Police/Public Safety

Union presses council to hire more police officers

2010-02-10T06:21:56Z

The president of the Sacramento police officers’ union appealed to the City Council on Tuesday to fill 75 vacant officer positions at the Police Department.

Brent Meyer, president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association, made his remarks at the meeting after Police Chief Rick Braziel spoke about the early release of 190 inmates last week from the county jail.

Meyer asked the City Council to think of the department’s 75 vacant police officer positions as it evaluates the city’s budget this year.

“I’m here to urge you to act,” he said.

Braziel, meanwhile, presented information to the City Council about last week’s early release of the inmates from county jail. The release was the result of a new state law.

Braziel said the city learned about the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department’s plans late.

“Unfortunately for us, we were not notified until the afternoon of Feb. 2,” he said.

Braziel noted that inmate Kevin Eugene Peterson was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault the day after he was released from county jail last week. Braziel said Peterson also is accused of assaulting a Regional Transit passenger.

Peterson left jail 16 days earlier than he was scheduled to be released, according to a Feb. 3 story in The Sacramento Bee.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Police address privacy concerns over security system

2009-04-21T05:38:24Z

The Sacramento Press talked to members of the Sacramento Police Department Monday about the city’s plans to install a new $615,000 surveillance system in the coming months. Locations for the new equipment have not yet been chosen. The funding, which comes from Federal Homeland Security Grants, was awarded to the city by the state.

Sacramento Press: Can you speak to the issue of privacy concerns?

Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel: “The cameras we’ll put up will only be in places that are in open view to the public, so it’s no different than someone walking down the street with their videophone and taking pictures. We’re very sensitive to those issues.

In fact, early on, as we started the process, I actually met with members of the American Civil Liberties Union, when there were other issues coming up with cameras.

Any fixed cameras that we have currently that go into areas that would be considered private, we mosaic-out through software. For example, we have surveillance cameras at some of our facilities…and if they encroach in someone’s personal space, we actually mosaic that out.

But for most part, you’ll see them on K Street Mall, where areas are open to the public, and anyone can video those including the general public.”

SP: How long will you keep the video records?

Sacramento Police Department Spokesman Konrad VonSchoech said that if the police record a criminal activity on video, the department would keep the video for five years. VonSchoech said this timeframe conforms to the code for records retention.

If the video contains evidence, however, police will keep it for as long as it needs to prosecute a crime, VonSchoech said.

City Council to consider surveillance at public sites

2009-09-29T05:03:09Z

The Sacramento County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is raising concerns that the city’s plans to use surveillance cameras in public locations would intimidate participants in peaceful protests and create potential for racial profiling. On Tuesday, the City Council will decide whether to approve a $615,000 in federal grant that would be used to install security cameras and related equipment at various sites in the city.

The Sacramento County ACLU chapter has fought with the city for months over the planned purchase. City and police officials have said previously that the city plans to combat crime with a surveillance package consisting of 32 security cameras, four mobile surveillance trailers, and other related technology. The state was issued the money from the Department of Homeland Security.

Sites for the cameras have not yet been chosen. However, Mayor Kevin Johnson said in April that K Street and Regional Transit stations are the kinds of high-traffic and high-crime areas that might be furnished with the equipment.

Johnson supports the surveillance package, saying that it will help cut crime.

“I fought for the money and got it,” he said in a Monday press release. “Public safety is a top priority for my administration, and I will use every tool to help reduce crime in our city."

Jim Updegraff, chair of the Sacramento County ACLU chapter, told The Sacramento Press, that the City Council should delay the vote on the cameras because citizens do not yet have enough information about the proposed surveillance system.

The cameras represent an “intrusive invasion of privacy,” he said, and the city needs to do more to inform citizens of the ramifications of the surveillance system.

He also said Monday that the mobile surveillance trailers, if employed during demonstrations, might intimidate protesters. Updegraff further said the city has not explained if it will share its surveillance images -- including images of protesters -- with Homeland Security personnel.

