CC Min 1998-02-02 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

1970's, and one from Mr. Fox. I have not seen them, and I welcome the opportunity to do so. Mr. Schricker is simply wrong when he suggests to you that the prohibition in the Vehicle Code only deals with violations of the Vehicle Code. The language in the Vehicle Code could not be clearer, it deals with all arrests and all citations. What is most important in that regard, however, is the policy which is neutral on its face, appears to be fair and impartial to a reader not conversant with the subject, it may appear to be perfectly benign. In practice as it is implemented, it may be pernicious in the extreme. Neither Mr. Schricker nor Mr. Fox ever sat down with a single one of these police officers who are working under this system, and said, I know what it says, how does it work? Mr. Burdick said the performance measures do not take into account what police officers are paid to do, and that is exercise proper judgment. He said it has been represented that these performance numbers are merely one element among many, and that an officer could have poor numbers and still receive an overall satisfactory, or above, evaluation. Mr. Burdick referred to Page 5 of the Report that explains what happens to officers if they do not meet the numbers: "Officers with low enforcement activity start by having an informal discussion with their supervisor to determine if a problem even exists. If a problem exists, the officer will receive retraining.... If no improvement ensues from the training, the officer will receive a non-disciplinary performance improvement plan. If the improvement plan yields no results and the officer still cannot or will not involve himself or herself in self-directed activity, progressive discipline will be employed.... This with all deference is exactly what the Vehicle Code prohibits. You are going to get disciplined if you don't meet these numbers. We have a serious problem here of morale. Anybody can write 15 tickets a month." Mr. Burdick respectfully requested that the performance measures be discontinued. Bonnie Miller, 1224 - SOh Avenue, member of the Friendly Acres Neighborhood Association, said that after thoroughly reading all the reports she still felt that the performance measures sounded like the dictionary description of a quota. She said she was at first totally opposed to any quota system, but she didn't know how performances could be evaluated without standards. Mrs. Miller said that traffic is perceived as the number one problem in Redwood City, and the best solution would be to hire another traffic officer. She said she reluctantly agreed that the Chief needed tools to evaluate performance. Richard Silver, Arch Street, said that after the stories about this issue had appeared in the newspapers it was appropriate for the Council to review the matter. He said, now that the reports had been heard it was clear that there was not a problem in the first place. Mr. Silver said the Chiefs administrative support services and the program the department is using to evaluate officers is appropriate. He said community concern surrounds the issue of the quality of tickets not the quantity. Mr. Silver referred to the policy of focusing on hazardous citations and said, "I'd rather have two drunk driving citations than ten rolling through a stop sign, not that that isn't dangerous, but clearly we know that drunk drivers present a more dangerous situation to the community than the other." He said that nobody thinks they deserve a ticket. Mr. Silver said, "Clearly you have to allow the Chief and the City Manager who is technically his boss, to administer their offices as professionals, and REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTE BOOK NO. 56 FEBRUARY 2,1998 MINUTES Page No. 226 PAGE 11