• Support
  • Advertise
  • Locations
  • Contact
Friday, March 31, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTERS
San Clemente Times
  • Calendar
    • Event Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Sections
    • Eye on SC
    • Soapbox
      • Submit a Letter
    • Getting Out
    • SC Living
    • Sports & Outdoors
    • SC Surf
    • Dana Point Times
    • Capistrano Dispatch
  • Digital Edition
  • Best of SC
  • Explore SC
  • Legals & Classifieds
    • Locals Only Business Directory
    • Classifieds
    • Submit a Classified
    • Obituaries
    • Announcements
    • Submit an Announcement
    • Legal & Public Notice Advertising
  • Special Publications
    • A New You
    • Aging Well – For the Young at Heart
    • Best of San Clemente
    • Crib to College
    • Festival of Whales Event Program
    • Go See Do
    • Holiday Happenings & Gift Guide
    • Money Matters
    • Summer Camp Guide
    • Swallows Day Parade & Mercado Event Guide
    • The Green Issue
    • Triton Football Preview
  • SC Guide
  • Real Estate
    • South County Real Estate Guide
    • Real Estate – Who’s Who
  • Calendar
    • Event Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Sections
    • Eye on SC
    • Soapbox
      • Submit a Letter
    • Getting Out
    • SC Living
    • Sports & Outdoors
    • SC Surf
    • Dana Point Times
    • Capistrano Dispatch
  • Digital Edition
  • Best of SC
  • Explore SC
  • Legals & Classifieds
    • Locals Only Business Directory
    • Classifieds
    • Submit a Classified
    • Obituaries
    • Announcements
    • Submit an Announcement
    • Legal & Public Notice Advertising
  • Special Publications
    • A New You
    • Aging Well – For the Young at Heart
    • Best of San Clemente
    • Crib to College
    • Festival of Whales Event Program
    • Go See Do
    • Holiday Happenings & Gift Guide
    • Money Matters
    • Summer Camp Guide
    • Swallows Day Parade & Mercado Event Guide
    • The Green Issue
    • Triton Football Preview
  • SC Guide
  • Real Estate
    • South County Real Estate Guide
    • Real Estate – Who’s Who
No Result
View All Result
San Clemente Times
No Result
View All Result

Full Force: San Clemente Residents Share Concerns About Crime at Meeting

Staff by Staff
December 1, 2016 12:20PM
in EYE ON SC, News Headlines
Full Force: San Clemente Residents Share Concerns About Crime at Meeting

A motorcycle patrol officer with Orange County Sheriff’s Department leads the Red Ribbon Parade on Monday, Oct. 24. Residents of San Clemente gathered at a meeting Tuesday, Oct. 25, to discuss their desire for more law enforcement in the city. Photo: Eric Heinz

0
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
A motorcycle patrol officer with Orange County Sheriff’s Department leads the Red Ribbon Parade on Monday, Oct. 24. Residents of San Clemente gathered at a meeting Tuesday, Oct. 25, to discuss their desire for more law enforcement in the city. Photo: Eric Heinz
A motorcycle patrol officer with Orange County Sheriff’s Department leads the Red Ribbon Parade on Monday, Oct. 24. Residents of San Clemente gathered at a meeting Tuesday, Oct. 25, to discuss their desire for more law enforcement in the city. Photo: Eric Heinz

By Eric Heinz

Making San Clemente a safer place in the eyes of its residents came to a head at a meeting hosted at City Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 25, and citizen suggestions on upgrades in policing ranged from the pedestrian to the Orwellian.

The meeting was conducted with the city’s contracted consulting firm, Matrix Consulting Group, in order to gather community input on what would be sufficient increases to San Clemente Police Services.

Many of the meeting’s attendees said they have noticed an increase in burglaries and other crimes, and that the city does not have enough officers and needs to bring back community watch organizations.

Greg Mathews, a senior manager of Matrix Consulting Group, which analyzes cities’ police departments and provides feedback to local officials, led the meeting. Mathews is a former law enforcement officer and said he has conducted about 95 police department consulting studies.

The study is expected to last 16 weeks, with Tuesday being the middle of the fourth week. Mathews said the results of the study will be compiled and available to the public by the end of January.

“After the interview process, we’ll continue to collect data, then we’ll develop a profile document, which essentially is a regurgitation of our understanding of the police department, and that is a factual document only, because we need a baseline of information,” Mathews said. “Then … we develop a best practices assessment to compare department operations. Then (we develop) an issues list and then a final report.”

Mathews said the community input will supplement the fact-based data to ensure the requests of the community are taken into consideration.

“As we continue going through this town hall process, as people come to some conclusion that these key issues are important, we’ll take a look at those in an analytical fashion,” Mathews said.

During the meeting, people listed their biggest concerns about crime—which included car break-ins, problems with sober living homes and “drugged-out zombies”—which were then discussed in groups in an effort to brainstorm solutions.

Greg Mathews, a senior manager at Matrix Consulting Group, gives instructions to audience members about how to share their opinions on what they think are the biggest crime problems in San Clemente during a meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at San Clemente City Hall. Photo: Eric Heinz
LeRoy Cox leads a discussion on solutions to the crime problems in San Clemente during a meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at San Clemente City Hall. Photo: Eric Heinz
Eva O’Keefe places a sticker on one of the listed crime issues in San Clemente she thinks needs priority in addressing. O’Keefe has led a Facebook group, “Crime in San Clemente and Safety Tips,” for at least the last year. Photo: Eric Heinz

Some of the recommendations included implementing web cameras around town, increasing police officers (and their presence in the community), adopting more ordinances to abate panhandling and more.

