Phoenix Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee Meeting Summary

The Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee met on April 2, 2025, to receive updates on the city's drone program, the Family Advocacy Center, Arizona Task Force One, and the Community Assistance Program (CAP). The meeting included public comments, approval of prior minutes, and informational items. The subcommittee heard from city staff and community members, with discussions focusing on program achievements, staffing, funding concerns, and future expansion.

Consent Calendar

• Approval of Minutes: The subcommittee unanimously approved the minutes from the March 5, 2025, meeting. A motion was made, seconded, and passed with all in favor.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Annie Ender (President, Operation Blue Ribbon) spoke on police department hiring and recruitment (item #6). She requested that future staffing reports include: current sworn total (noting 2,493), citywide and precinct response times (citing 2024 priority one at 7:26, priority two at 28 minutes, priority three at 61 minutes), projected attrition, reasons for early departures, academy recruitment losses, financial impacts, breakdown of Community Action Officers (CAOs), and benchmarking activities with other agencies. She also provided a positive update on Officer Moldovan's recovery, noting 1,172 days since his critical injury.
• Orla Bobo spoke on item #7 (fire department funding). She expressed that underfunding of the fire department led to the death of Archie Wiggins in a February 7 house fire in Arcadia, citing an 18-minute delayed response due to occupied fire trucks. She argued the city's proposed TPT tax funding is insufficient, criticized delays in building voter-approved GO bond fire stations, and urged the city to cut other expenses to meet national response time standards.

Discussion Items

• Drone Program Update: Assistant Fire Chief Daniel Cheatham, Deputy Parks and Recreation Director Jared Rogers, Deputy Communications Director Ashley Patton, and Police Commander Christine Calderon presented on the city's UAS (drone) programs.
  • Fire Department: Program launched June 2022. Now operates 10 pilots and 3 visual observers, 7 days a week (initial had 1 pilot/1 observer, 5 days/week). Drone One response vehicle centrally located, with three types of drones, two tethered drones (in Council Districts 2 and 8). Live streaming to command officers and executive staff. Used for fires, technical rescues (about half of mountain rescues have drone first locating patient), hazmat, fire prevention, solar panel inspections, and community engagement. Future: drone-in-a-box (Drone as First Responder), new van with screen.
  • Police: Approved February 2022; began with 12 pilots, expanded September 2023 with 19 additional; now 28 pilots (16 specialty, 12 patrol). Average ~150 calls per month. Four internal customers: investigations, tactical, patrol, events. Uses include burglary alarms, fleeing persons, search and rescue, event support (MLK March, Fabulous Fourth, WMBA All-Star, NCAA Final Four). New drone with speaker for aerial announcements. Researching Drone as First Responder.
  • Parks: First flight September 2024; 35 flights as of February 14, 2025. Uses include trail inspection, cultural resource monitoring, invasive species identification (e.g., stinknet, buffelgrass), trash/debris mapping, monitoring construction projects (Holbert Trailhead), and event support. Future: spectral imaging drones.
  • Communications: Joined January 2024; 4 FAA Part 107 pilots; 36 flights completed. Captures footage for city projects, events (e.g., WMBA All-Star weekend), beauty shots. Nominated in a worldwide film festival.
  • Committee questions: Councilwoman Garado asked about training consistency (yes for FAA, but department-specific missions), police flying restrictions (Fourth Amendment considerations, no crossing fence lines, 40-hour pilot training, quarterly training). Vice Mayor O'Brien asked for deeper data on call types and outcomes; staff noted an open data portal with flight details.
• Family Advocacy Center (FAC) Update: Human Services Director Jacqueline Edwards and Assistant Director Tracy Hall presented.
  • FAC houses victim services, Phoenix PD Family Investigations Bureau, Crimes Against Children Unit, Child Help (safe placement, court prep), Honor Health & Phoenix Children's (forensic exams), DCS Child Welfare Investigations, La Frontera Impact (long-term therapy), and Jewish Family & Children's Services (shelter without walls).
  • Data for 2024: Child Help served over 4,000 persons (unduplicated), conducted over 2,000 forensic interviews, 3,000+ therapy sessions, 700+ medical exams, 4,000+ victim advocacy services, and 15,000+ training opportunities. Victim Services received 3,800+ referrals (3,424 from Phoenix Police), served just over 3,000 individuals (15,000+ services), 2,000+ safety planning efforts, 400+ protective orders (94% success rate on applications), and 800+ forensic medical exams.
  • Budget: $3.2 million; 16 general fund FTEs, 8 VOCA-funded FTEs. VOCA grant expires September 2025; funding has decreased and is uncertain. Human Services is piloting a therapeutic services solicitation (no cost to clients) and exploring other grants.
• Arizona Task Force One Deployment: Assistant Fire Chief Mark Gonzalez, Division Chief Jake Van Hook, and Deputy Chief Chris Haley presented.
  • Task Force formed 1994, one of 28 FEMA USAR teams (ESF 9). Funded by annual $1.4 million DHS grant (readiness cooperative agreement). 206 members. Deployed September 27–October 17, 2025 (20 days) to Hurricane Helene and Milton responses. For Helene, activated September 27, deployed 45-member team, 16 vehicles (100,000 lbs, $7 million), drove 52 hours to Asheville, NC (no power/water/cell/fuel). Conducted searches along French Broad River; responded to Milton in St. Petersburg, FL, performing structural damage assessments. Demobilized October 13, returned home without incident. Acknowledged funding uncertainty and efforts to secure support.
• CAP Program Update: Assistant Fire Chief Raya Choa and CAP Administrator DC Ernst presented.
  • CAP at 80% staffing (20% vacant). Behavioral health units (BHU) now 6 units, 7 days/week, 23.5 hours; crisis response (CR) units 6 units, 7 days/week, 22-24 hours. Goal: 9 BHU (at 67%), 10 CR (at 60%), expected full staffing by Q1 2026. Reached 24/7 BHU dispatch coverage on March 31, 2025. Transferred calls from PD: 234 in Jan-Feb 2025 (142% increase from 2024). BHU responded to 496 calls in February (47% from PD transfers); 105% call increase over two years. CR units saw 13% call increase. Average response times: BHU 24 minutes, CR 23 minutes. CAP received congressional recognition from Rep. Greg Stanton for mental health work. Plans continue hiring and increasing unit coverage.

Key Outcomes

• Minutes approved unanimously.
• No formal votes were taken; presentations were informational.
• Future agenda items: Park security scheduled for June meeting.
• Subcommittee requested more detailed data on drone calls and response times, and a multi-year view of CAP call data.
• Acknowledged federal funding uncertainties for VOCA and Task Force One; staff committed to seeking alternative grants.

Additional Information

• The meeting adjourned at 11:26 AM. No action items were passed except the minutes. Public comment period included two speakers. The subcommittee also noted the presence of an interpreter (Elsa Duarte) for Spanish-speaking attendees.