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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 11281989 - 2.3 TO: , BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FROM: PHIL BATCHELOR � County Administrator DATE: November 17, 1989 SUBJECT: REPORT FROM SHERIFF-CORONER ON LAW ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS AND RESOURCES IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF THE COUNTY Specific Request(s) or Recommendations(s) & Background & Justification RECOMMENDATION: Accept attached report from Sheriff-Coroner, dated November 2, 1989, on law enforcement efforts and resources in unincorporated areas of the County. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION/BACKGROUND: On October 17, 1989, your Board requested that the Sheriff-Coroner prepare a report on law enforcement efforts and resources in unincorporated areas of the County, with the report to include a discussion of the Clean Street Program, the J Team and the various narcotics enforcement teams. As requested, the Sheriff-Coroner has prepared this report and it is attached for your consideration. il 0A,^ CONTINUED ON ATTAC14ENT: X YES Signature: RecommendationofCounty Administrator Recommendation of Board Committee Approve Other Signature(s): Action of Board on: November 28, 1989 Approved as Recommended X & Other X Also, REQUESTED Sheriff to develop a public education program to assure the public that the level of law enforcement efforts has not been decreased. Vote of Supervisors: I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN X Unanimous (Absent ) AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE Ayes: Noes: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON DATE SHOWN. Absent: Abstain: �j Attested: � cc: CAO-Justice System Programs Phil Batchelor, Clerk of Sheriff-Coroner the Board of Supervisors County Administrator and County Administrator By: DEPUTY Sheriff-Coroner Richard K. Rainey Field Op6rations �J !p 1989I SHERIFF-CORONER (Y 1980 Muir Road (Y � Warren E.Rupf Martinez, California 94553-0039 p!'a (Jr- Et.oaAssistant Sheriff CLERK gOAFE)P-J1 APER"„I'oP' Gerald T.Mitosinka (415) 646- otvt!n(i SrP CC7. Deputy g Assistant Sheriff To: Tom Torlakson, Chairman Date: November 2, 1989 Rodger L.Davis Board of Supervisors Assistant Sheriff Via: Phil Batchelor, County Administrator From: Richard K. Rainey, heri -Coroner Subject: Law Enforcement Efforts and By: Warren E. R pf, ssistant Sheriff Resources in Unincorporated Areas The attache document is in response to your request of October 17, 1989, that the Sheriff's Department provide a full report on law enforcement efforts and resources in the unincorporated areas of the County with a focus on areas with high crime rates. This report includes a detailed discussion of the Clean Streets Program, the J Team and the Nets. RKR:mjf cc: Assistant Sheriff Warren E. Rupf C tain Wm. D. Shinn erk of the Board attach. e /r� AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER LAW ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS AND RESOURCES IN UNINCORPORATED AREAS WITH RESPECT TO NARCOTIC ENFORCEMENT INTRODUCTION The Sheriff provides law enforcement services to approximately 142,000 persons residing in unincorporated Contra Costa County. These services consist of basic patrol coverage as well as support services provided by seven major Divisions. The Sheriff also participates in several multi-jurisdictional narcotic enforcement teams. This report consists of the following information: 1. Identification of high crime areas, supported by statistics. 2. A report on the resources and the efforts of the Patrol Division, which includes the "J" Team. 3. A staffing addendum. 4. A detailed discussion of the CLEAN St program. 5. A discussion of the Sheriff's involvement in the various narcotic enforcement teams. 6. A conclusion. IDENTIFICATION OF HIGH CRIME AREAS OVERVIEW The following data, for the period of July 1 - September 30, 1989, was analyzed in order to determine which areas of the County had the highest crime rates. 