German TV Program Planetopia to Feature SCPD

The German TV program Planetopia, a science-based news magazine program, will air a feature on the department's predictive policing program on June 18th. The crew visited about two months ago for the filming and interviewed a number of officers about the program. If you happen to speak German you can watch the program on their website by clicking here.

CNN To Air Story About SCPD's Predictive Policing

CNN, which ran a story a few months ago about our predictive policing program, will run an updated version of the story next week. CNN spent a day at our department learning about the program from Chief Vogel, Lt. Bernie Escalante, Deputy Chief Steve Clark and Crime Analyst Zach Friend. The program will air on CNN and Headline News (all times are PST):

CNN

Wed.    4/4        11A – 12P

Sat.      4/7        12P – 1P

Sun.     4/8        3P – 4P 

HLN

Wed.    4/4        11A – 12P

Police Officer Eric Coffey Completes Field Training Program

Lt. Bernie Escalante, head of the department's Field Training Program, wrote about a recent graduate from the program. Here is what Lt. Escalante had to say:

In late January, Police Officer Eric Coffey completed his four-month Field Training Program. P.O. Coffey is now patrolling the City of Santa Cruz as a solo beat officer.

The Field Training Program is established as an in-house training program for trainees that have graduated from the Police Academy. These trainees still need to show their ability to apply what they have learned in the classroom to the field. The program is at least four months long and is broken down into four different phases.

Daily observation reports are completed on the trainees. These reports grade their ability to perform as a solo beat officer in Santa Cruz. During the program the trainee completes twelve written exams and numerous skills tests. The focus on the program is two-fold: to be educational but also simulate the real world stresses and decision making that are part of working in law enforcement. Police trainees are evaluated by a minimum of four different Field Training Officers throughout the program. The Field Training Officers put in countless hours and a tremendous amount of patience, trying to teach each trainee and make them as safe and successful as possible.

Although P.O. Coffey has successfully completed the Field Training Program, his work is not done. As part of his probationary period (12 months from start date) he will now be required to complete a Neighborhood Portfolio Exercise. This exercise teaches the officers to find a problem within the city and find resolutions to the problem by utilizing their resources. This exercise instills problem solving and community-oriented policing philosophies into the officers. PO Coffey will present his exercise to members of the command staff of the Police Department, members of the city council, city manager’s office, and members of the community.

Lastly, P.O. Coffey will be required to complete an oral board prior to his release from his probationary period. The oral board consists of members of the Field Training Program such as, the Field Training Commander, Sergeant, and Officers. This is a high stress exercise to judge the officers skills that include decision making ability, judgment, knowledge of the law and department policies and procedures. 

As you can see this is a difficult and comprehensive process - P.O. Coffey is to be commended for completing the key phase of the Field Training Program.

Emergency Services Unit Completes Four Operations in January

Lt. Bernie Escalante, the team leader of the Emergency Services Unit (ESU), put together an overview of the team's January operations. 

During January, the Santa Cruz Police Department ESU Tactical Team participated in four separate operations. These operations showed the continued need for an in-house specially trained and equipped tactical team.

Within the same day the team served search warrants at two different locations within Santa Cruz. These two search warrants were for gang related indicia. The search warrants were based on a criminal investigation involving two gang members who were seen on video footage challenging people to fight, displaying hand gestures representing their gang, and distributing marijuana to a juvenile. Significant gang indicia was located at both of these locations providing the team with key gang intelligence. 

In the third operation, the unit served a narcotics-related search warrant in Santa Cruz. This location has a  history of weapons, video surveillance and other protective measures. This search warrant required extensive preparation.  The search warrant was based off of a lengthy narcotics investigation completed by the Santa Cruz County Anti-Crime Team. The search warrant was for methamphetamine and the sales of methamphetamine.  A moderate amount of methamphetamine was found at the location. In addition, the team located several fake guns at the location. In all, three suspects went to jail. 

In the last operation the team was called upon to resolve a barricaded subject wanted for felony domestic violence on his pregnant girlfriend. After several attempts to negotiate with the barricaded male suspect inside his motor home, the Tactical Team was able to breach several windows on the motor home and make contact with the suspect. The suspect was taken into custody after a brief struggle with officers. 

All four of these operations were a representation of the excellent skills and tools that the Tactical Team operates with.  You can learn more about the ESU team by clicking here.

French Science Magazine to Highlight SCPD

The French Science Magazine "Sciences et Avenir" will be in Santa Cruz today and tomorrow to meet with the Santa Cruz Police Department and Dr. George Mohler regarding the predictive policing program. The magazine will meet Crime Analyst Zach Friend, Lt. Bernie Escalante and Deputy Chief Steve Clark to view the program. There has been interest from law enforcement agencies in France to implement predictive policing. The magazine will also be reaching out to LAPD regarding their current test of the program. The magazine will be highlighting the department and program in a few months.

Time Magazine Names SCPD's Predictive Policing as one of top 50 Inventions of 2011

The Santa Cruz Police Department’s predictive policing program was named by Time Magazine as one of the fifty best inventions of 2011. In the November 28, 2011 issue (already in newsstands) the magazine said the program helps the department “get ahead of the bad guys.” In the last few years, the prestigious Invention Issue listed the iPad, electric car and even devices that help people walk again among their top inventions.

