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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-2010-08-26-2010 ITHACA COMMUNITY POLICE BOARD MEETING APPROVED MINUTES: Ithaca Community Police Board PLACE: Third Floor, Common Council Chambers, City Hall, 108 East Green Street TIME/DATE: August 26, 2010 @ 3:30 pm PRESENT: Commissioners Bush, Firenze, Laskowitz, McGruder and Slattery: Alderperson Zumoff; Chief Vallely; Staff: Herden ABSENT: Commissioners Bush and Smith GUESTS: Tomo Shibata Chairperson Slattery called the meeting to order at 3:35 pm. 1. Approval of Minutes of Meeting of July 22, 2010 Commissioner Laskowitz moved to approve last month's minutes. Commissioner McGruder seconded. The minutes were approved unanimously. 2. Comments from the Public Tomo Shibata spoke at length regarding her concerns about "organized stalking" and referred to her August 21 guest editorial in the Ithaca Journal on the same topic. Chief Vallely responded, in part, that the police operate in a "hands-on" world. He went on to explain that positive evidence of a crime is needed for the police to investigate an allegation. 3. Report from Common Council There was no report from Common Council. 4. Report from Police Department Chief Vallely reported that the return of the college students has been proceeding relatively smoothly. After trying different models for working with students on "quality of life' issues, the IPD has found that a policy of consistent policing and ticketing appears to be most effective. In addition, changes in how "quality of life" arrests are made (such as taking bail on the street, rather than only at the station or the jail) have resulted in fewer trips to jail. He referred to several letters of appreciation to members of the Police Department and read one addressed to Officer Garmin. The Community Police Board decided to nominate Officer Brandon Goldsberry for Kiwanis Club's Officer of the Month in recognition of his facilitating the acquisition and installation of donated backboards for Conway Park, tasks outside the scope of his designated police duties. Chief Vallely noted that community policing has proven to be an increasingly effective approach for the IPD. 5. Report from Staff Della Herden informed the Board that PSA's with the new CPB office location and drop-in hours were sent to local newspapers. Minutes, agendas, and an updated complaint/compliment form will soon be available at the City of Ithaca website. As in prior years, the CPB will have a table at Ithaca's Apple Harvest Festival as part of its community outreach efforts. ITHACA COMMUNITY POLICE BOARD MEETING APPROVED MINUTES: Ithaca Community Police Board PLACE: Third Floor,Common Council Chambers,City Hall,108 East Green Street TIME/DATE: August 26,2010 @ 3:30 pm Page Two of Two 6. Old Business a. To date, no new appointments to the Ithaca Community Police Board have been made. No notice of new applicants has been received by the Chair. On August 16, Commissioners Firenze and McGruder met with Mayor Peterson to discuss the empty commissioner spots. They reported that the Mayor is in the process of reviewing applications and that no retired police officers will be considered for the open slots. b. No new Youth Commissioner applications have been received. Staff will continue to work with Ithaca educators to locate likely candidates. c. The Syracuse Citizen Review Board has not yet responded to a letter and phone messages from CPB staff. 7. New Business Commissioner McGruder identified a potential community speaker from the Department of Corrections who would be willing to talk about his experiences as someone who was involved with the criminal justice system as a prior perpetrator. A former student of Commissioner Laskowitz's is willing to talk about his experiences, as well. The Commissioners have chosen not to schedule any such speakers at this time. 8. Adjournment to Executive Session @ 4:32 pm Motion by Commissioner Laskowitz, seconded by Commissioner Firenze, to move to executive session to discuss and vote on results of investigations of open complaints, then return to public session and adjourn. One investigation was discussed: 1. The complainant has not responded to multiple contact attempts. In July, Commissioner Laskowitz requested that the complainant be allowed one more month to respond before the case was closed. As the complainant failed to respond within that time frame, the investigation has been closed. (Laskowitz) One new complaint and two new citizen letters of compliment, referencing three officers, were received between the July and August board meetings.