Two top Laguna Beach officials recently decided to stop the years-long practice of distributing redacted emergency dispatch logs to the press on a bi-weekly basis.
On Jan. 6, city spokesperson Cassie Walder wrote in an email that the Laguna Beach Police Department planned to scale back a lightly-redacted daily call log. Instead the agency posts daily logs with few details and a list of arrestees that doesn’t include all releasable information, including the location of arrest, booking time and date, and circumstances surrounding the arrest.
City Manager Shohreh Dupuis and Police Chief Jeff Calvert made the decision to discontinue the routine practice—which has been in place since at least 2018—based on the number of related hours spent by Laguna Beach city employees.
“Given our limited resources, we don’t believe it is efficient use of staff time to spend 14 hours per week, each week, to review of 200-300 pages of documents and redact the logs by hand so they can be released publicly,” Dupuis said in a prepared statement.
For the last two weeks, the Independent filed public records requests for this information at the start of each workweek but the documents were provided days after the paper’s press time.
City Clerk Ann Marie McKay said two requests from the Independent seeking dispatch records each took an hour of staff time. Walder didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on the discrepancy.
Clarification: The public records requests filed by the Independent produced dispatch logs for incidents that resulted in arrests, not all calls for service.
The 14 hours of work claimed by city officials seems excessive for the amount of information extrapolated from dispatch records, said Kelly Aviles, executive director and general counsel for the public forum advocacy group Californians Aware.
“Access to law enforcement records helps the press inform the public,” Aviles said. “If they limit it to press releases that they deem important, it doesn’t give the public the full picture of what’s going on in their city.”
Aviles added that the City’s decision lands at a time when the press’ capacity to file public records requests is more limited because of financial considerations facing newsrooms.
Jim Bueermann, a retired chief of the Redlands Police Department and former president of the Arlington, Va.-based Police Foundation, routinely combed through dispatch records as a patrol lieutenant. At most, the daily redactions would take him about 10 minutes before printing the log for public review, he said.
“Today, trust and confidence is the No. 1 issue in policing and how the public responds to some of the very tragic and alarming incidents that happen across this country,” Bueermann said. “Transparency is paramount to enhancing trust and confidence in what the police do. Best practices today are that police share as much information as they can as fast as they can.”
On Dec. 30, Laguna Beach police received to a call for service next-door to Sylvia Allen’s South Laguna home. Officers shouldered their rifles before entering the residence, she said. The next day, Allen visited the Police Department lobby to inquire about the incident and an employee would only tell her it was a domestic dispute.
Clarification: When there is an ongoing threat to the public, Laguna Beach police will provide releasable information immediately.
From reading the Jan. 7 edition of the Independent, Allen learned police dispatch logs reported a woman was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after cutting her boyfriend with a knife.
After speaking at a city council meeting about her concerns about a lack of transparency surrounding the incident, Calvert contacted Allen to answer her questions, she said
“It’s good to know what’s happening in the community,” Allen said. “You wouldn’t know that if it’s in the service log.”
She added that many older residents rely on local newspapers to report police incidents because they don’t have the technological capability to find reports posted to the city website.
Although the Independent continues to publish its weekly Street Beat column, each incident brief is shorter due to city management’s decision to delay the release of lightly-redacted dispatch logs.
Newport Beach and Irvine police report their daily calls for service through dashboards that include a map highlighting each incident’s location. Neither posts a standalone daily log of arrests like Laguna Beach. Arrest and crime logs are only available by visiting the Newport Beach Police Department’s front desk.
MJ Abraham, a long-time resident and founder of lagunabeachchat.com, urged city officials to immediately reverse their decision on releasing dispatch records to protect public safety.
“The fact is, residents have a right to know what is happening in our neighborhoods and our community at large and we rely on our media resources to keep us regularly informed,” Abraham said in an email. “If the City is not forthcoming in the sharing of information, the information channel breaks down restricting our environmental awareness and personal safety decision making. It’s absurd that our city is taking steps to jeopardize rather than protect its citizens.”
Mayor Sue Kempf declined to comment for this story Wednesday.
I’m surprised by this decision because it suggests that document search criteria, which can be programmed by computer, were never implemented by police staff. Aren’t we giving our police staff the computer tools they need to work? The press has been provided with full police emergency dispatch records since 2004, as the late Stu Saffer, past Indy editor-in-chief and founder of StusNews, told me when I moved here. 18 years of practice suddenly eliminated from public press access? Let’s get our police staff the tools they need to provide this important information to our newspapers. Or, perhaps, some of our wonderful resident volunteers can help with this weekly task if the City can’t supply the police department with these resources.
