2023 SANTA MARIA POLICE DEPARTMENT ANNUAL REPORT

ANNUAL REPORT

1111 W. Betteravia Road, Santa Maria, CA 93455 www.joinsantamariapd.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS The Department

1

The City

2

Chief’s Message

3

Command Staff

6-7

Administration Division

8-11

Operations Division

12-17

Support Division

18-27

New Department Programs

28

Santa Maria Police Council

29

The Santa Maria Police Department strives to protect and serve all who visit, work, or reside in the City of Santa Maria, by providing professional police services through community partnerships. Under a philosophy of community and constitutionally based policing, the department strives to maintain trust and deliver exceptional service to promote public safety and reduce crime. The department offers a full range of professional police services, such as patrol operations, investigations, traffic enforcement, crime prevention and awareness, and many others. The department’s policing philosophy promotes strength through interaction and mutual respect in partnership with the community to improve the quality of life for all persons within the City of Santa Maria.

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The City of Santa Maria is a full-service city with 10 departments and a dedicated staff of 700, a City Council/City Manager form of government, and a biennium operating budget of approximately $277 million. Additionally, Santa Maria is home to thriving industries including aerospace, communications, hightech research and development, energy production, military operations, and manufacturing. Santa Maria Valley residents enjoy amenities such as, world-class wineries, a vibrant cultural scene, top-tier rodeo, rolling hills, and 12 miles of Pacific coastline with the state’s tallest beach dunes.

These attractions and more make the Santa Maria Valley an ideal place to live, work, and do business.

Interim City Manager Alex Posada

Mayor Alice Patino

City Councilmember Carlos Escobedo District 1

City Councilmember Mike Cordero District 2

City Councilmember Gloria Soto District 3

City Councilmember Maribel Aguilera-Hernandez District 4

www.cityofsantamaria.org

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It is my privilege to present the Santa Maria Police Departments 2023 Annual Report. This has been an incredible year with many department-wide accomplishments. We serve a great community and I thank each member of the department for their service and commitment to public safety. It is truly an honor to serve as your Police Chief.

2023 YEAR IN REVIEW Part I Crimes were reduced by 28% in comparison to 2022. Part I crimes include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

Responded to 88,400 calls for service and processed 14,581 reports.

Launched Online Reporting (English/Spanish).

Implemented a paid Cadet position. The program has two Cadets who were hired from the Santa Maria Police Explorer Post. It is the intent for this program to serve as a bridge to full time employment with the City of Santa Maria.

4

Expanded the Spanish-speaking Community Academy to include our Mixteco-speaking population. This expansion was made possible through a partnership with the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District who provided the interpretation services.

Implemented AXON Body Worn Camera Program.

Finalized the installation of 135 Automated License Plate Readers.

5

CHIEF OF POLICE MARC SCHNEIDER

COMMANDER DANIEL COHEN

COMMANDER ELIGIO LARA

COMMANDER JESSE SILVA 6

LIEUTENANT PAUL VAN MEEL

LIEUTENANT WOODROW VEGA

LIEUTENANT DANIEL RIOS

LIEUTENANT NATHAN TOTORICA

LIEUTENANT ANDY MAGALLON

SERGEANT II TODD LOGAN

7

BUSINESS PROGRAM LEADER (TRAINING) CHRISTINA ALVAREZ

BUSINESS PROGRAM LEADER (ADMINISTRATION) SARA PEET

ADMINISTRATION DIVISION The Department’s Administration Division is comprised of the Chief of Police, Administrative Commander, Business Program Leader, two Administrative Assistants and an Office Assistant. Together the team is responsible for managing the department’s budget, recruitments, professional standards, risk management, and succession planning. Additionally, the Records Bureau, Training Bureau, and Crime Analyst report directly to the Administrative Commander.

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8

Training Bureau The Training Bureau consists of a Sergeant, Business Program Leader, and Office Assistant. The team is responsible for all training arrangements and records for department personnel, includes compliance with mandates and best practices as directed by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). The Training Bureau is also tasked with managing recruitment activities for sworn and professional staff. The Training Bureau has oversight of the department’s policy manual and analyze and incorporate best practice updates. They also manage the department’s Field Training Program for new officers, and department’s Emergency Preparedness Plan.

Facilitated 7,460 training hours for department staff. This is a 42% increase over 2022’s total training hours.

