2023 SANTA MARIA POLICE DEPARTMENT ANNUAL REPORT

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 anddeliverexceptionalservicetopromotepublicsafetyandreducecrime.The department offers a full range of professional police services, such as patrol operations, investigations, traffic enforcement, crime prevention and awareness,andmanyothers.Thedepartment’spolicingphilosophypromotes strength through interaction and mutual respect in partnership with the communitytoimprovethequalityoflifeforallpersonswithintheCityofSanta Maria.

TheCityofSantaMariaisafull-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 ishometothrivingindustriesincluding aerospace, communications, hightech research and development, energyproduction,militaryoperations, 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,anddobusiness.

www.cityofsantamaria.org

Mayor AlicePatino

InterimCityManager AlexPosada

CityCouncilmember CarlosEscobedo District1

CityCouncilmember MikeCordero District2

CityCouncilmember GloriaSoto District3

CityCouncilmember MaribelAguilera-Hernandez District4

ItismyprivilegetopresenttheSantaMariaPoliceDepartments2023Annual Report. This has been an incredible year with many department-wide accomplishments.WeserveagreatcommunityandIthankeachmemberof thedepartmentfortheirserviceandcommitmenttopublicsafety.Itistrulyan hono

Part I Crimes were reduced by 28% in comparison to 2022. Part I crimes include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary,theft,motorvehicletheftandarson.

Respondedto88,400callsforserviceandprocessed14,581reports.

LaunchedOnlineReporting(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 withtheCityofSantaMaria.

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 Districtwhoprovidedtheinterpretationservices.

ImplementedAXONBodyWornCameraProgram.

Finalizedtheinstallationof135AutomatedLicensePlateReaders.

CHIEFOFPOLICE MARCSCHNEIDER

COMMANDER ELIGIOLARA

COMMANDER JESSESILVA

COMMANDER DANIELCOHEN

LIEUTENANT NATHANTOTORICA

LIEUTENANT ANDYMAGALLON

SERGEANTII TODDLOGAN

BUSINESSPROGRAMLEADER (TRAINING)

CHRISTINAALVAREZ

BUSINESSPROGRAMLEADER (ADMINISTRATION)

LIEUTENANT PAULVANMEEL

LIEUTENANT WOODROWVEGA

LIEUTENANT DANIELRIOS

ADMINISTRATIONDIVISION

TrainingBureau

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 EmergencyPreparednessPlan.

Facilitated7,460traininghoursfordepartmentstaff.Thisisa 42%increaseover2022’stotaltraininghours.

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/dispatchersintheFieldTrainingProgram.

Managed 50 applicant background investigations for sworn andprofessionalstaffpositions.

Onboarded34newdepartmentemployees.

Managed the Police Recruits for both, the Allan Hancock PoliceAcademy,andtheBakersfieldPoliceAcademy.

RecordsBureau

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 i f i i i i ff ( / /gang), proc lic (Live Scan istics to the F as they assis Bureau proc

CrimeAnalysisUnit

TheCrimeAnalystisresponsibleforconductingin-depthanalysisofcrime datainsearchofpatterns.Themissionistoassistthedepartmentinusing a data-driven approach to patrol deployments and investigations, to extract data to provide informed decisions on various programs, and for overalldepartmentwideneeds.

708 data amendment/correction projects, 539 tactical crime bulletins,and234requestsforcrimeanalysisdata.

OPERATIONSDIVISON

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,thedaysandtimesoftheweekcallsforserviceoccur,aswellasthe quality-of-life issues in the community. Intentional emphasis is placed on thecollaborativedevelopmentoflong-termsolutionstorecurringincidents ofneighborhoodconflict

PATROLBUREAU

Members of the Patrol Bureau recognize that the most important product they offer is high-quality service to the community. Officers continually striveforexcellence,performingtheirdutieswithcompetence,compassion, and ers are prim munity. They h noneme alls for serv rogress crim ng with com

The 2023,65 polic fficer, 11 Serg I’s and Lieu ile the Serg Amidst han oactive enfo ug, and wea cases, sear other resp merous train s in the law cywith peri

TRAFFICUNIT

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 anal .Using this er and seve vehicle chec s, and direc

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 safetypresentations,andbicycle/pedestrianoperations.

Each team member earned the Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) Award,whichrequireseachtrafficofficertoarrest25ormoreDUI’swithin theyear.

