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Walnut Creek Police Will Adjust Staff For Downtown
More officers will be assigned at closing time for bars, chief says at press conference with city manager and mayor.
At a Jan. 30 press conference at City, City Manager Ken Nordhoff speaks, flanked by Police Chief Joel Bryden and Mayor Bob Simmons.
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The Walnut Creek Police Department will adjust staffing to have more officers on duty around closing time in the next several weekends, Police Chief Joel Bryden said at a Monday afternoon press conference.
The problems with fights around city bars, and the city's policy response to it, are drawing more scrutiny. Bryden stood with City Manager Ken Nordhoff and Mayor Bob Simmons in the City Council chambers for a press conference attended by at least four television stations.
The adjustments in staff in the police department are aimed to ensure the safety of the public and the safety of police officers, Bryden said.
In a series of three fights Sunday morning at closing time, there were nine arrests, two victims taken to the hospital and three officers treat at the scene for minor injuries. At one scene, police used pepper spray to control the brawlers.
At the press conference, Simmons said, "This is a safe city. We want to make sure it remains a safe business for everyone."
A little later, he underlined the point: "This is a safe city. The problems of this last weekend were after 1 o'clock." The problem was isolated, Simmons said.
Simmons noted that, with the efforts of an alcohol task force, the city has been working on the problem for more than a year. An ordinance being drafted now by the office of City Attorney Bryan Wenter will "level the playing field," in the words of Nordhoff, in regulating bars and restaurants. The law would enable the city to regulate hours "on a case by case basis," Nordhoff said.
After the city attorney drafts a law, Nordhoff said the Planning Commission may review it in February, followed by a vote in the City Council, perhaps at the end of March or beginning of April.
Please vote on a Patch poll asking readers to pick among five choices for city policy on downtown bars. As of 7:20 p.m. Monday, 61 votes were tallied. Twenty voted that the city "should restore the positions of four officers and one lieutenant, as police leaders advocate." Nineteen voted the city "should take legal action to close some problem bars." Fifteen voted that the city should "pass a strong nuisance law, monitor compliance, then decide on hiring additional police officers."
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obiwan
11:01 pm on Monday, January 30, 2012
I hope this helps. But since the Council seems disinclined to hire more police, I guess this means that with the shift changes, there will now be fewer officers available to handle calls from Sunday through Thursday.
SR
11:30 am on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
It is time for a dramatic shift in our thinking. Cindy Silva says there is not enough money to pay for public safety. Kish Rajan said there is plenty. It is simply a matter of choices. How much is this violence costing in the short and long term to local businesses, our image, future investments and property values? If it is simply a matter of money here are YEARLY costs AFTER ticket sales for just three areas of the Arts Department. This comes from page D-2 of the city budget available online:
Lesher Center for the Arts: $170,598.00
Center REPertory Theatre: $307,124.00
Bedford Gallery: $368,219.00
The entire Arts Department AFTER revenue is added costs approximately 3.5 million dollars PER YEAR. This does not include the substantial sums for library operating costs. Bottom line: Please stop saying we don't have the money to keep people safe!
WC-Independent
5:10 pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Ok, I added those lines together and it's about 900K. Did I miss something? How about cameras throughout the city. That usually keeps those on probation away....
eastbay48
6:21 pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
I believe 21% of the city's budget goes to the arts and recreation. I think it's time to shift some of those resources to the PD. According to neighborhoodscout.com (and this is backed up by other sites), "The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Walnut Creek is 1 in 23 ...Relative to California, Walnut Creek has a crime rate that is higher than 81% of the state's cities and towns of all sizes." Walnut Creek's nation-wide crime index is 14, with 100 being best; Concord and Pittsburgh have better crime indexes than WC. I know how bad it is here first-hand as my home was burglarized twice last year and there have been multiple car break-ins on my small court, as well as dozens of burglaries in my neighborhood.
Jim
6:47 pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
SR, eastbay and WC, The comments section is the only place you will read about these vast sums going to such fluff. It's all good stuff don't get me wrong but the amounts haven't really changed even though we have been in a recession and other important city services have been slashed. The Contra Costa Times won't do any watch dog reporting (where's Dan Borenstein and Thomas Peele I wonder?) because they sponsor most of the arts events and it would look bad. Every other article here on Patch deals with a play, ballet or concert and so they won't rock the boat and look at the finances with a critical eye. The folks behind the curtain know eventually the calls for change will fade away. The right people will keep getting elected and the money will keep flowing.