The Antioch Police Department provided their mid-year report to the Antioch City Council Tuesday night which highlighted crime was down 0.7% when compared to last year and the number of shootings have remained the same.
Capt. Leonard Orman shared that Antioch Police Chief Allan Cantando is very concerned about the unfortunate perception the city has had in the media, social media, and internet that they have suffered an upswing in shootings which has resulted in critisisms of the Mayor and Council.
“It’s important to realize that just because something is on the internet, that it does not make it true. The fact is that as of end of business day yesterday our incidents for someone who has been shot at, assaulted, or killed with a firearm is at 50 for the year. Of the 50, 4 were actual murders,” said Orman.
According to data, Richmond had 44 shootings with 7 being murders. Orman further explained that last year Antioch had 51 firearm related assaults with 7 murders while In 2012, Antioch at this time had 57 with 4 murders.
“As you can see, we haven’t had quite the surge in violence that is being perceived,” Orman said. “That is not to say we’re necessarily happy with those numbers.”
According to the statistics that range from January -June, Total Violent Crime is down 15.7% while Total Property Crime is up 2.9%. Homicide is down 57.1%, Rape up 400%, Robbery down 16.4%, Aggravated Assault down 22.5%, Burglary down 2.8%, Theft up 3.3%, Auto Theft up 11.1%.
Arrests are also up 6.8% as they made 129 more arrested in the first six months of 2014 (2,028) when compared to 2013 (1,899).
Orman further explained that the 400% for rape was because this is the first year since they changed the definition and this will now be their new base going forward. (Here is a link to the new definition)
“Arrest are up 12% which is a good trend which we attribute to the fact more officers are full duty at this time,” said Orman.
He also noted that the Hardy Nix incident was stated as a robbery and not a homicide or murder. Antioch also had one officer involved shooting for the year so far.
A Violent Crime Reduction Plan has been put in place which will focus on weapons, gangs and illegal drug activity. Orman shared that police have also stepped up their proactive crime suppression details from once per month to weekly to control team Beat Projects—community policing. They also have formed partnerships with CHP, CCCSP, Probation and FBI and due to bad publicity; they have more support to assist.
When it comes to hiring, since Jan 1, 2013 Antioch Police have hired 26 officers, but due to unprecedented retirement/separations, the department has only netted 4 officers to date even as hiring continues.
Mayor Wade Harper, a police officer for 24-years, thanked the police department for their efforts and putting their lives on the line for the city each day.
“I know when we see all these shootings it seems like we are taking two steps forward and a couple back but I appreciate them putting their lives on the line for us,” said Harper.
He was also pleased with the partnerships with other agencies in an effort to reduce crime.
“I am glad we are increasing our commitment with other agencies FBI, ATF (Alcohol Tobacco Firearms) and all those agencies,” said Harper. “50 shootings is still to much. We want those proactive teams out there, you said you were doing it once a week now. “
The additional proactive details can occur because the City Manager authorized funding from the city be used because at this time, they have not hired the number of officers they are wanting so they can use the money that would have been paying officers and instead put it towards overtime. The caveat is that they will have to do a budget adjustment at some point.
“Is there anything more that the community can do? I know we have had an increase in neighborhood watch groups (450), local churches are getting involved with marches and events, is there anything you would recommend?” asked Mayor Harper.
“I think the we have in our community now, if those efforts continue and expand, that is what we need and we need folks to step up and let us know what is going on out there and call the police. You do not have to give your name,” said Orman.
He highlighted how the system used they do not see the phone numbers you call from if you do not want them to. You do not have to give your name but that system has helped them solve a lot of crime.
“I think the numbers we are looking at could have been a lot worse had we not had the community support that we are lucky enough to experience here,” said Orman.
Mayor Pro Tem Mary Rocha stated how the Sycamore Corridor needed recreational activities and things to do to change the minds of kids and also work with the school district on a grant. She also encouraged the community to better participate in collecting information if they witness crime and provide that information to the police.
Orman agreed noting that the community is doing a good job with providing information but more is needed.
“There are some real success stories out there but we are not allowed to tell them because they do not want us to tell them. We have made some incredible cases on complaints of drug dealing where people have provided us with incredible surveillance and photos, great stuff and we are able to respond to it and make cases without revealing who those people are,” said Orman.
Mayor Harper urged the police department to come back to the council if they need more resources.
“As you know the city council gave permission to hire legacy employees and that is why we were able to get some of the quality veteran officers from the other agencies to be able to hit the ground running. Incidentally, it was one of the new officers that I had sworn in when a drunk driver crashed on my lawn a couple weeks ago and the city manager gave permission to spend the money to get the job done. If there is more needed come back to council. We already made a decision that all the Measure C Funded will be used for law enforcement and code enforcement and we will continue to talk about the use of technology to apprehend criminals,” said Harper.
