HomeMy WebLinkAbout- - Attachment A - 3/30/20122008-2010 Resources Impact in the
Lions Park Vicinity on the City of
Costa Mesa
Housing and Community Development
Department
City of Costa Mesa
'r
i CeTYr77'MEAM O'
Executive Summary
This report was prepared to identify the impact on City resources from calls for police and fire
services in and near Lions Park. Since 2008, the Lions Park vicinity, including Lions Park, Fire
Station #3, Neighborhood Community Center, Downtown Recreation Center, Historical Society
and Library has experienced an increase in police calls for service while the surrounding Patrol
Area 1 has seen an overall decrease in calls for service.
Most categories of calls for service have remained constant, some experienced slight decreases,
and others experienced slight increases. The major increase was in the category of "Patrol
Checks", which is an officer initiated general disposition signifying an officer is actively
patrolling or checking a specific location for any reason. This increase is primarily attributed to
the proactive approach of the Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) initiating these Patrol
Checks. However, based on qualitative analysis from the CMPD, between 76% - 96% of calls for
service in Lions Park are reasonably attributed to the chronically homeless population in Lions
Park.
Two case studies were conducted to determine the full cost of police service provided to
chronically homeless individuals. The costs include officer costs in the field, report writing and
administrative time working on cases revolving around a single individual. There was one
individual with cases reaching back to 1993 which cost the CMPD approximately $34,234. The
second case is about another individual dating from 2010 to present cost $300.
These costs are not true operating costs but are monetary indicators of how much police officers'
time is expended in Lions Park. Since the patrol function is a sunk cost, meaning the police
officers are on patrol regardless of the type of calls for service they respond, this analysis shows
that police officers spend significant time working with the chronically homeless population.
This analysis was prepared in an effort to assist with future analysis of which strategies will best
serve the outcomes intended by the City.
Purpose
This report intends to identify the budgetary impact of calls for police service in and near Lions
Park. This report also expresses how much money and police officers' time is expended working
with the chronically homeless population in Lions Park. The data analysis gives a quantitative
perspective on the costs to the CMPD when responding to calls for service in the Lions Park
area. The purpose of identifying costs in this fashion signifies how the City's resources are
expended while working with the chronically homeless population. This analysis may help to
determine which combination of strategies are most cost effective and best serve the desired
outcomes of the residents and businesses of the City of Costa Mesa.
Methodology
Individual Cases
CMPD records track the number, type and length of police contacts with an individual. The field
time for these interactions is averaged based on the average length of that type of call from the
2008 calls for service data. When a suspect is arrested a police officer spends time on report
writing, booking procedures, transportation and guarding of a prisoner at Hoag hospital, and
transportation and booking at Orange County Jail. The CMPD estimated the above activities
average time for completion:
• Booking Time — 20 Minutes
• Hospital Time — 1.5-3 Hours
• OC Jail time — 1.5 Hours
• Report Writing — 15 Minutes
Cost of time spent on these cases can be derived from multiplying the amount of time spent
multiplied by the hourly top -step salary of a Costa Mesa Police Officer ($45.76/HR).
Patrol Costs
The CMPD's records of calls for service in Patrol Area 1 between the years of 2008 and 2010
were analyzed. Patrol Area 1 is one of two geographic patrol areas in the City; Area 1
experiences a higher call volume than Area 2. CMPD records include an event location, a short
description of the call for service, the disposition of the call, the start date and time of the
response, and the end time and date of the response. Costs were analyzed by multiplying the total
time of each call with the salary of a Top -Step Police Officer ($45.76/Hr). The calls for service
analyzed were for Patrol Area 1 as a whole, the Lions Park vicinity, and Lions Park itself. The
Lions Park vicinity includes the entire area between W. 19th to W. 18th Streets between Anaheim
Ave and Park Ave, (Lions Park, Costa Mesa Library, Costa Mesa Fire Station No 3, Historical
Society and Community Center). "Lions Park" includes 570 W. 18th St, 567 W. 18th St and the
Historical Society. Traffic related calls for service (e.g., traffic accidents and vehicle stops) in the
Lions Park vicinity were removed from the analysis.
