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Eug n P lic C mmi si n 2004 ANNUAL REPORT I. Introduction This staff report is submitted to the Eugene City Council to document the activities of the Police Commission during Fiscal Year (FY) 2004. This report documents how the commission has met the expectations of the City Council, as delineated in its work plan, and has responded to issues of community concern. The Police Commission is the newest of five standing City Council boards and commissions. In the past five years, the commission has become proficient at accomplishing its core objectives while continuing to evolve in response to changing community and organizational needs. This report describes how the group has responded to challenges faced in the course of carrying out its charge, and discusses new procedural objectives the commission has identified as it looks to the future. The charge of the Police Commission, described in City Ordinance 20136, can be distilled into three main components. One responsibility is to improve communication between the police and the community, thereby decreasing misunderstandings about policies and practices and helping to build consensus around preferred policing alternatives for the city. Section II-A of this report describes how, in addition to the public dialogue occurring at each meeting, the commission has met this objective. Another responsibility is to identify policy and resource issues related to preferred policing alternatives, and to assist the City Council in balancing police resources with community priorities. Section II-B discusses the commission's efforts in this area. Finally, the commission is charged with providing input on police policies and procedures that reflects community values. Section II-C reviews the progress made in meeting this objective. II. Accomplishments a. Improving Communication Between the Police and Community The Police Commission provides a forum for information sharing and dialogue on public safety issues. The meetings allow interested residents the opportunity to provide comment or just listen to deliberations on a wide range of topics related to police policies and practices. As police department staff are in attendance, one-on-one communication between residents and police employees is facilitated. The commission's meeting minutes and final reports are available on the internet for broader public access. Work sessions continue to be useful in enabling community conversations about contemporary policing issues that do not necessarily require commission action. Topics discussed this past year included police policies and practices for responding to bicycle protests, enforcement strategies for locations that generate a chronically high level of alcohol-related calls for service, a status update on changes to the municipal court traffic violation fine schedule, interim analysis of the verified alarm response procedures, and an informational session on the automated pawn property system pilot project.