In addition, Updegraff alleged that the cameras could be used as a form of racial profiling. For example, there is a possibility that police could respond to surveillance images of young African-American men standing around, he alleged.

The ACLU will make the public aware of the surveillance package, but does not plan to file a lawsuit over the issue, Updegraff said.

Meanwhile, Sacramento Police Department spokesman Norm Leong defends the surveillance package, saying that the department regularly uses surveillance footage taken by residents and businesses to solve crimes.

“It’s worked thus far,” he said.

Responding to Updegraff’s argument about surveillance at demonstrations, Leong said that police officers already monitor major demonstrations for public safety reasons. The mobile surveillance trailers will be used to provide a better view of the size of crowds and potential problems, he said.

Leong also disagreed with Updegraff’s suspicions about potential racial profiling. The cameras will primarily be used to produce footage that could be used as evidence, he said. The images would be used as evidence after a crime has been reported, he explained. Police would actively monitor a camera only in certain situations such as during a narcotics or decoy operation, Leong noted. He added that the cameras will not be used to target individuals and will not be monitored constantly by police officers.

Leong said he did not think the department has made a decision yet on sharing footage with other agencies.

The city's report on the surveillance package can be read here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Sac Police hold sting for crosswalk safety

2009-08-12T01:47:24Z

Sacramento Police Officer TJ Price walked through crosswalks at various intersections Tuesday. You might think he had an easy day, but he said was nearly hit at the intersection of Marysville Boulevard and Roanoake Avenue in North Sacramento.

As part of a police operation, Price wore plainclothes and walked through crosswalks like any other pedestrian. Police officers were on the lookout for the drivers that cut off Price and other pedestrians at crosswalks. More than 50 citations were distributed as part of the operation, said Konrad Von Schoech, a spokesman for the department. In addition, four vehicles were towed.

The department wants “to educate the drivers and pedestrians on what their rights are,” Sgt. David Hargadon said.

The drivers who received tickets violated a vehicle code that fines drivers for not yielding to pedestrians at crosswalks. The total amount of the ticket for these violations is $214, according to Ginger Sylvester, public information officer for the Sacramento Superior Court.

The intersections of Broadway and 33rd Street, and Marysville Boulevard and Roanoake Avenue were among those patrolled by officers during the operation. Intersections were selected based on complaints from citizens, Hargadon said.

Hargadon noted that he read a comment on the Sacramento Bee’s website about downtown intersections, but the department completed its last crosswalk operation at several locations downtown earlier this year. The department is trying to spread out its enforcement of crosswalk violations throughout the city, he noted.

While the operation was mainly focused on vehicles cutting off pedestrians at crosswalks, officers also enforced jaywalking rules. With his headphones on Tuesday morning, Robert Arnstad of Oak Park jaywalked at the Broadway and 33rd Street intersection. He was slapped with a ticket — jaywalking violations come with a $178 fine, according to Sylvester.

“I don’t like being set up for,” Arnstad said, adding that he would fight the ticket in court.

Price thought the jaywalking ticket was fair. If a jaywalker cuts across a street and a vehicle hits him or her, the driver has to live with that experience. “You have to take into account: It’s not [the driver’s] fault and they hit a pedestrian. That’s a lifelong effect on somebody.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter at The Sacramento Press.

Police to install security cameras at several sites

2009-04-21T05:31:45Z

The city may install new security cameras at Sacramento’s K Street and Regional Transit stations, as well as at other possible locations in the coming months, Mayor Kevin Johnson said at a press conference Monday.

Sacramento will pay for a new surveillance system consisting of new cameras and related equipment from a pot of $615,000 in Federal Homeland Security grant funds. Though the funding is from a federal pot, it was doled out to the city by the state.

“I campaigned on this notion that we wanted to make public safety a top priority, and today is a significant victory in our efforts to make good on that promise,” Johnson said.

