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Supporting the strengthening of community and Saint Paul Police safety.
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WHEREAS, The St. Paul Police Department's mission is to promote safe and healthy neighborhoods through strong, professional partnerships with those they serve in our diverse community; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Police Department has a long tradition of finding new and innovative ways to interact with and build trust with Saint Paul residents; and
WHEREAS, body-worn cameras have been shown to protect both police officers and community members by incentivizing both parties to reduce or eliminate the use of force; and
WHEREAS, body-worn cameras can help preserve evidence from crime scenes and accurately capture multiple witness' account of an incident, leading to more resolved crimes and stronger legal cases; and
WHEREAS, currently, only 22% of full-time sworn Saint Paul Police Department Officers live in the City of Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, state law prohibits mandatory residency within a jurisdiction as a condition of employment; and
WHEREAS, studies have shown that the community benefits from police offices living alongside them because it builds relationships and trust, gives the Police Officers an inside perspective of a neighborhood and adds a level of security to a neighborhood; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council asks that the Saint Paul Police Department work over the coming year to develop a body-worn camera pilot program that includes best practices for data privacy to be launched in the budget year 2016. The Saint Paul City Council further requests that the Saint Paul Police Department report back to the Council by May 1, 2015, on its progress on the body-worn camera pilot program identifying a 2016 budget proposal, long-term budget impact, a timeline for implementation, state law regulatory issues, including data creation, maintenance, access and retention issues, and any outstanding issues and that it reports back to the Council by September 1, 2015 on further progress and a specific budget recommendation for 2016; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council supports state legislative changes establishing a uniform state-wide law governing the data generated by the use of police body-worn cameras, as well as other police operated cameras; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the City's Office of Financial Services, the Office of Human Resources, the Office of the City Attorney, and the Saint Paul Police Department work together and report back to the City Council by May 1, 2015 on a plan to create financial incentives for sworn officers to buy or rent homes in the City of Saint Paul to be launched through a pilot program in the budget year 2016. This report is to include exploration of potential incentives, the legality of potential incentives, and the effect of potential incentives for sworn officers upon other bargaining groups; and be it finally
RESOLVED, the City Council requests that the Saint Paul Police Department and the Office of Human Resources meet and confer with the Saint Paul Police Federation regarding the development of the above-referenced reports provided that any implementation of the recommendations in the reports complies with the Minnesota Public Employee Labor Relations Act.