Discussion on Neighborhood Crime Tomorrow @ SCPD

Find out what you can do to deter neighborhood crimes? All welcome to the discussion on neighborhood crime on Wednesday 2/15/17 @ SCPD

Burglaries, Car Break-ins, Stolen Cars and those quality-of-life issues of crime in our communities are the topic for discussion at the next Santa Cruz Neighbors meeting, Wednesday, February 15th from 7 -8:30 pm at the Police Department Community Room, 155 Center Street.

Our guest speakers know first-hand about these neighborhood quality-of-life crimes. Sgt. Detective Michael Harms from Property Crimes and East Side Beat Officer Carly Cross will talk about where and how these crimes are happening. Officer Cross is specifically working on East Side burglaries with other officers. How do you have the power to help prevent these types of crimes? What can you do to protect your property and your neighborhood?

SCPD’s Community-Based Partnerships Reduce Crime - 3rd Installment of 5 in SCPD Community-Oriented Policing Series

This blog post marks the third in a series of five articles about Santa Cruz Police Department’s longstanding commitment to Community-Oriented Policing.
1st article - HighlightsCommunity-Oriented Policing Tradition
2nd article - Community-Oriented Policing Provides Transparency, Accountability

Santa Cruz Police Department’s Community-Based Partnerships Reduces Crime.

There’s a problem house in the neighborhood. You know the one. People coming and going at all hours, lots of cars parked out front. Maybe there’s trash in the yard or loud music late at night.

On the surface there’s nothing so wrong a neighbor needs to call 911, but it’s uncomfortable for the rest of the neighborhood and seems like it could be dangerous.

Deborah Elston, founder of Santa Cruz Neighbors, would say, “Call 911.” Not because it’s an emergency, but because Elston’s organization has spent the past 15 years teaching city residents to report suspicious activity, then work with the Santa Cruz Police Department (SCPD) and other city staff to address neighborhood issues.

Santa Cruz Neighbors, an organization representing a citywide network of neighborhoods dedicated to safer neighborhoods, and now-retired SCPD Community Policing Coordinator Jim Howes, came together in 2002 to address quality-of-life issues like drugs, prostitution, harassment, vehicle camping, graffiti and speeding. While these weren’t major crimes, addressing underlying issues could prevent crime from happening or intervene before the situation got more serious.

“We knew we could tackle all the problems together,” Elston said. “I think neighbors realize they are an instrumental part in being the eyes and ears of the police department. When they make those calls, the bad guys get caught.”

SCPD’s partnership with Santa Cruz Neighbors is just one of the many collaborations the department has created to facilitate Community-Oriented Policing over the last two decades. This policing philosophy looks at the root cause of an issue and focuses on problem solving to prevent the issue from reoccurring, rather than repeatedly deal with the same call for service.

“We worked with other city departments to do that: fire, public works, code enforcement,” Howes explained.

“The idea really is community-oriented government.”

Take that problem house described earlier. Through the Community Services Unit, an officer would check any emergency calls to the address and find the name of the property owner. Often, the home would be a rental and the owner didn’t know of any problems at the property. To prevent so many cars from parking at the house, the officer might ask the Public Works Department to take a look at the parking rules for the area. A street light could be installed nearby to deter late-night visits. The city’s Code Enforcement officer could stop by to ensure the living conditions are safe and legal.

“That way, you start sharing, delegating, giving out help,” Howes said. “There was really nothing we couldn’t solve together.”

Should more serious crime be suspected, SCPD’s Neighborhood Enforcement Team (NET) could be brought in to investigate drug sales, prostitution, gang activity and more. NET responds to specific, identifiable problems within Santa Cruz and, in 2015, made 272 arrests and issued 246 citations.

“Community policing emphasizes working with neighborhood residents to improve public safety. We do this by working together to identify problems and then implementing solutions that produce meaningful results,” SCPD Deputy Chief Rick Martinez said.

Another SCPD partnership exists with Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency’s Mental Health Services and the Maintaining Ongoing Stability through Treatment Team (MOST) program. SCPD was the first law enforcement agency in the county to implement the pilot program in October 2014.

MOST brings together Probation, Behavioral Health, courts and law enforcement staff to improve mental health counseling, employment and other services to clients, including those in the criminal justice system. The MOST liaison assists with calls involving potential mental health issues and provides mental health intervention and assessment services. In 2015, the MOST liaison made 1,349 contacts and referrals, and 691 mental health assessments while out in the field with SCPD officers.