Over the past seven to eight years, Sacramento is second to Oakland in violent crime statistics, Johnson said, noting that these statistics are “not acceptable.”

The package of equipment will include 32 cameras and four mobile surveillance trailers.

Johnson said the cameras will be installed at high traffic and high crime locations such as on K Street and near major Regional Transit stations.

“The new system will create a powerful deterrent for would-be criminals,” Johnson said. “Similar systems have been used in other cities around the country and played a major role in reducing crime.”

California Emergency Management Agency Acting Secretary Matthew Bettenhausen said Monday that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has “made very clear that the government’s No. 1 one priority needs to be public safety."

While Johnson mentioned K Street and Regional Transit stations, specific locations have not yet been chosen. Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel said the police department is going to work with the city council and community members to choose locations.

In addition to fixed cameras, the package includes some mobile cameras to use at special events and other places where crimes “pop up,” Braziel said.

One of the city’s next steps is to hold a procurement process for the cameras and the other surveillance equipment, said Konrad VonSchoech, a spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department.

Braziel said he hopes the system will be ready to be installed by fall.

Surveillance: RT stations possible terrorism targets, police say

2009-04-24T06:59:29Z

The $615,000 the Sacramento Police Department will spend to purchase security cameras and related surveillance equipment comes from a pot of federal Homeland Security funds.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said earlier this week the surveillance equipment may be used at K Street and at Regional Transit stations.

But what is the connection between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Sacramento sites such as K Street and the local light rail stations?

Sgt. Norm Leong of the Sacramento Police Department said terrorism is a Homeland Security concern, but other threats fall under the definition of “Homeland Security,” as well.

“Transit hubs are naturally potential targets for terrorism,” Leong said.

Leong emphasized that the “homeland security” definition includes threats such as natural disasters, threats to public transit, and threats to high-traffic areas where mass incidents can occur.

He noted that the term “terrorism” isn’t limited to violence from other countries, adding that the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing case was an example of domestic terrorism.

Major events and crowds can potentially draw terrorists, including in Sacramento, Leong said.

Federal funds will pay for the city’s new surveillance equipment, but the funds were awarded to Sacramento by the state. The California Emergency Management Agency receives federal Homeland Security funds, which it doles out to local governments.

The surveillance equipment system Sacramento will buy with the funds includes 32 cameras and four mobile surveillance trailers, according to a copy of the Sacramento Police Department’s request to the state.

Precise locations for the equipment have not yet been selected, but Johnson said Monday that K Street and Regional Transit stations were the kinds of high -traffic and high -crime sites suitable for the new cameras.

The police department will work with the City Council and the public to choose sites, Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel said earlier this week.

Jay Alan, communications director for the California Emergency Management Agency, said the Homeland Security funds are used for multiple hazards that include terrorism prevention. He cited earthquake prevention and mitigation, and port security as some of the programs that are part of the Homeland Security program.

Asked about Sacramento’s light rail stations, Alan pointed out past terrorist events involving transit, such as the 2004 attacks on trains in Madrid, and the 2005 attacks on the London Metro.

Alan also echoed Leong’s comments, saying that if the city used surveillance equipment along the city’s Regional Transit stations, the equipment could possibly prevent terrorism.

The state gave the money to the city of Sacramento because the city’s project fit the Homeland Security guidelines, which apply to counterterrorism as well as to other security events, Alan said.

The surveillance equipment the city will purchase will also be used as a deterrent for crime and as an investigative tool, Alan said.

The city will hold a procurement process for the cameras and the other surveillance equipment, said Konrad VonSchoech, a spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for the Sacramento Press.

Civil liberties advocates protest city's plans to install surveillance system

2009-05-27T06:09:54Z

Civil liberties lawyers and advocates are objecting to the city of Sacramento’s plans to install new security cameras and related surveillance equipment at several locations in the city.

Jim Updegraff, the chair of the Sacramento County Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), told the City Council Tuesday that the planned surveillance system would be “an affront to the privacy and civil liberties of the citizens of the City of Sacramento.”

