HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-03-2018 Item 02 - 2017 Crime Report
Meeting Date: 4/3/2018
FROM: Deanna Cantrell, Police Chief
Prepared By: Jeff Smith, Police Captain
SUBJECT: POLICE DEPARTMENT 2016/2017 COMPARISON AND UPDATE
RECOMMENDATION
Receive and file the 2016-2017 Police Department crime report.
REPORT-IN-BRIEF
On April 3rd, a presentation will be made to the City Council regarding Police Department
updates for 2017. This update will provide Council with information regarding community
outreach, crime, police operations, homelessness, traffic, noise and downtown.
At the conclusion of 2017 the Police Department saw a 2% decrease in violent crime and a 14%
decrease in property crime, with a 13% decrease in crime overall. This is encouraging data
considering the City of San Luis Obispo experienced an unprecedented increase in crime since
2015 (21% from 2014 to 2015), and that trend continued in 2016 (11% from 2015 to 2016). This
report, and the presentation that will be presented on April 3rd, will highlight our success with
intelligence led policing efforts, discuss the Police Departments continued community outreach,
review noise related calls for service and briefly discuss some of the continued challenges we
face in 2018.
DISCUSSION
Community Outreach:
Policing has grown significantly more challenging with increases in crime in much of California,
tightening budgets, rapidly evolving technology, and decreasing trust in law enforcement
nationally. The San Luis Obispo Police Department (SLOPD) knows we must partner with the
community to resolve those challenges. We cannot reduce crime without a strong relationship
with our community who are willing to support our efforts and help us prevent crime by
reporting and engaging in neighborhood wellness. When relationships are damaged or strained,
the City needs a community that is willing to engage openly and honestly about issues. We are
incredibly fortunate to have a community in San Luis Obispo that understands this and whole-
heartedly partners with us in this effort. Our goals are to reduce harm. We reduce harm by
reducing crime and victimization, reducing traffic collisions and increasing multi -modal safety,
strengthening our regional partnerships, strengthening the health and well-being of our
employees, and strengthening our relationship with the community we serve.
To meet our goal of reducing harm by strengthening our community/police relationship, we
started the PACT (Police and Community Together) in January 2017. PACT represents a
committed and diverse group of community members/advocates that partner with law
enforcement to affect positive social change through dialogue, education and understanding.
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Currently, PACT has representation from major groups representing the Jewish, Black, Latino,
Muslim, LGBTQ, Interfaith, Student and Homeless/Mentally Ill communities. SLOPD has
officers that serve as liaisons to each of these groups, then report back monthly to each other
about what each group is working on. The liaisons connect with and learn about their respective
communities, then serve as a conduit between the police department and the community.
Additionally, the community works with law enforcement to develop training that is important
for law enforcement to experience, and we in turn, educate them about policing.
Also, in January 2017, the SLOPD launched a community program called PEACE (Policing
Education And Community Engagement). PEACE is fashioned after a citizen police academy
and is designed to engage the community in learning more about policing practices, policies and
what it takes to police a community. In 2017 four (4) PEACE presentations were provided at the
Copeland Health Education Pavilion, located at French Hospital. The presentation topics
included Policing a Community, Use of Force, Body Worn Cameras, and Mental Health: Police
and Community Resources.
In 2018, officers from SLOPD participated in several community forums to address concerns
surrounding immigration legislation and impacts within our community. Our goal during these
forums was to educate the public on current state and federal laws and to emphasize the
importance of providing service fairly and impartially to all individuals who reside within our
city, despite immigration status.
Coffee with a Cop was also launched in 2017. This program gives citizens the opportunity to
speak with officers in a casual setting with no agendas, speeches or distractions. In addition to
Coffee with a COP we also increased our Social Media presence by starting Twitter and growing
our Facebook presence. By utilizing Social Media it has allowed the Police Department to
highlight programs and services, engage the community in a unique way and request assistance
from the public when appropriate.
