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Home My WebLink AboutIR 020 (3) INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 23-020 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council January 24, 2023 Page 1 of 5 i i7 Y SUBJECT: USE OF DECIBEL METERS TO ENFORCE NOISE ORDINANCE r6 rn Yg7'3 The purpose of this Informal Report is to respond to a request for information about the number of decibel meters purchased per patrol division in the Fort Worth Police Department. The City Council also requested information about how the need for the decibel meters is determined, the cost of the devices, and the number of calls involving loud music received during the past two years. Loud music incidents can disturb the tranquility or quality of life for residents. These complaints are received in different ways, from calls directly to the assigned Neighborhood Policing Officer to calls that go to the Police Department's Communications Division. Noise complaints are governed by the Texas Penal Code and/or the City's noise ordinance. The current City of Fort Worth noise ordinance provides restrictions for all residential (one-family, two- family, and multifamily) zoning districts, allowing a maximum decibel level of 70 dBA during the daytime, 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and 60 dBA for nighttime, 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. In commercial and mixed-use zoning districts, the ordinance allows a maximum decibel level of 80 dBA during the daytime, 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and 70 dBA for nighttime, 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Additionally, the noise ordinance has extended maximum decibel level hours on Friday and Saturday for the "H" Central Business District, Panther Island, and West 71" Village. Those extended hours on Friday and Saturday allow maximum decibel levels of 80 dBA from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. and 70 dBA from 2:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. The noise ordinance does not require a certain decibel level for law enforcement to determine that a noise is unreasonable, but the decibel restrictions make it easier to prosecute a violation of the noise ordinance. Currently, the Police Department has the following numbers of decibel meters in each patrol division: one each in South and Northwest, two each in Central, East, and West, and four in North. Each patrol division has different needs and the personnel in each division determine the necessity for the number of decibel meters assigned. Historically, there are very few calls where this equipment would be used compared to the cost, thus more devices have not been determined to be needed at this time. If more decibel meters are needed, field personnel forward those requests through their chain of command to their Commander for approval. All patrol divisions have additional funding in their Operating Supplies or Minor Equipment budgets to purchase additional decibel meters, if needed. The cost of decibel meters tends to vary, but the models currently utilized cost approximately $575. Over the past two years, the Police Communications Division received approximately 14,000 calls for Loud Music/Party where officers responded. The following table breaks down the number of calls per patrol division. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 23-020 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council January 24, 2023 Page 2 of 5 i i7 Y SUBJECT: USE OF DECIBEL METERS TO ENFORCE NOISE ORDINANCE r6 rn Yg7'3 • • October • • September • • Decrease Central 777 907 16.7% East 1467 1461 -0.4% North 584 767 31.3% Northwest 1085 1297 19.5% South 1555 1513 -2.7% West 1214 1289 6.1% Total 6682 7234 8.3% The goal of any Loud Music/Party complaint is to gain compliance with the city ordinance and issuing a citation is typically the last option. That would only occur when all other attempts for compliance have failed. Although it appears there are a lot of Loud Music/Party calls, the below call dispositions show that very few of these calls ended in a citation being issued. Between October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021, fewer than 1 percent of the calls ended in any enforcement actions. Between October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022, only 1.1 percent of the calls ended in any enforcement action. October 2020-September 2021 Loud Music/ Party - on No Action Unable to Report IssuedArrival Required locate Taken/ Citation Central 24 670 76 7 East 40 1281 140 6 North 24 524 32 4 Northwest 23 958 95 9 South 36 1385 116 18 West 28 1110 59 17 ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 23-020 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council January 24, 2023 Page 3 of 5 i i7 Y SUBJECT: USE OF DECIBEL METERS TO ENFORCE NOISE ORDINANCE r6 rn Yg7'3 October 2021-September 2022 Loud Music/ Gone on No Action Report Unable to Party Arrival Required Taken/ locate Citation Issued Central 25 810 10 62 East 31 1271 11 148 North 26 663 10 68 Northwest 25 1190 9 73 South 46 1359 17 91 West 26 1159 20 84 From October 2020 through September 2021, there were 42 locations that had ten or more calls involving Loud Music/Party. Below are the results for each division. Division Number of Repeat Call Locations Most Calls at One Location West 6 (2 Occurred in W7th) 61 South 9 19 Northwest 8 83 North 1 14 East 12 46 x2 Central 6 45 From October 2020 through September 2021, there were 31 repeat callers that made ten or more calls involving Loud Music/Party. Below are the results for each division. Division Number of Repeat Callers Most Calls By One Individual West 2 52 South 9 38 Northwest 9 41 North 1 12 East 6 29 Central 4 12 ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 23-020 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council January 24, 2023 Page 4 of 5 i i7 Y SUBJECT: USE OF DECIBEL METERS TO ENFORCE NOISE ORDINANCE rFrn Yg7'3 From October 2021 through September 2022, there were 49 locations that had ten or more calls involving Loud Music/Party. Below are the results for each division. Division Number of Repeat Call Locations Most Calls at 1 Location West 9 (2 Occurred in W7th) 32 South 15 54 Northwest 7 65 North 4 31 East 8 23 Central 6 15 From October 2021 through September 2022, there were 41 repeat callers that made ten or more calls involving Loud Music/Party. Below are the results for each division. Division Number of Repeat Callers Most Calls By 1 Individual West 3 48 South 9 26 Northwest 13 24 North 4 27 East 7 54 Central 4 52 Loud Music/Party complaints have several challenges associated with them. For example, these complaints are low priority and by the time an officer arrives, the music has usually been turned down. Another challenge is when the violators refuse to answer the door to talk with the officers. The only available option is to write a report and have a citation mailed at a later date. Unfortunately, in this scenario the loud music could still persist with little or no resolution for the complainant. The majority of these complaints can and will be resolved with a warning from a Fort Worth police officer. The best outcome for Loud Music/Party complaints is voluntary compliance with no enforcement action. However, if a warning does not result in the desired outcome of lower music levels, officers would be able to use decibel meters to measure the sound from the property boundary to show that the noise levels exceed the levels defined in our city ordinance. Although not needed for every noise violation citation, the decibel meter reading provides clarity to the courts and any subsequent criminal proceedings. Currently, we have enough decibel meters for each division, and we continually evaluate the need for more decibel meters throughout the year. The devices are not cost prohibitive, but they do require care and ongoing maintenance. If more decibel meters are needed, staff has the available funding to purchase more per division. Moving forward, we will continually work with each division to determine the number and need for additional decibel meters, so officers have the available tools to address Loud Music/Party complaints. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 23-020 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council January 24, 2023 Page 5 of 5 i i7 Y SUBJECT: USE OF DECIBEL METERS TO ENFORCE NOISE ORDINANCE rFrn Yg7'3 If you have any questions concerning this information, please contact Executive Assistant Chief Robert Alldredge at 817-392-4131 or robert.alldredge(a�fortworthtexas.gov. David Cooke City Manager ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS