Local Agency Formation Commission for Los AngelesCounty

Municipal Service Review

Request for Information Part III—Police Services

The Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) is conducting a municipal service review for local agencies under its jurisdiction, pursuant to Government Code sections 56425 and 56430. A municipal service review is a means for identifying and addressing the relationship between regional issues, goals and objectives and various service options. In accordance with the law, the review shall include a written statement of the LAFCO’s determinations with respect to each of the following:

  1. infrastructure needs or deficiencies;
  2. growth and population projections for the affected area;
  3. financing constraints and opportunities;
  4. cost avoidance opportunities;
  5. opportunities for rate restructuring;
  6. opportunities for shared facilities;
  7. government structure options, including advantages and disadvantages of consolidation or

reorganization of service providers;

  1. evaluation of management efficiencies; and
  2. local accountability and governance.

In addition to meeting legal requirements, this data-gathering effort will benefit agencies in several ways:

  • publication of a directory of local agencies and services they provide, which LAFCO will make available to the local agencies and the general public,
  • standardization and digitization (GIS) of maps, which LAFCO will make available to the local agencies, and
  • an opportunity for agencies to shape regional policy and plan for future growth.

In order to conduct the review, the Commission requires various documents and information about your agency. Certain information is needed more quickly than other information, and certain service reviews are being staged with different timelines than others. Thus, the Commission has established a threefour-part Request for Information (RFI). Your agency has already responded to Parts I and II of this process:

Part III: / Specific service questions

Due four weeks after issuance

Part III requests information on each service that is provided by your agency and within the scope of the service reviews. There is a separate Part III RFI for each service (fire protection, water service, law enforcement, etc.). For agencies being reviewed on expedited schedules, the Part III questions may be answered through an expedited interview process.
Part IV: / In-depth service questions (if applicable)

Due six weeks after issuance

The Commission determines which services and agencies are subject to in-depth review after completion of initial service reviews.

The Commission anticipates that multi-service agencies (like cities) will refer LAFCO to the appropriate staff person for responding to the service-specific Part III questions to. RFI Part IV will be tailored to meet the requirements of in-depth service reviews, and may be distributed to your agency after completion of the initial service reviews. The Commission anticipates the need for its consultant to contact your agency occasionally by telephone to ask clarifying questions about the information provided. The Commission has directed its consultant to make every effort to minimize the burden of its requests and interviews on your agency.

If you have questions or need assistance completing this questionnaire, please contact Ms. Serafina Grossman, Los Angeles LAFCO Government Analyst at 818-254-2454.

If you prefer to complete the survey in writing, please address or deliver your responses to:

Los Angeles Local Agency Formation Commission

700 North Central Avenue, Suite 350
Glendale, CA91203

E-Mail Address:

This Request for Information is designed for local agencies with differing service obligations, circumstances and expansion opportunities.

To assist you in responding to the RFI, there are several definitions that may prove helpful:

  • Boundaries mean the current legal boundaries of the local agency.
  • Sphere of Influence (SOI) is the LAFCO-adopted plan for the probable physical boundary and ultimate service area of the local agency. It is a plan for the agencies future boundaries and service area.
  • Annexable Expansion Area is the area outside the agency’s current boundaries and within its current sphere of influence.
  • Area outside SOI is an area outside the city/district boundary and outside the current sphere of influence.
  • Coterminous boundaries are boundaries where spheres of influence and district boundaries are identical.

1

Sept. 2, 2003 Draft

For Internal Review

Local Agency Formation Commission for Los AngelesCounty

Municipal Service Review

Request for Information

Part III

Police Protection Services

  1. Agency Name:
  1. Service Arrangement: Is your agency responsible for providing police protection services?

Yes, our agency provides police protection service by our own staff.

Yes, our agency contracts with another agency for police protection service.

Service Provider:______

Contact Name:______

Contact Phone:______

Provide a copy of the contract with your service provider. You have the option to skip the remainder of RFI Part III for Police Service if you have ensured that your provider is responding to RFI Part III for Police Service.

No.

Skip the remainder of RFI Part III for Police Service.

  1. Service Map: Provide a map indicating the primary policing area for each police station in your service area. If available, provide an electronic GIS map as well. Indicate how map is attached:

Not applicable because there is only one police station.