“We are honored to be recognized by Time Magazine for our predictive policing program” Police Chief Kevin Vogel said. “Innovation is the key to modern policing and we’re proud to be leveraging technology in a way that keeps our community safer.”

The predictive policing program, developed by Dr. George Mohler of Santa Clara University and a team from UCLA, uses an earthquake aftershock model to determine where future crimes will occur. Similar to the predictability of an aftershock after an earthquake, the models predicts that there will be “aftercrimes” after an initial crime. The program does not cost the agency anything.

This groundbreaking model is now being used by the Los Angeles Police Department. This week, LAPD invited Lt. Bernie Escalante and Zach Friend down to speak to roll calls about the program and aid in their launch.

In the first few months of using the program the Santa Cruz Police Department has seen a decrease in the targeted crime types (burglaries and motor vehicle thefts). The program has shown to be much more accurate in predicting where crimes will occur, breaking down targeted locations into 500 foot by 500 foot areas. In January the department will work with the researchers to do a full analysis of the program. Lessons that are being learned by SCPD and LAPD will be integrated into the next generation of the program for other law enforcement agencies.

LAPD Invites SCPD to Speak About Predictive Policing

The Los Angeles Police Department invited Lt. Bernie Escalante and Crime Analyst Zach Friend to LA to speak to roll calls about SCPD's experience with predictive policing. LAPD launched predictive policing last week. Led by Cpt. Sean Malinowski, the LAPD experiment affords an opportunity to test the program on a much larger scale. LAPD has been working closely with researchers from UCLA and was the first agency to provide data to test the model nearly two years ago. LAPD and SCPD are the only two agencies in the country using the program. The results of the two experiments are expected in the next few months. Dozens of agencies have reached out to LAPD and SCPD to ask about the program and possibly launch predictive policing in their own agencies at the end of the test period.

ABC World News Story on Predictive Policing

From ABC News...

Santa Cruz police are using a computer program to predict where crimes will likely happen in an effort to better utilize its shrinking force.

Police in Santa Cruz are using a complicated math equation to predict where crimes will likely happen in an effort to better utilize their shrinking force stop the bad guys in their tracks.

"Crime is not random," said Zach Friend, the department's crime analyst. "You can actually predict the kinds of things that people will do."

The computer program utilizing this algorithm is at the center of a six-month effort called "predictive policing" that the department started in July. Eight years of crime data were first entered into the program so it could track and pinpoint crimes.

Now it spits out 10 detailed maps daily complete with "hot spots" -- a forecast of where new crimes are most likely to occur.

A specific crime is broken down to the two most likely chunks of time it will probably occur, say noon to 1 p.m. or 4 to 5 p.m., so if an officer is working during that time, he or she knows to check that area.
In the last decade, Santa Cruz saw a 20 percent reduction in its staff but a 30 percent increase in calls for service, according to Friend.

"As we continue budget cuts, as we are facing less and less police officers on the streets, we need to leverage technology to become more effective and efficient," he said.

Lt.  Bernie Escalante said that with fewer officers on the streets in Santa Cruz, the technology helped fill the gap.  "They give you a map and a square [a hot spot]," he said. "It's very easy to understand [and] hard to screw it up."

It seems to be working. Friend said that since the program's launch, the algorithm had correctly predicted 40 percent of crimes and had led to five arrests. In the last six weeks, Santa Cruz also saw a reduction in property crimes including car and home burglaries. Police said burglaries were down 27 percent in July compared to the same month last year.

Fred Meng, the owner of Cafe Delmarette, said he wished predictive policing had started before a burglar broke into his eatery and stole the cash box.

"Somebody kicked in the door and was able to move the glass enough that they could get in," he said. "Maybe this [the computer program] would have helped."

As reported by The New York Times, the program was developed by a group of researchers including two mathematicians and an anthropologist and based on an earthquake aftershock model.

Friend said the program told officers where a crime was likely to occur as well as when and the type of crime based on analyzing and detecting patterns of past crime data. The information changes as new crimes happen and that data is entered into the program.

"Think of yourself as a police officer," Friend said, "and you have limited amount of patrol time. ... This guides them in a very specific way in that free time of where to go."

Friend said that Santa Cruz police have more than 26 square miles of area to patrol. "If you can get your beat down to such a small area and know to make a few pass-throughs, it makes it much more efficient," he said.

We have one very simple goal here," Friend said. "That's to reduce crime. It's not to arrest people. It's to deter and prevent crime from occurring."
Jesus Ayala contributed this report

Watch the video here:

Learn More About Lt. Bernie Escalante!

Born and raised in Santa Cruz, Lt. Bernie Escalante wanted to give back to his community. He found a passion for law enforcement and joined our department. Lt. Escalante oversees our Emergency Services Unit - Tactical Team as well as our field training program. He plays a large role in the development of new officers and is one of the foremost tactical experts in our agency. We sat down for a candid interview with him and learned some interesting things... read on.

