says we're streaming we are streaming so we ready we are ready okay so welcome to the uh April 10th Public Safety Committee meeting uh m kpe is traveling and cannot be here so I'll be chairing this meeting and do expect the mayor uh to attend if if she can get here um Mr wry uh just let me pop up the uh agenda because you have uh let's see OEM update anything uh no update on OEM I know they had asked about the local impact of the earthquake we got we were able to get a message out pretty quickly so I think that was good I know the police problem had worked with us on that but from the an oem standpoint there wasn't anything that required a coordinated response Chief did you get many 911 calls to your knowledge uh no not too many we got we got a lot of questions about what was happening but um yeah nothing you know nothing serious for us to respond to okay I I believe the mayor is trying to get in all right let's see here okay um hi sorry I'm late it's okay so Patrick gave a very quick OEM report and that and uh you and I should talk tomorrow Patrick about the uh questionnaire for Emma yes I started it today but you know I'm not going to get too far into it without your help so guess we'll speak tomorrow we'll hook up tomorrow um okay scfd uh during the month of February there were 387 calls uh again most of those were EMS um in fact run we're running about 120 between 125 and 130 EMS calls a month uh that we um provide and then there's another 35 or so that our partners that would be the South Orange Rescue Squad uh sometimes a hospital even Union um EMS uh but most of that backup is the South Orange Rescue Squad there were eight fires in uh in February four of them were in South Orange Building fires in which we received Mutual aid from a number of other jurisdictions uh we responded to two fires in in uh I'm sorry one fire in Irvington uh one building fire in Orange and then we did a cover assignment in West Orange and a cover assignment in Irvington otherwise everything is uh just moving along with the scfd all right uh next up is uh Chief let me put the [Music] uh here is the UCR for the month oops Okay so go ahead turn it over to you Chief all right uh UCR for the month as you can see we go back to February uh back in February we did have one robbery um it was a pan the kitchen delivery um dropped the food off and the person uh robbed him for his uh money in the food um we do not have a um a suspect in that case uh the case is continuing but as you can see for robberies year to date um we are um with one and that hasn't changed and one last year in 2023 um so that's that's the robberies um we move down to the larsy and thefts we have had 14 larsy thefts we are still getting the V vehicle ragings um that's uh what we're we're seeing also Auto thefts we had a uh we had five Auto thefts in February um the auto theft uh we are at 10 year to date and we were at 10 last year at this time uh so we're we're around the same even though we saw the the big drop off from uh 2022 to 2023 we're pretty much staying the same with the auto thefts um so those are the the the crimes up to February we have had um last night we did have a burglary um it was a burglary into a home uh same type of uh burglary style where they take the vehicle um took a uh a high-end vehicle uh came came in went into the kitchen uh got the keys took the vehicle um we since have located that vehicle so we're conducting investigation of uh trying to get um we might have video and uh we are uh checking for fingerprints and other uh evidence of s vehicle so hopefully that turns out to be something with that but those type of burglaries we are seeing around us um in surrounding towns and throughout the state um so we do meet with um our Lieutenant uh detective he meets with other agencies and they do uh exchange information and with the the video that we have or uh different video uh of of a possible suspect we will share it with other agencies to see if we're able to do identification or if they're seeing the same same type of person uh committing the same crimes so that's where we are with the uh with that burglary style uh vehicle theft um so that's that's uh one major incident we had we did have uh yesterday we did have a a fight at the high school um that we responded to um the call came in um um it came in it came in different but it ended up what what we were what were able to identify was that it was it was a fight it was from uh kids from another uh Town coming in and uh fighting some of the kids at at the school um we so that's that's where you are with that um trying think was something else but those are the two main um incidents we're working on now uh we did have the uh domestic on Maplewood Avenue where um uh a firearm was discharged um that person has been arrested and is being charged with aggravated assault possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose um it was a domestic violence issue um what we we are doing as a police department since that incident we do have um we are going to put out information about gun safety and um how to secure your weapon and we also have free gun locks for people if they need them um and if they come to register if they come and they and they register to get a firearm we will give them a a gun lock so um you know we teal rules of you know you need to um even though in this case the gun was in a safe eventually ended up in a safe but in that safe you need to um you know make sure it's unloaded and lock it with this gun lock which will prevent it from uh going off so we will do some um um PSAs on that uh coming forward also we'll do some more PSAs regarding locking your vehicles um because we're seeing a lot of rumaging with the uh U you