drugs, alcohol, narcotics. they knew each other. they committed this horrendous act of murder. supervisor campos: i understand that. i know that a lot of these homicides and a lot of these incidents are very difficult to prevent. i do think it is important for us, as we're beginning this new year, if we are talking about double the number of homicides in the first month then we had last year. it is something we have to be very careful about, and make sure we keep watching that. if it continues, we're talking about a very different year between 2011 and 2010. >> we understand. we're doing everything we can to monitor it. we're putting as many safeguards

and the extra patrols in place. we may feel there is another crime occurring. we have to take into consideration that we have enjoyed the lowest homicide rate we have had in the last 40 years. we have 45 in 2009. last year, we have 50. 1975, we were up to 130 homicide. i am not saying 11 is good. unacceptable. we wanted to be lower. we wanted to be zero. we have enjoyed two tremendous years. we will keep up the work we have done. we have reduction teams in place. strategies are there and have not changed. we have not backed off. we are proactive in all aspects of this issue. i feel confident that in the big picture, after we look at six months and 12 months, we will get a picture of where we are at. i think we will be down to where we should be. supervisor campos: i think i

probably share your optimism. i think we have to be optimistic. the role of this committee is to make sure we are proactive about what is happening. i will be honest. one of the discussions i think we need to have and i look forward to having in the near future is what is happening around our community policing efforts. there's a purpose for providing what has happened in the very recent past. it is not necessarily something that, on its own, can lead to the policing we want to see. it has to be community engagement. i think there are some issues there. i look forward to engage in the police department through this committee and through the police commission in that discussion. i don't think the level of community policing is where it

needs to be, and whether it is foot patrols or general community engagement, i think we can do a much better job. when you have numbers like the ones we have had for the first month of the year, it is a concern because, notwithstanding the low number of homicides you point to, if this rate continues, it would be problematic. >> i totally agree with that. supervisor mirkarimi: 2 that point, we do share your optimism. regarding the issue of comstat and how it creates a reflective model, an important model of statistically capturing where crime occurs and where incidences' and resources are applied, that is important. it is critical that the police

department have that model. what is at risk is the community advisory boards, which i think should serve more as an antenna, transmit and receive the nuances of those communities, there is no way comstat would be able to fulfil in that role -- those boards are at risk of seeming superficial or gimmicky unless they are given the kind of weight, the kind of diversity, and the kind of access and reach to the police department in ways i think we had envisioned. based on feedback we're getting, the time getting on the caps, it is important that they are composed of people the police need to hear from in a way that helps us figure out what is a

more fluid communicate system with the police department, our first responders, to neighborhoods and to our expectations that things will be better. i agree with supervisor campos. i think this is worthy of its own hearing of focusing on how cabs are created, how they are support it, crn, dph's work, it is all part of this discussion. >> comstat is just a piece of the puzzle. two months ago, then-chief gascon had a very productive meeting. he came away with rave reviews. it is a work in progress. it is all new, as you know. many of them have only worked

on six or seven meetings. i started my forum in november. we have had three meetings. we will have our fourth next month. i think there will develop and we will see the fruits of all of this effort. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. commissioner cohen? supervisor cohen: thank you for coming. nice to see you. bear with me. i am one of the newest members on the board of supervisors. can you describe to me what is the current community policing model that you will implement? >> as far as that goes, every station as a community policing advisory board. that consists anywhere from 15 up to 25 members of the community that work with the captain directly to put

together community policing initiatives and processes within that district itself. we have our community forum. there is a citywide group. in my form, i have the asian- pacific islander forum. we focus on citywide issues that affect asians and pacific islanders. also, our captain attends at least four, up to 10 communities in district. it is everything ranging from -- most are broken up into smaller groups. they attend those meetings, also. we have the pal program in place. we work with juvenile probation. we work with our gang task force, our sro's, to put

together things for kids who are at risk. there are a lot of different things out there. i am not familiar with all of them. i have my own little niche. i know that we are continuing trying to think of new ways to engage the communities and to have them be a part of this whole policing effort. supervisor cohen: you mentioned your approach being citywide in that you focus a little on the api community. what other communities are focused on? >> i know there is an african- american community forum. supervisor cohen: who is in charge of that one? >> i believe it is captain john sanford. don't quote me on it. we also have a faith-based forum.

we have our gay, transgendered, lesbian forum. that is chaired by an assistant chief. there are several other forums that maybe have not kicked off yet, but they are in the process of coming together, identifying people that want to be in the forums. it is all new. supervisor cohen: if i remember, i could say, i am interested in working on api issues, and i could join your forum? >> yes. you come to a meeting. the forum, right now, is still taking applications. we started with a team members. we're down to nine active. another nine are very sporadic.

