Crime down, traffic incidents up in Petaluma

Petaluma Police are adding traffic safety officers to counter an increase in collisions.|

While overall crime rates in the city decreased in 2016, the Petaluma Police Department is facing a multi-year uptick in traffic collisions, a trend officials said has been fueled in part by a lack of resources needed to enforce traffic laws.

Since 2014, the city has seen a 60 percent increase in traffic collisions involving injuries or fatalities, while enforcement has decreased 34 percent amid low patrol and traffic staffing levels, Police Chief Ken Savano said at a Feb. 15 town hall meeting. In 2016, six fatalities were reported in five fatal crashes, numbers that stand in stark contrast to the average of .66 annual fatal collisions recorded in past years.

To help counter the trend, the Petaluma City Council voted unanimously at a Feb. 13 budget hearing to approve an estimated $350,000 in annual funding for two traffic safety officers, and to approve the purchase of two new motorcycles for officers. Lt. Dan Fish said the department will also fill a vacant position in the traffic division, with new personnel likely in place by June.

With the additional hiring, the division will be the first segment of the department that’s back to the pre-recession era staffing levels, Savano said.

Traffic Sgt. Ron Klein, a 17-year department veteran, said the agency has incrementally lost officers in past years while posts have been eliminated or remained unfilled, leading to a decrease in citations and an increase in collisions. He said the trend began notably in 2012, though the most marked increase in crashes was between 2014 to 2016.

“The higher the number of citations issued, the more traffic collisions go down,” he said. “If there’s a lot of enforcement being done, if people see a motor officer or a patrol officer having people pulled over and see citations being issued, drivers correct their behavior. When you have less of that going on and less traffic enforcement, consistently people’s behavior goes in the other direction.”

In 2014, officers issued 1,482 citations for moving violations, including speeding, seatbelt violations and other unsafe driving behaviors, while 728 collisions were reported, according to data from the department. In the following year, 1,392 citations were issued, with 827 total collisions reported. In 2016, 1,586 total citations were issued, with 824 total collisions documented, Klein said.

Klein said two community service officers were hired last year, employees who took on tasks like traffic reports to free up time for officers to hit the streets. He said patrol staffing is also seeing a slight resurgence, and the increased staffing will allow for heightened enforcement, a reduction in investigation time, and allow for further community engagement events such as school presentations.

In 2015, the city saw a 26.8 percent increase in major crimes, including sex offenses, assault, homicide, burglary, theft, vehicle theft and arson, with a 30 percent increase in property crimes that same year.

After a targeted effort by police to reduce those numbers, part one crimes decreased 17.8 percent and property crimes decreased 17.6 percent in 2016, Savano said. Arrests increased by 2 percent, with a 37.3 percent increase in drug-related arrests in 2016, which Savano attributed in part to the overall decrease in crime.

“We did pretty well last year with crime,” Savano said. “It’s not great, but it’s an improvement.”

Police reports were most frequently recorded for traffic collisions, followed by mental health detentions. A total of 288 mental health-related detentions were reported in 2016, and the department is hosting a March 1 public meeting at the Lucchesi Park Community Center to address those trends and outline community mental health resources, Savano said.

The department has already seen a change in leadership this year, with Savano selected to helm the agency after a four month stint as interim chief in the wake of former Chief Patrick Williams’ retirement.

Savano, a 22 year veteran of the department, was in 2014 assigned to the Petaluma Policing division, where he focused on community policing and outreach, a strategy he hopes to continue to employ in his new role. He lauded the department’s community policing efforts as a trust building mechanism to connect with residents to help better respond to neighborhood concerns and blot out crime.

The department will also fill a deputy chief role approved by the council last year, with several other new hires and promotions to be recognized at a ceremony in early March, though a date has yet to be set, Savano said.

“A change in leadership and getting that command structure set will be huge in allowing us to focus on problems,” he said.

Looking back on successes in the past year, he highlighted a proactive approach to drug arrests, efforts to work with the homeless population and educational scams and fraud prevention seminars for seniors. In 2017, he said the department will concentrate attention and resources on the roadways.

“We’re not going to turn our back on property crimes, but we really have to focus our attention on traffic safety,” he said.

Councilman Gabe Kearney praised the addition of the new traffic safety positions and the role he hopes they’ll play in reducing accidents, though he said there’s “a lot more to go” in terms of police staffing. The department is authorized to employ 106.5 full time personnel, though after budget reductions amid the economic downturn, funding is only available for 89 full time employees, Savano said.

Kearney highlighted the city’s efforts to hire homeless outreach service officers using a CalRecycle grant, positions hired with an unconventional funding source that he said helped reduce homelessness and meet the community’s public safety needs.

“Unless we’re able to establish a new revenue source, which at this time doesn’t seem like a possibility, we need to be creative with where we find funding and grants,” he said. (Contact Hannah Beausang at hannah.beausang@arguscourier.com.)

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