Mayor Kevin Johnson and Police Chief Rick Braziel last month publicized the city’s plan to use a pot of $615, 500 in Federal Homeland Security grant funds to fund a new surveillance system with 32 cameras, four mobile surveillance trailers and other related equipment. Johnson said the surveillance system was important because Sacramento has ranked second to Oakland in violent crime statistics over the past seven to eight years.

But Sacramento County’s ACLU chapter and ACLU attorneys in San Francisco are challenging Johnson and Braziel’s views.

Outside the meeting, Updegraff told The Sacramento Press that the ACLU’s opposition does not mean the group plans to sue the city. The group always tries to work with issues, he said.

But the group’s firm opposition is clear. Updegraff told the City Council that the surveillance system will invade citizens’ privacy and will not fight crime. The group is also calling on the City Council to hold a public hearing about the planned surveillance system.

“Study after study, from San Francisco to London, have demonstrated video cameras are ineffective in reducing crime,” Updegraff said.

The Sacramento County ACLU chapter and ACLU attorneys in San Francisco together are directly challenging statements Johnson made last month about the surveillance system.

“The new system will create a powerful deterrent for would-be criminals,” Johnson said last month. “Similar systems have been used in other cities around the country and played a major role in reducing crime.”

Updegraff questioned the accuracy of Johnson’s comments, noting that ACLU attorneys had studied Johnson’s remarks. “Our attorneys in San Francisco are not aware of any studies in the country that support the comments of the mayor,” Updegraff said.

The local ACLU chapter is also challenging one of Braziel’s statements.

Braziel said at a press conference last month: “The cameras we put up will only be in places that are in open view of the public, so it is no different than somebody walking down the street with their videophone and taking pictures.”

The Sacramento County ACLU chapter “disagrees” with and “deplores” Braziel’s comment, Updegraff said.

Images from innocent people’s videophones “do not end up in police files,” Updegraff said, and are not shared with other law enforcement agencies such as the FBI and the Sacramento Regional Terrorism Threat Assessment Center.

Sacramento Police Department spokesman Konrad VonSchoech said last month that the city will hold a procurement process for the cameras and other surveillance equipment.

Police: Security cameras on Del Paso used infrequently

2009-07-14T05:18:08Z

As civil liberties advocates and city officials debate the city’s plans to implement a new surveillance system, three security cameras are already operating on Del Paso Boulevard.

Joann Cummins, district director for City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy, said the Del Paso Boulevard cameras will be useful for recording evidence to prosecute a couple of liquor stores that are allegedly creating a public nuisance.

The Sacramento Press reported in a July 8 story that the local American Civil Liberties Union has raised objections to new cameras that may be installed on K Street and at other locations, arguing that they do not decrease crime. The city plans to buy 32 security cameras, four mobile surveillance trailers and other related equipment. The $615,000 surveillance package would come from Federal Homeland Security grant funds. The state will distribute the federal grant funds to the city.

The Del Paso Boulevard Partnership, a group that advocates for businesses in the area, as well as other businesses, asked Sheedy’s office to install the three cameras on the street, Cummins said, adding that while the cameras may not capture images of crimes, they will be useful for collecting evidence.

The Del Paso Boulevard cameras, which were installed earlier this year, cost $25,000 and were paid for out of redevelopment funds.

Sacramento Police Department spokesman Norm Leong said there have not been many cases -- of which he is aware -- when the three security cameras have been used as evidence. The cameras may be preventing crime, he said, noting that it is not possible to gauge prevention.

The Sacramento Press asked for statistics on how often the police department uses the security cameras. Police officers document usage of surveillance images in reports, but the department’s computer system does not track how often officers review or make copies of footage from security cameras, Leong said.

Cummins said that the cameras will enable city officials and staffers to collect evidence of public nuisance problems allegedly generated by specific businesses on the street. The cameras will provide surveillance footage that city officials can gather after crimes or problems have been committed, she said. The footage can then be used as evidence, she explained.