The Bob Lee Community Partnership for Accountability, Connection and Treatment (PACT) brings together county District Attorney, Probation, Public Defender and Health Services staff, along with Santa Cruz police officers and city attorney staff, to focus on chronic, low-level offenders in Downtown Santa Cruz. In the first 12 months of the program, which started in 2014, 70 clients saw their arrests drop by 70 percent and their ambulance runs drop 80 percent. PACT has proven so successful at reducing recidivism, the program has been expanded to reach clients city-wide.

“We recognize that crime often stems from a social problem and that the greatest impact to crime reduction is addressing the issues at their root cause,” Martinez said.

Another SCPD program integral to its Community-Oriented Policing goals is the Parks Unit, which marks 10 years in existence in 2016. Created to provide dedicated patrols in neighborhood parks, open spaces and waterways to ensure a safer environment, the unit also coordinates and participates in several cleanups throughout the year. One recent cleanup, where Parks Unit officers and city Park Rangers removed more than 20 illegal campsites at Pogonip, yielded enough trash to fill five train cars.

Phil Kramer, executive director of the Homeless Services Center and former head of the 180/2020 Program (formerly the 180/180 Program), has been impressed with SCPD officers’ ability to work with vulnerable populations. When Kramer and upwards of 100 volunteers took to the streets to survey the homeless in 2012, SCPD offered insight, guidance and support for surveyors. They provided tips as to where people might be sleeping and, in many instances, were there to be the relationship bridge.

“In a way, it was both heartwarming and a little bit surprising that they trusted a relationship with people who were on the street and homeless,”

Kramer said. “It helped foster our ability to engage with people.”

Earlier this year, Kramer and his staff identified a need to have a streetlight in front of the Homeless Services Center on Coral Street to enhance safety for clients and staff after-hours. Working with Lt. Dan Flippo, the designated Homeless Services Center liaison, the light was installed in October.

“They seem to treat everyone with real compassion and understanding,” Kramer said. “We couldn’t ask for a better partner.”

Taking the time to look at and address what is causing the crime or nuisance problems in a neighborhood has proven successful for SCPD officers. This problem-solving approach – exemplified by Santa Cruz Neighbors, NET, PACT, MOST, the Parks Units and the 180/2020 program – is a key element of Community-Oriented Policing, requires collaboration with other city and county departments, groups that work with vulnerable populations and neighbors.

“It’s worth doing,” Howes said. “There is really never anything we can’t solve over time with people.”

For more information about SCPD’s community programs and to get involved, visit www.santacruzpolice.com.

Take Back Santa Cruz & Santa Cruz Neighbors Donate to PRIDE Youth Program

Supporting our community is something near and dear to Take Back Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz Neighbors groups. Because of their commitment to the community youth, the two groups recently donated $1,300.00 the Santa Cruz Police Department PRIDE youth program.

SCPD PRIDE Program Receives $1,300 Donation from Take Back Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz Neighbors

THANK YOU

The donation will directly support middle school students in the PRIDE program. The SCPD PRIDE program teaches and creates opportunity for youth to make better choices. The P.R.I.D.E. acronym stands for Personally Responsible Individual Development in Ethics.

"We are grateful to be supported by the community. The gift of this donation shares our SCPD vision of ensuring that all youth have opportunities for positive experiences in our community” said Chief Vogel "Programs such as PRIDE and BASTA give young people the chance to get involved and make a difference in their life choices. "

Thank you Take Back Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz Neighbors for supporting and giving back to our community.

Neighborhood Night Block Parties a Success Once Again

Thanks to all the hosts who organized block parties, and all those that participated.  In spite of everything we had going on with police calls, we found time to get by many of the events.

We had a great time touring each of the neighborhoods, saying hello to old friends and meeting new ones.

Deputy Chief Clark had the radar trailer out playing catch and tracking the fastball speeds of many neighborhood kids.  I think there were some dads wanting to take their turn too!

We ran into all kinds of people out and about, even mascot Mav’Riks and other representatives from the Santa Cruz Warriors cruising around on a pedi-cab giving out ice cream.

Overall there were 40 block party events.  It was great to see so many neighbors networking and building relationships to keep our neighborhoods safe and improve our quality of life.

Great Job Everyone! 

Predictive Policing International Day of Action

Announcing International Predictive Policing 

Day of Action

A Chance for the Community to Get Involved

The Santa Cruz Police Department was the first in the world to implement Predictive Policing technology.  Our efforts led to PredPol, a tool now widely used throughout the United States and also in the United Kingdom.

On Wednesday August 14^th, we are teaming with all of the other agencies using PredPol, for our first International PredPol Day of Action or “All Out PredPol”.

