District 4 Commanders Meeting, 5/11/16

From Karen Cuthbertson in Athmar Park:
Commander’s Meeting Notes – May 11, 2016

Detective George Gray—whose focus is graffiti—reported that incidents of graffiti are down 58%. Gray works closely with DPAG to concentrate on areas where spikes occur. Gray noted that one such “spike” is south of Dartmouth, probably from youth trying to get into gang.

• An attendee asked who to call to report graffiti. Answer: 311 or pocketgov.org.
• An attendee asked if people need to report graffiti or is it removed automatically. Answer: Graffiti removal is based on reports, so call or report online.

Det. Gray then reported that his daughter, Adeline, made the Olympic wrestling team (!) and will compete August 19th.

Lieutenant Marshall reported that the crime rate in the last 8 weeks showed a steady decline in every category. Marshall noted that crime spikes are usually due to a very few and that in District 4 the 3 “top players” were juveniles, who have been arrested and committed, resulting in a crime drop of 15%. Marshall further noted that 7-8 kids who were “at the core of” major crimes inDistrict 4 have now been arrested so many times that they have all been committed.

Marshall reported that DPD is working to get DHA/court/Prosecutors to have these repeat offender juveniles committed to treatment centers.

Marshall reported thatDistrict 4 is starting extra enforcement on Sunday afternoons on Federal with a focus on trying to deter speeding through neighborhoods. Marshall noted that they will have assistance from the DPD helicopter.

Mike Vogler — District 4 Training Officer reported that the Community Resource Officers (CROs) are undergoing special training focusing on what can make a property less appealing to crime (theft/graffiti/etc).

Commander Fleecs reported that the Vice unit executed several marijuana-grow warrants in conjunction with the DEA that resulted in “lots of arrests” at “lots” of houses. These arrests netted well over 1 million dollars in cash in addition to product confiscated. Fleecs noted that there a huge profits to be made in growing for sale out-of-state. Fleecs reported on a “reverse” prostitution sting conducted on Morrison road on May 2nd. (A reverse sting is where female officers are deployed and the “johns” are targeted.) 12 arrests were made and 1 drug arrest. Per Nuisance Abatement ordinance, the offenders’ cars were confiscated.

The Commander reported that officers are concentrating on some traffic problem spots; e.g., running stop sign at Mississippi and Irving, speeding on Federal Blvd, and school zone speeding at Kentucky and Hazel. Fleecs is asking his CROs to collect complaint info and then resulting enforcement data to analyze effectiveness.

Walt Brewer gave the Bear Valley COP shop stats. Brewer noted that theft of license plates is on the rise. The Commander reported that DPD will soon have one-way screws (screws that can only be screwed in and can’t be backed out). These screws will be available at COP shops or police stations.

• An attendee asked how prevalent is license plate theft. Answer: 40% of TMV (theft from motor vehicle) is license plates. (Brewer said that the Bear Valley COP shop gets as much as 30 reports per month.)
• An attendee reported having a license plate stolen. She reported that – when she called the non-emergency number – she was told that there was nothing “they” can do. The attendee noted that she understood that a stolen plate is low priority, but she was wondering what can be done. The Commander reported that such a response is “not acceptable” and recommended that residents in District 4 call the station directly. The attendee reported that people posting on the Athmar Park Neighborhood Association Facebook page were voicing dissatisfaction with police response and behavior. The Commander asked that people call him directly, not just post. He noted that he is responsible for the conduct of his staff and that he needs to hear about any problems.

The Commander reported that he is trying to making connections with the community. He reported that he recently had officers go door-to-door to 850 homes in Westwood and Barnum to talk to residents and hand out flyers.

• An attendee asked if DPD does comstat. Answer: Yes, but with a different slant. DPD Commanders/LTs not only focus on the offenders, but on locations and putting pressure on landlords to keep out bad tenants.
• An attendee asked if the D4 station is being expanded. Answer: Yes, but the specifics aren’t known. Construction may start in 2019.
• An attendee asked about the incident of a woman who was beaten after getting off bus at Exposition and Federal. Answer: The woman was hit by car, not beaten and that she is not cooperating with police.
• An attendee asked about why lots of police cars were in the 900 block on S. Kentucky recently. Answer: A fugitive was captured. The attendee asked for help with the residents at a house in that block where a man is sleeping in a car and other problems. The Commander asked for an officer to speak with the attendee to get more information and to follow up.
• An attendee asked if the Shot Spotter is running? Answer: Yes. Testing went well and the first week it was deployed DPD was able to recover a gun from the person who fired it.
• An attendee asked about a problem marijuana grow house in the 1600 block of S. Yates Way. Detective Gray noted that City Council is working on an ordinance dealing with the smell.
• An attendee asked for advice on how to prevent overnight parking and “hanging out” on a private parking lot in his neighborhood. Answer: Get a trespass agreement with DPD. The Commander asked on officer to get one immediately.
• An attendee noted that there’s been an uptick in street racing on S. Lipan in Athmar Park on Fri/Sat/Sun evenings.
• An attendee reported that there is a clean-up of Sanderson Gulch (from Federal to Irving) scheduled on May 21st. Anyone interested in participating should meet at 9:30am at the Gulch on Federal.
• An attendee asked if there are any DPD academy positions open? Answer: There are openings for 35-50 cadets; 600 civil servants. Talk to recruiter instead of going to open enrollment.

A representative from Councilman Clark’s office reported that they are recruiting students for southwest leadership week. If anyone has a nominee, contact the Councilman.