New Year’s Eve Safety Enhancement Zone designation in Downtown Santa Cruz

The men and women of the Santa Cruz Police Department are working to make sure our community can enjoy a safe start to the New Year. To make sure our community stays safe, we will have all hands on deck working New Year’s Eve.

Every available SCPD Officers will be patrolling downtown as well as our neighborhoods to ensure a safe environment for New Year’s Eve. SCPD has enacted a Safety Enhancement Zone designation for the downtown corridor in the City of Santa Cruz.

The City of Santa Cruz Safety Enhancement Zone boundaries and road closures is accessible on our Google Maps http://goo.gl/3VXQ0Y

Why create a Safety Enhancement Zone?
Public Safety is SCPD's #1 priority. We want downtown to be a safe and enjoyable atmosphere for everyone.

What time is the Safety Enhancement Zone in effect?
The Safety Enhancement Zone in the downtown corridor will begin at 5:00 PM on December 31st and end at 5:00 AM on January 1st.

What happens in the Safety Enhancement Zone?
The Safety Enhancement Zone allows for a “Triple Fine” to be levied on certain Municipal Code violations, such as possession of alcoholic beverages in public and other unsafe or illegal behavior related Ordinances.

What is the purpose of the Triple Fines?
The goal of triple fines is to deter unwanted behavior. The fines are very expensive. It's an extra incentive for rowdy people to keep their behavior in check.

Parks & Rec is hosting their yearly countdown at the Town Clock, starting around 11:40 PM. The crowd rings in the new year with a DJ and light show.

Don't Drink and Drive! Statistically, driving accidents go up during the holidays, so it's crucial to have a safe ride on New Year's Eve. Find a sober designated driver to get you home safely!

Santa Cruz Police Department wishes you all a happy and healthy holiday and thank you for your continuing support.

NYE 2017 Safety Enhancement Zone & SCPD Top 5 Safety Tips For Your Night Out

SCPD is ready to ring in the new year and your safety is our #1 priority. We will have all hands on deck working New Year’s Eve.

Every available SCPD Officers will be patrolling downtown as well as our neighborhoods to ensure a safe environment for New Year’s Eve. SCPD has enacted a Safety Enhancement Zone designation for the downtown corridor in the City of Santa Cruz.

The City of Santa Cruz Safety Enhancement Zone boundaries and road closures is accessible on our Google Maps http://goo.gl/3VXQ0Y
Why create a Safety Enhancement Zone? 
Public Safety is SCPD's #1 priority. We want downtown to be a safe and enjoyable atmosphere for everyone.

What time is the Safety Enhancement Zone in effect? 
The Safety Enhancement Zone in the downtown corridor will begin at 5:00 PM on December 31st and end at 5:00 AM on January 1st.

What happens in the Safety Enhancement Zone? 
The Safety Enhancement Zone allows for a “Triple Fine” to be levied on certain Municipal Code violations, such as possession of alcoholic beverages in public and other unsafe or illegal behavior related Ordinances.

WHAT is the purpose of the Triple Fines? 
The goal of triple fines is to deter unwanted behavior. The fines are very expensive. It's an extra incentive for rowdy people to keep their behavior in check.

Parks & Rec is hosting their yearly countdown at the Town Clock, starting around 11:40 PM.  The crowd rings in the new year with a DJ and light show. 

 

SCPD Top 5 Safety Tips for New Year's Eve 

#1 Don't Drink and Drive!
#2 Always designate a safe and sober ride home.
#3 If you plan on going anywhere for the New Year’s Eve, take friends with you! Stay with your group of friends.

#4 Have your cell phone with you and fully charged just in case anything negative occurs. Be prepared!
#5 Above all, go with your gut. If a street or bar feels unsafe, leave. Be aware of your surroundings and report anything suspicious.

New Year's Eve Stats

The Santa Cruz Police Department is pleased to announce that 2016 was welcomed in without any major incidence of violence during the festivities downtown. The police department deployed additional officers throughout the city as well as a significant contingent of officers on foot in the Downtown corridor.

Crowds gathered at the Town Clock for a city sponsored Countdown Celebration. Like last year, temperatures dipped to approximately 38 degrees around midnight. The city sponsored event drew a crowd of approximately 3,500 compared to last year of approximately 4,000 revelers.

