SR-106-012 (2)
CIvl : VR.: fwp , __
City Council MeetidllS/24/82
Santa .lea, Callfornia jl- A
lOb -- t? / -z, AU G 2 4 1982
TO:
Mayor and City Counc1l
FROM:
City Staff
SUBJECT:
Update on Implementation of Crime Preventlon
Program
BACKGROUND
After 9 months of study and public hearlngs, the Crime Preventlon
Task Force lssued a report outlinlng prlorlty areas for the City
Ln dealing effectlvely wlth crlme prevention. On February 23,
1982 the Clty CouncLl approved the expenditure of $418,629 durlng
Fiscal Year 81-82 for the hiring and support expenses of 11
additional personnel to work in a varlety of publlC safety
programs pinpointed by the Crlme Task Force. A total of $827,000
was deslgnated for lmprovements to and remodelllng of the pollce
department facility. Since Aprll the Crime Management Team,
consistlng of Captain BLllie Klng and Vivian Rothste~n, has been
meetlng wlth a 5 member Cltlzen AdvLsory Commlttee to follow the
implementatlon of the Councll's recommendations regarding crlme
preventlon and the involvement of citizens in crime preventlon
efforts.
CITIZEN CONCERN
Communlty lnterest in the area of crlrne preventlon remalns hlgh.
Due ln part to the V1Slbility of the work of the Crlme Task Force
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and the coverage in the expanded issue of Seascape which went to
all City resldents, the Community Relations Divislon of the SMPD
has experienced a dramatlc lDcrease in requests for NeLghborhood
Watch presentations and home security surveys. From an average
of 1.15 presentatlons a week ln early 1982, 1.69 a week are now
being requested. The CRD presentations are arranged 1n the
following ways:
- in response to requests from C1V1C organlzations, schools,
and citlzen block grouplngSj
after contacting vlctlms of res1dentlal burglarles, to see
if there 1S lnterest in pulling neighbors together for a
watch presentation; and
- through sen10r cr1me reslstance program.
After lnltial presentatlons by the Pol1ce Department, ongoing
contact with neighborhood watch groups lS often lost. There lS
not the staff available to keep ln close touch, offer suggestlons
for future activities, and regularly provide statistlcal
lnformation to fledgling block watch groups. Wlthout staff
support work, volunteer citizen groups generally are short lived
and do not establish connections to other Slml]ar groups ln thelr
1mmedlate nelghborhood.
A serious program commltted to cltLzen leadersh1p ln crime
prevention and building community cohesiveness to deal with crime
problems would have to include the followlng elements:
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1. 1eadershlp training of citizens interested ln running
nelghborhood watch programs for other resldents;
2. outreach to unorganized areas of the community,
especlally tenant areas which tradltlona1ly are less
likely to organize for crlme prevention, to encourage the
formation of new block watch and bUl1dlng watch groups;
3. ongoing contact with cltizen watch groups to keep people
motivated and involved; and
4. publicity and recognitlon campalgns to more aggresslve1y
encourage and reward community lnvolvement in crime
preventlon.
CITIZEN COMMUNICATION
The work of the Citizen Advisory Committee to the Crlme
Management Team revealed the need for ongolng communlcatlon
between community groups working actlve1y on crlme prevention.
Such contact would:
1. Allow groups to share ideas for successful programs;
2. Provide regular contact and communicatlon between the
community and the Police Department to ldentlfy new areas
of communlty concern;
3. Provide a forum for community groups to glve leadership
to citywlde crlme prevention actlvities (e.g. crlme
preventlon falr, educational conferences, etc.); and
4. Allow for the disseminatlon of information on crime
patterns ln the City.
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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
After consultatlon with local Domestlc Vlolence programs, a job
descrlption was developed and Cory Rytterager was hired 1n June
as the Domestic Violence Counselor ln the SMPD. She will handle
all fOllow-up contact wlth victlms of domestic violence once the
initial report is taken by patrol. A monthly statLstlcal report
wlll be prepared detaillng the unit's activltles. The report
will llst the number of referrals and the flnal dlSposition of
the cases.
