minps 06-03-19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilman Litten asked if the police department does targeted enforcement of certain areas and asked if there was a need for leads. Chief Malley indicated that special enforcement happens and th brought up an example of a targeted effort at W. 117 St. & Clifton Blvd. He indicated that it was not a high accident area, but the department came up with about a dozen tickets, several pedestrian jaywalking citations, and a couple drug arrests. Council President OLeary stated that whenever he gets complaints from residents regarding traffic that he emails Captain Wilkins and gets an immediate response. Councilman Bullock asked if the department is fully budgeted and staffed up. Chief Malley confirmed that and stated that there will be 5 new officers this year, with 2 currently training in the academy. Bullock followed up and asked about the drivers of overtime being up a bit from th years past. Malley indicated that the cause was special events. For the 4 of July, the department will deploy as many officers as possible to prioritize safety. Bullock stated that any ways to get overtime costs down are appreciated, but those special events in the evenings are indicators of vibrancy. Councilman Bullock asked if there has been any issues over the animal education effort related to the citys relatively new dog ordinances. Chief Malley indicated that there have been no issues aside from 1 leash incident and normal evening animal complaints. Councilman Anderson asked about any dog bite statistics that might be available. Malley indicated that dog bites have been up over the past 4 years and ticked up a bit in 2017. He wants to see the trend over the last couple years on reported dog bite incidents. Bullock asked if there have been any pit bull bite incidents and Malley did not know if any were, but noted there have been none in the news lately. Director Butler indicated that 2 dogs have been designated as potential nuisances and the owners have appealed to the director of public safety, which is their right. Animal control officers can choose how to designate a problem animal. Councilman Litten asked if the city discerns by breed and Butler indicated that the dog is designated by its breed and appearance. Councilman Bullock and Chief Malley discussed the new policy regarding after hours animal complaints. If theres no animal warden working, the police will keep the complaint until the following day. The next step is to call an animal warden and see if they would be willing to come in and impound the animal. The last case scenario is to take a police officer off the street and drive the animal down to the pound. Councilman Bullock noted the animal control spay and neuter fund total had dropped. Chief Malley indicated that rates are set to increase and the fund is built through adoption fees. Director Butler noted that the city offers a low cost spay and neuter program that has caused the fund to dwindle. Bullock and Malley arrived at the conclusion that veterinarians are charging more for the cost of spaying and neutering and clarified that if the year end balance was to go to $0 the city would need to find more money from an alternate source. Councilman Bullock and Chief Malley also discussed the costs of jailing dropping significantly in some instances. Malley indicated this was due to policy changes by the County, as Lakewood is now using North Royalton and Huron county jails to house some of its prisoners.