The Public Safety Committee (PSC) of the Shreveport City Council is chaired by councilman Gary Brooks. He has held two recent meetings of the committee and tomorrow (Friday) will be another at 1:30 p.m. The Council is meeting at 3 p.m. in a combined work session and regular meeting because Monday is Veteran's Day.
The last two PSC meetings have been very productive and informative, as many hard questions were asked by committee members to SPD Chief Wayne Smith and other members of the Administration. Tomorrow promises many more.
The agenda list these topics:
A. Discussion ABO Office
B. SPD and its Cooperation with Other Law Enforcement Agencies
C. Surveillance Cameras
D. Status of Police Vehicles
E. Status of Police Headquarters and Substations.
The operations of the ABO office have been under much scrutiny and criticism in recent months--actually years. A recent study released by the Cities Work team made ten recommendations--one of which was to streamline the liquor licensing process. As part of this the report suggested consideration of moving the licensing administration away from the police, which is the more traditional regulatory approach. One can expect more evidence/testimony on the inefficiencies of this office at the meeting tomorrow.
SPD recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Caddo Sheriff Office for patrolling in southeast Shreveport. This agreement was effective Oct. 29. One can expect a report on how well this agreement is working with deputies patrolling a large portion of the city--south of Bert Kouns from Ellerbe Road to I-20.
The SPD units located at the current headquarters building at 1234 Texas are being relocated at the insistence of the council. Where this process is on a timeline is certainly a good topic to discuss. There are questions on the proposed location of the proposed substation on North Market that need to be resolved, or a new location determined. And the Council at its 3 p.m. meeting has a resolution on the agenda for purchase of a southeast Shreveport location for a promised substation in that area.
One can expect a lively committee meeting that hopefully will be well attended by Shreveport citizens tomorrow at City Hall.