADMINISTRATIONS, THAT WAS THE PRACTICE.
AND EMS BOOTCAMP IS NOW BEING REQUIRED OF ALL NEW PARAMEDICS AND UNDER, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT TEAM AND THE CLINICAL PRACTICE DIVISION, WE WILL BE TAKING THAT INFORMATION AND PROVIDING IT AT THE STATION LEVEL OUT IN THE FIELD TO ALL OF OUR PARAMEDICS.
SO THE CLINICAL PRACTICE EXAM IS JUST ONE METRIC THAT WE'VE DESIGNED TO IDENTIFY WHAT IS THE BEST KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES FOR D FFR, PARAMEDICS, EMTS, AND OUR OFFICERS.
AND SO YOU'RE GONNA BE HEARING A LOT MORE ABOUT OUR EFFORTS TO PROVIDE AN OVERALL ENHANCEMENT OF THEIR EDUCATION AND TRAINING OVER THE COMING MONTHS AND YEARS.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT VERY FULL ANSWER.
I'LL JUST SAY THAT ALL OF THE PEOPLE SITTING HERE IN UNIFORMS, THE AMOUNT OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW, AND IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO.
[01:45:01]
UM, IT'S REALLY OUTSTANDING.AND I MEAN THAT IN THE GENERAL TERM, RIGHT? THAT THERE'S A REASON WHY YOUR TRAINING IS SO LONG, AND IT DOES SURPRISE ME WHEN I GO OUT WITH FOR RIDE ALONGS, ALL OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE TO BE DONE EVERY SINGLE TIME AND THE VERY SPECIFIC NATURE, AND OF COURSE, EVER CHANGING SITUATIONS.
SO THAT'S BOTH FOR POLICE AND FIRE AND YOU KNOW, I DO WONDER HOW THEY CAN REMEMBER ALL THE DIFFERENT STEPS FOR ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT MIGHT HAPPEN.
SO I'M GLAD YOU'RE DOING THAT TRAINING, BUT THAT REALLY WAS THE NATURE OF MY QUESTION.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE IT REPETITIVELY, HOW DO YOU RECALL ALL THE DIFFERENT INTERVENTIONS THAT SHOULD HAPPEN? AND I KNOW BIOTECH HELPS AND, BUT SENDING THE SUPERVISORS OUT AS FREQUENTLY AS YOU ARE, I THINK THAT'S BEEN REALLY IMPORTANT TO YOUR QUALITY.
AND I AGREE BOOT BOOTCAMP, BOOT TRAINING ALSO.
BUT THANK YOU FOR FOCUSING ON THIS.
NOT SEEING ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
WE'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT ITEM, WHICH IS DFR RECRUITING AND RETENTION STRATEGIES.
AS EVERYBODY MOVES INTO POSITION, UH, I WANNA ALSO HIGHLIGHT AND THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO PRESENT OUR ROUTE RECRUITING AND RETENTION, UM, POWERPOINT TODAY.
UH, TODAY OUR PRESENTERS WILL BE ASSISTANT CHIEF FRANK MCKINLEY, DEPUTY CHIEF GREG EVANS, AS WELL AS SECTION CHIEF DEBRA EATINGS.
UM, THEY'RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROGRAM AND ALSO TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING TO MAKE SURE WE CAN RECRUIT THE RIGHT FOLKS FOR OUR DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS CONTINUE THE GREAT TRADITION HERE, UH, AS A GREAT FIRE DEPARTMENT DALLAS FIRE RESCUE.
I'M ASSISTANT CHIEF FRANK MCKINLEY.
I'M RESPONSIBLE FOR COMMUNICATION AND LOGISTIC BUREAU, AND IT'S AN HONOR TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT TO YOU TODAY THE DALLAS FIRE RESCUE RECRUITING, RECRUITMENT, AND RETENTION, UH, PRESENTATION.
AND BEFORE I BEGIN, I'D JUST LIKE TO TAKE A BRIEF MOMENT TO INTRODUCE PART OF OUR RECRUITING TEAM.
WE HAVE, UH, DEPUTY CHIEF GREG EVANS.
WE HAVE SECTION CHIEF DEBRA EDENS, CAPTAIN JULIAN ALGAR, LIEUTENANT REGINA TRAIL, WHO ISN'T HERE TODAY, DRIVING ENGINEER ESTEBAN MALDONADO.
AND I'D ALSO LIKE TO RECOGNIZE DRIVER ENGINEER KAYLIN COHEN, WHO HAS RECENTLY PASSED AWAY.
HE WAS A, A VERY, VERY INTEGRAL PART OF OUR RECRUITING TEAM, AND SO HE'LL, HE'LL BE MISSED.
THIS PRESENTATION WILL HIGHLIGHT THE AREAS WE BELIEVE TO BE CRITICAL TO OUR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION EFFORTS.
WE CONSTANTLY EVALUATE OUR PROCEDURES AND PROCESSES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO AN EFFICIENT JOB IN OUR RECRUITING RETENTION.
WE REGULARLY REVISIT, REVIEW AND REVISE AS NEEDED, THESE DIFFERENT AREAS THAT ARE VERY IMPORTANT.
THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO BE HERE THIS EVENING.
MY NAME ALSO AGAIN IS DEPUTY CHIEF GREGORY EVANS, AND UNDER SUPERVISION OF CHIEF MCKINLEY, I'M OVER, UH, FIRE DISPATCH RECRUITING AND STATION FACILITIES.
STAY ON THIS, STAY ON THIS SLIDE RIGHT HERE, OR YOU CAN GO BACK, I'M SORRY.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING, UH, DALLAS FIRE RESCUE HAS NEVER HAD A ISSUE WITH GETTING APPLICANTS TO JOIN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
HOWEVER, IN THE LAST YEAR OR TWO, WE HAVE SEEN A SLIGHT REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS BEING RECEIVED BY CIVIL SERVICE, BUT WE ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS DILEMMA.
AS YOU ARE PROBABLY AWARE, FIRE DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE NATION ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUE, AND NOT ONLY GETTING APPLICATIONS, BUT GETTING HIGHLY SKILLED AND HIGHLY QUALIFIED APPLICANTS TO APPLY IT'S IMPERATIVE TO HAVE A LARGE POOL OF APPLICATIONS TO CHOOSE FROM, THEREBY INCREASING YOUR EYES AND GETTING THE HIGHLY SKILLED AND HIGHLY QUALIFIED APPLICANT.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, HERE IN DALLAS, FIRE RESCUE FROM CHIEF ARTIST OWNED DOWN, WE HOLD A HIGH STANDARD IN BEING ABLE TO DELIVER EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE.
AND WE WILL NOT COMPROMISE THAT AT THE EXPENSE OF JUST HIRING ANYONE, BECAUSE WHEN WE DON'T DO THAT, THAT'S WHEN WE TEND TO SEE QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, COMPLAINTS, AND DISCIPLINARY ISSUES.
SO WE MUST STAND TRUE TO GETTING THAT QUALIFIED APPLICANT LOOKING AT RECENT TRENDS ON THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS RECEIVED BY CIVIL SERVICE.
ON THIS SLIDE HERE, YOU SEE IN FISCAL YEAR 2021, WE HAD A DIP IN THE
[01:50:01]
NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS RECEIVED BY CIVIL SERVICE.THIS WAS DUE IN LARGE PART TO THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC CAUSED BY THE COVID VIRUS.
THAT FOLLOWING YEAR IN 2122, WE SAW AN UPTICK CLOSE TO 2000 APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AS WE BEGAN TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE IN OUR NEW NORMAL AMIDST THE COVID VIRUS.
THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE HAVE A GOAL OF REACHING 2,400 OR MORE, UH, APPLICATIONS, THEREBY INCREASING OUR EYES OF OBTAINING OUR HIGHER GOAL OF 190.
ONE OF THAT ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY ONE FOURTEEN WILL SERVE AS SINGLE FUNCTION PARAMEDICS.
15 INSPECTORS WILL BE HIRED TO SERVE IN FIRE PREVENTION AND THE REMAINDER WILL COME FROM FIRE RESCUE OFFICER TRAINEES AND LATERAL HIRES LOOKING AT ROW ONE APPLICATIONS RECEIVED BY CIVIL SERVICE, UH, TO ROW TWO APPLICATIONS TURNED OVER TO RECRUITING.
YOU SEE A DRASTIC REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF APPLICANTS WHO MOVE FROM PHASE ONE OF THE PROCESS TO PHASE TWO OF THE PROCESS.
UH, THIS HAPPENS FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS.
THOSE BEING, UH, APPLICANTS WHO DON'T, UH, COMPLETELY FILL OUT THEIR APPLICATIONS TO THOSE WHO DON'T SHOW FOR THE CIVIL CERVIX EXAM, TO THOSE WHO FAILED THE CIVIL CERVIX EXAM, AS WELL AS THOSE WHO FAILED THE PHYSICAL AGILITY TEST, BETTER KNOWN AS, UH, C P A P FROM ROW TWO TO ROW THREE, UH, TO THE HIGHER CANDIDATES, YOU, YOU SEE AN EVEN DRASTIC, UH, DISPARITY OF THOSE APPLICANTS WHO ACTUALLY BECOME HIRED.
UH, TWO MAIN REASONS WHY THEY DON'T BECOME HIRED.
