Title
Olympia Police Department Strategic Plan and Comprehensive Study Briefing
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Receive a briefing on the status of the Olympia Police Department (OPD) Strategic Plan and Comprehensive Study.
Report
Issue:
Whether to receive a briefing on the status of the OPD Strategic Plan and Comprehensive Study.
Staff Contact:
Rich Allen, Chief, Olympia Police Department, 360.753.8147
Presenter(s):
Rich Allen, Chief, Olympia Police Department
Sam Costello, Deputy Chief, Olympia Police Department
Shelby Parker, Deputy Chief, Olympia Police Department
Background and Analysis:
During the summer of 2023, OPD underwent a Comprehensive Department Analysis (staffing study) and started developing a new Strategic Plan.
To ensure both projects aligned with the City’s Reimagining Public Safety initiative and the City Comprehensive Plan, OPD partnered with the City’s Office of Performance and Innovation.
The purpose of the Strategic Plan is to clarify the Department’s role in the City, determine how to leverage the City’s resources, develop goals and strategies to guide the department’s actions, and demonstrate progress in implementing recommendations reflected in the Reimagining Public Safety initiative.
The development process included internal staff surveys and focus groups, the recently completed OPD Comprehensive Department Analysis (staffing study), the 2022 Citywide Resident Satisfaction Survey, and insights yielded through the Reimagining Public Safety initiative. The result was a set of recommendations that reflected the voice of the community and an overall approach that builds partnerships, enhances public safety to strengthen community trust, and improves both internal and external communications.
The recently completed Comprehensive Analysis provided several recommendations including the hiring of additional staff, which is crucial for the successful implementation of the Strategic Plan.
For this agenda item, Chief Allen and Deputy Chiefs Costello and Parker will provide an update on the Strategic Plan. This will include highlighting accomplishments and providing an overview of the development process, the plan’s mission, vision, values, goals, and strategies to guide the Department’s priorities and allocation of resources over the next five years.
While a briefing on the comprehensive study was provided to the Community Livability and Public Safety Committee on May 24, 2023, this presentation will also cover the Comprehensive Plan’s implementation strategy, the recommendations and methodology used, the costs associated with the plan, and the proposed use of the recent “Prop 1” public safety levy funds.
Climate Analysis:
While the Strategic Plan itself will have no direct effect on greenhouse gas emissions, the addition of staff necessitates more patrol vehicles, which will increase fuel consumption.
Equity Analysis:
Consistent with the Reimagining Public Safety initiative, the Strategic Plan provides a holistic approach that balances compassion and accountability to improve the community’s feeling and experiences of safety. The Department strives to leading with equity and social justice and treating people with dignity and respect.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
As part of the Reimagining Public Safety initiative, a community work group of eight community members, representing a cross-section of demographics, expertise, and experiences, led an 18-month effort to understand how Olympia community members experience public safety. In December 2022, the City Council accepted a set of recommendations on how to reimagine public safety. There’s widespread interest in how the recommendations will continue to be implemented.
Financial Impact:
It is estimated the City will receive $2.2 million annually as a result of the passage of the public safety levy in Thurston County. The proposed implementation that will be discussed uses this revenue to partially fund the additional full-time employees the Comprehensive Plan recommends. The implementation plan is broken into phases. Phase 1, being the use of the levy funds. Phase 2 demonstrates that approximately $952,00 of additional revenue will be needed to fully implement the recommendations.
Options:
1. Receive the briefing.
2. Do not receive the briefing.
3. Receive the briefing at another time.
Attachments:
Comprehensive Department Analysis