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"2004 was an extremely busy and rewarding year
for the
Oroville Police Department".
Over 8,166 9-1-1 Calls Last Year
The Oroville Police Department had an extremely busy year in 2004. However,
we were able to maintain a high level of customer service, despite our
on-going personnel shortages. A breakdown of crimes and calls for services
is contained within this annual report. This report also provides statistical
information from the past several years, so the reader can use it for
comparative information.
The Oroville Police Department's Public Safety Communications Specialists
(Dispatchers) handled more than 108,000 incoming and outgoing non-emergency
telephone calls, as well as an additional 8,166 emergency (9-1-1) telephone
calls. This is the most calls handled in recorded Departmental history.
Another part of the dispatcher's job is to keep track of, and record the
radio communications and traffic of the police officers in the field.
During the past year, the dispatchers kept track of and handled nearly 30,000
events requiring service. Of those events, officers initiated more than
10,000 calls while performing field duties, and were sent on nearly 20,000
calls for service received from our community members.
Dispatchers are also responsible for warrant checks on suspects, driver's
license checks, parole and probation inquiries, data entry on pawn tickets,
restraining orders, warrants, stolen property checks, firearm checks,
vehicle registration checks, and much more. The number of entry and inquiries
by the dispatchers into the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications
System (CLETS) were in the area of 50,000 inquiries. The dispatchers
tasks are many, and only a small minority of persons who desire the job
can excel. We are fortunate to have them amongst us.
The Police Officers also found themselves to be extremely busy, despite
our personnel shortages. They too, handled the most incidents/events in
recorded departmental history. From the incidents handled, the Police
Department arrested 2,744 persons, which was 300 more than the previous
year. Again, the most arrests in recorded departmental history.
While performing their duties, the Police Officers continue to receive
letters of appreciation at a rate of 20 to 1 for complaints. During the
last year, we received 10 complaints about officers conduct, while receiving
207 praises for their work from the public and professional organizations.
The letters of praise are the second highest ever recorded in departmental
history. The highest ever was in 2003. The Patrol Division continues
to increase their efficiency and effectiveness by apprehending an extremely
high percentage of those committing criminal acts.
This was the year that the Special Enforcement Team (SET) was developed
and implemented. In short, the two man team was assigned to work in the
downtown core area, with special emphasis on detection and apprehension
of those involved in drug and related crimes. They excelled at their
new job, and were responsible for nearly 350 arrests. For their efforts
and accomplishments, the team was awarded a special unit citation for
their meritorious service.
A records clerk/supervisor/jack of all trades (one person) is responsible
for gathering, collecting, sorting, filing, forwarding, copying, and quality
control of the 5,413 investigative reports generated during this year.
An additional 1,893 supplemental reports had to be collected and filed with
the appropriate agencies and within the appropriate cases. Total reports
handled by the Records Clerk this year was 7,306. The Records Clerk is also
the person who meets and greets the public at the information counter.
She handles all requests for reports, the processing of sexual offenders/arson
offenders/narcotics offenders, fingerprinting of persons and many more tasks.
Not many people could handle everything that she does. We are indeed fortunate.
Our two Community Service Officers (CSO) who are not Police Officers, have
been the Community's and Police Department's life savers during the past year.
As there were personnel shortages throughout, the CSO's stepped up and
performed at a new level. They too suffered shortages during the year, but
were extremely effective and efficient in the delivery of their services.
The purpose of the CSO is to handle those calls that don't require the presence
of a Police Officer, but requires extra knowledge and training. By having the
CSO's, it allows the Police Officers to be available to proactively address the
City's problems and arrest those responsible. Our CSO's have met the challenge,
and were extremely busy. Their duties include parking enforcement, towing of
abandoned vehicles, evidence handling and tracking, community outreach programs,
drug presentations, investigation of minor crimes, and investigation of minor
traffic collisions.
Due to the CSO's presence, we were able to extend services to victims of traffic
collisions. Throughout most cities in the State of California, if you are
involved in a traffic accident that does not involve an injury, the police
departments generally do not provide services such as responding to the scene
of the accident and taking a police report. The Oroville Police Department
responds to all accidents and documents those incidents. Due to our efficiency
in responding to all accidents, we have seen an increase in the number of
reports taken. We are proud that we are one of the few law enforcement agencies
in the State of California that provides this service.