UH, NUMBER ONE, THEY FAIL THE POLYGRAPH AS WELL AS THEY ARE NOT RECOMMENDED FOR HIRE UPON COMPLETION OF THE APPLICANT INTERVIEW PANEL.
OUR MOST RECENT APPLICATION, UM, OPENED ON DECEMBER 18TH, 2022 AND RAN AND CLOSED ON FEBRUARY THE FOURTH OF THIS YEAR.
UH, AS OF FEBRUARY THE SIXTH, WE HAVE RECEIVED, UH, A TOTAL OF 1,125 APPLICATIONS OF THAT NUMBER 989 WITH FOR FIRE RESCUE OFFICER TRAINEE, UH, 75 WITH A LATERAL HIRES AND 61 WERE FOR SINGLE FUNCTION PARAMEDICS.
OF THESE THREE DISCIPLINES RIGHT HERE, THE LATERAL HIRES HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE D FFR WITH THE MOST IMMEDIATE IMPACT TO POSITIVELY AFFECT OUR OVERTIME BUDGET IN OUR STAFFING LEVELS.
THE GOAL OF THE RECRUITING DIVISION IS MULTI-PRONGED.
OKAY? UH, THE GOAL IS TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES THAT WILL AID IN THE RECRUITMENT OF A DIVERSIFIED WORKFORCE THAT MIRRORS THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE CITY WE SERVE HERE IN DALLAS.
DALLAS HAS A ESTIMATED POPULATION OF A ROUGHLY 1.3 MILLION COMPRISED OF DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES, RACES, AND ETHNIC GROUPS, AND WE STRIVE TO MIMIC THAT MAKEUP.
ALSO, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO RECRUIT QUALIFIED CANDIDATES WHO EMBODY OUR CORE, OUR CORE VALUES OF EMPATHY, ETHICS, EQUITY, EXCELLENCE, AND ENGAGEMENT.
LASTLY, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO RETAIN OUR CURRENT MEMBERS WHO BELONG IN OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT FAMILY.
IT'S ONE THING TO BE ABLE TO RECRUIT AND HIRE, BUT IT'S AN EVEN MORE DAUNTING TASK TO KEEP THE ONES THAT WE HAVE.
SO WE MUST DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO KEEP THE MEMBERS THAT WE DO HAVE.
AS WITH MOST THINGS IN LIFE, UH, WE HAVE OUR CONCERNS TOO.
OUR PRIMARY CONCERN IS BEING ABLE TO RECRUIT, HIRE, AND RETAIN QUALIFIED CANDIDATES TO MAINTAIN OUR AUTHORIZED HEADCOUNT.
THE AUTHORIZED HEADCOUNT IS THE NUMBER OF POSITIONS THAT WE HAVE IN DALLAS FIRE RESCUE THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO FILL COMPARED TO THE CURRENT HEADCOUNT, WHICH IS THE NUMBER OF ACTUAL BODIES THAT WE HAVE TO PUT IN THOSE 2071 SEATS.
AS IT STANDS TODAY, THE CURRENT HEADCOUNT IS 2005.
THE CURRENT HEADCOUNT IS VERY FLEXIBLE AND FLUID.
BY THE TIME WE FINISH THIS PRESENTATION TODAY, THIS NUMBER VERY WELL MAY HAVE BEEN REDUCED.
THESE TWO FIGURES HERE HAVE, UH, THE ABILITY TO IMPACT MANY FACETS OF DALLAS FIRE RESCUE, AND WE'LL DISCUSS SOME OF THOSE FACETS AS WE MOVE FORWARD HERE IN THIS PRESENTATION.
OPERATIONAL CONCERNS CONTINUED.
UH, HERE IS A GRAPHIC PRESENTATION OF THE DA, UH, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT'S, UH, HEADCOUNT, UH, TAKING FISCAL YEAR 23 AS AN EXAMPLE.
UH, WE BEGAN THE YEAR WITH A STARTING HEADCOUNT OF 1998, AND WE ARE GOING TO END THE YEAR, HOPEFULLY, UH, WITH A AUTHORIZED HEADCOUNT OF 2071, TAKE IT INTO ACCOUNT BUDGETED ATTRITION OF LOSING 118 MEMBERS.
THAT MEANS WE WOULD HAVE TO HIRE 191 TO MEET THAT AUTHORIZED HEADCOUNT OF 2071.
UH, ATTRITION IS BASICALLY, UH, ANY DEPARTURE
[01:55:01]
FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, UH, NOT JUST, UH, RETIREMENTS, BUT RESIGNATIONS TERMINATIONS IN, IN CASES OF A MEMBER'S DEATH.THE IMPACT, THE OPERATIONAL IMPACT OF NOT BEING FULLY STAFFED HAS THE POTENTIAL TO NEGATIVELY AFFECT THE FOLLOWING DUE TO THE HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED, UH, ATTRITION WHICH HAS RESULTED IN MORE VACANCIES.
MEMBERS ARE BEING REQUIRED TO WORK MORE IN AN OVERTIME CAPACITY, WHICH INCREASES THEIR WORKLOAD.
UH, SAFETY CONCERNS ARISE WHEN STAFFING IS INSUFFICIENT TO PROVIDE THE EXPECTED SERVICE DELIVERIES IF STATIONS ARE CLOSED.
ALSO, WHEN MEMBERS WORK MORE, THERE'S A TENDENCY WHEN WE THAT WE SEE MORE EXODUS INJURIES AND MISTAKES.
OKAY? THESE TWO COMBINED HAS A TENDENCY TO, UH, LOWER MORALE AMONGST THE MEMBERS BECAUSE THEY'RE BEING REQUIRED TO WORK MORE, UH, WHEN WE'RE SHORT STAFFED, AS OPPOSED TO BEING ABLE TO LEAVE AND GO HOME AND SPEND TIME WITH THEIR FAMILIES.
BUDGET WISE, BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF HOURS MEMBERS ARE WORKING IN THE, IN THE OVERTIME CAPACITY, THE DEPARTMENT IS PROJECTING TO EXCEED THE OVERTIME BUDGET THIS YEAR BY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
NEXT SLIDE HERE IS A GRAPHIC PRESENTATION OF THE OVERTIME, UH, BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 22, AS WELL AS THE PROJECTED OVERTIME BUDGET FOR THIS, UH, CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.
UH, WE BEGAN THE FISCAL YEAR WITH A, UM, PROPOSED BUDGET OF ROUGHLY 20 MILLION.
UH, THIS FIGURE HAS YET TO BE AMENDED AND WE ARE PROJECTING TO BE, UH, FINISHING THE YEAR WITH AN ACTUAL BUDGET OF 40 MILLION ROUGHLY.
IN THE NEXT COLUMN, YOU SEE THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF OVERTIME HOURS THAT WE'RE PROJECTING TO WORK, UH, THIS FISCAL YEAR.
SO WHAT ARE WE DOING TO CAPTURE THIS QUALIFIED APPLICANT? WELL, NUMBER ONE, WE'RE USING MEDIA.
WE'RE WIDEN WIDENING OUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT BY UTILIZING GOOGLE ADS WITH GEO TRACKING CAPABILITY.
BY UTILIZING GPS TRIANGULATION, WE CAN TARGET PEOPLE WHO ENTER CERTAIN AREAS BY UTILIZING PHONE NOTIFICATIONS.
WE'RE INCREASING SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS, UH, VIA FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, AND TWITTER.
LIEUTENANT TRELL, WHO WORKS IN THE RECRUITING DIVISION, DOES A GREAT JOB.
WE'RE GOING, UH, GOING LIVE ON FACEBOOK AND GIVING CITIZENS AND APPLICANTS A CHANCE TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE HIRING PROCESS.
WE'RE ALSO PROVIDING QR CODES FOR EASE OF ACCESS TO THE APPLICATION PROCESS.
A CITIZEN CAN JUST SCAN THAT QR CODE AND IT'LL TAKE THEM DIRECTLY TO OUR APPLICATION PAGE WHERE THEY CAN, UH, APPLY FOR OUR VARIOUS DISCIPLINES AS WELL AS SUBMIT AN INTEREST LETTER IF WE ARE NOT IN AN ACTIVE HIRING PROCESS.
WE'RE ALSO UTILIZING UPDATED, UH, COMMUNICATION SYSTEM TO INCLUDE MASS TEXT MESSAGING.
UH, WE HAVE FOUND THAT UTILIZING TEXT AS OPPOSED TO EMAIL, WE GET A QUICKER RESPONSE FROM OUR APPLICANTS.
WE'RE ALSO RUNNING THE 32ND PILOT RECRUITING VIDEO ON CW 33.
IT'S A PILOT BECAUSE WE WANT TO DETERMINE ITS COST EFFECTIVENESS BEFORE GOING ON A GRANDER SCALE.
WITH THAT NEXT SLIDE, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO CAPTURE THIS DIVERSE AND QUALIFIED APPLICANT? WELL, WE'RE TARGETING WOMEN'S COLLEGES SUCH AS TEXAS WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY IN DENTON, TEXAS.
WE'RE TARGETING HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES SUCH AS PRAIRIE VIEW, A AND M UNIVERSITY NORTHWEST OF HOUSTON.
WE'RE TARGETING HISPANIC SERVANT INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, TEXAS, EL PASO, AS WELL AS ADVERTISING WITH BILINGUAL RADIO COMMERCIALS.
