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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991 Moorpark Police Annual ReportMOORPARK POLICE DEPARTMENT JOHN V. GILLESPIE SHERIFF/CHIEF OF POLICE ANNUAL REPORT 1991 Front Row: Deputies Randy Watkins, Albert Mesa, Kent Adlof, Cadet Eric Buschow, Sr. Deputy Bill Bettis, Deputy Alan Devers, Sgt. Marty Rouse, Deputy Don Aguilar. Back Row: Deputies Brett Kerr, George Fitzgerald, Robert Bardwell, Jose Lopez, Craig Smith, Sr. Deputy Dave Lea, Lt. Geoff Dean, Deputies Gregg Willson, Scott Peterson, Ron Witham, Sr. Deputy Ross Bonfiglio, Sec. Joyce Carroll, (missing: Sr. Deputy Ed Tumbleson). MISSION STATEMENT The City of Moorpark Police Department is committed to safeguard lives and property, to insure that constitutional rights are preserved, and to maintain a safe environment in the community. This commitment requires that our primary emphasis will be directed toward the preservation of peace, the prevention of crime, the equitable enforcement of laws, the identification and apprehension of offenders, the safe flow of traffic, and the provision of responsive and humane community police services. The Moorpark Police Department is comprised of the following personnel: (1) (1) (1) (1) (Z) (2) (12) Lieutenant Geoff Dean Sergeant Marty Rouse Community Services Officer Deputy Bill Bettis (D.A.R.E./Crime Prevention) Sr. Traffic Officer - Dep. Craig Smith Motorcycle Officer - Dep. George Fitzgerald Detectives Sr. Deputies Dave Lea and Ross Bonfiglio Patrol Officers - Sr. Dep. Ed Tumbleson, Deputies Kent Adlof, Alan Devers, Don Aguilar, Randy Watkins, Gregg Willson, Ron Witham, Albert Mesa, Jose Lopez, Scott Peterson, Brent Kerr, and Robert Bardwell Clerk - Joyce Carroll Cadet - Eric Buschow Police services for the City of Moorpark are provided through contract by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department Sh ff Gillespie operational lieutenant serves contro assignees eri John as the Chief of Police, with day to day 1 of the police contract being handled by the 4.- i.L- -_ i__ COMMUNITY SERVICES The Community Service Officer has been very active this year establishing two new crime prevention programs, as well as continuing to build upon some of our established programs. The newest program is the Business Watch program which is a joint venture between the Moorpark Chamber of Commerce, Moorpark Businesses, and the Police Department. The idea is similar to Neighborhood Watch where citizens are trained to be good witnesses, report suspicious activity, and implement crime prevention measures. The second is the Block Parent Program which will offer our children a safe place to go in the event of an emergency while walking to or from school. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program continues to have the overwhelming support from the community with very positive feedback from parents. D.A.R.E. is currently taught to all fifth grade students in the Moorpark Unified School District. Neighborhood Watch continues to grow in Moorpark. Plans have been made to conduct Neighborhood Watch meetings in English and Spanish. During 1990 the Community Service Officer presented crime prevention and safety programs for the following groups: • Neighborhood Watch included home and personal safety talks to approximately 30 Neighborhood Watch groups. Bi-monthly Block Captain meetings for Neighborhood Watch block captains were organized and conducted. • Business Crime Prevention included setting up a Business Watch program and conducting various information presentations for business and personal safety, security surveys, and Alcohol and Beverage Control Laws. • D.A.R.E. was taught to approximately 500 fifth grade students. Additional Drug Safety talks were presented to nearly 5,000 kindergarten through 8th grade students. • 2 Drug Awareness presentations were conducted for the parents of the D.A.R.E. Students. An Alcohol Awareness Workshop at Moorpark College reached approximately 100 Moorpark College students. TRAFFIC SERVICES The goal of the Moorpark Police Department's Traffic Services is to provide the citizens of Moorpark with a safe environment in which to live. More directly, the Moorpark Police Department strives to reduce, through active enforcement and education, the quantity of accidents and those related injuries that can occur within the City of Moorpark. Some of the ongoing efforts to accomplish our traffic safety goals have resulted in the expansion of the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Detail, the creation of a railroad safety education seminar, and additional radar operations training. Of particular importance is the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Detail. This year, the detail was increased from one to three certified commercial vehicle inspectors. These deputies bring to the City a special level of traffic enforcement concerning truck traffic. The Department's enforcement efforts have resulted in additional hours of deployment within the City, which in turn decreases the percentage of unsafe vehicles using the highways. This type of enforcement also deters overweight vehicles from causing premature deterioration to the City's roadways. Several Moorpark deputies have completed specialized training relating to accident investigation and prevention. The Moorpark Cadet has the primary responsibility to locate and enforce parking restrictions. He also initiates the removal of abandoned vehicles. TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS Traffic accidents throughout the City increased by a total of 27 in 1991 over the prior year. A major contributing factor to this increase can be attributed to the SR 23/SR 118 construction. 