Through a qualitative analysis process, CMPD personnel have reasonably attributed many types
of calls for service to the chronically homeless population at Lions Park. Without individually
reviewing every single call for service, this qualitative analysis is the most practical evaluation of
which calls for service are attributed to the chronically homeless and which are not. It is
important to remember that the data are only calls for service, meaning this is what a reporting
caller tells the dispatcher the suspected emergency is or what a police officer initially describes is
the incident he is responding to. What the office responds to may not be what is actually
occurring at the time of the incident. These are not crime statistics or arrest records.
The calls for service categories reasonably attributed to the chronically homeless population of
Lions Park are:
■ 11350-Drugs (possession of
a controlled substance)
■ Assault with a Deadly
Weapon
■ Battery
■ Begging
■ Bike/Bicyclist Stop
■ Burglary
■ Check Welfare
■ Disturbance, Drunk in Public
■ Fight
■ Indecent Exposure
-Keep the Peace
■ Medical Aid
■ Municipal Ordinance
Violation
■ Overdose
■ Parking Violation
■ Parole Violation
■ Patrol Check
■ Person Down
■ Police Mutual Aid
■ Police Public Assist
■ Possession of Danger
■ Resisting Police Officer
■ Robbery
■ Stolen Vehicle
■ Subject Stop
■ Suspicions Person
■ Theft
■ Trespassing
■ Unwanted Guest Refuses to
Leave
■ Vagrant/Transient
■ Vandalism
■ Warrant Arrest
■ Other
These calls are not representative of the types of calls for service frequently occurring in the
Lions Park Vicinity. "Other" includes but is not limited to, Annoying -Obscene Phone Calls,
1 The Other category of calls for service are calls in which the quantity of incidents is limited to very few
occurrences.
Brandishing Deadly Weapon, Drug Registration, Elder Abuse, Emergency Protective Order,
False Impersonation, Fire Alarm, Foot Pursuit, and Indecent Exposure.
Results
Individual Costs
Records show the first case where "Individual 1" has 571 separate contacts with Costa Mesa
Police. The first record tracks cases of an individual from 1993 to present. The interactions with
"Individual 1" cost $34,234. The chart breaks down the estimated time and costs. The total time
spent amounts to 5,451 Hours or 2 1/2 years worth of regular business hours.
Table 4
Type of Officer Primary Statute Time Total
Involvement Event Type Description Each Time Total Cost
ARREST Arrested 242 2.67 646.14 $29,567.37
CITED Citation 226 0.31 70.06 $3,205.95
CONTACT Incident 83 0.31 25.73 $1,177.40
PEDESTRIAN Citation 9 0.31 2.79 $127.67
Other
SELLER Events 1 0.31 0.31 $14.19
SUSPECT Incident 4 0.31 1.24 $56.74
WITNESS Incident 4 0.31 1.24 $56.74
INVESTIGATIVE Incident 2 0.31 0.62 $28.37
Totals: 571 4.84 748.13 $34,234.43
"Individual 2" has 9 separate incidents dating from 2010 to 2011. The interactions with
"Individual 2" cost $300 with a total time of approximately 6 hours and 30 minutes.
Table 5
Type of Officer Event Primary Statute Total Time
Involvement Type Description in Hours Cost Comment
Arrestee Incident Warrant Arrest 3.58 $163.97 (1)
Arrestee Incident Drunk in Public 0.92 $41.95 (2)
Cited Citation Not specified 0.31 $14.19 (2)
Cited Citation Not specified 0.31 $14.19 (2)
Cited Citation Not specified 0.31 $14.19 (2)
Contact Incident Miscellaneous non -crime 0.31 $14.19 (2)
Cited Citation Not specified 0.31 $14.19 (2)
Contact Incident Assault on a Peace Officer 0.17 $7.63
Investigative Incident Lost/Found Property 0.34 $15.56
Totals: 6.56 $300.03
(1) Time includes average times for: Booking Hospital time, OC Jail time, Report Writing.
(2) 0.31 time for "citation(s)" and "incident" based on average of cost of all "muni ordinance viola" for all Area 1, 2008.
Patrol Costs
Since 2008, there was an overall increase in cost and time spent patrolling Lions Park (Table 1).