1. All Reports - This is a numerical tabulation of all police reports written during the indicated time period. This is a good indicator of the number of calls for service coupled with self initiated activity which resulted in a police report being written. OVERVIEW (Continued) 2. Part I Offenses There are seven offenses identified as Part I offenses. They are murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft, and auto theft. The tracking of these offenses nationally and at the State level assists in establishing crime rates and trends per 100,000 population for comparison purposes. STATISTICS, July 1 - September 30, 1989 Bay Station Beat All Reports Part I Crimes Rodeo (1) 386 55 Tara Hills (2) 489 79 El Sobrante (3) 372 59 N. Richmond (4) 905 116 Crockett/Port Costa (5) 230 20 TOTAL 2382 329 Valley Station Beat All Reports Part I Crimes Concord (11) 197 39 Walnut Creek (12) 245 43 Alamo (13) 528 50 Martinez (20 & 22) 609 63 TOTAL 1579 195 Delta Station Beat All Reports Part I Crimes W. Pittsburg (21) 1114 160 Oakley (30) 891 103 Bethel Island (31) 376 64 Discovery Bay (32) 125 18 TOTAL 2506 345 GRAND TOTAL 6467 869 -2- PERCENTAGE OF TOTALS Station All Reports Part I Crimes Bay 36.83% 37.85% Valley 24.41% 22.44% Delta 38.75% 39.70% Beat All Reports Part I Crimes Rodeo 5.96% 6.32% Tara Hills 7.56% 9.09% E1 Sobrante 5.75% 6.78% N. Richmond 13.99% 13.34% Crockett/Port Costa 3.55% 2.30% Concord 3.04% 4.48% Walnut Creek 3.78% 4.94% Alamo 8.16% 5.75% Martinez 9.41% 7.24% W. Pittsburg 17.22% 18.41% Oakley 13.77% 11.85% Bethel Island 5.81% 7.36% Discovery Bay 1.93% 2.07% ANALYSIS These statistics tend to depict the Delta and the Bay Station areas as the "high crime" areas of the unincorporated portion of the County. More specifically, West Pittsburg, North Richmond and Oakley account for 44.98% of all police reports written and 43.6% of all Part I crimes reported. LAW ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS AND RESOURCES Patrol Division The Patrol Division is dedicated to providing a timely, professional response to calls for service and crime suppression by providing a highly visible proactive patrol force. For deployment purposes the unincorporated portions of the County have been divided into three geographical areas. Each of these three areas is served by a Sheriff's Station House. In turn, each Station House has identified "Beats" within its area of responsibility. Beat structure has been developed as a result of crime patterns as well as geography and population distribution. -3- Patrol Division (Continued) The Board of Supervisors has historically supported the deployment of a 19 Beat patrol structure, and Patrol Division has set that level of coverage as one of its goals. Our present staffing level falls 12 positions short of allowing us to meet our staffing goal. In addition to responding to calls for service and providing basic police services, Patrol Division works closely with the multijurisdictional narcotic enforcement teams by supplying information to them as well as assisting in the service of search and arrest warrants. -4- "J" TEAM In October of 1988 the Sheriff formed the Special Services or "J" Team. This Unit, comprised of one Sergeant and six Deputies, is available for immediate response to any problem area in the County. Part of the original "J" Team concept was to allow the Sheriff to discontinue participation in CLEAN ST. , yet provide a special enforcement team that could respond to crime patterns requiring a team response. The intent was to continue to work with Richmond Police Department on a regular basis, using the "J" Team and Richmond's special enforcement team to do CLEAN ST. , type operations in North Richmond. Since its inception the "J" Team has responded to numerous requests for service as indicated by the following partial list: Nature of Request Resolution Numerous shop lifts at Fowlers Stake out, reduction of crime. department store. Drug trafficking in N. Richmond Directed patrol, reduction of problem. Assistance in N. Richmond Directed patrol and joint operation (rocks and bottles thrown at with CLEAN ST. resulting in 22 patrol vehicles). arrests and $12,000 drug seizure. Series of armed robberies Stake outs. at Central County restaurants. Four church burglaries, N. Richmond Arrest of responsible Security for Posco opening ceremony Court security at the trial of a NWS demonstrator. Respond to mutual aid call out at Napa "skin head" concert. Residential burglaries in Tara Hills Directed patrol 25 field interviews. Respond to mutual aid call out at Santa Cruz. The nature and location of these requests confirms the need for a proactive task-specific unit. This unit has effectively dealt with drug