Daniel/Indy, thank you for bringing this to the public’s attention. Residents have become accustomed to living with police and ambulance sirens/helicopters and neighborhood safety incidents. With the increase of crime activity occurring in our city, it is now more important than ever that residents are kept informed about what is going on in their community.
While City Manager Dupuis professes to be practicing transparency this action suggests the opposite. I too question the redaction man-hours quoted and would like to know specifically what level PD employee(s) is tasked with this job and what technology is being used to produce it. I believe we have the largest police department staffing in our city history. Aren’t stakeholders entitled to current safety information related to their protection and quality of life? Is CM Dupuis saying we aren’t?
Deborah Laughton, thank you for your questions and input. If our city can fund and pump out regular extensive city news information to our phones and social media and fund radio station weekly podcasts/interview shows – why must they stop providing real and relevant public safety information to the media to keep us informed? City Council members must step in and override this city manager’s decision.
LB residents, please contact council members and ask that they intervene. Thank you.
Daniel,
There are misleading comparisons made in today’s story, “Laguna Beach blocks timely release of 911 dispatch records,” and as such we request the following immediate clarifications to the story be made.
Regarding your quote from the City Clerk about how long it takes to produce the arrest records, “City Clerk Ann Marie McKay said two requests from the Independent seeking the same dispatch records each took an hour of staff time,” you are misleading readers by comparing two completely different processes. As the City Manager stated in the article, it takes 14 hours of staff time to redact a week’s worth of logs (200 – 300 pages) due to the volume of information. Because of the sensitive nature of the information contained in this report, two Records Specialists scrutinize each call for service to redact information regarding juveniles, medical aids, and other personal identifying information that should not be released to the public. Redacting and reviewing the log takes each Records Specialist approximately one hour each day, which extrapolates to two hours per day and 14 hours per week that our employees were spending on redacting this log for only 5-6 reporters. You are likely not going to find a neighboring agency that provided this level of detail for each and every call for service as what we were doing was not industry standard and had the potential to expose us to liability if we inadvertently release sensitive/ protected information.
When you made each PRA request via the portal, you requested information on only a handful of incidents, which takes significantly less time because each case is looked up and redacted specifically. Time spent having to redact hundreds of weekly calls vs the 15 or so calls you requested is obviously an unfair comparison of two completely different processes, is NOT “the same dispatch records” as cited by Dupuis, and each requires two different time commitments. Please correct this section (below) of the article where you misleadingly labeled the time difference as a “discrepancy.”
“City Clerk Ann Marie McKay said two requests from the Independent seeking the same dispatch records each took an hour of staff time. Walder didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on the discrepancy.”
Furthermore, all PRA requests for information are processed within the legal statutory time period allowed in accordance with the California Public Records Act and by doing so the City is in no way “blocking timely release” of 911 dispatch records. As such, we also request a change to the misleading nature of the headline of this story and a correction be made.
To your final point regarding a “lack of transparency” surrounding information on a domestic dispute, that was an incidence of domestic violence and more detailed information regarding those matters is not typically released to protect the privacy of those involved. As you well know, if there is ever an ongoing threat to the public, we will release that information to advise the public immediately.
We request these corrections be made immediately online and also prominently in next week’s print edition of the paper.
Regards,
Cassie Walder, City of Laguna Beach Communications Manager
Daniel –
I too wish to thank you, Ms. Laughton and Ms. Abraham for addressing this issue of continued non-transparency and manipulation of Laguna’s government by City officials.
It should be noted that earlier this week, a fortunately defeated agenda item was presented to the City Council which would have given the City Manager (an unelected and largely unregulated official) complete control over which future agenda items could and couldn’t be discussed at City Council meetings. I believe this would have been tantamount to dictatorial powers and a titanic transgression against transparency.
Similarly, the City Council also discussed whether City Council members should be limited to proposing only four agenda items per year. Something which would further control and restrict many much-need resident-beneficial reforms to City government. (Fortunately, this proposal was also defeated.)
But that these proposals jeopardizing representational government were even presented is mind-boggling.
This town deserves much better.
Three More Notes On Attempts To Restrict Representational Government
Changing the start of City Council meetings from 6:00 to 5:00 was a move that prevents working residents from airing their views during the open mic beginnings of each Council meeting.
Pro-development City Councilman Peter Blake’s continued harassment, interruptions and unfettered intimidation of residents (especially women) speaking at City Council meetings has left many afraid to speak. Exactly as he’s intended.
Then there’s the matter of the City Council not posting the next meeting’s agenda any more than three days in advance of the next meeting – which clearly doesn’t give residents enough time to review items that the City Council has already been pondering.
Democracy should be about opening up public participation, not shutting it down.
So true Jerome Pudwill – “Pro-development City Councilman Peter Blake’s continued harassment, interruptions and unfettered intimidation of residents (especially women) speaking at City Council meetings has left many afraid to speak. Exactly as he’s intended.”
Fact is, Councilman Peter Blake aka “Mr. Monster” is also known for his public and personal email attacks to residents who question his representation decisions and public official conduct – especially women. It’s not a secret. Just who would support someone who treated their grandmother, mother, daughter, sister or aunt this way because they expressed their opinions and stood up for the civics they believe in?
MJ Abraham, the queen of polarizing political opponents spends her days spewing hate instead of running for office and enacting the change she seeks. Slander and libel are only the tip of the iceberg for her and her cronies. She wants power and will do whatever it takes to get it as long as she doesn’t have to work at it. Read her posts on this publication and on Nextdoor and decide for yourself. This political predator is indicative of the people I fight for my supporters. Nothing they say will stop me from getting the job done and in November the residents of Laguna will decide if they still want “Mr. Monster” representing them against these ruthless political activists.
More skewed reasoning coming from the original “hired political predator” Peter Blake who is responsible along with Liberate Laguna Forward PAC for the developers polarization of our town beginning in 2018. I think an article by Micheal Ray, founder of the LLFPAC made it pretty clear that he and Blake got together solely out of their anger and resentment of the group VL. Blaming others is what they do best and they don’t like being called out publicly. Easier to live in denial that their people predator efforts are on behalf of others. Voters aren’t that naive.
Fact is, not everyone wants or has to run for public office to have an opinion about their community civics and leadership decisions and conduct. IMO- after most four years, one would think that Peter Blake would know that the battleground he created is the root of the problem in Laguna and the cause for the dysfunction of our city council. Constituents can feel the tension. And the Nextdoor community platform is proof that Blake’s public official behavior is unacceptable as his inappropriate communications to residents he disagrees with are shared and discussed.
Agree, voters will need to decide in November if they want a Laguna where locals agree to disagree respectfully and work together on solutions as we did before Council member Blake surfaced or if they want to continue his self-serving, divisive tug-of-war at the expense of our towns reputation and future. We should not repeat these last four years of civic deterioration.
MJ, I wasn’t hired. I was elected by the residents and received the most votes. They voted for me because I was willing to stand up and fight. That includes criminal justice advocates like yourself who would have us coddle transients at the expense of our quality of life, as well as having Village Laguna deciding what we could and couldn’t do with our personal property, and dictating the quality of our dining and retail experience. No thanks!
Civic deterioration is what you refer to as those of us who pay the bulk of the property tax having a say in the future of our community as opposed to a bunch of authoritarian hippies running Laguna Beach like a nanny state.
I’ll see you in November!
Peter Blake: Such and interesting taxpayer comment coming from a fairly new property owner/taxpayer; since it was only in 2019 after you got elected to council (thanks to the Liberate Laguna PAC’s big spending on marketing promotions to sell you to unaware voters) that you managed to buy a prime downtown property from a developer and became a first time buyer.
Curious – where were you while longtime LB property owners invested the bulk of their property tax dollars for Laguna city staff services, arts and culture and non-profits, open space, city government properties and buildings, school support, streets and infrastructures throughout our city that you as a non-property owner/taxpayer got to enjoy? And now as a property-owner/taxpayer you have benefitted for several years from the 2% cap on increases to your property taxes annually and your property has increased in value substantially while you’ve owned it. Some folks would say you haven’t paid your fair share either.
From your statements, it sounds like you are saying that those buying property today have the right to bad-mouth others including you because you acquired property years ago, pay less than they do in prop-taxes and are justified in saying you shouldn’t have a say in Laguna’s future. Seriously?
Peter, your lack of logic baffles me. Almost as much as the supporters you may have left after almost four years of failure to accomplish anything except promoting council and community fighting, division and chaos. Laguna voters – vote to put a stop to such negative and destructive leadership in 2022 and make Laguna respectable again.
MJ, you’re slick as snot lol
Liberate Laguna didn’t get me elected, my ideas and vision for the future did. I spoke honestly about homelessness, lack of property rights, and our decrepit downtown. It resonated.