Since 2008, there was a decrease in the number of calls for service and costs in Patrol Area 1 and
an increase in calls for service and costs in the Lions Park Vicinity. Some of the increased calls
for service in Lions Park between 2008 and 2010 are attributed to the increased proactive patrol
checks by the CMPD in the Lions Park vicinity. There were a total of 9 patrol checks of Lions
Park in 2008 compared to 299 in 2010 (Table 2). From 2008 to 2010, the percentage cost of
police patrol activity and time spent on calls in the Lions Park vicinity has increased from 3% to
4% (Chart 4, 5). Lions Park has increased from <1% to 2% (Chart 4, 5).
Chart 1, Calls for Service in Lions Park Vicinity by Category
400
I
V 350 r ���• DISTURBANCE
300 = ,fyr
v� r
0 25� _ r� • • • • • .. r•:1UNI ORDINAN[T'VIOLA
u PATROLCHEC.K
0 150 -
100 SUBIECTSTOP
z 50 - -
0 _ SUSPICIOUSPERSON
2008 2009 2010
VAGRANT17RANSIENT
Year
There are few discernable trends in the types of calls for service:
• Patrol checks in the Lions Park vicinity increased. Calls for service
described as
"transient/vagrant" also slightly increased. (Note: the Vagrant/Transient category is only
a call for service disposition, and is in no way to be construed as a crime.)
• There is an increase of multiple types of calls for service under the heading of "other"
while municipal code violations have slightly decreased (Chart 2).
Table 1 Cost Summary Calendar Year 2008-2010
Calls for
Service
Median
Cost
Averag
e Cost
Total Cost
Percent Costs
2008
Area 1 Total
37,860
$11.63
$23.15
$876,596.16
100%
Lions Park &Vicinit
1,261
$10.89
$20.87
$26,954.29
3%
Lions Park
200
$9.39
$15.44
$3,908.88
0%
2009
Area 1 Total
33,979
$11.06
$22.01
$814,014.84
100%
Lions Park &Vicinit
1,204
$11.44
$22.38
$21,008.81
3%
Lions Park
332
$8.72
$20.83
$6,631.00
1
2010
Area 1 Total
34,861
$9.91
$19.44
$677,648.40
100%
Lions Park &Vicinit
1,642
$9.15
$18.53
$28,621.35
4%
Lions Park
633
$9.15
$17.99
$11,385.09
2%
• Between 2008-2010, the increase in Patrol Checks was largest while all other categories
showed only small fluctuations.
• Based on information from the CMPD, the number of Subject Stops (generally officer
initiated), most likely decreased because the patrol officers are entering Patrol Checks as
their disposition on their Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) instead of Subject Stop.
Chart 2, Calls for Service in Lions Park Vicinity by Category
400
V 350 DISTURBANCE
7 300
m
O 250 •••••• M IIN I ORDINANCE VIOLA
I
Suspicious Person, Theft, Trespassing, Unwanted Guest Refuses to Leave, Vagrant/Transient,
Vandalism, Warrant Arrest, and Other.
Chart 3, Number of Calls far Service Reasonahly Attributed
to Chronically Homeless in lions INrk
7m
600
boo
400
■ Lions Park How Homeless
Attributed
aoo ■ Lions Park Homeless
Auribu[ed
200
100
0
LUCK 2LIn LZii
The caveat to this type of qualitative analysis is that it is no exact calculation and there may be
calls for service excluded because they are not believed to be attributed to the homeless. This
analysis serves as a baseline to identify what is occurring at Lions Park.
It is also important to note that these statistics are not crime statistics, but are statistics of types
of calls for service received by the CMPD. They are categorized by what the reporting party
describes to the dispatcher as the apparent need for service or what the police officer records as
the initial reason to take action. Not all categories are crimes merely descriptors of a type of
action taken by a patrol officer. Finally, these statistics are not arrest statistics.
Summary
This quantitative examination of CMPD costs in the Lions Park area is an estimate of costs and
not figures from the annual operating budget. Police officer salaries and patrol shifts are already
budgeted. This report expresses how much money and officers' time is expended working with
the chronically homeless population in Lions Park. The purpose of isolating these costs in this
fashion is to help identify the way the City's resources are currently expended to address the
needs of the chronically homeless population to determine whether a different strategy is
merited.
