The Santa
Cruz Police Department is pleased to announce that 2014 was ushered in without
any major incidents of violence.
Additional officers were deployed throughout the city, including foot
patrol in the Downtown corridor.
We call this an "All Hands On Deck" day, which essentially means everyone in the department is working in some capacity over that 24 hour time period. Typically, we have the "Big 3" that are considered "All Hands On Deck Days". Those are (1) New Year's Eve, (2) Halloween, and (3) Fourth of July.
Crowds
gathered for the City sponsored Countdown Celebration at the Town Clock where
temperatures dipped to approximately 38 degrees. The Police Department estimated the crowd
size at 4,500 which was down from last year’s estimate of 7,000.
Although the crowd size was smaller, we noted it was much younger and more alcohol infused than previous years.
Officers
stayed busy throughout the entire city with special attention toward the
Downtown corridor to help ensure a safe New Year’s Eve celebration for
all. Throughout the 12 hour period from
5:00 PM on December 31st to 5:00 AM on January 1st, the
police department responded to 222 calls for service.
The following is a breakdown of the
enforcement statistics from the officers assigned to the Downtown corridor:
Arrests
|
|
Public
Intoxication
|
17
|
Narcotics
|
1
|
Other
|
2
|
TOTAL
Arrests
|
20
|
Cites - Triple Fine
|
|
Alcohol
|
37
|
Public
Urination
|
5
|
Sub total
|
42
|
Cites - Non-Triple Fine
|
|
Traffic
|
5
|
Misc
Muni Code
|
33
|
Other
|
1
|
Sub total
|
39
|
Grand TOTAL Cites
|
81
|
“Triple Fine”
citations were issued pursuant to the Safety Enhancement Zone enacted between
5:00 PM on December 31st and 5:00 AM on January 1st.
In 2012/2013, Officers made 22 arrests (21 for
public intoxication) and issued 31 citations (24 for “Triple Fine”).
Thank you Santa Cruz for closing out the year on a relatively safe note. 2013 was a tough year, for a lot of reasons. That said....we are so ready for 2014. Let's continue the progress we have made to improve our community and let's make it a good year!
