Attachment A PSJ Subcommittee 1.11.23 Draft.pdf

Phoenix City Council 
Public Safety and Justice (PSJ) Subcommittee 
Summary Minutes 
Wednesday, January 11, 2023 
City Council Chambers 
200 W. Jefferson St. 
Phoenix, Ariz. 
Subcommittee Members Present   
 Subcommittee Members Absent  
Councilwoman Ann O’Brien, Chair 
Councilman Jim Waring 
Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari 
Councilmember Carlos Garcia 
CALL TO ORDER 
Chairwoman O’Brien called the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee to order at 9:02 
a.m. with Councilman Waring, Vice Mayor Ansari, and Councilmember Garcia present.
CALL TO THE PUBLIC 
Anne Ender spoke about a letter signed by neighborhood leaders in regard to actions of 
a police officer. 
MINUTES OF MEETINGS 
1. Minutes of the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee Meeting
Councilmember Waring made a motion to approve the minutes of the Dec. 14, 2022
Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee meeting. Vice Mayor Ansari seconded the
motion which passed unanimously, 3-0.
INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION (ITEMS 2-5) 
2. Battery Fire Response and Community Risk Reduction Efforts
Chairwoman O’Brien introduced Assistant Chief Tim Kreis and Deputy Fire Marshal 
Brian Scholl to present on the item. 
Chief Kreis explained emergency response steps for hazardous lithium-ion batteries 
during failures of energy storage system, occasional electric vehicle fires, and micro 
mobility devices. He commended the expertise and safety improvement efforts of 
Marshal Scholl. 
Marshal Scholl said new fire code language was developed to address fire prevention 
for lithium-ion batteries and was adopted consistently across the state and nation. He 
noted over 200 batteries had been inspected and permitted since the program began. 
Attachment A

Marshal Scholl stated the importance of partnerships between battery industry 
stakeholders and fire service professionals to keep first responders and the community 
safe. 
A video was shown for public education about lithium-ion battery storage and charging 
instructions. 
Vice Mayor Ansari expressed appreciation for the City of Phoenix setting a high 
standard nationally on risk reduction. She said electric vehicles were safe and 
environmentally friendly, as shown by the statistic of 25 fire per 100,000 sales in 
comparison to 3,475 hybrid car fires and 1,530 gas car fires. She asked how often 
personnel training on technology would be updated. 
Chief Kreis responded standard operating procedures and training were current for 
electric vehicles and batteries. He said a regional staff and an operations committee 
reviewed trainings in an effort to stay current. 
Vice Mayor Ansari asked if experiences of other jurisdictions or countries were used to 
inform the standards. 
Marshal Scholl replied staff did examine issues from regional, state, national, and global 
jurisdictions to address them all in the adopted fire code. 
3. Phoenix Police Reserves Update 
Chairwoman O’Brien introduced Executive Assistant Chief Sean Connolly and Assistant 
Chief Joe Klima to present on the item. 
Chief Klima shared the mission of reserve officers is to be fully integrated into regular 
assignments of the Police Department. He said the current 116 reserve officers and 
seven recruits were community members with diverse backgrounds. He added they 
were hired through the same process and attended a night academy program or were 
transitioned career officers from different units of the force. He stated officers donated 
25,000 to 30,000 hours of time annually, which was $2.98 million in value in FY 2021-
22. He also explained the importance of the Phoenix Police Reserve Foundation and 
how the foundation funds the needs of the award-winning Reserve Division. 
Councilman Waring commended Chief Klima for his 42-year career of public service. 
Chairwoman O’Brien expressed gratitude to the reservists for their dedication. 
4. 30 by 30 Initiative 
Chairwoman O’Brien introduced Interim Chief Michael Sullivan and Commander Aimee 
Smith to present on the item.