23 collisions occurred in the construction area in the last 6 months of 1991. The following tables reflect accidents and enforcement activity for 1991: TOTAL NON -INJURY ACCIDENTS 194 TOTAL INJURY ACCIDENTS 107 TOTAL ACCIDENTS 301 TOTAL NUMBER OF PERSONS INJURED 166* * This number represents all injuries including complaints of pain. STATE ROUTE 118 SUMMARY OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS TOTAL NON -INJURY, ACCIDENTS 87 TOTAL'INJURY 'ACCIDENTS 63 TOTAL NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS 150 CITATION SUMMARY TOTAL VIOLATIONS CITED IN 1991 5,559 TOTAL HAZARDOUS VIOLATIONS CITED 3,621 'TOTAL VIOLATIONS; CITED BY TRAFFIC 2,057 PERCENTAGE OF VIOLATIONS CITED BY TRAFFIC 37% INVESTIGATIONS The majority of all criminal investigations are handled by the two Moorpark City Detectives. The exceptions to this are sex crimes and major crimes against persons such as; homicide and robbery. These crimes are investigated by the Sheriff's Department Major Crimes Unit. When cases are received they are classified as either being workable or pending. A workable case requires that there be some type of evidence such as a suspect description, fingerprints, vehicle description, or any type of lead, all others are classified as pending. An example of a pending case would be someone reporting that a bicycle was stolen out of their garage and there were no witnesses, or any other leads. During 1991 the two Moorpark Detectives handled 377 felony cases and 335 misdemeanor cases. In addition, they handled 46 runaway cases and 72 hit and run investigations. Of those (377) felony cases, (142) of them were assigned as workable. Detectives closed 87% of those workable cases by arrest. Detectives also closed (63) cases which remained open from 199o. 86% of all workable misdemeanor cases were closed during 1991. There were several cases of note during the year: • In January, juveniles committed a $27,000.00 vandalism and burglary of a local business. Eleven juveniles were subsequently arrested and ordered to pay restitution. 0 Two separate burglary rings operating out of E1 Segundo and Los Angeles were shut down, resulting in the recovery of property and the clearance of 49 burglaries. • A semi -automatic handgun stolen in a burglary was recovered shortly after we received information that it was to be used in a drive - by shooting. • $32,000.00 in rare baseball cards were recovered, and five subjects were arrested for burglary and possession of stolen property. CRIME RATE 1991 was a challenging year for law enforcement throughout the State, and Moorpark was no exception. We have continued our pro- active approach to crime prevention through such programs as Neighborhood Watch, D.A.R.E., Block Parent, and Crime Stoppers. The gang phenomenon has reached our City and we have begun to see an increase in criminal acts directly related to gang activities. While working with the City's gang ad -hoc committee to develop a program to deal with youths at risk, the Department has taken an active enforcement approach in helping to curtail gang related criminal activity. PART 1 CRIMES During 1991, in the City of Moorpark, there were 591 Part I reported crimes (see attached graph). This represents a rate of 22.50 crimes per 1,000 residents, which is the lowest rate of all of the Sheriff's contract cities (Thousand Oaks 32.03, Camarillo 31.04, Fillmore 31.78, and Ojai 44.96). Burglary continues to be the leading Part I crime within the City. We experienced an increase of (71) reported crimes in the area of vehicular burglary, and an increase of (16) reported residential burglaries. Nearly half of all residential burglaries were committed with no force used to make entry into the house. A series of burglary rings contributed heavily to the increase. During February and March the Police Department broke up two separate burglary rings that alone were responsible for 49 burglaries. Interviews with burglary suspects whom have been arrested suggested they operate in our County because of the wealth of targets, more expensive car stereos, and conversely, the lack of targets in the San Fernando Valley. Aggravated assault which increased by 27.6% includes all assaults on a person that would constitute a felony. Most aggravated assault cases are spontaneous type crimes with the majority of these being domestic violence. Several of the reported crimes in this category were associated with the "Alphabet Caller" whose threatening phone calls were documented as terrorist threats thus making them an aggravated assault. Approximately 