Viewpoint submitted a list of questions to Sacramento Police Capt. Alisa Buckley, who supervises District 4, which includes Curtis Park. She provided the following responses.
Q. What is “community based policing”?
A. Community based policing is when an officer is assigned to work a designated area each day. The idea is that the officer takes ownership of that assigned area and works closely with the community and other city entities to solve neighborhood problems from blight to violent and property crimes.
Q. What is your vision for effective policing of and partnering with Curtis Park residents?
A. Communication, trust and transparency are the starting point for effective partnerships. The Sacramento Police Department is committed to positive community engagement to earn the trust and respect of the citizens we serve. This is accomplished through open dialogue and developing strong relationships with our community partners.
Q. How is Curtis Park policed? Is it one car with one officer, two cars?
A. Our staffing plan for neighborhoods depends on the shift, day of the week and size of the area. Generally, one to two officers are assigned to each area in the city. Sometimes there is one officer in each car and sometimes there are two officers. Officers from the entire city can be deployed anywhere based on the needs at that time. There are also many specialized units that patrol the city on a daily basis, such as: Problem Oriented Policing officers, gang enforcement officers, Shot Spotter officers, motor officers, school resource officers and detectives.
Q. Who are the officers who most often patrol our neighborhood?
A. Our patrol division has three different shifts (day shift, swing shift and late watch) and almost all patrol teams have different days off. For these reasons, there isn’t any one officer we would recommend contacting for each neighborhood. Instead, our lieutenants maintain geographic responsibility for each area. Lt. Paul Freeman is assigned to Curtis Park and is a day shift watch commander.
Q. When do they patrol Curtis Park?
A. The Curtis Park neighborhood is patrolled on a 24-hour-a-day basis, seven days a week.
Q. What types of calls or reported crime most frequently takes place in Curtis Park and the surrounding areas?
A. Violent crime in Curtis Park remains relatively low. Property crimes such as car burglaries and petty thefts are the most commonly reported.
Q. What time of day does crime most frequently take place here?
A. Theft crimes occur when the opportunity presents itself to the person committing the crime. Joining a neighborhood watch group is a great way to learn ways to prevent crime in your neighborhood. We also strongly recommend home surveillance equipment and using the post office or UPS stores for package deliveries. Having packages delivered elsewhere significantly reduces package theft.
Q. Is there much reported crime in the park itself?
A. There has not been significant criminal activity reported in William Curtis Park itself. Curtis Park residents around the park are very engaged, but we always encourage anyone to report any crime or suspicious behavior to the Police Department. There is value to reporting incidents online, particularly those involving serialized property that is stolen. We track these incidents to assist us in resource deployment.
Q. What is the best way to establish contact between Curtis Park residents and our assigned police station?
A. Neighborhood watch groups and/or homeowner associations often invite officers to their meetings to discuss what is going on in their neighborhood. This provides an opportunity to meet each other and discuss specific needs that your neighborhood has. The lieutenants and I all have profiles on NextDoor.com and can receive private messages from residents there as well.
Q. Can Curtis park residents do a “ride along” with patrol officers assigned to our District 4 area to learn about neighborhood crime from the street level perspective?
A. We encourage residents to do ridealongs. There is an application to fill out and you must sign a waiver once your application is accepted. You can also apply to join the Citizens Academy, which gives you insight on how your local law enforcement and criminal justice system operates.