CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Authorize the City Manager to increase the 2023 personnel headcount and hire an additional two full-time equivalent Police Records Specialists
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DEPARTMENT: Police Department
SUBMITTED BY: Jason Arres, Chief
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
The Police Department - Records Division is currently staffed with six full-time Records Specialists and one Records Supervisor.
The Records Specialists receive, process, and maintain the integrity of documents and information sensitive to public safety. They regularly interact with the public, other City departments, other law enforcement agencies, and the judicial systems of both DuPage and Will Counties in person, electronically, and via phone. The Records Specialists monitor compliance with state statutes, mandated reporting, accreditation standards, and Police Department general orders. They also perform a variety of clerical and technical duties including, but not limited to:
1. The management of records systems and the data therein
2. The electronic capture, indexing, and auditing of documents
3. Maintenance of reports
4. Redaction and dissemination of video, reports, and miscellaneous records
5. Data entry
6. Fee processing
Over the past two years, new state mandates and emerging trends in law enforcement has created additional work for the Records Division. The following are specific examples of additional work placed on the Records Division because of these changes:
1. Illinois law now requires all sworn police officers to wear a body-worn camera (BWC) while on duty and in uniform.
o The Naperville Police Department implemented BWCs in June 2022 resulting in increased time to prepare and complete FOIA and judicial requests due to video review, redaction, and auditing.
2. Increases in technology adoption throughout society, such as home camera/doorbell systems, home/business security cameras, and individual cell phone video, have increased the volume of digital evidence associated with police cases and present the same issues when fulfilling FOIA and judicial requests.
3. In 2021, the Illinois Uniform Crime Reporting Program (I-UCR) adopted the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to meet FBI reporting standards. This increased the reporting of incidents from ten crimes to 22 offense categories with 52 data elements. Every police report must be audited to confirm that it meets the state and federal standards of reporting.
DISCUSSION:
The Police Department performed a Records Division workload analysis earlier this year. The analysis focused on the primary tasks required of the Records Specialists, the frequency in which these tasks need to be completed, and whether staff is current or behind on these tasks.
The following key points were noted during the analysis and describe the current state of the Records Division.
States Attorney Requests and Subpoenas
• In 2022, Records Specialists processed 3,493 State’s Attorney requests and subpoenas, compared to 2,941 in 2021 (19% increase)
o Each request takes an additional ten minutes to prepare and extract BWC video.
• The 19% increase in requests is attributed to the increase in arrests due to 2022 being more in line with pre-Covid numbers.
• It is estimated that this task adds 12 hours of work per week.
FOIA Requests
• Completing FOIA requests involves reviewing and redacting police reports, internal affairs requests, statistical information, and reviewing/redacting video and audio from in-car cameras and BWC videos. The requests have increased to pre-Covid numbers and the time taken to complete the requests is increasing.
o 2022 - 2,037 requests; Avg days open 13
o 2021 - 1,640 requests; Avg days open 15
o 2020 - 1,539 requests; Avg days open 10
o 2019 - 2,204 requests; Avg days open 5
o 2018 - 1,632 requests; Avg days open 6
• 34% of FOIA requests ask for some form of digital media that needs to be evaluated. Specifically, 486 hours (or 5.7 hours per day) of video have been reviewed and redacted through April 2023 regarding BWC requests. Redaction of video is a time-consuming process. For context, it currently takes our personnel an average of six minutes to redact one minute of BWC video.
State Reporting
• National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) - In 2022 13,353 police reports containing 4,800 NIBRS incidents needed Records Division staff intervention.
o This task is being performed by the Records Supervisor and is taking roughly one week per month to complete.
o This task can and should be performed by a Records Specialist position, not by a supervisor.
• Mental Health Reporting- In 2022 the Police Department responded to 909 mental health related incidents.
o It is estimated that mandated state reporting will require one hour per week to review and perform data entry and is currently being completed by a light-duty officer assigned to the Records Division.
The additional work noted above has resulted in a backlog of work in some task areas. The table below summarizes common Records Specialist tasks, frequency, and completion status.
|
Tasks |
Frequency |
Status |
|
Reports |
Daily |
Current |
|
Master Name Consolidation |
As time allows |
3-week backlog |
|
Geo Verification |
As time allows |
Current |
|
Scan / Index / Filing |
Daily |
Current |
|
Data Entry |
Daily / as time allows |
10-week backlog |
|
Retention |
As time allows |
Backlog |
|
State Reporting |
As time allows / supervisor |
4-week backlog |
|
Transmittals |
Daily |
Current |
|
T2 Parking Past Due Letters |
As time allows |
1-week backlog |
|
Cash Handling |
Daily |
Current |
|
Form Room Maintenance |
As time allows |
Current |
|
FOIA |
Daily |
2-week backlog |
|
States Attorney Requests |
Daily |
Current |
|
Subpoenas |
Daily |
Current |
|
Insurance Requests |
Daily |
1-week backlog |
|
Expungements |
Daily |
1-week backlog |
|
Background Checks |
Daily |
1-week backlog |
|
Law Enforcement Requests |
Daily |
Current |
|
DCFS Requests |
Daily |
Current |
|
Military Requests |
Daily |
Current |
The Records Supervisor has assisted with the workload by consistently contributing 20 hours per week to handling tasks including FOIAs, state reporting, and assisting with other assignments when needed. This is taking time away from leading the workgroup, refining processes, and performing records management maintenance. These are all tasks that will require more time when transitioning to a new records management system.
To stay current with work utilizing today’s systems, an additional 5.75 employees would be needed. However, the Police Department is requesting two additional Records Specialists as it is presumed that efficiencies will be gained with the implementation of the new CAD/RMS in 2024.
Comparable Community Analysis
To see how Naperville compares, an analysis of area Police departments that have BWCs was performed to determine Records Division staffing levels and annual number of FOIA requests in 2022.
• Naperville PD (Axon BWC and in-car cameras)
o 6 Clerks and 1 Supervisor
o 2,037 FOIAs
• Elgin PD (Axon BWC and in-car cameras)
o 6.5 Clerks and 1 Supervisor
o 1 Court Liaison
o 1.5 Adjudication Specialist
o 2,625 FOIAs
o Department does not track BWC requests
• Schaumburg PD (Axon BWC and in-car cameras)
o 10 Records Clerks, 1 Supervisor, and 1 Manager
o 1,389 FOIAs
o No BWC in 2022
• Aurora PD (Axon BWC and in-car cameras)
o 16 Clerks and 1 Manager
o 3 Digital Evidence Specialists and 1 working Supervisor
o 4,229 FOIAs
o 108 requested BWC video
Recommendation
At the onset of the body-worn camera project, it was documented and communicated that additional positions would likely be needed to fulfill the demands of this mandated program. The Police Department has taken a thoughtful approach when examining the need for additional staffing and has taken steps to ensure that the workload justifies the request for additional staff.
For the reasons explained above, the Police Department recommends the addition of two additional Records Specialists to meet the workload demands. Hiring two additional Records Specialists, combined with the continuous improvement of technology, will assist with staying current with the workload and is in line with departments of comparable size and workload.
FISCAL IMPACT:
CIP: N/A
The addition of two Records Specialists comes with a total annual cost of approximately $140,000. That amount is inclusive of all salary, benefits, insurance, and pension costs, as well as uniforms and other ancillary expenses. However, the budget impact in 2023 will be far less as the positions would likely be filled in August or September. The 2023 budget impact is estimated at $58,000. That amount can be accommodated within the Police Department’s 2023 personnel budget, which is approximately $240,000 or 1.6% under budget through June 30. The full annual cost of the two positions will be included in the 2024 budget.