Public Safety Committee  — Charleston, WV
Date: 2023-07-17
Time: 18:00

CITY OF CHARLESTON
  10
 West Virginia
 Council Member – 10th WARD


Shawn Taylor Public Safety Committee, Chair
501 Virginia St. E Finance Committee
Charleston, WV 25301 Parking Committee
Telephone: 304-414-6019
E-mail: shawn.taylor@cityofcharleston.org




TO: Public Safety Committee
FROM: Shawn Taylor, Chair
RE: Committee Meeting


 There will be a Committee meeting of Public Safety on July 17, 2023 at 6:00 PM
 City Hall, 501 Virginia St. E.
 AV Room #308

 AGENDA

 APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES
 1. 4-17-2023

 PUBLIC SPEAKERS
 1. To hear from public speakers on public safety related topics. Register with a representative from
 the Clerk's Office no earlier than 15 minutes prior to the meeting at the stated meeting location.
 Time limits may be set by the Committee.

 TO HEAR FROM PUBLIC SAFETY RELATED DEPARTMENTS
 1. Charleston Police Department

 2. Charleston Fire Department

 3. CARE Office

 Adjournment


ST/ns

*Meetings may be recorded and broadcast via internet https://charlestonwv.civicclerk

CITY OF CHARLESTON
  10
 West Virginia
 Council Member – 10th WARD


Shawn Taylor Public Safety Committee, Chair
501 Virginia St. E Finance Committee
Charleston, WV 25301 Parking Committee
Telephone: 304-414-6019
E-mail: shawn.taylor@cityofcharleston.org




TO: Public Safety Committee
FROM: Shawn Taylor, Chair
RE: Committee Meeting


 There will be a Committee meeting of Public Safety on July 17, 2023 at 6:00 PM
 City Hall, 501 Virginia St. E.
 AV Room #308

 AGENDA

 APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES
 1. 4-17-2023

 PUBLIC SPEAKERS
 1. To hear from public speakers on public safety related topics. Register with a representative from
 the Clerk's Office no earlier than 15 minutes prior to the meeting at the stated meeting location.
 Time limits may be set by the Committee.

 TO HEAR FROM PUBLIC SAFETY RELATED DEPARTMENTS
 1. Charleston Police Department

 2. Charleston Fire Department

 3. CARE Office

 Adjournment


ST/ns

*Meetings may be recorded and broadcast via internet https://charlestonwv.civicclerk




 Page | 1 of
 MINUTES
 PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING

 5:30 P. M., APRIL 17, 2023
 AV ROOM, CITY HALL


Shawn Taylor, Chairperson, called the meeting of the Charleston City Council
Committee on Public Safety to order at 5:30 p.m., APRIL 17, 2023.

Present:
Shawn Taylor, Chair
Chuck Overstreet, Vice Chair
Mary Beth Hoover
Bruce King
Beth Kerns
Kathy Rubio

Absent:
Caitlin Cook


Other Councilmembers Present:
Joe Solomon
Chelsea Steelhammer
Frank Annie




 1. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES –
Councilmember Hoover moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting on 1-17-
2023. Councilmember King seconded the motion. There was no objection, and the
minutes were approved.



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 Page | 2 of
 2. TO HEAR FROM PUBLIC SAFETY RELATED DEPARTMENTS -

Councilmember Taylor stated that it is the Committee’s obligation to regularly touch
base with the Fire Department, Police Department, etc. for the Committee to be
responsive and help them better serve the public.


Police Chief Hunt submitted to the Committee the Statistical Data Overview for 2022.
He summarized that while they could always do better, the Police Department was in a
good place. They are doing well with the current plan that is in place, and will continue
to strengthen their partnerships within the City. Some highlights from the presentation
include:
 • All areas of Type 1 crimes, except for Murder, are at Low/Near Low. Good
 communication in the community leads to trust in law enforcement.
 • Two areas higher than previous years are Burglary and Larceny. These are still
 lower when compared to pre-Covid years.
 • There is a signification increase in the number of Traffic Citations, and a
 reduction in Crashes. He cited the increase in citations (and citizen contacts) as
 the reason for the significant decrease in crashes. The number of Arrests has
 increased, which is related to the increase in citizen contacts.
 • MDENT has allowed for major federal cases, and he credits them for helping to
 keep violent crime down.
 • There has been a 15% increase in contacts, and a 7% decrease in the number
 of times they had to respond to suspect resistance or aggression.
 • They have an 87% solve rate, which is much higher than the national rate of
 54%.

Councilmember King confirmed that Robbery meant armed or threatening to be armed.

Councilmember Taylor pointed out that compared to 2016, there was a significant
reduction in Robbery, Malicious Wounding, Burglary/B&E, Larceny, B&E Auto and
Motor Vehicle Theft. Chief Hunt added that Covid did play a part, but attributed the
change mostly to good community relations.

Councilmember King asked what were some of the major drug problems. Chief Hunt
replied that they have been seeing heroine, fentanyl, meth and xylazine (which is the
next big danger).

Councilmember King confirmed with Chief Hunt that the Department does not have a
dedicated Cold Case unit, but Senior Detectives and Supervisors get involved with that.


