TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager to work with the Police Department to present the February 9, 2023 memorandum on public safety communications to the City Council in 30 days.
DISCUSSION
The recent TFF from February 9, 2023 discusses the numerous forms of communication the Police Department uses to inform the community of police activity within Long Beach. These tools are an effective way to communicate real time public safety concerns such as road closures, police activity, safety advisories, and the ability to seek the public’s help in locating a suspect or missing person.
The document describes current tools and technologies such as:
· The deployment of Community Liaison Officers to engage with community members during critical incidents
· City Council Notifications, which are made in a timely manner to the City Manager, Mayor, Councilmembers, and Department Directors via email
· The use of Alert Long Beach to send thousands of messages within minutes via phone, email and text messages to alert residents and businesses of ongoing incidents
· Using social media to provide real-time information regarding situations that are impacting a specific area
· Using news releases to provide preliminary information to the media for breaking news incidents
· Using LBPD Blotter to provide community members with preliminary information about incidents that occurred the previous evening
The TFF concludes by stating the Police Department is currently exploring messaging platforms, such as Ring and Nextdoor.com as additional communication tools, and will be conducting a citywide, aggressive education campaign to promote all PD communication platforms, including encouraging community members to register their phone numbers and email addresses with Alert Long Beach.
We appreciate the information provided in this TFF, as well as the recent community outreach efforts, Commander Forums, and press conferences hosted by the Police Department. Receiving a concise presen...
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