Appendix
Table 2, PD Stats
2008
2009
2010
AREA 1
LIONS
PARK &
VICINITY
LIONS
PARK
AREA 1
LIONS
PARK &
VICINITY
LIONS
PARK
AREA 1
LIONS
PARKS,
VICINITY
LIONS
PARK
11350-DRUGS
115
8
1
138
6
0
121
8
2
30DAYIMPOUND
368
5
0
294
2
0
208
4
0
911 CALL NO VOICE
931
76
13
2439
41
16
2782
72
0
ADW -ADVISE ON MEDI
52
3
1
48
0
0
41
0
0
ALARM RESPONSE
112
76
17
1110
43
2
1214
40
4
ANIMAL CONTROL INCID
1109
22
13
1077
29
16
1481
21
10
BATTERY
224
12
2
243
16
7
223
12
2
BEGGING
40
15
0
65
15
0
43
13
0
BIKE/BICYCLIST STOP
576
20
4
705
7
1
517
12
3
BURGLARY
134
17
0
48
4
0
234
7
0
CHECK WELFARE
385
8
0
424
13
0
430
17
3
CSIREQ - SEE ORIGIN
269
7
3
231
1
0
146
0
0
DEFRAUD INNKEEPER
39
1
0
32
0
0
53
1
0
DISTURBANCE
592
120
12
3909
100
11
3615
125
25
DRUNK IN PUBLIC
229
64
4
628
71
5
599
46
10
FIGHT
271
21
2
239
10
6
222
24
6
FOUND PROPERTY
40
3
1
32
4
0
43
3
1
GENERAL BROADCAST
184
4
3
163
1
0
170
1
0
INDECENT EXPOSURE
26
2
0
28
2
0
24
4
1
KEEP THE PEACE
349
9
3
569
13
3
529
10
1
MEDICALAID
227
12
3
315
27
2
365
23
4
MISSING PERSON
2
3
1
4
0
0
64
0
0
MUNI ORDINANCE VIOLA
614
119
27
601
98
55
472
64
31
OVERDOSE
46
1
0
42
1
0
55
3
0
PARKING VIOLATION
925
8
0
786
3
0
730
18
0
PAROLE VIOLATION
73
2
1
35
2
1
23
3
0
PATROLCHECK
784
19
9
1038
112
90
1928
347
299
PERSON DOWN
232
17
0
232
0
0
251
23
2
POLICE MUTUAL AID
193
3
0
186
3
0
180
2
0
POLICE PUBLIC ASSIST
201
14
7
221
10
4
240
9
2
POSSESSION OF DANGER
88
8
1
72
1
0
73
3
0
RAPE
7
3
0
1
0
0
6
1
0
REPORT
502
46
2
1109
53
7
1433
90
13
RESISTING POLICE OFF
34
1
0
27
3
1
20
2
1
ROBBERY
20
3
1
9
1
0
25
1
0
STOLEN VEHICLE
127
3
0
114
0
0
85
2
0
SUBJECT STOP
1325
188
34
1159
145
41
1127
111
36
SUSPICIOUS PERSON
1690
84
10
1657
70
9
1676
69
12
THEFT
225
25
3
178
14
1
336
15
1
TRESPASSING
152
7
0
112
22
0
114
8
1
UNWANTED GUEST REFUS
160
15
1
191
15
0
167
18
1
VAGRANT/TRANSIENT
585
107
6
659
117
11
722
140
11
VANDALISM
109
13
3
626
13
0
367
7
0
WARRANTARREST
616
26
6
511
23
8
399
24
14
OTHER
22878
41
9
14905
93
35
11310
239
137
TOTAL
37860
1261
203
37212
1204
332
34861
1642
633
Chart 4, 2008 CMPD Calls for Service Cost
Lions Park
$4,000 (¢1%)
Lions Park 8,
Vicinity
$27,000 (3%)
Area 1
$877,000 (97%)
Chart 5, 2010 CMPD Calls for Service Cost
Lions Park
$11,000 (2%)
Lions Park &
Vicinity
$28,000 (4%)
Area 1
$677,000 (94%)
Chart 6, Number of Calls for Service
Attributed to Chronically Homeless in
Lions Park Vicinity
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
■VidnityNon-
800
Homeless Attributed
■Vicinity Homeless
600
Attributed
400
200
0
2008 2009 2010
Calls for Service Comparison Calendar Year 2008-2010
Table 3
Calls for Service
Percent of Calls
Total Cost
Percent Cost
2008
Lions Park Non -Homeless Attributed
200
26%
$3,908.88
19%
