Mesa Police Department 2002 Annual Report

Office of the Chief of Police

Legal Unit

The Police Legal Unit operates at Staff level and answers directly to the Office of the Chief of Police. The unit consists of two full-time attorneys and a legal secretary and has the following responsibilities:

• Provide legal advice on Department issues to all members on an as-needed basis.
• Review personnel issues and recommend procedures to resolve problems.
• Assist Internal Affairs, Special Investigations, Narcotics, and other special units as requested.
• Attend shooting investigations involving department members.
• Liaison with other police agencies, the courts, prosecutors, and federal agencies.
• Develop comprehensive in-service training programs and aids.
• Draft contracts, ordinances, and intergovernmental agreements.
• Publish Police Law articles.
• Remain current in all Arizona, 9th Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court decisions as well as new legislation and ensure that policies comply.
• Review and suggest resolution of claims against the department.
• Provide guidance regarding public records law.
• Make presentations to the Police Committee and the City Council.

Internal Affairs Section

The Internal Affairs Section receives and ensures the timely investigation of complaints alleging inadequate customer service, misconduct, or unlawful actions by any Mesa Police Department employee.  A lieutenant and three sergeants staff this section.

The Polygraph Section is comprised of two polygraph examiners who conduct examinations for select internal and criminal investigations. The examiners also conduct pre-employment polygraphs. The section administered 629 exams in 2002.

Professional Standards

Comprised of a Lieutenant, Accreditation Officer, Policies and Procedures Analyst and Administrative Services Assistant, the Professional Standards Section is tasked with the research and development of new and revised department orders, the development of new section supplemental manuals, the annual quality inspection of department operations, ongoing collection of compliance proofs for the Department’s Accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), the development and control of department forms, and finally the administration of the department’s Redaction Program. In addition, section members may be called on to conduct specialized inspections by the Chief of Police and his command staff.

The year 2002 saw the continued development of new policies and forms, the redesign of existing supplemental manuals to our new format style, the continued coordination and collection of CALEA proofs of standard compliance, and the development of a new database system by the Accreditation Officer and System’s Section designed to manage department accreditation documentation. In addition, section members assisted other Valley agencies including Phoenix, Glendale, Chandler, and Peoria, as well as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, in the development of policies and procedures and pursuit of CALEA re-accreditation through supporting assessments.

The year 2003 will see ongoing efforts to complete the manual conversion process and a gathering of forces to begin the campaign toward another successful CALEA onsite in 2004.

Planning and Analysis

Planning and Analysis is staffed by one civilian Police Planning Analyst. The goals of the unit are to 1) respond to any direct inquiries from the chief's office, 2) support all other units to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of police department operations, and 3) assist in strategic decision-making. These goals are achieved primarily through obtaining information about community needs and perceptions, employee opinions, and operations of other police departments in the nation. The Planning Unit also produces the department's annual report, which comes out in the spring and can be found on the City of Mesa Police website.

Community Survey
The Planning unit conducted a community survey at the beginning of the year to gain a better perspective of community perceptions of the police, assess how well those in contact with the police feel they are treated, and assess concerns about safety. The Mesa Police received high ratings, with 85% giving "excellent" or "good" ratings overall.

Other findings from the survey reveal:

• 94% of Mesa residents feel safe during the day and 79% felt safe at night.
• Perceptions of police activity ratings are generally high, and include:

• The top 3 most important issues for the Mesa Police Department to be addressing include enforcing traffic laws, crime and violence, and fighting drugs.
• Mesa Police personnel receive high service quality ratings; 88% of citizens who have had contact with the Mesa Police provide an overall rating of "excellent" or "good".
• Increased visibility / more police presence is the number one recommendation to improve police services.

Crime Analysis

The members of the Crime Analysis Unit are dedicated to providing support for the tactical, strategic and administrative needs of the police department and the community. They utilize the most current technology and methods available to collect, process and communicate information related to police calls for service and criminal activities in the community. The unit members use a variety of computer hardware and software systems as tools to aid in this process.

The focus of the unit is to provide timely and accurate information to support the tactical decisions and needs of the police department while also supporting the other departmental needs. The analysts are assigned geographically to each of the four patrol districts and to assist in a variety of Criminal Investigations. The Crime Analysis members are currently involved in several projects to enhance their ability to track and analyze the crime trends and patterns that occur within the city. These enhancements will provide valuable support to community policing activities, crime prevention and awareness, patrol activities, and investigations.

The Crime Analysis Unit maintains an information website dedicated to providing citizens with current information. It includes calls for service and crimes for the entire city, most frequent intersection related accident locations, Junior High and High School calls for service, Uniform Crime Report totals, and calls for service to multi-housing facilities. *As of Jan 1, 2003, the Crime Analysis Unit will only provide multi-housing statistics on the Internet site regarding properties that are members of the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program that is offered to all of the Mesa multi-housing properties through the Mesa Police Department. The Crime Analysis Unit will also no longer publish hard copies of the quarterly and annual statistical report on beat activities. This information will be maintained on the Internet Site and can be printed via computer access.  [News Article: "Mesa Police at 'Cutting Edge' in Crime Mapping"]
Please visit the Crime Analysis website at: www.Mesaaz.gov/police/crime_analysis/default.aspx.

Type of Call	Average Response Time (in Minutes)
E-Emergency Calls *	3.6
Prioirty 1  **	7.2
Priority 2 ***	26.3

* Emergency calls include any life threatening call with great possibility of death or serious injury or any confrontation between people which could threaten the life or safety of any person, such as the following:

• Homicides
• Questionable Deaths
• Fatal Accidents
• Officer involved shootings and/or incidents with injury
• When any City employee becomes involved in a shooting or an incident results in serious injury or death
• Armed robberies involving a large amount of cash or injury
• SWAT and/or Bomb callout
• Major fires
• Fires involving City property and/or schools
• Civil Disorders including floods, storms, toxic waste incidents, riots, demonstrations
• Any major incident involving City property
• Large narcotic seizures

** Priority One calls include any crime in progress, which might result in a threat to injury of a person, or major loss of property or immediate apprehension of a suspect. It also includes accidents with injury or other traffic incidents that create a traffic hazard.

*** Priority Two calls include minor in-progress/just occurred calls, where there is no threat of personal injury or major loss of property, and citizens who comes in to the Main Police station, 130 N. Robson.

Public Information Office

The Public Information Office (PIO) is comprised of a sergeant, one detective and a special events coordinator. The Public Information Officers (PIOs) serve as liaisons between the department and the media on behalf of the Chief of Police. The sergeant and detective assigned to this position typically respond to major crime scenes and other incidents, and maintain an office where media representatives receive information regarding police incidents.

The PIOs also alert the media to innovative programs initiated by the department and offer responses to their inquiries. They also schedule press conferences as needed for major news releases. All of the PIOs are active members of the National Information Officer's Association.

The Special Events Coordinator handles all special events in which the Mesa Police Department is involved. These projects include, Cops & Robbers Golf Tournament, Law Enforcement Torch Run, Red Ribbon activities, and many others.

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