PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING July 11, 2012 The Public Safety Committee meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. by Mrs. Donna Owens, Vice Chair. The following members were present, constituting a quorum: Mr. Dave Janson; Mr. Curt Skoog; and Mr. Fred Spears. Mr. Jim Hix, Chair, was absent (excused). Mr. Paul Lyons sat in for Mr. Dan Stock, who was also absent (excused). Also present were: Mr. John Douglass, Police Chief; Mr. Bryan Dehner, Fire Chief; Mr. Mike Casey, Deputy Fire Chief; Mr. John J. Knoll, Senior Assistant City Attorney; Mr. Mark Kessler and Mr. Simon Happer, Deputy Police Chiefs; Mr. Tom Smith, Police Sergeant; Ms. Barbara Walk, Police Sergeant; Ms. Lavon Klover, Police Administration Supervisor; Mr. Derrick Wilczek, Police Officer; Mr. Ron Roberts, Senior PC Technician; and Ms. Pamela Blaszyk, Recording Secretary. UPDATE ON VICE UNIT INITIATIVE Police Chief John Douglass stated that they were giving a presentation on the Vice Unit initiatives and operations. The suppression of prostitution in the City is one of five major initiatives that has been implemented by the Police Department. Prostitution in Overland Park is just as destructive as it is in any other city, but it is more sophisticated than what is typically seen in a large City. Overland Park does not necessarily have street walkers, but they have individuals who engage in prostitution on a regular and frequent basis. Police Chief John Douglass added that Police Sergeant Tom Smith and Police Sergeant Barbara Walk would be discussing their efforts to address the problem of vice in the City. Sergeant Smith indicated that he and Sergeant Walk work together on vice operations as a part of the Vice Unit. Sergeant Walk focuses on special victims and Sergeant Smith focuses on narcotics. He would discuss what they began in 2010 with the Police Department initiatives. One of the officers would also discuss serving on a task force in cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Currently, they work under Police Major Sonta Wilburn and Captain James Olney. Sergeant Smith and Sergeant Walk are the Sergeants over the vice operations. They have two case detectives who work primarily on vice and massage violations and an intelligence analyst who helps them with all of their vice stings and also helps the detectives to gather background information. Their investigations focus on the patrons and promoters of prostitution. Patrons are the local and out-of-town clients of the prostitutes, and promoters are the people who run the organizations that promote prostitution. They also check massage violations and ordinance violations, and they do applicant background checks. Police Officer Derrick Wilczek serves on the Innocence Lost Task Force, which was created by the FBI, and they do a lot of good work in the area. The Innocence Lost Task Force focuses on the issue of human trafficking.
Page 2 The Police Department has been proactive in conducting vice stings in the past. However, in 2010, they increased their efforts and began to primarily focus on two types of calls. With out-calls, a provider will go to the client s location. With this type of operation, the detectives will typically be making the phone calls. With in-calls a female is at a location and is advertising, and the detective will go to the provider. There are criminal organizations that move from state-to-state. They will frequent an area for a short period of time and then move on when the police are starting to be aware of their criminal activities. They also have local providers. Since 2010, if they call a provider who is from the Kansas City area, the provider will often hang up on them or refuse to come to Overland Park. Those refusals are a result of the increased enforcement efforts of the Police Department. They receive a lot of complaints and tips from the crime tips hotline. They get reports from patrol officers, who will be taking information reports from hotels. They also get massage complaints that they investigate. With regard to their arrest statistics, in 2010, they were only doing one vice sting per quarter. They would also assist in the metro-wide vice stings twice per year. In 2010, there were 20 arrests for prostitution, 22 arrests for patronizing and 6 arrests for promoting. Other crimes, such as narcotics, are usually associated with prostitution. The total arrests for narcotics in 2010 were 56. In 2011, they increased their enforcement efforts and the number of arrests also increased significantly. They were aggressively working to decrease prostitution in the City, and the City has a reputation as being an undesirable place for soliciting, because of their efforts. Recently they conducted another vice sting and arrested four more individuals. Prostitution is an ongoing problem. Their efforts have had an effect, but 75 percent of the prostitutes are from out of state. The clients are typically local or in the City on business. Chief Douglass noted that prostitution was more active in the metropolitan area during the last couple of days because of the All Star game. Sergeant Smith explained that these crime organizations will typically follow large events, such as the NCAA Basketball games, and the racetrack events. Officer Wilczek stated that as a member of the Vice Unit, he has some specific duties that include investigating the vice matters related to Overland Park. He is also a member of the FBI s Innocence Lost Task Force in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The vice issues in Overland Park are somewhat different from what occurs in other large cities. For example, they do not have a lot of street walkers. There is more street prostitution in Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri. In Overland Park, this type of activity is often initiated through on-line advertisement. Mr. Wilczek proceeded to give examples of Web sites that are used in this area to find illegal massage services or prostitutes. They have some jurisdictional challenges, and they may find an on-line provider who is located outside of the City. If they find a target they want to pursue that is in a different municipality, they will share the information with a partner agency in the metropolitan area. The Innocence Lost Task Force was an initiative created by the FBI in 2003. It targets domestic child prostitution. It was a joint effort with the Department of Justice and with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which is a great organization that provides information to law enforcement. The FBI has an agent with NCMEC in Washington, D.C., who is a liaison between the two agencies. They will get Cyber Tipline reports that are specifically related to the Innocence Lost initiative, which may involve an on-line advertisement showing a younger female or male. They
Page 3 will get flagged on-line and then they are sent through NCMEC. The data gives them some background information and helps them to try to pinpoint where the individuals are located. The Innocence Lost Task Force targets child prostitution. The goal is to recover the children and prosecute the people who are exploiting them. About 2,200 children have been recovered from the streets and a little more than 1,000 exploiters have been charged. The FBI created the task force to partner with local, state and federal officials in certain areas of the country. They are trying to look for those cases where there is a hierarchy with someone who is in charge, the different people involved and to where the money is funneling up. These cases can involve national or large regional enterprise level associations. The FBI maintains a national database, so that when an individual is contacted or arrested, their information is entered into that database, and it is shared with the Innocence Lost Task Force, so they can track the circuit providers who travel around the country. The FBI provides various training opportunities for agents and task force officers to meet and build cases. With the Innocence Lost effort, they are trying to recover children and prosecute the people who are responsible for trafficking victims. At the local level, they have also adopted a victim centered approach. These children are the victims of sex trafficking, and they are in these situations for a variety of reasons. They offer the victims various health services or mental health services and referrals to non-governmental organizations. When they come into contact with the victims in an arrest situation, they have a few minutes to try to gain the trust of these individuals so that they can help them to get out of their situation in life, offer services and encourage them to contact the police later. With regard to the massage licensing, Sergeant Smith noted that since the China Rose incident in 2008, which involved their discovery of prostitution in some of the massage businesses in the area, they began reviewing applications. They began the Vice Unit initiative in 2010. They reviewed 258 applications in 2010, 231 applications in 2011 and 158 applications for the year-to-date. The number of applications have not fluctuated significantly from year-to-year. They have always been in charge of inspecting the massage establishments. This year, Officer Wilczek developed a program that will provide a random list of massage establishment locations in Overland Park. He usually inspects one massage business per week. During one recent inspection, they discovered two violations. They have done nine inspections since April. Mr. Smith concluded his presentation by discussing a few cases they have handled since 2010. Mr. Fred Spears asked for clarification of the term, TOC. Sergeant Walk explained that is an acronym for transporting an open container of alcohol. Mr. Spears asked if other cities in the county have similar operations for addressing vice. Chief Douglass replied that the Johnson County agencies are doing similar things. Olathe is active and Lenexa has done some work, and the County has been involved in addressing this problem. Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas, have been engaged with this issue for a long time. It is the aggressiveness of their initiatives in Overland Park and Johnson County that are making a big difference. The punishment is also having an impact. In Kansas City, Missouri, there is a $50 fine for prostitution, and it is treated like a traffic ticket. In Overland Park, those who are arrested are likely to spend a night or several days in jail, which has a chilling effect. The idea is to make it so difficult for them to do business in Overland Park that