Chief Sullivan said Commander Smith spearheaded the initiative in the Phoenix Police 
Department and this presentation would show the City’s progress in achieving the 
important goal. 
Commander Smith defined 30X30 as a national initiative with 250 agencies that signed 
the pledge to implement strategies for increasing women in policing to a representation 
amount of 30 percent in recruit classes by 2030. She shared the six goals that are a 
part of the initiative focused on improving the experiences of women in the organization. 
Commander Smith presented current statistics for sworn recruits, cadets, and for 
professional/civilian female employment in the City. She listed strategies for female 
officer retention including a survey to learn concerns on culture and opportunities, social 
media stories to highlight women, and workshops specific to women. 
Vice Mayor Ansari expressed excitement with Phoenix being two percent above the 
national standard while emphasizing the importance of the 30 by 30 initiative to 
improving this figure. She asked Commander Smith to share her personal assessment 
of current barriers to female retention. 
Commander Smith replied females seeing themselves represented in leadership 
positions and in uniform was critical. 
Vice Mayor Ansari agreed more females in public service positions helped and asked 
who would be on the subcommittee to review survey results. 
Commander Smith responded a mix of men and women would review existing policies 
and move forward with solutions. 
Vice Mayor Ansari asked what would be done in the two-year initiative and the process 
approaching 2030. 
Commander Smith replied reports would be sent to the 30x30 organization over the 
next two years and staff would complete activities other agencies found successful. 
Vice Mayor Ansari asked about the number of females in the cadet program. 
Commander Smith responded 55 percent of the cadet program was female with some 
reaching sworn ranks soon. 
Vice Mayor Ansari offered support of the initiative to surpass the 30x30 goal. 
Chairwoman O’Brien requested updates on the subcommittee for the survey and was 
excited for the effects of the initiative.

5. Gun Violence Prevention and Data Overview  
Chairwoman O’Brien introduced Assistant Chief Anthony Vasquez, Commander Warren 
Brewer, and Lieutenant Will Jou to present on the item. 
 
Chief Vasquez recapped the pilot program intended to reduce gun violence. 
 
Commander Brewer defined a crime gun and gave citywide numbers for impounded 
firearms from July to November 2022. He discussed important communication and 
collaboration between agencies on next steps for improved detective response to 
nonfatal shootings and to employ a scene investigation checklist. He compared 2021 
homicide rates, police department size, gun laws and ordinances of peer cities. He 
stated the strategies to reduce the homicide rate and retaliation shootings included 
utilizing technology for intelligence led policing on the most active gun crime and 
creating a nonfatal shoot team to investigate shooting incidents even if it did not result in 
a death. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked staff to restate why the focus was on crime guns and what 
percentage accounts for crime. 
 
Commander Brewer replied it is estimated that two percent of crime guns committed an 
estimated 80 percent of crimes. 
 
Vice Mayor Ansari expressed shock at the amount of confiscated crime guns. She 
asked what the gaps were compared to other jurisdictions reducing gun violence. 
 
Commander Brewer responded a gap was to better utilize ballistic evidence to find the 
top tiered active guns before they ended up in a homicide. He also mentioned hiring 
criminal analysts to use intelligence to find the trigger pullers. 
 
Vice Mayor Ansari asked if the department had the capacity required to improve the 
clearance rate, like Denver. 
 
Commander Brewer replied the Violent Crimes Bureau from the City of Phoenix went to 
Denver to observe their program. He said the clearance rate would improve when 
dedicated investigators responded to nonfatal shootings the same manner as 
homicides. He stated 10 detectives and two sergeants’ only responsibility would be 
nonfatal shootings. 
 
Chief Vasquez added more positions were allocated to the Crime Gun Intelligence Unit 
to hire civilian investigators with the goal to speed up evidence collected and processed. 
 
Vice Mayor Ansari asked about school district partnerships to implement prevention 
measures to mitigate mass shootings.

Chief Vasquez replied staff of the Police Department, Fire Department, and 
superintendents of school districts began discussion on consistent incident response 
with protocols to make schools safer. 
 
Vice Mayor Ansari expressed concern of fear from the public and the need for additional 
prevention efforts. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien highlighted continued recruitment as a priority because the 
number of police officers was correlated to less crime. 
INFORMATION ONLY (ITEM 6) 
6. Phoenix Police Department Hiring, Recruitment, and Attrition Monthly Report 
Information only. No Councilmember requested additional information. 
CALL TO THE PUBLIC  
None. 
 
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 
None. 
 
ADJOURNMENT 
Chairwoman O’Brien adjourned the meeting at 10:22 a.m. 
 
Respectfully submitted, 
 
Nina Fader 
Management Fellow