know in in the cars that are uh out there and it's usually unlocked so that's where we're at so Chief the gun the gun being discharged was accidental um I'm not going to go that far to say that yet but um but it potentially was yeah potentially could be but um we're still investigating that further okay and um Patrick I think the during our you know any newsletter release or SMS or even information on the website should include information like the chief just gave um for gun locks and you know things like that and the and the information about car rumaging and blocking Vehicles it just makes sense to put that out to the public not necessarily as a nixel but as an SMS yeah and and in the Weekly News BL and on our yeah yeah when I see those come across from the PD nixel I'll pull them over to our weekly e blast yep so um that's what I got for uh February up until this date so uh Chief um speaking of domestic violence I happen to run in some run into the uh one of our domestic violence volunteers on Sunday and um she saying it's still pretty status quo about the number of volunteers we have can we do a little bit more of a push well we we have about six that are going through the course now okay these are new people yes new people so we I don't think she knew that okay right so it takes a it takes a while I forget how many hours or you have to do but uh we do have uh brand new people and they're going through the process okay great and um something came up today uh someone found some uh graffiti in uh the park um and it was the nword and some curse words so just re remind us and and maybe Patrick you should remind us remind the department heads what's the procedure when we find when they find graffiti because they had DPW go over and paint it over or whatever but yeah that's okay as long as they take a picture of it first okay take a picture to you yes report to the police department we take the picture and take it take it down immediately but um yeah if we have the picture that should be good enough okay now something like that does that get reported as a a bias incident yes so we will notify the uh the prosecutor's office also the U State Police so maybe just reinforcing that protocol with the department heads yeah we'll talk about it in our next department meeting and I know that that protocol was followed this time which is fortunate but yeah there's always an opportunity for a reminder so we can do that at next Wednesday's department meeting yeah and while I've got you here Chief there's um graffiti I'm not sure if it's a tag or if it's just somebody being silly on the um utility box at the uh light on Valley Street by South Pearson okay I mean I know and if you could just alert DPW to um cover it over because as we know the faster you cover it over the better to keep the spread so I don't think it's anything violent I just think it's needs to be gotten rid of right okay um Chief you want to go over the uh overtime sure let me just put that up okay so we have the overtime here um as you can see uh the 911 watch commanders dispatchers on the top the total increase of um uh in 2023 2024 um it's a difference of $102 and then you go down to the total hours of overtime 911 dispatch overtime uh you see a significant amount there for 6,000 um that's due to um that should come down because we have the the watch commanders there but also um I want to look into um hiring uh some more part-time dispatchers to cover some of the holes that we have there um so we need um so we um a couple months ago we went to a job fair at Kane University U we did uh even though we're not hiring for a police officer at this time uh it's definitely good for us to come to these events because we did find uh two or three people that are in interested in um becoming a dispatcher so um we will um go through the process there and hopefully get some good candidates for that and um so and the rest is uh salary good any questions on overtime okay um Chief do you have anything else for us at the moment um no those are the main um things I had had the the burglary the the domestic and the the school incident so those were the main right we're going to we're going to go on to a quick close session so if you have anything more you can you need to share with us in close we can you'll have time for that okay if not that's fine too uh no I don't have anything okay next up uh so last meeting we under the discussion items we talked about the electric scooters and electric bicycles um that was brought to the uh Township committee Township committee said you know they're willing to consider it so um we will have our attorney start working on this um we were using the calwell ordinance as a model we did receive um a number of U or a few U emails from folks uh about the concerns around around using that so we're going to look at some other towns maybe less restrictive than the Coldwell one is and we'll certainly take into consideration some of the feedback we got so there's really nothing more on this right now uh although I will say that uh you know I saw an adult today uh uh riding on the sidewalk with an electric bike and yesterday uh someone riding down the center of um Springfield Avenue so yeah and I would just like say to that that they um the emails that we've gotten um I feel like maybe misunderstanding that we're not trying to limit or restrict um bicycle and this kind electric scooters and stuff so much as to regulate them for safety for you know understanding that sidewalks are literally for walking that's in the name and and um figuring out where uh regulating where people could um ride them safely so it's all about safety it's not about restrictions so I just feel like that should be you know emphasized