GROUP SET TO HEAR SAFETY CONCERNS
By Veronica Rocha

Glendale News Press
October 16, 2008 10:31 PM PDT
CA

Police committee will hold monthly meetings to record residents’
issues, sergeant says.

GLENDALE — The first meeting for a Police Department committee
created as an outlet for residents to discuss public safety issues
will be Nov. 17 in the City Council chambers.

The Glendale Police Advisory Committee — run by the Glendale Police
Department — will hold meetings at 6 p.m. the third Monday of each
month, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

The committee’s monthly agenda will be based on topics residents bring
up during the public comment portion of the previous meeting, he said.

"We are trying to make sure everything is open to the public and
transparent," Lorenz said.

Committee members, who will be selected from various organizations,
will be chosen at the Community Police Partnership Advisory Committee’s
Oct. 28 meeting, officials said.

Police Chief Randy Adams created the committee after residents
expressed a need for a public forum to address the department.

"There are still some who feel they have to have more access,"
Adams said.

But Mayor John Drayman said the committee will represent a "people’s
commission" in which residents can talk about quality-of-life issues
and parking and traffic concerns.

"I don’t view this as being a forum for the department to be dealing
with accusations," he said.

But discussion over whether a police advisory board was needed came
to the forefront when a flier that a Police Department employee
made several years ago, with an image of a patrol car and the word
"Vostikan" — which means "police" in Armenian — placed over it was
made public at an August City Council meeting.

The flier prompted an internal investigation when it was created,
and the employee was disciplined, city officials said.

But Drayman said talks about the feasibility of a police advisory
board weren’t "driven by accusations of corruption" from some members
of the community, but rather came from residents’ desire for an open
forum to talk to police about their neighborhoods.

"It’s something that everyday, ordinary citizens asked for,"
Drayman said.

The Glendale Police Advisory Committee is the second major group the
Police Department has created in recent years.

The first group, the 25-member Community Police Partnership Advisory
Committee, was created in 2004 and represents the school district and
several community organizations. Members serve a voluntary three-year
term after passing a background check.

The advisory committee generally meets quarterly, but its meetings
have not been open to the public.

During a Sept. 30 City Council special meeting, Adams addressed
concerns about the department’s transparency by offering to expand the
advisory committee’s role. Some residents said the advisory committee
lacked accessibility.

"The chief is determined to be responsive," Lorenz said.

Adams decided to maintain the advisory committee’s role, which is
to advise the chief and police management but open its meetings to
residents and allow comments at the end of each meeting.

At its quarterly meeting this month, the group will select five to
seven people to be on the new committee, Lorenz said.

Lorenz has received requests from current advisory committee members
to be on the new committee, he said.

The new committee will listen to comments from residents, but the
residents will be asked not to provide the names of individuals they
have complaints about, he said.

"By law, we cannot discuss personnel matters," Lorenz said.

Police Capt. Kirk Palmer will be at the first meeting to record
residents’ concerns, Lorenz said.

Committee members will review residents’ complaints, comments or
suggestions after each meeting and relay the information to the
advisory committee.

The new committee will hold public meetings for six months. After six
months, the City Council and Adams will review its effectiveness and
public attendance.