CONTINUING WITH RECRUITING STRATEGIES, WE'RE TARGETING SPECIFIC POPULATIONS.
WE'RE TARGETING CITIES WITH, UH, AN IDENTIFIED AND QUALIFIED WORKFORCE IN NEED OF EMPLOYMENT.
WE'RE TAKING RECRUITING TRIPS TO SECONDARY AND POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS LIKE PARAMEDIC SCHOOLS AND HEALTH SCIENCE INSTITUTIONS.
UH, WE ARE CERTIFYING AND PROCESSING REAPPOINTMENTS.
UH, A LOT OF TIMES, UH, MEMBERS LEAVE THE DEPARTMENT THINKING THE GRASS IS GREENER, BUT AT SOME POINT SOME OF THESE MEMBERS DO COME BACK.
SO WE HAVE TO PROCESS THESE REAPPOINTMENTS AND AFTER CHIEF AUDIT SIGNS OFF ON THESE, WE WILL REHIRE THESE INDIVIDUALS.
UH, WE HAVE LAUNCHED THE LATERAL ENTRY HIRING PROCESS.
UH, THIS IS A NEW POLICY PROCEDURE THAT WE JUST IMPLEMENTED WHERE WE, UH, HIRE, UH, CERTIFIED FIREFIGHTERS WHO WORK FOR OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND THEY CAN HIRE ON WITH DALLAS FIRE RESCUE.
AND THE TIME SPENDING TRAINING IS GREATLY, UH, REDUCED AS OPPOSED TO A REGULAR FIRE OFFICER TRAINEE.
THE AVERAGE TRAINEE SPENDS ABOUT A YEAR IN SCHOOL AS OPPOSED TO A LATERAL HIGHER ENTRY WHO WILL SPEND ROUGHLY EIGHT WEEKS IN TRAINING BEFORE HEADING TO THE FIELD.
UH, POSITIVELY AFFECTING OUR STAFFING LEVELS.
[02:00:01]
PREVIOUSLY, WE'RE ALSO ACTIVELY RECRUITING FOR THE SINGLE FUNCTION PARAMEDIC PROGRAM.UH, THIS IS A ALTERNATIVE CAREER PARA PATH FOR SOMEBODY WHO DOESN'T NECESSARILY WANT TO RIDE ON OUR FRONTLINE ENGINES AND TRUCKS.
THEY CAN HIRE TO JUST RIDE OUR PEAK DEMAND AMBULANCES, WHICH WILL ASSIST OUR FRONTLINE PARAMEDICS IN THE RUN VOLUME, AS WELL AS TO IMPROVE THE MORALE OF THE TROOPS IN THE FIELD.
HERE IS A, UM, GRAPHIC, UH, PRESENTATION OF THE PARTS OF THE COUNTRY THAT WE, UH, GET APPLICATIONS FROM.
UH, BECAUSE MANY RECRUITING, UH, EFFORTS CONCENTRATE ON COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, APPLICATIONS ARE RECEIVED FROM ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES.
THIS NATIONAL APPROACH IS FURTHER ENHANCED BY RECRUITING TRIPS TO DIFFERENT REGIONS SINCE OCTOBER OF 2022, RECRUITING TRIPS HAVE INCLUDED NEW MEXICO, LOS ANGELES, HOUSTON, EL PASO, AND SAN ANTONIO.
I'M GONNA PASS IT DOWN TO ASSISTANT CHIEF FRANK MCKINLEY, ASSISTANT CHIEF FRANK MCKINLEY.
BEFORE WE TRANSITION TO OUR RETENTION STRATEGIES, I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU THIS GRAPHIC OF OUR WEBSITE.
IT SOMEWHAT SERVES AS A CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM FOR INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS AND FOR PEOPLE TO GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR DEPARTMENT.
IT HELPS US TO ENGAGE APPLICANTS.
IT ALSO PROVIDES STEPS IN THE PROCESS AS THEY GO THROUGH AND GIVES THEM DATES TO SHOW UP AND, UH, MEET THE DEADLINES.
WE ALSO, UH, TAKE RECRUITING SO SERIOUSLY THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING IT RIGHT.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO IS WE SURVEY OUR RECRUITS ONCE THEY, THEY ENTER THE FIRE ACADEMY TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY EXPERIENCE WERE.
NOW, THIS IS REAL IMPORTANT TO US, CUZ WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO PROVE OUR PROCESS.
WITH THIS SLIDE, WE EXPLORE HISTORICAL ATTRITION.
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND BECAUSE WE'RE CONSTANTLY EVALUATING OUR STRATEGIES AND DEVELOPING NEW STRATEGIES TO KEEP OUR MEMBERS WITH DFR.
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US, SPECIFICALLY THOSE WITH ZERO TO FIVE YEARS, AND IT REALLY STANDS OUT ON THIS GRAPH IN THE FIRST COLUMN.
UH, 220 MEMBERS HAVE LEFT THE DEPARTMENT WITH ZERO TO FIVE YEARS, AND WE ARE WORKING VERY HARD TO IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC REASONS THAT THEY'VE LEFT.
UH, WE CONTINUE TO DO, UH, SURVEYS AND WE HAVE EXIT INTERVIEWS AND EXIT SURVEYS TO TRY TO CAPTURE THIS INFORMATION.
AND WE FEEL THAT WE CAN DEFINITELY IMPROVE THIS PROCESS BY ADDING GREATER SPECIFICITY TO THE REASONS THAT THEY'RE LEAVING.
UNDERSTANDING THIS INFORMATION HELPS US TO ANTICIPATE TRENDS AND TO PREDICT FUTURE OCCURRENCES.
THIS SHOWS HOW MEMBERS ARE LEAVING THE DEPARTMENT AND THE REASONS WHY.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER, WE HAVE THE EXIT RATIONALE, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH DFR HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT TO TRY TO IMPROVE THIS BECAUSE AGAIN, WE WANT TO ADD, ADD GREATER SPECIFICITY TO THESE EXIT RATIONALES.
WE FEEL THAT THESE ARE TOO BROAD AND WE HAVE ROOM TO IMPROVE THAT, AND WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING TO DO THAT.
WE FEEL THAT THESE CATEGORIES CAN BE EXPANDED BY AFTER THAT, BY CAPTURING SPECIFIC REASONS WHY.
MANY OF OUR RETENTION STRATEGIES ARE DUE IN PART TO THE SUPPORT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND THE HONORABLE MEMBERS OF DALLAS CITY COUNCIL.
OUR MARKET-BASED COMPENSATION STRATEGIES HAVE REALLY HELPED US RETAIN A LOT OF OUR FIREFIGHTERS, AND WE FEEL THAT IT'S GONNA BE SUCCESSFUL MOVING FORWARD.
OUR PROBATIONARY TRAINING AND EVALUATION PROGRAM THAT WE USE FOR MEMBERS AS THEY ENTERED THE FIELD, THIS IS A SIX MONTH EVALUATION PERIOD WHERE WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE MORE TOUCHPOINTS WITH OUR YOUNG MEMBERS.
THIS IS VERY CRITICAL FOR THEIR GROWTH.
AT THIS POINT, WE CAN CONTINUE TO MENTOR COUNCIL AND COACH THESE MEMBERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE SUCCESSFUL THROUGHOUT THEIR CAREER.
OUR LEADERSHIP OFFICE AND DEVELOPMENT TRAINING PROGRAM IS VERY IMPORTANT AS WELL.
WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR OFFICERS IN THE FIELD.
UH, FIRE PREVENTION EDUCATION, INVE INVESTIGATION BUREAU, AND FOR OUR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OFFICERS.
WE WANT TO IDENTIFY PLACES WHERE THEY CAN CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THE SKILLSET NEEDED TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN D F R MEMBERS.
OUR D F R CARE NETWORK IS VERY IMPORTANT TO US.
THIS IS ONE THAT HAS BEEN SPIRITED BY CHIEF ARTIST AND IS VERY CLOSE TO HIS HEART.
AND THE THING THAT, UM, WE FIND TO BE VERY IMPORTANT WITH OUR DEPARTMENT IS IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH AND RESILIENCY AMONGST OUR MEMBERS.
NOW, THIS, UH, THIS PROGRAM I IS VERY, VERY, VERY ROBUST AND IT, IT IS EXTENDED TO THE MEMBERS' FAMILIES AS WELL.
AND SO WE LIKE THAT QUALITY OF, OF PROGRAMS TO HELP NOT ONLY SUPPORT OUR MEMBERS, BUT HELP THEIR FAMILIES AS WELL.
UM, OUR PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE PROVIDE OUR MEMBERS
[02:05:01]
ARE, ARE PRETTY ROBUST.WE HAVE MORE, UH, PROMOT PROMOTION OPPORTUNITIES THAN MOST FIRE DEPARTMENTS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE STATE.
AND SO THAT REALLY HELPS US BECAUSE THAT'S, UH, ONE OF THE, UH, QUALITIES OF OUR DEPARTMENT, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR UPWARD MOBILITY THAT OUR MEMBERS LOOK TO.
AND SO HAVING PARTNERED WITH CIVIL SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO IMPROVE THIS PROCESS WHERE WE CAN GIVE TIMELY PROMOTIONAL EXAMS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO OUR MEMBERS.