to the public that we're hearing from um the next item on the agenda is the uh bike and circulation plan so just uh and chief just so you know U the township committee through the engineering and public works and planning committee um we've authorized the engineer to uh seek a a proposal from our traffic consultant that would uh updo to do up the uh or update rather the uh bike plan uh for town so at some point I know we're going to be talking to you and and some of officers about some suggestions that they might have around bike paths and things like that but at this point we do have a proposal it's being looked at and um but we're waiting for the capital budget to be approved before we move forward so we still have a little time but there is something on the horizon that we are trying we're are going to be looking at ways in which we can uh encourage more biking and do being done in a safe Manner and that's what the consultant will be doing so uh certainly your your information on crashes and speeding and um you know concerns about certain streets will be very valuable information for the consultant okay and just so you know we added a couple more categories to our C system so we're able to uh get better data for the ebikes and the mopeds and everything else so we able to uh capture that information better great uh the next item is the code of conduct and uh Patrick just to be clear we're bringing that to uh the township committee on Tuesday night for discussion that's right okay and um I guess once it gets passed we'll have to do a training with the police and maybe with some other department heads uh I don't think the police department because anything that rises to the level where the police department would be involved you know at that point is criminal or concerned about it being Criminal and that would fall out generally outside of this code of conduct even even if it you know one of the things controlled in there is profanity I mean if profanity Rises to the level of a disorderly person let's say that's a whole another you know that becomes a Police Issue um but but yeah department head training will need to be requ uh you know will be required especially for wreck and people who are doing activities um involving youth so you know we'll schedule that after adoption of that ordinance so in general Chief it's it's you know it's around bias and harassment issues treating each other with respect and and dignity you know when you're in sports events and things like that and it's youth focused it's really mostly for kids and kids coaches that's right yeah it doesn't it doesn't affect Hurley on the coach of the Yukon no into beef with the B players hey he's not that other guy who like through chairs and stuff Bobby right Bobby night okay so those items you know those are are moving forward with you know Township committee and what have you so and some of the other committees um and let's see okay so the next item is public comment and I see we have a couple of uh attendees and we also well we have one member of the public two members of the public one of which is a member of our community board on police and um maybe we could ask bring Sarah over and see if she has anything uh she'd like to share with us from the community board on please hello can you hear me yep we can can't see you but we can hear you oh good there we go there I am hi everybody putting you on the but mind you I I mean we pulled you over without even like knowing if you really wanted to share anything so if you want to just go back over C no I'm glad to say hello and and uh um you know I don't I don't really have any big updates to share um the board has some areas of focus for 2024 um we're continuing the use of force reviews and um focusing on some Community engagement between the board and the department um it was fun to see uh you Chief Sally last week um at our event and then the third area of focus is restorative justice so um we're excited to get some new board members and get that off the ground so um but good to see everyone tonight and we're also adding an agenda item on the board of police meetings so that whoever attends these meetings brings information back um to the group so good idea yeah um and if it's helpful can you pat is it help to have the list of who's coming each month to send links or do you guys is it fine for us to just join this public link and Port over whatever is easiest yeah the only thing I would ask is when you come over just raise your hand so that I know to move you into this portion that's kind that's the easiest way to to deal with it okay cool and we did uh I'm sure you met our new person that we appointed yes yeah okay yep she she had a particular interest in in some of the restorative justice stuff so yes and she was appointed the Night Before Our event last week so we all got to meet her that was great great okay thanks all right sounds good thank you um okay now we're at the point where anyone would like to uh speak and we have Julia fla if you want to move her over Patrick all right welcome Julia yeah hi um so I I have a few topics um am I limited to 3 minutes or I just want to know before I start how many minutes you need I don't know I may maybe like fiveish okay you can have five okay um so first I want to share the Clinton School is looking at our neighborhood parking rules and how to better communicate them with the school community so um the school administration may be reaching out at some point um you know in the coming weeks with questions for the police review um second I want to make sure we're all aware of the importance and urging the Board of Education to approve um the requested EAS easement for The Greenway at their April 25th