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The Pleasanton City Council is set to hear a biannual update from the Pleasanton Police Department on Tuesday night, highlighting the latest updates in the department’s operations and activities, and following up on their prior September update.
The first update from the department this year includes an introduction of the department’s “newly formed mission, vision and values,” as well as crime and collision trends, new initiatives and practices, and training, according to the staff report from Police Chief David Swing.
While overall rates of crime, collisions, and arrests continued to trend downward last year, violent crime rose to nearly the same rate as it had been prior to the pandemic, with 111 violent incidents reported last year compared with 112 in 2019. Property crime remained steady last year compared to 2020, and 30% lower compared to 2019.
One exception to the downward trend in property crime has been catalytic converter thefts, which rose locally from 64 thefts in 2020 to 166 in 2021, leading PPD to join forces with the Livermore Police Department in an operation that recovered 50 stolen catalytic converters and resulted in five arrests.
One factor in a continued decrease in arrests, which dropped by 23% last year compared with the high of 1,916 in 2019, was a 64% decrease in juvenile arrests.
“This lower number of juvenile arrests is attributed to two primary factors: at the school sites, the School Resource Officers have engaged with school administration and changed how crime incidents are adjudicated at the schools; and COVID restrictions, along with the lack of businesses requesting prosecution on these types of crimes, have reduced the historically numerous low-level arrests of juveniles at Stoneridge Shopping Center,” Swing said.
While collisions also continued to trend below pandemic levels last year, 2021 saw a 16% increase compared to 2020.
“This increase is commensurate with the increase in vehicles on the roadways due to the lessening of COVID restrictions and the return of more people to public settings,” Swing’s report said.
Use-of-force incidents by PPD officers remained relatively steady last year, with 37 incidents being reported, compared to 36 in 2020 and 38 in 2019. The five-year high was in 2018, with 46 incidents reported. Of last year’s 37 incidents, 31 were reported to have been the use of control holds.
The latest report comes in the wake of several pieces of state legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year regarding policing practices. These include Assembly Bill 26, which details officers’ “duty to intercede” when faced with excessive use of force by another officer, Assembly Bill 48, which requires additional reporting for the use of “less-lethal force” at protests and demonstrations, Assembly Bill 481, which requires municipal agencies to receive approval for the use of military equipment.
Police departments throughout the state are also affected by Senate Bill 2, which requires departments to report cases of serious misconduct to the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to oversee the decertification process, and Senate Bill 16, which will require the department to retain files for a longer time and release investigations that weren’t required to be made public previously.
One recent addition to oversight and operations at PPD was the development of a 14-member Community Advisory Board (CAB) last September.
“The background of the CAB members includes mental health professionals, Pleasanton Unified School District employees, a homeless outreach worker, faith community representatives, downtown residents and business owners, non- profit organization executives, strategic development consultants and other representatives of diverse backgrounds,” Swing’s report said.
The CAB and PPD leadership have since identified priorities for discussion, and recently decided to increase the frequency of meetings from every other month to every month.
Priorities identified by the CAB are trust, equitable policing, mental health, roadway and traffic safety, school safety. youth programs, and crime reduction via technology. PPD leadership identified recruitment and retention, police resource deployment, crime reduction via technology, employee wellness, and feeling of safety as their top priorities.
A total of five internal investigations last year sustained findings of policy violations in the department.
“A review of the department’ s personnel investigations during a five-year period found that each sustained citizen generated complaint involved a separate and unique officer.” Swing said. “Internally generated investigations during a five-year period involved 15 different officers. Some of the involved officers were subject officers in more than one investigation; however, none were subject officers in more than two complaints. The most frequently sustained policy violation was the failure to activate a body-worn camera which occurred more frequently in 2018 and was sustained once in 2019.”
PPD’s biannual updates to the council first kicked off in 2020, aimed at providing the public and local officials the latest information on community policing and department operations. Following Tuesday night’s presentation from Swing, the next update is planned for this September.
The Pleasanton City Council will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday (April 19). The agenda is available here.
In other business
* As part of their consent calendar, council members will vote on whether to approve a contract with Gerry Beaudin, the city’s former community development director, to become the next city manager.
* The council will hold a public hearing on a resolution approving design guidelines for downtown parklets.
* Council members will consider continuing to hold meetings remotely, given continued pandemic conditions and the lack of space and ventilation in city offices.
* They will consider options for implementing increased accessibility requirements guided by Universal Design Standards, rather than the more minimal requirements mandated by state and federal law.
* The council is set to hold a discussion and provide direction to staff on the city’s participation in California Statewide Communities Development Authority.
* The council will consider approving a professional services agreement with Renne Public Law Group for an amount not to exceed $800,000 during the contract’s term.
* The council will consider adopting a resolution endorsing the Alameda County Home Together 2026 Implementation Plan, aimed at addressing homelessness countywide.
* The council will consider amending a purchase order between the city and Stanford-ValleyCare for COVID testing and pre-employment exams, for an amount not to exceed $200,000.
* The council will hold a public hearing and vote on renewing the Tri-Valley Tourism Marketing District.