Lastly, police officers assigned to neighborhoods continued to attend neighborhood outreach
meetings to discuss current issues and neighborhood safety. Of course, outreach that was already
in place, such as the neighborhood officer program, neighborhood outreach and civility effort
and Cal Poly partnerships, have and will continue to grow.
Crime:
Overall, SLOPD has had significant success with intelligence led policing efforts. The City of
San Luis Obispo experienced an unprecedented increase in crime since 2015 (21% from 2014 to
2015), and that trend continued in 2016 (11% from 2015 to 2016). To effectively and efficiently
reverse the trend, the SLOPD hired a part time Public Safety Analyst or crime analyst. She has
focused on high-crime places and high-rate offenders to effectively reduce crime in the
community. The application of data-driven strategies, such as hotspot policing, problem-oriented
policing, and intelligence-led policing, work as we have witnessed in 2017. The analyst helps
SLOPD to understand when, where, and how to focus limited resources, as well as how to
evaluate the effectiveness of our strategies. Sound public safety analysis is paramount to our
success.
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By the end of 2017, SLO realized a 2% decrease in violent crime and a 14% decrease in property
crime, with a 13% decrease overall. Throughout 2017, SLOPD continued to receive complaints
regarding adverse homeless behavior in the downtown. Many of these behaviors can be
attributed to substance abuse, mental illness or a combination of both. Early in the year, SLOPD
began working with County Mental Health to add a full time mental health specialist to
compliment the Community Action Team (CAT). In 2018, the position was approved, and
Transitions Mental Health Association (TMHA) was awarded the contract. Currently SLOPD is
working with TMHA to fill the position, with a goal to have a civilian mental health profession
in place in April, of 2018. We are very excited to add the mental health position to our CAT
team and believe it will greatly assist our agency in addressing some of the needs within our
community.
At the conclusion of 2017, SLO downtown had a 3% increase over 2016 in calls for service and
a 1% decrease in officer-initiated activity downtown. The increase in calls for service and
decrease in officer- initiated activity can partially be attributed to officer vacancies during 2017.
While working on filling the vacant positions, our downtown bike officers and CAT officers
were often used to help cover our patrol minimums. The loss of the officer presence downtown
would be a contributing factor to the percentage changes.
It should be noted SLOPD had several unexpected vacancies in 2017 due to retirements,
resignations, and injuries. At the end of 2017, SLOPD had five vacant positions which were
briefly held because of Financial Health Response Planning. These positions are currently being
filled and recruitment efforts continue. The vacant positions workload was absorbed through the
temporary reassignment of officers in special assignments. Positions that were reassigned to
patrol in 2017 (either for the full year or partially), included the Narcotics Task Force, Special
Enforcement Team, Downtown Bikes, Traffic, and Community Action Team. Unfortunately, the
temporary reassignment of these positions had negative impacts in their respective assignments
in the loss of proactive policing and community engagement. Currently, we are operating with
one new officer in training, three cadets in the academy, one sworn vacancy, one sworn long
term worker’s comp officer on leave, and two communications vacancies.
Given staffing shortages and challenges, even with personnel moves, we have still been
operating short in patrol staffing. However, those shortages are filled through overtime when
necessary, as to not operate below minimums. Minimum staffing is monitored based on Ctiygate
and the International Association of Chiefs of Police recommendations regarding ideal police
departments patrol officers having 33% of their time available for proactive policing.
Hiring, for all agencies has reached a critical level. Like many law en forcement agencies, we are
having difficulty recruiting lateral employees. Hiring/retention continues to be a major challenge
for both sworn officers and civilian communications personnel. In 2017 and continuing in 2018,
SLOPD has focused some of our recruiting efforts on hiring police cadets. This is an
opportunity for a police agency, and city, to invest in an individual who has an interest in a
career in law enforcement but has not spent time at a prior police agency. Typically, these
candidates are local residents or even current employees, that are invested in the community.