AND WE FEEL THAT OUR RELATIONSHIP THAT WE, UH, STRONGLY ESTABLISHED WITH OUR CIVIL SERVICE DEPARTMENT REALLY HELPS OUT IN THAT ASPECT.
UH, WE'VE ALSO, UH, PARTNERED WITH BUILDING SERVICES.
WE HAVE REGULAR MEETINGS TO MEET WITH THEM SO WE CAN ENSURE GOOD WORKING CONDITIONS OF OUR FACILITIES.
OUR FIRE STATIONS HAVE, UH, UNDERGONE A LOT OF RENOVATIONS.
WE HAD SOME UN UNANTICIPATED, UH, DAMAGES DONE TO SEVERAL OF OUR STATIONS.
AND SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE, UH, FIX THESE PROBLEMS IN A TIMELY FASHION.
OUR MEMBER DRIVEN ORGANIZATIONS, WE HAVE A LIST OF THEM HERE ON THIS SLIDE, AND IT'S A PLATFORM FOR OUR MEMBERS TO VOICE THEIR CONCERN.
AND IT'S VERY IMPORTANT, NOT ONLY THE CHIEF ARTIST, BUT OUR ENTIRE COMMAND STAFF.
AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE STAND BEHI BEHIND AND ENCOURAGE OUR MEMBERS TO BE A PART OF BECAUSE THIS GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR THEIR CONCERNS.
AND WHEN WE MEET AS A COMMAND STAFF AND HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO MODIFY OUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TO ACCOMMODATE SOME OF THE WANTS AND NEEDS OF THESE MEMBERS WILL DO SO AS NEEDED.
THE EXPANSION OF OUR D F R CARE NETWORK IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT HELPS US WITH PRE-EMPLOYMENT EVALUATIONS WHERE WE CAN, UM, IDENTIFY MEMBERS THAT, UM, HAVE THE MENTAL CAPACITY TO HANDLE THE RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES THAT ARE REQUIRED WITH THIS JOB.
IT ALSO, UH, HELPS US TO INCREASE OUR RESILIENCY TRAINING, WHICH IS VERY GOOD FOR OUR MEMBERS, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S AVAILABLE FOR THEM WHEN THEY NEED IT.
UH, ENGAGING THIRD PARTY CONSULTING FIRMS IS ALSO A WAY THAT WE CAN EVALUATE OUR PERFORMANCE.
IT GETS US AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT OUR RECRUITING AND RETENTION STRATEGIES TO DETERMINE IF THEY'RE EFFECTIVE AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY MEET THE INDUSTRY STANDARDS AND THAT OUR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION TEAM ARE BE, ARE GIVEN THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES THAT THEY NEED.
UH, WE ALSO WANT TO LOOK INTO, UM, POSSIBLE COLLABORATION WITH THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UH, WE'VE SEEN SOME OF THE RECRUITING TRIPS THAT THEY'VE TAKEN AND, AND WE FEEL, UH, THAT THEY HAVE BEEN VERY PROMISING FOR THEIR DEPARTMENT.
AND AFTER LEARNING ABOUT MANY OF THE INITIATIVES THAT THEY'VE INCORPORATED INTO THAT, WE'D LIKE TO, UH, SEE ABOUT BECOMING A PART OF THAT.
OUR C C P A EXAM, OUR CANDIDATE PHYSICAL ABILITY TESTS THAT WE CONDUCT FOR PRE-EMPLOYMENT, WE'RE LOOKING FOR INDOOR FACILITIES.
UM, IT'S CHALLENGING AT TIMES, ESPECIALLY DURING EXTREME WEATHER.
UM, WHETHER IT'S TOO COLD OR TOO HOT OR IT RAINS, IT KIND OF DELAYS OUR PROCESS.
AND BY HAVING A INDOOR FACILITY, IT WILL ALLOW US TO, TO, UH, EXPEDITE THESE, UH, ACTIVITIES.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, IDENTIFYING A LOCATION.
AND WE CURRENTLY HAVE A PROPOSAL, UH, RFP OUT FOR WORKPLACE ASSESSMENT.
THIS IS CRITICAL SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE EFFICIENT AND ADEQUATE FACILITIES FOR OUR MEMBERS TO WORK IN.
UH, NUMBER ONE FOR THEIR SAFETY.
UH, NUMBER TWO FOR OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY.
AND NUMBER THREE FOR OVERALL JOB SATISFACTION.
THESE ARE ALL IMPORTANT AREAS FOR US.
IN CLOSING, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE HARD WORK THAT THE RECRUITMENT TEAM DOES.
UH, THEY DO A OUTSTANDING JOB AND THESE MEMBERS TRULY EXEMPLIFY THE HIGHEST IDEALS OF D FFR IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE AT THIS TIME.
UM, COMMITTEE WHO HAS QUESTIONS? CHAIRMAN WILLIS.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT, AND I THINK WE WENT THROUGH THIS WITH D P D, THAT AS YOU'RE LOOKING AT WHERE YOU ARE MARKETING FOR RECRUITS TO ALIGN WITH THE VISIT DALLAS MEDIA SCHEDULE, THEY'RE, UM, MAKING DALLAS LOOK LIKE A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE AND VISIT IN 72 MARKETS THAT LINE UP WITH YOUR MAP PRETTY WELL, UH, WITH SOME OF THE MARKETS THAT ARE MORE SUCCESSFUL.
SO MAY AS WELL PIGGYBACK ON TO WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
UH, THEN THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD GOES BACK TO SOMETHING YOU WERE STARTING TO GET AT, IT'S ON PAGE THREE ABOUT APPLICATIONS RECEIVED BY CIVIL SERVICE AND THEN APPLICATIONS TURNED OVER TO RECRUITING BECAUSE THAT IS A BIG GAP.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, 1200, UH, YOU KNOW, ARE NOT MAKING IT THROUGH.
IS THAT, ARE YOU SAYING THAT THAT GAP OF THOSE THAT DON'T GET ACCEPTED OR TURNED OVER TO RECRUITING ARE BECAUSE SOMEONE DIDN'T COMPLETELY FILL OUT AN APPLICATION? OR YOU TOUCHED ON A COUPLE THINGS, BUT I'M, I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE YES, MA'AM.
UM, THIS, UH, DISPARITY THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS ONE THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH CIVIL SERVICE TO IDENTIFY.
AGAIN, THIS IS THE FIRST LEVEL OF, OF FILTERING.
[02:10:01]
RECENTLY DONE IS WE'VE MET WITH DIRECTOR JARED DAVIS TO DETERMINE AND IDENTIFY THE, UH, SPECIFIC REASONS THAT THIS HAS, UH, OCCURRED.AND SO, UH, WE WE'RE DEFINITELY NOT, UH, SATISFIED WITH IT.
AND WE JUST WANT TO KNOW IF THE, YOU KNOW, THE SPECIFIC REASONS.
WE DO KNOW THAT THEY, WE RECEIVE A LOT OF INCOMPLETE, UM, APPLICATIONS, BUT WE ALSO DON'T RECEIVE ALL THE PAPERWORK FROM THE MEMBERS.
WE REQUIRE TRANSCRIPTS TO BE SUBMITTED.
SO AGAIN, THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, ONE OF THE, UH, ITEMS THAT THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR HAS EITHER FAILED TO BE TURNED IN OR NOT TURNED IN BEFORE THE DEADLINE.
AND A LOT OF TIMES THEY FALL OUT SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN THOSE TIMEFRAMES.
AND SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THE, THE BIG DISPARITY IN THE, IN THE NUMBERS.
AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, SOMETIMES THEY JUST, THEY'LL FILL OUT AN APPLICATION AND DON'T DO ANYTHING ELSE.
AND SO THOSE ARE ALL A PART OF THE, WHAT YOU SEE IN THOSE NUMBERS.
A LOT OF TIMES WE ALWAYS HAVE A LOT OF APP APPLICANTS THAT APPLY, BUT FOLLOW ALL THE WAY THROUGH ALL THE STEPS TO BE HIRED.
SOMETIMES THEY JUST DON'T DO IT FOR SOME REASON.
IS IT TOO ONEROUS UP FRONT? I MEAN, ARE WE ASKING FOR ALL THE DOCUMENTS WE ARE EVENTUALLY GONNA NEED? OR IS THERE A WAY TO EASE THAT PROCESS TO WHERE WE JUST NEED A CERTAIN AMOUNT FOR THE FIRST TRANCHE AND THEN IF THEY GET PAST THAT, THEN WE FOCUS ON IT JUST SO WE CAN MOVE MORE THROUGH? YEAH.
THEY HAVE A BIG TIMEFRAME TO GET THOSE THINGS THROUGH.
AND WHAT USUALLY HAPPENS IS SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN THERE, GETTING A, A, UH, TRANSCRIPT, FOR INSTANCE MM-HMM.
UM, THEY JUST DON'T DO IT FOR SOME REASON, AND IT THEN THEY GET KICKED OUT OF THE SYSTEM OR THEY HAVE TO GO TO THE NEXT APPLICANT POOL OR SO FORTH.
AND SO IT'S THINGS LIKE THAT THAT KINDA HAMPERS THEM.
AND OUR RECRUITERS MAKE CONTACTS WITH, UH, THESE APPLICANTS TO SAY, HEY, YOU HAVE, YOU GOT A WEEK TO GET THIS IN, OR YOU'VE GOT TWO WEEKS TO GET THIS IN.