Issued2,363citations.

Arrested145DrunkDrivers.

K-9UNIT

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 apprehensionsandcross-trainedinthedetectionoffirearmsandfirearmrelatedarticles

Deployed134timesresultingintheapprehensionof81suspects, andlocatingfivefirearmsand/orfirearmrelatedevidence.

Completed400hoursoftraining.

ParticipatedineventssuchasNationalNightOut,KidsDayinthe Park, Down Town Friday, and Community Academy, to name a few.

EXPLORERPROGRAM

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 com fostera stron

Volunteeredover500hoursatvariouscommunityeventswithinthe city and surrounding areas providing traffic control and general admittancesupportatpublicvenues.

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 agenciesattendedtheacademyaswell.

Competedintwostatecompetitionsandwontwoawards.

SUPPORTDIVISION

The Support Division encompasses the Detective Bureau, Crime Lab, Property/EvidenceUnit,CommunityServicesUnit,and Communications Center.

DETECTIVEBUREAU

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 civili e team mem Violent Crim onUnit, and

Submitted759casesweretotheDistrictAttorney’sOfficeforfiling consideration.

Conducted67operationsrangingfromwarrantservicestospecial operations.

Detective Bureau was assigned 2,002 cases for criminal investigation.

Arrested93individuals.

CRIMELAB

TheCrimeLabistaskedwiththeresponsibilityofidentifyingandgathering 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 andFe

The Property & Evidence Unit is tasked with storing of property and evidence, preserving the chain of custody, discovery requests, and purging once cases havereachedtheirfinalresolution.

COMMUNITYSERVICESUNIT

The Community Services Unit consists of a supervisor and a team of 16 whoworkinoneofthefollowingareas:BeatCoordinator,SchoolResource Offic P li S i T h i i M t l H lth Offi P li Cadets, and

BEATCOORDINATORS

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 varie munity enga p, and remo Cityof Santa

POLICESERVICETECHNICIANS

The Police Service Technicians (PST’s) consist of 7 professional staff. These positionsareinstrumentalinsupportingthePatrolBureaubyhandlingcrime reports, traffic collision investigations, processing evidence, and addressing parking and abandoned vehicle issues throughout the city. PST’s also supportvariouscommunityoutreacheventsthroughouttheyear.

SCHOOLRESOURCEOFFICERS

Our two School Resource Officers are each assigned to one of the two high schoolsinthecityandworkcloselywiththeschooladministratortocreatea safeenvironmentforbothstudentsandstaff.

CRISISINTERVENTIONTEAM

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.Interventionsmayincludede-escalationofasituation,preliminary assessment of an individual, referral to a mental health facility, linking personstoneededservices,andwhenappropriate,followingupasneededto ensurecontinuedcareandprevention.

OUTREACHCOORDINATOR

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, Natio wntown Frida for the depa and X (form m and educ Human Traff

COMMUNICATIONSCENTER

The Communications Center provides 24/7 dispatch services for Santa MariaPolice,Fire,ParkRangers,CodeEnforcement,AllanHancockCollege, andtheCityofGuadalupe.Dispatchersareresponsibleforansweringand prioritizing incoming 911 calls non emergency calls and business calls. In 2023, utgoing calls.

The C nd four Lead hift.The team ces and evolv ograms and a -house perso

NEWDEPARTM

POLICECADETS

In 2023, the Santa Maria Po Department implemented a Po Cadet Program, a limited service p positionforstudentsattendingcolle The purpose of the program is provide the necessary tools training to prepare cadets for a ca in public safety while maintainin connection with the City of Sa Maria.

MOUNTEDENFORCEMENT

UNIT

In 2023, with the assistance of th SantaMariaPoliceCouncil(non-profit the department launched the first eve Mounted Enforcement Unit. Th collateral assignment is staffed wit two officers, who are POST certified fo deployments throughout the city. Th primaryobjectiveoftheunitistwo-fold:

Enforcement and crime deterrent component, assist with crowd control, patrol related activities and officer protection.

Participate in community events and parades.

The Santa Maria Police Department would like to thank the Santa Maria PoliceCouncilforitscontinuedsupportandcommitmentinhelpingthe Department supplement its equipment and training needs through fundraising.

In2023,theSMPCpurchasedthefollowing