many museums and cultural institutions. the center of our tourist life is here because this is where the convention center is. people from near and far can be introduced to the richness of the bay area. it is so wonderful and unique. >> the city thanks you for providing such wonderful leadership and vision. >> we're so happy to be part of the city and so honored to be part of "culture wire." >> to learn more about the exhibition and other upcoming events, visit the website. thank you for watching "culture

supervisor mirkarimi: good morning. welcome to the public safety meeting. we understand supervisor campos will be joining us certainly. madame clerk, could you please read items #one, to, three, and for? >> item 1, a resolution authorizing the fire department to spend a grant in the amount of $230,000 from the federal emergency management agency for

fiscal year 2007, a supplemental port security grant program for assets to enhance the fire department's water-based response capabilities and increase its protection of the port of san francisco and the san francisco bay. item #2, authorizing the fire department to spend a grant in the amount of $7,870,484 from the federal emergency management ag and seat for the fiscal year 2008 port security grant program to enhance the fire department's water-base response capabilities and increase its protection of the port of san francisco and san francisco bay. item 3, authorizing the fire department to accept an expanded grant of 645120 -- $645,000 for the security bent -- for $645,125 to increase its protection of the port of san

francisco and san francisco bay. item #4, authorizing the fire department to accept and expand a grant in the amount of 107,000 to enter $96 from the federal emergency management agency for the purchase and installation of seven commercial washer extractors to clean personal protective a quick assessment. -- personal protective equipment. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. >> i'm here on behalf of the fire department to present the first four items on the agenda. the first three are resolutions requesting approval by the board of supervisors to authorize the department to except and expend approximately 8.7 $5 million related to water and pour-based projects. -- approximately $8.75 million related to water-based projects.

the department applied for the program coordinated by with assistance from the united states coastguard. in january of this year, the far apart was notified we were awarded eight projects totaling $8.75 million. this is one of the grant programs under the federal department of homeland's security. the purpose is to increase management at the nation's ports and protect the nation support infrastructure. these projects are water-based and designed to enhance the port and a response capabilities. the san francisco bay qualifies as a highest risk status as a port. the three different fiscal year grants for a total of $237,000, the 2008 grant is for $7.9 million, and the 2010 grant is approximately $650,000.

it is good news in the current economic climate. there are no matching funds required by the department for any of these projects. the largest project is in the 2008 fiscal year both in scope and financial size, a new type to fireboat. currently, there are two fireboats and they're both over 15 years old. this would allow the department to purchase a new fire boat. the department is not actually receiving the money from. a fiduciary agent has been set up and we will be working with them for reimbursement. the department is very excited about these upcoming projects, more so in light of america's cup coming to san francisco. we request you move these to the full board for approval. on the fourth item, an additional grant from, a resolution to have the department approved a grant for the purchase of installation of several wash extractors for the

department. in august of last year, the board of supervisors passed a resolution at -- recommending a gift of five washer extractors to be used to clean personal protective equipment of members. these were donated by the san francisco fire fighters cancer prevention center. at the time, we were working with the cancer foundation and applying through for a grant of the dish -- of an additional seven washer extractors for a total of 12. the department was awarded the grand earlier this year. the total cost is 140 -- $134,000. a match is required which comes to a cost inc. to department's budget. the total amount of federal funds is $107,296, that is the 80% federal contribution. these machines are heavy-duty machines used to clean personal protective a quip and white

coats and pants over the course of responding to incidents, they could be sought with toxins etc., so the goal is to increase not all health and safety department members but reduce wear and tear of personal protective gear and help them out by washington. i'm happy to answer any questions. supervisor mirkarimi: this is all pretty straightforward. is there any change in staffing? >> no. supervisor mirkarimi: colleagues, any question? is there any public comment? public, disclosed. we take this with recommendation. so moved. madame clerk, item no. 5. >> a resolution authorizing the district attorney to renew its current agreement with the california victims' compensation and government claims board, an agency of the state of california, for a revolving fund