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PART 1 CRIMES
Violent Crime Property Crime
2016 2017 2016 2017
1st Half % change 1st Half % change
Homicide 0 0 0% Commercial Burglary 39 32 -18%
Rape 19 15 -21% Residential Burglary 82 49 -40%
Robbery 9 7 -22% Theft from Vehicle 366 340 -7%
Agg. Assaut 78 62 -21% Stolen Vehicle 51 35 -31%
General Theft 549 478 -13%
Total 1st Half 106 84 -21%
Total 1st Half 1087 934 -14%
2nd Half % change
Homicide 0 0 0% 2nd Half % change
Rape 19 24 26% Commercial Burglary 52 37 -29%
Robbery 12 16 33% Residential Burglary 78 54 -31%
Agg. Assaut 40 49 23% Theft from Vehicle 307 226 -26%
Stolen Vehicle 44 59 34%
Total 2nd Half 71 89 25% General Theft 508 472 -7%
Total Year Violent 177 173 -2% Total 2nd Half 989 848 -14%
Total Part I Crime 2253 1955 -13% Total Year Property 2076 1782 -14%
Police Operations:
Records:
In the Records Division the number of reports processed went from 8,908 in 2016 to 8,073 in
2017 (10% decrease). The number of citations processed by Records had a slight increased from
7,049 in 2016 to 7,084 in 2017 (.5% increase). Records had increases in walk in reports, phone
calls received, public records requests and other areas.
Property:
In the Property Division, the number of evidence items booked in went from 7,542 in 2016 to
7,801 in 2017 (3% increase). Discovery Orders processed also increased from 716 in 2016 to
816 in 2017 (14% increase). As part of this increase there has been a significant increase for
video evidence. This evidence takes a great deal of time to produce. WatchGuard video recorded
went from 25,081 in 2016 to 62,815 in 2017 (150% increase). WatchGuard Video/Cases booked
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in as evidence went from 590 in 2016 to 1,043 in 2017 (77% increase). The numbers are by case
number, not by the number of videos in each case, which can be upwards of 10-15 videos per
case. To help offset this increase SLOPD hired a part time property clerk in 2017. The property
workload has continued to see an increase; therefore, we have been working to establish a full
time second position to help control the increase demand on property.
Dispatch:
In the Communications Center we saw an increase regarding the number of calls into the center.
The number of calls increased by almost 8% in 2017, from 94,771 in 2016 to 101,917 in 2017.
Calls for service increased in 2017 from 32,738 in 2016 to 39,514 in 2016 (1% increase).
Through much of 2017 dispatch operated with two to three vacancies. To keep dispatch fully
staffed, these vacancies were primarily filled through overtime. It has been particularly
challenging to maintain staffing in communications. SLOPD started utilizing dispatcher pre-
employment testing software called Criti-Call to increase our new hire success rate. This has
proven successful, however it is still new, we have limited staff to train new employees, and
retention remains a challenge.
Investigations:
In the Investigations Bureau, the number of cases assigned for follow up by an Investigator went
from 313 in 2016 to 335 in 2017 (7% increase). In 2017 the Investigations Bureau had more
cases forwarded to them from patrol which required additional follow up.
Homelessness:
SLOPD’ Downtown Bicycle Officers have continued to educate downtown businesses regarding
trespassing laws and have encouraged them to complete trespassing letters. These letters allow
the police department to take immediate action to mitigate trespassing problems at these
locations with the owner’s approval. Every six months these letters are reviewed to ensure the
SLOPD has all the current information to meet the DA’s office expectation for compliance.
This past year the police department responded to numerous complaints regarding the increase
transient occupancy in the Mission Amphitheater. The Downtown Bicycle Officers worked with
the Mission to address transient related issues within Mission Plaza and on Mission grounds.
Downtown Bicycle Officers, along with patrol, increased their presence throughout the day and
during the night to enforce violations committed in their presence. The challenge law
enforcement often faces is when there is no law or city code violation being committed. Being
homeless or being in a group of transients in a space open to the public is not a crime. We have
continued to educate and encourage the public and business owners to contact the police
department when they observe violations being committed.
