City Events
City Life
Life in the City
City Book
Neighborhoods
About Us
Contact Us
City Life - Safety
Captain's Meeting
Join SDPD Captain Chris Ball to discuss issues and concerns in your neighborhood on Tuesday, July 28, 2008 at 5:30p. The one-hour meeting will be held at Central Division, 2501 Imperial (Parking available on 25th between Commercial and Imperial).
Deputy City Attorney Nicole Pedone, Community Relations Officer John Graham, Neighborhood Resource Team Sergeant Rudy Tai, and other members of the police force will be present.
This is your opportunity to make our community a safer place to live! Refreshments served.
Meet John Graham, Downtown’s Community Relations Officer
For 15 years, Community Relations Officer John Graham has served as a policeman for the San Diego Police Department.
Ever since he was young, John Graham has wanted to be a policeman, inspired by television shows such as Dragnet. His duty as an officer is working with the community, which involves both the residents and the businesses to look at the quality of life issues, and try to address them.
When he’s not occupied doing that, he enjoys photography, video, yoga, and traveling. He has traveled to an impressive amount of places, including England, Italy, Spain, Prague, and Macedonia. If that's not enough, he wishes to soon visit New Zealand and Australia. (Last update March 2007) -Feature writer, Vanessa Erickson, senior at San Diego High School of International Studies.
Neighborhood Prosecution Unit
If you’ve ever wondered whose job it is to listen to your safety concerns and solve them, I invite you to meet Danielle Stroud.
Danielle is a Deputy City Attorney and Neighborhood Prosecutor working in partnership with the San Diego Police Department and other agencies to aggressively combat crime that impacts our quality of life.
Through her division, Downtown’s Neighborhood Prosecution Unit, she works closely with our Community Relations Officer John Graham, the Neighborhood Resource Team, and the community to identify, creatively solve, and prosecute misdemeanor crimes. Crimes such as pedicab violations, drug offenses, prostitution, graffiti, alcohol offenses, trespassing, illegal lodging and transient issues.
To contact Danielle, you can e-mail her at dstroud@sandiego.gov or call (619) 533-5689.
Neighborhood
Resource Team
The Neighborhood
Resource Team is a group formed
within the central police division
and commanded by Sergeant Rudy
Tai.
The purpose of the team is to assist
in solving problems involving community
issues related to crime and the
quality of life in and around Downtown.
Sergeant Rudy Tai and four officers
meet daily; they are dispatched
to areas that need attention. Currently,
the team is spending time in various
locations throughout East Village.
Their primary objective is to change
the environment making the potential
offenders aware that if a crime
is committed, they will be caught.
Through extra patrols, increasing
streetlights, even parking a patrol
car on the street overnight, officers
have deterred crime
The Neighborhood Resource Team is a smart model on how to accomplish more with less. The officers are making a huge impact on the quality of life in our neighborhoods.
To contact Sergeant Tai, email rtai@pd.sandiego.gov or call (619) 744-9587. (Last update November 2006)
Downtown
Community Court
The Downtown Community
Court was implemented in October
2002 to address
quality of life crimes which negatively
impact property values and impede
healthy economic development in
Downtown neighborhoods.
Eligible quality of life crimes
include: trespassing, simple battery,
petty theft,
public intoxication, possession
of marijuana, vandalism, resisting
arrest,
urinating/defecating in public,
graffiti, and select municipal
codes for the
ballpark.
Downtown Community Court holds offenders accountable to the community by requiring them to “pay” their debt back through community work service in the specific neighborhood where the crime took place.
From July 2007 to June 2008, there were 130 cases eligible for Community Court with 86 persons (66%) appearing for arraignment. Seventy-three (73) participants (85%) arraigned were accepted and agreed to perform 1,124 community services hours.
To-date, 820 of those hours (73%) have been completed mostly in East Village, Core/Columbia, and Gaslamp neighborhoods. Participants swept sidewalks, picked up trash, removed weeds, removed graffiti, and other volunteer work.
The majority of offenses were from pedicab violations, a growing number issued for possession of marijuana, with a few citations being issued for petty theft and urinating/defecating in the public right-of-way.