and the amount of $75,000 to be used to pay for verified funeral and burial expenses for eligible homicide victims and emergency relocation for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault from the july 1, 2011 through june 30th, 2014. supervisor mirkarimi: good morning. welcome. >> i'm from the district attorney's office. we have a contract with the state victim's compensation program. the revolving fund is full of money that allows us to make payments faster to providers, victims, and their families. if there is a homicide, we are able to pull the money out for the funeral burial expenses within a couple of days, otherwise we would have to wait for a longer process. this pool of money allows us to do that. homicide cases, domestic violence, and sexual assault cases. supervisor mirkarimi: sometimes

my office and i know others have had to intervene to get assistance for victims families who do not have the wherewithal to pay for funeral expenses and other accessory costs. does it get to a point where we exceed the capacity of money made available to the city in being able to assist that population, especially if the population is increase relative to the homicide rate? >> know, we have not run out of funds to assist homicide victims and their families. i would imagine it's a rare case when there is outside involvement needed to get these expenses paid. for example, when a homicide happens, the crisis response team responds immediately, they go up to the scene of every homicide. we have a close working relationship with the crt professionals and they will walk family members to our office. if that does not happen, our

advocates reject immediately, but the contact information from the medical examiner, and start making contact as soon as a homicide has occurred. this is something we work on quickly. the homicides, we do not wait. the only wrinkle is the state has tightened up their interpretation of their guidelines for eligibility. so whereas a case in the past where there is a homicide and the victim may be was engaged in a drug deal, that would still go through. today, that would be tougher to push through because the state is looking at whether the victim contributed or was involved in the crime. >> all the dollars associated our state driven, is there any match local dollars at all? >> there is no local match. >> is there a need for added assistance of local dollars or what is provided for by the state is sufficient? >> in terms of their appalling

fund, that has been working well. when we get to item number six, the general victim compensation staffing, the dollars, we have taken a cut to that grand, so we have had to pick up one of the positions on the general fund, so there is additional need their. >>supervisor campos: i'm wonderg if you can give us information as far as how many families have benefited from this service? >> our data is not real good. the state keeps the data. what i can tell you is for fiscal year 2009-2010, we paid out over $3 million in benefits to victims, their families and providers. that was for a total of 1120 cases filed in san francisco. that's not the number of victims we see, that is closer to 4000,

but the number of applications was 1720. -- supervisor campos: what is the rate at which applications are approved or denied? what is the percentage in terms of applications that are approved? >> i don't know the answer to that and it depends on the benefit. in this last fiscal year, the numbers are lower for approval because of state guidelines. supervisor campos: what i am trying to get to is to have an understanding of how what we are doing relates to the need that is out there and i think that requires having a better sense of how many people are applying, how many people are seeking help, who actually ends up getting the help, and to the extent applications are denied, what the basis for that and i'll is -- the bases for that

and i'll are. -- for that denial are. >> i don't know if i will have the breakdown, but i think we do have the percentage of approvals and denials. supervisor campos: i think it is something we as a city should be aware of and have that information. to the extent this is a state- run program, where there may be a need where a gap needs to be filled, we need to be mindful or aware of that. i don't know where the money for something like that would come from, but it's something we should consider and certainly look into. to do that, to have a sense of whether or not there's a need for the city to step in and supplement what the city is doing, we need to find out what the need is and we need to get a better sense of the way of the land. thank you very much. supervisor cohen: following

along the lines of the supervisor campos, a want to know which department manages this data. >> it is the california victim compensation claims board. supervisor cohen: is this a politically appointed board? >> is appointed by the governor. supervisor cohen: all seats? >> yes. supervisor cohen: do you have the information on what the average payment to each family is? >> i do not. i don't know if they would have it. supervisor cohen: so say my son is killed and i live in public housing. i make an application, where do i find that application? >> in the d.a.'s office. supervisor cohen: then who reviews it? >> the claims staff employed by the d.a.'s office. supervisor cohen: then what happens?

