Sep 23, 2025 Public Safety Committee Meeting

[1. Presentation from the Grand Rapids Fire Department on their Fire Prevention Division]

[00:00:09]

PUBLIC SAFETY TO ORDER. AND I BELIEVE OUR FIRE CHIEF IS GOING TO COME UP FIRST, BUT I'M NOT.

OH, OKAY. NOT OUR FIRE CHIEF. I'LL BE HERE IN HIS PLACE TODAY. RIGHT ON. LET ME GET THE PRESENTATION UP, PLEASE.

SO LET ME WALK YOU THROUGH THE FIRST SLIDE. LET ME BACK UP, DEPUTY CHIEF KEITH MORRISON. LET ME WALK YOU THROUGH THIS SLIDE AS THERE'S A LITTLE BIT GOING ON HERE. THE THE GOLD OR YELLOW LINE ACROSS THE TOP IS REPORTED STRUCTURE FIRES. YOU CAN SEE THAT SINCE 2020 THAT CONTINUES TO TREND UPWARD. THIS IS CALENDAR YEAR REPORTED. SO WE DON'T HAVE DATA YET. YEAR TO DATE FOR THE REPORTED BECAUSE WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH AND DISTILL THAT DOWN TO MAKE SURE THE NUMBERS ARE ACCURATE AT THE END OF THE YEAR. THEN AT THE BOTTOM WHERE YOU HAVE THE BLUE LINE SINCE 2020, YOU WILL SEE THAT THE ACTUAL FIRES THAT WE RESPOND TO MITIGATE HAS REMAINED FAIRLY STAGNANT. SO WHAT I'M TRYING TO DISPLAY HERE IS THAT EVEN THOUGH THE INCIDENTS OF THE ALARM REPORTING OR PEOPLE CALLING 911 CONTINUES TO TREND UPWARD, THE ACTUAL FIRES THAT WE RESPOND TO ARE STAYING THE SAME. SO FAR, YEAR TO DATE, 112 ACTUAL FIRES WITHIN THE CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS. THE REASON THAT THOSE NUMBERS ARE STAYING STAGNANT OF THE ACTUAL FIRES WE RESPOND TO IS WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY, AND THAT IS TO TOUCH ON THE EFFORTS OF THE FIRE PREVENTION DIVISION. SO EVERYBODY IS AWARE.

EVERYBODY SEES THE FLASHING LIGHTS, THE SIREN, THE BIG RED TRUCK RESPONDING TO THE EMERGENCY. WHAT YOU DON'T SEE IS WHAT GOES ON IN THE BACKGROUND. AND WITH ME I HAVE CAPTAIN ROY LAGRONE. HE IS THE CAPTAIN OF OUR 40 HOUR FIRE PREVENTION INSPECTOR STAFF, AND THEN RUTH YOAKAM. AND SHE IS OUR COMMUNITY FIRE PREVENTION EDUCATOR. SECOND GRADE PRESENTATIONS AND MANY OTHER THINGS. SO FAR THIS YEAR, THE FIRE PREVENTION DIVISION HAS PERFORMED 589 OPERATIONAL PERMIT INSPECTIONS ON BUSINESSES. IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT, INSPECTORS HAVE COMPLETED 326 CONSTRUCTION PLAN REVIEWS AND OVER 2250 ROUGH IN AND FINAL BUILDING INSPECTIONS. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ALSO ENSURES, ALONG WITH THE OFFICE OF SPECIAL EVENTS, THAT SPECIAL EVENTS TAKE PLACE IN THE CITY ARE DONE IN A SAFE MANNER. SO IF THERE'S COOKING TAKING PLACE, TENTS, LARGE GATHERINGS, MORE THAN 500 PEOPLE, FIREWORKS OR COLD SPARK. OFTENTIMES IN THE MORNING, USUALLY ALMOST EVERY COMMISSION MEETING IN THE MORNING, WE WILL HAVE A FIREWORKS PERMIT THAT COMES THROUGH FOR COMMISSION APPROVAL AS AN EXAMPLE. THE RESULT OF THAT IS THE SAFETY AND THE LACK OF PROBLEMS THAT YOU HEAR ABOUT AT THESE SPECIAL EVENTS. ANOTHER COMPONENT OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS OUR RESIDENTIAL SAFETY PROGRAM. THAT IS WHERE WE GO OUT AND TO INDIVIDUAL HOMES, OWNER OCCUPIED HOMES AND PROVIDE EDUCATION AND INSTALL CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS AND SMOKE ALARMS. AND YOU'LL SEE THAT SO FAR TO DATE, WE HAVE INSTALLED ALMOST 5000 SMOKE ALARMS AND OVER 1900 CARBON MONOXIDE ALARMS. THAT IS GETTING INTO OVER 800 OWNER OCCUPIED HOMES WITHIN THE CITY SINCE THE INCEPTION. THAT'S 88,700 SMOKE ALARMS, 20,800 CO DETECTORS AND OVER 16,000 HOMES THAT WE HAVE VISITED. AND AGAIN, THERE IS ALSO A FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY EDUCATION COMPONENT TO THESE VISITS TO THESE HOMES. IN ADDITION TO THE FIRE PREVENTION DIVISION, COMMUNITY RISK REDUCTION. SO THAT'S ABOUT GETTING OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY, INTERACTING WITH THE COMMUNITY, PROVIDING FIRE SAFETY EDUCATION. OVER 100 EVENTS SO FAR THIS YEAR, SUCH AS THE SHOES EVENT IN THE IMAGE ACROSS THE STREET, HANDING OUT SHOES. WE WERE

[00:05:03]

AND I'D LIKE TO NOTE THAT COMING IN OCTOBER OF THIS YEAR, WE'RE KICKING OFF FIRE SAFETY WEEK AND THIS YEAR'S MESSAGE, CHARGE INTO FIRE SAFETY. THE MESSAGE IS AROUND LITHIUM ION BATTERIES, THE SAFE STORAGE, PURCHASE, MAINTENANCE AND PROPER DISPOSAL. THAT IS ALL I HAVE. ANY QUESTIONS? I HAVE A COUPLE. CHIEF, I GUESS THE FIRST IS I THINK YOU'RE BEING TOO MODEST. 263 -238. THAT'S A DELTA. THAT'S ACTUALLY A DOWNWARD DROP IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS OF ABOUT 10%. AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WERE PUSHING HARD ENOUGH, YOU'D BE ABLE TO ARGUE A STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE THERE. I MEAN, THAT'S A REAL DROP IN NUMBERS.

AND IT'S AND IT'S A IT'S A CONSISTENT DOWNWARD PLOT. SO I THINK THAT'S I THINK THAT'S GREAT. THE QUESTION I HAD WELL, OKAY, I GUESS THAT'S MY THAT'S MY FIRST COMMENT. ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANYTHING THEY WANT TO SAY. JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, CHIEF, HOW MUCH DO WE SPEND A YEAR ON THE SMOKE DETECTORS? SMOKE DETECTORS? OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. I WANT TO SAY THAT THE NUMBER APPROACHES $300,000 OUT OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT'S GENERAL OPERATING FUND. WE IN THE PAST DID RECEIVE, AND WE CONTINUE TO SEEK AND WRITE FOR FEDERAL GRANTS TO HELP FUND THOSE. AND IS THE IS THE ARE WE KEEPING UP WITH THE DEMAND FOR THE DETECTORS OR ARE WE ARE THERE PEOPLE WHO ARE BEING TURNED AWAY AT THE END OF THE YEAR BECAUSE WE'VE. NO, SIR, NO, SIR. AND ACTUALLY, RUTH RECENTLY WAS ONE OF THE RFP INSTALLERS UNTIL SHE TOOK OVER THE EDUCATION COMPONENT. THAT'S WHY I TURNED IN TO CONFIRM WITH HER THAT I WASN'T SPEAKING OUT OF TURN. SO I DO REMEMBER MY TWO OTHER QUESTIONS. ONE IS THE LITHIUM ION QUESTION. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE GO OUT AND BUY A SCOOTER FROM A FLY BY NIGHT COMPANY FROM CHINA THAT'S GOING TO EXIST FOR THREE MONTHS AND NEVER BE AROUND AGAIN. THEY DON'T HAVE MUCH, AND THEY DON'T HAVE A REALLY HUGE INCENTIVES TO REALLY SAFETY TEST THEIR BATTERIES. HAVE WE SEEN LIKE SCOOTER AND E-BIKE FIRES INSIDE STRUCTURES? HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT A PROGRAM TO TO JUST TELL PEOPLE, I MEAN, IN MY HOUSEHOLD I'M LIKE, LOOK, WE ARE NOT CHARGING THESE THINGS INSIDE THE HOUSE. I DON'T CARE HOW SAFE THEY THEY THEORETICALLY ARE. AND I HAVEN'T SEEN A LOT OF COMMUNITY MESSAGING ON THAT ANGER. MAYBE I'VE MISSED IT, BUT IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE, THERE HAS BEEN SOME. I'LL LET CAPTAIN AND SPEAK UP ON THIS FOR THE GROUND FIRE. SO THIS THIS YEAR, THE NFPA, NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION, THAT IS THEIR FOCUS. AND SO WE WITH RUTH AND WE'VE DEVELOPED WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE BEST WAY TO DISTRIBUTE THAT. AND SO WE'RE GOING TO KICK THAT MESSAGE OFF STARTING IN OCTOBER FOR FIRE PREVENTION WEEK. BECAUSE THAT'S THE THAT'S THE NATIONWIDE THEME THAT FIRE DEPARTMENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY WILL BE DOING. SO WE'LL HAVE THAT. BUT WE ALSO INCLUDED IN OUR RFP PROGRAM AND OTHER THINGS SO THAT WE CAN GET THAT MESSAGE OUT BECAUSE IT IS BECOMING, YOU KNOW, AN ISSUE.