AND FOR SOME REASON IN BETWEEN THERE, THEY, THEY DON'T NECESSARILY DO IT.
SO, SO IF I COULD ADD TO THAT, I, I THINK ANOTHER ELEMENT, AND I, I APPRECIATE THE TEAM'S WILLINGNESS TO KIND OF WORK WITH CIVIL SERVICE TO EVALUATE, KIND OF DIG IN, SEE IF THERE'S AREAS IN WHICH, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO IMPROVE OR MAKE MORE EFFICIENT.
BUT A LOT OF TIMES SOMEBODY WILL JUST APPLY FOR A JOB.
THEY DON'T MEET, EVEN MEET MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS, AND SO THEY DON'T EVEN GET ADVANCED TO THE LEVEL WHERE IT WOULD GO MAKE IT TO THE DEPARTMENT.
SO I THINK THAT'S THE MAJORITY OF WHAT YOU SEE IN THE GAP.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THAT, BUT I THINK THAT'S A BIG CHUNK OF YEAH, I MEAN, I'M JUST LOOKING, IF THERE ARE A THOUSAND THAT ARE FALLING BY THE WAYSIDE, SOMEONE'S STILL TOUCHING THAT AND PROCESSING IT, AND SO THAT JUST SEEMS LIKE THERE'S A WAY TO BE, UH, MORE EFFICIENT ON THAT.
BUT IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT, THAT'S GREAT.
I ALSO JUST WANT TO ADD, AS I DID BEFORE THAT TEXAS TECH IS ALSO A HISPANIC, UH, YOU SERVING UNIVERSITY WITH 65,000 ALUMS IN THE DALLAS FORT WORTH AREA.
SO YOU MIGHT WANNA ADD THEM TO THE LIST.
WELL, I THINK I'LL TAKE A LITTLE SIP OUT OF ANOTHER UNIVERSITY'S WE'RE CHEERS.
GOTTA HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF FUN.
UM, SO, UH, CHAIR THOMAS, IF YOU'D LIKE TO ASK YOUR QUESTIONS.
THANKS FOR, UH, THIS PRESENTATION.
I KNOW, UM, THE, UH, NAS FIRE RESCUE IS PARTNERED WITH, UH, DALLAS, I S D AND MAYBE SOME OTHER ISDS.
AND IF YOU CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT AND, AND EVEN WHAT'S THE TIMEFRAME FROM WHEN THE STUDENTS WHO PARTICIPATE IN THOSE PROGRAMS ONCE THEY GRADUATE, AND WHAT'S THE OP, UH, WHAT'S THE TIMEFRAME BEFORE THEY WILL QUALIFY IN ORDER TO WORK FOR DALLAS RESCUE? I SEE THAT AS A GROW YOUR OWN TYPE OF PROGRAM.
UM, WE'RE WORKING RIGHT NOW WITH DHD ON THE PTAC PROGRAM.
UH, WE RECENTLY WERE SENT THE CONTRACT WITH THEM TO START A PROJECT PROGRAM AT ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL, UH, ONE OF THE GREATEST SCHOOLS IN THE, IN THE LANDFILL OF COURSE.
UM, THAT WAS MY HIGH SCHOOL, SO
UM, BUT, UM, WE HAD TO OUTLINE SOME THINGS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO WITH THE CITY, HAS TO BE A THREE-PRONGED APPROACH TO WHERE DALLAS COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGES ALSO HAVE TO PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN, UH, TRAINING THESE MEMBERS BECAUSE OUR, OUR TRAINING ACADEMY IS PRETTY BOOKED, AS YOU CAN SEE MM-HMM.
AND SO WE'VE SENT THE, THE ACTUAL CONTRACT BACK TO THEM AND ARE WAITING FOR THEM TO RESPOND BACK TO US, UH, WITH WHAT THEY CAN DO ON THEIR SIDE.
[02:15:01]
BETWEEN THAT AND THEN HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET THIS PROJECT OFF THE GROUND AND RUNNING HERE IN THE NEAR FUTURE WITH THE EXPECTATION OF POSSIBLY IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS, WE'LL FINALLY START SEEING SOME FRUITS OF THE LABOR OF, OF GROWING OUR OWN THROUGH THOSE TYPES OF PROGRAMS. WELL, I THINK, UH, THAT'S A PHENOMENAL OPPORTUNITY.I'M GLAD TO KNOW, UH, THAT THIS IS, UH, ALMOST IN PROCESS.
AND IF YOU'RE HAVING A PROBLEM GETTING SOMEONE FROM DALLAS COLLEGE TO RESPOND, LET ME KNOW AND I'LL SEE WHAT I CAN DO TO HELP.
DOES ANYBODY ONLINE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY, WELL, I HAVE A COUPLE.
SO, UH, CHAIR WILLIS ALREADY ADDRESSED SOME OF THE CIVIL SERVICE QUESTIONS I HAVE, BUT CAN YOU TELL ME, DO YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE APPLICATIONS ONCE THEY'VE APPLIED THROUGH CIVIL SERVICE OR YOU'RE WAITING FOR IT TO GET MOVED OVER TO YOU? UH, WE'RE WAITING FOR A CERTIFIED LIST, AND THAT'S WHAT THEY TURN OVER WITH US.
BUT AS, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THAT'S ONE OF THE INITIATIVES THAT WE'VE, UH, STEPPED FORWARD WITH IS TO WORK WITH CIVIL SERVICE AND TO TRY TO IDENTIFY WAYS THAT WE CAN IMPROVE THIS, WHERE THERE ISN'T SUCH A LARGE DISPARITY BETWEEN THE APPLICATIONS, UH, CERTIFIED AND THE NUMBERS THAT WE RECEIVE.
SO I WOULD JUST SUGGEST THAT IF THERE IS SOMEBODY WHO IS GONNA MEET MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS, EVEN IF THEY HAVEN'T SENT A TRANSCRIPT YET, THIS MIGHT BE A PLACE WHERE RECRUITING COULD THEN REACH OUT AND SAY, HEY, YOU'RE SO CLOSE, COME JOIN US.
WE NEED YOU TO DO THESE LAST FEW STEPS.
UM, I'M NOT SURE THAT YOU ACTUALLY NEED THAT, THAT TRANSCRIPT RIGHT UP FRONT.
IF THEY'RE SAYING THEY HAVE IT, YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO START HAVING A CONVERSATION AND LET THEM WORK IT.
UM, PAGE SIX, YOU ARE DOWN 65 POSITIONS.
HOW ARE YOU MANAGING WITH OVERTIME? UM, RIGHT NOW WE'RE HAVING TO, UH, SOMETIMES MANDATORY FOLKS TO WORK, UH, OVER THE HOURS THAT THEY, THEY MAY HAVE WORKED 24 HOURS, THEY HAVE TO WORK ANOTHER 24 HOUR.
UH, RIGHT NOW WE'RE SEEING THAT HAPPENS PROBABLY ABOUT EVERY THREE MONTHS FOR MEMBERS AS THEY GO ON A ROTATION.
UM, BUT WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS INSTITUTED AND THE LATERAL HIRE PROGRAM IS ONE OF THOSE THAT HOPEFULLY WE CAN CUT DOWN ON A NUMBER OF, OF FOLKS THAT WE'RE SEEING, UH, IN THAT 65 THAT YOU JUST WAS TALKING ABOUT, AS WELL AS IF YOU LOOK ON THE DASHBOARD, I THINK THIS MONTH WE HAVE ANOTHER 28, I THINK HITTING THE FIELD AND THEN ANOTHER 30 HITTING THE FIELD IN JUNE.
AND SO OUR PLANS IS ALSO TO INCORPORATE ANOTHER CLASS OF THOSE LATERAL HIRES IN BETWEEN THERE TO HOPEFULLY GET THIS UNDER CONTROL.
AND AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WE'LL CONTINUE ALSO TO HIRE THOSE SINGLE, UM, FUNCTION PARAMEDICS AS WELL AS JUST FOLKS THAT ARE APPLYING TO BE A FIRE RESCUE OFFICER ALSO.
IN BETWEEN THERE, MR. FORTUNE, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING? YEAH.
SO I GUESS, UM, ON PAGE NINE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF OVERTIME AND I KNOW IT IS VERY STRESSFUL ON STAFF.
I THINK ON ONE OF THE SLIDES YOU SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED STRESS AS ONE OF THE ISSUES, AND I'M JUST GONNA SAY, I KNOW YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS PRIVATELY.
I THINK YOU NEED MORE FLEXIBILITY IN YOUR MANDATORY OVERTIME SO THAT IF, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A THREE MONTH ROTATION THAT SOMEONE CAN SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, I'VE GOT TWO WEEKENDS WHERE I MIGHT BE AVAILABLE, AS OPPOSED TO MY NUMBER JUST GOT CALLED UP.
AND I THINK YOU'RE, WE ACTUALLY DO THAT.
UM, CHIEF BALL, THE ASSISTANT CHIEF OVER EMERGENCY OPS CAN SPEAK TO IT.
THEY ACTUALLY, UM, THE DEPUTY CHIEF TRIES TO, TO MANAGE THAT AS BEST THEY CAN, UM, WITH WITHIN REASON, OF COURSE.
UM, THEY TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT IF A MEMBER CANNOT WORK THAT PARTICULAR DAY, THEN THEY GIVE THEM A DAY TO WHERE THEY CAN WORK.
