Policy Text
CITYOF
CHUIA VISTA
Police Department
Orig to C. Iliff
CC SK
RECEIVED
AUG 27 2024
PRESIDING
August 27, 2024
The Honorable Maureen F. Hallahan
Presiding Judge of the Superior Court
County of San Diego
P. O. Box 122724
San Diego, CA 92122-2724
San Diego County Grand Jury
550 West C St., Ste. 860
San Diego, CA 923101-3513
Re: Response to 2023/2024 Grand Jury Report entitled "Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol
Programs (RSVP) at San Diego Law Enforcement Agencies"
Dear Judge Hallahan:
On May 22, 2024, the Chula Vista Police Department and Police Chief Roxana Kennedy received
the San Diego County Grand Jury report on the Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol Programs (RSVP)
at San Diego Law Enforcement Agencies. The Grand Jury Report contained five findings and
three recommendations directed to Chief of Police Roxana Kennedy. The Grand Jury filed the
report with the Clerk of the Court on May 29, 2024.
The following response pursuant to California Penal Code 933(c) and 933.05 is on behalf of the
City of Chula Vista by Chief of Police Roxana Kennedy.
RESPONSE TO GRAND JURY'S FIVE FINDINGS:
Finding 1: RSVP programs are an asset to local law enforcement agencies.
The City of Chula Vista agrees with this finding.
Finding 2: RSVP personnel perform routine administrative tasks allowing sworn personnel
to perform other more vital public safety actions.
The City of Chula Vista agrees with this finding.
Finding 3: RSVP programs benefit significantly from having reliable equipment to provide
quality services.
The City of Chula Vista agrees with this finding.
315 Fourth Avenue, MS P-200, Chula Vista, CA 91910 I www.chulavistaca.gov
(619) 691-5150 I
fax (619) 585-5610
Finding 4: Current RSVP recruitment does not always meet membership goals.
The City of Chula Vista agrees with this finding.
Finding 5: Training requirements are currently determined and, in many cases, conducted
by individual jurisdictions leading to potentially inconsistent policies and procedures
throughout the County.
The City of Chula Vista respectfully disagrees with this finding. RSVP programs are meant to
serve their local communities and augment their respective law enforcement agencies. Each
agency and jurisdiction have unique needs and areas in which they utilize their RSVP members.
In Chula Vista, our Senior Volunteer Patrol (SVP) members are formally trained on the tasks which
are specific to the needs of the Chula Vista Police Department (CVPD) and the Chula Vista
community. We therefore tailor the training and tasks of our SVP members to best meet our local
needs.
RESPOSE TO GRAND JURY'S THREE RECOMMENDATIONS:
The 2023-2024 Grand Jury recommends that all interviewed San Diego law enforcement
agencies with RSVP programs:
Recommendation 1: Collaborate to create a centralized two-week academy for new RSVP
recruits across all law enforcement agencies.
The City of Chula Vista has determined that this recommendation will not be implemented because
it is not warranted. Currently, CVPD SVP members attend a 40-hour in-house training class which
is located at CVPD headquarters, where volunteers learn curriculum specific to our community
and Police Department needs.
Currently, the Sheriff's Department hosts a two-week course three times a year in Poway. This
course is attended by members of the Sheriff's RSVP. The San Diego Police Department (SDPD)
are allowed seats in the Sheriff's course. The Sheriff's Department will also allow an additional
five to ten seats (space permitting) for other agencies.
Requiring a senior volunteer to commute daily approximately 27 miles each way (54 miles in total)
to Poway from Chula Vista for two weeks, with full days of training, would seriously strain our
ability to attract and retain members for Chula Vista's SVP. Transportation to and from Poway, or
other locations in the County, for elderly members of our community who wish to be a volunteer
would be challenging and could dissuade or even prevent someone from joining our SVP program.
In addition, the weeklong course taught in-house by CVPD is specific to the needs of our
community and resources for members of Chula Vista SVP, whereas the course put on by the
Sheriff's Department contains substantial information which may not be relevant to our SVP
members (e.g. tours of County offices, County buildings, etc.). Additionally, because our class is
offered in-house by CVPD, we can allow as many SVP candidates as possible to attend and do not
need to worry about space limitations inherent with trainings offered by other agencies. Likewise,
we have flexibility to schedule the classes around completion of background screenings of SVP
members rather than waiting for training to be offered by another agency.
Recommendation 2: Collaborate to develop and share recruiting best practices.
The City of Chula Vista has not yet implemented this recommendation but plans to implement this
recommendation within ninety days. Recruiting practices for police department employment,
including volunteer positions, are the responsibility of each respective agency based on an
agency's vacancies, budget, and unique job responsibilities, along with any additional agency-
specific benefits. At CVPD, recruitment of SVPs occurs via our website, community
presentations, booths at community events, staffing storefront offices, and word-of-mouth. Our
recruitment methods mirror those of other agencies in the region as well. These recruiting practices
and strategies have worked for