The purpose of this chapter is to establish a procedure for giving rewards to persons who furnish information that leads to the arrest and conviction of persons charged with crimes.
(Ord. 714 § 2, 2006)
For the purposes of this chapter, "reward" means an authorized payment of monetary compensation to a person or persons for:
A.
Information received by the city leading to the determination of the identify and the apprehension of a person or persons whose wilful misconduct has resulted in injury or death to a person or persons, or who has wilfully damaged or destroyed any property; or
B.
Coming to the aid of a police officer or fire fighter, of the city, or the furnishing of information to the city leading to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons who killed, assaulted with a deadly weapon, or inflicted serious bodily harm upon a police officer or fire fighter of the city while that officer was acting in the line of duty.
(Ord. 714 § 2, 2006)
A trust fund entitled "special reward trust fund," to be administered by the finance department, is established by the city council for the deposit and payment of money for rewards. The special reward trust fund shall be funded through the annual budget process and may be supplemented by appropriation as moneys are expended from this fund during a fiscal year at the discretion of the city council.
(Ord. 714 § 2, 2006)
Except for graffiti rewards, which shall be governed by Section 11.12.070, the offer and payment of rewards shall be governed by the following provisions:
A.
Upon the recommendation of the police chief and approval of the city manager and mayor, or in the mayor's absence, the mayor pro tem, or in the absence of both the mayor and mayor pro tem, a member of the council public safety subcommittee, a reward, as that term is described in Section 11.12.020, may be offered as a result of the happening of a particular event or series of events in the community.
B.
An offer of reward shall:
1.
Clearly identify the specific event or events which have created the requested authorization to offer a reward;
2.
Find that the injury, death and/or destruction of property resulted from wilful misconduct of one or more persons;
3.
Find that the offer would be consistent with, and is taken for, the immediate protection of the public peace, health or safety;
4.
Find that the offense was of such nature or committed under such special circumstances that as a matter of public policy, the city should provide for a reward as an added inducement or incentive for persons to come forth with information leading to the needed identification and/or apprehension;
5.
Determine a sum, up to $10,000, which shall be the aggregate maximum sum of any payment or payments of a city reward in the instance involved.
C.
The city clerk, after all the requirements of subsection A of this section are met, may cause a notice or advertisement to be duly published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city setting forth the city's reward offer in a manner designed to provide immediate city-wide notoriety thereto. All notices and advertisements of a reward shall set forth the conditions and limitations thereof, and any reward offer therein shall be subject to the applicable limitations of this chapter. Funds for the advertising shall be appropriated from the reward trust fund.
(Ord. 714 § 2, 2006)
Except for graffiti rewards which shall be governed by Section 11.12.070, the offer and payment of rewards shall be governed by the following provisions:
A.
Payment of any reward or rewards, as provided in this section, shall require approval of the city council by minute action subject to the following limitations:
1.
A payment of reward may be for a sum less that which has been advertised, and may be prorated with respect to the information received and with respect to the number of sources from which received; provided, however, that no payment or aggregate payments of city funds shall exceed the sum designated by any advertised city reward offer;
2.
The city council, in its sole discretion, may determine what portion of a reward, if any, is to be paid to any one or more persons;
3.
No reward shall be paid to a city officer, employee or member of the immediate family of such officer or employee, or to a public officer or employee whose employment includes duties of law enforcement; and
4.
No reward shall be paid to any person or persons involved in misconduct which prompted the offer of the reward by the city council.
B.
No reward money may be paid without the provisions of this chapter having been first satisfied and the city council having first approved a minute action for the payment as provided herein.
(Ord. 714 § 2, 2006)
Except for graffiti rewards which shall be governed by Section 11.12.070, the determination as to whether an individual is qualified to receive a reward and the amount, the person who shall receive such a reward or proportion thereof, shall be subject to the sole discretion and approval of the city council after report and recommendation of the chief of police.
(Ord. 714 § 2, 2006)
Offers and payment of rewards for graffiti-related vandalism shall be governed by the provisions of this section.
A.
For the purposes of this chapter, "graffiti" means any form of unauthorized inscription, word, figure or design which is marked, etched, scratched, drawn, sprayed, painted or otherwise affixed on any structural component of any building, structure or other facility, or upon any other property, regardless of its content or nature and regardless of the nature of the material of that structural component or property.
B.
A reward of up to $500 may be paid for information resulting in the identification, apprehension and conviction, or final adjudication by the Riverside County Juvenile Court or placement on a supervised program by the probation officer of the county of Riverside under the provisions of the Welfare and Institutions Code of the state of California, of any person or persons whose acts of vandalism, as that term is defined in Penal Code Section 594, graffiti or other defacement, have damaged or destroyed public or private property in the city.
The public safety subcommittee may adopt regulations which provide specific circumstances under which such a reward, as that term is described in Section 11.12.020, may be offered and paid. The regulations shall include specific circumstances under which the reward may be offered and paid and the specific or aggregate amount of any reward which may be offered and paid in relation to the event. All reward offers shall be subject to such regulations.
C.
Notice of the offer of reward, if directed by the public safety subcommittee, shall be duly published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city. Funds for the advertising shall be appropriated from the reward trust fund.
D.
The determination as to whether an individual is qualified to receive a reward and the amount up to the specific or aggregate amount set by the offer of reward, and the person or persons who shall receive the reward or portion thereof, shall be subject to the sole discretion and approval of the public safety subcommittee after report of findings by and the recommendation of the chief of police. Payment of any reward or rewards, as provided in this section shall be subject to the following limitations:
1.
A payment of reward may be for a sum less than that which has been authorized by the city council, and may be prorated with respect to the information received or the number of sources from which received; provided, however, that no payment or aggregate payment of city funds shall exceed the aggregate sum designated by the offer of reward;
2.
The public safety subcommittee may determine what portion of a reward, if any, is to be paid to any one or more persons;
3.
No reward shall be paid to a city officer, employee or member of the immediate family of such officer or employee, or to a public officer or employee whose employment includes duties of law enforcement, or to any volunteer who participates in a city-sponsored graffiti abatement program; and
4.
No reward shall be paid to any person or persons involved in the misconduct which prompted the offering and authorization of the reward.
E.
No reward money may be paid without the provisions of this section having been first satisfied.
F.
Promptly after exercising the authority to offer or to pay a reward under this section, the public safety subcommittee shall have notice of such action placed on the agenda for a regular meeting of the city council.
(Ord. 714 § 2, 2006)
The city attorney shall have the authority to institute in the city's name a civil action in the appropriate court, and to intercede in criminal proceedings instituted by any other agency, to obtain restitution for damages to the city arising out of the payment of a reward as defined in this chapter and/or relating to acts of vandalism as described in Subdivisions (a) of Section 594 of the California Penal Code. As used in this section, "damages" includes, but is not limited to, the following: out-of-pocket expense of repairing defacement and partial or total destruction; salary and overhead costs of such repair when performed in whole or in part by city employees or volunteers; and the amount of any reward paid or payable by the city pursuant to this chapter.
(Ord. 714 § 2, 2006)