Lions Park Homeless Attributed
148
74%
$3,152.18
81%
Vicinity Non -Homeless Attributed
1261
21 %
$26,954.29
22%
Vicinity Homeless Attributed
1000
79%
$21,099.11
78%
2009
Lions Park Non -Homeless Attributed
332
18%
$6,631.00
29%
Lions Park Homeless Attributed
272
82%
$4,701.27
71
Vicinity Non -Homeless Attributed
1204
19%
$21,008.81
9%
Vicinity Homeless Attributed
973
81%
$19,213.09
91%
2010
Lions Park Non -Homeless Attributed
633
6%
$11,385.09
9%
Lions Park Homeless Attributed
593
94°/
$10,406.59
91
Vicinity Non -Homeless Attributed
1642
17%
$28,621.35
22%
Vicinity Homeless Attributed
1359
83%
$22,451.38
78%
Chart 7, Calls for Service Cost Reasonably
Attributed to Chronically Homeless at Lions
Park
Sv nnn
51UMO
AM()
$G,W�
$4,W0
S? t1fNi
2R08 ION 2R10
■ Linns Park Non-
H—Ims Atlri huted
■ Lions Park Homeless
A mbuted
Chart a, Calls for SeMce Cost Reasonably Attributed to
Chronleally Homeless in lions Park Vidnity
5"AAM
VIAN
5MAtr1
•yriuftYN—fi. ales
5a;Atr1 Attributed
• Vr i6ty Homeless
Attributed
Wfim
""no
m
Chart 9, Number of Calls For Serui m Att ri buted
to Chron ical ly Home lessor Lions Park Vicinity
1600
1400
1200
1000
■ VTrinity No,
$,30 Hnme-I-,
Attnburr-d
- Virinity
15,E Home-Inss
AttnbutM
470
2.30
200ft 2009 2010
Fire Responses and Costs to the Homeless at Lion's Park
Year
ALS
or
BLS
Unit
Minutes
on Call Cost
0 IL
04/05/2009
ALS
E83
45 Paramedic Engine Company Response
08/17/2009
BLS
E83
18 Paramedic Engine Company Response
09/06/2010
BLS
E83
16 Paramedic Engine Company Response
10/12/2009
ALS
E83
33 Paramedic Engine Company Response
10/15/2009
BLS
E83
21 Paramedic Engine Company Response
11/02/2009
BLS
E84
31 Paramedic Engine Company Response
11/28/2009
BLS
E83
10 Paramedic Engine Company Response
Totals = 1 174 1 $22,011.00
16 Paramedic Engine Company Response
01/14/2010
BLS
E83
02/17/2010
BLS
E83
15 Paramedic Engine Company Response
03/24/2010
ALS
E83
50 Paramedic Engine Company Response
06/26/2010
ALS
E83
51 Paramedic Engine Company Response
07/12/2010
BLS
E83
17 Paramedic Engine Company Response
09/12/2010
BLS
E83
15 Paramedic Engine Company Response
09/27/2010
BLS
E83
15 Paramedic Engine Company Response
10/14/2010
BLS
E85
31 Paramedic Engine Company Response
11/02/2010
BLS
E83
Paramedic Engine Company Response
11/03/2010
ALS
E83
Paramedic Engine Company Response
E47
EI
11/04/2010
BLS
E83
17 Paramedic Engine Company Response
Totals = 288 $36,432.00 165% Increase from year 2009
Totals for 2 Years = 462 $58,443.00
Note: Paramedic Engine Company = 1 Captain at $35.53/hour, 1 Engineer at $30.77 and 2 Paramedics at
$30.10/hour (each) = $126.50/hour for Paramedic Engine response. The salaries were based on step 5 of the
salary resolution and and 13% paramedic bonus.