13% of the aggravated assaults were gang related. PART II CRIMES Two Part II crimes warrant mention in this report. The first being Fraud, which showed an increase of 42 cases over the reported two cases in 1990. Twenty-seven (27) of these cases dealt with one arrestee's fraudulent credit card use at one local business. Ten (10) other cases were also associated with one person. The second Part II issue is that of arrests for Driving under the Influence. There were 173 D.U.I. arrests in the City this year, 19 fewer than the previous year. An explanation for this is two fold. First, observation time has been reduced due to the increase in calls for service. Secondly, an informal survey of field staff and personal observation indicate that while many vehicles stopped have passengers who are drunk, the drivers are sober. It is hoped that the campaign to reduce driving while under the influence is having some effect. CALLS FOR SERVICE Calls for service (CFS) are the total number of calls requiring officers to respond to requests for service. Calls for service include public service, non -criminal and criminal CFS. Emergency calls for service are classified as Priority 110" calls and are the most serious of police responses. Priority 110" calls almost always require that more than one officer respond to the call. CFS statistics do not include officer initiated activity such as; traffic citations, special enforcement, investigative stops, and crime prevention activities. Operationally, the City is divided into three geographical areas for reporting purposes. Each of these three areas (2A, 2B, 2C) is then divided into Reporting Districts (RD's) that were determined by geography, natural dividing lines (i.e., major streets), or uniqueness of location (i.e., Moorpark College). The 2A area is generally described as the downtown area and includes everything west of Virginia Colony to the city limit. The 2B area includes Virginia Colony and covers the area eastward to the city limit. The 2C area is generally everything west of Highway 23 and south of Los Angeles Avenue to the city limit. The attached Calls for Service table and graph reflect that total Calls for Service for the City were 7,204, a 9.26% increase over 1990. More importantly are the Priority 110" CFS. During 1991 our total Priority 110" Calls for Service were 353 as compared to 189 for 1990, an increase of 53%. The majority of these calls occurred between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 12:00 p.m. The 2A area received 43% percent (155) of all Priority 110" Calls for Service while 2B and 2C area received 18% (64 Priority 110" CFS) and 37% (134 Priority 110" CFS) respectfully (see attached graphics). Some of the effects of this increase in calls for service is that officers are spending more time on Calls for Service, reducing the time they can spend patrolling. This lack of patrol time results in fewer observation generated arrests and less time spent patrolling neighborhoods, curtailing burglaries and other related criminal activity. There were 1,169 arrests made in 1991, up 4.8% from 1990. Adult arrests increased .3%, while juvenile arrests were up 27% to 210. The increase in juvenile arrests can be attributed to the Department's active enforcement stance on gang activity. CRIME SUMMARY In 1991, the City of Moorpark experienced an increase of 3.62 crimes per 1,000 people to 22.50, the lowest of all of the Sheriff's contract cities. Overall, Part I crime was up 19.2% as a result of several trends which occurred during the year. Total Calls for Service increased 9.6%, while emergency Calls for Service increased 53%. Total arrests increased by 4.28%, with juvenile arrests increasing 27%. Total arrests for all Sheriff's jurisdictions decreased by 4%. CITY OF MOORPARK COMPARISON OF REPORTED CRIMES 199E / 1991 RAW DATA RATE PER 1,000 NUMERICAL PERCENT ❑ ❑ PERCENT F17990 F1979, DIFFERENCE CHANGE 19'90 1991 1 CHANGE PART I HOMICIDE 0 1 1 0.0 0.00 0.04 0.0 RAPE 4 2 -2 -50.0 0.15 0.08 -51.3 ROBBERY 16 14 -2 -12.5 0.62 0.53 -14.7 AGGRAVATED ASSAULT 55 72 17 30.9 2.12 z.n 27.6 TOTAL VIOLENT 75 89 14 18.7 2.90 3.3s 15.7 RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY COMMERCIAL BURGLARY VEHICLES BURGLARY GRAND THEFT PETTY THEFT AUTO O THEFT ARSON TOTAL PROPERTY 81 97 16 19.8 -10.7 142.0 21.8 -4.1 20.5 3.13 3.65 16.7 56 50 -6 2.16 1.88 -13.0 50 121 71 1.93 4.55 135.9 55 67 12 2.12 2.52 18.7 122 117 -5 4.71 4.40 -6.5 39 47 8 1.51 1.77 17.5 11 10 -1 - 9.1 22.9 0.42 0.36 414 so9 9s 15.98 E192 19.8 TOTAL PART I E;] ; I 10g 22.}' 18 i r9>2 Property Crimes 88% 809 1991 Percent Distribution Violent Crimea 18% 89 CITY OF MOORPARK PART I CRIME RATE Rate Per 1,000 25 20 18 10 8 0 84 88 88 87 88 89 90 91 Crimes Include: Homicide, Raps, Robbery, Aggravated Assault Arrayed Over Time Burglary, Theft, Auto Theft and Arson. 30 26 20 16 10 6 0 CITY OF MOORPARK 1991 PRIORITY "0" CALLS FOR SERVICE FRIDAY 1 58 THURSDAY 15% 58 WEDNESDAY 10% 37 SATURDAY 17% SUNDAY 14% 50 MONDAY 13% 47 TUESDAY 12% 44 TOTAL NUMBER OF CALLS: 363 07 OB 09 10 11 12 13 14 16 16 17 /6 19 20 21 22 23 00 01 02 03 04 06 06 Hour Received ® 9hilt 2 =Shllt 3 ® 9hlft 1