Officers kept busy throughout the city, and in the Downtown. Between 5:00 PM on December 31st and 5:00 AM on January 1st, Officers responded to 161 calls for service. This number is up from last year’s 159 calls during that same time.

Overall downtown Santa Cruz arrests and citations were up from 2015. The following is a breakdown of the arrest statistics for the night.

The New Year Eve and January 1st early morning deployment reported the following activity:
Arrests Total = 28
11 for Public Intoxication
Last year saw a total of 19 arrests on New Year’s Eve

53 Citations Issued
27 for Triple Fine Cites. The majority of the triple fines were for open containers of alcohol.
Non Triple Fines Cites = 26
Last year saw a total of 38 cites with 26 of those being Triple Fines cites.

One case of interest - SCPD Officer Injured During Arrest. 

Approximately, 2:00 a.m. on January 1, 2016, SCPD responded to a suspicious person in the 2200 block of Mission Street that was causing a disturbance inside a store.

Todd Shores, 46 years old from Soquel  

The suspect Todd Shores resisted arrest and fled. Todd Shores then physically fought with two officers. After injuring one officer, Shores then continued fighting with another officer. During that altercation Shore repeatedly tried to grab at the officer's utility belt. In order to subdue the suspect, the Officer had to deploy a Taser. Todd Shores was stunned one time. Todd Shores, 46, from Soquel was arrested for theft, trespassing and resisting arrest. An SCPD Officer will start the year out on medical leave.   Everyone at SCPD wishes this Officer a speedy recovery. 

SCPD is prepped for a Safe New Year's Eve

The Santa Cruz Police Department will be deploying all available officers to ensure a safe environment for New Year’s Eve 2015/16.

The Santa Cruz Police Department has enacted a Safety Enhancement Zone designation in the downtown corridor . We will have additional officers on patrol throughout the downtown as well as the remainder of the city.
Why create a Safety Enhancement Zone?
Public Safety is SCPD's #1 priority. We want downtown to be a safe and enjoyable atmosphere for everyone.

What time is the Safety Enhancement Zone in effect?
The Safety Enhancement Zone in the downtown corridor will begin at 5:00 PM on December 31st and end at 5:00 AM on January 1st.

What happens in the Safety Enhancement Zone?
The Safety Enhancement Zone allows for a “Triple Fine” to be levied on certain Municipal Code violations, such as possession of alcoholic beverages in public and other unsafe or illegal behavior related Ordinances.

WHAT is the purpose of the Triple Fines?
The goal of triple fines is to deter bad behavior. The fines are very expensive. It's an extra incentive for rowdy people to keep their behavior in check.
 
Map of the Safety Enhancement Zone- Road Closures below.

An interactive map can also be accessed at our Google Maps page here: http://goo.gl/3VXQ0Y

Those attending the New Year’s Eve downtown are urged to be aware of their surroundings and report anything suspicious to one of the numerous police officers downtown. A large number of extra-duty officers will be present in the downtown area through sunrise New Year’s Day.

Parks & Rec is hosting their yearly countdown at the Town Clock, starting around 11:40 PM. This includes a DJ, and light show to ring in the New Year.

Have a Safe Night and a Happy New Year!!

The following road closures and Tow Away zones will be in effect:

Where	Starts	Ends
Knight Street	8:00 AM December 31st	2:00 AM January 1st
North Pacific
Between River St and Water St	10:30 PM December 31st	12:45 AM January 1st
Bulkhead Street	10:30 PM December 31st	12:45 AM January 1st
Water Street
Between River St and Center St	10:30 PM December 31st	12:45 AM January 1st
Tow Away & No Parking
Front Street
Between Water St and River St	10:30 PM December 31st	12:45 AM January 1st
1500 Block Pacific Avenue
Between Locust St and Water St	10:30 PM December 31st	12:45 AM January 1st

New Year's Eve Wrap Up

The Santa Cruz Police Department is pleased to announce that 2015 was welcomed without any major incidents of violence.  Good job Santa Cruz!!!

The police department deployed additional officers throughout the city as well as a significant contingent of officers on foot in the Downtown corridor. 

Crowds gathered at the Town Clock for a city sponsored Countdown Celebration.  Like last year, temperatures dipped to approximately 35 degrees around midnight. 

The city sponsored event drew a crowd of approximately 4,000 compared to last year of approximately 4,500 revelers. 