The Cornmisslon on the Status of Women plans to sponsor activltles
during October, 1982 as part of NatLonal Domestlc Vlo1ence Week
to further educate the community about this aspect of crlmes
committed agalnst family members.
CRIME ANALYSIS UNIT
Chris von Hassell and Cary Shore have been hlred to staff the new
Crime Analysis Unlt funded under a State CCAP (Career Crlminal
Apprehenslon Program) Grant. A new crlme report with lnformatlon
to form the data base for the Crime Analysls automated system
will be fleld tested durlng an 8 week tralning period thlS
summer.
The Crime Analysis unit is now able to provide community
residents with information about crlmes perpetrated ln thelr
lmmedlate nelghborhood in the form of a NAB {Neighborhood
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Awareness BUlletin). ThlS capabI1~ty will be increased as the
unlt develops.
As of July I the Crime Analysls Unit WIll be provldlng the Senlor
Crime Resistance Program with InformatIon on anyone 55 years or
older who has been a victim of a CCAP targeted offense ln Santa
Monica (I.e. resldentlal, commerCIal and vehicle burglaries, all
robberIes, all sex crImes).
SENIOR CITIZENS
The Senior Crlme Reslstance Program (funded by the State Qfflce
of Crlmlnal Justice) IS underway. Beverly Sanborn has been hlred
as director and IS aided by four part tlme staff seniors and 18%
of the tlme of a CommunIty Crlme Prevention SpecialIst from the
Santa MonIca Police Department. The program, Ln Whlch senIors
are both recipients of and partIcipants in delivering crime
prevention educatIon, will focus on the area from Wilshire to
Montana, LIncoln to Ocean Avenue, an area of high senior density.
It IS hoped that over a 2 year perlod most of the bui1dlngs in
thIS area WIll have held a tenant neighborhood watch meetlng.
Other aspects of the program include a citywlde vlctim assistance
program for senIors, a "Senlor Alert" newsletter, and traInIng of
senIors to perform security surveys. One hundred flfty seniors
attended the kICkoff meetIng of thlS program held July 18 ln
LIncoln Park.
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PUBLIC LIGHTING
The illurn~natlon of public streets contlnues to be of great
concern to Clty residents. Discusslon between the Councl1 and
the Rent Control Board has not to date resulted in a procedure
for cltlzens to obtaln lightlng in tenant areas. Once such a
policy lS developed, efforts will be made to widely dlstribute
the informatlon to members of the community in a clear and
understandable form.
At a meeting of female C~ty employees called by the Commission on
the Status of Women ln June, concern was expressed about the lack
of adequate light~ng around the C~ty Hall employee parklng areas.
There are women employees who work after dark and feel anXlOUS
about their safety when enterlng and leavlng their automoblles.
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
An ~nitial reVlew of proposed new developments in the Clty wlll
be provlded by a staff committee WhlCh includes representatlves
from the Police Department. The lnformatlon provided assures
that public safety concerns wlll be an lntegral part of the
City's technical advlce to developers.
ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL
1. The Crlme Impact Team w~ll be in operation December,
1982. The posltions of existing police personnel who
will form the Team wll1 be fllled by recruits currently
undergoing tralnlng in the Academy and the Fleld Tralnlng
Offlcer program.
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2. The transition from the present manual record keep1ng
methods to the new automated system lS underway. It is
antlcipated that the POSSE (Police Operations Support
System Elementary) and CASS (Cr~me Ana1ysls Support
System) computer programs w1l1 be partially operational
August 1 prov1d1ng more speciflc crlme analysis than lS
currently available.
3. Applicat10ns for the Arson Investlgator are being
accepted. Two members of the Santa Monlca Flre
Department have been assigned to the position until it is
permanently filled.
4. Don Umber 1S working as a permanent full ti~e employee
w1th the Community Relat~ons Divislon.
TRUANCY REDUCTION PROGRAM
Project Heavy West, through a grant of General Revenue Sharing
Funds, provides a Case Manager who works closely wlth Juven11e
off1cers 1n screening truants. She offers lntenslVe counseling
to Juvenlles and thelr familles and refers them to social serVlce
agencles when appropr1ate. Due to budget cuts, the Attendance
Facilitator with the School Board has been dlscont1nued, maklng
the role of Case Manager of even greater importance durlng the
coming school year.
