Attachment A 6-5-24-PSJ Subcommittee Minutes Draft .pdf

Phoenix City Council 
Public Safety and Justice (PSJ) Subcommittee 
Summary Minutes 
Wednesday, June 5, 2024 
City Council Chambers 
200 W. Jefferson St. 
Phoenix, Ariz. 
Subcommittee Members Present                    Subcommittee Members Absent         
Councilwoman Ann O’Brien, Chair 
         
Councilman Kevin Robinson 
Councilman Jim Waring  
Councilwoman Guardado  
 
CALL TO ORDER 
Chairwoman O’Brien called the Public Safety and Justice (PSJ) Subcommittee to order 
at 10:01 a.m. with Councilwoman Guardado, Councilman Kevin Robinson and 
Councilman Jim Waring present.  
CALL TO THE PUBLIC 
None. 
 
MINUTES OF MEETINGS 
1. Minutes of the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee Meeting 
Councilman Robinson made a motion to approve the minutes of the May 1, 2024, Public 
Safety and Justice Subcommittee meeting. Councilman Waring seconded the motion 
which passed unanimously, 4-0. 
INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION (ITEMS 2-5)  
 
2. Police Hiring, Recruitment, and Attrition Update 
Chairwoman O’Brien introduced Commander William Jou and Marketing Supervisor 
Seth Landau to present on this item. 
 
Commander Jou provided data on national hiring and attrition rates for different sized 
police departments, and Phoenix Police’s current and projected staffing levels. 
 
Councilman Waring asked why hiring rates have decreased again. 
 
Commander Jou stated the data from 2023 shows attrition outpaced hiring. 
 
Councilman Waring asked if these trends indicate hiring will never return to optimal 
levels. He asked if this is the new staffing normal for Phoenix Police. 
Attachment A

Commander Jou stated understaffing is never acceptable, so staff will continue their 
hiring efforts.  
 
Councilman Waring stated hiring officers has become an intractable problem, and he 
would like the department to remain realistic in hiring goals. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien stated she agreed with Councilman Waring’s comments, and 
mentioned the importance of bringing stakeholders together to discuss if current staffing 
levels are the new normal. She suggested looking at the hiring difficulties in 
communities with over 1,000 officers to accurately compare their data to Phoenix 
Police. 
 
Councilman Waring requested a future discussion on other police departments that deal 
with large distances and how they provide adequate response times.  
 
Commander Jou discussed data on retirement and extension rates.  
 
Councilman Waring asked to see data from before the recent pay increase to determine 
if it has impacted hiring or retirement rates. 
 
Commander Jou discussed the reasons for why Phoenix Police has fallen behind the 
national hiring average and provided strategies for solutions. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked when the additional staff was hired to help with the hiring 
process. 
 
Commander Jou stated two civilian investigators have been placed, and the rest will be 
hired in the new fiscal year. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked what the current timeframe for processing applications is. 
 
Commander Jou stated approximately two months. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked what the goal is for application processing time. 
 
Commander Jou stated the goal is one month. He provided statistics on new and lateral 
applicants for 2023 and 2024 and mentioned the new policy regarding counting years of 
service toward compensation. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked if prior to this new policy, applicants pursuing a lateral 
transfer were not compensated based on years of service in another municipality. 
 
Commander Jou confirmed lateral transfers started out at similar compensation rates to 
new officers. He shared survey results regarding how potential employees hear about

job openings. He provided analytics on the new website and engagement levels on 
social media, and numbers of academy graduates in the past year. 
 
Mr. Landau provided website and social media analytics, and discussed updated 
marketing strategies on patrol vehicles, in community engagement, and through graphic 
design efforts with ON Advertising. 
 
Councilman Robinson asked why the City hired ON Advertising, and if there had been a 
measurable return on the City’s investment. 
 
Mr. Landau stated ON advertising was hired to assist because the marketing team was 
small, and they needed the extra help. He reported staff is seeing results from this 
investment, especially regarding attention to the website and social media. 
 
Councilman Robinson stated he appreciates the increased engagement, but there has 
not been a change in hiring. He asked for a future agenda item with more information on 
what ON Advertising has been doing so the subcommittee could assess next steps. 
 
Commander Jou reported on recent recruitment contacts, community presence, and 
external partnerships. He discussed short-term and long-term goals for hiring. 
 
Councilman Waring asked for future presentations to include data showing if the 
previous pay increase has assisted with hiring. He stated he hopes there are young 
people providing intel on how effective these strategies are for recruiting other young 
individuals.  
 
Councilman Robinson stated Phoenix Police struggled with recruitment before, and 
hiring is often a cyclical process. He stated success over the years has come from 
word-of-mouth and suggested the recruitment unit make a concerted effort to recruit 
candidates officers already know. He asked if there had been an increase in applicants 
from Grand Canyon University (GCU). 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien clarified the presentation mentioned GCU has a greater 
percentage of applicants based on their number of students. 
 
Councilman Waring asked if staff ever interview candidates who choose to become an 
officer in another city. 
 
Commander Jou stated staff conducts exit interviews to find out why employees leave 
the organization. He provided examples of why employees have decided to pursue 
careers with other municipalities. 
 
