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OCC reports higher caseloads and staffing gaps; director outlines modest budget remedy
Summary
The Office of Citizen Complaints reported a 9% year-to-date increase in cases (329 vs. 309) and 331 pending cases as of June 11, 2014, attributing delays to four vacancies among investigators; the mayor's proposed budget would partially restore step adjustments and permit some hires.
Director Hicks presented the Office of Citizen Complaints' (OCC) statistical and budget report to the Police Commission on June 11, saying the office has opened 329 cases to date in 2014 compared with 309 at the same point in 2013 (a 9% increase) and currently has roughly 331 pending cases.
Hicks told the commission investigator vacancies (four open positions with two temporary investigators filling in) contributed to a backlog and delays in presenting sustained-case findings to the police department. He said the mayor's proposed budget for the OCC "takes no cuts" and begins to remedy step-adjustment and attrition reductions that had reduced the OCC's personnel budget by about $300,000 in 2013'14; the proposal would allow filling some vacancies over the next year.
The director summarized May adjudication activity: two chief adjudications for neglect of duty (one for failure to collect traffic stop data and one for failure to follow juvenile protocol under Department General Order 7.01), with retraining and admonishments for the officers involved.
Hicks described recruitment steps (a recent job announcement that drew about 300 applicants), outreach to other jurisdictions and training attendance at national conferences. He also noted budget hearings at the Board of Supervisors would take place on June 18 and 25.
Commissioners asked for more detail on the juvenile-adjudication matter and other specific cases; Director Hicks offered to follow up offline where juvenile privacy allows. No commission action was taken on budget matters during the meeting; commissioners expressed appreciation for Hicks' effort to document caseload pressures and outreach work.