NOT WE HAVEN'T SEEN IT AS MUCH HERE AS IN OTHER OTHER CITIES, BUT WE KNOW WE WANT TO GET AHEAD OF IT BEFORE BEFORE IT HAPPENS. SO WE'RE GOING TO INCREASE THAT THAT MESSAGING IN THE FUTURE. GREAT. THANKS. EARLIER THIS YEAR, OUR FIRE MARSHAL, WHO COULDN'T BE HERE TODAY DID HAVE SOME MESSAGING. AND WE INVITED ALL THE NEWS OUTLETS TO THE MLK FIRE STATION TO SHOW HOW WE MITIGATE FIRES AND THEN SPEAK ABOUT THE THE NUMBERS THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING, THE TRENDING THAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING. SO THERE IS MORE COMING ON IT. THE FIRE MARSHAL AND THE FIRE PREVENTION DIVISION IS WORKING WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS. ONE OF THE AREAS THAT'S AFFECTED WITHIN THE CITY PRIMARILY IS OUR WASTE RECOVERY AND THE BATTERY FIRES THAT THEY'VE HAD. SO ALONG WITH THE COUNTY, THEN I GUESS MY NEXT QUESTION IS IT'S GREAT THAT STRUCTURE FIRES ARE GOING DOWN. DO WE HAVE A CRY WOLF PROBLEM AND IF SO, WHY? IF REPORTING HAS GONE UP 25% AND I THINK IT'S THE CITY BECOMING BUSIER, MORE GOING ON, MORE CONSTRUCTION, MORE THINGS GOING ON. SO THE WAY THAT THOSE ALARMS ARE REPORTED CAN VARY A GREAT DEAL. IT CAN BE SOMEBODY CALLING 911 TO REPORT IT. THEY'RE SEEING SOMETHING OR ALARM SYSTEMS IN BUILDINGS THAT THAT THAT ACTIVATE FOR SOME REASON. AND WE SCALED THE RESPONSE APPROPRIATELY BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT COMES IN AND HAVE PROTOCOLS IN PLACE TO TO DIRECT THE RESOURCES THAT WE SEND TO THOSE. BUT THE NUMBERS GOING UP IS JUST OUR CITY GETTING BUSIER. OKAY. SO SIMPLE THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU SEE DUST AND YOU THINK IT'S A FIRE AND YOU CALL IT IN. THAT'S SOME OF IT. ALSO THE FACT THAT OUR EDUCATION IS WORKING. SO THE

[00:10:04]

GREAT. THANKS. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMITTEE MEMBERS. GREAT. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THANK YOU. CHIEF. EXCUSE ME. CHAIR, CAN WE WE JUST WANT TO COMMEND YOU ALL. ALSO, I THINK YOU'RE OPENING UP THE KINDLE STATION THIS WEEK. WE ARE THIS WEEK, FRIDAY WILL BE THE OFFICIAL RIBBON CUTTING AND OPENING OF THE STATION. SO COMMENDATIONS IN THAT REGARD AS WELL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANKS, CHIEF. AND CHIEF WINSTROM, TALK ABOUT PUBLIC

[2. Presentation from the Grand Rapids Police Department on Monthly Crime Statistics]

ALL RIGHT. GOOD AFTERNOON. GOOD AFTERNOON. COMMITTEE MEMBERS. MR. MAYOR, MR. MANAGER. GOOD NEWS CONTINUES FOR AUTO THEFTS. AS YOU CAN SEE THIS IS WHAT WE WANT TO SEE. AND HOPEFULLY 2026 WE SEE A CONTINUED TREND IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. SO. TALKED ABOUT THIS QUITE A BIT. SO I WON'T WASTE YOUR TIME TOO MUCH. BUT THIS IS A VERY GOOD SIGN FOR OUR AUTO THEFT NUMBERS ACROSS THE CITY THAT WE SEE THEM CONTINUE TO DECLINE FOR THE HISTORIC HIGHS BACK IN 22.

SAME THING WITH THIS TREND. WE WANT TO SEE HIM GET LOWER, BUT THEY'RE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. ROBBERY. TOTAL. TOTAL. SAME STORY. NO REAL STATISTICAL PATTERNS OR ANYTHING WE'VE SEEN. JUST JUST GRINDING OUT THE PROGRESS MONTH BY MONTH AGG ASSAULTS. NO STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE. I DID DO A MORE OF A DEEP DIVE INTO THIS AND SEE A LITTLE BIT. THIS APPEARS TO BE SORT OF PUNISHMENT FOR OUR OWN PROGRESS A LITTLE BIT, BECAUSE MANY OF THESE ARE LOWER LEVEL ASSAULTS, WHICH GET A VERY QUICK RESPONSE FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT OF, YOU KNOW, 3 OR 4 MINUTES WAS ON LISTENING TO THE RADIO THIS MORNING AND THERE WAS ONE AT VETERANS PARK, AND OFFICERS WERE THERE RIGHT AWAY. AND OF COURSE, OUR PROCEDURE IS ALWAYS TAKE A REPORT. AND SO IN PAST YEARS, WHEN OUR RESPONSE TIME WAS MUCH HIGHER FOR LOWER LEVEL CRIME, THERE WAS A CHANCE THAT A LOT OF THESE SMALLER INCIDENTS WERE SLIPPING THROUGH.

BUT ANYWAY, NO STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE IN ANY SORT OF INCREASE IN DANGER TO THE PUBLIC. FROM THE DATA THAT I CAN SEE PRESENT SHOT, OBVIOUSLY TOO MANY INDIVIDUALS SHOT, BUT THIS IS IF WE'RE LOOKING FOR A TREND, THIS IS HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. STILL, FOR THIS YEAR THROUGH SEPTEMBER. LOOKING AT THIS FROM A STATISTICAL POINT OF VIEW, IT GENERALLY SPEAKING, IT MIRRORS THE POPULATION DENSITY THAT YOU WOULD EXPECT. SO IT'S NOT THAT THE, YOU KNOW, WEST SIDE OF THE CITY IS THE SAFEST PLACE IN IN THE COUNTRY, PAST A LITTLE BIT PAST THE RIVER. IT'S JUST THAT THE DENSITY OF POPULATION IS LESS AND IT IS WHAT IT IS. BUT IT IS GOOD TO SEE THAT THE TREND OF INDIVIDUAL SHOT IS DROPPING. SO WE HAVE HAD NINE MURDERS THIS YEAR, YEAR TO DATE. AT THIS TIME LAST YEAR WE HAD TEN. LAST YEAR WAS A VERY POSITIVE YEAR STATISTICALLY FOR IMPROVEMENTS IN VIOLENT CRIME. SO IT'S GOOD THAT WE'RE CONTINUING TO SEE THOSE IMPROVEMENTS. BUT AS A VICTIM CENTERED DEPARTMENT, IT'S IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON INDIVIDUALS, NOT STATISTICS. OF THESE NINE MURDERS, THE FIRST SIX ON ON THE LIST HAVE BEEN CLOSED BY ARREST AND PROSECUTION. THE OTHER THREE VERY, VERY ACTIVE INVESTIGATIONS FROM OUR EXTREMELY COMPETENT DETECTIVES.

A ADDITIONAL POSITIVE FROM THE LOWER MURDER RATE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, STATISTICALLY SPEAKING, IN A EXCEPTIONAL ORGANIZATION, YOU DON'T WANT TO GIVE A MURDER, DETECTIVE. MORE THAN TWO MURDERS IN A YEAR. MORE THAN THAT. AND IT'S IT SLOWS THEM DOWN. SO WE HAVE ABOUT TEN DETECTIVES THAT THAT WORK ON THESE. SO WHEN THEY'RE AVERAGING LESS THAN TWO A YEAR, NOT ONLY ARE THEY ABLE TO DO AN EXTREMELY GOOD JOB ON THE MURDERS OF THIS YEAR, BUT WE'VE ALSO REALLY BEEN ABLE TO FOCUS ON THOSE FEW MURDERS THAT ARE OPEN. I JUST DID A LITTLE MEDIA OUT IN THE HALLWAY OF A MURDER FROM JANUARY 14TH OF 20, 2023, WHERE JOHN WHITE WAS KILLED

[00:15:02]

WE'RE AVERAGING TWO EVERY MONTH. SO A LITTLE BIT OF A DROP THERE. AND OVER ONE ILLEGALLY POSSESSED GUN RECOVERED BY OUR OFFICERS ON THE STREET. AND THAT NUMBER IS IS VERY IMPRESSIVE, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU THINK OF THE FACT THAT YOU'RE NOT SEEING REPORTS OF THESE SERIOUS USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS OR OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS ON, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY NOT EVERY DAY AND EVERY ONE OF THESE INCIDENTS IS IS A POTENTIALLY VERY SERIOUS OR EVEN DEADLY SITUATION. SO THE FACT THAT WE'RE WE'RE SO GOOD AT DOING THIS JOB OF SUCCESSFULLY TAKING THESE GUNS OFF THE STREET, WE WANT TO BE KNOWN AS THE CITY THAT YOU DO NOT WANT TO ILLEGALLY POSSESS A GUN, SHOOT SOMEONE, ETCETERA. WE WANT THIS TO BE A SAFE CITY FOR EVERYONE. NOW I'M JOINED TODAY BY OUR VICTIM SERVICES MANAGER, CLARISSA NOVAK, AS WELL AS VICTIM ADVOCATE MAGDALENE LAW. AND I'M GOING TO ASK CLARISSA, IF YOU DON'T MIND.