In evaluating calls for service pertaining to the homeless population during 2017 (to include
contacts as suspects, victims or witnesses) these contacts increased by 785 for a total increase of
12% compared to 2016. In 2017 the police departments overall calls for service inc reased by a
total of 1%. Homeless related calls for service accounted for 19% of all calls for service
citywide compared to 17% last year. Some of the challenges the department faced this past year
was shortages in patrol, which had an impact on our downtown bike team and CAT. For much
of the year CAT has only been able to have one CAT officer and the downtown bike team has
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operated with only one bike officer during the day. This has limited some the effectiveness these
teams can have on many of the crimes and negative transient impacts within our downtown.
Traffic:
Vehicle collisions have increased 8%, with a 12% increase in pedestrian involved collisions, but
a decrease of 28% in collisions involving bicycles. This is newer information than what was
recently provided in the 2016 Traffic Safety Report. This decrease can be credited to an increase
in public outreach and education on bicycle safety. The traffic team also conducted special
enforcement related to primary collision factors in bicycle collisions. In 2017 SLOPD received a
grant through the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) which funded eight special enforcements to
address bicycle violations and three two-hour presentation on bicycle safety. Traffic and patrol
continue to collaborate with Public Works as we examine collision prone locations in our City to
provide education, enforcement and engineering efforts. In 2017 there was an 5% increase in
traffic citations issued and a 14% decrease in warnings. In 2017 there were 8,671 traffic stops
completed, compared to 2016 there were 11,705 a 26% decrease. DUI arrests from 2016 to 2017
decreased by 15%, which can be attributed to the loss of our DUI grant position. DUI’s will
continue to be a priority for our officers, especially with the legalization of Cannabis.
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Noise:
Party related noise complaints decreased by 6% in 2017. This decrease marks an all-time low in
party related noise complaints since tracking began in 1998. This decrease is attributed to a
variety of efforts made by the police department and building upon past initiatives and campus
partnerships. Police department staff continued to participate in summer orientation assemblies
for over 4,500 incoming Cal Poly Freshmen and parents. These presentations provide staff with
the opportunity to “front load” incoming students and their supporters with information on living
in SLO, city laws that are important to know and how to stay safe.
Neighborhood officers continue to be engaged in community outreach, providing education at
neighborhood meetings and conducting problem-oriented policing at locations before calls for
service are generated. Neighborhood officers also visit properties that have had multiple noise
violations to help educate residents and encourage wise social event planning. The pilot party
registration program which launched in May 2017 has also been a great option for residents.
Over 40 parties have been registered since the start of the program; only three events have
received warning phone calls and no citations have been issued. A wide variety of messaging
methods are used by the police department to reach residents: social media ads, doorhangers,
posters/flyers, e-blasts, in-person presentations, media releases and participation in the Student
Community Liaison Committee.
Lastly, the partnerships with Cal Poly and Cuesta College continue to provide many more
opportunities for the noise and neighborhood wellness messaging. Information shared is
dispersed through many different avenues: student government, housing, Greek life, athletics,
clubs and Off-Campus Programs. In addition, Off-Campus Programs at Cal Poly continues to
provide the Educated Renter Certificate Program which teaches students who are about to
transition to off-campus living situations the ins-and-outs of how to successfully reside in the
neighborhoods. Cal Poly continues to hold students accountable for off campus behavior.
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Unable to Locate (UTL) noise violations continued to decrease in 2017. SLOPD saw a 13%
decrease which is most likely due to the comprehensive education and outreach taking place
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throughout the year. Callers are doing a better job defining locations of violations and officers
are more acutely aware of the need to search and locate properties that are in violation of the
noise ordinance.
Downtown:
Downtown calls for service for daytime activity increased by 2% and nighttime activity
increased by 3%. As previously mentioned, we operated with several shortages in specialty units
throughout the year. Not being able to operate fully staffed throughout the year was a
contributing factor to the increase calls for service and the below decrease in officer-initiated
activity. Downtown will continue to be a priority for Bicycle officers CAT and all of patrol. In
2017 the department saw a 11% decrease in officer initiated calls in the downtown.