next month, we will be taking a code-share. we will get this whole thing off the ground. there is a youth forum. it is all new. it started under chief gascon. it will continue under the next chief. supervisor cohen: ok. i want to talk a little about aggravated assault, if i may. thank you. supervisor mirkarimi: please do. supervisor cohen: i noticed in our statistics, we have a negative percent change. we had 245 this year. i question is more for me to better understand and interpret the numbers. i see this as a quantitative data. maybe you can add an and a better -- anecdotal story. aggravate of assault --

aggravated assault, how you rationale the change? the percent change is small. why is it down? >> that small of an increment can come over 28 days -- i cannot tell you why they are down. these range from everything from a bar fight to a person being shot at, maybe grazed. a grazing wound or a non-lethal wound, it could be a punch to the face, a kick to the shin. these assaults are very wide- ranging. we take reports like that every day, probably -- we do probably 10 a day in san francisco. that is throughout the entire city. supervisor cohen: thank you. supervisor mirkarimi: think to

come supervisor. i don't believe we have any more questions for you. i did not see your name. >> one of the issues that has come up before is the issue of the assault rate with some of these crimes in terms of having an arrest and then having an actual conviction. is that information included in this report? i know that is something we have asked for in the past. when i was chair, and when supervisor mirkarimi served in that capacity prior to that, we were asking for that information. i am wondering -- >> i will try to get this information to you. tell me exactly what you want. supervisor campos: perhaps you should speak to some of the

folks who have played the role your plane. in terms of crimes in san francisco, what is the rate at which you are solving them? supervisor mirkarimi: all cases or just part 1? supervisor campos: part one to begin with. >> part one crimes. supervisor campos: we have as for that before. it is an important piece of information. if we're talking up the overall hearing on public safety conditions in the city, i think that having a better sense of what the clearance rate is as important. >> ok. supervisor mirkarimi: to add to that menu, recalling from the conversations when the two of us were helping run public safety, as it relates to part 1 crimes,

when somebody who has been apprehended, arrested, whatever the resolution is, i would like to know the repeat offender rate. recidivism. it seems to be statistics we get months or years after. at least you will know when those people are booked but they have had priors. it would be important for us to try and capture what that track looks like. >> so i am clear, when you say something like that, if someone is booked for a robbery, if a prior arrest was for drunk driving, would that be considered recidivism to you? do you mean prior robbery arrests? supervisor mirkarimi: or somebody committed a murder before and then stole a pack of gum? i don't know. when you arrest them, i think

that is important for us to get a handle on it, as to how the police department sees it. >> ok. that information is going to take a little longer to get. it is a little bit more difficult. i will work on it. supervisor mirkarimi: i don't want to make it so onerous. we're going to the question of resolve rate, that might help us in the same exercise. i am wondering if that is possible. >> i will try it. i don't know if it is possible. i will work on it. supervisor mirkarimi: i appreciate that for much. thank you for your time today. this is a preliminary discussion. it is the first meeting of the new year. some subjects we will pull out that more focused hearings. thank you very much for your ongoing assistance and supporting us with this data. appreciate it. we will open this up for public

comment now, if anybody would like to comment. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is douglas. i have lived in san francisco for 59 years. regarding public safety conditions, one overlooks aspects that i have been doing research on lately, there have been feelings of anxiety for street cops. i question that because there has been plenty of discussion regarding the recent poa election of the head of the police union. for the fourth time it seems to me that there was a noticeable level of the agreement as to how poa was being run. there were serious allegations of who should be running the

unit more efficiently. since there has been a noticeably high level of diversity in the police force, in my opinion, i think there has been a lot of anxiety in regards to how the police feel about their jobs toward each other and toward the citizen. unfortunately, in two dies -- in today's "examiner," another incident involved a police officer. it seems like in the last 10 years, there have been too many cases of police misconduct. even if you look at the level of police chiefs, it seems like they're stress level has been excessive, since two of them have been in poor health and another one, unfortunately, passed away. i feel that maybe this committee should give policemen a chance

to anonymously state how they feel about their own working conditions in this city. obviously, if you have a dissatisfied police force, it shows in their performance with the citizens. thank you. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you, sir. >> good morning. walter. ♪ come on city, now. smile on your brother everybody gets together in the city right now come on city, now. smile on your brother and sister. everybody gets together try to get together and make safe conditions right now ♪ supervisor mirkarimi: any other public comment? public comment is closed.

supervisor campos? supervisor campos: thank you. in terms of process going forward, in terms of when we get the report from the police department, does that happen -- how far in advance can we get the report? the written report? supervisor mirkarimi: which report are you referring to? the one we had today? this has been a little bit of a challenge. i am asking the department to get it to us not the day of the hearing, but hopefully days before the hearing. that is what our instruction is to the department. supervisor campos: i don't know if the captain is here. did he leave? supervisor mirkarimi: he will hear this. supervisor campos: if there is someone from the department watching, if they could get it to us before the hearing so we have an opportunity to review it -- supervisor mirkarimi: that is

the instruction. gleaning from the several topics that did come up in the discussion, we will settle on this. maybe continue to the call of the chair? very good. next item, please. >> item two, resolution authorizing the department of public health to except and expend a grant in the amount of 249,200 $16 from the san francisco county transportation authority to participate in a program entitled "san francisco safe routes to school education and outreach program," for september 1, 2011, through august 31, 2012, weaving in direct costs and to delegate authorization to execute these agreements and any amendments thereto to the director of public health. supervisor mirkarimi: is there somebody who would like to speak to this from the office of supervisor chiu?