During 2004, there were 26 accidents involving major injuries, 111 accidents
involving minor injuries, and 511 accidents involving vehicle and property damage.
112 of the accidents reported involved hit and run drivers. Another 49
accidents occurred on private property.
As you can see from the accident statistics. Much more work is needed in the
area of enforcement and prevention. During the last quarter of 2004, we obtained
a traffic grant that targeted speeders and drunk drivers. It is hoped, through
enforcement and an educational program, we will reduce the number of accidents
occurring within the City.
The department's two Administrative Assistants (Secretaries) provide a host
of services for the Police Chief and the Investigative Bureau. Part of their
duties include maintaining training records, oversight of the budget, typing
investigative reports, typing staff reports, processing payroll, correspondence,
handling and processing of grants, record keeping, typing search warrants,
and handling anything else that comes up. We are indeed fortunate to have
two long term employees (50+ years accumulated service) that have an institutional
memory of this organization.
The Oroville Police Department has "Special Service Areas" which encompass
most of the City. As a liaison with the community, Special Service Area
Officers coordinate and implement programs within their area. Recently, the
Oroville Police Department initiated a training program for Landlord/Tenants.
In attempting to pro-actively confront the community's problems with regard
to rental problems, this Department began educating the persons responsible
for renting and maintaining rental property with the City. This training
provides the property owners with information related to their rental property
including their tenants behavior, and allows the property owners to become
involved in promoting a healthy and thriving neighborhood. We are fond of
saying that having a safe neighborhood is not a right, it is a responsibility.
The Landlord Training Program is further discussed in the report.
Another program started in 2004 was called "Stop Fraudulent Checks". This
program was modeled after similar programs in other communities and is intended
to be a layer of security when a merchant accepts a check from a customer.
During the past year, this community received a rash of homemade fraudulent
checks. This program targets and prosecutes the perpetrators of this crime
by requiring the issuer of a check to imprint a thumb print on the check.
This thumb print deters the crime, and if necessary can later be used to
identify a suspect and provide for restitution and/or prosecution.
During the past several years, we have received training from the California
Attorney General's Office of Crime and Violence Prevention Center on a program
called "Safe from the Start". We have learned that children who witness
violence in the home are statistically more likely to commit violence in
the future. To combat this trend, the Oroville Police Department developed
a pilot project with the assistance of many service agencies within our
community. We discovered that a single point of contact and referral was
necessary in order to develop and implement an effective program to break
the cycle of violence. In order to break the cycle of violence, the Oroville
Police Department has initiated a referral program of all families in crisis
to the appropriate service agencies. We found during our first year of
implementation that 30% of those families identified as being in crisis accepted
some sort of service. In the past, the Police Department would just walk
away from these families without taking any further action. I am now proud
to say that we are responsible for creating the atmosphere and climate in
which we are helping build strong families.
Our one person investigative unit conducts investigations and/or followup
investigations on complicated or important cases. He has the expertise in
the field of gang enforcement, elderly abuse, forgery, financial fraud, child
abuse, sexual abuse, and much more. He also volunteers to work traffic
during his "free" time.
While we have a comparatively young and inexperienced police department, I
feel very confident and fortunate that we have a high competency level to
protect our community. Our department is dedicated to developing each
employee through a rigorous training program to ensure a high competency
level for our staff.
Our School Resource Officer assigned to Oroville High School and our
Detective assigned to the Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force (BINTF)
continue to excel at their respective jobs. Each has set the bar
extremely high in their area of responsibility, and are performing
in an outstanding manner.
Our work load, as a police department, is two to four times that of any
other agency in the area. Not only do we measure up to the challenge,
we have excelled in our delivery of services. I thank and congratulate
each member of the police department for their dedication and service
to this community. I personally applaud their dedication, competency,
and commitment.
Lastly, I would like to thank the City Administrator, and City Council
for their support, direction, and commitment to this Department and
the community that we serve.
Mitchel J. Brown
Chief of Police
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