Crime May Be Down, But it’s Still a “Crime Emergency”

For months, there has been growing rhetoric by the Antioch community that spoke of an increase in crime, slow or no police response, and horror stories of police not doing enough. Well, last night’s city council meeting shows crime is actually down by 19.8% and the police department is doing a lot with fewer resources.

While this certainly gives anti-tax folks some ammo, it really shouldn’t when you look at the big picture.

Even over a two-year period, crime is still up roughly 10%. The numbers do not  lie and there is no point in spinning them or trying to get around them to pass or fight against a tax—they are what they are.

To steal a line from Councilman Gary Agopian, Antioch still is in the midst of a crime emergency and it’s not going away.

For quarter one of 2013, I say kudos to the Antioch Police Department and what they have achieved with reduced resources.  In the big picture, a three-month window means very little, but it’s a start of what could be achieved with expanded resources.

Here is a brief look at what the Chief reported showing crime is down (slides are shown below)

• Total violent crime: – 7%
• Total Property Crime: -22.2%
• Total part 1 Crime: -19.8%

While the percentages may look fantastic, the numbers are scary.

• Total violent crime: 225 incidents (242 in 2012)
• Total property crime:  1,018 incidents  (1,308 in 2012)
• Total crime: 1.243  (1,550 in 2012)

“I am very happy to see some downward trends. Keep in mind, 2012 was a very mad crime year in Antioch,” said Cantando. “Total arrests are down 6%, if you bring in more staff that should increase.”

And he is right, because currently the Department is in reactive mode instead of proactive mode due to high call volumes and not enough staff to get their quick enough.

According to the report, response times once dispatched jumped up 9 seconds to 5:49—remember, in 2011, it was just 5:07. That is a lot of time in an emergency.

“Citizens are not being shy when calling in for services and want to continue that to prevent crime,” said Cantando.

There are a lot of variables in play about why crime is down which Chief Cantando explained that it’s because the community is on high alert and an increase in neighborhood watch. I’ll go a step further and say Antioch residents have simply had enough and our engaged like never before.

Not to be forgotten in the variables, because the chief is a modest person, a bigger impact is that the chief and many of his officers are working around the clock with outreach efforts to the many community groups within the city. The Chief and his officers are attacking crime from all angles not just by responding to crime, but by educating the community on the tools that will assist the police department.

Mayor Harper asked the Chief about promoting the citizens taking on an adopt the park program on their own without the city and whether the Chief supports that.

“I encourage it and applaud it,” responded Chief Cantando.  “Obviously we are not aware of all the issues but overall as a whole we are very receptive.”

Mayor Harper asked if the Chief has any plans to look at “cold cases” in the future.

“When we get our investigative unit back in place, there is a plan but we have to get our violent crimes down.  We have to get our crime in check before we look at those cases,” said Cantando.

Antioch vs. Brentwood Crime Statistics

This is a little something for some perspective from the anti-tax crowd who will run amuck stating a reduction in crime.  The City of Brentwood, just a few miles away from Antioch, received their annual police crime report two-weeks ago and what they reported in an entire year is comparable to what Antioch had in a single quarter.

The reported last night Antioch had a total of 1,018 incidents for Property Crime during a three month period. In Brentwood, their annual total was 1,243. Considering its April, Antioch likely has already  surpassed that.

In terms of violent crime, Antioch is on pace to surpass Brentwood by quarter 3 as Brentwood has 634 vs. Antioch’s 225.

So while the argument may be that crime is down in the short term, compared to the rest of East County, crime is a disaster.   One shouldn’t be happy with these numbers A little perspective is always nice when looking at the big picture.

Even with the Chiefs good news, the community still needs to get behind the council and police department and support a sales tax of some sort.

Here are copies of some of the Chiefs slides he presented to the Council.

By Mike Burkholder