3. Speed Enforcement Update 
Chairwoman O’Brien introduced Assistant Chief Nick DiPonzio and Commander Grady 
Carlson to present on this item.

Assistant Chief DiPonzio provided collision data throughout 2023 and 2024 and 
discussed the increase in pedestrian incidents. He provided statistics on the Traffic 
Enforcement Unit’s staffing, enforcement, and impact programs. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked what a traffic impact program is. 
 
Assistant Chief DiPonzio explained traffic impact programs come from community 
complaints or behavior observed by an officer at a specific part in the City. The issue 
will be investigated, and a program will be created. He discussed a new data-driven 
enforcement program, provided weekly steps, and program goals. 
 
Councilman Waring asked if staff have thought about identifying problem stretches of 
roads to monitor since the unit only has 120 officers. He also asked if they were 
particularly targeting individuals Driving Under the Influence (DUI).  
 
Commander Carlson stated the unit conducts DUI enforcement working with the 
Governor’s Office of Highway Safety taskforces. He stated staff transitions to DUI 
enforcement during holidays, but they come across drivers under the influence 
regularly. 
 
Councilman Waring noted DUI investigations are decreasing according to the data in 
the presentation, and asked if people are driving under the influence less. 
 
Commander Carlson stated no, the decline in arrests is likely related to staffing issues. 
 
Councilman Waring stated the City needs more officers to make sure roads are safer for 
residents. 
 
Councilman Robinson asked about fatal collisions and how many involved alcohol. He 
also asked how many radar trailers Phoenix Police have. 
 
Commander Carlson indicated he did not have the information on fatal collisions, and 
stated Phoenix Police has 12 radar trailers. 
 
Councilman Robinson stated he receives contacts from constituents about vehicles 
speeding in his district. 
 
Councilman Waring asked if it was accurate that 87 percent of pedestrian collisions 
were caused by pedestrians. 
 
Commander Carlson stated yes. 
 
Councilman Waring asked how substance use factors into these statistics. He asked if 
there is anything people can do to protect themselves.

Assistant Chief DiPonzio stated staff is looking to reinvigorate a campaign to promote 
pedestrian safety. 
 
Councilman Waring stated he would be interested in hearing more about those efforts. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked who the campaign for road safety be geared toward. 
 
Assistant Chief DiPonzio stated the campaign would be promoted to the general public. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien stated she wanted part of this campaign to be geared toward 
pedestrians to educate them on how to safely cross streets. 
 
4. ASU’s Collaborative Assessment of Calls for Police Service 
Chairwoman O’Brien introduced Executive Assistant Chief Derek Elmore, Commander 
Julie Egea, and Police Administrator Nicole Diedrick to present on this item. 
 
Assistant Chief Elmore provided an overview of the presentation.  
 
Ms. Diedrick discussed data on calls for service received in 2023 and 2014, and 
discussed the call types the Arizona State University (ASU) study focused on.  
 
Commander Egea explained the focus areas for immediate action and the role of Police 
Assistants. She stated staff recommends increasing the number of Police Assistants to 
assist with calls. She provided details on found property, abandoned vehicles, parking 
complaints, and minor damage/non-jury vehicle collisions efforts calls.  
 
Ms. Diedrick discussed additional focus areas including welfare checks, noise 
complaints, civil-matter standby, and intrusion alarms. 
 
Commander Egea provided more details on noise complaints, civil-matter standby, and 
intrusion alarm calls. 
 
Chief Elmore discussed next steps in the process including reducing the strain on patrol 
and focusing on innovation and continual improvement. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked if the data on calls for service received mentioned in the 
presentation includes calls dispatched. 
 
Chief Elmore clarified that data refers to calls received, not dispatched. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien asked if data on the number of calls dispatched for each call type 
was available. 
 
Chief Elmore stated he would provide that data.

Councilman Robinson asked if staff could look into which cities do not respond to 
intrusion alarm calls. 
 
Chief Elmore stated staff would research that information. 
 
5. School Resource Officer (SRO) Update 
Chairwoman O’Brien introduced Commander William Jou to present on this item. 
 
Commander Jou described the difference between SROs and School Safety Officers 
(SSOs) and provided updated data on SRO coverage. He provided data on SRO 
coverage and the locations they are assigned. He discussed challenges SROs face 
including consistency, off-duty management, deployment, and staffing. 
 
Councilman Robinson asked if Off Duty Management (ODM) only employ Phoenix 
Police officers. 
 
Commander Jou stated ODM employs other municipality’s law enforcement officers. 
 
Chairwoman O’Brien thanked staff for the update.  
 
INFORMATION ONLY (ITEMS 6-8)  
 
6. Fire Staffing and Response Time Update 
 
This item is for information only. 
 
7. CAP Hiring, Recruitment and Metric Report 
 
This item is for information only. 
 
CALL TO THE PUBLIC  
None. 
 
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 
See above. 
 
ADJOURNMENT 
Chairwoman O’Brien adjourned the meeting at 11:35 a.m. 
 
Respectfully submitted, 
 
Chloe Baldwin 
Management Fellow