When you're not out saving the city where do you like to eat or hang out?

Lt. Escalante: My favorite restaurant is the El Palomar. Mexican food is my favorite and they have the best. Plus Zach Friend likes to eat there, so I get the honor of eating lunch or dinner with him once in a while. I can’t tell you my secret spot because it’s a secret. 

Word on the street is that you played some professional baseball. Are you a Giants or A's fan? 49ers or Raiders?

Lt. Escalante: I am a huge Giants and Niner fan. I was raised going to Niner games with my father. I can still remember being at “The Catch” with my dad. I was raised to root against any other team, especially the Raiders, A’s or any other Southern California Team. The Padres never seemed to matter. The Dodgers, Raiders and the old Los Angeles Rams are my least favorite. 

As someone that played in competitive sports we can assume you like to work out. What music do you listen to while you workout?

Lt. Escalante: I listen to my iPod when I workout, but quite honestly I don’t really pay attention to the songs. The songs just help me get through the pain of my workouts. There is a mix of country, reggae, some old school, and hip hop. 
   
What do you like about working here? 

Lt. Escalante: I was born and raised in Santa Cruz. It is a pleasure to work for the city that I grew up in. It isn’t that much fun running into people I grew up with on the wrong side of the law, but it hasn’t happened that much.  The City of Santa Cruz is small enough to see the positive effects of our police work in problem areas. The most enjoyable part is giving tourists directions to the Beach and Boardwalk. Just kidding!!!

You've worked a number of high-profile cases. Which is most memorable? 

Lt. Escalante: My most memorable case was working a sexual assault on a 3 year-old girl. A subject broke into the families’ apartment and sexually assaulted the girl in her bedroom. A suspect was identified in the case based on a fingerprint left at the scene. The suspect avoided capture for almost 10 years. When I got assigned to Investigations as a Sergeant, I re-evaluated the case and after about 2 years of trying to find the suspect he was captured in the Northwest. The case was brought to trial and the suspect was found guilty. The suspect was sentenced to 40-plus years in prison. It was such a traumatic case for the family and the victim. It was also extremely difficult on the family and victim to go through a trial. But I can still remember the day when I called the family and told them that the suspect had been captured. 

We know you're a local - so tell us about your background.

Lt. Escalante: I was born and raised in Santa Cruz. Went to Westlake Elementary, Mission Hill, and Santa Cruz High. I got a BA from San Francisco State. I played any sport I could while growing-up including: Basketball, Football, and Baseball. I don’t play much any more, but enjoy watching guys like Deputy Chief Steve Clark, Sergeant Mike Harms,  Deputy Chief Rick Martinez and Zach Friend play slow pitch softball and try to re-live their glory days. It is hilarious, you should come watch some time with me. 


OK - last question. Favorite vacation spots?

Lt. Escalante: My favorite vacation spots include anywhere with warm weather, a pool or beach and good food. Places like Hawaii, Mexico, Palm Springs (good golf), and Lake Tahoe.

Emergency Services Unit - Tactical Team

Ever wonder what the Emergency Services Unit (ESU) Tactical Team does? Team leader Lt. Bernie Escalante explains...

In June 2006 the Santa Cruz Police Department established the very first Tactical Team in the history of the Police Department. The team was established to provide specialized support in handling critical field operations where special tactical deployment is required. The team has the ability to provide a higher level of response in both tactics and equipment.

The Tactical Team has grown to 18 members including one Lieutenant, 3 Sergeants and 14 Operators. All of the members successfully passed a selection process that included an oral interview, a rigorous physical fitness test, and a challenging firearms proficiency test. Each member is required to pass both the fitness test and the firearms proficiency test twice a year. Prior to being an active member of the team, each member is required to successfully complete a State Certified SWAT School. The team regularly trains 1 to 2 times a month, and also provides additional tactical training to the rest of the organization. The extensive amount of training each member receives not only benefits the individual team member but also each individual officer within the organization.

The assignment to the Tactical Team does not provide any additional pay. It is a voluntary assignment and is solely based on each member’s high level of commitment to the safety of the community and dedication to the organization. The team can be called upon at any time, day or night, 7 days a week.

The Tactical Team has the ability to handle multiple different types of situations such as; high risk search and or arrest warrants, barricaded subjects, and hostage rescue situations. We also spend a considerable amount of time training for an active shooter situation in our local schools or business locations. During our brief history of existence, we have been called upon to handle a considerable amount of situations. We have served several high risk gang related search and or arrest warrants on violent felons. We served a high risk arrest warrant on a subject wanted for multiple armed bank robberies involving 3 different counties. We were recently involved in capturing a violent felon escapee that shocked the conscious of our community. These are just a few examples of when our Tactical Team has been called upon to bring potentially violent situations to a safe resolution.

Our team continues to learn, develop, and maintain a grueling training regimen for the benefit of the community and the organization. Through training, commitment, dedication and professionalism, the intent of the Tactical Team is to peacefully settle any problem if possible, but have the ability to overcome whatever unforeseen obstacle which may be encountered.