I bought the prime property downtown that I rented since 2008 and had paid over a million dollars in rent over the ten years. My landlord was a contractor. I did it by working hard and saving. I didn’t inherit it from my inlaws like the house you live in.
No one can say I didn’t earn everything I have. Nice try!
MJ, if I accomplished nothing over the last few years as a Councilman then you bet that you’d be busy spewing hate on Nestdoor about someone else. You and Village Laguna are focused on me because I’m the one with the ball. This November I’ll be reelected for my hard work. You’ll still be pounding away at your keyboard.
Get a life!
Further proof that this publication is Village Laguna/Laguna Residents First’s mouthpiece. Thank you Cassie for helping set the record straight and for Mr Blake for standing up for many residents who are sick and tired of being told our hopes for the future of this town are irrelevant. An embarrassment that the wife of a political predator, Councilmember George Weiss (Deborah Laughton), continues to attack every decision our city makes, all while misleadingly the public by misrepresenting her identity. The Indy needs to stop letting her get away with it. And if only the world had a Mute button for the excessive conspiracy theories and condescending attacks that MJ and Jerome continue to make on this platform and Nextdoor. I guess their small clique is the only group that knows what’s best for Laguna. If you value progress and growth you are enemy number 1 in their book. Residents need to wake up and see the horrific future of this city if these two sister groups brainwash enough voters with their dangerous and deceitful language.
Pete, we all have our opinions. IMO – you have failed to “resolve the homeless problems and cleaning up city hall spending” promises you ran on in 2018. Just ask some of the voters who once supported you and are shocked at your self-interest agenda and non-professional behavior. And your ideas are those set by the Liberate Laguna Forward PAC which right now is conveniently blowing “property rights” issues out of proportion. LLFPAC should consider replacing you with a more sound and respectable candidate.
Also, the chip on your shoulder against your constituents paying less taxes than you is understandable. Unlike you, some of us owned multiple Laguna properties and paid taxes starting in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s and some folks through family planning created options to retain them. Guess what – that’s what most people strive for. Others like you waited until your mid-50’s to even register to vote in our town in 2019 after 20 years residency, get into politics with no experience or relevant expertise and make your first property ownership investment. Congrats, good to start somewhere but please stop bashing long-time residents for their foresight and astuteness.
Councilman, keep honing your name-calling skills, sending rude email messages to locals, turning civic meetings into your personal vendetta rants and discounting residents who publicly disagree with your poor and embarrassing city leadership. It shows who you really are and it’s expected. Informed and intelligent voters are listening and watching.
MJ, I have failed to solve the homeless problem? The homeless problem cannot be solved until the laws are changed and rehabilitation from drug addiction becomes mandated, criminal transients get incarcerated and the mentally ill are housed in institutions. Criminal justice advocates like yourself are in the way. Blaming me is hardly plausible, besides I work on the homeless issue daily and have reduced the problem considerably since getting elected. You already know that don’t you?
I never ran as a fiscal conservative. That job belongs to activists like yourself who play armchair City Manager without knowing the first thing about how to run a community of 23,000 with 6 million visitors and over a 100 million dollar budget.
Who are these “voters” who are “shocked at my self-interest agenda?” I sell minimal art for a living to collectors all over the world. I sell very little in Laguna. Name a vote that advances my interests. Just more BS from a seasoned liar and then you wonder why I act “non-professionally?”
You’ve run a candidate who lost twice. Maybe you should inform yourself about how to win a local election. I received the most votes in 2018. More than Toni Iseman who was a 20-year incumbent. Oh, I know, the developers bought my seat lol
I have a “chip on my shoulder” over activists like yourself and Village Laguna who pay next to nothing in property tax and want to control those of us who pay the bulk of it. I was in my 50’s when I registered to vote and was a 30-year resident. You’re correct about my lack of experience in politics and I bought my first building after saving and working hard for years. What’s your point?
Radical leftist, I will “keep honing my name-calling skills, sending rude messages to activists, and turning civic meetings into my personal vendetta against ruthless, political predators like yourself who are trying to regain the power you wielded over this community for 50 years. “My poor and embarrassing city leadership” will continue until I have removed the last of you and your stranglehold on Laguna. It shows who I really am. I’ve never hidden anything from anyone. I’m as transparent as it gets!
Those “informed and intelligent voters are listening and watching” and they’ll vote me right back into office in November. They’re not swayed by trash like you.
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Policies like this is why the public has little faith in police nor city government. Transparency and the free exchange of information shouldn’t have a price tag. And lady I checked our city is flush with cash.