AND SO, UM, HE CAN, UH, SPEAK.
WELL, I'LL TELL YOU, I'M, I'M, I KNOW WE'RE LATE ON TIME.
I'M JUST GONNA SAY I THINK IT NEEDS MORE WORK.
I'M HEARING FROM A LOT OF OFFICERS THAT THIS IS CAUSING A GREAT, UM, BURDEN ON THEIR FAMILIES AND ON LIFE EVENTS THAT THEY WANNA ATTEND, THAT, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S WEDDINGS, GRADUATIONS, WHERE THEY COULD BE AVAILABLE ON DAYS, THEY'RE HAPPY TO WORK IT, BUT THEN THEY CAN'T DO IT ON THE DAYS THEY GET ASKED TO DO IT, AND THAT THERE ARE REPERCUSSIONS FOR THEM.
AND SO I'M GONNA ASK YOU TO KEEP WORKING ON THAT.
UH, COUNCILMAN, UH, MENDELSON, UH, ALI, WE'VE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS WAS NEW TO US, UH, THE COLOSSAL AMOUNT OF HUMANATORIES THAT STARTED MAYBE A YEAR AGO, A BIT MORE.
SO WE'VE BEEN, I SIT, I SIT MONTHLY WITH ALL THE DEPUTIES THAT DO THE STAFFING AND WE REVIEW HOW WE CAN ALLEVIATE THE PAIN.
AND LIKE CHIEF ARTIST SAID, IT, IT IS, IT GETS ROUND TO MANDATORY IN A MEMBER ABOUT EVERY THREE MONTHS.
I THINK NOW IT MIGHT EXTEND TO FOUR OR FIVE MONTHS WE'RE GETTING BETTER.
AND IF, UH, SO BEFORE THERE WAS NO
[02:20:01]
EXCUSE YOU, IF YOU WERE MANDATORY, UH, YOU HAD TO WORK OR YOU'D GET A REPRIMAND, UH, NOW, UH, WE'LL TAKE AN EXCUSE, UH, YOU AND YOU CAN BE PUT ON THE LIST TO WORK THE NEXT SHIFT OR ANOTHER SHIFT THAT YOU'LL SAY YOUR WORK.UH, WE, WE'LL ALLOW FOR A LOT OF EXCUSES.
WE ALSO PUT IN PLACE WHERE IF YOU GET MANDATORY READ, YOU CAN SECURE YOURSELF, UH, A MEMBER THAT'LL WORK.
UH, SO THEY CAN CALL AROUND AND SAY, CAN YOU WORK FOR ME? UH, SO WE, WE IMPLEMENTED THAT ALSO.
UH, ADDITIONALLY, UH, IF YOU ARE MANDATORY READ AND YOU ACCEPT IT, YOU CAN, UH, BE OFF FOR FOUR HOURS.
YOU WON'T GET PAID, BUT YOU'LL BE OFF FOR FOUR.
YOU CAN BE OFF FOR FOUR HOURS.
SO IF SOMEBODY HAD AN IMPORTANT A DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT OR, OR SOMETHING IMPORTANT, THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO, UH, LEAVE AND DO THAT.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE MAKE CHANGES ALL THE TIME.
WE ARE OPEN TO NEW CHANGES, BUT, UM, THIS WAS NEW TO US AND WE'RE JUST NAVIGATING OUR WAY THROUGH IT.
UH, I, I SEE LIGHT ON THE HORIZON WITH THE, UH, WHAT WE'RE PUTTING IN PLACE WITH THE, UH, LATERAL HIRES AND THE AMOUNTS THAT THE AMOUNT HIRING WE'RE DOING.
UH, WE'RE NOT QUITE THERE YET, BUT, UH, I THINK THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER.
WELL, I THINK THE GOAL IS TO BE FULLY STAFFED.
AND THAT WOULD ELIMINATE SOME OF THOSE ISSUES.
BUT IN THE MEANTIME, AS WE'RE STRUGGLING WITH RECRUITING RETENTION, I THINK A LITTLE BIT MORE DISCUSSION WITH SOME OF YOUR OFFICERS MIGHT PROVIDE YOU SOME OPTIONS THAT YOU HAVEN'T YET EXPLORED.
SO I'D LIKE TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO THAT.
THIS IS, UM, HISTORICAL ATTRITION.
IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE HALF YOUR OFFICERS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT.
IS THAT TRUE? I BELIEVE SEAN AND I THINK THE NUMBER IS 500 AND I THINK IT'S 41 OR 14, THAT, UH, AS HE LOOKED THROUGH HIS NUMBERS, THAT HAD THE ABILITY TO RETIRE.
UM, ARE YOU REQUIRING COVID VACCINES FOR YOUR RECRUITS? NO, WE DO NOT.
ARE YOU REQUIRING COVID VACCINE FOR THEM TO GO THROUGH PARAMEDIC TRAINING? WE DO NOT REQUIRE, IS THE SCHOOL REQUIRING COVID VACCINE? THE SCHOOL DOES NOT REQUIRE.
ANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO MAY HAVE BEEN LAID OFF FROM D FFR BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT VACCINED, UM, ARE WE HIRING THEM BACK? WE HAVE A NUMBER OF FOLKS THAT FAIL PROBATION BECAUSE THEY CAN'T, THEY WERE HIRED TO BE FIRE AND RESCUE OFFICERS.
AND IN BETWEEN THEIR TRAINING, THEY FAIL OUT FOR A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT REASONS.
UH, BUT WE DO NOT, UH, REQUIRE FOLKS TO HAVE THE COVID VACCINE TO BE HIRED BY US.
UM, ON PAGE 1659, TERM IN 2022 FOR VOLUNTARY.
SO I'M WONDERING WHY, AND IF THIS COULD BE SOMETHING THAT, WHATEVER THE REASON IS, COULD IT BE ADDRESSED IN OUR RECRUITING ON THE FRONT END? COULD IT BE ADDRESSED WITH TESTING? ARE WE REQUIRING A RIDE ALONG SO THEY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE REALLY GETTING INTO? I MEAN, FOR VOLUNTARY TERMINATIONS, THAT'S A PRETTY HIGH NUMBER.
CHIEF, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN THOUGH, THAT'S NOT NEW THAT, THAT SPENDS THE SPECTRUM OF A PERSON'S CAREER.
SO FROM DAY ONE TO DAY 40, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD, THESE ARE DETERMINATIONS.
AM I UNDERSTANDING YOUR QUESTION CORRECTLY? MAYBE I MISUNDERSTOOD.
YEAH, WELL, MY QUESTION IS, DO YOU THINK, LIKE, LET'S SAY IT'S, WOW, I HATE THE SIGHT OF BLOOD.
HAD THEY GONE ON A RIDE ALONG, THEY MIGHT HAVE REALIZED YOU'RE PROBABLY GONNA SEE BLOOD OR, YOU KNOW, I'M UNCOMFORTABLE WALKING INTO PEOPLE'S HOMES, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
SO ARE THESE THINGS THAT YOU COULD HAVE ADDRESSED BEFORE THEY WERE ACTUALLY HIRED IF THEY UNDERSTOOD THE JOB BETTER, IS REALLY WHAT MY QUESTION IS.
OUR TRAINING DEPARTMENT DOES A REALLY GOOD JOB OF, OF KINDA INUNDATING OUR MEMBERS WITH THE EXPECTATIONS OF A FIRE RESCUE OFFICER OR A SINGLE FUNCTION PARAMEDIC OF WHAT WE ASK FOR OUR MEMBERS TO BE.
AND SO THEY DO A REALLY GOOD JOB OF SHOWING THEM WHAT THE EXPECTATION IS, WHAT THE JOB IS.
AND WE HAVE SEVERAL DIFFERENT LAYERS IN BETWEEN THERE AS FAR AS RIGHT NOW, AS A PARAMEDIC, UH,
[02:25:01]
AS AN EMT, UH, THEY HAVE TO DO THAT AT THE STATION LEVEL.UM, I, I CAN TELL YOU THIS, WE'VE HAD MEMBERS TO, TO SAY THEY, THEY DIDN'T, NO ONE LONG, NO LONGER WANTED THE JOB BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T KNOW WE WORKED ON HOLIDAYS.
AND SO THEY DECIDED THIS WASN'T FOR THEM.
AND THEN WE'VE HAD OTHERS THAT GO TO THE STATION AND REALIZE THAT THIS IS REALLY NOT THE CAREER THEY, THEY WOULD LIKE.
AND SO WE TRY TO MAKE THAT, UH, OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE FOR THEM TO ACTUALLY SEE WHAT THE JOB IS LIKE THROUGH A NUMBER OF THE DIFFERENT TRAININGS THAT THEY HAVE TO GO TO, TO BE A FIRE RESCUE OFFICER OR A SENIOR FIRE PREVENTION OFFICER.
UH, ADDITIONALLY, WE, WE BELIEVE FROM THE, UM, THE SINGLE FUNCTION PARAMEDIC PROGRAM WHERE THEY'LL BE ABLE TO, UH, CROSS OVER AND, UH, TO FIREFIGHTERS ALSO AFTER A, A DETERMINED AMOUNT OF TIME, UH, THAT WE'RE ALREADY GETTING PEOPLE THAT ARE VETTED OUT, THEY KNOW THE JOB, THEY'VE BEEN RIDING AN AMBULANCE, UH, WE ARE NOT TRAINING THEM.