OH, MADELINE. GO. SHE'S OUT THERE. OKAY. THAT'S ALL RIGHT. WE'LL CALL YOU WHEN THINGS GET HEATED UP HERE. CLARISSA HAS BEEN DOING AN EXCEPTIONAL JOB SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE. SHE HAS GONE FROM BEING A STAFF OF JUST JUST ONE, A ONE PERSON SHOP, RUNNING THE WHOLE THING. TAKING OVER. SHE'S TAKEN ON THE POSITION OF MANAGER OF A TEAM. SHE HAS A LARGE TEAM OF VOLUNTEERS. SHE HAS MAGDALENE. SHE'S INTERNS. MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE YOU COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR STAFF, BUT WE HAVE A VERY EXCITING PROJECT. I'M GOING TO ASK HER TO COME UP AND TALK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT WE'LL BE IMPLEMENTING IN OCTOBER. SO. HI, EVERYONE. APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT OUR PROJECTS. AND I BELIEVE ALL OF YOU HAVE RECEIVED AT SOME POINT INFORMATION ABOUT THE GRANT THAT WE RECEIVED LAST YEAR. WE NOTICED A NEED TO REALLY RESPOND DIFFERENTLY WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, INCREASE IDENTIFICATION OF VICTIMS OR SURVIVORS WHO WERE AT HIGH RISK FOR LETHAL OR NEAR LETHAL INJURY. THAT WAS THE MAIN FOCUS. AND THIS COMES ON, YOU KNOW, THE END OF A LOT OF WORK AND AMAZING THINGS DONE IN THIS COMMUNITY ALREADY, LIKE BY PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN LOOKING INTO IT AND TRYING TO FIGURE THINGS OUT. AND WE GOT THE OPPORTUNITY AND WENT FOR IT. SO IT'S REALLY GREAT. WITH THE GRANT COLLABORATION, WE ALSO WORK ALONGSIDE SAFE HAVEN MINISTRIES, THE YWCA. THEY ARE OUR SUBAWARDEES FOR THE CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS. THEY HAVE ADVOCATES FUNDED BY THIS GRANT THAT CAN RESPOND. WE ALSO HAVE THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACTION NETWORK OF KENT COUNTY HAS BEEN DOING A PHENOMENAL JOB OF CONVENING PEOPLE, AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM, AND THEY ACTUALLY BROUGHT IN THE GEIGER INSTITUTE. ONCE WE IDENTIFIED THE LETHALITY ASSESSMENT THAT WE WANTED TO USE, WHICH I'LL TOUCH ON IN JUST A MOMENT, AND THEY HAVE REALLY BEEN ABLE TO GEIGER HAS BEEN ABLE TO SUPPORT US, HELP US BUILD THE FOUNDATIONS THAT WE'LL NEED TO IDENTIFY FOLKS AND INTERVENE LATER. AND IT'S BEEN A REALLY GREAT PARTNERSHIP. SO I DO WANT TO NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT ONE PERSON, ONE AGENCY, ONE ENTITY. THIS IS A FULL TEAM APPROACH. SO THE FIRST THING, THE LETHALITY ASSESSMENT THAT WE WANTED TO BRING IN IS WE CHOSE THE DANGER ASSESSMENT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT. IT IS AN 11 QUESTION ASSESSMENT THAT REALLY GOES THROUGH INDICATORS THAT SHOW US WHEN SOMEONE IS AT THE HIGHEST RISK FOR LETHALITY, FOR POTENTIALLY DEATH. SO IT IS GOING TO BE DONE BY OFFICERS ON SCENE WHEN THEY ENCOUNTER A SURVIVOR VICTIM OF INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE. THERE IS A SCORE IF SOMEONE IS OVER THAT SCORE ABOVE THE THRESHOLD, THERE WILL BE AN IMMEDIATE CONNECTION TO VICTIM SERVICES, VICTIM ADVOCACY. WHAT THAT WILL LOOK LIKE IS A CALL TO SAFE HAVEN MINISTRIES. THEY'VE OFFERED TO BE OUR OUR CENTRAL LINE, WHICH IS AMAZING OF THEM.

AND SAFETY PLANNING WILL BE DONE. IT'LL BE DONE BY PHONE. PEOPLE WILL GET SOME OPTIONS, SOME RESOURCES. IT WILL BE HOW CAN WE GET YOU TO A SAFE PLACE? WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? FOLLOWING THAT, THE ADVOCATES WHO HAVE BEEN BROUGHT ON BY THIS GRANT THROUGH BOTH AGENCIES, ALL OF US WILL COME AROUND AND TRY TO SUPPORT THE PERSON, COORDINATE SERVICES AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE INFORMATION THAT THEY NEED, ESPECIALLY AROUND THEIR RIGHTS AND SAFETY, TOO. SO THE DAIL IS THE FIRST STEP, AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL INCREASE THE IDENTIFICATION AND MAKE SURE PEOPLE HAVE WHAT THEY NEED. THE HIGH RISK TEAM IS THE SECOND

[00:20:02]

SO THE ASSESSMENT FROM WHICH THE JAIL WAS DEVELOPED TO BE PROVIDED TO THE COMMUNITY BASED ADVOCATES. SO THEY HAVE ANOTHER TOOL TO USE TO MORE COMPREHENSIVELY ASSESS RISK ONCE THEY FINALLY GET TO THAT POINT IN NOVEMBER, THE TRAINING FOR ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AT GRPD WILL TAKE PLACE, AS WELL AS SOME COMMUNITY PARTNERS WILL HAVE PROSECUTION. COURT STAFF WILL ALSO RECEIVE SOME TRAINING ON THE DETAIL, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, HOW IT'S UTILIZED, AND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WHAT WE'RE ASKING SO FOLKS CAN BE FULLY INFORMED WHEN THEY'RE USING IT.

FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DEAL WILL BE DECEMBER 1ST OF THIS YEAR, AND THEN WE WILL BE COLLECTING DATA AS WE GO WITH THE GEIGER INSTITUTE. FOLLOWING THAT, IN SPRING 2026 WILL BE LAUNCHING THE HIGH RISK TEAM OFFICIALLY. SO WITH THIS, YOU KNOW, SPRING IS GOING TO BE SPENT GETTING EVERYTHING READY. BUT I WILL SAY WE'RE ALREADY WORKING ON POLICIES AND DOCUMENTS THAT WE'LL NEED FOR THE HIGH RISK TEAM IDENTIFYING PEOPLE. THE GROUP DOES NOT LIKE TO SIT STILL, SO WE'RE MOVING FULL SPEED AHEAD. AND I THINK THE REALLY EXCITING PART IS, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE NOT TO THE POINT WHERE WE'RE AT THIS HIGH RISK TEAM PART, I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE FAMILY SERVICES TEAM SERGEANT AND SOME OTHER INTERNAL FOLKS, AND WE HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN BRINGING IN THE GRANT FUNDED ADVOCATES TO WORK ALONGSIDE US AND MEET WITH VICTIM SURVIVORS JOINTLY AND BE ABLE TO DO LIKE AN INITIAL WARM HANDOFF, GET THEM CONNECTED, MAKE SURE A MEETING IS SCHEDULED BEFORE THEY LEAVE THE ROOM THAT DAY IF THEY WANT.

