Date:

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Place:

Anderson Room

Richmond City Hall

Present:

Councillor Derek Dang, Chair

Councillor Ken Johnston, Vice-Chair

Councillor Evelina Halsey-Brandt

Councillor Greg Halsey-Brandt

Councillor Bill McNulty

Mayor Malcolm Brodie

Also Present:

Councillor Sue Halsey-Brandt

Call to Order:

The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.

MINUTES

It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee held on Tuesday, June 14, 2011, be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

Tuesday, September 13, 2011, (tentative date) at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson Room

LAW AND COMMUNITY SAFETY DEPARTMENT

1.

RCMP's Monthly Report – May 2011 Activities

(File Ref. No. 09-5000-01) (REDMS No. 3232143)

Renny Nesset, OIC, Richmond RCMP, reviewed the RCMP’s May 2011 activities.

Discussion ensued regarding the increase in firearm related incidents and residential break and enters.  OIC Nesset commented on the manner in which the RCMP records and classifies such cases, noting that classification groups can be quite broad.

In reply to queries from Committee, OIC Nesset stated that (i) disability parking passes are generic, however eligible users of the passes must carry a disability identification card; and (ii) there have been no formal studies on the effectiveness of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program, however, the program was implemented district-wide in the 2004/2005 school year to all Grade 5 students in Richmond.

It was moved and seconded

That the OIC’s report entitled “RCMP’s Monthly Report – May 2011 Activities” dated June 8, 2011, be received for information.

CARRIED

2.

RCMP Three Year Resourcing Plan: 2012 – 2014

(File Ref. No. 09-5000-01) (REDMS No. 3235085)

In reply to queries from Committee, OIC Nesset and Lainie Goddard, Manager, RCMP Administration, advised the following:

§         

the figures listed in the table on Page 3 of the OIC’s report dated June 17, 2011 entitled “RCMP Three Year Resourcing Plan: 2012 – 2014” are projected costs;

§         

the professional standards unit is responsible for the coordination and investigation of complaints against police officers, including public complaints received by the Public Complaints Commission;

§         

an increase in resources is requested due to a substantial case load increase over the past two years;

§         

if a public complaint is egregious, a Code of Conduct investigation and a statutory investigation may be ordered by the OIC;

§         

if the OIC orders these additional investigations, the initial complaint translates into three separate investigations, thereby tripling the amount of work necessary to complete the files;

§         

it is not anticipated that an additional position in the Computer Services division be cost neutral, however the detachment would see better efficiencies; and

§         

the retention of unsolved cases vary depending on the crime committed.

Committee requested that a past staff report regarding the RCMP’s staff complement be re-circulated to Council for information.

Discussion ensued regarding RCMP officers gaining the right to unionize and its potential effects to the City of Richmond.

Phyllis Carlyle, General Manager, Law & Community Safety, referred to discussions with Assistant Commissioner Norm Lipinski and updated Committee on the status of the RCMP officers gaining the right to unionize.

A comment was made that crime trend statistics be provided to Council when considering the 2012 Operating Budget Additional Levels.

It was moved and seconded

That the report of the Officer in Charge, Richmond RCMP Detachment dated June 17, 2011 entitled “RCMP Three Year Resourcing Plan: 2012 – 2014” and the attachment entitled “RCMP Priority 2012-2014” be received for information.

CARRIED

3.

Discussion ensued and Committee commented on the community’s endorsement of community police stations.  Staff advised that a survey conducted by the Parks and Recreation Department was performed several years ago.  Also, a suggestion was made that the staff report be received for information as no action from Council is required.

In reply to queries from Committee, staff advised that (i) the Community Police Offices (CPOs) are open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; (ii) a sub-detachment will be opening soon along the Canada Line; (iii) volunteers at the CPOs vary in demographics; and (iv) the Richmond RCMP continue to liaise with Transit Police.

It was moved and seconded

That the report of the Officer in Charge, Richmond RCMP Detachment dated May 24, 2011 entitled “South Arm / Steveston Community Policing Offices (CPOs)” be received for information.

CARRIED

4.

Community Bylaws – May 2011 Activity Report

(File Ref. No. 12-8060-01) (REDMS No. 3237137)

Wayne Mercer, Manager, Community Bylaws, commented on the total number of notices of bylaw violations and noted that a significant number of those notices are related to the analysis of disability parking permits.

