As the relationship between police officers and the communities they serve continues to make headlines across the nation, the Palo Alto Police Department is preparing for its own transition in how it interacts with the public.
The department, which in recent years has significantly stepped up its social media efforts, is looking to hire a public safety information officer this year. The new non-sworn position would mark a change for a department in which public-information duties have traditionally been distributed among sworn officers, with Capt. Zach Perron playing a leading role.
In addition to his media-relations duties, Perron was also the architect of the city's social media strategy, which includes a strong presence on Twitter (where the department has about 16,600 followers), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Nixle, Flickr and Nextdoor. This year, Perron has been tapped to head the department's detective division, prompting a search for replacement.
The $192,000 public affairs manager is the only new General Fund position that City Manager James Keene is proposing in his budget for fiscal year 2018, which starts on July 1. On Tuesday night, as the council Finance Committee reviewed the Police Department budget, interim Police Chief Ron Watson made a case for why the addition is necessary. He noted that under Perron, the department has become a national leader in the realm of social media and community outreach, with more than 40,000 followers on social media.
Watson said that thanks to existing efforts, the city has the ability to instantly reach 13,000 of the city's 27,000 households with timely information. He also told the committee that the social-media platforms allow for two-way communication, which benefits not only residents but the department, which gets tips from users during major incidents like the downtown manhunt in March.
"The Police Department public affairs manager has become a critical position in the Police Department and city not only on day-to-day routine matters, but during high-profile incidents in the field, as well as one of lead folks in Emergency Operations Center any time we have a major incident or natural disaster," Watson said.
Watson said that removing the position from the budget would deal a blow to the department's community-outreach efforts, effectively halting its social-media activities and reducing press releases by 75 to 80 percent.
Not everyone, however, was convinced that the position is necessary. Councilman Greg Tanaka made a motion to tentatively approve the Police Department's budget without the public-information officer.
"I can't see how we need position," Tanaka said. "I can't see why we would add a social media person for the Police Department. I cannot support it."
Tanaka's motion failed, with his three colleagues agreeing that the request is reasonable. Councilwoman Karen Holman suggested that hiring a public-information officer could make for "bad optics" in a community where many people are more concerned about inadequate traffic enforcement. But while she urged Watson to be clear in communicating the need for the communication position, she stopped short of opposing the request.
Councilman Adrian Fine fully supported creating the new position. Having a single point of contact for press and public inquiries will eliminate the need for pulling officers off the street to deal with these tasks. Having someone taking charge of social media and community outreach also helps the department be more transparent and win community trust.
"You don't need it until it's too late," Fine said.
Fine's proposal to tentatively approve the Police Department's proposed budget passed by a 3-1 vote, with Tanaka dissenting. The full council will have a chance to review the proposed change when it approves the 2018 budget next month.
Comments
Old Palo Alto
on May 10, 2017 at 1:24 pm
on May 10, 2017 at 1:24 pm
Isn't this part of the job of the Police Chief. Low profile cases could be updated on the internet. High profile cases should be the responsibility of the Chief. Money better spent by hiring another police officer.
Crescent Park
on May 10, 2017 at 1:58 pm
on May 10, 2017 at 1:58 pm
I think the job of Public Information Officer is often to shade the truth and keep facts from the public. A case in point is the 2015 Christmas Day shooting. Perron kept from the media two crucial facts -- 1. that a counselor had come out of the house just before the shooting to ask police not to shoot, 2. that the knife was a table knife one would use to make a sandwich. Perron didn't lie, but he withheld facts from the public to make the shooting seem different than it really was. If the police are going to have a Public Information Officer, that officer should be instructed to tell the whole truth and not hold back facts just to make the department look good. (I know the censor will remove this post, but I don't believe I've violated the Terms of Use.)
another community
on May 10, 2017 at 3:17 pm
on May 10, 2017 at 3:17 pm
HB quite the observation Mr. Sheyner does in fact censor the most benign of posts. Mr. Perron has been in my oppinion extremely responsive to our needs. However, don't see the need for adding additional headcount. The city already has a communication manager claudia.keith@cityofpaloalto.org Including a six figure income and from what we understand she only manages the cities twitter accounts. Not much else we see adding any benefits to an already bloated payroll and pension roles
Southgate
on May 10, 2017 at 3:54 pm
on May 10, 2017 at 3:54 pm
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Mountain View
on May 10, 2017 at 4:01 pm
on May 10, 2017 at 4:01 pm
Why is the post above still up?
Palo Verde
on May 13, 2017 at 10:55 am
on May 13, 2017 at 10:55 am
A communications 'person' might be OK, but a Director level position at $192k seems way overkill. What's to be done that a person w/salary half that could not do?
I for one would rather see that money used to hire multiple people (2-3? more part time?) to do parking control throughout the entire city - particularly south of Oregon where for reasons unfathomable to me people think parking on the sidewalk is OK because they do not have to bump up over a curb (forcing neighborhood mothers and children to walk in the street). And people who park in bicycle lanes. And people who park on the wrong side of the street (facing traffic). Having someone patrol city streets outside of the University and California avenue business districts, even just one day a week, would be significant. Given how many violations I see (on streets like Louis, for instance), I think the position might pay for itself in fines!
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on May 13, 2017 at 11:53 am
on May 13, 2017 at 11:53 am
$192K for this position is absurd for someone to post press releases online, especially when the city has a budget deficit and growing pension liabilities.
Obviously the city doesn't care about spending since it proudly bragged in its latest eNewsletter that it just bought two -- 2-- robots as greeters for the libraries.
At least the big robots don't benefits and just open us up to liability like when the Stanford Shopping Center security robot ran over the toddler.
Duveneck/St. Francis
on May 14, 2017 at 6:18 pm
on May 14, 2017 at 6:18 pm
Zach has done a fantastic job and used social media in a way that has set an example and benchmark for the rest of the nations police departments so I think the city should backfill him. However, the city should not do it at a $195,000 a year salary, which is way to high. Also, its important that candidate be an individual contributor (hence not a Director) and will personally answer all the social media comments and private messages and not think their job is hire someone else. They must also be willing to respond 24x7 for emergency police or natural disaster events. Let's continue the great work Zach has done but be fiscally responsible.
Palo Verde
on May 14, 2017 at 6:57 pm
on May 14, 2017 at 6:57 pm
Don't equate "salary" with total budgeted cost of a position.
Duveneck/St. Francis
on May 15, 2017 at 12:11 pm
on May 15, 2017 at 12:11 pm
It seems amazing that another dept in a city the size of PA wants to hire another communications person for $192,000/year +benefits which are not included in this figure It seems so obvious that a (1) someone, somehow doesn't really want te public to understand what is going on or else the infomation would be easy to disseminate to the public. (2)It is realistic the person in this position has a responsibility to the department in which they work, to communicate as the head of the deptmeent wants the public to know information not as it is, but what makes the departmant (manager+employees) look politically correct.
It is overdue for the city employees take responsibility to make sure they communicate honestly with PAtans and not as spin. An insult to the intelligence and involvement we have with what happens in this city. The City Manager has a responsibility to make sure our tax dollars are used wisely and efficiently. If there wasn't so much spin and twist put into what he thinks we should think, instead of what he wants us to know, and how to think, he would never approve this position or more than one person in the city - not 3 or 4 people for the job in different departments.. One person could write reports/press releases/ etc for the city.
Absurd suggestion on the part of Police Dept- and I support Tenaka's questioning of this position. The council has a responsibility to refuse this request and reguire greated accountability with less opportunity for department by department spin.