POLICE DEPARTMENT
MISSION STATEMENT: To provide the highest level of service and protection to the community and to cooperatively enhance public safety as the department progresses into the future.
The police department
has a proud history of
integrity and service.
The largest division
within the City, the
police department has
an authorized 2006
full-time workforce of 122 sworn officers
and 49 civilians. In addition, there are about
55 part-time positions including reserve
officers, crossing guards, and clerical staff.
The department also utilizes volunteer
programs, which are a very important part of
the overall public safety effort.
Although focused on front-line law
enforcement, the department is also engaged
in important community partnerships with
schools, businesses, and citizen
organizations. Before "Community
Policing" became a dominant standard in
law enforcement, the department conducted
successful community-oriented programs,
including a sign-language child safety
program and an educational program in
elementary school. The department has
garnered outside awards honoring our SHOP
senior volunteer program, domestic violence
victim advocate, numerous sworn officers,
and our overall excellence in community
policing.
The men and women of the department
strive to provide the highest level of service
and protection for the community. To that
end, the department is divided into the three
following major divisions:
PATROL DIVISION: About two-thirds of
all sworn officers work in this division,
which focuses on patrolling city streets,
answering calls for service, and identifying
potential crime problems. This division
includes a Special Weapons and Tactics
(S.W.A.T.) response unit (a specialized
enforcement unit to handle high-risk
situations), reserve officers, and award-
winning SHOP senior volunteers who
perform non-hazardous duties to free up
sworn officers. Under the Community
Service Area Policing program, four
dedicated lieutenants and their crews are
assigned a specific quadrant of the City and
tasked with resolving public safety concerns
for residents, neighborhoods, and
businesses. This division also incorporates
two subdivisions:
Traffic Unit: This unit provides
enforcement of traffic laws, targeted
enforcement at school and other sites,
parking enforcement, crossing guard
services, and traffic investigations.
Simulator Program: This provides
West Covina police officers (and outside
agency clients) with cost-efficient
Driving and Use-of-Force training, and
brings in POST training revenue.
INVESTIGATIVE & SUPPORT SERVICES DIVISION: This division is
responsible for the investigation of all major
crimes and providing follow-up services.
For almost any crime victim to obtain justice
in our courts (i.e., for a suspect to be
convicted), the detectives in this division
have to conduct intensive follow-up and
prepare cases for the district attorney.
Certain officers are involved in specialized
interagency task forces, and the
department's award-winning domestic
violence victim advocate is assigned here.
This division also incorporates a
subdivision:
Special Enforcement Team (SET): Comprised of personnel who focus on
parolee monitoring, gang enforcement,
narcotics, the Crime Free Multi Housing
Program, and intelligence, the Special
Enforcement Team (SET) works an
irregular schedule to quickly mobilize
and tackle neighborhood crime problems
raised by community members or police
officer observation. SET is the street
enforcement arm of the investigative
division.
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION: This
division oversees the centralized
administrative functions of the police
department. It includes the records
department, the Professional Standards and
Training (PS&T) section, the Property and
Evidence (P&E) unit, all School Resource
Officers (SRO), community education staff,
the Chief of Police, and support staff. This
division also incorporates two subdivisions:
Jail Operations: This unit processes all
arrests, oversees all prisoners, and
coordinates all jail operations.
West Covina Service Group (WCSG): The West Covina Service Group
supplies Computer Aided Dispatch and
Records Management System
(CAD/RMS) service to West Covina and
client agencies, as a revenue generating
enterprise.
POLICE DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
CEC = Community Education Center
CFMHP = Crime Free Multi-Housing Program
CSO = Community service officer
GTA = Grand Theft Auto
SET = Special Enforcement Team
WCSG = West Covina Service Group
* = denotes a collateral duty
FY 2005-2006 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- The department continued to focus on
front-line law enforcement and crime
prevention activities to improve public
safety. West Covina police officers
work efficiently and effectively, actively
responding to over 250 calls a day, and
ranking among the busiest in Los
Angeles County. The department's per
capita cost of providing police services
is among the lowest in Los Angeles
County, among similar sized
departments.
- West Covina police officers also tailored
operations to meet the needs of the City.
Using existing personnel, the department
created the successful Graffiti
Abatement Team (GAT), which greatly
increased graffiti arrests through
aggressive enforcement. Similarly, the
department continued its assertive
enforcement targeting gang members
and parolees. Police officers
implemented special patrol and traffic
services at key shopping locations
during holidays, and also continued
successful parolee monitoring efforts
designed to reduce crimes committed by
repeat offenders. As traffic issues were
of special concern, the department
targeted violations and congestion in
Neighborhood Parking Protection Zones,
and conducted special DUI and seatbelt
checkpoints. Municipal code concerning
juveniles at crosswalks was amended to
improve enforcement and pedestrian
safety.
- The department's award-winning SHOP
(Seniors Helping Our Police) program,
which has saved the City over $3 million
to date, continued to keep costs down by
channeling the efforts of dedicated
senior volunteers to perform non-
hazardous public safety duties that
would otherwise burden field officers.
