Consideration and Approval of Grant Application: Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) Federal Fiscal Year 2014 for Police Department Applications for DUI Task Force, Youth Alcohol Prevention and Interdiction, Collision Reconstruction Team Training/Equipment, and Fire Department Extrication Equipment. 

• Approval and acceptance of the grant applications to GOHS for the Police Department, D.U.I. Task Force, Youth Alcohol Prevention and Interdiction, Collision Reconstruction Team Training/Equipment and the Fire Department, Extrication Equipment.
• Without monies allocated by the FY 2014 grant to the Flagstaff Police Department, monies needed to pay scheduled overtime for activities to prevent and control crime may not be available in the City's annual budget.
• This much needed equipment will assist the Flagstaff Fire Department to enhance their response to accidents with the necessary tools.

There is no significant financial impact to the Flagstaff Police and Fire Department in terms of expenditures.

11. Effective governance

Yes, Council has accepted prior-year funded GOHS grants.  Both the Police and Fire Department have received these grants for a number of years.

Approve the Grant Application(s)
Disapprove the Grant Applications(s)

The Flagstaff Police Department considers any loss of life or limb to a drug or alcohol-related, motor vehicle accident unacceptable. We have conducted both in-service and advanced officer training in D.U.I. detection. We have a longstanding tradition of aggressive D.U.I. interdiction and enforcement.  Every officer in our organization is held accountable to D.U.I. arrest standards. Each officer working a night shift is expected to achieve a D.U.I. standard performance rating, which is identified as three or more D.U.I. arrests per month. This is done in the interest of protecting life and property through collision reduction. Our interdiction efforts have further been supported with D.U.I. overtime operations such as task force patrols, and directed patrols on weekends and holidays. These efforts are staffed by officers on overtime to enhance effectiveness. Without the financial resources provided for by DUI Task Force grant application, it is difficult, if not impossible, to staff these operations with on-duty officers as they have primary responsibility to respond to all manner of calls for service during their shift.  

The Youth Alcohol Prevention and Interdiction grant application fits in with our mission to protect and preserve life and property. The Flagstaff Police Department has a zero tolerance policy towards alcohol-related crimes including: driving under the influence, minor consumption, misrepresentation of age to purchase alcohol, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.  Related to these ends, the FPD expects each of its patrol officers to proactively engage in the arrest of liquor violations. Flagstaff Police Department officers are typically attached to patrol squads that work during the evening and night time hours. During their shift, these officers are responsible for answering calls for service while remaining vigilant for alcohol violations. However, we feel that we have the potential to be even more effective and have a greater impact in the area of underage drinking enforcement during known times and locations when these types of violations are more likely to occur.  Our proposal concerns the granting of overtime reimbursement funds for directed patrol efforts for the enforcement of underage drinking laws, as well as an educational component.

The Accident Reconstruction Team Training/Equipment grant application is specified to pay for officer training in the area of collision reconstruction for fatality and serious injury traffic collisions. One of our department’s greatest services is education, which in turn is used to assist with prevention, as well as effective investigation and prosecution in cases involving personal injury or death on our roadways.  One key tool used to accomplish this is through the use of the Collision Reconstruction Team. Continued education for team members and effective equipment are essential to achieving this goal. The Flagstaff Police Department is committed to making our city streets safer for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians. The administration of justice in collisions involving impaired drivers and reckless motorists directly corresponds to our department’s mission to preserve life and property in the service of our community.

Lastly the matter of the Flagstaff Fire Department Extrication Equipment grant application. The Flagstaff Fire Department is requesting two remote-use extrication combination o-cutters and spreader tools to enhance our response to accidents where conventional extrication tools are limited by their supporting equipment. The requested equipment is a one-person, self-contained piece of equipment that can be taken deep into areas not accessible by apparatus, and is easily carried by one person. Conventional extrication equipment requires a motor-driven pump, hose and the cutter or spreader tools.  To carry those would require a minimum of three to four personnel to move the unit in a remote area.

The law-abiding citizens of our community expect and deserve our streets and neighborhoods to be places where they feel safe. The approval of these grant applications will allow us to seek additional resources to help us reduce collisions through removing impaired drivers, underage alcohol prevention/education, and with investigating collisions which result in injuries. The numerous letters and comments the Police Department receives from citizens reinforces this goal.

The Fire Department will place the requested equipment on our new fire engine being placed in service at Station 3 in the next few weeks.  The vehicle this engine is replacing will assume a reserve status and only used as a back-up when another vehicle is being repaired.  This reserve unit houses a full set of heavy extrication tools but would only be used to respond secondarily to an incident as the equipment will not fit on the new engine.  By adding the requested equipment, crews can provide extrication services immediately and not need to wait for an additional vehicles to arrivce.  This equipment is a compact, one-person tool that does not require a hydraulic pump or hose to operate making it take up minimal room on the Engine 3; the second toll would be placed on Engine 1 in order to have the type of equipment on both sides of the City.

The Police Department grant applications will assist the Flagstaff Police Department to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist crime victims.

The Fire Department will place the requested equipment on our new fire engine being placed in service at Station 3 in the next few weeks to provide more expedient service to the public. 

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