City of Oroville - Police Department - Projects & Special Projects

City of Oroville

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Mission Statement

To provide equal, efficient, and effective protection to the public through Community Involvement, Technology, and Professional Police Services.

P R O J E C T S & S P E C I A L A C T I V I T I E S

ADDITIONAL POLICE DEPARTMENT INVOLVEMENT

Vehicle Abatement
      During their regular patrol shifts, community service officers and police officers attempt to locate and abate abandoned vehicles in a continuing attempt to remove and reduce the blight to the citizens of Oroville. This is accomplished by citing and removing vehicles which have been left on city roadways abandoned and/or unmoved for 72-hours, and immediately towing those vehicles which are a hazard to people.

Student Mentorship
      This program pairs students from the local high schools with an officer of the Oroville Police Department. This pairing teaches the students valuable social and workplace skills, while availing these teenagers an opportunity to glimpse what it is like to be a police officer. Officers of the Oroville Police Department commit 3-4 hours a week with the student in order to provide them with this opportunity.

Safety Fair
      The Oroville Police Department, in a continuing effort to promote safety issues, participates in an annual safety fair. During this event police officers and community service officers provide assistance and education to the attendees in the following areas:

     1. Correctly installing Child Safety seats.
     2. Fingerprinting children.
     3. Ident-A-child video taping.
     4. Tips to avoid child abduction.
     5. Child abuse awareness and counseling.

DUI Checkpoints DUI Checkpoints
      In 1992, the Oroville Police Department began a program of educating the public through highly publicized DUI checkpoints. These checkpoints, while minimally detaining those motorist who choose to drive through, heighten the awareness of the community to the dangerous problem of driving under the influence.

Alcohol/Tobacco Education
      The Oroville Police Department has been teaming up with California's Alcohol Beverage Control in attempt to reduce the access of alcohol and tobacco to minors.

V.I.P.S.
      The VIPS program provides support and resources for the citizens of Oroville who are interested in developing or enhancing a volunteer program. The Oroville Police Department is grateful for citizens who wish to volunteer their time and skills with the Oroville Police Department. The programs ultimate goal is to enhance the capacity of law enforcement to utilize volunteers.

Tribal Health Fair
      The Oroville Police Department participated in a Health Fair sponsored by Feather River Tribal Health at their new healthcare facility. Police officers and community service officers took this opportunity to develop a dialog, and provide information and education to the community regarding personal safety and community concerns.

Hmong New Year
      The Hmong New Year is an annual cultural event open to the public, which is celebrated in the months of October through December. The local Hmong community leaders pick the date upon which this celebration will be held. Other clans and groups from all over California, as well as the Western Hmong New Year United States, are invited to attend. The Oroville Police Department, with assistance from within the Hmong community, also participate in this event and attempt to ensure the safety of all invited.

Martin Luther King
      As with other holidays and days which have special significance to our community, Rev. Martin Luther King's birthday is held in some reverence by those wishing to celebrate his life and the message of peace he taught. The Oroville Police Department also believes in celebrating his life by taking part in this yearly event.

Bicycle Rodeo
      In continuing efforts to teach children how to be safe, the Oroville Police Department sponsors this event. Children are educated on laws and regulations regarding the safe operation of a bicycles, as well as being offered a chance to develop safe riding skills by riding their bicycle through our interactive course.

Every 15 Minutes
      "Every 15 Minutes" is a two-day program focusing on high school juniors and seniors, which challenges them to think about drinking alcohol, personal safety, and the responsibility of making mature decisions when lives are involved. The program's name was derived from the fact that every fifteen minutes someone in the United States dies in an alcohol-related traffic collision. "Every 15 Minutes" is a program that continues the Oroville Police Department's philosophy of problem-oriented policing through education and enforcement.

Safe From the Start Program 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 the Attorney General Crime and Violence Prevention Center, local tribes, Catalyst, along with several other community groups. A single point of contact and referral training for law enforcement officers was developedand implemented. These families now get the resources and help they need in orger to BREAK this cycle of violence. Recognizing the damage to young children who are a witness to violence, the Oroville Police Department joined with local area tribal councils who initiated this cooperative effort to reduce the victimization of our community's children. This program utilizes both governmental agencies' and the community's unique capabilities and resources to implement this program through the five following general activities:

     1. Building a collaborative effort within the community.
     2. Provide training and technical assistance to professionals who respond to          these incidents of violence.
     3. Supporting efforts to reduce the exposure of children to violence.
     4. Increase public awareness of the problem.
     5. Supporting the families in order to prevent, stop, and heal the entire          family unit.