People at the meeting also said they want to have another substation for police services because of San Clemente’s size. The current Orange County Sheriff’s Department substation in San Clemente is located at City Hall.

Mathews said the final recommendations could impact levels of patrol, number of deputies, changing a beat system, increasing investigators, fleet increases and more.

“With regard to some recommendations, some need to be considered over 12 to 24 months; some could be up to three years,” he said. “It depends on the complexity of the recommendation and how difficult it could be to implement the recommendations.

“We’ll also be looking at the (OCSD) contract conditions to make sure they’re consistent with best practices,” he said.

Mathews said everything from petty offenses to more serious crimes are taken into consideration during the study.

According to the city of San Clemente Public Safety Services website, the city dedicated $24.9 million for public safety efforts—which equates to 44 percent of the total General Fund. It is broken down as $14.2 million for police services, $9 million for fire services, and $1.7 million for Marine Safety.

LeRoy Cox, who led a discussion based on suggestions from his study group, said many of the officers in town do not stay long in San Clemente because they’re looking to move up to larger cities or other divisions of crime enforcement.

“Neighborhood Watch was a good program,” Cox said, alluding to a program that no longer exists. The city does have a volunteer program, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, but primarily they exist to issue parking citations and help with crowd control at events.

Cox also said he would like to see a clearer definition of the responsibilities of deputies.

“We really don’t know what they do,” Cox said.

Recently, the city adopted ordinances to give private property owners more power to have trespassers cited or arrested. The city has also expressed in letters its displeasure with Proposition 57, which will be on the November ballot, and could release thousands of “non-violent prisoners.”

The city increased its total police force by one and a half (part-time) officers for this year.

Assistant City Manager Erik Sund said it will be up to City Council to determine what recommendations are implemented for Police Services.

“There will be a report that comes to Council that goes over all the findings and comments and et cetera,” Sund said. “In the back of the report will be recommendations that Council will have to deliberate on. Some of them will have (fiscal impacts), and some of them may have changes in service levels.”

Sund said the purpose of the study is to get an independent, objective analysis of the police services. The City Council approved $49,000 to pay for the study in July.

According to crime statistics from OCSD, there has been one homicide in San Clemente in the last three years. Home burglaries are up from 44 to 59, but the biggest concerns residents seemed to have related to the (arguably) increasing homeless population, vehicle burglaries and other offenses that they said are linked to sober living homes.

City Councilwoman Kathy Ward, who was at the meeting, said she’s seen an increase in larceny in her neighborhood (somewhere in southwest San Clemente).

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Tags: CommunitycrimeNeighborhood WatchOrange CountyOrange County Sheriff's DepartmentPanhandlingPoliceSan ClementeVigilance
ShareTweetPin
Staff

Staff

Related Posts

Doheny Crazed

Surfing & Shenanigans: ‘Doheny Crazed’ Shares Stories of the Golden Age of Surfing

March 31, 2023
Net Energy Metering Program to Change April 14

Net Energy Metering Program to Change April 14

March 31, 2023
Local NFL Player Speaks to Students About Life Choices, Perseverance

Local NFL Player Speaks to Students About Life Choices, Perseverance

March 30, 2023
Groms of the Week: Eden and Zion Walla

Surfrider Goes to Washington

March 30, 2023
Next Post
Private: Media

Letter: Ole Hanson Beach Club Remodel Decides Vote

Discussion about this post

No Result
View All Result

SC Times Daily
Get important news and updates delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up here.

Subscriptions
Don’t get the SC Times delivered to your home? Subscribe today.

Advertising
Get new customers and drive traffic to your business. Advertise with us.

Support Local Journalism
For less than the cost of a couple of cups of coffee a month, become an “Insider” member and continue to get “Local News You Can Use” from the only independently owned, dedicated local news organization in South Orange County.

Contribute today.

Picket Fence Media is a proud member of the SoCal Media Network.

  • Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Dana Point Times
  • The Capistrano Dispatch
  • Terms of Use
  • About Us

© 2023 Picket Fence Media

No Result
View All Result
  • Calendar
    • Event Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Sections
    • Eye on SC
    • Soapbox
      • Submit a Letter
    • Getting Out
    • SC Living
    • Sports & Outdoors
    • SC Surf
    • Dana Point Times
    • Capistrano Dispatch
  • Digital Edition
  • Best of SC
  • Explore SC
  • Legals & Classifieds
    • Locals Only Business Directory
    • Classifieds
    • Submit a Classified
    • Obituaries
    • Announcements
    • Submit an Announcement
    • Legal & Public Notice Advertising
  • Special Publications
    • A New You
    • Aging Well – For the Young at Heart
    • Best of San Clemente
    • Crib to College
    • Festival of Whales Event Program
    • Go See Do
    • Holiday Happenings & Gift Guide
    • Money Matters
    • Summer Camp Guide
    • Swallows Day Parade & Mercado Event Guide
    • The Green Issue
    • Triton Football Preview
  • SC Guide
  • Real Estate
    • South County Real Estate Guide
    • Real Estate – Who’s Who

© 2023 Picket Fence Media