PSC 06-09-2016CUPERTINO PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES
Thursday, June 9, 2016, 6:00 p.m.
Cupertino City Hall, Conference Room A
I. CALL TO ORDER
Commissioner Huang called to order this regular meeting of the Cupertino Public Safety
Commission at approximately 6:05 p.m. on Thursday, June 9, 2016 in the Cupertino City Hall,
Conference Room A, located at 10300 Torre Avenue, Cupertino, California 95014.
II. ROLL CALL
Commissioners Present: Andy Huang
Robert McCoy
Bob Cascone
Commissioners Absent: Gerald Tallinger
Neha Sahai
Staff Present:
Staff Absent:
Others Present:
III. REPORTS
Captain Rick Sw1g, Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office
Deputy Chief John Jus tice, Santa Clara Cow1ty Fire Department
None
Shreyas Patankar, Sanket Dange, Varw1 Shenoy and Vishal Shenoy, all
from Boy Scouts Troop 407
1. Santa Clara County Fire Department
Deputy Chief John Justice reviews the May Fire Department Report for Cupertino, noting
response times within contracted times. There was an insignificant fire at Linda Vista Park in
the tanbark, started by someone smoking a hookah with embers flying. It qualified as arson
w1der the penal code for negligence but the estimated loss was low at $1,000. He explains
each page of the report, reviewing the various charts. Prompted by a visitor question, Deputy
Chief Justice explains that a "good intent call for service" is when a citizen calls in w hat they
think is an emergency but it turns out to be false, such as someone reporting that they heard
a vehicle crash but the emergency responders find nothing upon arrival.
2. Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office
Captain Sw1g reviews the May 2016 report. Response times for all three levels of Priority
Calls for Services were well within set standards. There were five Priority One Calls for
Service, 352 Priority Two Calls, and 465 Priority Three Calls, keeping deputies very busy ..
Residential burglaries so far this year are at 79, on track to be much lower than last year.
Commercial burglaries are down and vehicle burglaries are fairly steady. ID Theft has been
on the rise; Capt. Sw1g details the arrest of a female duo that set up shop in a local hotel room
and was using very sophisticated equipment to make credit cards using information possibly
stolen from a mortgage company based on the level of detail.
Captain Sw1g discusses the most recent copper theft at the Vallco property. The suspects stole
the copper pipes from a working Air-conditioning system that was in use at the time. The
suspects were caught on surveillance video, and detectives interviewed employees at local
recycling centers to track them down since transaction requirements are stringent and there
is video footage at the recycling centers. Detectives were able to find evidence linking all five
copper thefts in May at Vallco to at least one suspect. Captain Sung .then explains what
happened during the recent mow1tain lion call where a female cat slept in a tree in the
McClellan Ranch Park for almost a day before moving on. The Fish & Wildlife Warden
recommended not tranquilizing the mountain lion because it takes time for darts to take effect ·
and could leave several minutes open for the mountain lion to retaliate after being shot with
the tranquilizers. Since deputies must follow rules regarding use of force, and there was no
reason for escalation, a deputy and warden were assigned to stand watch until the mountain
lion left the area. The Warden also recommended removing food sources that may be
attracting mow1tain lions into the area, such as unused grocery store meat in garbage cans.
3. Commission Reports
Commissioner Cascone followed up on the question last meeting about city notifications. He
reports that County Communications has a phone list for after-hours City contacts, but there
is no set procedure for notifications. The City OES will begin developing a notification
procedure, but is w1dergoing further reorganization due to Director Atwood's retirement.
Commissioner McCoy attended the Forum Health Fair with Commissioner Sahai, working
at an informational booth. Deputy Gor also manned a booth to represent the Sheriff's office,
and Lauren gave a nice presentation from the Fire Department. Commissioner McCoy
suggests that the PSC prepare something visual to spread out on the table because many
people just b ypassed th eir booth. He also attended the City Council meeting, learning the
Council has decided to take the allotted 30 days in responding to the newest initiative
involving Vallco.
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IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Shreyas Patankar, Sanket Dange, Varun Shenoy and Vishal Shenoy introduce themselves. They
are all from Boy Scouts Troop 407, attending this city meeting as they work on the Citizenship in
the Community Merit Badge.
V. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
Chair Huang presents an email from a resident named Liang, asking what law enforcement
services the City of Cupertino contracts for through the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, in
light of the recent bank robbery at HSBC bank. Captain Sung reports that he received the same
email from this resident and has already responded. He replied that the Sheriff's Office has
provided law enforcement services throughout the County since 1850, and in specific agreement
with Cupertino since its incorporation in 1955. Currently there are 80 sworn personnel and 9
civilian support staff serving the combined populations of Cupertino, Saratoga and the Town of
Los Altos Hills, with access to the broader services of the entire Sheriff's Office including the
Helicopter Program, the SWAT, K9, Bomb, and DIVE teams, the Drug Task Force, Human
Trafficking Task Force, CSis, specialized Detectives, etc. These extra resources, which many other
mtmicipal police departments don't have, are shared among the many patrol divisions across
the Sheriff's Office which keeps overhead costs low. He noted Cupertino's current fiscal year
budget, and explained the connection between the sharp rise in crimes to the passing of
Proposition 47 in the fall of 2014. He attached a Police Chief's Association report, prepared by an
outside firm, which found that property crime statistics nationwide have actually dropped,
except in the western region of which California accounts for over half. Captain Sung also noted
community programs, such as Neighborhood Watch, being an effective tool against property
crime. He also noted that while the City has approved a new motorcycle deputy in anticipation
of the new Apple campus, more deputies are needed. Crime has increased tremendously at the
vacant Vallco Mall. Commissioner Cascone requests that Captain Sw1g forward his email
response to the commissioners so they may review the attached report as well.