Downtown officers have been utilizing crime prevention through environmental design
techniques while partnering with Public Works and local businesses to improve conditions such
as lighting, landscape, building maintenance, fencing, programming and traffic flow. By
addressing some of these issues the city and local businesses can deter criminal activity.
Currently there are five public cameras placed in the downtown core. Two cameras monitor the
Globe and Mission area and the other three monitor the central core of downtown on Higuera.
Conclusion:
Our efforts are shown positively in many areas as demonstrated by the information above.
Crime will continue to be a major priority for SLOPD. After significant increases in crime in
2015, and the implementation of numerous crime reduction initiative and community programs,
San Luis Obispo has seen a 2% decrease in Part 1 crime over the last 2 years. The department’s
efforts in intelligence led policing has played a significant role in the 14% decrease in property
related crimes and a total reduction in crime of 13%. Property crime continues to be a significant
issue within the city, and throughout the state. Theft from unsecured vehicles continues to be the
number one issue for vehicle burglaries and we have seen an increase in the number of bicycles
being stolen. Continued education has helped with decreasing the trend, which we will continue
throughout 2018. These measures will include directed patrols targeted at problem locations,
utilization of stings and undercover operations to catch criminals engaged in or looking for
crimes of opportunity and using print media, social media and community meetings to educate
our citizens to reduce victimization and increase awareness.
CONCURRENCES
None.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The report is not a project as defined under the California Environmental Quality Act.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
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ALTERNATIVES
The City Council could choose not to receive and file the report. This is not recommended as the
report provides a record of key crime related statistics and trends that are important for policy
makers and the public to be aware of in our community.
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4/3/2018
1
Police Department
2016/2017 Update
Reducing Harm
Reduce crime and fear of crime
Increase multi-modal safety
Strengthen regional partnerships
Strengthen employee health and wellbeing
Strengthen relationships with our community
Item 2, Presentation
4/3/2018
2
Reduce Fear of Crime
&
Strengthen Community Relationship
PACT
PEACE
Coffee with a COP
IACP and Citygate 33% proactive/available rate
Community forums and meetings
Neighborhood wellness
Crime Comparison
2016 / 2017
2015 2016 %Dif 2017 %Dif
Murder 00000
Rape 32 38 +19% 39 +3%
Robbery 13 21 +62% 23 +9%
Agg. Assault 146 118 -19% 111 -5%
Burglary 245 251 +2% 172 -31%
Larceny 1,501 1,730 +13% 1,516 -12%
MV Theft 98 95 -3% 94 -1%
Part 1 Violent 191 177 -7% 173 -2%
Part 1 Property 1,844 2,076 +13% 1782 -14%
Total Part 1 2,035 2,253 +11% 1955 -13%
Property Crime $2.50 $2.40 -$100k
Item 2, Presentation
4/3/2018
3
Traffic
2016 / 2017
2015 2016 %Dif 2017 %Dif
Collisions 511 495 -3% 534 +8%
Pedestrian 34 33 -3% 37 +12%
Bike 54 54 0% 39 -28%
Traffic Cites 4949 5630 +12% 5937 +5%
Warnings 4815 5750 +16% 4945 -14%
DUI Arrests 394 426 +8% 364 -15%
Noise
2016 / 2017
2015 2016 %Dif 2017 %Dif
Noise Complaints 1779 1572 -13% 1483 -6%
Cites 235 223 -5% 209 -6%
DACS 448 472 +5% 456 -3%
UTL 264 134 -97% 117 -13%
Neg. Violation 767 697 -10% 655 -6%
Landlord Cites 126 137 +8% 118 -14%
Item 2, Presentation
4/3/2018
4
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Noise - Party (NSPY)
NSPY
1993 SNAP First Deployed
Safety
Enhancement
Zone & Admin
Fines
Civility Report
& Cal Poly MOU
Noise Ord.
change - 1 DAC -
Increase Fines -
Prop Owners
Resp.
