minps 06-21-22 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Committee and the Chief reviewed traffic arrests and radar citations. Councilmember Baker noted that while trends are down, that as a driver and pedestrian, he often encounters drivers going unsafe speeds. Chief Kaucheck explained that traffic arrests and radar citations were down in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic. From March 2020 until mid-year of 2021, the department did not stop vehicles for licensing or equipment violations because the state was allowing licenses to expire. The department was also seeking to reduce COVID exposures. The department continued to stop drivers for unsafe driving and OVI. Councilmember Baker asked about these trends for 2022 and expressed that he would like law enforcement to part of the solution for slowing down traffic. Chief Kaucheck added that with so many new officers in training, the department does not have extra officers to dedicate to traffic enforcement and radar. He anticipated that the new ARPA funds for additional officers will help resolve this. Chief Kaucheck expressed his position that speed cameras were not a good solution to speeding and that the visibility of traffic stops acts as a better deterrent. Councilmember Baker relayed concerns from residents about excessive motorcycle noise and argued that it is a quality-of-life issue. He shared that other cities use sensor and camera technology to automatically ticket loud vehicles. Councilmember Bullock echoed the comments of the Chair, noting that traffic stops are one of the key ways in which the public interacts with the police and that they are important for quality- of-life issues. Councilmember Bullock and the Chief discussed the amount of collaboration between police, planning, and public works to address traffic calming. The committee discussed the slight increase in police response time from 2019-2021 for Priority 2 calls. Chief Kaucheck explained that the increases are extremely small and amount to only about 12 seconds. He speculated that the increase could be attributed to fewer cars on the road due to the increase in officer turnover. He explained that the city has maintained 94 officers, however, there have been 27 new officers since 2020. New officers are not automatically ready to be on the road and have to spend significant time in the police academy, in field training and with onboarding. As a result, there have been fewer cars on the road during this period. Through discussion, the Committee and Chief Kaucheck highlighted the quality work of the city's dispatchers. It was emphasized that Lakewood dispatchers handle more calls than any other westside suburb, manage calls from start to finish, and have a remarkably high level of employee retention. Councilmember Baker advocated for more than one school resource officer in the district as well as a more dedicated police presence at Lakewood Park. 2