Sheedy’s office reviewed numerous studies on surveillance cameras and concluded that cameras do not usually capture crimes, but they do capture evidence, Cummins said.

She also said that the cameras on Del Paso Boulevard are useful because there have been traffic accidents near the cameras. Cars have crashed into city property on the street, Cummins said. Footage from the cameras can give the city information about the vehicles, she said, and make sure that the damage to the city property is paid for by the driver’s insurance company.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Sac PD may fill detective positions

2009-07-30T04:00:26Z

The news that the Sacramento Police Department will receive $9.5 million in federal stimulus dollars means that the department’s specialized units may eventually receive a boost in staffing, according to department spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

The department announced earlier this week that it had been selected to receive federal money under the Recovery Act Funding to Support Law Enforcement program. The money will be used to pay the base salary of 35 officers for three years, Sacramento Police Officers Association President Brent Meyer said.

Meyer said he was “ecstatic” about the federal money, noting that the department thought it might have to lay off 67 police officers earlier this year due to the city’s budget problems. The department avoided the layoffs through the union’s negotiation process with the city. However, the department expected that hiring would be stagnant over the next two years, Meyer said.

The 35 new hires will work on patrol in the field because the first assignment for new police officers is patrol, Leong explained. Police Chief Rick Braziel has set the minimum number of officers on patrol at 275, Leong said, and the department has a number higher than that on patrol right now. But 103 officer positions in the department are now vacant.

With more officers working on patrol, the department could choose to open the testing process to fill specialized jobs, including detective positions, according to Leong. Officers currently working at the department could apply to move to a specialized job, he said. Any moves within the department could not take place immediately because the new officers will need to learn their new assignments, he added.

The department’s detectives are overworked, Leong said. Filling more detective positions would allow the department to work on additional investigations it has not been able to pursue, and would also help improve customer service, he said.

Department managers will decide which units should receive additional staff, he noted, and the department has not yet received the federal dollars.

To respond to the failing economy, the department downsized specialized units, including narcotics and traffic, Leong explained. When Braziel joined the department in January 2008, he immediately prepared the department’s budget to face economic hardship, Leong noted.

To brace itself for the recession, the department cut back on overtime and did not fill positions that became vacant, he explained. “For a long time, we had cost savings because we were able to save money by not filling un-budgeted, and even budgeted positions,” Leong said.

*Photo of Chief Rick Braziel courtesy of the Sacramento Police Department.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

A look at Sac's Homeland Security program

2009-08-11T02:30:07Z

Do you know much about the local Homeland Security program?

We reported recently that $3 million in federal funds will help fund the Sacramento Regional Office of Homeland Security. But we wanted to learn more about the local program and its dozens of training classes for local agencies.

The Sacramento Press sat down with Sacramento Police Deputy Chief Sam Somers and department spokesman Norm Leong to delve into the details of the regional office’s work.

Sacramento Press: Can you provide details on how the Sacramento Regional Office of Homeland Security will spend the $3 million in federal funds?

Deputy Chief Sam Somers: The way that we spend that is in a couple different areas. [One area is] dealing with planning issues related to homeland security. Some of that has to do with preparedness in the region. The other part of it is used for training...There’s also specific funding that is used for an intelligence gathering unit that’s put together — and that’s the Regional Terrorism Threat Assessment Center, which is basically run by the Sheriff’s Department. [The city of Sacramento] also has somebody on RTTAC. It’s a requirement of the [federal Homeland Security grant] that 25 percent of the funds be used towards that investigative body.

At one point, we got a lot more [federal Homeland Security] money. It’s a lot less now — we’re barely hanging on. Initially, we were on the chopping block. But we actually were able to maintain our viability, and I think we have some good things to come when it comes to providing training for the region.

SP: I was reading the website, and the Sacramento Regional Office of Homeland Security holds dozens of classes for law enforcement agencies--

Somers: --and fire.

