Crime watch

After the immediate emergency response for the Camp Fire ebbed, Chico Police Chief Mike O’Brien reached out to the California Police Chiefs Association for advice “on how to mitigate the impacts of such a disaster.”

The association’s director was quite frank, O’Brien told the Chico City Council at its Tuesday (March 19) meeting. Her response: “One does not exist, but you guys are going to be the ones to write it.”

O’Brien was prefacing a crime statistics report requested by the council, so the city can get a better grasp on impacts since the fire. He compared November 2017 through January 2018 with the same time frame a year later. He acknowledged it was “certainly surprising to me” to see that property crimes have decreased significantly post-Camp Fire. Violent crimes, however, have spiked.

He was quick to note that Chico experienced the same trend in the year preceding the Camp Fire—a decrease in property crime and increase in violent crime—and that post-fire spikes aren’t the fault of fire survivors, but rather are a reflection of the city’s estimated population increase of 20,000.

Most notably, larceny is down 42 percent and burglary is down 31 percent. When it comes to violent crime, aggravated assault (including domestic violence) increased 19 percent and robbery increased by 26 percent. Perhaps not as surprising, because of increased traffic, is that the department has seen a “24 percent increase in traffic collisions in that three-month time period,” he said.

Councilman Scott Huber originally requested the report so the council could understand pre- and post-Camp Fire impacts related to law enforcement and hear possible short-term solutions due to the city’s population increase.

Rather than asking for additional police officers, O’Brien told the council he knew the impending public pension crisis has not disappeared, and alluded that during budget discussions this April the panel will see he has focused on “strategic” alternatives. For example, a gunshot detection and alert system, more surveillance cameras and a license plate recognition system could go a long way.

“Technology is one way, I think strategically, we can enhance the abilities of our police department and the safety of our community,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, there is a cost … but there is no pension for technology.”

During public comment on the agenda item, downtown restaurateur Will Brady and Golden Valley Bank CEO Mark Francis advocated for a sales tax to fund public safety.

“I think, in the right circumstances, a sales tax could go a very long way in an increase in the police department [staffing levels],” said Francis, a member of the Chico Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

Others advocated for any additional funding to go toward social work and mental health services, not police. For Nathaniel Perry, the stats show that “it looks like we have more of a perception of a crime wave since the Camp Fire than an actual one,” and that public safety funding should go toward road safety and traffic mitigation.

When it comes to a sales tax, the council is investigating the idea. At its April 16 meeting, the panel will provide feedback for consultant EMC Research to develop a survey to gather public input on potential revenue measures.

In other council news:

The Jesus Center will be the site of city grant-funded warming and cooling centers for the remainder of this fiscal year and also the 2019-20 operational year, at a cost of $15,000 and $30,000, respectively. A “Code Blue” will be triggered when temperatures are below 32 degrees, and a “Code Red” when temperatures reach 100 degrees or higher for two or more days.

Executive Director Laura Cootsona told the panel it can accommodate a maximum of 135 people in its dining room. Two staff members will be there at all times, as well as a security guard to manage the gate to the center’s parking lot (the company has not been chosen yet). Animals and personal belongings will be allowed and people “can come in as they are—it is all behavior-based.”

Cootsona said the Jesus Center will set up chairs. However, it will provide blankets and mats if needed and “make reasonable accommodations for people to be as comfortable as possible,” with heating and cooling being its No. 1 priority.

Later on, just before the panel adjourned to closed session, Councilman Karl Ory appeared incensed to find there was no update regarding an independent review of whether he could participate in discussions regarding Chico Scrap Metal (CSM).

Before he was elected, Ory was involved in a referendum effort to move the recycler off East 20th Street due to its nonconforming use with zoning laws. The City Attorney’s Office has maintained Ory has a conflict of interest (see “Legal jeopardy and weed,” Newslines, March 7). Jared told the CN&R later that the independent legal review has “been tabled at this point.”

“Our staff has failed to adhere to a vote of the council,” Ory said, adding that the city manager confirmed that the city attorney would like “their law firm [to] manage this process.” He reiterated that it’s important for the public to remember the city has paid $200,000 from CSM litigation.

Earlier, during the public comment period for closed session, CSM owner Kim Scott told the panel that nothing has changed in the past 10 years of back-and-forth with the city. CSM will proceed with its lawsuit against the city, or the council can follow the Chapman-Mulberry Neighborhood Plan and help fund CSM’s move. But “you have to compensate us.”