Discussion ensued regarding meter vandalism and Mr. Mercer advised that the City loses revenue due to the meter repair costs and the meter being out of service.

It was moved and seconded

That the Community Bylaws Monthly Activity Report dated June 17, 2011, from the General Manager, Law & Community Safety, be received for information.

CARRIED

5.

Fire 20/20 Workshop ‘Recruiting and Retaining Diversity in the Fire Service’

(File Ref. No. 09-5000-01) (REDMS No. 3242775)

In reply to queries from Committee, Kim Howell, Deputy Chief –Administration, advised the following:

§         

Richmond Fire-Rescue first learned of Fire 20/20 at a conference several years ago;

§         

the workshop is valued at $10,000, which includes costs for facilitators, travel, accommodations, meals and so forth;

§         

the workshop will bring together teams from eight to ten fire departments;

§         

each team will be comprised of four to five individuals including the fire chief, a labour leader, a recruitment officer, a diversity representative and a Human Resources representative; and

§         

as the host department, Richmond Fire-Rescue will be permitted to have a second team.

In reply to a comment made by Committee, Ms. Carlyle advised that Richmond Fire-Rescue is seeking Council’s approval for the ‘Recruiting and Retaining Diversity in the Fire Service’ workshop as it is a multi-jurisdictional workshop and involves sponsorship.

Discussion ensued and Committee requested that they be updated on the results of the workshop.

It was moved and seconded

That Richmond Fire Rescue's request to host a Fire 20/20 workshop on September 15 and 16, 2011, entitled “Recruiting and Retaining Diversity in the Fire Service” be approved.

CARRIED

6.

FIRE Chief Briefing

(Oral Report) 

Item for discussion:

Official Opening of Fire Hall No. 2

John McGowan, Fire Chief, Richmond Fire-Rescue, highlighted that it is anticipated that a public open house be held on October 1, 2011.

7.

RCMP/OIC Briefing

(Oral Report) 

Item for discussion:

At this point in the meeting, there was consensus to discuss a staff report entitled “RCMP Secondment” from the General Manager, Law & Community Safety (attached to and forming part of these Minutes as Schedule 1).

Ms. Carlyle advised that a Richmond RCMP Constable was seconded and is currently working for the City of Vancouver to investigate the recent activity surrounding the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  She noted that secondments typically take place to handle emergencies or special events, and the recent secondment of a Richmond RCMP Constable did not follow any of the typical secondment protocols.

Discussion ensued and Committee expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation, commenting that the City should have been consulted and have had the opportunity for input.

Discussion further ensued and it was noted that the Richmond RCMP would be seeking funding for four additional regular members and two municipal employees through the 2012 Operating Budget Additional Levels.  A comment was made that the secondment of a Richmond RCMP Constable in such a manner completely compromises the RCMP’s analysis of future staffing requirements.

Councillor Johnston left the meeting (5:17 p.m.) and did not return.

It was moved and seconded

That:

(1)

the Solicitor General be requested to pay to the City of Richmond the full costs of the Richmond constable’s secondment to the City of Vancouver;

(2)

the Assistant Commissioner Norm Lipinski, officer in charge of the Lower Mainland District, be advised that the City of Richmond does not support the secondment of the RCMP constable from the local detachment to the City of Vancouver unless the full costs of the constable’s secondment are paid to the City of Richmond and that in the future, the City of Richmond should be consulted prior to making such secondments; and

(3)

the other municipalities who have officers to be seconded to the City of Vancouver be advised of Council’s position.

CARRIED

8.

MANAGER’S REPORT

Fire Chief McGowan spoke of the Integrated Partnership for Regional Emergency Management (IPREM) and noted that it is a partnership formed between the Province and Metro Vancouver.  He stated that IPREM is a project aimed at coordinating or facilitating regional emergency planning, strategies and concepts for emergencies or disasters that are cross- jurisdictional.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved and seconded

That the meeting adjourn (5:25 p.m.).

CARRIED

Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Tuesday, July 12, 2011.

_________________________________

_________________________________

Councillor Derek Dang

Chair

Hanieh Floujeh

Committee Clerk