>> i just wanted to ask if you could hold this item until a little later in the meeting, respectfully. there's a discrepancy between the resolution and the grant. i am trying to clarify that with the city attorney to make sure there are proper amounts and timeline. supervisor mirkarimi: not a problem. we will hold off. yes. absolutely. we will return to this item. would you please read item 3? >> ordinance amending the san francisco police code by amending section 1290 and adding 1290.1 to at exceptions to the general prohibition on the discharge of firearms within the city. supervisor mirkarimi: from the mayor's office, welcome. >> we are submitting substitute language today just to clarify. we're moving toward the same

goal of slightly modifying our language in section 1290 filed by the nra. we have become aware of changes from the supreme court requiring a change in the local ordinance. we have taken the narrowest interpretation possible. we do need to make the change on their request. supervisor mirkarimi: is it possible you can just delineate what was changed from the original? please. >> the change we're making is to 1290, which apply to fires -- firearms. we are striking the language and adding it into section 4506. we are doing clarifying of that language. the discharge of a weapon must be allowed in self-defense and by law enforcement officials. we have consolidated all of that language and to set 4506.

supervisor mirkarimi: the discharge of a weapon in self- defense by a citizen if they have a permit? >> the new language under this subsection state "persons and unlawful possession of a handgun who discharge that handgun in self-defense." we have put limitations on it. supervisor mirkarimi: what about the qualifier about it being a permit? they have a permit for that weapon. >> lawful possession is the indicator. supervisor mirkarimi: there's nothing greater than the lawful possession that we know of. >> that we know of. these are subject to litigation. that is why we have added section 3 on the advice of the city attorney, which indicates where federal or state law allows the discharge. should there be a future change by a court, subsection 3 will

resolve that. supervisor mirkarimi: supervisor campos? supervisor campos: thank you. good morning. trying to understand, looking at the ordinance, the language that is underlined, is that all new language being added? >> 4506? supervisor campos: i am looking at section 1290. >> you may not have the substitute legislation in front of you. i can circulate that. all we are doing is tricking the word "firearms," and making it apply simply to fireworks, where we have more authority to limit their discharge, and removing all of the language regarding firearms to section 4502. supervisor campos: i see. ok. thank you. supervisor mirkarimi: i almost

wish -- i don't know if the city attorney can speak to this, but lawful self-defense in the city and county of san francisco -- does that also implicate the question of somebody who has a permit to carry that weapon? >> the use of the word "lawful" means the person has complied with every law requiring -- required to have a gun, including what types of firearms are loud, whether the person has a permit, whether they are using it in a way that is lawful under the penal code. supervisor mirkarimi: ok. any other questions? thank you. public comment, please, on this. >> i'm not sure this is right to the item, but -- ♪ silence is golden, golden

on item 3 silence is golden, golden on item, item three in the city ♪ supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. any other public comment? public comment is closed. colleagues, motion? supervisor campos: so moved. supervisor mirkarimi: motion to advance with recommendation, without objection. so moved. very good. next item, please. >> item four, ordinance amending article 3 of division one of the san francisco transportation code to allow certain municipal sold transportation agency employees to enforce specified parking lots and board removal of vehicles, and amending article 7 of division one of the

transportation code to make it a misdemeanor to operate a taxi, a dispatch service, or a color scheme, or to drive a motor vehicle for higher, without a permit to solicit or accept payment for referral of passengers to a motor vehicle for higher, to solicit or accept payment for motor vehicle for higher shifts, assignments or discussed calls, to knowingly make false representations in connection with application for renewal of possible relocation of or operation of a vehicle pursuant to a permit issued under article 1100 of the san francisco transportation code, to refuse to pay the legal fair to a driver of a motor vehicle for hire, and to charge excessive rate for transport in a motor vehicle for hire, and amending the police code by deleting sections 1078, 1089, 1105, 1110, 1132, 1135, and

1145. >> i am the deputy director of taxis for the municipal transportation agency. the ordinance you have before you is an important building blocks in the administrative enforcement program, designed to improve the quality of taxi service to the public, and to address the proliferation of the legal motor vehicles for higher. this ordinance would help us in our path of creating a specialized team of personnel who have the authority to issue certain types of parking violations that they might see with respect to regulating the motor vehicle for higher industry, as well as to authorize them on vehicles without having resources of the police department or parking control officers who may not be in the field at the times when enforcement actions are happening. we think this is an important step toward -- it is an important public safety issue,

these vehicles in the streets of san francisco. every week, people get into cars when they don't know whether the drivers have been screened, if the vehicles have been checked, if there is liability insurance involved. we want to strengthen our enforcement capacity without relying on the scarce resources of the police department through administrative enforcement. this program also allows the taxi investigators to issue $5,000 citations to anybody who does operate an illegal vehicle in san francisco. those funds are required to be applied back to the legal vehicle enforcement. we think this is an effective program. it is still in the process of being deployed. this ordinance is part of the foundation of that program. supervisor mirkarimi: could you just delineate a little more what an illegal vehicle is? >> there are several kinds of