Upfront
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Crime wave (continued from page 3)
“I have faith in the police department,� he said. Robberies are cyclical, Palo Alto police Chief Dennis Burns said. “It’s our turn. People in neighboring communities who want to commit a crime think Palo Alto is the place to do it,� he said. Eight people have been arrested for six of the robberies and more individuals are under investigation, he said. The perpetrators have come from a range of cities, including Menlo Park, Redwood City and East Palo Alto, police said. The department has assigned nine of its 13 detectives to work on the robberies and many officers are patrolling all neighborhoods — some in plain clothes and unmarked cars, he said. Det. James Reifschneider said the robberies are not just happening in any one neighborhood. Suspect descriptions are of a diverse group of individuals who have been largely described as African American and Pacific Islander. “We haven’t eliminated that several different groups are out there,� he said. A half dozen East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park residents attended the meeting, sitting quietly as a Palo Alto man said he believed in racial profiling. “We came out as good neighbors out of concern,� East Palo Alto resident Willie Beasley said afterward. “What we are trying to do is bridge the Tower of Babel in East Palo Alto — of the different races trying to coincide in this little box,� he said. The lack of jobs among young men who are out of work (East Palo Alto has a 20 percent unemployment rate) has pushed some to crime, he said. “Palo Alto could be helpful. Palo Alto is a well-heeled city,� he said. The city’s residents “have a moral duty� to help the struggling community gain stable economic ground. Palo Alto must help build foundations for the future, he said.
Hospital expansion (continued from page 3)
clude these transportation programs as “community benefits� in its development agreement, council members have characterized them in the past as “mitigation measures� that Stanford would be required to institute to get environmental clearance for the project. City Manager James Keene said the council plans to evaluate both the mitigations (which will be listed in the project’s Final EIR) and Stanford’s proposed benefits the next few months before reaching a decision on the project in April. He called Stanford’s latest proposal a “good foundation� for the coming discussions. “We’re pleased that we’ve received the proposed terms for the development agreement,� Keene said. “I’m looking forward to us working through both of those (benefits and mitigations) side by side, together.� Stanford’s new proposal also includes a $23.2 million payment to Palo Alto to “support affordable hous-
“If not, they’re going to spend a lot of money on crime prevention,� he said. A five-year comparison does not show an increase in robberies over the year, but the problem is of concern because the 20 have occurred in the last few months, he said. Sgt. Zach Perron, a Palo Alto native who attended local schools, said the department has changed staffing levels to include patrol officers, the traffic team, two members of the crime-suppression team and swingshift officers to bolster those assigned to the robberies. The city has been divided into zones that are all covered by uniformed and plain-clothes officers and detectives, he said. But he admitted spotting the robbers is a difficult prospect. “It’s like a needle in a haystack,� he said. Robbery waves have happened before and been quashed, he added. “In 2006, we had a serious robbery trend in the north end of town. We dedicated more cops and it solved and deterred the crime,� he said. The department used to have more than 100 officers, but now it is down to 91 due to budget cuts, Burns said. He said the department has made its share of cuts just as any other city department. “We can’t have any sacred cows,� he said. Perron said he has heard the public say they think the department has 100, 60 or 25 officers on the street at any one time, but the real figures are far starker: Minimum staffing from 7 a.m. to midnight includes six officers and two supervisors. From midnight to 5 a.m., there are five officers and two supervisors. And from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., there are five officers and one supervisor. The maximum number of officers are 12 with three supervisors, he said. “There are far less than 50 percent of what people think are out there,� he said. Perron said residents can help
the department by trusting their instincts and calling police when “the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up. That’s when you pick up the phone and call the police. “We’ve had people call to report a squirrel having a heart attack. If those people can call, you can pick up the phone and call when someone is hiding in the bushes,� he said. Lt. Sandra Brown, head of personnel and training, said the department is looking at other ways to get the word out to residents other than using AlertSCC, the city’s emergency-alert phone and texting system. She has sent out 14 robbery-related press releases and works closely with the media on a day-to-day basis. Residents can get news of crime right away through Palo Alto Online or read about it the next day in the newspaper, she said. Residents are one of the most valuable crime-fighting tools in the department’s arsenal, Officer Kenneth Dueker, coordinator of Homeland Security for the city manager’s office, said. The Palo Alto Neighborhoods Block Preparedness Coordinator Program, which teaches neighborhood coordination and emergency preparedness, makes residents partners in crime solving rather than victims, he said. “I’ll throw out a challenge tonight to go out and meet your neighbors. You should have some basis about what is abnormal. Knowing your neighbors you get to know what’s normal or abnormal� for a neighborhood, he said. Police stressed that even they have been victims of crime in the current economic climate. Lt. Doug Keith of the field services division, said a robbery occurred 300 feet from his home. And even Chief Burns’ home was burglarized. “A crime-prevention tip from the Burns family: We got a dog. It would probably lick you to death — but he has a good bark,� Burns said. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be e-mailed at sdremann@paweekly. com.
ing and sustainable neighborhood and community development� — up from the $23.1 million in its earlier proposal. Stanford is also now offering the city $12 million for projects and programs addressing climate change and investments in renewable energy and energy conservation — benefits that weren’t included in its prior proposal. Mike Peterson, Stanford’s vice president for special projects, said Stanford put together its latest proposal after extensive conversations with city staff and community members since last July. He said Stanford decided to offer the city $12 million for renewable energy and conservation as part of its effort to support energy conservation. Stanford is also offering Palo Alto $1.1 million to compensate the city for any increases in expenditures the city could potentially incur in providing services to the expanded hospital facilities. Though Stanford’s economic consultant estimated that the city would realize an $8.4 million surplus over the 30-year development agreement period, the city’s consultant said the project could lead to a potential
deficit of $1.1 million. “We basically said that while we don’t necessarily agree with that analysis, in order to give you assurance that you’ll break even, we’ll offer up the $1.1 million,� Peterson said. Peterson said his conversations with Palo Alto officials over the past year have given him confidence about the project’s progress. Stanford is facing a state requirement to seismically retrofit its hospital facilities by 2018. “I think the nature of the work we’ve had with city staff and the council has been much more positive in the past year,� Peterson said. “We definitely see movement in the positive directions — that’s the most important thing.� N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@paweekly. com.
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