Page 4 they decide to take their business elsewhere. Mr. Spears asked how long the prostitute and the client would have to stay in jail if they are arrested. Chief Douglass explained that it depends on whether or not they can post the bond. It is a significant bond for prostitution, so they may spend several days in jail before someone posts the bond. The punishment in Johnson County is often more severe than it is in other big cities. Chief Douglass added that they tend to take for granted the work that is necessary to deal with prostitution. Their work on this problem is extremely comprehensive and technical and it requires a lot of resources and a major expenditure of City funds. Mr. Curt Skoog asked if prostitution in Overland Park is typically in hotels and motels. Sergeant Walk replied that it happens in a variety of locations including hotels, motels, apartments and residences. Mr. Skoog asked if they have concerns about certain locations and if they are engaged with the ownership of a location to have a more strategic approach. Officer Wilczek replied that they track all of those ownerships. They meet with hotel staff and give them tips on what to look for to help them work together. They have not had a lot of specific problems with their hotels. There are certain areas of the City where room prices get lower, and they need to focus on those areas. They have a good relationship with the hotel staff in the City. Mr. Paul Lyons asked how much of the prostitution problem are they detecting and addressing. Officer Wilczek replied that there are 150 on-line ads for prostitution for the Kansas City area every day. Mr. Lyons asked how they can detect this is happening in a hotel or in the City. Chief Douglass replied that hoteliers typically do not rent rooms by the hour. When those establishments make that shift, they are basically capitulating to potential prostitution. When residents suspect there are drug houses or prostitution in their neighborhood, they will call the police to report those activities. Sergeant Wilczek added that if a client of the prostitute is arrested, he may have to attend a diversion program as a part of the sentence. In the program they discuss some cases to help that person understand how their activities are perpetuating a problem and issues in the community. Mr. Lyons asked if there is often violence that results in the prostitute or the client being harmed. Officer Wilczek replied that is not common. In the metropolitan area, violence will sometimes occur in Kansas City, Missouri. Sometimes people who are involved in providing sexual services do not feel comfortable with asking the police for help. Officers try to make them feel comfortable in calling the police to get some help. Vice Chair Owens recalled an article where a resident in Missouri reported a truck driver who had arranged for services. She asked if that is common. Officer Wilczek replied that it is possible because the providers post on-line. The truckers have mini computers in their trucks, and they can arrange a meeting. Vice Chair Owens was glad that the police are focusing on the suppression of this problem and keeping it away from the City, because it draws other crime. REQUEST APPROVAL OF AGREEMENTS FOR SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS Blue Valley Unified School District No. 229 Shawnee Mission Unified School District No. 512 St. Thomas Aquinas High School
Page 5 Senior Assistant City Attorney John Knoll presented the referenced Agreements with three entities for the provision of School Resource Officers (SROs). The Agreements are essentially the same as what they have reviewed for the past two years with the exception that the dates have been changed. The Agreements would be with Blue Valley Unified School District No. 229, Shawnee Mission Unified School District No. 512 and St. Thomas Aquinas High School, and per the agreements, some reimbursement is provided to the City at the rate of $185 per day. Staff was recommending approval of the Agreements. Mr. Spears moved to recommend to the Council approval of the referenced three Agreements as presented. The motion was seconded by Mr. Skoog and carried with a vote of 5 to 0. Vice Chair Owens asked what the SROs do when they are not in service at the school. Chief Douglass replied that when they reorganized their operations, the SROs became a part of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program. At the end of the school day, the SROs move out into the surrounding community and they work in the area as the students go home. During the summer, these officers are working in the same COPS areas. APPROVAL TO WAIVE THE BID PROCESS AND APPROVE PURCHASE Replacement of Bunker Gear, Municipal Emergency Services, Inc., using the FireRescue GPO National Group Purchasing Program. Deputy Fire Chief Mike Casey stated that the Fire Department was requesting approval to waive the closed bid process and to use the FireRescue GPO National Group Purchasing Program in an amount of $1,634.92 per set of bunker gear. There is $50,000 allocated in the 2012 Operating Budget toward the purchase of structural firefighting replacement gear. Mr. Spears noted that a few years ago when they had the terrible airplane crash, they elected to provide two sets of bunker gear to every firefighter. He asked if the second set of gear is being used. Deputy Chief Casey replied that a second set of gear is being issued to each member, and as they respond to calls during the day, if they are exposed to bloodborne pathogens, hydrocarbons or soot from the fire, they have procedures in place for the firefighters to bag their gear and send it to be cleaned. They then pull out the second fresh set of gear so they are not exposed to the contaminants that are in the material. With the two sets of gear, their replacement cycle target is eight years per set. They would prefer not to exceed the national standard of ten years. With the rotation of about 30 sets per year, they are able to keep two sets of gear per person. Mr. Dave Janson moved to recommend to the Council approval to waive the bid process and approve the purchase of the replacement bunker gear from Municipal Emergency Services, Inc., using the FireRescue GPO National Group Purchasing Program in an amount not to exceed $50,000. The motion was seconded by Mr. Skoog and carried with a vote of 5 to 0.
Page 6 At 7:45 p.m., Vice Chair Owens declared the meeting adjourned. Minutes transcribed by Pamela Blaszyk. Donna Owens, Vice Chair