trafficking in N. Richmond and West Pittsburg while remaining available for response to other locations as needed. When not actively involved in a request for its services, the "J" Team is utilized to combat criminal activity in the high crime areas of North Richmond and West Pittsburg. -5- PROJECT CLEAN ST. Overview PROJECT CLEAN ST, began in mid-October of 1985 as a joint Contra Costa Sheriff's - Richmond Police Department street drug enforcement team and operated for over 46 months. It was a success in many ways. Not only was the arrest rate of over 2,800 impressive, but the filing rate at the District Attorney's office was in the mid to high ninety percent bracket. The number of CLEAN ST cases filed at the Richmond District Attorney's office, at one time, accounted for almost 38% of all cases filed by the over eight police agencies filing cases in west county. In mid 1987, 40% of all criminal cases awaiting trial in the whole county were CLEAN ST cases. The Sheriff's Department is proud to have been a co-partner in CLEAN ST and, regrets that department priorities force withdrawal from the program. Staffing: CLEAN ST. was staffed by 3 Richmond officers and a sergeant and 3 Sheriff's deputies and a sergeant. Arrests: 2,820+ arrests were made by CLEAN ST. in its' 46 month joint operation. Almost 2,440 arrests (approximately 86%) were made in the city of Richmond. The remainder, over 390 arrests (approximately 14%) were made in the county area - predominantly North Richmond. North Richmond -Demography: The County demographer estimates the population of North Richmond at 2,300 persons. -Socio-economics: North Richmond is populated predominantly by blacks. There are some Asians and Hispanics. It is the lowest income area in Contra Costa County. -Geography: The unincorporated area of North Richmond where the majority of the street drug dealing was going on is almost predominantly in the area of 5th and Grove Streets and streets fairly close in proximity. The geographical area is a matter of blocks, not miles. -6- -Drug spots: This is a term used by the CLEAN ST crew to indicate the areas where drugs were being sold. A neighborhood or area would typically have only one or two "spots". The City of Richmond had many neighborhoods and many spots. North Richmond had two regular "spots"--5th & Grove and Silver Street between 4th & 5th Streets. Once a series of arrests had been made in one area, the other area is warned by word of mouth, or by being able to actually see what was happening. So the dealers would wisely choose to discontinue to sell narcotics until CLEAN ST cleared the area. -Seller Sophistication: North Richmond is a "harder" area than most of Richmond. Many of the sellers in Richmond were juveniles or persons who had been doing criminal acts for a long time, but had not been caught and, therefore, had not been through the system. North Richmond has a higher percentage of sellers who had been caught, have spent time in jail or prison, and have subsequently developed a high degree of criminal sophistication. -Richmond Police Department Administrative Policy: Just as CLEAN ST was beginning to do more operations in County areas other than North Richmond, several off-duty Richmond narcotics officers were involved in a fatal shooting situation in Crockett. Richmond administrators became very sensitive about their officers getting too far from city limits. The combination of all these factors contributed to tactical problems in North Richmond that did not present problems in the City of Richmond because of its size. Richmond Police Department Since January of 1989, Richmond Police Department has doubled the number of narcotics officers to 10, and started their Housing Impact Team (HIT) also staffed with 10 officers, including a sergeant. After the Sheriff's Department pulled out of CLEAN ST in August of this year, Richmond's four man CLEAN ST component remained intact. The total number of men dedicated to narcotics suppression in Richmond now totals 24. Sheriff's Department The Sheriff's Department has not had a permanent staff increase in its narcotics unit since 1972. It consisted of 4 investigators and sergeant in 1972 and remains att that level in 1989. -7- 1 41 1985 CLEAN ST Arrests County Richmond Month Arrests Arrests Total Comments Oct (2 month) 0 47 47 First Month of CLEAN ST Nov 0 101 101 Dec 0 79 79 TOTAL 0 227 227 