meeting before the Redevelopment agreement expires um we need to take advantage of the developer funding now because as we've seen in South Orange um using state and federal funding takes way too long for this so um you know anyone who's able to reach out to the board of education and express their support for this um will help that um and it will you know provide help with making the connection of the Full Green Way providing um safe off Street access to school for walking and biking to school um then regarding the ebike ordinance um so in my in my email last month I proposed a recommendation to consider an alternative ordinance prohibiting all bicycles from sidewalks for everyone over age 10 so I just wanted to um share some feedback that I got with you can you know do with it what you will just for your consideration that many residents um would not support a Prohibition on sidewalk riding in general until the streets are safer um for bicycling for example some feel that you know over AG 10 maybe 12year olds or teens still aren't necessarily mature enough to ride on the street instead of the sidewalk um some adults are riding with young children on the back down busy streets like valy and feel safer on the sidewalk um so there's there's reasons why people go on the sidewalks um and the people with kids on the back are more likely to have ebikes um to help them it's it's easier to travel with kids on the back on ebikes than regular bicycles um and then I have a few questions for the chief um so you know wondering what reports or complaints have been recorded against ebikes and scooters what kind of risks you're concerned about and how you think um having an ordinance would help address those risks and then would time spent on an ordinance and police details targeting ebikes take away from time spent enforcing traffic laws for cars how would the police know whether they're stopping a regular bike or an ebike since they look so similar um and how would an ebike ordinance support maplewood's Equity Equity related and police and community relations goals considering that research shows bicycling enforcement disproportionately affects people of color um so I I think that's everything yeah you put those in your uh email those questions were yeah yeah but I wasn't sure if the chief saw that um you know we can get him a copy yeah yeah these those all those things will be discussed when we're when we're implementing this or or talking about implementing this as I as I wrote back to you and others that you know this is just the beginning of a conversation and uh um you know I can tell you one thing about this is it's always about balance you got to balance interests so you have you know we're talking about as much as we're talking about being a bike Community we're talking about being a pedestrian friendly community so with four foot or three and a half foot wide uh sidewalks it's pretty hard to do that so you know we have to figure that out and uh figure the balance of how you move cars and how you move people on bikes and on foot and you know that's what we're talking about so we have your comments and questions and we'll make sure the chief gives us some input um you heard him last meeting where he generally says he thought it would be a good tool and how we want to make it a tool that could be used and could be done equitably yeah and I have a um I'm I'm I'm reviewing it now I have actually a um it's it's like a training on the difference between an ebike a scooter or a moped and the ordinances and what can be issued and everything else in between so I'm going through it now and um be it'll be something that will um educate all the officers with okay thank you um yeah yeah I mean you you've said you think it would help and I think you know thinking about how exactly it would help is is key to figuring out what should go in the ordinance and how the police can best enforce it thank you okay thank you uh anybody else I don't think so okay all right uh does anyone have anything else for public yeah I I have one more thing I forgot uh May 1 we have our award ceremony oh yes for the Maplewood Police Department here at uh Maplewood headquarters 1618 Springfield Avenue the court building it will be at uh 6:30 and we will have light refreshments and we will be giving out Awards is it 6:30 I think the invitation said 6 is it 6:30 I'm sorry 6 6 okay I think it's something else 6 o'clock yeah 6 o'cl headquarters be there and and uh see our officers uh get rewarded for all the great things they have done uh saving lives and everything else uh Ida and burning buildings and um everything in between so um it's a great event and we are happy to uh honor our officers for all their great things they do uh we do every year we do submit uh officers for The Valor award for the 200 Club um however that's like the county so sometimes officers do not um get it but we sometimes we do um but we will have our own Valor um for some of the jobs we had because we think it was that um important and putting theirselves their lives uh on the line to save somebody else that's pretty much what the Valor is so um I look forward to it great uh Chief I did have one question um I know officer laru uh retired what is our current situation with vacancies uh we we have um 62 on the street now two just graduated the academy and we have one in Academy now he graduates in June that's the replacement for officer laru so it'll be full full 63 okay so we'll be we'll be in good shape okay yes all right right uh anything else if not I'll move we go into closed Nancy second it all in favor yes okay thank you everyone we're gonna stick around uh Patrick can you cut off the YouTube and yeah cut off YouTube and public