Clearlake sees double-digit drop in violent and property crimes in 2018
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Double-digit drops in violent crimes and property crimes was just one of several pieces of good news included in the Clearlake Police Department’s annual report to the Clearlake City Council.
Chief Andrew White gave the report on the police department’s accomplishments and challenges for 2018 to the council last week. The presentation begins at the 47-minute mark in the video above.
White explained that it’s important to remember the department’s mission, which is “to enhance public safety by providing professional, trustworthy service in partnership with the community.”
“This mission is really what guides everything that we do and it’s something that we incorporate into our hiring process,” he said, explaining that it’s been used to help identify candidates that can help them achieve and fulfill the mission.
The year 2018 was a busy year “for a variety of different reasons,” said White, who arrived just as the Mendocino Complex was bearing down on Lakeport in July.
He said Clearlake Police provided mutual aid during the summer fires. That included assistance to the city of Lakeport; on his first day on the job, White was in Lakeport’s emergency operations center, working alongside that city’s leadership as it dealt with a full evacuation.
He said recruitment and retention has been a focus, and they’ve been able to add new employees and promote current ones.
The police department, which also oversees animal control, has a new fleet of vehicles and carried out extensive renovations at its headquarters, which White said is almost like brand new.
They’ve also made significant investments in new technology, including automating the animal control management process, increasing accessibility by the public for finding lost and found dogs and adoptable pets, online dog licensing, in-house scheduling for police officers, and are working to become a 911 public safety answering point, he said.
White said they’ve also implemented a new information system for the vehicles of both police and animal control officers, focused on service delivery, increased the investment in staff training, increased community engagement and their online presence, specifically through social media like Facebook.
Regarding crime statistics, White said the department had an 8-percent increase in incidents, or 2,300 more in 2018.
There was a 25-percent increase – totaling 2,485 more – in officer-initiated activities, which he called the “bread and butter of police work.”
White said there were 692 more arrests, a 35-percent increase, which he attributed to the increased officer-initiated activities.
A recent report found Lake County has the highest per capita arrest rate in the state, which White said he believed is due to arresting the same individuals repeatedly. He said police can’t solve that, and it will take a community and legislative effort.
White said in 2018 there was a 22-percent increase in reports, or 748 more than 2018, again likely due to officer-involved activity.
Traffic enforcement was up by 21 percent, or 580 more calls. White said that in September the department focused on traffic and had 580 more calls in that month alone. At the same time, there was a 12-percent drop in injury collisions, which traffic enforcement impacts.
He said officers have been doing enforcement activities focusing on city parks and shopping areas, enforcing city ordinance violations in an effort to deter activity that makes law abiding citizens uncomfortable.
The big news: Clearlake has seen a 16-percent drop in violent crime and a 14-percent drop in property crime, he said.
He said from the administrative standpoint, they’re happy with single-digit drops, but in a city like Clearlake that is disproportionately affected by crime, especially violent crime, “This is a massive accomplishment.”
White said it’s directly attributable to a number of things, including working with community members who have helped them solve crimes, as well as patrol activities.
Crime on the national spectrum has been declining while California has been showing an increase, “so I think it’s important that we continue to watch this area,” he said.
The categories don’t account for every crime the city deals with, White said, but they’re the most significant. “This is really good news, I think, for the city,” White said.
He said a few weeks ago the department recognized its outstanding employees during an annual meeting. Officer Mark Harden was officer of the year, and Nicki Burrell received the award for nonsworn personnel. Richard Moore was volunteer of the year.
Officer Steve Hobb and Officer Daniel Eagle received the lifesaving medal for saving the life of a child whose father killed the child’s siblings before killing himself.
Officer Michael Perreault and Officer Chris Keller received the productivity award.
The agency has had staff shortages, and White said the willingness of staff to work extra shifts has helped them deal with those staffing issues.
Going forward, White said the Clearlake Police Department’s goal is to focus on key areas, including: personnel – retention, recruitment and training, with caring employees a key to getting crime to drop; community engagement, which White said is “absolutely critical,” with police needing to share their story with residents; accountability to the public, which includes measuring what they are doing and conducting fair and impartial investigations; and excellence.
White said it’s a unique time in Clearlake, with the city having done a lot of positive things and police also making a change in the community. He said the community needs to work together.
“We aren’t sitting and holding all the solutions and just waiting for somebody to open the door, the solutions exist with all of us working together,” he said.
White said the department also has done a lot of training and development, including recent active shooter training locally, with officers also sent for education out of county. They’re additionally planning internal trainings.
He said officers have the ability to go into situations, talk to people and resolve them. As an example, he said they recently had a call regarding a potential “suicide by cop.” The officers were able to diffuse the situation, talk to him and help him.
They’re also making advances in handling animal control and code enforcement. He said they have met with the city engineer to draw up plans for modular kennels.
White said that in 2018 they department opened 405 code enforcement cases, of which 398 were closed; there were 65 red tags opened and 25 were closed. There were 393 vehicles tagged for abatement and got compliance on 208, while the city abated 194 vehicles before it had abandoned vehicle abatement funds during the first half of the year.
He said there also were 125 code enforcement cases involving marijuana, 173 cases for overgrown weeds, with a total caseload of 1,000 code enforcement cases.
White said the department also is participating in community events, CalRecycle-funded building demolitions, Coffee with A Cop and other happenings in the city.
Mayor Nick Bennett, a retired Clearlake Police sergeant, commended White and his staff on the accomplishments.
“I’m very, very proud of our department,” he said.
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