Gang violence took what officials described as a drastic drop since July 2010, attributing the drop to Mayor Kevin Johnson’s gang-prevention programs initiated in June of 2010 and again after last December’s fatal barbershop shooting. Since implementing some of the measures, Lt. Bill Champion of the Sacramento Police Department said that the results have been effective. The number of gang-related firearm assaults has dropped by 60 percent, and the overall rate fell by 39 percent. In addition, there has been a 75 percent drop in homicide rates, and a 100 percent drop in non-fatal shootings. Community leaders gathered at City Hall Monday morning to discuss the mayor’s plan. Speakers, inc

The new cameras that were installed at several Sacramento light rail stations in May have helped prevent crimes and improve passenger safety, according to Doug Voska, a Sergeant with the Sacramento Police Department. “People want to feel safe when they ride transit,” said Voska, who has a contract position with RT. “If they don’t feel safe, they’re not gonna do it.” Because the cameras were primarily funded by the federal Department of Homeland Security, their main focus must be on terrorism prevention. But according to Voska, this has many crossover benefits when it comes to crime prevention and passenger safety. “Even without a uniformed police officer, somebody is keeping an eye on t

Sacramento Fire Chief Ray Jones said at a press conference Tuesday that National Night Out is an important event for fire and law enforcement, especially amidst the budget crisis, to improve public safety. “We want to make sure that we have a presence in our neighborhoods – finding out from the people we serve how we can make changes,” Jones said. More than 50 events are scheduled for the 28th annual National Night Out Tuesday night in Sacramento. Each neighborhood decides how it will celebrate with barbecues and potlucks being a common way to bring everyone together. Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel said he expects to see crowds from dozens to 500. This opportunity will allow nei

Posted by kaptanhook Developing a community-partnership is difficult sometimes. What are some of the difficulties or problems that an officer might have with the different cultural microcosms of sacramento? And how do you overcome them? thanks, its for school kaptanhook Dear Kaptanhook The biggest issue that officers face is the lack of trust by some cultures that have experienced corruption in their countries, dealing with their governments and law enforcement agencies. Of course the second issue is communication, when officers and community members can’t speak to each other. The Sacramento Police Department does a number of things to overcome these issues. First, because of our commu

Posted by Travis Can a detective interrogate a person over the phone WHO has no part in a crime? And when that person ask’s the detective for his/her department info/badge number, he/she refuses to give it? Dear Travis, The answer is yes, and it is perfectly legal because the person detectives are speaking to can hang up at any time. This is not really an interrogation. They aren’t being detained in any way and they aren’t required to answer any questions. Detectives routinely speak to people that are involved in an investigation over the telephone. They needn’t give Miranda warnings when doing so and can ask questions about a crime they may be involved in. Additionally, they may ask qu

Posted by strandednturlock my mother-in-law, recently widowed, is having to deal with people she does not know coming to her door, as early as 6:30 a.m. she’s 80 years old and this is freaking her out. is there some way to request extra patrols? She lives on Wakefield Way in South Sac, not a great neighborhood, zip 95822. she’s not answering the door but this has happened 3 or 4 times and we fear she is being targeted. she has a good alarm system. if someone could reply to me with any advice for her, i would appreciate it. thanks, debra   Dear strandednturlock, It sounds like your mother-in-law is going through a lot right now. The best thing you can do is to look in on her regularly.

Posted by DF1955 I have a neighbor behind my home who has started running some kind of generator in his backyard at night. This machine is approximately 30 feet from my home’s bedroom windows. It is loud enough that it can be heard plainly when windows are closed and it disrupts my family’s sleep. As we have had difficulty in the past with this neighbor (loud music at night) it is not an option to ask him to stop running this machine. Quite frankly, the back and front yards are a disaster and the pit bull rushing the fence when we are in our backyard tends to squash any thought of speaking to him face to face. We called the Police at approximately 10:30 p.m. the first night this started a

Posted by Baldy286 Hello Officer Michelle, I need your help! I’d like to seek your recommendations/suggestions on the planning of a private party we’ll be hosting at our residence in May 2011. The party will be a 40th birthday party, meaning alcohol will be present, but no children will be present. Also, live music will be our entaininment, however, not after 10pm. We do have a very large backyard and some of the houses surrounding our home is vacant. I really want to be pro-active with preparing of our neighbors and to avoid the possiblity of involving law enforcement because of noise. The thoughts I’ve concluded is possibly passing out a flyer, informing our neighbor’s of a possible a