Implemented department’s first ever web-based training program. The system allows for automated online collection for department training records and real time updates of officers/dispatchers in the Field Training Program.

Managed 50 applicant background investigations for sworn and professional staff positions.

Onboarded 34 new department employees.

Managed the Police Recruits for both, the Allan Hancock Police Academy, and the Bakersfield Police Academy.

9

Records Bureau The Records Bureau consists of a Police Records supervisor and nine Police Record Technicians. The Records Bureau’s primary responsibility is to maintain and distribute law enforcement records. Records Technicians are also responsible for registering criminal offenders (sex/arson/gang), processing various applications, fingerprinting members of the public (Live Scan), processing Public Records Requests, and reporting crime statistics to the FBI. Records Technicians are often the face of the department as they assist community members at the lobby counter. In 2023, the Records Bureau processed 14,581 police reports.

10

Crime Analysis Unit The Crime Analyst is responsible for conducting in-depth analysis of crime data in search of patterns. The mission is to assist the department in using a data-driven approach to patrol deployments and investigations, to extract data to provide informed decisions on various programs, and for overall department wide needs.

708 data amendment/correction projects, 539 tactical crime bulletins, and 234 requests for crime analysis data.

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PART I CRIME TOTALS

2022

2023

Homicide

8

6

Rape

78

63

Robbery

211

172

Aggravated Assault

463

428

Burglary

397

424

Theft

1519

893

Motor Vehicle Theft

1152

751

Arson

35

26

Total Part I Crimes

3863

2763

OPERATIONS DIVISON The Operations Division is the largest and most visible component of the department, operating 24/7 coverage to all 23.5 square miles of the City, and functions as the backbone of police services. In 2023, the department responded to 88,400 calls for service, which is an average of 242 calls for service per day. The deployment of police officers is based on crime and calls for service patterns in a particular neighborhood or other geographic areas, the days and times of the week calls for service occur, as well as the quality-of-life issues in the community. Intentional emphasis is placed on the collaborative development of long-term solutions to recurring incidents of neighborhood conflict.

12

PATROL BUREAU Members of the Patrol Bureau recognize that the most important product they offer is high-quality service to the community. Officers continually strive for excellence, performing their duties with competence, compassion, and professionalism. The Patrol Bureau’s uniformed patrol officers are primarily tasked with responding to calls for service from the community.

They handle both in-progress crimes and emergencies along with nonemergent investigations and requests for assistance. In between calls for service, patrol officers enforce traffic laws while watching for in-progress criminal activity. Patrol officers also spend substantial time engaging with community members in a variety of settings and events.

The Patrol Bureau serves as the foundation of all police services. In 2023, 65 police officer positions were allocated to Patrol, including one K9 officer, 11 Sergeants, two Sergeant II’s, and two Lieutenants. The Sergeant II’s and Lieutenants act as Watch Commanders on various shifts, while the Sergeants provide direct field and station supervision to the officers. Amidst handling the ongoing calls for service, officers conduct proactive enforcement throughout the city. This includes enforcing traffic, drug, and weapons violations, conducting follow-up investigative work on their cases, searching for and arresting wanted persons, and many other responsibilities and tasks. Officers of the Patrol Bureau complete numerous training hours throughout the year to stay current on best practices in the law enforcement profession and to maintain a high level of proficiency with perishable skills.

13

TRAFFIC UNIT The Traffic Unit is comprised of a supervisor and five motor officers with a mission to reduce the loss of life, injury, and property damage caused by traffic collisions. As part of their duties, personnel assigned to this unit analyze collision data focusing on location, time, and causal factors. Using this information, traffic personnel attempt to reduce the number and severity of the city's traffic collisions through public education, vehicle checkpoints, coordination of efforts with the City’s traffic engineers, and directed enforcement.

Worked a 350,000 traffic grant awarded by the Office of Traffic Safety, which focused on fulfilling our mission of enforcement and education. The grant pays for specialized Driving Under the Influence (DUI) enforcement, DUI and driver license checkpoints, repeat DUI offender stakeouts, traffic safety presentations, and bicycle/pedestrian operations.

Each team member earned the Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) Award, which requires each traffic officer to arrest 25 or more DUI’s within the year.

Issued 2,363 citations.

Arrested 145 Drunk Drivers.

