HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 94-254 09/07/1994 ~Zes®lution N®. N C.S.
1 of the City of Petaluma, California
2
3 RESOLUTION OF 'THE PETALUMA CITY COUNCIL TO TAKE AN ACTIVE
4 LEADERSHIP ROLE IN ADDRESSING THE SERIOUS PROBLEM OF DOMESTIC
5 VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND CHILD ABUSE IN SONOMA COUNTY
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8 WHEREAS, a broad coalition of Sonoma County women's and social justice groups have
9 presented a petition to the Petaluma City Council requesting the City Council to address the
10 serious problem of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse; and
11
12 WHEREAS, certain actions can be taken to address this problem and to stem the tide of
13 such violence; and
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15 WHEREAS, the City Council of Petaluma recognizes both the seriousness and the
16 complexity of the problem of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse and the
17 importance of elected officials taking a leadership role in addressing issues that affect the citizens
18 of our city;
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20 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Petaluma
21 supports the following:
22
23 Reassignment of deputy district attorneys away from property and victimless crimes to
24 the prosecution of crimes of violence against persons, i.e., domestic violence, child abuse,
25 etc.
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94-254 Page 1 of 5
Rcs. No . N.C.S.
L Increasing the prosecution effort by the District Attorney's office to further open the
2 process to victims at all levels of the criminal justice system, for example, by increasing
3 such services as victim witness advocates.
4
5 Requiring supervisory approval and written justification before .individual deputy DA's
6 can reject cases of sexual assault, .domestic violence 'or child abuse so that individual
7 biases do not go unchecked in these decisions.,
8
- 9 Incarceration .and other measures should be ordered. by the courts in crimes of domestic
10 violence, sexual assault and child abuse just as they are in other violent crimes, in
11 addition to counseling.
12
• 13 Review by the State Legislature of the state-mandated policy for family reunification in
14 light of numerous indications that this policy is not.. always in the best interest of the
15 child.
16
17 Affirm the objectives of thee. Sonoma County Law Enforcement Chiefs Association
18 (SCLECA) as set forth iii their May 24th letter and further detailed in a paper entitled
19 "Protocols .for All Sonoma County Law Enforcement Agencies" which was prepared in
20 accordance with state law and is not set forthherein in detail because of its length.
21
22 Support. for the efforts of law enforcement agencies in implementing the SCLECA
23 policies; require that they comply with all laws and county-wide policies and protocols
Reso. 94-254 NCS Page 2 of 5
1 concerning the filing of police reports grid arrests in eases of domestic violence, sexual
2 assault, and-child abuse.
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4 Mandate arrests and/or issuance of contempt orders for violation of TRO's or domestic
5 restraining orders.
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7 Providing. annual training sessions on domestic violence and sexual assault and child
8 abuse for all police officers, including sessions conducted by victims' advocates for both
9 men and women.
10
11 .Establishment of an effective central filing system for: immediate county-wide access to
12 current restraining orders.
13
14 .Maintaining statistics in Petaluma on crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault and
15 child abuse, to include:
16 1. Reports to police.
17 2. Arrests.
18 3. Number of cases sent to the District Attorney as felonies.
19 4. Number of cases sent to the District Attorney as misdemeanors.
20 5. Number of cases rejected by District Attorney, including reason.
21 6. Gender of the perpetrator and victim.
22
Reso. 9;4-254 NCS Page 3 of 5
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l Maintain statistics in District Attorney's office on crimes of domestic violence, sexual
2 assault,. and child abuse, to include:
3
4 1. Number of cases filed as misdemeanors in Municipal Court.
5 2. Number of eases filed as felonies in:Municipal Court.
. 6 3. Number of cases filed as felonies in Superior Court.
7 4. Total number of convictions, felony and`misdemeanor.
8 5. Number of cases sentenced to jail/prison, male and female.
9 6. Number of'cases sentenced to probation, male and female.
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11 Annually monitoring°, the :progress and specific process that we, as a City, and the
12 County~as a whole, are making on these issues;, to.include, but,not limited to:
13 1. Recruitment.: activity (including .statistical' information), including
14 recruitment activity for bilingual officers.
15
16 2. The issue of training in domestic violence to include who was trained,
17 number of hours and by whom.
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19 3. The status of -the creation of a central filing system for domestic
20 restraining orders.
21
22 The above statistics shall be incorporated in the Petaluma Police Department's annual
23 report to the City Council.
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Reso. 94-254 NCS Page 4 of 5
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1 Additionally, the City Council requests that the gender, racial and language make-up of
2 the Department approximate that of the community at-large and that this issue continue to
3 be a basic consideration in all hiring of police officers hence forth; and that the number of
4 Spanish-fluent officers be increased to at least 5% as soon as possible.
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6 Further, the Council hereby prohibits the Petaluma police from providing any data to the
7 Immigration and Naturalization Service on crime victims and witnesses, unless such
8 assistance is required by federal or state statute, regulation, or court decision. so non-
9 documented persons need not fear going to the police; and express to the Sonoma County
10 Board of Supervisors our support for a county ordinance prohibiting all county law
11 enforcement from providing such information to the INS, unless such assistance is
12 required by federal or state statute, regulation or court decision.
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1 4 Beatty/reso
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Under the power and authority conferred upon this Council by the Charter of said City.
REFERENCE: I hereby certify the foregoing Resolution was introduced and adopted by the Approved_as to
-form
Coutntcil of the City of Petalugma at a {Re pedal) meeting
on7tri~ day o'feptemb-er----......-•---... 19_......., by the -
following vote:
pity Atto ney
AYES.: PARKERSON, READ, HAMILTON, MAYOR HILLIGOSS
NOES: NONE
ABSEN~ARLAS SH MAYOR SOBEL - ~ ~ '
City Clerk Mayor
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CA 10-85 ~ Res. No.._ N.C.S.