Start of School
Saftey Enhancement
Zone
Neighborhood Wellness
Major City Goal
&
Other Important Objective
Neighborhood
Officer Program
Safety
Enhancement Zone
Halloween & St.
Pat's
Unruly
Gathering and
Social Host
Ordinance
Neighborhood
Services/Outreach
Manager
since 1998
2016 Party
Registration
2016 2017
Homeless SLO
City & County
SLO City 2013 2015 %Dif 2017 %Dif
Sheltered 148 158 +6% 189 +20%
Unsheltered 602 324 -46% 222 -31%
Total 750 482 -35% 411 -15%
SLO County 2013 2015 %Dif 2017 %Dif
Sheltered 235 392 +66% 345 -12%
Unsheltered 1951 1123 -42% 780 -31%
Total 2186 1515 -30% 1125 -26%
Item 2, Presentation
4/3/2018
5
Total Calls for Service
31924
32713
33106
31200
31400
31600
31800
32000
32200
32400
32600
32800
33000
33200
Calls for Service
2015 2016 2017
2015 – 31,924 2016 – 32,713 2017 – 33,106
(2017 +1%Dif)
Homeless Calls for Service
2015 2016 2017
Homeless CFS 5499 6285 7102
Total CFS 31924 32738 33106
5499 6285 7102
31924 32738 33106
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
Homeless CFS vs. Total CFS
Homeless CFS Total CFS
(2017 – 21% of Citywide CFS)
Item 2, Presentation
4/3/2018
6
Downtown Calls for Service
2015 2016 2017
Downtown CFS 4424 4950 5076
Total CFS 31924 32738 33106
4424 4950 5076
31924 32738 33106
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
Downtown CFS vs. Total CFS
Downtown CFS Total CFS
(2017 – 15% of Citywide CFS)
Downtown Calls Involving Homeless
2015 2016 2017
Downtown Calls Involving
Homeless 1223 1411 1509
Downtown CFS 4424 4950 5076
1223 1411 1509
4424
4950 5076
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
DT Involving Homeless vs. Total DT Calls
Downtown Calls Involving Homeless Downtown CFS
2017 – Homeless CFS = 30% of Downtown Calls
5% of all CFS
Item 2, Presentation
4/3/2018
7
Mental Health Related
Calls for Service
Calls Transported %Transported
2015 349 111 31%
2016 288 87 30%
2017 303 111 37%
2016/2017 +5% +28%
% Change
Records
Evidence
2015 2016 %Dif 2017 %Dif
Reports 8629 8908 +3% 8073 -10%
Cites 6619 7049 +6% 7084 +5%
2015 2016 %Dif 2017 %Dif
Evidence
Booked
7354 7542 +2% 7801 +3%
PRR 431 716 +39% 816 +14%
Item 2, Presentation
4/3/2018
8
Top 10 Offenders
Average age is 52 Years Old
Total arrests – 345
Citations issued – 65
Violations Include
Alcohol Offenses
Drugs
Trespassing
Battery
Vandalism
Warrants
Strategies for Crime Reduction
Intelligence led policing efforts
Community outreach and
education
Innovative enforcement
strategies
Workload realignments
Researching CFS reduction
initiatives
Workload and staffing study
Partnership with all residents
and Downtown Association
Continued partnership with
homeless outreach agencies
Cal Poly and Cuesta outreach
and collaboration
Increased enforcement efforts
Item 2, Presentation
4/3/2018
9
Current Challenges
Meeting community needs while addressing increases
in workload with limited resources
Homeless and transient impacts
Neighborhood wellness
Increased special events
Continued impacts from Prop 47 and 57
Staff development and recruiting/retention
Current Projects
Planning for FHRP
Planning for marijuana legalization impacts
Community/youth outreach initiatives
Implementation of the strategic plan
Crime reduction strategies
Planning for a new facility and staffing/workload study
Item 2, Presentation
4/3/2018
10
QUESTIONS?
Item 2, Presentation