Our officers kept busy throughout the city, and in the Downtown.  Between 5:00 PM on December 31^st and 5:00 AM on January 1^st, officers responded to 159 calls for service.  This number is down from last year’s 222 calls during that same time.   

The following is a breakdown of the Downtown arrest statistics for the night. 

Arrests Total = 19

Public Intoxication = 8

Drug Possession = 8

Other = 3

Last year saw a total of 20 arrests on New Year’s Eve

Cites Total = 38

Triple Fine Cites = 26

(all for possession of open containers of alcohol)

Non Triple Fines Cites = 12

Last year saw a total of 81 cites with 42 of those being Triple Fines cites. 

One case of interest involved a group of approximately 20 individuals dressed in all black clothing, similar to “Black Bloc” activists.  Just prior to midnight, these individuals carried homemade banners promoting violence and death to police officers.   Here is a photo of one banner that was seized:

This is a sad reminder that this myopic mentality still exists and is even promoted in some segments of our community!!

The group made their way to the Santa Cruz County Jail at 259 Water Street where they vandalized County cars parked in the lot, by throwing rocks, bottles and paint at the cars.  

SCPD was able to capture and detain three members of the group for questioning and identification.  Unfortunately, at the time, the three could not specifically be identified as the ones vandalizing, although they were associated with the larger group.  They were released after questioning, pending further investigation.   

The three detainees traveled from various parts of the State to come to Santa Cruz to spread their hate and vandalize.  The group included a 23 year old male from Santa Cruz, 25 year old female from Reedley, CA, and a 29 year old female from Sacramento, CA.  

Unfortunately, our community has felt the destruction from groups like this in the past.  As such, our officers worked diligently to keep this group out of the downtown corridor and to keep additional vandalism from occurring.  

Other than this incident, it was a relatively peaceful night.  Happy New Year Santa Cruz.  Here is to a safe and prosperous 2015.  

 

New Year's Eve Safety Plans in Full Swing Here at SCPD

The Santa Cruz Police Department will be deploying all available officers to ensure a safe environment for New Year’s Eve 2014 - 2015.   This is one of those "All Hands On Deck" nights here at SCPD.  That's right, while you are reveling, we will be working to keep a lid on any "over-celebrating" and keep things safe. 

We will have additional officers on patrol throughout the Downtown corridor as well as the remainder of the city.  Assisting us with ancillary duties will be a small compliment of First Alarm security officers. 

As a reminder, the Police Department has enacted a Safety Enhancement Zone in the Downtown corridor throughout the evening and early morning hours.  The Safety Enhancement Zone will begin at 5:00 PM on December 31^st and end at 5:00 AM on January 1^st.   The Safety Enhancement Zone allows for a “Triple Fine” to be levied on certain Municipal Code violations, such as possession of alcoholic beverages in public and other behavior related Ordinances.

We want everyone who comes downtown to have a safe and enjoyable evening.  Leave the disrespectful attitudes and behavior at home.  If you are creating a problem, we will have plenty of officers there to make sure you don't ruin someone else's night.  Do yourself a favor....just don't do it.  The fine amount alone isn't worth it!

Certain road closures and Tow Away zones will also be in effect.  The following will be the road closures and Tow Away zones. 

Where	Starts	Ends
Knight Street	8:00 AM December 31st	2:00 AM January 1st
North Pacific
Between River St and Water St	10:30 PM December 31st	12:45 AM January 1st
Bulkhead Street	10:30 PM December 31st	12:45 AM January 1st
Water Street
Between River St and Center St	10:30 PM December 31st	12:45 AM January 1st
Tow Away & No Parking
Front Street
Between Water St and River St	10:30 PM December 31st	12:45 AM January 1st
1500 Block Pacific Avenue
Between Locust St and Water St	10:30 PM December 31st	12:45 AM January 1st

Attached is a map of those closures and Safety Enhancement Zone boundaries.  This year, we stepped it up a bit and made an interactive Google map.  You can check it out here: 

http://goo.gl/3VXQ0Y

If that doesnt work, here is a basic of the Safety Enhancement Zone boundaries. 

Parks & Rec is hosting their yearly countdown at the Town Clock, starting around 11:40 PM.  This includes a DJ, and light show to ring in the New Year.  

 

Have a Safe Night and a Happy New Year!!