IT'S ALL ABOUT WHAT THEY NEED, WHAT THEY WANT. BUT THAT WAY, THERE'S AN IMMEDIATE CONNECTION TO PEOPLE WHO CAN BE THEIR LONG TERM SUPPORT TOO. SO WE CAN HELP. ON THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY SIDE. IF THROUGH VICTIM GRPD VICTIM SERVICES, THEN WE HAVE OUR SAFE HAVEN AND UW PARTNERS HELPING WITH THE LONG TERM CARE AND SUPPORT FOR THESE FOLKS. SO I'M REALLY EXCITED AND GRATEFUL TO OUR PARTNERS THAT THEY JUST JUMPED INTO EVERYTHING AND WERE TESTING THE WATERS AND SEEING HOW IT WORKS, AND SHOULD HAVE A BETTER ROLLOUT OF EVERYTHING BECAUSE OF THAT. AND THEN LASTLY, I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE OTHER STUFF THAT WE HAVE GOING ON. I FIGURED I MIGHT AS WELL SINCE I'M HERE, BUT WE HAVE CRIME VICTIMS RIGHTS WEEKS EVERY APRIL. I DON'T KNOW IF PEOPLE ARE AWARE CRIME VICTIMS RIGHTS WEEK TAKES PLACE, AND SO WE ALWAYS HAVE OBSERVANCES. LAST YEAR WE DID A HEALING AND RIGHTS EDUCATION SESSION. WE DO A LOT OF COMMUNITY CONNECTION AND EDUCATION. THE VICTIM RESPONSE TEAM, WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD MAGDALENE, WHO DOES NOT LIKE PUBLIC SPEAKING, I SIT IN THE BACK. SHE HAS BEEN WRITING WITH PATROL TWO DAYS A WEEK ON HER SHIFTS, AND WE'VE ALREADY SEEN EARLY INTERVENTION CONNECTION WITH VICTIMS TO PROVIDE SERVICES AND THEN WRAP AROUND AFTER THAT. SO I'M INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL FOR HER WORK. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT WE'RE SEEING AN INCREASE IN PEOPLE UNDERSTANDING THAT THEIR SERVICE IS AVAILABLE, WHICH I THINK IS KEY BECAUSE IT'S A NEWER PROGRAM, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE ACCESS TO. CRISIS MANAGEMENT BRIEFING I GET A LOT OF REQUESTS FROM NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS AFTER A REALLY LARGE COMMUNITY VIOLENCE EVENT, AND WE DIDN'T REALLY KNOW KIND OF HOW TO CONVENE PEOPLE. MAGDALENE AND I ATTENDED TRAINING NOT TOO LONG AGO ABOUT LIKE CRISIS INCIDENTS AND STRESS MANAGEMENT AND THINGS FOR INTERVENTION. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THAT IS CRISIS MANAGEMENT BRIEFING, WHICH WILL OFFER START PUSHING OUT IN JANUARY. BUT BASICALLY AN INFORMATIONAL GROUP THAT'S A SOURCE OF SUPPORT AND INFORMATION FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, MIXED GROUPS THAT HAVE BEEN IMPACTED, BUT MAYBE NOT DIRECTLY, BUT STILL NEED TO PROCESS AND GET SOME INFORMATION. SO WE'LL BE PROMOTING THAT AS WELL. I KNOW CHIEF MENTIONED MY VOLUNTEER ADVOCATE TEAM. THEY RESPOND ON SCENE TO DEATHS TO PROVIDE SUPPORT AND INFORMATION FOR NEXT OF KIN OR OTHER LOVED ONES

[00:25:01]

AND I HAD TO ADD THAT BECAUSE THAT'S MY FAVORITE. SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT. BUT YEAH, IT'S JUST A LOT OF BIG THINGS GOING ON. YOU'LL SEE A LOT COMING FROM THAT. AND I WELCOME ANY FEEDBACK, ANY QUESTIONS AS WE GO. I WANT TO BE SUPER TRANSPARENT IN HOW WE'RE DOING THINGS AND MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS SUCCESSFUL BASICALLY AND REALLY WELL ADVERTISED. SO THANKS. YOU KNOW, I CERTAINLY THINK THIS IS BRILLIANT. SOME OF YOU MAYBE NOT ALL OF YOU KNOW, I SPENT TWO YEARS IN THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE PRIMARILY WORKING ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE STUFF. SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S VERY NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART. IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE YOU'RE FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS. YOU GOT ALL THE ALL THE RIGHT PRIORITIES. I REALLY, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE DONE A BRILLIANT JOB OF INTERACTING WHAT WE AS A CITY ARE DOING WITH SOME OF THOSE KEY PARTNERS IN THE IN THE COMMUNITY. I WANT TO JUST, LIKE, THROW THIS OUT AS A THOUGHT BUBBLE. AND I CLEARED THIS WITH THE CHIEF BEFOREHAND BECAUSE THIS IS VERY MUCH A THOUGHT BUBBLE THING. BUT. I THINK YOU'RE DOING THE RIGHT THING. AND, AND AND OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE WARTIME IDEA OF TRIAGE, RIGHT? LIKE YOU, YOU LOOK AT THE AT THE MOST URGENT CASES FIRST AND THE, THE ASSESSMENT OF LETHALITY, I THINK FOLLOWS A LOT OF OTHER ASSESSMENTS THAT WE'VE DONE THAT YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN DO FAIRLY ACCURATE GOOD SCREENING OF PEOPLE'S RISK OF RE-OFFENSE. AND WE DO THAT IN THE JUVENILE SPACE. AND SO THIS IS OBVIOUSLY ADJACENT ANALYSIS. AND IT SOUNDS QUICK EASY TO IMPLEMENT.

AND A REALLY GOOD IDEA. THAT BEING SAID, THERE'S SORT OF A CONTINUUM IN THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SPACE FOR LACK OF A BETTER WAY TO PUT IT. AND SO THERE ARE CASES THAT ARE REALLY ACUTE, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF CHRONIC POTENTIALLY SUB. SUBACUTE. AND SOME OF THOSE MAY MANIFEST IN IN PROSECUTIONS. SOME OF THEM MAY MAY NOT. SOME OF THEM MAY INVOLVE POLICE REPORTS THAT DON'T GO ANY FURTHER. AND IT'S A IT'S A VERY TOUGH SPACE TO TO FIND ACCOUNTABILITY AND TO FIND CHANGE. AND IT'S IT'S A REALLY TOUGH SPACE TO BE IN. AND I YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE TALKED WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS ABOUT IS THE POSSIBILITY OF IF WE CAN IDENTIFY SOME SUBACUTE CASES, IF YOU WANT TO PUT IT THAT WAY, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WAY TO PUT IT, TO MAYBE GET SOME MENTORING OPPORTUNITIES WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO WALK ALONGSIDE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THOSE LESS ACUTE CASES TO HAVE POSITIVE OUTCOMES. AND THAT'S AN AREA WHERE WE DON'T NECESSARILY NEED AS MUCH DIRECT LAW ENFORCEMENT AND VICTIM SERVICES IN SUPPORT. BUT BUT THE NEED IS STILL THERE. AND AND THOSE CASES CAN GROW INTO BAD CASES IF YOU DON'T IF YOU DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO THEM. SO THE ANALOGY I'M THINKING OF IS CASA IN THE. AND SO THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW, THERE'S IN THE ABUSE AND NEGLECT SPACE, YOU HAVE WORKERS WHO ARE ASSIGNED TO THE CASE, BUT THEN THERE ARE VOLUNTEER MEMBERS FROM THE COMMUNITY WHO WALK ALONGSIDE. THOSE CASES ARE MENTORS FOR THE CHILDREN INVOLVED, BUT ALSO SORT OF HAVE THEIR EYES ON THE WHOLE SITUATION. AND AND IT'S A VERY FRIENDLY, POSITIVE, SOFT TOUCH PROGRAM. BUT IT HAS INCREDIBLY HIGH PARTICIPATION FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS LIKE THERE ARE CASA ADVOCATES AVAILABLE FOR BASICALLY EVERY CASE THAT NEED ONE NEEDS ONE, WHICH IS AWESOME, BUT THAT'S ALL A COMMUNITY BASED INITIATIVE, THAT IT'S ALL VOLUNTEER PEOPLE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY WHO ARE WALKING ALONGSIDE THESE CASES WHERE THERE'S A NEED. AND SO I WOULD LOVE TO SEE A SPACE WHERE WE CAN CRAFT SOME KIND OF COLLABORATIVE WORK TO HELP THOSE SUBACUTE CASES FIRST. AND THAT IS, I'M NOT TRYING TO SAY ANYTHING EXCEPT HALLELUJAH, THIS IS AWESOME ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING RIGHT NOW, RIGHT? I JUST I'M THE KIND OF GUY THAT WHEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN I'M LOOKING AT THIS, I'M LIKE, GREAT, WHAT DO WE DO NEXT? SO I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS AND THANK YOU. I'M REALLY JUST SO GRATEFUL TO GRPD FOR APPLYING FOR THE GRANT ON THIS, GETTING THE GRANT, THE FACT THAT WE'VE GOT THIS GOING, I ALSO, ANY TIME I SEE A GRANT, WORRY ABOUT CONTINUITY. SO THIS IS ME SAYING AS LONG AS I'M AROUND, I'M GOING TO BE 100% SUPPORTIVE OF DOING THIS KIND OF WORK. AND CHIEF, I APPRECIATE YOU POINTING OUT, LIKE, WE CAN'T POINT OUT OFTEN ENOUGH THAT, LIKE, ALL OF THIS WORK HAS TO CENTER ON VICTIM NEEDS BECAUSE NOBODY CHOOSES TO BE A VICTIM.

IT'S SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS TO THEM AND THEY AND IT DOESN'T HAPPEN TO THE COURT, AND IT DOESN'T HAPPEN TO THE OFFICERS, AND IT DOESN'T HAPPEN TO ANYBODY INVOLVED IN THE SYSTEM.

IT HAPPENS TO THAT VICTIM. AND SO LISTENING TO THEM AND PRIORITIZING THEM AND BUILDING A CULTURE WHERE WE REALLY PRIORITIZE VICTIM NEEDS IS, IS SHOULD, SHOULD BE OUR, OUR NORTH STAR ON EVERYTHING WE'RE DOING. AND THIS LOOKS TO ME LIKE IT COMPLETELY ALIGNS. AND

[00:30:03]

MAY I RESPOND? SURE. SORRY. I WANT TO GIVE CREDIT. SO THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACTION NETWORK ACTUALLY HAS A LOT OF MEMBERSHIP WHERE THEY ARE LOOKING AT CREATIVE WAYS TO ADDRESS NOT THE HIGH LETHALITY WAS ONE STRATEGY, BUT THEY'RE LOOKING AT HOW DO WE CATCH OTHER PEOPLE. AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD LATELY IS NOT EVERYBODY GOES TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. SOMETIMES IT'S JUST NEVER GOING TO TOUCH THEM. AND SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE FOR THEM, WHETHER THEY'RE HIGH RISK OR, YOU KNOW, AT THE BEGINNING. AND SO I THINK ANYBODY WHO'S INTERESTED IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS, DEVON, REALLY IS DOING SOME INCREDIBLE THINGS WITH BRINGING PARTNERS TOGETHER AND TRYING TO ADDRESS SOME USING DIFFERENT STRATEGIES INSTEAD OF, YOU KNOW, JUST LAW ENFORCEMENT, CRIMINAL JUSTICE.