National Night Out
      This year, the Oroville Police Department participated in the eighth annual National Night Out Against Crime community event. The Oroville Police Department has been a community partner in all of the City of Oroville events, and helps with the planning and operation of the Kick-Off Party "Kick Off Party" held the day of this event. The Kick Off Party is a day of competitions, activities, and information brought to the community by organizations such as the Community Health Alliance of Oroville (CHAO), Our Children - Our Treasure, Southside Family Resource Center, Feather River Recreation and Parks Department, the Venture Club of Central Middle School, local businesses, and local law enforcement agencies. This year's event was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park and was very successful. The day ended with families turning on their front porch lights and coming out of their homes in order to join together with law enforcement agencies for the common goal of clean and safe neighborhoods.

CHAO
      The Community Health Alliance of Oroville, CHAO was drawn from a number of interdependent efforts in the Oroville area which already existed to address a variety of community issues and antecedents affecting community well-being, including safety of children and families, racial tension, sustained chronic unemployment, alcohol and drug abuse, illegal drug production, and neighborhood environmental degradation.

     Currently, the Oroville Police Department has two officers who are members of CHAO.

Safe Grad Night
      Graduation from high school is one of the biggest events in our teenager's lives. Safe Grad Night is a program that provides a fun and safe alternative for the graduating seniors other than private parties, drinking and driving. Safe Grad Night involves games, food, prizes and entertainment. A donation for the all night event is requested, but no senior is left out regardless of the ability to pay. The event lasts from the end of graduation ceremonies until breakfast the next morning. There are actually two Safe Grad Night parties, one party for Oroville High School and one for Las Plumas High School. The Oroville Police Department assists with safety, planning and security for both the graduations and the parties.

Child Safety Seat Checkup
      The Oroville Police Department in partnership with the California Highway Patrol and the Butte County Health Department participates in numerous Child Safety Seat Checkups through the year. These checkups provide an opportunity for the Oroville Community to learn from certified trainers through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as to proper installation of child safety seats. Along with this invaluable training, the program also provides free child safety seats to those that qualify.

Special Service Areas
      In continuing commitment to the Oroville community, the Oroville Police Department initiated a Special Service Area Program. This community orientated policing program pairs a geographical area of the city to one of our patrol officers. These officers in effect become that area's officer for general questions and assistance in setting up and maintaining a Neighborhood Watch program. As time and calls for service dictate, these officers are encouraged to initiate contacts within this area through such activities as; walking the neighborhood, talking with the residents, and enforcing traffic laws. Currently the city is divided into eight service areas (see map).

Landlord/Tenant Training
      In attempting to pro-actively confront the communities problems with regard to rental property, this department began educating the persons responsible for renting and maintaining rental property within 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.

Stop Fraudulent Checks Operation Stop Fraudulent Check Program
      This program modeled itself after similar programs in other communities and is intended to provide a layer of security when a merchant accepts a check from a customer. Recently the community has received a rash of home-made fraudulent checks and this program targets and prosecutes the perpetrators of this crime by requiring the issuer of the 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 restitution.

Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force (BINTF)
      A long range goal that was developed for the police department by the City Council involved developing a plan to enhance the image of the City by aggressively enforcing the drug laws. A multi-pronged, multi-disciplinary approach to aggressively enforce the drug laws was developed. During the past year, we started to implement a five prong approach. The five components of the approach included: blight removal/abatement/public nuisances; education/training on drugs and related crime; enforcement efforts and strategies; referral/self-help/rehabilitation programs; and media relations.

      One of the major components that I am most proud of completing this year was within the enforcement strategies. The City of Oroville, for many years, has participated in and reaped the benefits of the Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force (BINTF). During this last fiscal year, we were able to enhance the size of the drug unit, and establish two BINTF offices. For the community of Oroville, this means that we will now have twice the amount of drug enforcement that we had during the previous years. Additionally, we are training every officer in the field of drug enforcement. The five pronged approach, which includes working with our landlords and tenants, will greatly improve the image of the City of Oroville.

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City of Oroville • 1735 Montgomery Street • Oroville, CA 95965

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