The Operatlons Bureau of the SMPD has asslgned a school resource
offlcer to the school detall dur1ug the academ1c year. He
particularly directs hlS attention to patroll1ng the hlgh
schools, junior high schools, and hang-outs 1n close proXlmlty to
the schools. If there is a truant problem, he coordinates
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closely wlth the Juvenlle divis~on WhlCh works directly with
school officials.
CAPITAL Irv1PRO\~MENT PROGRAM
It is anticlpated that the second floor expanslon and bUll ding
refurbishlng will be completed by December 31, 1982.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. A community meetlng be convened to bring representatives from
actlve community crime prevention groups together to share ideas
for successful programs, network, brlng ln outside speakers, and
initlate new crlme preventlon programs WhlCh stress community
lnvolvement. After setting up the lnltial meeting, Clty Staff
would not be involved ln co-ordlnating the group, but would
partlcipate along with other organizational representatlves.
The meetLng would bring together a voluntary gatherlng of
interested representatives of local crlme preventlon groups
(communlty organLzatlons, neighborhood block watches, Chamber of
Commerce, etc.) with leadershlp and future program ideas
developing from the interest of participants. If the interest lS
high ~n malntaln~ng contact between such communlty crlme
prevention organizations, a permanent crlme preventlon grouping
could be created, modelled after soclal serVlce co-ordinating
counclls. Meeting on a monthly basls, such a co-ordlnating
council could provlde the Police Department with regular
communlty contact, allow for regular contact between neighborhood
watch groups, and strengthen the overall sense of communlty
lnvolveIDent in crime preventlon efforts.
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2. A full time staff pos~tlon be created to expand upon the work
of the Community Relations D~V~Slon of the SMPD particularly in
outreach and leadershIp development. The staff person would work
under the supervision of the Community L~aison and in
co-operatIon WIth the SMPD and concentrate on the folloWIng
actiVIties:
a. Outreach work to areas of the city with no community
organization, lIttle crime preventIon activltles, high
population and sLgnlflcant crIme rates.
b. RecrUItment and training of commun~ty volunteers with a
special interest in crlme prevention.
c. Co-ordlnatlon of the work of citizen volunteers.
d. Development of a literature and poster campalgn wh~ch
stresses the lmportance of lndiVldual citlzens activating
themselves to reduce crime. especially resldentlal
burglarIes.
e. PartIcipatIon in the CommunIty Crlme Prevention
co-ordlnatlng group
f. Giving recognition to cItizens who aid 1n crIme
prevent~on activitIes through Mayors proclamations, media
coverage, etc.
g. OngOIng contact w~th nelghborhood watch groups to suggest
future activities and help malntaln group momentum.
The staff should be bilingual with experience in neighborhood
organiZIng and volunteer co-ordinatIon.
3. A community crime preventIon volunteer training program be
developed to prOVIde citizens with the informatIon to take a
leadershIp role ln combatIng crime and organLzing thelr fellow
resldents.
Such a traInIng program could be run on a quarterly
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basls lf adequate cltizen interest exists and equip cltizens to
run neighborhood watch meetlngs. Cltizens would be cert~f~ed by
the C~ty as official neighborhood watch leaders and given
recognitlon for thelr volunteer efforts.
4. The lssue of street llghtlng should be pursued as lt relates
to tenant areas. Once the senior crlme reslstance program gears
up, It is expected that tenant groups wlll qUlckly address the
issue of I1ghting. The overall goal of empowerlng cltlzens to
deal w~th crlme prevention wlll be defeated wlthout an
understandable mechanlsm for securing street llghting.
5. Security devices ln tenant units, it is anticipated, wlll also
become an lssue of concern as increasing numbers of tenants
organize for crime preventlon. Staff recommends that this lssue
also be addressed as part of the overall crlme prevention
programr-'
6. Staf~xPlore the cost of lmproved 11ghtlng in the parking
areas surroundlng Clty Hall and make a recommendatlon at a later
date.
Prepared by: Vivlan RothsteLn
Community Liaison
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