IT'S BEYOND THAT. IT'S ALL OF US. YEAH. GREAT. THANKS. COMMISSIONER KILGORE, YOU HAD A YES. THANK YOU MAYOR. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION FOR MANY YEARS. I WENT TO THE CAPITOL IN OCTOBER, WHICH IS COMING UP FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH WITH ADVOCATES, AND WE WORKED ON STATE POLICY TO WHERE ABUSERS COULDN'T, YOU KNOW, GET IN CONTACT, WHERE YOU COULD USE A PO BOX FOR COURT DOCUMENTS AND THINGS. SO IT'S DEFINITELY IN LINE WITH WORK THAT I ALSO SUPPORT, AND I'M VERY HAPPY TO SEE THAT YOU ALL ARE SPEARHEADING AS SOME QUESTIONS TO HEAR. ONE ABOUT THE DAIL, IS THAT CORRECT? HOW YOU SAY IT, DOES THAT COVER? IS THERE A COMPONENT OF THAT THAT COVERS INTERACTING WITH FOLKS WITHIN THE LGBTQIA COMMUNITY? IS IS THAT A PART OF THAT IS SO WITH THE DAIL TRAINING, THEY WILL GO OVER, YOU KNOW, THE DIFFERENT POPULATIONS, BUT WITH THE TOOL ITSELF, THEY HAVE IT IN, I BELIEVE, MULTIPLE LANGUAGES, BUT IT'S JUST AN 11 QUESTION TOOL. THE TRAINING IS GOING TO PROVIDE THE CONTEXT FOR LIKE HOW TO UTILIZE IT WITH DIFFERENT POPULATIONS AND COMMUNITIES. WONDERFUL. AND THEN IN LINE WITH THAT, WITH YOUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, FOR FOLKS WHO GIVING THESE FOLKS RESOURCES AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS, HAVE YOU REACHED OUT TO FOLKS WHO ARE DOING LGBTQ+ ADVOCACY WITHIN THE CITY OR THE STATE? WE HAVE NOT REACHED OUT.

I THINK WE HAVE A DEEPEN COLLABORATION. I THINK WE'RE LOOKING AT TRYING TO DO MORE OF SPREADING BASICALLY RIGHT NOW. OKAY, WE DID THE SETTING UP OF THE POLICY. THIS CAME ORIGINALLY OUT OF DEVON WITH THAT GROUP AND THEN KIND OF GOT REFINED AND THEN GOING BACK OUT.

SO YEAH, I DEFINITELY THINK WE CAN DO SOME MORE. YEAH, THAT'S MY FEEDBACK. I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE GRAND RAPIDS PRIDE CENTER FOR RESOURCES OR EQUALITY MICHIGAN WOULD BE I THINK THEY'D BE VERY HAPPY TO BE A PART OF THIS VERY IMPORTANT WORK. AND FROM MY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ADVOCACY THAT FOR MANY YEARS, INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED, RIGHT. BECAUSE PEOPLE JUST DON'T VIEW IT AS AS RESPECTFUL OF A RELATIONSHIP, WHETHER THOSE QUESTIONS ARE JUST NOT POSED. SO I THINK WITH THIS RESOURCE, IT'LL BE IMPERATIVE TO INCLUDE OUR COMMUNITY WITHIN IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ABSOLUTELY. I HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION, AND IT SORT OF BUILDS OFF OF THAT. FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING. I APPRECIATE THE DEPARTMENT'S INVESTMENT IN THIS WORK. AS OUR COMMUNITY CONTINUES TO GROW, WE WANT EVERYONE TO FLOURISH AND PROSPER. AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO ADDRESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HEAD ON. SO I APPRECIATE ALL THE SUPPORT COMING FROM OUR MAYOR AND CITY MANAGER AS WELL. WITH REGARD TO THAT, FOR THOSE THAT MAY BE LISTENING OR LOOKING TO ACCESS INFORMATION, I'M NOT AN EXPERT IN THIS FIELD. I DON'T PRETEND TO KNOW ANY OF YOUR DATA, BUT WHEN I SEE ATROCITIES, I TEND TO THINK THAT THOSE COMMITTING THEM PROBABLY LOOK LIKE ME. AND SO OUR VICTIMS ARE MAYBE STEREOTYPICALLY FEMALE IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SITUATIONS. BUT MY QUESTION REALLY IS ROOTED AS YOU TALK ABOUT SAFE HAVEN AND THE YWCA, FOR THOSE WHO ARE IDENTIFYING AS MALE, WHO ARE FEELING VICTIMIZED IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, ARE THESE RESOURCES EQUALLY SERVING THEM, AND HOW WILL THEY FEEL CONFIDENT TO ACCESS THESE RESOURCES, EVEN IF THEY TEND TO BE IN THE MINORITY OF CASES THAT WE'RE SEEING CURRENTLY? YEAH, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING. SO ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE CONFIRMED WAS THAT EVERYBODY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR SERVICES, AND THEN THE SAFE HAVEN AND THE Y-W DO SERVE ALL GENDERS. AND SO I THINK THAT THAT IS A REALLY GOOD AFFIRMATION FROM OUR PARTNERS. THEY HAVE PROGRAMING LIKE, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT SUPPORT GROUPS AND THINGS. AND SO I THINK THE OTHER THING IS, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE THE THE SURVIVOR FEEDBACK AND THINGS FROM WHAT WE'RE GETTING AS WELL. AND SO ONE OF THE I'M A MEMBER OF SOME OF THE COMMUNITIES WE'RE DISCUSSING. SO I'LL PUT THAT OUT THERE. WE HAVE A LOT OF REPRESENTATION.

BUT I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS IS LIKE IT'S ALSO A LOT OF EDUCATION ON US, RIGHT.

BECAUSE NOT ALL LOOK LIKE YOU. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? I THINK THAT PEOPLE ARE OFTEN SHOCKED.

AND I ALSO THINK THAT, LIKE YOU SAID, THERE'S A LACK OF AWARENESS OF WHAT VIOLENCE LOOKS LIKE, WHETHER THAT'S EMOTIONAL, FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL, NO MATTER WHAT. AND SO I THINK IT'S ON US TO DO A LOT OF EDUCATION. IT'S ON US TO REACH OUT. BUT I KNOW AS FAR AS THE

[00:35:01]

