Williams advocates for more Community Affairs Division funding
Williams advocates for increased Community Affairs Division funding, noting officers raise their own money for community events. Tisch reports she reassigned community affairs officers back to their precincts in January, restoring the function under patrol command.
Just one more question about my favorite division in the police department, which is the Community Affairs Division.
I would love to see every year I ask for an increase because there are amazing community affairs officers.
One precinct, they're doing a whole dance recital, you know, and they do the best that they can.
They raise money inside of the police department.
They externally ask for resources.
But I feel like when I think of like community policing and what we all want to see from the police department, I feel like this is like the unit that does that work.
And I feel like they just don't, I would love to see them have more money.
You know, the game truck breaks down, the rock wall, there's only like one rock wall.
We'd love to see a rock wall in each bureau.
I mean, this is just my yearly, please give more money to the community affairs division.
I hear you on that.
I will say that one thing that we have done, and this was at the request and advice on the advice of.
Virtually every precinct CO that I've spoken to.
For four years, the community affairs officers were not assigned to their precincts.
They were reassigned to a centralized community affairs bureau, which basically meant that the precinct CO
lost his or her basically right-hand person, but particularly definitely the right-hand person for dealing directly with the community because that person no longer reported to him and her.
As of January this year, I was very pleased to reassign community affairs officers back to their specific
precincts and I think that that has and will continue to go a long way.
There are still many community affairs officers that are centrally assigned under the Community Affairs Bureau, but I think restoring that function under
patrol has led to some very positive outcomes and I am getting positive feedback on that both from many of your colleagues but just as importantly many precinct CEOs that I speak to.
We've also been joined by Councilmember Banks, and we'll go with Councilmember Caban, followed by Wong.