The Downtown Community Court has its own independent advisory board currently chaired by Downtown property owner, Carol Beres and comprised of representatives from the Downtown San Diego Partnership, San Diego City Attorney’s Office, San Diego Public Defender’s Office, San Diego Police Department, San Diego Superior Court, as well as other local community members and business owners. This collaborative effort between the agencies has truly made the Downtown Community Court
For more information, contact Marisol Meza, Community Court Coordinator at (619) 234-8900 or email mmeza@downtownsandiego.org.
Beat Officers
Our neighborhoods are divided into beats. On Fridays, officers are made aware of their beat’s concerns; and addresses them by getting to know the residents, patrolling the streets, and working undercover and on stake-outs. Take time to introduce yourself to those who protect and serve us!
Beat 521 |
Beat 522/523/525 |
Beat 524 |
Beat 526/527/528 |
Beat |
|
East Village |
Marina |
CoreColumbia |
Little Italy |
Park West Balboa Park |
|
1st Watch: 6:00a - 4:00p |
|||||
| A/Sgt. Santiago | A/Sgt. Santiago | Sgt. Sharp | Off. Gonzales | Off. Bradley | Off. Cara |
| Sgt. Sharp | Off. Mattly | Off. Johnson | Off. Murphy | Off. Cordero | Off. Ward |
| Off. Lovelace | Off. Rhodes | Off. Wallace | Off. Massey | Off. Dudley | |
| Off. Zimmerman | Off. Legrand | Off. Serrano | |||
| Off. Peralta | |||||
| PSO Hayek | |||||
| PSO Miranda | |||||
2nd Watch: 2:00p-midnight |
|||||
| Sgt. Rorrison | Off. Pira | Sgt. Rorrison | Off. Mapston | Off. Zdunich, J | Off. Colon |
| Sgt. McGrath | Off. Gross | Off. Clayton | Sgt. McGrath | Off. Bernard | Off. Dudley |
| Off. Mendez | Off. Rowlett | Off. Wallace | |||
| Off. Tien | Off. Serrano | ||||
3rd Watch: 9:00p-7:00a |
|||||
| Sgt. Stricklin | Off. Nguyen | Sgt. Stricklin | Off. Aguilar | Off. Padgett | Off. Dickinson |
| Off. Huys | Off. Butchart | Off. Morasco | Off. Hernandez | Off. Duerr | |
| Off. Speer | Off. Zdunich, M | Off. Schmottlach | Off. Smith | ||
| Off. Keaton | |||||
For every incident where police officers show up with lights flashing and sirens wailing, there is a multitude of smaller, quieter tasks in their daily routines. These tasks assure that city streets are safe, peaceful places, and that the role of a police officer is to engage the public in keeping them that way. Read More >>>
January thru April 2008 Crime Table
2007 Downtown Crime Summary
Crimes and What you Can You Do!
If you are a victim of a crime, report it immediately and obtain an incident report number.
Many crimes are committed by the same individuals or groups. The more information the police have on the thefts occurring, the quicker they will be able to apprehend the criminals.
More importantly, police officers are assigned based on the number of reports made by the community.The more crimes reported, the more officers patrolling our streets.
To report a crime, call (619) 531-2000. To report a crime in progress, call 911. Be sure to obtain an incident report number.
 |
 |
 |
Auto Crimes and What You Can Do!
Here are a few suggestions to avoid being a victim of car prowl or car theft:
• Lock
all contents inside your
truck or take with you. Don’t
leave them visible.
• When driving in and out of your parking garage, stop until the gate has
closed to ensure unauthorized parties do not gain access.
• If your garage opens with a clicker, don’t leave it in your car.
• Be aware of your surroundings in your buildings parking garage. Secured parking is not necessarily secure.
• If you see suspicious activity, call (619) 531-2000. Most criminals case the property prior to stealing.
• If you are a victim of a crime, report it immediately by calling (619) 531-2000! Don't forget to ask for an incident report number. Your report may help stop the criminal from stealing from your neighbors.
Where Sex Crimes are Happening
There were seven (7) sexual assaults Downtown and one (1) just north of Laurel during May 23 to June 23.