AND SO I THINK WE ARE TRYING TO BE INTENTIONAL, BUT I DON'T THINK WE CAN HEAR ENOUGH OF WAYS THAT WE CAN DO BETTER, BECAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE INSTANCES WHERE LIKE, WE MISS SOMETHING, IT JUST THE NATURE OF IT. AND SO THE MORE FEEDBACK WE GET, WHETHER FROM YOU ALL, FROM THE COMMUNITY, FROM OUR SURVIVOR PARTNERS THAT WILL BE AT THE LISTENING SESSIONS WITH, I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE GREAT, I APPRECIATE THAT. I REALLY THINK THAT IT'S A MATTER OF HELPING PEOPLE WHO LIKE ME, WHO ARE UNDER-INFORMED OR UNDEREDUCATED, JUST SEE THE INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE AND KNOW THAT THOSE SERVICES MAY EXIST. FOR SOMEONE THAT DIDN'T POP INTO MY MIND INITIALLY, WHETHER THOSE ARE KIDS OR NONTRADITIONAL RELATIONSHIPS, ETC. THANK YOU. THANKS. I JUST WANT TO GIVE A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO VRT. I THINK I GOT TO MEET THEM A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO AND ACTUALLY JUST EXCITED ABOUT WHAT YOU ALL ARE DOING AND GRATEFUL FOR THE GRANT. YOU KNOW, THAT'S THAT'S A BLESSING IN AND OF ITSELF. I WAS CURIOUS TO KNOW, WHAT ARE YOUR STATISTICS LIKE AS IT PERTAINS TO ON AVERAGE, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER OF CALLS THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED OR THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THIS YEAR, IF YOU CAN GIVE ANY THAT YOU MAY BE AWARE OF. AND THEN SECONDLY, FINALLY, I LOOK FORWARD TO ATTENDING THE TRAINING IN NOVEMBER. SO ALL STATS ARE HARD, I'LL BE HONEST. SO I KNOW WE WILL SERVE. I THINK IT'S ON AVERAGE ABOUT A 100 PEOPLE A MONTH. LIKE COMPREHENSIVELY. THE FIRST THREE YEARS I WORKED, I KNEW I REACHED OUT TO 6000 PEOPLE. WE TYPICALLY REACH OUT TO A LOT MORE THAN WE'RE SERVING JUST FOR COMMUNICATION. OR WE HAVE PEOPLE CALL US AND THEY'LL SAY, I JUST WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THIS ONE BIT. AND SOMETIMES THEY RECONNECT AND SOMETIMES THEY DON'T. I THINK WITH OUR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, THE AND OUR FAMILY SERVICES TEAM, THOSE AND DETECTIVES THAT INVESTIGATE HAVE REALLY BROUGHT US IN MORE AND MORE. AND SO IT USED TO BE WE KNEW THAT, YOU KNOW, SURVIVORS HAD SUPPORTS IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE THEM NECESSARILY FOR CERTAIN CRIME TYPES. SO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HAD SUPPORT HUMAN TRAFFICKING, SEXUAL ASSAULT. IF YOU WERE RANDOMLY ASSAULTED ON THE STREET, THERE WAS REALLY NOTHING FOR YOU. AND SO THAT WAS THE FOCUS INITIALLY. AFTER WE STARTED EXPANDING, THAT FOCUS HAS CHANGED. AND SO NOW OUR STATS HAVE CHANGED AS FAR AS WHAT CRIMES ARE REPRESENTED, BECAUSE WE'VE OPENED OURSELVES UP MORE TO THE DEPARTMENT. BUT I CAN DEFINITELY FOLLOW UP WITH SOME STATISTICS AND BREAK DOWN WHATEVER YOU ALL WOULD WANT TO KNOW FOR SURE. THANKS. GO AHEAD.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WORK. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU GOING THOROUGH. AND THEN THE DEPARTMENT'S ATTENTION THAT THEY'RE PAYING TO THIS IN THE JAIL ASSESSMENT, WHO INITIATES THE THE OFFICER INITIATES THE JAIL FOR THE DANGER ASSESSMENT. IT'S THE ADVOCATE AFTER SO THE PERSON CAN DECLINE THE DEAL. THEY CAN. IT'S WHEN IT'S ON SCENE WHEN THEY'RE CALLED. SO IF IT'S THEY GO IN IT'S INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE SCENE SEPARATE PEOPLE GIVE THE LETHALITY ASSESSMENT TO THE PERSON WHO'S THE VICTIM. AND THEN THEY WOULD SCORE THAT. AND THEN THAT'S WHERE THAT STARTS. THE PERSON CAN DECLINE AND SAY THAT THEY DON'T WANT TO COMPLETE IT, OR THERE CAN BE AN OFFICER OVERRIDE AS WELL, WHICH WILL TEACH WHERE THERE CAN BE.

MAYBE THEY ANSWER HALF AND THE PERSON'S LIKE, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE TIME. OR LIKE THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS, BUT IT WILL BE OFFICER INITIATED AND THEN FOLLOWED UP WITH ADVOCACY. THANK YOU. THANKS, CHIEF. I DON'T WANT TO LET YOU OFF THE HOOK SO EASILY SINCE YOU GAVE A BUNCH OF STATISTICS AT THE BEGINNING AND WE ROLLED INTO THE SECOND PRESENTATION. SO THANKS. THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. IF I COULD JUST TOUCH ON WHAT CLARISSA SAID REAL QUICK. TWO THINGS, MR. DAVEY. YOU SAID IT VERY WELL WHEN YOU SAID HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO ADDRESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE HEAD ON, I BELIEVE, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S CHANGED IN THE 25 YEARS I'VE BEEN A POLICE OFFICER. SOMETIMES GETTING A PERSPECTIVE OUTSIDE THE POLICING PROFESSION. SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO CLARISSA. SHE'S LITERALLY MAKING US A BETTER DEPARTMENT.

SHE'S ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT'S REALLY MAKING US A BETTER DEPARTMENT. SO I REALLY, REALLY VALUE HER. STATISTIC WISE. PASTOR GHOLSTON I THINK SOMETIMES WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THIS AND WE TALK ABOUT THE LETHALITY ASSESSMENT, YOU'LL GET PEOPLE LIKE THAT LETHALITY ASSESSMENT, THAT'S PRETTY SERIOUS. YEAH, IT IS SOMEWHERE NORTH OF 10%, 10 TO 20 OR SO OF OUR HOMICIDES EVERY YEAR ARE DOMESTIC RELATED IN NATURE. AND EVEN THE ONES THAT AREN'T I KNOW STUDIES HAVE BEEN SHOWN THAT I BELIEVE IT'S SOMEWHERE AROUND 60% OF ALL HOMICIDE OFFENDERS RECORDED IN THE COUNTRY HAVE SOME HISTORY, EVEN IF IT'S NOT A DOMESTIC RELATED MURDER. THERE IS HISTORY, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT LETHALITY ASSESSMENT, YEAH, IT IS THAT SERIOUS. AND THIS IS THAT IMPORTANT TO US. SO NOTHING BUT PRAISE FOR CLARISSA AND THE TEAM SHE'S ASSEMBLED. ANY OTHER ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, MR. MR. MAYOR? YEAH.

IF I, IF I CAN RUN YOU THROUGH YOUR PACES AND THEN OTHERS CAN ASK QUESTIONS, FIRST OF ALL, THE AUTO THEFT NUMBERS, WHICH ARE AMAZING, IS THAT LIKE IF YOU DO, YOU CONTINUE TO

[00:40:04]

YEAH, BUT THIS WAS AN ALL HANDS ON DECK APPROACH FROM EVERY EVERY I KNOW, MR. BROWN. BROWN ISN'T HERE TODAY, BUT EVERYBODY FROM JUST APPEALS ACROSS THE BOARD OF FROM PARENTS. PAY MORE ATTENTION. WHAT ARE YOUR KIDS? YOU KNOW. YOU KNOW WHAT VEHICLE ARE YOUR CHILDREN GETTING INTO? AND WE'VE SEEN THE SUPPORT OF THE PARENTS. WE'VE SEEN THESE NONPROFIT GROUPS. WE'VE SEEN CURE VIOLENCE AND OTHERS TAKE AN INTEREST IN THESE KIDS. LET THEM KNOW. THE THE PROSECUTOR, CHRIS BECKER, GOT ON BOARD AND PASTOR GADDY CAME IN FROM HIS MINDSET. HE CAME FROM THE EAST SIDE OF THE STATE WITH A WITH A PROGRAM CALLED THE GRAND RAPIDS ALTERNATIVE CORRECTIONS EXPERIENCE, WHERE WE WERE LITERALLY ARRESTING YOUNG PEOPLE AS YOUNG AS 11 YEARS OLD EVERY DAY IN A ROW. WE WERE ARRESTING YOUNG PEOPLE THREE DAYS IN A ROW FOR STEALING A CAR. WE KNEW WE WOULD ARREST THEM. PROSECUTORS. WHAT WE HAVE. THANK YOU. SEND THEM HOME.

THANK YOU. SEND THEM HOME. SO WE SAW THERE WAS A PROBLEM OF ALL THE SYSTEM PARTS WEREN'T WORKING. AND SOME OF THAT WAS LEFT OVER FROM, FROM COVID, THAT THERE WAS JUST AS FAR AS CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM FOR JUVENILES WAS FAILING ON ALL SORTS OF PLACES. SO EVERYBODY GOT TOGETHER, NOT FOUND WAYS TO HOLD THESE YOUNG PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE, BUT NOT SIMPLY LOCK THEM UP. THROW AWAY THE KEY ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE GUIDED DOWN A BETTER PATH. THAT, COMBINED WITH A COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN BY US AND OTHERS SHARING HOW EASY IT IS WITH THE CLUB. IF YOU'RE A, YOU KNOW, MY AGE OR ABOUT THERE OR SOME OTHER BASIC VEHICLE LOCKING DEVICE, AND THEN THE ASSISTANCE WE GOT FROM LITERALLY HYUNDAI AND KIA THEMSELVES TO COME INTO TOWN AND SAY, HEY, WE'LL REPLACE THE OUR FAULTY IGNITION SYSTEMS FOR FREE. SO EVERYBODY GOT TOGETHER AND YOU CAN SEE IT TOOK US A WHILE, BUT WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS. OKAY. THANKS. SO NEXT QUESTION. ROBBERY TOTALS ALSO GOING DOWN NICELY. AND AGAIN DON'T WANT TO CLAIM VICTORY HERE. IT'S A NON-ZERO NUMBER. BUT I HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ON THAT. ONE IS. MY INTUITION WOULD BE AMAZON IS NOT A DECLINING COMPANY IN DECLINE.

