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City Life - Safety
Captain's Meeting
Join SDPD Captain Mark Jones to discuss issues and concerns in your neighborhood on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 5:30p. The one-hour meeting will be held at Central Division, 2501 Imperial (Parking available on 25th between Commercial and Imperial).
Community Relations Officer John Graham 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 June 2008.
Beat Officers
Our neighborhoods are divided into beats. On Fridays, officers are made aware of their beat’s concerns. Officers address the concerns 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!
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 >>> -Last update June 2008.
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. -Last update June 2008.
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.
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.
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.
The majority of offenses are from pedicab violations and for possession of marijuana, with a few citations being issued for petty theft, resisting arrest, and trespassing.
For more information, contact Marisol Meza, Community Court Coordinator at (619) 234-8900 or email mmeza@downtownsandiego.org. -Last update September 2008.
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 >>> -Last update June 2008.
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. -Last update June 2008.
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. -Last update June 2008.
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. -Last update June 2008.
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. -Last update June 2008.
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 >>> -Last update June 2007.
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. To
register, click
here to download
application.
For more information, call (619) 533-3075, or email cert@sandiego.gov. -Last update September 2008.