Public Safety Five Year Plan Summary Proposal

Five-Year Public Safety Strategic Plan

Partnering both in the field and behind the scenes, the Boise Police and Boise Fire Departments present a joint five-year plan for public safety. Together we aim to lay the groundwork for both departments to strategically plan for future public safety needs in the City of Boise while staying aligned with city priorities. Our goal is to use community feedback, expert planners, and professional experience to make this five-year proposal a template for long-term public safety planning that benefits the community we serve.

This proposal includes plans to 1) address immediate staffing and resource needs to stabilize the workforce, 2) evolve how we define emergency response metrics, and 3) identify strategic capital investment while 4) prioritizing employee wellness. We know when we take better care of our first responders, they are able to take better care of the community. (Click here for more on the full proposal)

Shared Priority Initiatives 5-Year Plan

Response Evolution See More
Workforce Stabilization See More
Capital Planning + Investment See More
Employee Wellness See More

Response Evolution Objectives

With an emphasis on excellence of service, and remaining dedicated to efficient use of resources, we aim to evolve how emergency response metrics are structured to meet the changing needs of our growing community.

Fire

  • Layer additional resources to existing coverage to address targeted community needs.
  • Explore non-traditional, supplemental response methods to better serve the community.
  • Reallocate specialty team resources to support timely and quality service.
  • Increase call reliability in dense areas through targeted deployment response.

Police

  • Protect the investments we've made and prepare for growth through a proactive strategic planning approach.
  • Add personnel to focus on emerging crime trends.
  • Dedicate officers to specialty teams instead assigning these roles in addition to their regular duties.
  • Respond to all emergency calls in under four minutes.

Workforce Stabilization Objectives

Quality service, and ultimately our relationship with our community, is dependent on best in class, well cultivated crews. Focus on recruitment and retention, employee training and career development, and strategic personnel alignment are necessary to stabilize the workforce and enhance the quality of support we provide. As we grow our staff we will focus on recruiting employees with diverse life experiences to reflect the demographics of the community we serve.

Fire

  • Structure staffing schedules to provide more support to the community and crews.
  • Dedicate resources to on- and post-scene safety.
  • Build pathways to leadership and prioritize professional development.
  • Create part time opportunities for retirees to stay engaged and help with specialized workloads.
  • Reclassify current position requirements for professional support staff to prioritize quality of quantity.

Police

  • Using peer city models, align officer count to 1.8 officers per 1,000 residents.
  • Increase resources to allow School Resource Officers (SROs) to be more proactive in schools.
  • Provide resources to address traffic safety efforts, a top community concern.
  • Expand behavior health response resources to support a growing number of mental health-related calls, and welfare checks, our top call for service.
  • Maximize opportunities for non-sworn duties and professional support staff.

Capital Planning + Investment Objectives

Ensuring public safety requires planning and investment in the right facilities, equipment, and technology to continue to provide high levels of service as the city grows. As we enhance and use key data, we will strategically locate facilities throughout the community.

Facilities

  • Fire Station 13 build in NW Boise
  • Fire Station 5 build to replace the current downtown location
  • Police East Station
  • Police Downtown Station Expansion
  • Police Training Center Expansion
  • Explore opportunities for shared spaces in current and new facilities.

Other Investments

  • Minimize the Fire's fleet carbon footprint with a more sustainable option.
  • Identify future locations based on growth patterns and community needs (and obtain a 5-minute travel time in the Boise Fire District).
  • Turn data into intelligence and increase transparency by maximizing technology.

Employee Wellness Objectives

Healthy first responders are the most effective. Enhancing holistic wellness programming will ensure first responders receive necessary physical, mental, and occupational support. We aim to create positions to prioritize first responder wellness needs that are unique to Fire and Police employees and retirees.

Priorities

  • Identify opportunities for a shared approach to first responder employee wellness.
  • Focus on suicide prevention, sleep welfare, spousal support and trauma resources to support mental resiliency.
  • Emphasize whole body wellness through fitness programming, injury reduction, and proactive illness detection.
  • Enhance learning and development programs to aid overall occupational wellbeing.
  • Seek grants specific to supporting health and wellness for these teams.
  • Create positions for both Fire and Police to prioritize these efforts for employees and retirees.

Measuring Success

Boise Fire and Police will partner with our Planning and Development Services team to generate a live mapping resource that helps provide a clear and timely picture of our public safety services and needs. This will ensure that informed decisions are made based on key data, allowing for proactive planning and resource allocation over the course of this five year plan and beyond. Key metrics include: call volume, response times, population, demographics, zoning codes, and transportation methods as well as other metrics specific to Fire (unit reliability, force, call types) and Police (case load, report types, crime trends).

Want more details? Check out the full plan -

Strategic Plan PDF

View on web

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