I'M NOT SEEING LESS THINGS DROPPED OFF ON PEOPLE'S PORCHES OR FEWER THINGS. MY MY, MY KIDS ALWAYS WANT TO COACH ME ON LESS AND FEWER, BUT FEWER THINGS ON PEOPLE'S PORCHES. SO THERE'S PROBABLY GREATER OPPORTUNITY FOR ROBBERY. BUT WE'RE SEEING DECLINING NUMBERS, LIKE IS YOUR GUESS PART OF THIS IS TIED TO LIKE THE RISE OF RING CAMERAS, AND IF SO, THEN MY QUESTION WOULD BE, DO YOU GUYS, IS IT TIME FOR YOU GUYS TO START ACTING LIKE RING CAMERAS ARE THE POLICING EQUIVALENT OF FIRE DETECTORS FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT? MAYBE START CONVINCING PEOPLE TO GET RING CAMERAS OR I'M I, I'VE SPOKEN A LOT TO COMMUNITY GROUPS, TO BUSINESS GROUPS SINCE THE DAY I GOT HERE. AND THE QUESTION I ALWAYS GET, YOU KNOW, WHAT CAN WE IT'S IT'S USUALLY WHAT WHAT ARE THE POLICE DOING AND WHAT CAN THEY DO BETTER. AND THEN I'LL GET THE POLITE QUESTION, HEY, WHAT CAN WE DO AS A COMMUNITY? FIRST THING I SAY IS, IF YOU'RE A BUSINESS, PUT PUT, YOU KNOW, GOOD QUALITY SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS ON AND DON'T HIDE THEM, THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE SECRET. LET PEOPLE KNOW, HEY, IF YOU'RE IN MY PARKING LOT, IF YOU'RE OUTSIDE MY BUSINESS, THIS IS WHAT. AND THAT GOES FOR RING DOORBELL CAMERAS AS WELL. THERE ARE WHOLE SECTIONS OF THE CITY I CAME FROM WHERE THERE WOULD BE INCIDENTS ON A BLOCK OF, YOU KNOW, PATTERN BURGLARS, AND IT WOULD LITERALLY BE THESE THREE HOUSES WERE BURGLARIZED. THIS ONE WASN'T. THESE THREE WERE. THIS WAS THE ONLY ONE WITH A WITH A DOORBELL CAMERA OR SOMETHING ELSE. SO THE MORE THAT THAT HAPPENS, IT IS A HUGE DETERRENCE. YEAH. AND SO THAT'S CERTAINLY ONE THING I WOULD CREDIT THAT WITH. WE DON'T DO NOT SEE. THE ISSUE WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT ROBBERIES, A LOT OF TIMES IT'S A SCARY THING FOR AN INDIVIDUAL TO BE ROBBED. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT VISITORS, THINK ABOUT ARTPRIZE, OUR DOWNTOWN AREA, THERE ARE CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING THE ONE I CAME FOR WHERE YOU HEAR EVERY DAY PEOPLE GETTING MUGGED ON THE STREET IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA WHILE THEY'RE JUST TRYING TO GO TO A RESTAURANT, GOING GETTING OUT OF THEIR CAR, WALKING INTO THESE ROBBERIES. MANY OF THEM HAVE A CRIMINAL ELEMENT TO THEM. WHERE I WAS ROBBED WHILE I WAS DELIVERING A PACKAGE OF FENTANYL, LITERALLY, THOSE ARE THE SORT OF SO WE DO NOT GENERALLY GET PERSONAL, PERSONAL ROBBERIES WHEN WE DO. OUR DETECTIVES ARE EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE AT IDENTIFYING THEM, APPREHENDING THEM. I KNOW I SAID PERSON TO PERSON ROBBERIES. WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS WE DO

[00:45:03]

AND I KNOW YOU HAVE BEEN FOCUSING ON THOSE. AND I KNOW FROM RIGHT AROUND THAT YOU'RE LIKE, YOU GUYS KNOW THE PROBLEM SPOTS, THE PROBLEM BUSINESS OWNERS OR PROPERTY OWNERS WHO LET THIS STUFF HAPPEN. I DON'T KNOW, OBVIOUSLY. OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE MAKING PROGRESS HERE. SO IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO I KNOW NOT ALL OF OUR MURDERS, PROBABLY WE'RE PROBABLY NEVER GOING TO BE ABLE TO PREVENT ALL OF OUR MURDERS. BUT LIKE, THESE ARE FLASHPOINT THINGS I KNOW YOU'VE IDENTIFIED. SO IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO SPEAK TO THAT AGAIN, GREAT PROGRESS HERE.

LIKE WE ARE SEEING PROGRESS AND THINGS LIKE THE POP UP PARTIES, THE CAR MEETUPS, A LOT OF TIMES THOSE ARE LONG TERM SOLUTIONS. IT'S WORKING WITH BUSINESS OWNERS WITH WITH, YOU KNOW, STEELCASE. LET'S TALK ABOUT THE PARKING LOT DOWN THERE OR AMAZON. CODE COMPLIANCE AS FAR AS PROBLEM LOCATIONS WHERE YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HAVING A PARTY AT FOUR IN THE MORNING HERE, AND YOU'VE GOT 500 PEOPLE AND THAT, YOU KNOW, UNLAWFUL BEHAVIOR BREEDS MORE AND THAT ENDS UP IN A SHOOTING. SO ONCE WE IDENTIFY A PROBLEM LIKE THAT. SO A LOT OF THEM ARE LONG TERM. SO OUR WE HAVE TWO OFFICERS ASSIGNED TO CODE COMPLIANCE. THEY'VE BEEN WORKING VERY HARD IN THE THREE PLUS YEARS I'VE BEEN HERE. ALL THESE LONG TERM SOLUTIONS. NOW THAT WE HAVE HIGHER STAFFING LEVEL TO REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITIES, OUR BUSINESS PARTNERS IS SAYING, WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO? EVEN AS FAR AS DESIGN OF A PARKING LOT TO PROHIBIT THESE CAR MEETUPS? AND WE'RE SEEING THAT THAT PAY OFF MORE AND MORE. THAT PLUS, AS I KEEP SAYING, EXCELLENT WORK BY NOT ONLY OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS OF GETTING OUR YOUNG PEOPLE ON A BETTER COURSE, BUT ALSO OUR DETECTIVES AND AND WITH A VERY HIGH CLEARANCE RATE, WORD SPREADS IN THE CRIMINAL COMMUNITY VERY QUICKLY THAT THIS IT'S PROBABLY BETTER TO DO A CRIME, EVEN A LOW LEVEL CRIME SOMEWHERE THAT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET CAUGHT. AND IF YOU'RE IF THERE'S AN EXPECTATION THAT YOU'RE GOING TO GET CAUGHT, EVEN IF IT'S JUST A TICKET FOR A CAR MEET UP PARTY, YOU'RE GOING TO DO THAT SOMEWHERE ELSE. YEAH. AND I GUESS THAT BRINGS US TO THE HOMICIDE RATE. LIKE YOU MAY HIT. I MEAN, I DON'T I DON'T WANT TO CURSE YOU, BUT LIKE, THE FACT THAT YOU ARE ARE THERE'S A LEGITIMATE POSSIBILITY THAT YOU HIT 100% CLEARANCE RATE THIS YEAR IS JUST SORT OF STUNNING. SO THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK ON THAT.

THANK YOU. YEAH. AND THAT'S A TRIBUTE TO THE PROFESSIONALISM OF THE DETECTIVES. CERTAINLY THE THE SUPPORT OF THE CITY IN GETTING OUR STAFFING UP TO THE POINT WHERE WE DON'T HAVE IT'S NOT THREE YEARS AGO, CERTAINLY IN THE YEAR 2020 WHEN WE HAD 38 MURDERS. AND YOU'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, DETECTIVES WHO SHOULD BE DOING NO MORE THAN TWO INVESTIGATIONS A YEAR OR DOING FOUR INVESTIGATIONS, AND YOU'RE JUST NOT GOING TO GET THE SAME QUALITY OF WORK. SO MAKING MAKING SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS THERE. I HOPE NINE IS THE THE NUMBER THAT THAT WE'RE LEFT WITH AT THE END OF THE YEAR, AND THAT WE HAVE ANSWERS FOR ALL NINE OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS FAMILIES. SO, CHIEF, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION ALWAYS, AND THANK YOU FOR THIS WONDERFUL WORK. OUR DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF WAS UP EARLIER TODAY, AND I HAD THE PLEASURE OF HEARING FROM OUR FIRE TEAM WHEN I WAS SERVING ON A NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION BOARD REGARDING THE TRENDS IN OUR COMMUNITY AROUND FENTANYL. EARLIER IN YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU REFERENCED A DECREASE IN FATAL OVERDOSES IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND I'M CURIOUS, IS THAT BECAUSE WE ARE DOING A BETTER JOB WITH NARCAN AND INTERVENTIONS, ARE WE NOTICING THAT THE LEGALIZATION OF CANNABIS AND THE REGULATION OF THAT, OR IS THE USE GOING DOWN, OR ARE THE OVERDOSES GOING DOWN? ARE THEY RUNNING PARALLEL? WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION DOES OUR COMMUNITY HAVE REGARDING FENTANYL AND AND THESE HARMFUL DRUGS? IT'S WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT CRIME STATISTICS AND IT IS DIFFICULT FOR FOR ANYBODY TO COME UP WITH IT. THIS IS THE ANSWER. BUT I WILL TELL YOU, YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD AS FAR AS THE NARCAN, WITHOUT NARCAN, THESE NUMBERS WOULD BE EXPONENTIALLY HIGHER. WE FOR EVERY FATAL OVERDOSE, THERE ARE PROBABLY TWO JUST THAT. POLICE OFFICERS HAVE ADMINISTERED NARCAN THAT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL, AND THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE OUR FIREFIGHTER FRIENDS, AMBULANCES, BUSINESSES, COMMUNITY GROUPS. THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE. IT'S SO UBIQUITOUS NOW. A LOT OF PLACES GIVE OUT FREE NARCAN. I HAVE NARCAN IN MY VEHICLE. SO DOES

[00:50:03]