Posted by Frank000064 On 4/5/11 just after 2:30pm when I went into the RiteAid at 9th & K, I was told by a cashier that a customer had just been body slammed into the side of the building and robbed, but no one had been apprehended. Do you know if anyone was caught? I work a couple of blocks from there and myself along with other in my building were concerned about what happened. I checked the various news sites but didn’t see anything about it and did not see anything in your crime log either. Dear Frank000064, I know exactly the call you are speaking of. I was dispatched to that call myself. The complainant/victim was contacted at the bus stop at 9th/K Streets by a Hispanic male who a

Posted by vetta2d I was rear ended downtown by a driver who was not insured (his dad had insurance on the vehicle, minimal, 5K for damages which will not cover my damages) had no license (only a DMV ID card) and the registration on the car was expired. An officer came and looked at the driver’s info., called it in and left on another call. Why was this person not punished by the law or arrested….he is totally illegal?? Dear vetta2d, Wouldn’t you know! What an inconvenience. First off, did the officer provide you with a case number? It would have been a number starting with 11- followed with 5 or 6 other numbers. In the case of vehicle accidents, if the parties aren’t injured, the vehicl

Posted by lovechicagobears I have an 15 yr old who stays out past 10, and has come home twice now under the influence of something. She is/has been violent, and wholly uncooperative. Can she be arrested for being under the influence? If given a cell phone number can her friends be found out where she is getting drugs/alcohol? What does one do with a teen who disregards all instruction, requests.. legally? Dear lovechicagobears, This must be a very frustrating situation for you. On one hand you are probably sick from worrying about your daughter, and the other hand, you may feel like going a few rounds in the ring with her. Keep talking with her. Explain the ramifications of her actions.

Posted by Daniel I have a question about Jaywalkers. As a delivery driver I am constantly stopping and slamming on my brakes for jaywalkers, but the biggest problem i saw, was 3 adults were actually jaywalking right in front of a Sac PD Patrol car, the patrol car actually slowed down for them to cross the street, and did nothing about it. My question is "Is Jaywalking still Illegal?" Dear Daniel, Jaywalking is still as illegal as it ever was. It is also unsafe and people who jaywalk are taking a chance with their lives. It seems as though I am always off duty driving my kids around when I see people blatantly crossing the streets expecting cars to slow for them and just 100 feet of a cr

Posted by Dalal1979 Hello, Today at the Royal Oaks RT station I was verbally attacked by a man. He was verbally attacking his girlfriend who was becoming an ex, after he was done screaming at her in public and in front of another 20 people, I walked to her and handed her a napkin and asked her if she was all right. He walked to me and started cursing and telling me to walk away or he’d F****me up, then he started calling me a terrorist and to go back to my country then he started saying some arabic words to me. He was drunk, I could smell it also he had a bag of white powder in his hand. Then he said I have nothing to do with whites or blacks. The sad thing, every single white person was

Posted by Toni I was involved in a auto accident and was rear-ended. At the time I asked the officer if a report would be made. She stated that the incident did not fit their criteria for a report. There were no apparent injuries by either party at the time, I was able to drive off but the other car was in a sad state and had to be towed off. My vehicle was damaged but I was able to drive off. Also, no id, license or insurance questions were asked of us. I am hoping this does not pose any issues for insurance claim process? So, what is that criteria for a report to be completed and filed?   Dear Toni, What a bummer. I am glad that you are okay. I don’t know what agency the officer wor

Posted by cindy10869 If I know that someone is in possession of my stolen property and refuses to return it…. how do I file a report? I live in Placer County but the person who is holding onto my stolen property lives in Sacramento County. This person has knowledge that the items were stolen, has admitted to having them and has refused, both verbally and in writing, to return them. Thank you for your assistance. Dear cindy10869, If this is a straight stolen property case, then the first thing you should do is to report it as stolen by contacting your local sheriff department. There is usually an on-line reporting method for theft. They will want to know the dollar amount and any iden

This Saturday, the Sacramento Police Department is holding “Operation ID” which will provide engravers to put identifying numbers on your bicycle. This operation is in response to a rise in garage burglaries in which bicycles are being stolen. The Police Department is attempting to curb a string of thirty-five garage burglaries in the downtown and east Sacramento area that have occurred since January 2010. The burglar(s) have been forcing their way into detached garages in the late evening to early morning hours. It is unknown at this time if the burglaries are connected or are individual acts. On March 20, 2010, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., officers will be at Mckinley Park providing en

The City of Sacramento Department of Neighborhood Services announces: The City of Sacramento, Office of Youth Development (OYD), Sacramento Police Department, and U.S. Attorney’s Office are working together on the campaign. The campaign is designed to divert youth from gangs. The campaign consists of billboards throughout the City of Sacramento, public service announcements aired on local television stations, and hundreds of posters. Research has shown that effective, community based programs can keep at-risk youth from joining gangs, and rehabilitate those already in gangs. Accordingly, the campaign links parents, adults, and young people to the City of Sacramento’s information line, 3-