>> it will determine eligibility and send it to the state. supervisor cohen: does the state have final say? do they have the ability to overturn the decision made at a local level? >> they do. supervisor cohen: i suspect you probably don't know what that ratio is. >> i do not. supervisor mirkarimi: just picking up on the threat of this discussion, who advocates for the victims' families to the state? is that you? >> yes. that is the advocates in the victims' services division. because of the problems we're having now with the state's tightening up their guidelines, advocates have become experts on the appeal process. they're ready to assist them throughout the process. >> i would think part of -- supervisor mirkarimi: i would think part of that advocacy would be to be well equipped with statistics as to who is getting the kind of funding necessary and is getting

rejected. i think that would empower san francisco to be more vocal either to the state or signal to the city government that state is not helping to the degree they should so maybe we need to step in. i have to tell you, less than one month ago, i had to spend a very sad morning with the mother whose son was murdered in hayes valley. she was very distressed and it was hard to have a measure discussion, but she was not getting assistance. her office did have to call on the expenses that she felt completely overwhelmed, and very distressed about. not that i expect your office to be the ones that fix it all, but it bubbles up quite a bit that we have had to intervene from our office over the years to try to usher people through the

process. i do not believe this is as smooth as it sounds like, and i have a feeling there's a larger population out there getting rejected then we are aware of. it would be nice to know that for sure because it is anecdotal. >> i think it would be nice to have the data. the process is rarely smooth because you're dealing with families that have suffered a devastating loss. the first time they come to our office, sometimes they don't even remember they have been there. it's not uncommon for them to go to another office and say no is helping me when they have been held to the rest of our ability. but we cannot help everything and we cannot make the pain go away. we're always open to calls from other agencies for assistance, but those advocates, especially on homicide, i am positive they reached out to that mother before they called you. supervisor mirkarimi: i think it helps to tie the loop up so the d.a.'s office and the victim's

witness assistant does not feel alone in this process, that there would be a more collaborative effort so we are at least half of the game, especially if the state is going through the kind of fiscal crisis is going through. that least prepares us so that in the budget committee, which i sit on, we are able to then anticipate potential need. it seems to be relative to the violence rate and homicide rate we have been experiencing, and it has been seesawing quite a bit. >> we were collectively, so we will accept any help that is available. . supervisor mirkarimi: we may want to have a different relationship so that binds the officers and potentially criminal justice agencies, so that they're a little more alert to the fact that this is a

need that needs to be addressed. thank you. we appreciate everything. i do not believe we have anymore questions. any public comment on this item? i did not call the next one, so -- i am ok for now. any public comment? public comment is closed. can we take this without objection? so moved. madame clerk, which call in #6? >> item 6, resolution authorizing the office of the district attorney retroactively accepting to expand this $714,138 allocated from the california victim compensation and government claims board for a project entitled the joint powers agreement for july 1st, 2011 through june 30th, 2012. >> this is the grant that funds

of the staff in the d.a.'s office to handle the applications and all of the bills and outreach that goes on with providers. as i said earlier, the amount of the grant was cut by 5% and we are currently -- which currently holds seven staff members whereas before it was able to pay for eight. we still have eight working on the program because that is what is needed to make it work. supervisor campos: why is the grant retroactive? >> i think that was a timing issue. it has taken that long to get here. we have been doing the load all along and there has not been a gap in service. supervisor cohen: how many people on staff will this grant cover? >> 7. supervisor cohen: and you are not looking to expand or contract staff? >> we have had eight for a

number of years, but only seven are covered by the grand -- to the grant. supervisor cohen: how is the eighth covered? >> to the federal fund. supervisor mirkarimi: the you have a volunteer program? sometimes i hear about people who are motivated by what happens in their neighborhood and want to help. maybe through internship there a particular criteria that is trained, maybe you could update us about that. >> we have a very robust intern and volunteer program. we currently have six or seven volunteers working on this program, which, without them, i don't know what we would do in terms of phone calls and data entry. we do use that and it supports a lot of our operations. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. keep up the good work. any other public comment?