• 6-2, 4:30p, 300 Broadway
• 6-6, 2:00a, 1200 K St
• 6-11, 8:00p, 100 Horton Plaza
• 6-15, 2:00a, 300 10th
• 6-18, midnight, 1400 Park Blvd
• 6-21, 3:55p, 700 4th
• Unknown date and time, 17th between E & F St
• And, one just north of Downtown on Balboa Dr north of Laurel
There were six (6) sexual assaults Downtown and one (1) just east of Downtown during April 23 to May 23.
• 5-1, 12:15a, 1400 Park
• 5-4, midnight, 1000 8th
• 5-11, time unknown, L St & 17th
• 5-12, 11:00-11:30p, 100 13th
• 5-17, midnight-2:00a, 700 Broadway
• 5-20, 2:00a, 1100 Broadway
• And, one just east of Downtown on K St & 19th.
There were five (5) sexual assaults during March 23 to April 23.
• 3-23, 6:00a-2:00p, 1400 Broadway
• 4-6, 4:00a. 1600 Kettner
• 4-10, 8:00p, 500 13th
• 4-12, midnight, 1400 Broadway
• 4-14, 6:30-8:30p, 300 W Harbor
There were fourteen
(14) sexual assaults during February 23 to March 23.
• 2-24, 2:00p, 2000 Pan American Plaza
• 2-25, 9:00p, 700 5th
• 2-25, 9:30p, 1000 5th
• 2-29, 10:45a, 900 Pacific Hwy
• 2-28, 7:30p, 300 Beech
• 3-1, 6:05p, 900 Park Blvd
• 3-2, 10:00p. 1700 Broadway
• 3-4, 12:00-4:00a, 300 Grape
• 3-7, 11:30p, 100 West Broadway
• 3-8, 12:30p, 400 13th
• 3-13, 6:00p, 900 16th
• 3-17, 8:45p, 500 F St
• 3-18, 8:00p, 300 4th
• 3-20, 2:05p, 300 Horton Plaza
There were eleven
(11) sexual assaults during
January 23 to February 23 (and just across the freeway).
• 1-24, 9:09a, 2300 Balboa Dr
• 1-28, 7:00a, 2200 India
• 1-30, 3:45p, 1600 2nd
• 2-2, 2:00a, 600 F St
• 2-5, 6:00-23:59p, 600 6th
• 2-8, 10:15p, 200 5th
• 2-9, 6:00p, 100 Broadway
• 2-10, 1:24a, 900 4th
• 2-18, 10:45a, 1500 2nd
• 2-19, 5:30p, 500 West Broadway
• unknown date and time, Commercial & 16th
The definition of sex crimes
can be any one of 25 crimes.
For example: lewd or obscene
conduct, indecent exposure,
peeping, sodomy, aggressive
sexual assault,
kidnapping with intent to commit rape, rape, sexual battery, incest, oral
copulation, and possession
of obscene material, just
to name a few.
Be
Aware!
196 offenders are reported to be living in our community as of June 23, 2008.
This number does not include those living on the street or falsely reporting their living arrangements. For more information, read Jessica’s Law.
Downtown’s high number of sex offenders live in halfway houses and low-income single room occupancy hotels (SROs), which are primarily located in the East Village neighborhoods.
Sex offenders are released from state prisons on parole and go to a halfway house to receive treatment and rehabilitation with supervision. They are allowed to move more “freely” than in a prison, but are still monitored by staff and/or law enforcement.
For names, addresses, and pictures of the offenders living in Downtown, click here and enter our zip code 92101.
Jessica's Law Update
At their February 26 meeting, City Council placed even more restrictions on Downtown’s sex offender population.
Offenders have been ordered to stay more than 300 feet away from playgrounds and day care centers. This restriction is in addition to the state law banning sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools, parks, and any place children gather.
Downtowners live amongst the highest number of offenders per capita than other neighborhoods and communities in San Diego County.
Due to the new law, over 100 sex offenders have either left Downtown or are declaring themselves homeless. With few places where offenders can live legally, some are falsely reporting they are homeless to avoid re-arresting and returned to state prison for living within 2,000 feet of a school or park.