YES, SIR. THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THAT YOU ALL CONTINUE TO DO. LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH, HOPEFULLY MEETING SOME OF THE NEW CPO CPOS AND THE PROGRAM STARTS IN THAT CAPACITY. DEPUTY CHIEF IS PRETENDING HE'S NOT PAYING ATTENTION, BUT. WELL, I'LL JUST GIVE YOU A QUICK A QUICK UPDATE ON THAT. YEAH. HOPEFULLY NEXT WEEK WE WILL ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO DO A PRESENTATION ON IT. BUT DEPUTY CHIEF HAS SPEARHEADED THIS PROJECT. WE LITERALLY HAVE HAVE COMPLETED OUR INTERVIEW PROCESS FOR THE COMMUNITY POLICING OFFICERS. WE'VE IDENTIFIED. THE FIRST FIVE COMMUNITY POLICING OFFICERS. WE'RE CONFIDENT WITH STAFFING WITH EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN GET THEM. I BELIEVE UNLESS THERE'S SOME BAD NEWS OUT OF FISCAL COMMITTEE THIS MORNING, WE HAVE BODY WORN CAMERAS FOR THEM. WE ARE FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT. AND I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A GAME CHANGER. AND I THINK HEADED INTO THE COOLER MONTHS. IT'S ALWAYS A GREAT TIME FOR US TO CATCH OUR BREATH AND AND MAKE THESE BIG CHANGES LIKE THIS AND GET THEM GOING. AND NEXT SUMMER, I THINK WE'RE JUST GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT SUCH, SUCH A HIGH LEVEL OF SUCCESS. THANKS. THANK YOU. YEAH. ONE POINT OF PRIVILEGE. I WANTED TO ELEVATE A VERY IMPORTANT CONVERSATION THAT TOOK PLACE, AND IT RELATES TO THIS BODY. WE HAD THREE CITIZEN MEMBERS ATTEND A USE OF FORCE TRAINING THAT WAS HOSTED BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. AND IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE THERE WERE TWO JUDGES THERE. THERE WERE ATTORNEYS FROM MY OFFICE THERE. THERE WERE POLICE OFFICERS, CITIZEN MEMBERS, AND THERE WERE MEMBERS FROM OPA. AND IT'S NOT EVERY DAY THAT YOU GET THAT DIVERSE GROUP OF PERSPECTIVES IN ONE ROOM TO LEARN MORE AND TO HAVE MAYBE CHALLENGING CONVERSATIONS AROUND THE PROFESSIONALISM OF PROFESSIONAL POLICING AND THE LAW AND ALL THE DYNAMICS THAT GO INTO THAT.

AND SO MUCH APPRECIATION TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE TRAINING UNIT THAT PUT THAT TRAINING ON. THANK YOU. FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT TOOK TIME OUT OF YOUR DAYS TO ATTEND THAT TRAINING AND ASK THE GOOD QUESTIONS, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO HOPEFULLY TAKING PART IN SOME MORE OF THOSE IN THE FUTURE. MAYOR, I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK THE CHIEF FOR THE PRESENTATION AND CLARISSA FOR THE WORK. AND I JUST LIKE YOUTH. VIOLENCE IS CYCLICAL. PRIMARILY.

WE NOTICE A SPIKE IN THE SUMMER. I BELIEVE, CHIEF, WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, WE NOTICE A SPIKE OFTENTIMES IN THE WINTER. AND THE FACT THAT YOU ARE IMPLEMENTING OR LAUNCHING IT THIS DECEMBER, I THINK THAT'S GOOD. GOOD TIMING. YES, SIR. THANK YOU, MR. CITY MANAGER. OF COURSE THERE THERE WOULDN'T BE A BAD TIME. THE SOONER THE BETTER. BUT YOU ARE YOU ARE.

SPOT ON. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. CHIEF. ALL RIGHT. WE HAD 90 MINUTES FOR A MEETING. WE PULL IT OFF IN 56. SO QUICK QUESTION, IF POSSIBLE. ANY UPDATE, MR. MAYOR, ON THE IMPACT OF THE FEDS COMING TO OUR CITY. QUICK COMMENT. YEAH, I GUESS QUICK COMMENT. WHAT I SAID. YEAH.

WHAT I SAID AT PUBLIC SAFETY. I MEAN, I GUESS THIS IS A AS GOOD A TIME AS ANY TO REITERATE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M NOT GOING TO REALLY SOFTEN MY LANGUAGE HERE. I WAS SHOCKED AND APPALLED TO SEE THE SUPREME COURT SAY THAT THAT PARTICULARLY FOR IMMIGRATION CONTROL, THAT IT WAS APPROPRIATE TO USE SKIN COLOR AS A PART OF A PROBABLE CAUSE ASSESSMENT FOR ARRESTING PEOPLE. AND I SAID THEN THAT IT WILL BE A COLD DAY, THAT I HAVE NO

[00:55:06]

AND I KNOW OUR POLICE CHIEF AND OUR ALL OF OUR EVERYONE IN OUR FORCE IS COMMITTED TO A CITY WITH TRUE RACIAL EQUALITY AND THAT ALL OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY WORK IS PREMISED ON A ON A GROUNDWORK VALUE OF, OF EQUALITY. AND SO NINE PEOPLE IN ROBES MAY HAVE MADE A TERRIBLE DECISION, WHICH I CAN CLEARLY SEE AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL. BUT THAT MEANS THAT THAT THAT DECISION IS NOT SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO BE EXTRAPOLATED IN OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS AND OUR CITY. AND I GUESS THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I CAN SAY. SECONDLY, WE REMAIN COMMITTED, AND I SUPPOSE THE CHIEF CAN ANSWER THIS, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT COMES FROM THE COMMISSION DOWN THROUGH OUR CITY MANAGER, WHO IS EQUALLY COMMITTED DOWN TO THE CHIEF AND DOWN TO HIS LEADERSHIP. BUT I THINK I'M I THINK I'M SAFE SAYING FOR ALL OF US THAT WE ARE COMMITTED TO MAKING A SAFE CITY AND THAT OUR PUBLIC SAFETY WORK IN THIS CITY IS NOT GOING TO BE FOCUSED ON A FEDERAL AGENDA. IT IS GOING TO BE FOCUSED ON KEEPING EVERY SINGLE RESIDENT IN OUR COMMUNITY AS SAFE AS WE CAN KEEP THEM, WHETHER IT'S SAFE FROM TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS OR FROM FIRES OR FROM CRIME, THAT IS OUR FOCUS AND WE ARE NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF DOING LEG WORK FOR A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, FOR AGENDAS THAT MAY DEPART FROM THAT, THOSE PRIORITIES, AND THAT WE ARE GOING TO KEEP OURSELVES FOCUSED ON THE GREAT PUBLIC SAFETY WORK THAT YOU, CHIEF, AND ALL OF YOUR FOLKS AND EVERYBODY IN THIS CITY. AND IT'S NOT JUST A POLICE ISSUE, IT IS A AND IT'S NOT JUST A FIRE ISSUE. IT IS AN EVERY MEMBER OF OUR COMMUNITY ISSUE KEEPING OUR COMMUNITY SAFE. WE'RE GOING TO KEEP FOCUSING ON THAT. AND FRANKLY, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE LIFT UP HOW THAT WE HAVE PLANS. WE'RE NOT JUST LOOKING AT THE PAST AND SAYING THINGS WERE GREAT YESTERDAY. WE ARE LOOKING AT WHAT ARE THE NEXT THINGS WE CAN DO TO MAKE OUR CITY SAFER, AND WE ARE WORKING IN THOSE DIRECTIONS, AND THAT THOSE ARE PLANS THAT ARE ROOTED IN THE VALUES OF THIS COMMUNITY AND THE RESOURCES OF THIS COMMUNITY.

AND THESE ARE PLACES WHERE WE MAY WELCOME HELP. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS IS GRAND RAPIDS WORKING TO MAKE GRAND RAPIDS SAFE. AND WE HAVE EXPERTISE AND WE HAVE TALENT AND WE HAVE VALUES, AND WE HAVE A VISION AND WE'RE IMPLEMENTING IT. AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, I'D SAY THAT OUR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS ARE GROUND ZERO OR THE BEDROCK OR HOWEVER YOU WANT.

YOU WANT TO PUT IT, OF THAT WORK, BUT THAT WORK INVOLVES THE WHOLE COMMUNITY AND IT AND WE DON'T NEED OUTSIDE ENTITIES COMING IN, REDIRECTING OUR VALUES. AND WE HAVE NO INTEREST IN HAVING THAT HAPPEN. LET ME ADD TO PASTOR OLSON'S QUESTION SPECIFICALLY, LIKE WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IN MEMPHIS AND OTHER CITIES OR STATES AROUND THE COUNTRY WITH THE USE OF THE STATE NATIONAL GUARD, WE WERE ASKED THAT QUESTION, CITY COMMISSION MEETING AS WELL.

THAT IS NOT A CITY JURISDICTION. THE GOVERNOR HAS JURISDICTION OVER NATIONAL GUARD, AND I THINK HAS MADE IT CLEAR THAT SHE DOES NOT NEED HER GUARD FOCUSING ON THOSE FEDERAL ISSUES. AND SO I WANT TO JUST AFFIRM THAT, THAT THERE'S NO DECISIONS THAT THE CITY NEEDS TO MAKE REGARDING THOSE RESOURCES. THOSE ARE RESOURCES DIRECTED BY THE GOVERNOR.

THANKS, EVERYONE. GOOD MEETING.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.