Print

Electronic GIS

Indicate GIS File Format: ______

  1. Service Description: Describe the nature of law enforcement functions provided directly by your agency.
  1. Crime Laboratory: Indicate how crime lab services are provided.

Direct: this agency provides its own crime lab

Lab Accredited?______

Annual Cost?______

Sheriff: this agency relies on the sheriff at no cost

Contract: this agency contracts with LAPD or another provider for crime lab services

Which Provider?______

Annual Cost?______

Which Services?______

  1. Temporary Holding Facilities: Indicate how services are provided.

Direct: this agency provides its own temporary holding facilities

Capacity______

Annual Cost?______

Sheriff: this agency relies on the sheriff at no cost

Contract: this agency contracts with another provider for temporary holding facilities

Which Provider?______

Annual Cost?______

Capacity?______

  1. Long-Term Holding Facilities: : Indicate how services are provided.

Direct: this agency provides its own long-term holding facilities

Capacity______

Annual Cost?______

Revenue Source(s)?______

Sheriff: this agency relies on the sheriff at no cost

Contract: this agency contracts with another provider for long-term holding facilities

Which Provider?______

Annual Cost?______

Capacity?______

  1. BasicAcademy Training: Indicate how basic police academy training is provided.

Direct: this agency provides its own basic academy training

Annual Cost?______

Meets POST standards?  Yes  No

Sheriff: this agency relies on the sheriff at no cost

Contract: this agency contracts with another provider for basic academy training

Which Provider?______

Annual Cost?______

Meets POST standards?  Yes  No

  1. Bomb Squad: Indicate how bomb squad service is provided.

Direct: this agency provides its own bomb squad service

Annual Cost?______

Sheriff: this agency relies on the sheriff at no cost

Contract: this agency contracts with another provider for bomb squad

Which Provider?______

Annual Cost?______

  1. Special Response Unit (SWAT): Indicate how SWAT service is provided.

Direct: this agency provides its own special response service

Annual Cost?______

Part-Time/Collateral Staffing:______

Full-Time/Dedicated Staffing:______

Sheriff: this agency relies on the sheriff at no cost

Contract: this agency contracts with another provider for SWAT service

Which Provider?______

Annual Cost?______

  1. Search and Rescue: Indicate how search and rescue service is provided.

Direct: this agency provides its own search and rescue service

Annual Cost?______

Sheriff: this agency relies on the sheriff at no cost

Contract: this agency contracts with another provider for search and rescue service

Which Provider?______

Annual Cost?______

  1. Canine Services: Indicate how canine service is provided.

Direct: this agency provides its own canine service

Annual Cost?______

Sheriff: this agency relies on the sheriff at no cost

Contract: this agency contracts with another provider for canine service

Which Provider?______

Annual Cost?______

  1. Dispatch:
  2. Describe how 911 calls are fielded and dispatched.
  1. Indicate how dispatch service is provided:

Direct: this agency provides its own dispatch services

Annual Cost?______

Staffing (FTEs)______

Sheriff: this agency relies on the sheriff

Contract: this agency contracts with another provider for dispatch service

Which Provider?______

Annual Cost?______

Staffing (FTEs)______

  1. Are there areas where improvements could be made as to dispatch?
  1. Facilities: For each police station or other facility used to provide police service, provide the following information:
  2. common name,
  3. property owner,
  4. address,
  5. purpose,
  6. other uses or other agencies using the facility,
  7. date acquired or built,
  8. condition of facility (good, fair or poor),
  9. number and types of response vehicles at the facility used to provide police field services,
  10. number, classification, and full-time/part-time status of your agency’s paid employees staffing the facility,
  11. number, classification, and full-time/part-time status of another agency’s paid employees staffing the facility, and
  12. number of volunteers available to staff the facility.
  1. New Facilities: Is your agency in the process of constructing additional police service facilities or do you have plans to construct such facilities in the next 5 years?

Yes. Provide location, purpose, construction schedule, financing mechanism, map and cost for each new facility.

No.

  1. Current Facility Needs: Does your agency need new facilities or facility upgrades that have not been constructed due to financing, or other constraints?

Yes. Describe area where new facilities are needed, and explain the constraints that have prevented your agency from building new facilities.

No.