Fire Chief Matthews stated that they are authorized to staff 168 people, and are
currently staffed at 148. There are 21 new recruits. They have recently retooled training
to retain recruits, and have seen success with that. The department has historically high
numbers of paramedics, with 86 members and 9 in training. They are expected to have

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 Page | 3 of
5-7 retirements within the next 12 months. Chief Matthews is currently working to
realign the Command staff and to reassign key personnel to increase firefighter safety.
There will be a new EMS Division that will focus on the planning, training and operations
of the EMS Units to be headed by Assistant Chief Chad Jones. It will also include a
Health and Safety Officer whose main focus will be the mental and physical wellbeing of
their employees and will conduct quality reviews. The position will also serve as a
liaison with the CARE team. Chief Matthews added that there will be a Safety Office on
each shift that will be on every scene that will command any additional safety operations
that arise.

Councilmember Overstreet asked what was the Civil Service Commission’s process for
deciding if someone could come back after leaving. Chief Matthews replied that if
someone resigns after one year in good standing, they may petition the Commission
within two years to return.

Councilmember Kerns expressed concerns about bicycle safety, and suggested “bicycle
rodeos,” that involve the Fire and Police Departments. Chief Hunt added that the Hybrid
Unit does a lot of bicycle safety by handing out helmets, sharing information, etc. He
encouraged any known violations of the law to be called in.

From the audience, Councilmember Solomon asked how Councilmembers could be
helpful to the Fire Department. Chief Matthews replied that they will be coming to
Council with their mental health program.


Mayor Goodwin added that the CARE team has added news members to work nights,
weekends and holidays. With the growing staff, they are looking for a new space for the
department. They have been coordinating with the Fire and Police Departments. The
Mayor added that there have been 121 treatments and referrals for recovery since the
beginning of the year.

Councilmember Taylor added that the CARE Office is vital to the City to the Community
and its individual citizens.




Councilmember Kerns motioned to adjourn. Councilmember Hoover seconded. Meeting
adjourned.


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 Page | 4 of

MINUTES
 PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING

 6:00 P. M., JULY 17, 2023
 AV ROOM, CITY HALL


Shawn Taylor, Chair, called the meeting of the Charleston City Council Committee on
Public Safety to order at 6:00 p.m., July 17, 2023.

Present:
Shawn Taylor, Chair
Chuck Overstreet, Vice Chair
Caitlin Cook
Mary Beth Hoover
Bruce King
Beth Kerns

Absent:
Kathy Rubio



Other Councilmembers Present:
Chelsea Steelhammer
Frank Annie
Joe Solomon
Larry Moore




 1. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES –
Councilmember Hoover moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting on 4-17-
2023. Councilmember Cook seconded the motion. There was no objection, and the
minutes were approved.

 1
 2. To hear from public speakers on public safety related topics.

None



 3. TO HEAR FROM PUBLIC SAFETY RELATED DEPARTMENTS -

Interim Police Chief Dempsey added there were no pressing issues at the moment.
Recruiting numbers were still trending down. This is a national trend. They are about to
have another test for recruits. He added that the feasibility study for the Public Safety
Building will likely be ready soon.

Councilmember Kerns added that it seemed like having all of the force in one place
would be more efficient. She asked what they could do as Councilmembers to help with
recruitment. Chief Dempsey replied that the best recruiting is word of mouth.

Councilmember King asked about the national trend concerning recruiting. Chief
Dempsey replied that the more populated areas are having trouble recruiting people.
The pandemic is likely part of the reason, but there is no solid explanation for it. Mayor
Goodwin added that this is frequently a discussion during Municipal League meetings,
adding that the trend is also true for most positions within City government. She
confirmed with Chief Dempsey that they go to high schools during career day events.

Chief Dempsey added that they are also about to start a new group of the Junior
Leadership Academy. From the audience, Councilmember Steelhammer confirmed with
Chief Dempsey that the ages will be approximately 12-14 years old.


Fire Chief Matthews stated that they currently have 161 firefighters (budgeted for 169),
adding that one is currently out for long-term injury. This number includes the recent 21
probationary firefighters sworn in last month. He added that they have all passed the
Academy. He credits his staff, who re-tooled the program based on feedback. The May
recruit class is now out of the probationary period. 18 of those are now entering
paramedic school, which brings the number of paramedics within the department to 82.
Since 2016, every person who joins the Fire Department is also required to be a
paramedic. The Chief added that they are trying to keep their training class size to 8-10
for various practical reasons. The new Safety Officer position went live on June 12, and
he has received a lot of positive feedback about it.

Chief Matthews added that they had 26 calls for service during the Regatta, 4 of which
were false alarms.

Councilmember Kerns confirmed with Chief Matthews that they currently had 3 female
firefighters.


 2
Director of CARE, Taryn Wherry, stated that from January to June, the CARE Office
responded to 212 overdoses and sent 275 individuals for treatment. They added 4 staff
members in March. The team is out every day, and has been focused on housing
among other things. For the year so far, they have reunited 82 people with families.

Councilmember Kerns asked if they had observed anyone suffering from the smoke
pollution from the recent fires. Wherry replied that they had, and added that many
unhoused may not be aware of current events that would impact their environment and
health.

Chief of Staff, Matt Sutton, added that Senators Manchin and Capito had been very
supportive of the CARE program.




Councilmember Hoover motioned to adjourn. Councilmember Cook seconded. Meeting
adjourned.




 3