SP: What kinds of things do local agencies learn in these classes?

Somers: It depends on the time and place. Some of it has to do with incident command systems. Part of the stuff is mandates that come down from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or from the federal government through the National Incident Management System.

One I just saw is swift water rescue...You’re expanding the capabilities of the fire department [so] that they’ll be able to perform in different environments.

And again, you can’t predict where it’s going to happen. Who would have thought the World Trade Center would have come down? And how do you prepare for dealing with the debris and rubble, or trying to do evacuations there? So, they do the Golden Guardian Exercise, which is the statewide initiative...They’ll pick a location, they’ll run a live exercise in a sense that they’ll have role players and everything.

SP: What is that called?

Somers: The Golden Guardian Exercise. It’s required by the state that we show our readiness to respond to different disasters as a region. And we try to involve everybody.

And it’s kind of like a softball team. You can hold all the practices you want. But the way you find out you’re ready is you actually have a game. And then [after] the game, the coach says: You know what, we weren’t very good at hitting...Now you can actually work on something because you’ve had an opportunity to diagnose what the problem is, or [diagnose] the shortcomings or deficiencies that you have in the organization.

SP: I was reading the website again and I found an intriguing class title. There’s a class called “Taming the Wild Zebra” and it covers bioterrorism. How do local agencies use that course in their work in the Sacramento region?

Somers: I haven’t a clue. I’d have to go find out what the specifics of the course are. Sometimes it’s all about marketing.

SP: Can you explain the purpose of the regional Homeland Security office?

Somers: It’s to provide coordination for our response to dealing with terrorism acts, natural disasters or manmade disasters.

And obviously what’s one of the big disasters that can happen in the city of Sacramento? Flood.

SP: What are the homeland security threats in the Sacramento region? You mentioned flooding.

Somers: That’s probably the biggest prevalent one. You also look for locations that have a large population that show up at one time. A school can be a location where you have a homeland security issue. The community center down here on J Street [can be a location]. When you have a large event — depending on what it is — it could be a homeland security issue. When you have a large event or large gathering, it’s an opportunity for someone to do something. And so, you have to be prepared. We have a major international airport...you have different seats of government; you have a celebrity who is governor of the state. The government of the eighth-largest economy in the United States is centered right here in Sacramento. So, you have a lot of targets.

SP: Can you just briefly explain what incident management is?

Police Department spokesman Norm Leong: The ICS system was actually started by California fire departments. The name of it was kind of changed to NIMS, for the national program based on the California system. But a program like Homeland Security allows everyone to be on the same page throughout the nation to operate underneath that same system.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City officials, ACLU debate surveillance system

2009-07-09T03:20:59Z

City officials and civil liberties advocates are taking opposite positions on the city’s plans to set up security cameras at several locations in Sacramento. The two sides are presenting opposing views on the effectiveness of surveillance systems.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said in April that the surveillance system would help decrease crime in Sacramento. While locations for the cameras have not yet been selected, Johnson has said that K Street and Regional Transit stations are the kinds of high-traffic and high-crime sites that could be suitable for surveillance.

The city intends to purchase a $615,000 surveillance package that includes 32 security cameras, four mobile surveillance trailers and other related equipment. The money would come from Federal Homeland Security grant funds. The state will distribute the federal grant funds to the city.

While the grant money was promised to the city in April, the city is still waiting to receive the federal funds from the California Emergency Management Agency. The city expects to receive the funds, but is still working with the state to obtain the funding, said Sacramento Police Department spokesman Norm Leong. If the city receives the funding, it will buy the surveillance equipment through a procurement process, according to the police department.

The city’s plans are stirring public debate. The local branch of the American Civil Liberties Union is opposing the city’s planned surveillance system. Jim Updegraff, the chair of the Sacramento County Chapter of the ACLU, claimed in May that numerous studies have “demonstrated video cameras are ineffective in reducing crime.”