The plan is to get as much positive and healthy activity and presence in each of the PredPol zones.  To accomplish this, we are teaming with our public safety partners and community groups to activate these areas.

On Wednesday morning, we will run the PredPol maps for the day in each of the targeted crime categories.  Those maps will be distributed to our public safety partners and neighborhood groups through Santa Cruz Neighbors and Take Back Santa Cruz.  Our goal is to maximize presence in and around these areas and have a positive impact on crime and the overall quality of life.  We won’t know the locations until that morning when PredPol runs the reports for that day. 

Above is an example of a PredPol Map 

We’re asking our neighborhood groups to join with us and be the eyes and ears in these areas.  We’ll ask you to report any anecdotes and observations to my email: sclark@cityofsantacruz.com

We will post the information on our Facebook and blog. 

We are looking forward to joining all the other cities across the U.S. and U.K. using this tool and working together to make a difference in Santa Cruz.

 

SCPD and SC Neighbors Block Party Photos

This last weekend the Santa Cruz Police Department joined with Santa Cruz Neighbors on dozens of local block parties. The events were an opportunity for neighbors to meet neighbors in a fun environment. Santa Cruz Police, Santa Cruz Fire, City Councilmembers, UCSC representatives and more joined with neighbors at the block parties. Here are some photos!

Get to Know Your Neighborhood Group: Lower Seabright Neighbors

The Santa Cruz Police Department values its relationships with local neighborhood organizations. Today we wanted to feature another local neighborhood - the Lower Seabright Neighbors. 

Santa Cruz Police: When were you founded?

Lower Seabright Neighbors: We have been in existence for approximately 12 years. 

Santa Cruz Police: What is the general area covered by your group?

Lower Seabright Neighbors: Our designated area is from the corner of Pine and Seabright to East Cliff - along the rail road tracks, then down Buena Vista to Pine/Seabright. We cover a relatively small territory.

Santa Cruz Police: What are some of your neighborhood’s accomplishments?

Lower Seabright Neighbors: We have been successful with eliminating the campsites along the railroad tracks. Any new people are reported to the Parks and Recreation Department, who help clear them out. Another focus has been our attempt to tidy up our curbsides and alley-ways. We have worked with owner-occupied and absentee landlords/ladies on alley debris, garbage collection of orphaned cans and proper storage. We "haunt" the street sweeper when we hear him coming on Friday mornings, and quickly move our cars to get the most out of the sweeper's visit. We figure that if we have a pleasant curb-side appeal, then we convey the message: "We care and we keep an eye on our neighborhood". We are really good at coming together when needed; we look out for each other and we love our City sponsored Block Parties!

Santa Cruz Police: Have you partnered at all with our department?

Lower Seabright Neighbors: Over the years our group has had a lot of interactions with the police. There have been peeping toms, rapes, problem patrons from the many bars, the impact of 4th of July fireworks, a series of burglaries, and fireworks going off at random times throughout the year. The police have had meetings us and together we have created a calmer neighborhood. Whenever we have a heightened criminal situation and have requested extra police patrol we have noticed there has been a response to the extra need with police cars driving through our streets-- which calms us and makes criminals nervous.

Santa Cruz Police: What things you would like to see improved?

Lower Seabright Neighbors: There are a lot of great City Service resources available to the neighborhoods unfortunately they don't get enough attention. Maybe there is a way to highlight them more? In our neighborhood we have a lot of absentee house owners; it would be great to have multi-layered outreach to point out that they are a part of our neighborhood even though they don't live here. 

Santa Cruz Police: How people can get involved with your group?

               

Lower Seabright Neighbors: To become a member of our group, send a request to: lower_seabright@googlegroups.com - Get to know your neighbors, take time to schmooze!

Join SCPD and SC Neighbors for Neighbor Night Out - Oct. 2nd!

Join Santa Cruz Police, Santa Cruz Fire, UCSC and members of the City Council as we join with Santa Cruz Neighbors for the annual Neighbor Night Out block parties on October 2nd. Forty neighborhoods will be hosting free block parties from Noon-8 pm complete with food, events, music, children's games and more.

Santa Cruz Police officers will be there to show off their cars to the kids (and those young at heart), participate in some of the games and possibly even grab some BBQ! Last year's event was a tremendous success. It's a great way for neighbors to get to meet neighbors in a supportive and open environment. It's also a great opportunity to interact with city and university officials in your neighborhood.

Want more information? Click here for the Santa Cruz Neighbors website. Want to see where there is an event near you? We've put together a map below. The map is subject to change (times and locations) but should give a general overview.