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4.A. - Page 7 of 98 <br />Crisis Intervention Training for Police Employees <br />Many community members have expressed concern about whether police officers receive <br />sufficient training to aid those in crisis and whether they should respond to those in crisis. The <br />Redwood City Police Department is committed to providing officers and professional staff with <br />the tools they need to assist individuals in mental health crisis, de-escalate potentially violent <br />situations, and connect troubled individuals with the mental health assistance they need. <br />The Department requires all sworn officers and dispatch personnel to attend a specialized 40 - <br />hour Crisis Intervention Training course taught by local mental health professionals. More than <br />90 percent of department line level and first line supervisory personnel and dispatchers have <br />completed training that focuses on best practices and techniques to reduce the risk of injury to <br />mentally ill persons and police officers, and to divert individuals to mental health treatment <br />instead of the criminal justice system. This training has created community partnerships between <br />law enforcement, community mental health service providers and community-based <br />organizations, all working together to improve outcomes of police interactions with people in <br />mental health crisis and increased community safety. <br />Use of Facial Recognition Technology <br />Some community members have expressed concern about the potential use of facial recognition <br />technology. The Redwood City Police Department does not currently own any facial recognition <br />technology and there are no near term plans to acquire any such in-house capability. Any future <br />acquisition of such technology would only be considered with City Council and community input. <br />2. Desire for Transparency in Public Safety Data <br />Several community members have asked for more data on police activities. In an effort to <br />enhance transparency and accountability, City staff have spent the summer of 2020 reviewing <br />currently available data regarding Police Department personnel, use of force, and interactions <br />with the community and improving how we present that information and make it available to <br />the public. <br />Staff have redesigned the City website to make it easier to find our Use of Force data online, and <br />are developing new reports on police officer interactions. Following Committee review, the <br />reports should to be available to the community by mid-October. <br />The California Legislature previously passed Assembly Bill 953, the Racial and Identity Profiling <br />Act of 2015. AB 953 requires law enforcement agencies to report data on all stops to the <br />California Department of Justice, with implementation dates based on the size of the agency. <br />The data required to be collected includes detailed information regarding the stop, information <br />regarding the person stopped and information regarding the officer. Currently, seventeen law <br />enforcement agencies in California are collecting data pursuant to AB 953, with an additional <br />twelve agencies scheduled to begin collecting stop data on January 1, 2021. <br />Page 7 of 17 <br />City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.ore <br />