The Sacramento Press reviewed a recent academic study about surveillance effectiveness and asked officials in the police department and the mayor’s office to comment on its findings. UC Berkeley researchers studied the city of San Francisco’s surveillance system, known as the Community Safety Camera program, and released a report in December 2008.

One of the areas examined in the report was violent crime. “We find no evidence of an impact of the Community Safety Cameras on violent crime,” the report states.

While the UCB researchers do not see connections between security cameras and violent crime, they state that surveillance cameras could have caused property crimes to drop. “We find statistically significant and substantial declines in property crime within view of the Community Safety Cameras,” according to the report.

Leong said that security cameras already help the police department to combat crime. The department analyzes footage taken by private citizens and video from cameras at businesses, Leong noted. “We know for a fact, as a tool to solve crimes, it’s always been helpful,” he said. "Locally, both violent and property crimes have been solved with the use of surveillance footage."

Mayor Johnson’s spokesman Joaquin McPeek referred to the cameras as a tool.

"We're going to use every tool in the toolbox to reduce crime in Sacramento, including these cameras, and we can do it without infringing on civil liberties,” McPeek said.

Security cameras are now installed at some city facilities, Police Chief Rick Braziel said in May. Leong also noted that there are three surveillance cameras on Del Paso Boulevard. The security cameras currently being used are not part of the system that would be paid by the $615,000 grant.

Johnson and Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel were not available to respond to questions Wednesday.

Read the UCB report through the ACLU’s website under the "related documents" section. The report is titled “CITRIS Report: The San Francisco Community Safety Camera program.” The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society is a UC Berkeley research program.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City/police e-mails describe planned surveillance system

2009-08-04T18:05:26Z

The Sacramento Press is publishing a series of documents and e-mails about the city’s planned surveillance system. In May and June e-mails, city officials and staffers were preparing to defend the city’s planned surveillance system against criticism from the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The city plans to buy a $615,000 surveillance system with 32 security cameras, four mobile surveillance trailers and other related equipment. Sacramento officials announced in April that the city had been chosen to receive Federal Homeland Security grant funds to pay for the surveillance package. However, the city is still waiting for the California Emergency Management Agency to provide the federal funds.

The Sacramento Police Department and the Sacramento County chapter of the ACLU have sparred over the cameras: The ACLU argues that they do not counter crime, while police department spokesman Norm Leong contends that they are a helpful tool.

Police department managers and staffers at the offices of Mayor Kevin Johnson and City Councilman Rob Fong discussed the ACLU’s criticism of the cameras in May 19 and June 1 e-mail messages.

Documents that provide details on the planned surveillance system are available here.

Read about the formal procedures that Sacramento police personnel will follow when working with surveillance cameras.

The California Public Records Act request submitted by the Sacramento County chapter of the ACLU to City Manager Ray Kerridge can be read here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Homeland Security dollars for Sacramento region

2009-07-18T02:39:39Z

The regional Homeland Security program will receive more than $3 million in federal funds for its training and preparedness efforts, as well as for staffing and operational expenses, according to Sacramento Police Department spokesman Norm Leong.

The City Council earlier this week decided to move U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant money to the Sacramento Regional Office of Homeland Security. The regional office will allocate the money to a specific program known as the Urban Area Security Initiative.

A July 14 report to the City Council from Sacramento Police Lt. Tom Sweeney said the $3,150,680 in funding “will be used to pay for equipment, labor costs and contractual agreements in accordance with the approved Homeland Security budgets and program guidelines.” The funding is to be used over a three-year period, starting in the 2009/2010 fiscal year and ending in the 2012/2013 fiscal year.

The regional Homeland Security office includes the Sacramento Police Department, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI, according to Leong. Sweeney, who wrote the report, was not available to explain specific details about the funding because he was on vacation Friday.

Among other duties, the Homeland Security office holds training classes for law enforcement agencies, Leong said. The office’s website lists the titles and descriptions for dozens of classes including “Anti-Terrorism Concepts for Patrol Personnel” and “Improvised Explosive Device Awareness.”