  1. Infrastructure Needs or Deficiencies: Does your agency have infrastructure needs or deficiencies that limit your ability to provide service as the population in your service area grows over the next 10 years?
  1. Shared Facilities: Do you currently share facilities with other jurisdictions?

Yes. Describe shared facilities and arrangements.

No.

  1. Service Calls: Provide annual number of calls for police service including all 911 calls, legitimate 911 calls, crimes in progress, crime reports, alarm calls and legitimate alarm calls (as a result of break-in).
  1. Officer-Generated Activity: Provide annual number of citations, arrests, warnings and other actions.
  1. Service Levels: How are service levels described or calculated? Describe current service levels, and how service levels have changed in the last 10 years.
  1. Response Time: Provide average response time by service area and for the jurisdiction as a whole. Indicate time period to which average response time refers, and whether it is based on all dispatched calls or a sample of calls.
  1. Provider Comparisons: Are there reasons why your response times might differ from those in neighboring jurisdictions?
  1. Evaluations: Have you received in the last five years an independent technical evaluation of your services or operations?

Yes. Please provide a copy of each.

No.

  1. Citizen Complaints: If a citizen is dissatisfied with your services, how would that citizen submit a complaint? Describe number and type of complaints filed within the most recent calendar or fiscal year. Provide contact information for ombudsman or other person at your agency responsible for handling complaints.
  1. Distinguished Service: Describe any awards, honors or other accomplishments of your agency within the last five years (if previously provided in Part II, you may skip).
  1. Other Service Providers: Are there geographic areas within your jurisdiction for which you pay another agency to serve or for which another law enforcement agency has jurisdiction?

Yes. Describe area(s), reasons why the other jurisdiction is better positioned to serve the area(s).

No.

  1. Difficult-to-Serve Areas: Indicate whether there are geographic areas within your jurisdiction for which your agency has unusually long response times. Describe these areas and explain the barriers your agency currently faces in serving these areas.
  1. Contract Service: Are there geographic areas in other jurisdictions for which you are providing contract service?

Yes. Describe areas served, and reasons why the other jurisdiction cannot effectively serve that area.

No

  1. SOI Service: Are there areas within your agency’s sphere of influence (future growth area) where you would have difficulty providing adequate levels of service or that would be particularly expensive to serve?

Yes. Describe areas in that would be difficult to service if developed, explain reasons, and indicate whether another service provider could better serve those areas.

No

  1. Service Capacity: Does your agency currently have the capacity to provide police service to planned development in your future growth area?
  2. Yes
  3. No. Explain capacity constraints and any plans for remediating those constraints.
  1. Growth Effects: Are land use plans and growth patterns in your service area increasing, decreasing, or not affecting service demand?

Increasing.

Decreasing.

Not Affecting.

Don’t Know.

  1. Service Demands: How does your agency forecast service needs? How are growth projections integrated with plans for future services?
  1. Demand Growth: What is the projected growth in service demand in the next year? Five years? Ten years?
  1. Regional Collaboration: List joint powers authorities or joint decision-making efforts relevant to this particular service in which your agency participates, and any savings obtained through the partnerships.
  1. Evaluation of Management Efficiencies: Describe cooperative arrangements with other agencies that produce administrative, management and/or operational efficiencies.
  1. Opportunities for Improvement: Are there currently untapped opportunities for your jurisdiction to provide service more efficiently or effectively by collaborating with other service providers?

Yes. Describe current deficiencies or inefficiencies. Explain how collaboration or other improvements might be warranted.

No

  1. Shared Facility Opportunities: Do you see potential opportunities to share your facilities with other agencies or by sharing other agencies’ facilities?

Yes. Describe shared facility opportunities.

No.

  1. Cost Avoidance Opportunities: Do your agency’s services or facilities overlap or duplicate those provided by another agency? Could any of your agency’s services be duplicated by another agency?
  1. Financing Constraints and Opportunities: Does your agency face revenue and operating constraints that affect the level of service and condition of infrastructure of your agency? Does your agency face financing constraints in meeting future service needs as the population in your service area grows over the next 10 years?
  1. Opportunities for Rate Restructuring: Are there unmet opportunities to reduce service costs?
  1. Government Structure Options: Identify any opportunities to streamline or improve the provision of service through a reorganization of service providers.

Thank you for responding to this survey!

1