Parole agents are finding it impossible to monitor the offenders and fear they aren’t receiving treatment, making the streets more dangerous.
Under the law, sex offender parolees are required to wear Global Positioning System bracelets so they can be tracked by satellite monitoring, and they must make daily contact with their parole agent. However, there isn’t funding to oversee the monitoring program.
State Proposition 83, known as Jessica’s Law, passed by 70% of the state’s voters on November 7, 2006.
Illegal Lodging
According to
City Ordinance 647J, it is illegal
to have a tent on public property,
and a citation will result in doing so. Homeless individuals; however, are
permitted to sleep in parks during the hours permitted.
If you have a concern or are a witness to illegal activities performed by homeless
individuals, be a good neighbor and call the San Diego Police non-emergency
number (619) 531-2000 and make the report. -Feature
writer, Vanessa Erickson, Freshman at SDSU. (Last updated June 2007)
Sign up for eWatch
In an effort to increase the interaction between the community and the Police Department, a neighborhood eWatch has been developed. The purpose of eWatch is to alert people by email daily of any criminal activity in their specific neighborhoods. Anyone living within the City of San Diego is eligible to subscribe to this service. Sign up here.
Letter of Agency
Do you need
a Letter of Agency?
A Letter of Agency allows the San Diego Police Department to act as the owner’s
agent for purposes of enforcing laws against any person(s) found on the private
property without owners consent or without lawful purpose.
Additionally, if a situation occurs in the public right of way outside of your
business/residence, including trespassing or illegal lodging by homeless individuals,
Clean & Safe Safety Ambassadors can assist.
In order to file a Letter of Agency, a Trespass Arrest Authorization Form must
be filled out, signed by the property owner or business manager and the original
sent to the Clean & Safe Office for processing and sticker pick-up.
It is highly recommended that your agency keep a Letter of Agency on file; it
is much simpler for the San Diego Police Department and Clean and Safe to enforce
violations of the law with a Letter of Agency.
To obtain a Trespass Arrest Authorization Form, click
here.
Report
Disturbances Emitting from ABC
Establishments
ABC establishments are businesses that have been licensed to sell alcoholic beverages. If one of these particular businesses are experiencing criminal activity or other disturbances, you can report the incident with the press of a button. The San Diego Police Department is now providing the public with an "ABC Establishment Citizen Complaint Form." To obtain a form, click here.
Urban
Blight: Graffiti
Most graffiti is gang-related, sprayed on by would-be gang members and referred to as “tagging.” It is recognizable by its altered letters and odd messages. Read More >>>
R. S. V. P.
The retirees who participate in Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol (R.S.V.P.) come from a wide range of former careers. Officer John Graham, who heads up the program, explains that the varied backgrounds of volunteers Read More >>>
San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
During the first
few hours and days after a disaster
strikes, emergency services could
be overwhelmed, leaving families,
neighborhoods and businesses on
their own for hours or days.
The CERT program is designed to
train residents, local organizations,
and workplaces in basic response
and organizational skills that
can be employed in their neighborhood.
San Diego Fire-Rescue instructors
teach citizens to take life-saving
action to help families, neighbors,
businesses and communities get
through the first few hours or
days when emergency services are
overwhelmed. Citizens are trained
in safe, basic emergency skills
valuable in any major disaster,
such as fires, earthquakes, floods,
and terrorism events.
Community groups, such as Homeowners
Associations, are encouraged to
attend together. However, an individual
can benefit from the training.
Two six-week classes begin in September. The Thursday night class (6:00-10:00p) begins on September 18. The Saturday morning class (8:30a-12:30p) begins on September 20. Both classes end Saturday, October 25. Classes are held at the Regional Public Safety Training Institute, located at 4347 North Harbor Drive.
There is a $55 registration fee that covers the textbook and CERT “Go Bag” (backpack, goggles, CERT helmet, CERT vest, work and medical gloves, flashlight, eye protection, and face mask).
For more information, call (619) 533-3075, or email cert@sandiego.gov.
To register, click here to download application.