1986 CLEAN ST Arrests Jan 9 113 122 Feb 10 78 88 Mar 14 80 94 5th & Grove - hot Apr 10 80 90 5th & Grove - hot May 19 82 101 5th & Grove hot Jun 2 38 40 Work schedule shifted to days-fatigue factor/save money Jul 9 59 68 Aug 5 71 76 Sep 21 63 84 5th & Grove - hot Oct 10 79 89 Nov 10 15 25 Schools/Vacations Dec 20 63 83 TOTAL 139 821 960 -8- v 1987 CLEAN ST Arrests County Richmond Month Arrests Arrests Total Comments Jan 13 35 48 Feb 13 48 61 Mar 12 50 62 Apr 16 61 77 May 4 47 51 Jun 6 61 67 Jul 18 39 57 SO Sgt. Wells replaces SO Sgt. Holmes Aug 0 36 36 Sep 1 64 65 Oct 15 51 66 Nov 8 56 64 Dec 15 36 51 5th & Grove-target area RPD Sgt. Hudson replaced by TOTAL 121 584 705 RPD Sgt. Barrett 1988 CLEAN ST Arrests Jan 9 64 73 N. Richmond-primary target Feb 17 47 64 area. Mar 17 59 76 Apr 10 43 53 May 8 47 55 Lt. Shinn replaced Capt.Ford as administrator. Jun 9 46 55 Jul 3 24 27 Aug 2 40 42 Sep 1 26 27 SO Sgt. Wells out, SO Sgt. Coggan in. Oct 5 37 42 Nov 9 36 45 400 Blk Silver active RPD Lt. Ewing replaced by RPD Lt. Seiberling Dec 5 47 52 TOTAL 95 516 611 -9- E! 1989 CLEAN ST Arrests County Richmond Month Arrests Arrests Total Comments Jan 1 22 23 Feb 23 22 45 Mar 6 51 57 Apr 1 36 37 May 4 50 54 Surveillance shows activity at 1st & Silver up Jun 1 41 42 Jul 1 38 39 Aug 0 31 31 Last month of CLEAN ST TOTAL 37 291 328 Sub-total - Arrests for whole program. County Richmond Total 392 21*439 2,831 The arrests which occurred in the city of Richmond, approximately 2,439, represent approximately 86% of the total arrests made by CLEAN ST. The 392 CLEAN ST arrests which occurred in the County area of N. Richmond, represent approximately 14% of the total arrests made. -10- COVERT DRUG OPERATIONS NARCOTICS/UNDERCOVER ENFORCEMENT The primary enforcement tools in the fight against drugs are the undercover (covert) enforcement efforts carried out by the local agencies. Recently, to add to the local efforts, Narcotics Enforcement Teams were created to provide a high quality, covert, narcotics enforcement effort for Contra Costa County. There are three Narcotic Enforcement Teams in this County. Central Contra Costa Narcotic Enforcement Team (CCCNET) East Contra Costa Narcotic Enforcement Team (ECCNET) West Contra Costa Narcotic Enforcement Team (WEST NET) These Teams are comprised of law enforcement officers from the various agencies, Sheriff's Department, District Attorney's Office, ATF, IRS, U. S. Customs, and INS. They are dedicated to complementing local agencies' efforts in effectively identifying, arresting and prosecuting narcotic traffickers in order to make the community safe and free from the debilitating effect drug abuse has on our community. At the present time, the Board of Supervisors has authorized: one Deputy Sheriff position for ECCNET, while the Sheriff's Department has reassigned one Clean Street Deputy position to West NET and one Deputy from the Sheriff's Narcotic Bureau to CCNET. The following figures illustrate the success of the Contra Costa County Narcotic Enforcement Teams for 1988 and 1989, up to September 1, 1989. Report of Activities of the Narcotic Enforcement Teams Arrests 174 Search Warrants 127 Clandestine Labs 14 Drugs (Street Value) $3,181,672.50 1989 (to September 1) Report of Activities of the Narcotic Enforcement Teams Arrests 212 Search Warrants 218 Clandestine Labs 21 Drugs (Street Value) $5,311.531.00 The previously mentioned statistics appear to be successful and encouraging, as the seizure and arrest statistics show, but they represent only a fraction of the actual problem in this County. -11- \V Drug abuse and drug dealing cannot be confined or contained in any neighborhood, and its affliction is not limited to any one particular socioeconomic group. In this County, there is a narcotic epidemic which is affecting all age groups and all of its citizens. Over the past several years, Contra Costa County has become a victim of an alarming and dramatic increase in the manufacturing, sales, and the use of controlled substances, while growth in narcotic enforcement personnel has remained somewhat status quo. Patrolmen are running into more situations than ever that involve the use or possession of narcotics, and simple arrests are made. Uniform Patrol Officers don't have the opportunity to conduct lengthy investigations or seize contraband because of their "High visibility". Being "Highly Visible" does have its