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2023 TRAFFIC STATISTICS

15

COLLISIONS

2023

CITATIONS

2023

TOTAL

1878

TOTAL

2363

Fatal

4

DUI

145

Injury

431

Cell Phone

307

Property Damage

1443

Seat Belt

15

K-9 UNIT Officer David Kulp and his K-9 partner, Odin, are assigned to our Patrol Bureau. Odin is a four-year-old Shepherd crossbreed and is trained in apprehensions and cross-trained in the detection of firearms and firearmrelated articles.

Deployed 134 times resulting in the apprehension of 81 suspects, and locating five firearms and/or firearm related evidence.

Completed 400 hours of training.

Participated in events such as National Night Out, Kids Day in the Park, Down Town Friday, and Community Academy, to name a few.

16

EXPLORER PROGRAM Explorer Post #115 consists of youth between the ages of 14-20, who have shown an interest in law enforcement. The goal is to provide a greater awareness of law enforcement through training, mentoring, and Explorer competitions that instill the values of teamwork, build character and foster a strong work ethic. There are three sworn advisors and 9 youths.

Volunteered over 500 hours at various community events within the city and surrounding areas providing traffic control and general admittance support at public venues.

Participated in their first Explorer Academy, hosted by the Santa Maria Police Department. In addition to the Santa Maria Post, Explorers from six Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County agencies attended the academy as well.

Competed in two state competitions and won two awards.

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SUPPORT DIVISION The Support Division encompasses the Detective Bureau, Crime Lab, Property/Evidence Unit, Community Services Unit, and Communications Center.

18

DETECTIVE BUREAU The Detective Bureau serves as the Police Department’s primary investigative section and is tasked with investigating criminal cases, identifying/apprehending offenders, and preparing cases for prosecution.

The team is comprised of three supervisors, 14 criminal investigators, three civilian investigators, and one part-time investigative consultant. The team members are assigned to one of the five units within the bureau: Violent Crime Unit, Special Victims Unit, Property Crime Unit, Gang Investigation Unit, and High-Tech Crimes Unit.

Submitted 759 cases were to the District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration.

Conducted 67 operations ranging from warrant services to special operations.

Detective Bureau was investigation.

Arrested 93 individuals.

19

assigned

2,002

cases

for

criminal

CRIME LAB The Crime Lab is tasked with the responsibility of identifying and gathering evidence at major crime scenes and processing that evidence in the department's crime lab. Lab personnel provide forensic investigative support to uniformed officers and detectives while partnering with State and Federal agencies.

TOTAL REPORTS

284

VEHICLES PROCESSED

49

FIELD/CALL ASSIGNMENTS

63/28

LATENT PRINT CASES

93

LAB ASSIGNMENTS

180

LATENT COMPARISONS

39,560

57 PROCESSED ITEMS

535

FIREARMS PROCESSED

91

20

PROPERTY & EVIDENCE UNIT The Property & Evidence Unit is tasked with storing of property and evidence, preserving the chain of custody, discovery requests, and purging once cases have reached their final resolution.

INCOMING EVIDENCE

10,526

OUTGOING EVIDENCE

5,284

INCOMING FOUND PROPERTY

356

OUTGOING FOUND PROPERTY

282

INCOMING SAFEKEEPING PROPERTY

946

OUTGOING SAFEKEEPING PROPERTY

787

INCOMING PROPERTY FOR DESTRUCTION

224

OUTGOING PROPERTY FOR DESTRUCTION

224

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COMMUNITY SERVICES UNIT The Community Services Unit consists of a supervisor and a team of 16 who work in one of the following areas: Beat Coordinator, School Resource Officer, Police Services Technician, Mental Health Officer, Police Cadets, and Outreach Coordinator.

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BEAT COORDINATORS

The city is divided into three geographical beats, each assigned a Beat Coordinator (BC) to address specific concerns and quality of life issues within the community. The BC’s work closely with community members, business owners, non-profits, and other city departments to address a variety of community concerns. In addition to the many community engagement events, the BC’s assisted in the coordination, cleanup, and removal efforts of more than 40 tons of debris from the streets of the City of Santa Maria.

POLICE SERVICE TECHNICIANS

The Police Service Technicians (PST’s) consist of 7 professional staff. These positions are instrumental in supporting the Patrol Bureau by handling crime reports, traffic collision investigations, processing evidence, and addressing parking and abandoned vehicle issues throughout the city. PST’s also support various community outreach events throughout the year.

SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS

Our two School Resource Officers are each assigned to one of the two high schools in the city and work closely with the school administrator to create a safe environment for both students and staff.

CRISIS INTERVENTION TEAM

The team is comprised of a sworn officer and a mental health clinician from Behavioral Wellness. Together they oversee cases involving mental health crisis, suicide prevention, and substance use. They work to build community partnerships to help adopt restorative justice principle’s and whenever possible, divert individuals from the criminal justice system and into treatment. Interventions may include de-escalation of a situation, preliminary assessment of an individual, referral to a mental health facility, linking persons to needed services, and when appropriate, following up as needed to ensure continued care and prevention.

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OUTREACH COORDINATOR The Outreach Coordinator’s primary role is to engage, cultivate, and foster partnerships between the community and its police department. The Outreach Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the department’s participation in various community events throughout the year; such as, National Night Out, Coffee with a Cop, Trunk-or-Treat, and Downtown Fridays. Additionally, the Outreach Coordinator is responsible for the department’s social media content on Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter). These social media platforms are used to inform and educate the community, and raise awareness with topics such as Human Trafficking, and traffic safety.

SOCIAL MEDIA STATISTICS January 2023 -------> January 2024

@SMPDHQ 2023: 19,000 2024: 49,000

2023: 3,906 2024: 6,936

49,000

6,936 19,000

3,906

4,034

3,861

2023: 3,861 2024: 4,034 Facebook 2023

Instagram 2023

X 2023

Facebook 2024

Instagram 2024

X 2024

24

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A FEW 2023 COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS

COMMUNICATIONS CENTER The Communications Center provides 24/7 dispatch services for Santa Maria Police, Fire, Park Rangers, Code Enforcement, Allan Hancock College, and the City of Guadalupe. Dispatchers are responsible for answering and prioritizing incoming 911 calls, non emergency calls, and business calls. In 2023, the Communication Center handled 209,591 incoming and outgoing calls.

The Communications Center is budgeted for 16 Dispatchers, and four Lead Dispatchers, who are the first-line supervisors on any given shift. The team attends updates and training to keep current on best practices and evolving technologies used in their profession. There are many programs and applications Dispatchers use daily to assist the public and in-house personnel.

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2023 CALLS FOR SERVICE

Santa Maria Police Department 88,400 Total Reports Taken 14,581

27

City Rangers/Code Enforcement

Guadalupe Fire

Allan Hancock PD

2,707

4,156

135

Fire

Guadalupe PD

13,304

4,156

TOTAL CALLS FOR SERVICE CREATED: 124,927

NEW DEPARTMENT PROGRAMS POLICE CADETS In 2023, the Santa Maria Police Department implemented a Police Cadet Program, a limited service paid position for students attending college.

The purpose of the program is to provide the necessary tools and training to prepare cadets for a career in public safety while maintaining a connection with the City of Santa Maria.

MOUNTED ENFORCEMENT UNIT In 2023, with the assistance of the Santa Maria Police Council (non-profit), the department launched the first ever Mounted Enforcement Unit.

This collateral assignment is staffed with two officers, who are POST certified for deployments throughout the city. The primary objective of the unit is two-fold: Enforcement and crime deterrent component, assist with crowd control, patrol related activities and officer protection.

Participate in community events and parades.

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The Santa Maria Police Department would like to thank the Santa Maria Police Council for its continued support and commitment in helping the Department supplement its equipment and training needs through fundraising.

In 2023, the SMPC purchased the following The Counseling Team International-Post Critical Incident Counseling

$19,002.35

2022 SMPD Awards Luncheon

$2,500.00

Camera Equipment-Outreach Coordinator

$6,952.39

Brinc “Lemur II” Drones

$60,241.95

DIJI “Matrice” Drone

$37,627.45

Logan Coach 4-Horse Gooseneck Trailer

$53,735.50

National Night Out Event

$2,500.00

SMPD Family Wellness BBQ

$2,500.00

Trunk or Treat

$2,500.00

Mounted Unit Saddle Blankets

$2,035.58

Gas Masks for Sworn Personnel

$49,072.09

Crime Lite Auto Camera Kit

$45,974.64

Public Order Basic Command Certification Training

$8,890.00

Crime Lab Digital Cameras

$15,778.07

TOTAL 29

$261,335.38

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