In public comments, the public offered their support for the police department and the officers, but did not agree with the statistics and highlighted their concerns with crime saying the community is not safe.
Roberta Haynes highlighted how she has lived in Antioch for a long time, however, she no longer feels safe.
“I’ve lived in this town a long time and I’ve seen it and its spiraling down to some place that I do not want to be here anymore. It’s amazing that we are now being compared to Richmond. Antioch used to be a little suburb and now its compared to Richmond.
Mayor Harper interrupted her saying it was due to size of the city of over 100,000.
“Ya, per capita,” replied Haynes. “Does anyone know where are city stands per capita on violent crime in the state of California. We are in the top 10. That is shameful. You are looking at more houses you are going to approve here? We do not have enough officer now. Is there something looking into the future when BART comes here and crime comes with it? Are we looking at any of that or are we going to continue to play catch-up and be reacting instead of proactive. It’s not safe in places in Antioch.”
She further highlighted that crime is not limited to Sycamore, but you can’t even walk in the Raley’s parking lot at night saying its frightening and in the Walmart parking lot, women are robbed all the time.
“I understand officers are trying but there is not enough. They are going to have to become very aggressive and get a larger force. Their presence isn’t scene. It’s amazing, people are running stop lights, stealing your car out of your front yard and it’s like where is the cops? And I pray you are looking at that,” said Haynes. “You have to do something before something hits so bad here that you can’t fix it because we are all going to bail.”
Will LeRoy echoed Haynes comments saying the crime starts with the community you want to build and this is not just a police matter, but it starts at the council.
“If your going to build a low-income community, then the police are going to be out there with shootings and take a lot of police services for those type of incidents created by the low income housing. Sycamore was mentioned many times and how much that goes on there. Those were past approved projects that we did not want and now we have the Hillcrest where you are going to put in another 5,000 units of low income housing and we are going to get sandwiched between those two and going to see a massive amount of crime. I don’t think any amount of police undoes the fact the people don’t live here,” said Leroy.
He encouraged the council to work to create jobs because people working do not commit crime. He urged Mayor Harper to not build those type of communities that create crime and more need for police services.
“I just really don’t think police are going to make a difference but I feel like you can,” said LeRoy. “Screw you people who create crime. We call the police, they say we have a shooting, I don’t have a shooting I am a normal citizen asking for police service asking for normal things I feel embarrassed calling when there is a shooting.”
Ken Turnage questioned the City and the Council for putting the police in a bad situation.
“It seems that the police department is put in a bad situation where they are the ones with the fingers in the dam and we are the ones watching the dam crumble around them. They are not given everything they need. I saw the slide show and all the different statistics and the one thing I was taught because I was a baseball stats guy is that 84% of statistics are made up by the guy putting together the chart,” said Turnage.
He said not all statistics are being counted and provided examples of two shootings where police never showed up.
“What I have here are two shootings the police did not even respond to. There are multiple things not being brought forth to the city and being shown to everyone here. These are two shootings just by myself in one weeks period where we took the bullets out of the stucco, the police department didn’t even respond. Police were called, they did not show up,” explained Turnage. “How is it possible that we can have hookers soliciting at all hours of the day. All times of the day they are walking up and down the street. Just last week I saw a lady being accosted at Little Caesars Pizza as the police officer drove by, watched it and shook his head and kept going. This is what I am seeing. My office is there, I built my building 5 years ago. This is what is going on in our city.”
William Dee, President of the Antioch Police Officers Association, highlighted how Antioch was recently the 4th Most Dangerous City in California per FBI statistics.
“We were the 4th most dangerous city in California that was reported by FBI statistics and the San Francisco Business Times. Last month we have seen a spike in shootings and frequency have been more than I have ever seen in my career (19 years). The Department are now authorized 97-officers with 88-of those positions currently filled. With the council’s approval we have made great strides in hiring new and lateral officers but more is needed,” said Dee.
Dee highlighted how Antioch and Richmond were similar in population, but there is a major difference in number of officers.
“The number 3 city, Richmond California, has approximately the same population but staffing levels of 190 officers,” explained Dee. “What I want everyone to understand is that authorized positions and actual boots on the ground are very different. Investigation and administrative staffing accounts for 29 of those 88 positions. When we look at officers responding to shootings, robberies, and burglaries which stay for days on the board we can’t get to the calls.”
He shared how the Department currently we have 12 officers out on injury and the prognosis’s for their return is grim. So when the smoke clears we have about 7 officers to respond to calls for service. Now I have looked at the 2014 mid-year report provided by Capt. Orman and while we fully support the Departments short-term plan to combat recent spike in violent crime, additional staffing is paramount to have a long term effect on reducing violent crime in this city. Members of the Antioch are dealing with extreme fatigue and injuries and often works 12-16 hour a day.”
