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“Camp Life in the Woods and Tricks of Trapping,” watercolor by Lori LaMont See page 15
Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and the City of Signal Hill
VOL. 37 NO. 21
Your Weekly Community Newspaper
October 23, 2015
Signal Hill City Council meeting
Signal Hill City Council approves SHPD policy for body-worn cameras Cory Bilicko Managing Editor
Cory Bilicko/Signal Tribune
Signal Hill Police Department Sgt. Brian Leyn displays one of the agency’s new body-worn cameras (above his name tag) during the Oct. 20 Signal Hill City Council meeting. The police department is currently deploying the cameras to all their field officers, but its implementation is still in a testing phase to address any problems with them.
Body-worn cameras During its Oct. 20 meeting, the Signal Hill City Council discussed and considered approving the police department’s policy on portable audio/video recorders, also known as bodyworn cameras. In introducing the topic, City Manager Charlie Honeycutt presented background information on the Signal Hill Police Department’s (SHPD) use of recording devices, stating that the department has utilized in-car cameras and portable audio recorders since the 1990s and that the use of body-worn cameras is a logical next step to increase transparency and accountability for both police officers and members of the public when the two entities interact in certain circumstances. “As you will hear in the report,” Honeycutt told the council, “the policy establishes best practices, such as required by state law, and incorporates recommendations by police chiefs associations to address such issues as when the camera should and shouldn’t be used to protect privacy, when to activate and turn off recordings and how video can be used.” Police Chief Michael Langston then presented the details of the policy, saying that the use of cameras to record officers performing their duties has become part of the culture of the department and has shaped it. “It was a natural progression for the police department to move to the use of body-worn cameras long before nationwide events...called
for law-enforcement officers to wear body-worn cameras while on duty,” Langston said in addressing the council. “That is why today we are ready to fully employ body-worn cameras out in the field, pending your approval of the bodyworn camera policy.” Langston explained that the policy was crafted based on best practices recommended by multiple professional organizations, including the California Police Chiefs Association and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). He said IACP’s model policy was drafted through a collaborative process involving: law enforcement; prosecutors; defense attorneys; privacy, victim and juvenile advocates; labor and community stakeholders; and numerous federal agencies. Langston also noted that the policy adheres to Assembly Bill No. 69, which Gov. Jerry Brown approved on Oct. 3. AB 69 requires law-enforcement agencies to consider specified best practices when establishing policies and procedures for downloading and storing data from body-worn cameras, including, among other things, prohibiting the unauthorized use, duplication, or distribution of the data, and establishing storage periods for evidentiary and nonevidentiary data. The police chief added that the city attorney had also reviewed the policy. Signal Hill resident Maria Harris sought clarification on a particular section of the policy that states that police department personnel may review footage recorded from one of the cameras see COUNCIL page 14
Long Beach City Council mulling over minimum wage CJ Dablo Staff Writer
It’s Long Beach’s turn to ponder over the standard for hourly wages for the lowest-paid workers. Now that the City of Los Angeles has already passed its own minimum-wage ordinance, and other nearby cities as well as the County of Los Angeles are considering raising the minimum wage in their own jurisdictions, Long Beach city officials are asking for public input and have also requested a report on the economic impact of a plan to raise the minimum wage. Back in August, the city council requested a study from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC). LAEDC reported that its study will assess the other reports on the issue that are already in existence, review socio-economic conditions in Long Beach, analyze regional dynamics and conduct a survey through an independent polling firm of 600 businesses. LA’s own ordinance on minimum wage intends to raise it over five years, bringing the hourly pay to $15 for companies with 26 workers or more. These companies will begin paying workers $10.50 per hour starting July 1, 2016 and will incrementally increase those wages until it reaches $15 in 2020. LA’s smaller companies with 25 employees or less will have more time to see WAGES page 14
CJ Dablo/Signal Tribune
Advocates of raising Long Beach’s minimum wage hope to increase hourly pay to $15 per hour. Earlier this year, the Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance to raise it incrementally over the next few years and achieve $15 by 2020.
Weekly Weather Forecast Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
October 23 through October 27, 2015
The Historical Society of Long Beach presents
The 20th Anniversary
Tuesday
Historical
Low clouds, then sunshine
Partly sunny and warm
Partial Sunshine
Times of clouds & sun
Lo 63°
Lo 67°
Lo 65°
Lo 63°
82°
88°
86°
82°
Sunny
82° Lo 63°
Long Beach Municipal and Sunnyside Cemeteries
Cemetery Tour
presented by
Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015
This week’s weather forecast sponsored by:
Atlantic Drugs
Historical Society of Long Beach
4233 Atlantic Avenue LB • (562) 912-7940
www.HSLB.org
1095 E. Willow Street Additional parking available at Willow Springs Park
Online Tickets Available Now
(562) 424-2220