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MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE JUNE 21, 2022 AUDITORIUM Present: Councilmembers Baker (Chair) & Shachner Also Present: Councilmembers Bullock, Kepple, Chief Kaucheck, Chief of Staff John Storey, Clerk Bach taking minutes Call to Order: 6:51 p.m. Approval of the minutes of the May 16,2022 meeting of the Public Safety Committee. A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the May 16, 2022 meeting of the Public Safety Committee. All members voted in favor. Motion passed. Minutes approved. Communication from President Litten regarding Lakewood Police Department Annual Report (Referred to PS 4/4/22) Chief Kaucheck explained to the committee that in 2018 the department switched its method for crime reporting to an incident-based system. He provided examples and further explanation of the change, stating that for this reason, it is not appropriate to compare crime statistics before 2018 with statistics after 2018. The Committee and Chief Kaucheck discussed Crisis Intervention Training (CIT). CIT training is optional, but nearly half of officers are CIT trained. Normally there are multiple CIT-trained officers working each shift. Dispatch helps officers to identify calls in need of a CIT officer. The committee reviewed statistics on CIT calls, noting that CIT calls in 2020 and 2021 did not result in any arrests, which is optimal. The Committee reviewed the investigative division statistic and learned from Chief Kaucheck why some cases are left open, and others closed. He explained that most closed cases are property crimes. Cases may be left open while waiting for DNA evidence to be processed. The Committee and the Chief reviewed drug overdose statistics. Chief Kaucheck shared his theory that drug overdoses were potentially stable or increasing due to the availability of Narcan. He explained that overdoses can be treated at home with Narcan and not reported to police. He reported that there has been an uptick in meth, but that opioids and fentanyl are the biggest issues currently in Lakewood. Councilmember Shachner shared that overdose cases are usually dismissed with proof of treatment. Chief Kaucheck stated that he has not followed the overdose cases through the Court, so he is unaware of how many have been dismissed. The Committee and the Chief reviewed the violent crime statistics. Chief Kaucheck asserted that nearly all major armed robberies that have been on the news have been solved. He explained some of the factors which make tracking and documenting prosecutions of these crimes difficult. 1