Phoenix council receives one‑year update on public safety reforms, data systems and behavioral health response

PHOENIX — City officials presented a one‑year progress report on public safety improvements, reporting completed policy changes, new data systems and expanded behavioral health response teams aimed at reducing avoidable police contacts and improving accountability.

The city manager’s office said 25 of 37 council‑approved action items are complete (about 70%), and the police department said it launched the Motorola PremierOne records management system to replace an older Hexagon system and to enable National Incident‑Based Reporting System (NIBRS) reporting. "This is a major step forward," Deputy/assistant presenters said during the update.

Police leadership described three linked priorities guiding their work: crime reduction, community trust and continuous improvement. Chief Matt Giordano outlined a new strategic framework and said the department has added analytic capacity, staffing and training. Assistant Chief Benza and assistant director Jody Wolf said the department has hired four research analysts and a supervisor in an organizational integrity bureau, restructured professional standards procedures, expanded training and delivered new public‑facing policies. The department reported 136 recruits hired as of July and said it pursued changes to Arizona Post Board procedures to allow certain waivers for…