TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Michael A. Hursh, General Manager
SUBJECT: Sheriffs Contract Performance Tracking
BRIEFING ITEM
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider receiving a report on the development of new and additional Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for the Alameda and Contra-Costa County Sheriff’s contracts.
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Safe and Secure Operations
Initiative - Service Quality
Establishing standardized KPIs for Sheriff contracts ensures compliance, quality of expected services, and may result in reduced cost.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no budgetary impact other than staff hours contributing to this effort.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
During the March 10, 2021 Board meeting for the renewal of the Alameda County Sheriff’s contract, staff was directed to develop KPIs to measure the overall effectiveness of the District’s law enforcement contracts. The District has two law enforcement contracts, one with Alameda County and one with Contra Costa County. This staff report will focus on the development of KPIs related to the performance of the Alameda County Sheriff’s (ALCO) Office. The District intends to incorporate KPIs for the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s contract once the process has been vetted and established. Until then, staff continues to monitor standard performance reports already provided by the County.
Data Collection:
The District is standardizing processes to better collect performance data in a format needed to develop KPIs for the law enforcement contracts. Staff has relied on various reports provided by the Sheriff’s Office to monitor performance and activities under the contract. In developing the District’s KPIs, the first steps are to review the existing scope of services, understand raw data and reports, and develop a data collection process and methodology in compliance with the District’s cybersecurity data integration and management process. Next, staff will complete a gap analysis to determine what additional data is needed from the law enforcement contractors to fulfill the intended KPI reports.
Often, the first attempt to create a report identifies gaps in the data that would be advantageous to have in subsequent reporting periods. For example, the District has learned that the current data does provide the average Deputy response time after a call has been dispatched. Staff is currently working with both counties to source the data and ensure it can be formatted for integration with established KPI report development processes. Staff expects to have the average response time performance statistics in the next quarterly report.
Operations Control Center (OCC):
Bus operators are trained to contact the Operations Control Center (OCC) for all incidents. AC Transit Controllers working in the OCC then contact ALCO to request support for all incidents and accidents including slips, trips, and falls. One of the primary support functions that staff can manage more efficiently is slip, trip, and fall incidents. Between September 2020 to March 2021, District staff responded to 52 slip, trip, and fall incidents. Controllers requested ALCO response and they provided support on 40 of those incidents. Controllers are trained to request ALCO support for Supervisors and Operators whenever a passenger requires medical attention. Previously, calls were made to ALCO for any slip, trip or fall whether or not the passenger required medical attention. Staff is looking at opportunities to be more efficient in deploying Sheriff’s Deputies while ensuring employees and passengers are safe.
Currently, OCC calls initiated to ALCO are being tracked and separated into KPI categories for monitoring, coaching, and training.
Key Performance Indicators (KPI):
The following table identifies the KPI metrics and definitions based on the current data assessment. The table defines the activity and incident type that will be integrated into the District’s quarterly operations performance report.
Table 1: Public Safety Performance KPI’s
|
KPI |
Definition |
|
AC Transit Activities |
Percentage of Sheriff activities that are directly related to AC Transit business |
|
Calls Taken |
Quantity of calls requesting a Sheriff response |
|
Reports Written |
Quantity of reports written by the Sheriff |
|
Altercations |
Quantity of assault and battery incidents that occurred on an AC Transit bus or property that involved an AC Transit Employee or passenger |
|
Arrests |
Quantity of a misdemeanor or felony arrests made on an AC Transit bus or property. |
|
Citations |
Quantity of bus zone and traffic citations related to a violation on a bus, in a bus lane, or at a bus stop. |
|
Bus Activity |
Quantity of incidents where Sheriff boarded, rode, or shadowed AC Transit bus. |
|
Sheriff Response Reduction |
Percent of passenger incidents where OCC mitigated the need to call for a Sheriff response |
Attachment 1 provides the Third Quarter (Q3) Public Safety Performance Report as an initial phase with the understanding that this report may be enhanced as data integration processes are finalized. Moving forward, staff will work to incorporate additional statistics related to efforts to partner with external resources regarding unhoused riders, including offering behavioral health resources to those individuals most in need.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
An advantage of developing KPIs is to provide staff with valuable data to better manage contract performance by the Sheriff’s Office, while ensuring the District is maximizing its opportunity to allocate services where they are most needed.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
This report does not recommend an alternative analysis.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
SR-21-146, Consider approving a three-year contract with two one-year options with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office for AC Transit sworn law enforcement services.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Q3 Public Safety Performance
Prepared by:
Kerry D. Jackson, Protective Services Manager
In Collaboration with:
Manjit K. Sooch, Director of Systems and Software Development
William Tonis, Director of Project Controls & Systems Analysis
Derik Calhoun, Director of Transportation
Approved/Reviewed by:
Chris Andrichak, Chief Financial Officer
Ahsan Baig, Chief Information Officer
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Executive Director of Planning & Engineering
Salvador Llamas, Chief Operating Officer
Jill A. Sprague, General Counsel