AND SO WE FEEL LIKE, UH, THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE MORE OF AN EDUCATED DECISION ON JOINING THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, ALSO WE ARE, WE CURRENTLY PUT THEM, PUT OUR MEMBERS THROUGH PARAMEDIC SCHOOL FIRST.
UM, SEEMS AS THAT THAT SEEMS TO BE THE, UH, THE MAIN PART OF THE JOB THAT THEY HAVE A DIFFICULTY WITH.
SO AT LEAST THEY GET TO, UM, EXPERIENCE THAT UP FRONT RATHER THAN TOWARDS THE END AFTER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
AND, AND BEFORE THEY WOULD GET IN, THEY WOULD GET TO THE FIELD, UM, AS A FIREFIGHTER BE, BE OUT IN THE FIELD FOR ONE, TWO YEARS AND THEN GOT A PARAMEDIC SCHOOL.
UH, THAT, THAT WAS DIFFICULT, US GETTING BACK TO A STRAIGHT THROUGH.
UH, IT ALSO THAT DOING THAT ALSO AFFECTED THE STAFFING OVER TIME, BUT WE ARE THERE NOW.
UH, SO WE GO, THEY GO STRAIGHT THROUGH.
SO, UM, WE DO HAVE FOLKS QUIT EARLY ON, BUT I THINK THE, THE STUFF WE'VE GOT IN PLACE NOW ALLEVIATE SOME OF THAT.
SO, UM, I JUST WANNA HAVE ONE MORE THING, WHICH IS TO SAY WE'VE GOT A LOT OF SPECIALTY UNITS THAT ARE PULLING PARAMEDICS, RIGHT? RIGHT.
PRAYER, OPIOID RESPONSE, COMMUNITY PARAMEDICS, UM, FACILITY EMBEDDED PARAMEDICS.
ARE YOU ABLE TO STAFF ALL OF THESE? I MEAN, DO WE HAVE TO TEMPORARILY PULL BACK SO THAT YOU CAN MANAGE YOUR STATIONS? UH, YEAH.
UM, WE, GOING BACK TO WHEN WE, WHEN THERE WAS A DELAY IN PUTTING FOLLOWS THROUGH, THEY WOULD COME OUT, THEY WOULDN'T BE ON PROBATION.
SO WHEN THEY CAME OUT FROM PARAMEDIC SCHOOL, WE WOULD REMOVE MEMBERS THAT HAVE BEEN PARAMEDICS A LONG TIME OUT OF A ROTATION.
WELL NOW THEY GO STRAIGHT THROUGH, THEY COME OUT ON PROBATION.
SO ALL AT ANY GIVEN TIME, WE ARE, I WOULD SAY AT LEAST 10 PARAMEDICS, EXTRA ROTATIONAL, PARAMEDICS EXTRA PER SHIFT, UH, THAT ARE RIDING EXTRA A STATION THAT THE, THE BATTALION CHIEFS WILL DISTRIBUTE TO PLACES THAT ARE SHORT PARAMEDICS.
I DON'T THINK WE'LL BE SHORT PARAMEDICS AGAIN, BECAUSE OF THE WAY WE, UH, DELAY REMOVING PARAMEDICS FOR THE SIX MONTHS PROBATIONARY PERIOD.
I, I, I REALLY DON'T THINK WE'LL FACE THAT AGAIN WHERE WE'LL BE SHORT PARAMEDICS.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM? NO.
WELL, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF BRIEFINGS BY MEMO.
THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
AND, UM, I'M JUST GOING TO CALL F AND G TOGETHER.
SO F IS A PUBLIC SAFETY DASHBOARD AND G IS THE, UM, RETENTION INCENTIVE PROGRAM THAT, UM, DPD IS PUTTING FORWARD.
CHAIRMAN WILLIS, I WAS JUST GONNA ASK ON G I MEAN I, IT, IT GIVES SOME DETAILS ABOUT THE PROGRAM ITSELF, BUT I WAS THIS VIA A SURVEY OR HOW DID YOU, HOW DID YOU ALL LAND ON THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE REALLY WANT? UH, SO I, I KNOW THERE'S, THERE'S FOLKS THAT CAN PROBABLY GIVE YOU A LOT MORE DETAILS AND IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, LEMME JUST SAY YES, WE CONSULTED WITH A NUMBER OF EMPLOYEE GROUPS AND PERSONNEL, UM, LOOKED AT OTHER AGENCIES, UM, RELIED ON THE EXPERTISE OF THE CHIEFS AND, AND THEIR EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH, UM, OFFICERS AND OTHER AGENCIES.
UNLESS I SKIP SOMETHING GUYS, UM, FEEL FREE, UM, TO CHIME IN.
I MEAN, THAT'S ALL I WAS ASKING IS JUST, I WAS JUST CURIOUS WHAT KIND OF INPUT YOU GOT TO LAND ON THIS.
I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN WORKING ON IT FOR A WHILE AND IT CAN BE BRIEF.
YEAH, SO, UH, SO WE, UH, CONSULTED WITH ASSOCIATIONS AND SPOKE
[02:30:01]
TO THEM ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD RETENTION PLAN.AND SO THE, THE NUMBER THAT WE CAME UP WITH, THE DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT WE CAME UP WITH IS BASICALLY THE AMOUNT OF BASICALLY THE LUMP SUM PAYMENT THAT, UH, A PERSON GETS WHEN THEY LEAVE AND BASICALLY THE INSURANCE.
SO HOW MUCH, BASICALLY THE COST, AVERAGE COST OF THE INSURANCE AFTER THEY LEAVE THROUGH THE COBRA PLAN AND WE PUT, PUT THAT TOGETHER, THAT'S HOW WE CAME UP WITH THE $40,000.
UM, CAN YOU TELL US HOW MANY OFFICERS ARE ELIGIBLE RIGHT NOW? 220.
AND DO YOU THINK THAT YOU NEED ANOTHER INCENTIVE PROGRAM? SO THIS IS COVERING YEARS OF SERVICE, 28 TO 30, RIGHT.
BUT WHAT ABOUT FROM 25 TO 28? OR ARE THERE ANY OTHER YEARS OF SERVICE THAT YOU'RE AT RISK OVER? YEAH, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT MIDDLE LEVEL AS WELL.
SO WE'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, INTERNALLY KIND OF TALKING THROUGH IT, UH, AND KIND OF COMING UP WITH SOME, MAYBE SOME PLANS FOR AN EXTENDED PROGRAM FOR THAT MIDDLE GROUP TOO.
WE REALLY JUST HAVE IT COME UP WITH A PRECISE THING.
BUT, UH, MY RECRUITING TEAM IS REALLY LOOKING AT THAT MIDDLE GROUP TOO, SO WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT THAT AS WELL.
SO, SO YOU'RE LOOKING LIKE 10, 15 OR YOU'RE LOOKING MORE LIKE THE 25? SO MORE LIKE THE 10 TO 15 RANGE.
SO, SO, SO I THINK THE, THE, THE PRIORITY HAS BEEN THOSE THAT ARE MOST AT RISK FOR WALKING OUT THE DOOR, WHICH IS WHY WE STARTED WITH THE RANGE THAT WE DID.
AND, AND THE REASON BEING, IT'S THE LAST COUPLE MONTHS, THE AVERAGE, UH, AGE OF SERVICE LEAVING IS ABOUT 28 YEARS.
SO THAT'S THE REASON WHY WE'RE PICKING THAT AGE FRAME.
WELL I KEEP GIVING YOU THIS HASHTAG CAMPAIGN TO RETAIN, SO IT'S YOURS, USE IT FREE OF CHARGE.
UM, THANK YOU HAVE DEFINITELY BEEN ASKING FOR THIS.
I THINK IT'LL BE WIDELY, UM, APPRECIATED.
AND YOU KNOW, I THINK, UM, CHIEF GARCIA, YOU TALK VERY OFTEN ABOUT GIVE US ANOTHER GEAR.
AND SO I LIKE THAT YOU WENT FOR TWO, UM,
UM, OKAY, NEXT ITEMS, UM, H THIS IS THE VIDEO TAGGING UPDATE.
AND SO I WANNA APPLAUD YOU FOR THAT.
I WANNA ENCOURAGE OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY TO RAISE THEIR HAND AND ASK TO BE AUDITED TO SHOW THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING.
AND SO I'M JUST GOING TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THAT PART.
UM, I ALSO WANNA JUST SAY FOR THE PUBLIC, THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS A DATA LOSS.
WAS ANY DATA LOST? THE DATA WAS, DATA WAS NOT LOST ON THE UN TAGGING.
UH, WE ARE REVIEWING, AS MENTIONED THERE IN THE MEMORANDUM THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THE VIDEOS FROM THE PAST THAT WERE TAGGED, THAT WE KNOW WERE DELETED AND WERE, UH, FOR CRIMINAL CASES THAT WERE FILED.
WELL, I JUST, FOR EVERYBODY WHO SAID, OH, HERE WE GO AGAIN, THIS IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THING AND THE DATA WASN'T LOST.
UM, AND THEN THE LAST THING I WANNA SAY IS THANK YOU FOR THE MEMO WITH THE UPDATED NUMBERS OF HOW MANY FILES STILL NEED TO BE TAGGED.