Certified police personnel expanded the
nationally-praised GREAT anti-gang
program, which has proven popular with
local schools. The department's award
winning Victim Advocate continued to
assist victims and their families. The
department also obtained new grants to
further traffic enforcement, domestic
preparedness, and to meet safety
equipment needs.
- Further information is detailed in the
Performance Measures section.
FY 2006-2008 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The department's operational goals and the
specific objectives they encompass are all
geared toward the City Council's goal of
maintaining public safety.
Work to reduce crime by a percentage
greater than the state and regional
average for similar sized communities
- Focus on front-line police
programs and required
skills/training
- Avoid fads and trendy programs
unless their crime reduction or
public safety value has been
clearly demonstrated
Continue to focus on the core mission of
providing front-line law enforcement
services to the community, while
minimizing the impact of local and state
budget issues
- Increase staffing levels of front-line officers and civilian
personnel
- Utilize non-General Fund
sources to the highest possible
degree
Wisely use limited funds to maintain
standards of training excellence
- Prioritize training needs through
the chain of command,
determining what is mandatory,
vital, and cost-effective
- Continue to maximize training
reimbursements from Peace
Officer Standards and Training
(POST)
Reduce the likelihood of parolees,
gangs, and sex offenders committing
crimes by strengthening proactive
monitoring
- Continue aggressive monitoring
efforts led by the Special
Enforcement Team
- Provide training in this area to
make certain that the individual
rights of citizens are carefully
observed
Improve traffic enforcement in
problematic intersections and citywide
- Achieve a measurable reduction
in collisions at problematic
intersections
- Increase hazardous traffic
citations by 5%
Pursue grant opportunities to address department needs.
- Continue the department's excellent record and expertise in the area of obtaining grants from multiple sources.
- Continue to fully leverage multiple funding sources.
Work to improve the effectiveness and
efficiency of the department's
performance, focusing on factors
including staffing levels versus the high
number of calls for service
- Prepare a written strategic plan
for internal use with the goal of
improving organization
efficiency and effectiveness as
the operational level
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
AUTHORIZED POSITIONS
1 The adopted FY 2004-05 budget approved the elimination of 1 corporal and addition of 1 sergeant, which successfully reduced
overtime expenditures by providing coverage on regular time for the sergeant and lieutenant ranks during that fiscal year.
2 The adopted FY 2004-05 budget eliminated two SRO's previously assigned to crime prevention and youth education programs
at local schools. Also, one sworn position previously added under the ABC alcohol enforcement grant during FY 2003-04 was
automatically eliminated at the end of the grant at the beginning of FY 2004-05.
3 Subsequent to City Council approval of the police administrative services manager position on November 1, 2005, the
administrative analyst was reclassified to that new position.
4 The adopted FY 2004-05 budget eliminated the criminal justice research analyst.
5 On December 7,2004, the City Council authorized the addition of one computer services technician to WCSG.
6 See the Budget Issues section for an explanation of these requested positions.
* Full-time vacancies at the beginning of this fiscal year were six sworn positions and four civilian positions.
** FTE vacancies at the beginning of this fiscal year were four crossing guards, and one parking enforcement
officer.
BUDGET COMMENTS
Responding to City directives, the
department's budget is split into three
divisions and several sub-divisions/units.
Many single-purpose, restricted grants have
concluded or will conclude shortly, as the
state and federal governments redistribute
funding based on their new priorities.
Despite funding cuts at the federal and state
levels, the department continues to
aggressively pursue grant opportunities and
fully leverage existing funding sources
internally.
Historically, overtime has been under-budgeted relative to actual expenditures.
However, knowing that vacancies will
generate unspent savings, budgeting for the
entire full-time authorized strength of the
department should balance this.
BUDGET ISSUES
Police department staffing is still a serious
issue, as echoed in statements by City
leaders. Having had sworn and civilian
positions eliminated over recent years (see
Authorized Position List), West Covina is
24 officers below the State average for
similar sized cities, and 54 officers behind
the LA County average. Our civilian
ranking is even worse. This understaffing is
a public safety issue, as residents have to
wait longer for responses. Officers are
spread too thin responding to the many calls
for service. The department is seeking an
additional eight police officers, two civilian
community service officers, and two civilian
parking enforcement officers. The goal for
these positions is to assign all of them to
front-line operational policing (none for
management or administration), directly
serving the public safety needs of residents
and improving response times. Adding
these vitally needed positions will
collectively move West Covina closer to
reaching regional service level standards.
In order to meet the long-standing demands
of CAD/RMS clients for specific projects
and services, the department is requesting an
additional four civilian software developer
positions in fiscal year 2006-07, using
WCSG revenue. This will allow other staff
to focus on completing the ongoing software
migration project. These additional
positions will generate increased revenue,
and their projects are geared to retain and
attract customers.
Installing digital video cameras in patrol
cars would benefit West Covina. As utilized
by many police departments across the
nation, these cameras capture true accounts
of what actually occurs during traffic stops,
pursuits, etc., to counter any allegations of
misconduct. Additionally, cameras would
witness and record actions of specific
interest to the courts, as well as any officer-involved uses of force.
ACTIVITY TREE
BUDGET SUMMARY
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