The description for the anti-terrorism concepts class states: “This 8-hour course is designed to enhance patrol personnel’s capability in fighting the war on terrorism. Course material will cover the Building Blocks to Terrorist Attacks, Pre-Incident Indicators, Terrorism Interdiction, Overview of Islamic/Right Wing and Environmental Terrorist Groups, Legal Issues, and Intelligence Systems.”

A course called “Taming the Wild Zebra” teaches participants about bioterrorism. The class description notes: “Learn to pick out clandestine biological laboratories, access the dangers medical aid patients present to you, and understand how to safely sample, document, package, and transport bioterrorism specimens.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Racial profiling commission outlines new goals

2009-07-29T04:36:44Z

A group that advises the Sacramento City Council on racial profiling issues has laid out its new goals, which include a plan to use community meetings to improve relationships between the Sacramento Police Department and citizens.

The 13-member Community Racial Profiling Commission outlined its new objectives in a July 28 letter to the City Council. The letter, which is the commission’s quarterly report to the City Council, summarizes the commission’s work from January to March.

The commission's new goals are:

* “Foster better police/community relations through activities such as the CRPC community forums and the stakeholder workshops.”

* “Analyze relationships between racial profiling and social issues using quality research.”

* “Understand policing from a police perspective.”

Councilmembers did not make any comments about the report at their Tuesday meeting.

However, Pastor C. Singleton of Sacramento addressed the City Council. Singleton is a member of a local community group under the umbrella of the Caravan for Justice organization, which lobbies state legislators to reverse certain laws.

Singleton told councilmembers that her group wanted to meet with the City Council and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s office about racial profiling issues.

After the meeting, she told The Sacramento Press her views on racial profiling in Sacramento. “It’s prevalent here,” she alleged.

Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel, who attended the City Council meeting, told The Sacramento Press that the police department takes allegations of racial profiling seriously and investigates them. He said that most racial profiling allegations raised by community members concern events that have occurred outside the city, which means that the police department is not the law enforcement agency at issue.

The police department helps community members contact the agency that has jurisdiction over the area where the event occurred, he said.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

E-mails reveal city's talks on security cameras

2009-07-31T05:40:37Z

Photo: Mayor Kevin Johnson has mentioned K Street and Regional Transit stations as possible locations for new surveillance cameras.

The Sacramento Police Department and Mayor Kevin Johnson’s office anticipated a battle with the local branch of the American Civil Liberties Union over the city's plans to buy 32 surveillance cameras, e-mails show.

The debate between the Sacramento County chapter of the ACLU and the Sacramento Police Department over the effectiveness of surveillance cameras is revealed in documents obtained by The Sacramento Press.

The ACLU argues that surveillance cameras do not cut crime. Norm Leong, spokesman for the police department, said that security cameras already help the police department to combat crime.

The locations for the cameras have not yet been selected, and the money has not yet been received by the police department, Leong said. The cameras and other related equipment would be paid for with a $615,000 grant from the Homeland Security Administration.

In May 19 and June 1 e-mail messages between police department managers and staffers at the offices of Mayor Kevin Johnson and City Councilman Rob Fong, Capt. Ken Bernard of the Sacramento Police Department alerted officials about the ACLU’s concerns.

“This is a heads up regarding the camera grant," Bernard wrote. "The ACLU is going to be fighting us accepting the grant, so I thought we should all be prepared to address potential council concerns.”

Bernard then addressed Chief Rick Braziel in the e-mail message: “Chief--it appears that the mayor may be trying to get you involved in a conference call to address the ACLU’s concerns.”

In the e-mail, Bernard also asked whether the city had conducted research on the effectiveness of surveillance cameras.

“Has anyone involved in the writing of the grant done any research as to their effectiveness?” he wrote. “Might be nice if can quote some stats or have some talking points to counter the ACLU’s position. Thoughts?”

*Photo by Sacramento Press staff reporter Suzanne Hurt.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.