Violent Crime Down; Thefts Up in SLO

While violent crimes in San Luis Obispo dropped slightly last year, SLO police chief said they’ve struggled with a wave of thefts.
“Violent crime was down 7% in the City last year,” Police Chief Deanna Cantrell said in a news release. “But property crime — particularly thefts — remains a challenge for the department and the community.”
Chief Cantrell recently issued a report to the City Council laying out “some of the public awareness efforts and policing strategies the department has used to combat crime, which has increased 11% over last year, reflecting a statewide trend. While crime rose, the rate of growth slowed from the previous year, when crime increased by 21%.”The start of 2016 looked like the lawless Old West had risen again, as first quarter crime stats jumped 45% over 2015. SLOPD moved fast to combat the trend.
“The department quickly began an effective education campaign,” the Chief said, “that used community meetings, traditional media and social media to help raise awareness. Meanwhile, the department also launched data-driven policing strategies, use of cameras, bait property and specialty units throughout the City. As a result, the crime rate of growth was dramatically reduced to 11% by the end of 2016.”
As for violent crimes, Chief Cantrell said there were zero murders reported in 2016, but there were 38 rapes, 21 robberies, and 118 aggravated assaults reported to police.
As for all those property crimes, once again residents’ carelessness with valuables left in cars was a major temptation. “The most common property crime was theft from vehicles,” Chief Cantrell said, “with 673 reported thefts.”
The increase in thefts from cars was up 52-percent over the prior year, which the Chief said reflects in part, “a cultural issue in the City, with people failing to lock their doors and remove items of value due to a false sense of security.”
Such thefts from cars are crimes of opportunity, as thieves will wander streets late at night checking car doors. When they come upon one that is unlocked, they quickly rifle through, stealing anything of value — from cell phones and laptops, to spare change in the console.
Cantrell said the increase in overall crime locally and statewide can be partially attributed to Proposition 47, which reduced from felonies to misdemeanors certain drug possession offenses and some thefts under $950. Prior, grand theft, a felony, was charged when the stolen item(s) totaled just $400.
As a result, adults placed on misdemeanor probation by the courts rose 44%, and Cantrell pointed out that unlike “felony” probation, “misdemeanor” probation carries little or no supervision.
Cantrell said rehabilitation efforts fail absent consequences for lack of cooperation (probation violations typically carry 10 days in jail) and translate directly to more crimes, particularly property crimes, being committed.
SLOPD is also short handed, facing a staffing shortage due to retirements, terminations and injuries. Because general patrol duties take precedence, some special assignments teams that work on prevention and outreach programs had to be shifted, said Chief Cantrell.
– Neil Farrell