VI.APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. May 12, 2016
ACTION: YES
VOTE: NO
(NOT DONE)
MOTION: NIA
To be approved at July 14 111 meeting.
SECONDED: NIA 0 to 0
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VII. OLD BUSINESS
1. Discuss participation in the Alert SCC Program, the CAS Program, and the Pulse Points
App (Huang/McCoy)
ACTION: NO
VOTE: NO
MOTION: NIA SECONDED: NIA 0 to 0
Chair Huang presents the latest update on sign-ups for CAS and AlertSCC. Cupertino uses
the Cupertino Alert System to notify residents of important information during emergencies
or disasters . The City updates the records once a year, removing numbers that have
consistently been invalid and causing a decrease on the chart.
2. Discuss the Continuation of Public Education and Outreach (TallingerlMcCoy)
ACTION: YES
VOTE: NO
MOTION: NIA SECONDED: NIA 0 to 0
Captain Sw1g explains to the visitors that the Teen Academy is a 12 week program that
teaches teenagers about law enforcement, the daily job duties of deputies, how crimes are
investigated, review some CSI techniques, try shooting at the Range, and tour the Coroner's
Office. The next Teen Academy starts in the fall.
There is no update regarding the Information Forum due to Commissioner Tallinger' s
absence, but Captain Sung believes this item is on track.
a. Discuss how to align public safety outreach and established County materials.
ACTION: YES
VOTE: NO
MOTION: NIA SECONDED: NIA
There are no updates discussed at this regular meeting.
3. Discuss the Collaboration/Cross-Training of Volunteer Groups
ACTION: YES
VOTE: NO
MOTION: NIA SECONDED: NIA
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0 to 0
0 to 0
Commissioner Cascone voices a concern about having this item on the agenda, because four
of the five commissioners are part of Citizen Corps where it is unclear if they can attend the
training together. Chair Huang defers this discussion to next meeting when all
commissioners are present. Procedurally, this proposed discussion would need to be added
to next meeting's agenda under New Business.
VIII. NEW BUSINESS
1. Discuss the Transition of the Dero (formerly Boltage) program
ACTION: YES
VOTE: NO
MOTION: N/A SECONDED: N/A
There are no updates discussed at this regular meeting.
0 to 0
2. Discuss a possibility of starting a Fire Watch Council and Firewise Program
ACTION : NO
VOTE: NO
MOTION: NIA SECONDED: N/A 0 to 0
Deputy Chief Justice begins by explaining that "Fire Watch Council" is rarely done in
California commmrities, and involves volunteers traveling around and actively looking for
fires as they start. The "Firewise Program" has been around for many years, but there are no
active communities in this Cow1ty. Jackson Oaks near Morgan Hill may be getting close to
filing papers. It's a community/neighborhood based activity and does not originate from the
Fire Department or the City. Residents must be self-motivated to set up a community date to
perform an activity such as tree trimming, gutter clearing, etc. Once a date is set, the local
Fire Department can offer recognition for the purpose of the community/neighborhood
petitioning an insurance company for a rate reduction. Deputy Chief Justice is also
continually working on the Cow1tywide Wildfire Protection Plan. The almost 500 page draft
is available on the website, and he is now reviewing all armexes including the Saratoga and
Lexington Hills areas. One recommendation regarding annexes is to become Firewise
commw1ities. Captain Sw1g remarks that the Firewise Program sow1ds very similar to the
Neighborhood Watch program.
3. Discuss reporting of crimes/fires/incidents and situational awareness with plastic wallet
cards/fridge magnets. (McCoy)
ACTION: YES
VOTE: YES
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MOTION: MCCOY SECONDED: CASCONE 3 to 0
Commissioner McCoy motions that the PSC move Agenda Item 2a up to Agenda Item la;
Commissioner Cascone seconds the motion; votes taken, all in favor to move Item 2a to la.
Commissioner McCoy gives an update on the credit card sized information cards he has been
working on to promote the theme "See something -Say something". It could be placed on
the back of a CAS information card, or printed on a magnet by itself. The commissioners
review his printed working drafts. He asks if it should be done in black and white or 3 color
(Red, Blue, Gold), maybe just blue for the City. He also asks for black and white logo versions
for the Sheriff's Office and the Fire Department. He plans to refine the draft and then send it
out for printing quotes . Chair Huang suggests moving this item to Old Business Agenda Item
1 as part of discussion of CAS Program.
IX. FUTURE AGENDA FOR NEXT REGULAR MEETING
1. Discuss Reports from County Fire, Cow1ty Sheriff's Office and Commission Liaisons.
2. Discuss promotion plans for CAS, AlertSCC and the Pulse Points App. (Huang/McCoy)
a. Discuss creation of a wallet card/fridge magnet about reporting
crimes/fires/incidents and situational awareness
3 . Discuss the continuation of public education and outreach. (Tallinger/McCoy)
a. Discuss event plans for Information Forums
4. Discuss the collaboration/cross training of volunteer groups. (All)
5. Discuss the transition to the Bicycle-Pedestrian Commission of the Dero (formerly Boltage)
program for schools to the Bicycle-Pedestrian Commission. (Tallinger)
6. Discuss a possibility of starting a Fire Watch Council and Firewise Program. (All)
7. Discuss submitting a request for a monthly report from Cupertino OES (Office of
Emergency Services). (Cascone)
X. ADJOURNMENT
This regular meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
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XI. NEXT MEETING
The next Regular Meeting is sd1eduled for Thursday, July 14, 2016 at 6:00 p.m.
SUBMITTED BY:
Jennifer Roth
Executive Assistant
West Valley Patrol Division
Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff
June 22, 2016
APPROVED BY:
~
Andy Huang, Commission Chair
7/1rc/16
Date
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