pages: CityCouncil/2021-04-06.pdf, 11
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CityCouncil | 2021-04-06 | 11 | to specific crimes that have already occurred; there needs to be clarity as to the reason things are being posted; due to posts, residents think assaults are up this year; however, they are down from the previous year; car theft has gone up; Council should be discussing how to prevent car thefts; the communications goals as-written are mostly great; he does not know how staff members can be expected to know what the City is asking to have communicated; expressed support for providing direction that communications goals be fleshed out more in alignment with public comments and Council priorities. Councilmember Daysog stated Council can depend on the professional judgement of the Police Chief and Command staff, as well as the City Manager; he does not think it is a role of City Council to micromanage social media posts; expressed support for Councilmember Herrera Spencer putting on the pressure for APD to have the social media account up; noted there had been an indeterminate amount of time when APD's social media posts would be down; many residents have shared their opinions about the matter; APD is paid a lot of money to do their jobs; Council needs to focus on policy instead of telling the City Manager and Police Chief how to post to social media. Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft requested clarification about how long APD social media posts were down and why posts returned. The City Manager stated the policy direction was approved by the City Manager's Office and authorization was given to put APD's social media back up last week. Vice Mayor Vella stated data and oversight was just requested for people providing essential services to prevent homelessness; she is shocked to hear a desire for extensive oversight for homeless services and no oversight for APD; expressed concern about the type of information being shared and to whom; stated posts impact public perception and can cause people to become worried about things unnecessarily; Council should be careful about the information shared to ensure fear is not being caused when there is no reason to raise alarm; it is Council's job to weigh-in and create policies to ensure people are not misusing social media or following accounts that are propagating misinformation; there could be more to the proposed policy; the policy is a step in the right direction; sections of the proposed policy are a huge improvement from what existed before; there is no clear direction about which accounts to follow or which posts to like and retweet; it is difficult to develop concise social media policies due to constantly changing platforms; Council needs to have a more coherent overall structure City-wide for all social media. Councilmember Herrera Spencer stated that she appreciates the APD social media posts related to crimes because assaults are up 9.7% according to the Interim Police Chief; robberies are up 19%; auto thefts are at a 35 year high up 16% over the previous year; shootings are up dramatically; APD tips are helpful for the public to be aware of robberies, shootings and violent crimes; numbers are significantly up and the data from the Interim Police Chief should be used. Councilmember Knox White stated data is important when contextualized; in the previous year, assaults were the second lowest in 35 years; a year to year increase can occur; it is possible for increases from the lowest point; trends should be tracked; trends differ from posting about 14 assaults, which makes Alameda appear to be under a siege of assaults; Council can agree that people need to be informed about what is happening; having the context to understand the information is important; he would rely heavily on the Police Chief and APD staff to provide both; currently, APD does not put out the information and context; outlined his push to have crime Regular Meeting Alameda City Council 11 April 06, 2021 | CityCouncil/2021-04-06.pdf |