Antioch Coffee With the Cops
The Antioch Police Department has announced their 2nd quarter “Coffee With the Cops” meeting is going to be held Thursday, July 24 beginning at 7:00 pm and expected to end around 9:00 pm. The event will be located at the Antioch Community Center located at 4703 Lone Tree Way (next to the Prewett Water Park). Captain Tammany Brooks will be on hand to discuss recent crime statistics and recent issues occurring in our community.
According to the Staff Report for Tuesdays Antioch City Council Meeting, here is a look at the recent Crime Statistics.
14 comments
I expected much more outrage at last nights meeting after everything that was said here and on Facebook. However, as usual, it did not materialize. Come on folks, the chamber was full but not over crime, it was because of apartment buildings and a park.
And to Mrs. Rocha, criminals do not do recreational activities. They drive around shooting. Recreation in the Sycamore Corridor or any where else in town is not the answer. There is plenty to do in this city just look around.
Rocha is one of the ones that needs to be replaced. She’s been on that stage since the beginning of time and look how the city has deteriorated. All she wants to do is spend more tax dollars for said “activities”. Last time I checked thugs like to smoke weed and rob people on a recreational basis rather than knit crochet.
She has no F’n clue what she’s doing for the past decade. She’s also Harpers personal trainer on how to be mayor.
I wonder why we have so much crime. I wonder why we are ranked 4th as the most dangerous city and in comparison to Richmond. I wonder what demographic similarity we share with Richmond. Hmmm… I can’t seem to put my finger on it.
I know.. I think I solved it. We have tons of crime because we have tons of Alaskans in this city. As a matter if fact, any city with a population of over 10% Alaskans experiences tons of crime. That’s it isn’t it? After all, what other demographic is responsible for crime other than those damn filthy ghetto section 8 government subsidized and piece of crap sorry excuse for parents Alaskans. Man I hate Eskimos.
LMAO. I’m glad I’m not as blind as the scared people who suffer from white guilt.
Racist much Reginald Brown. And if you are so glad you aren’t scared, why don’t you use your REAL name on this forum. Hmmmmm. That’s what I thought.
Hypocrite much Yes Man? I suppose that’s your real name? Go cry me a river.
You should try your own advice before getting all high and mighty about “using real names”
Scared blind mofo. I swear this town is full of hypocrites.
Tell you what Yes Man how about you post your name and address and I’ll do the same and we can go have a cup of tea? Hmmm… That’s what I thought.
Hmm why are you so defensive? By your combative comment insinuating a meet up tea party (i.e a fight) we can only assume what demographic you are!!! Lol
Your assumptions to a tea part show just how stupid you are.
Typical Antioch stupidity
Well! I’m soooo relieved everything is getting better here in Antioch! THIS IS A FRIK’n JOKE!!!! I know the police do more than what anyone can expect! It is these artificial reports that just irritate the hell out of me! CRIME IS UP! WAY UP! Most of these are NEVER reported any longer due to response times and NOTHING being done about it. I hear gun shots almost nightly! Gunshots, not fireworks! I know the difference. Just because these thugs cant hit the side of a barn and can’t actually kill their target doesnt mean crime is down.
This Mayor has to go!!!! The nerve, the nerve!!
I am short on time so I couldn’t read everyone above posts, I will later. But I did catch a small bit of Mayor Harper’s post; my response: why pay our already overworked/exhausted police forces with even more overtime. A great deal of our current crime problems was created because of all the budget cuts/laying off thousands of our police force in recent years past.Try to find a way (incentives/perks, etc) to attract a larger influx to APD. Depending on choices this would be a heck of a lot cheaper than totaling burning up our current police force with more and more overtime and have nothing for backup when they fall.
I don’t think the mayor and the other city council member who sit the middle give a rats ass about the crime.
They know what demographic does the majority of these crimes and are afraid to do anything about it. Makes me wonder why they like the way things are.
Furthermore, it’s hard to believe how stupid they think we are. They think there is nothing we can do to get them out of their seat and do their jobs.
Folks, I watched the council meeting last night via the internet and after all of the whining and complaining I have read from your comments about the horrible job the council and Wade Harper has done as Mayor, not one of you had the courage to state your feelings out loud, in public, for all to hear. Those of you who are demanding change should be ashamed of yourselves. And you wonder why things NEVER change in Antioch.
If you REALLY want things to improve, get organized and get off your butts, stop hiding behind your computers and FIGHT!!!! The safety of your families are at stake.
You are absolutely correct.
Seems to me this is the only place we can vent our frustrations I feel the same. maybe if these ghetto folks quit hiding behind guns and man up we could address these hoodlums on what their doing but let’s face it you can’t reason with uneducated hoodlums at a gun fight so I guess I’ll do my venting online.
Comments are closed.