Minutes of the BCAC meeting. May 12, 1997
The meeting was called to order at 7:35 p. m. by President Jose Medeiros. There is a total of $1595.25 in the treasury. Minutes were approved as written.
San Jose City Police Chief Lou Cobarruviaz
The Chief talked about the changes to Community Policing and emphasizing working with the community. San Jose is number 8 in the nation relative to safety.
Gang activity continues to be problem. Gang member assault is a major issue. It is not high for a city the size of San Jose but is still a problem. Work is being done with the schools to try and prevent future problems. In addition there is a Gang Task Force working on the issue.
High Tech theft was a large problem in the Santa Clara valley. The theft level was 1 million dollars per week at one time. Thru a sting operation involving a number of local cities nad various law enforcement agencies 140 people were arrested. There has been no similar thefts in the past 12 months.
Burglary is down 12%, Assault 9% , and auto theft 15%. An Auto Theft Task Force has been used to help reduce auto thefts.
Domestic violence continues to be a problem, It is very hard for the Police to deal with. A Domestic Violence Center has been set up to provide aide for domestic violence victims.
The use of the Helicopter has been very productive . It helps reduce the danger in auto pursuits as the following police car does not have to stay as close.
The Department has set up a sexual predator team. Registered offenders are monitored and checked on. If an individual is found breaking parole they are again placed in Jail.
San Jose had 40 homicides in the last 12 months. This a very low number for a city the size of San Jose Currently 80% of the these homicides have been solved. The number of homicides has been going down for the past 5 years.
The 3 recent homicides in the Berryessa area have been solved and suspects arrested. There does not seem to be a pattern to what has happened in the area.
The Police department is divided into 4 divisions. Field Operations, Investigation, Administration, and Technical. The city is divided into 12 Districts. The Berryessa area is identified as the William beat. The ratio of Police Officers to citizens is 1.45 in San Jose which is the lowest ratio in the U. S. The Department size is 1350 persons. Last year there were 544,000 calls to the Police Dispatcher to have an officer respond to a problem.
The department averages 1 complaint per 1000 calls. There were 545 complaints in the last 12 months. Of this total 116 were for excessive force. San Jose has an independent auditor to monitor complaints against the Police department.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:47 p. m.