I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU GOT THROUGH THAT MANY, BUT THE NUMBER THAT REALLY JUMPED OUT TO ME IS THAT YOU HAVE 5,000 NEW VIDEOS EVERY DAY.
THAT'S, I THINK, SHOCKING AND JUST PUTS A LOT OF THINGS IN CONTEXT.
SO AS OF THE MEMO DATE, YOU SAID YOU STILL HAD 18,000 VIDEOS TO TAG, SO I'LL JUST, YOU KNOW, DO THE MATH FOR PEOPLE.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD LIKE A HUNDRED PERCENT PERFECTION FROM ALL PEOPLE ALL TIMES.
BUT, UM, I THINK CHIEF GARCIA, YOU'VE SAID TO ME LIKE, LOOK, IT'S LESS THAN 2%.
IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANNA SAY ABOUT THAT YOU'RE WELCOME TO NO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER.
ONE THING THAT I'LL SAY, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS QUESTION AS WELL IS WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT SO THAT WE CAN AVOID THESE TYPE OF THINGS IN THE FUTURE AS WELL? AND SO INTERNALLY, YOU KNOW, EVERY DEPARTMENT SHOULD, EVERY UNIT SHOULD BE DOING THESE, UH, INTERNAL CHECKS, UH, EVERY DAY.
UH, THEY SHOULD BE DOING THEM, UM, OR, YOU KNOW, ON WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND SO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT REALLY IS GETTING, UH, LETTING OUR COMMANDERS CHIEFS KNOW WHEN THINGS ARE UN TAGGED FROM THE DAY BEFORE SO THAT WE CAN FIX THEM QUICKLY SO THAT WE CAN RECORRECT.
THE EXAMPLE THAT I GAVE UH, STAFF THIS MORNING WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LEAVE DALLAS GOING TO NEW YORK AND YOU'RE A HALF A MILE OFF COURSE, IT'S EASY TO FIX.
THE CLOSER YOU'RE TO DALLAS, THE CLOSER YOU GET TO NEW YORK, YOU GOTTA RECORRECT QUITE A BIT.
SO TRYING TO FIND THOSE, THOSE, UH, YOU KNOW, THOSE, THOSE GAPS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE IS IMPERATIVE FOR US.
UH, GETTING COMPLIANCE TEAMS IN PLACE TO ASSIST WITH THE MYRIAD OF CHECKS AND BALANCES AND THINGS THAT OFFICERS AND SERGEANTS HAVE TO DO TODAY THAT WE JUST SIMPLY DIDN'T HAVE TO DO 10, 10 YEARS AGO.
UH, AND LOOKING AT THAT AND, AND, UH, MOVING FORWARD
[02:35:01]
SO THAT WE CAN BE THE MOST EFFICIENT WE CAN BE.SO WE WE'RE WORKING ON A LOT OF THOSE THINGS, UH, FROM A QUALITY CONTROL PERSPECTIVE FOR US.
UM, AND, UH, AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, YES, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE STUDY OURSELVES AND FIND THINGS THAT, UH, THAT ARE UH, BLIND SPOTS, UM, OUR JOB IS TO FIX 'EM AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE AND IN OTHER AREAS OF THE DEPARTMENT AS WELL.
UM, OUR NEXT ITEM IS THE AUTO POUND AND THE TOWING CONTRACT.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE QUESTIONS ON THAT ONE? CHAIR, WILLIS.
SO I SEE IN THIS THERE IS, UM, THE CONTRACT IS EVALUATED FOR INTAKE, STORAGE RELEASE AND AUCTIONING OF TOWED VEHICLES, ET CETERA.
AND I HAD RAISED THE ISSUE AT ONE POINT ABOUT CLEANUP AND THAT THERE'S A REQUIREMENT FOR THE TOWING COMPANIES TO CLEAN UP, UH, AT AN ACCIDENT SCENE AND YOU CAN JUST DRIVE DOWN ANY HIGHWAY AND, UM, UH, SOMETIMES OTHER ROADS AND RESIDENTIAL AREAS AND SEE A BUMPER OR A FEND OR CAR PARTS.
AND SO I'VE GOT SOME RESIDENTS COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS.
IT LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DONE, BUT IT'S NOT BEING DONE.
SO HOW CAN WE MAKE SURE OUR CONTRACTED TOW COMPANIES ARE DOING WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO? SO PART OF THE NEW CONTRACT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE VENDOR WILL MAKE SURE THAT THE RE RULES AND REGULATIONS ARE KEPT UP AND SO THEY'LL BE MAKING AND ISSUING WHATEVER THINGS THEY NEED TO DO TO MAKE SURE THAT'S TAKEN CARE OF.
RIGHT NOW, THERE'S A SEPARATE PART OF THE DEPART, UH, A CITY WHO CONTROLS THAT AND THEY HAVE SENT OUT NOTIFICATIONS TO ALL THE CITY CONTRACT RECORDS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW THAT THIS, THE, THE AREA HAS TO BE CLEANED UP AND YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE, AND THEN I HAVE NOTIFIED THE COMMANDS STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN OFFICERS ARE OUT ON, UM, ACCIDENT SCENES TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RECORDS ARE CLEANING UP THE, UH, THE DEBRIS FROM THE ACCIDENT.
SO HOW RECENTLY DID YOU SAY THAT WENT OUT? UH, IT WAS LAST WEEK.
IT WAS FOLLOWING YOUR INQUIRY? YES.
WHEN YOU'RE SAYING SUGGESTION, THANK YOU VERY MUCH CUZ IT'S JUST REALLY JUNKED UP.
SO I LOOK FORWARD TO MONITORING THAT.
WE CAN JUST ALL KEEP OUR EYES ON THAT.
OKAY, SO I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR.
SO THIS TOWING CONTRACT IS BOTH FOR D P D AND PARKING ENFORCEMENT, CORRECT? YES MA'AM.
IT, YES IT DOES THROUGH TRANSPORTATION, RIGHT? YES.
AND ARE WE CURRENTLY TOWING OR WE'RE WAITING FOR THIS THIRD QUARTER? NO, WE'RE STILL IN THE, UH, THE PROCESS PORTION OF THE CONTRACT.
SO WE'RE STILL DOING OUR REGULAR TOWING.
SO THE SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? THE OLD AUTO RETURN HAS NOT TAKEN OVER THE CONTRACT YET, SO THEY'RE STILL IN THAT 90 DAY WINDOW FOR PROCESSING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO, SO IF I COULD PROVIDE SOME CLARITY, NOTHING HAS CHANGED WITH WHAT WE CURRENTLY DO TODAY.
AS YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL APPROVED AND WE'VE BRIEFED YOU ON THIS NEW AUTO RETURN PROCESS AND, UH, THIS AUTOMATED TOWING PROCESS, THE, THE, THE CRUX OF THAT GOING LIVE, IF, AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, TEAM IS HAVING THE, THE NEW SITES, UM, IMPLEMENTED AND READY TO GO.
THEY'VE COMPLETED I THINK THE NORTHERN SITE AND THEY'RE IN THE PROCESS OF, OF GOING THROUGH THE, THE, THE FINAL STAGES OF, UM, PERMITTING FOR THE SOUTHERN SITE.
AND I DON'T ANTICIPATE THOSE BEING LONG IMPROVEMENTS.
YEAH, BUT SO I I I DON'T THINK THAT WE'RE, UH, WAITING ON ANYTHING OTHER THAN WE'RE JUST IN THE PROCESS TO GET THOSE THINGS DONE.
THE NORTH ONE HAD TO HAVE THE BUILDING BUILT THOUGH, SO THAT'S ALREADY DONE.
I DO NOT KNOW THE EXACT STATUS ON THAT.
I CAN GET THAT INFORMATION AND I'LL SEND IT TO YOU.
I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW FAR THEY ARE IN THAT PROCESS.
SO I'LL JUST GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
I HAVE A STREET HAVER WOOD AND FAR NORTH DALLAS PAR RIDGE AND FAR NORTH DALLAS.
AND IT IS LINED WITH CARS, PAPER TAGS, NO TAGS.
THEY'VE BEEN SITTING THERE WEEKS, MONTHS AND WE CAN'T GET IT TOWED.
HOW COME? LIKE, WHEN'S THAT GONNA BE ABLE TO HAPPEN? IF YOU GIMME THOSE LOCATIONS? I CAN REACH OUT TO THE PATROL AND AND PARKING ENFORCEMENT TO SEE IF THEY CAN GET THOSE VEHICLES TOWED.
UH, AND SEE WHAT THIS, THE DEAL IS AND WHY THEY MAY BE JUST STILL GETTING TAGGED OR NOT TOWED YET.
I MEAN, THERE'S, WE'RE NOT HAVING A HUNDRED CARS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
I'VE TAKEN CODE COMPLIANCE THERE.
NORTH CENTRAL STATIONS AWARE THEY DRIVE BY 'EM ALL THE TIME.
YEAH, WE DON'T HAVE A CAPACITY ISSUE AT THIS MOMENT, SO THERE SHOULD BE NO REASON WE CAN LOOK INTO THAT.
WELL I'LL GET WITH YOU DIRECTLY ON THAT.
AND THEN THAT WILL BE ALL MY QUESTIONS.
OKAY, SO I BELIEVE WE'VE LOST QUORUM ANYHOW, I THINK WE'RE DONE WITH OUR MEETINGS, SO I'M GONNA OFFICIALLY ADJOURN IT AT 3 41.