public comment is closed. colleagues, can we take this without objection? so moved. madame clerk, item number seven. >> item #7 is an ordinance amending the san francisco police code by adding sections 4511 dissections613.9.5 to add findings to ordnances requiring a handgun to be kept in a locked container or disabled with a trigger lock and prohibiting the sale of enhanced lethality ammunition. supervisor mirkarimi: the purpose is to add a findings backed by research of two separate, existing laws. one requires handguns to be kept in locked containers or disabled with a trigger lock. the other, which prohibits the sale of the hands of lethality ammunition, the most common of which are hollow point bullets. in 2008, the supreme court

decision change the interpretation of the second amendment to mean that it protected an individual's rights to possess a gun for self- defense. since then, gun advocates have been challenging local gun laws across the nation, including san francisco, which is why i teamed up with the city attorney's office so we can fortify our defense of reasonable gun safety laws. this ordinance is needed to clarify the board of supervisors on going intend to reflect updated research to ensure existing gun laws in the police code are for look -- are fully enforceable. there is ample evidence these laws are needed now more than ever and they will save countless lives every year. in addition to several shootings in august, a man was shot a forty-niners game we heard about when the police chief was on which made national news about insufficient staffing at a tailgate party that erupted. in july, at least eight innocent bystanders were hit by stray

bullets, two of them were children, one was in my district, which are is absolutely livid about and visited in san francisco general hospital. fortunately, she survived. a north beach woman was hit by a bullet that passed through her body. it fortunately did not cause life-threatening injuries, but the police department confirmed they were hollow point bullets that hit her. they are illegal in my mind and would not have passed through her body because it would have expanded and a much greater damage and would have then possibly life-threatening. each year, there are hundreds of gun-related injuries in san francisco and we can only guess how many would be fatalities if it were easier for people to buy hollow point bullets. with regard to the locked container and trigger locks, dozens of studies show keeping a loaded door unlocked done in the home is associated with an increased risk of a gun-related injuries or death. less than one year ago, and 8-

year-old boy found a gun in his house, took it outside in a play yard and shot himself in the stomach. another personally visited and who luckily survived, that was a tragedy. the sad truth is that guns left at home are often used in suicides or against friends and family and it is these incidences we are trying to prevent. we have a number of speakers today that include the following -- the deputy city attorney, the city attorney's office, which we appreciate for their hard work in arriving at this particular reintroduction of our laws. the san francisco police department officer, san francisco general surgeon resident and trauma researcher, and we are familiar that there are a number of other people here to speak -- i would like to go ahead and

invite you to help introduce this and we can go from there. >> thank you, supervisor. i am currently employed as a san francisco police officer. i started my law enforcement career back in november of 1970 with the oakland police department. i worked in special investigations and crime reduction in that city and retired in 1991 and went to work for the california department of justice. while with the california department justice, i worked in gangs and organized-crime until 2000 when i was promoted to a position of special agent supervisor. i assisted in founding in putting together the firearms division in sacramento. during that time, i testified on numerous occasions before the legislature and its superior and

federal court on firearms issues, prohibited possessions, ballistics, and assault weapons identification and operations. over those times, i from a 2000 to 2008, i sat on the committees that approved storage locks and safes for the sales in california and requirements they have to pass to be certified for sale in this state. during that time, we were given the information on all accidental shootings that occurred within the state. what was predominately clear to us is that a number of those shootings were the fact that those guns were accessed by persons who were unaware of the aspects and operations of the firearm and the fact they could not tell if the firearm was loaded or not. during that time, laws were

passed for delivery of the firearms through the firearms safety certificate. not only did they have to take a test to acquire a firearm safety certificate to purchase the gun, prior to delivery of the gun, that person has to go through a hands-on, objective test with dummy ammunition to show they know how to load, unload, and secure the firearm in their home. during the passage of those laws, a section was added that, during the sale of the gun, the firearm has to be supplied with a certified lock, certified by the state of california, or the person can bring a lock in that shows a certified number on it, certified by the state of california, or they can sign an affidavit with the model and co. of the gun say they have at home that would allow them to take the gun home without having to have those requirements of a

lock on site at the delivery time. one of the easiest access to a firearm in the home through a safe is through an electronic keypad lock for a firearm safe, which is a small safe that allows a person to keep a firearm in the safe, relatively accessible with a digital combination only known to persons who are the owner or someone else who is allowed to know the combination for that safe. there are saves which are relatively accessible to the person who knows the combination but keeps other people who are unaware of the operations or loaded capabilities of the gun away from a firearm. in addressing the hollow point issue, hollow point ammunition, over the last 41 years in law enforcement, i have been involved in numerous armed confrontations, shootings,