advantage in stopping criminality temporarily or moving it to another corner, but it is not stopping the drug problem. On October 16, 1985, the Coordinated Law Enforcement and Narcotics Strike Team (C.L.E.A.N. ST. ) was established. This program, with many arrests, proved very successful. This project was formed in response to: Halt the rampant street level narcotics dealing in Richmond. One must keep in mind the C.L.E.A.N. ST. scope and intent; high profile, high visibility, street sales, and uniformed officers. As a result, after one or two years, the street dealer became more sophisticated in conducting their illegal street level business. Beginning in 1989, the street dealers were no longer blatant in their visibility or approach to prospective customers. Sales techniques slowly changed to a covert operation. CONCLUSION The development and implementation of CLEAN ST in October of 1985 was a valid response by Contra Costa County and the City of Richmond to the citizens' demand for a law enforcement response to rampant street drug dealing in West County. CLEAN ST was a definite deterrent to street level "crack" sales in Richmond and North Richmond at a time when "crack" sales were raging out of control in metropolitan areas all across the United States. CLEAN ST, because of its high profile style, and because of the geography of its area of responsibility, was more of a success in the city, where approximately 86% of the arrests were made, than the county, where 14% of the arrests were made. Many of the North Richmond arrests were made in "surveillance" type operations, which involved more man hours per arrest than the usual "buy-bust" type operation perfected by the unit. During the co-operative life of CLEAN ST. , the City of Richmond was able to increase the number of officers dedicated to narcotics enforcement from 5 to 24. By contrast, the Sheriff's Department was unable to increase its staff of narcotics investigators and gave one investigator to each of the three NETS. Increasing demands for enforcement in other parts of the county changed the Sheriff's Department's priorities. -12- c CLEAN ST was a success in North Richmond. Like any other depressed neighborhood where "crack" was dealt, once CLEAN ST began a series of arrests in a neighborhood, narcotics sale activity slowed down for a while; and, other neighborhoods demanded attention. Combined "J" Team, patrol and narcotic bureau operations by the Sheriff's Department in North Richmond can have the same effect on "crack" sales and gang activity in that area that CLEAN ST had, and still leave the Department's resources available for special enforcement problems in other parts of the County. Local narcotics experts advise that, geographically speaking, approximately 1% of the drug trafficking is at the street level throughout the County, and approximately 99% of our narcotics problem is covert in nature. From a law enforcement standpoint, the best tool we have, at this time, for the majority of the County area is the undercover narcotic units, working in an undercover capacity, with their primary focus directed to impact the manufacturing and distribution of illegal drugs. Drug enforcement has been voiced as a top priority and one of the most serious crime problems. To that end, the Sheriff has a responsibility to the citizens of Contra Costa County to efficiently manage the financial resources under his control. The evidence suggests that narcotic enforcement is more effectively accomplished through covert operations by the NETS augmented by the high profile efforts of patrol officers and the "J" Team, when needed. These combined_tactics should result in a reduction in drug trafficking rather than a temporary relocation of the problem. -13- STAFFING ADDENDUM 19 Beat Staffing This addendum compares the number of Deputies required to provide the desired 19 Beat coverage with the number of Deputies that are actually available. Station Number of Beats Deputies Required Deputies Available Delta 7 36.4 30 Valley 6 31.2 28 Bay 6 31.2 29 TOTAL 19 98.8 87 Injuries It is not unusual to have a number of Deputies unavailable for duty due to injuries and extended recovery times. There are currently six such injuries in the. Patrol Division, reducing the number of Deputies available for duty to 81. Actual Beat Staffing Existing manpower allows for the staffing of 15.57 Beats.