DEPARTMENT: Police
DEPARTMENT HEAD: William P. McManus, Chief of Police
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
San Antonio Police Department 2016 Review
SUMMARY:
Throughout 2016, the San Antonio Police Department demonstrated its continued commitment to implement policies, procedures and training that promote transparency and reinforce its partnership with the community. Due in large measure to the efforts of the SAPD over the last decade, the Department was one of 15 law enforcement agencies selected by the United States Department of Justice to participate in the Advancing 21st Century Policing Initiative and serve as a national model for community policing. Major cities throughout the nation, including San Antonio, experienced in an increase in violent crime. While there is no national consensus on the reason for the increase, in San Antonio it can be largely attributed to high risk behavior. In response, the SAPD has developed and implemented strategies to address those factors.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Violent Crime
In 2016, a total of 151 murders were committed in San Antonio, which represents a 60% increase from the previous year. As noted above, major cities across the nation experienced a significant crime increase. The table below provides a murder comparison through September 30, 2016 among several major cities:
|
City |
2015 YTD |
2016 YTD |
% Change |
|
Austin, TX |
13 |
24 |
84.6% |
|
Dallas, TX |
103 |
136 |
32.0% |
|
San Antonio, TX |
78 |
114 |
46.2% |
|
Ft. Worth, TX |
45 |
46 |
2.2% |
|
Houston, TX |
211 |
243 |
15.2% |
|
San Diego, CA |
24 |
32 |
33.3% |
|
San Jose, CA |
23 |
37 |
60.9% |
In response to the concentrated violence observed in the Eastside, in February 2016 the SAPD implemented the Eastside Initiative to reduce drug and gang violence. This ongoing Initiative is comprised of various local, State and Federal law enforcement agencies to proactively reduce criminal activity. The results of this effort through December 29, 2016 are as follows:
|
Activities |
Total (Feb. 21 - Dec. 29) |
|
Firearms Seized |
90 |
|
Gang/Field Contacts |
670 |
|
Felony Warrants Cleared |
300 |
|
Misdemeanor Warrants Cleared |
1,058 |
|
Class C Traffic |
4,716 |
|
Class C Non-Traffic |
774 |
|
Felony Arrests |
743 |
|
Misdemeanor Arrests |
1,220 |
|
Unit Man Hours |
15,877 |
|
Evidence Seized (grams) |
Total (Feb. 21 - Dec. 29) |
|
Heroin |
6,772.22 |
|
Cocaine |
11,094.70 |
|
Meth |
18,191.48 |
|
Marijuana |
35,247.78 |
|
Confiscated Cash |
$256,877.20 |
Public Safety Initiatives
Mental Health Unit/IMPACT Team
In response to the need for a comprehensive, integrated strategy to the issue of homelessness in the downtown area, which is often influenced by underlying mental and substance abuse issues, the San Antonio Police Department created the Integrated Mobile Partners Action Care Team. The following are the results achieved by the IMPACT Team:
|
Number of Contacts |
1,119 |
|
Refused Service |
368 |
|
Referrals |
466 |
|
Emergency Detention |
164 |
|
Detoxification |
201 |
Human Trafficking
In September 2016, the SAPD and Rape Crisis Center were awarded the Enhanced Collaborative Model to Combat Human Trafficking Grant which will enable SAPD to train and assign more detectives, purchase essential computer equipment, and conduct outside training to other organizations and groups for identifying victims of human trafficking. The purpose of the grant is to proactively identify victims and prosecute the offenders. Over the last three years, the SAPD has participated in a total of 134 human trafficking investigations in collaboration with Federal law enforcement agencies.
Group Violence Intervention Program
The strategic vision of the GVI is to provide case management, support service delivery, and consequence-based enforcement to groups and individuals determined to be at a high risk of either being involved in, or being a victim of, violence. Individuals identified as being high-risk are contacted and receive a unified message of acceptable choices and consequences for declining assistance from the community by continuing to engage in violence. The City of San Antonio has contracted with San Antonio Fighting Back to implement a one year pilot program on the Eastside.
Texas Anti-Gang Grant
In September 2016, the SAPD was awarded a grant to initiate and establish a multi-agency task force in San Antonio to combat gang activity in the area. The grant is similar to the HIDTA concept in that the program will be a working group/task force that includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The objective is to provide a central point for investigative and operation coordination and de-confliction of investigations of gang activity and increase officer safety by not compromising an active investigation or targeting an undercover officer.
Body Worn Cameras
Deployment of BWC began in February 2016. To date, a total of 1,331 cameras have been issued to officers. The table below provides additional information on the deployment schedule:
|
Deployment Date |
Unit |
Status |
|
2/14/2016 |
Bike Patrol/Parks |
Complete |
|
4/24/2016 |
East Patrol/SAFFE |
Complete |
|
6/12/2016 |
West Patrol/SAFFE |
Complete |
|
7/31/2016 |
Central Patrol/SAFFE |
Complete |
|
9/19/2016 |
South Patrol/SAFFE |
Complete |
|
10/31/2016 |
Prue Patrol/SAFFE |
Complete |
|
1/2/2017 |
North Patrol/SAFFE |
Ongoing |
|
2/19/2017 |
Proactive Patrol Units |
Scheduled |
|
4/2/2017 |
Investigative Units |
Scheduled |
|
5/7/2017 |
Traffic/DWI/Bomb |
Scheduled |
|
6/11/2017 |
Others |
Scheduled |
Deployment at substations is scheduled to be completed in February 2017. Investigative and specialized units will be equipped with BWC by the summer of 2017.
Communications
In an effort to improve answer and call abandonment rates, the Department took the following actions which resulted in the SAPD meeting NENA grade of service standards every month beginning in June 2016. NENA requires that 90% of incoming emergency calls be answered within 10 seconds:
• Temporary reassignment of light-duty officers to Call Center
• Consultant to review call center operations and recommend action plan
• Hiring additional call takers and expeditors to achieve sustainable improvement
Community Engagement
The SAPD remains committed to identifying strategies to continually strengthen its relationship with the community. In 2016, the Department introduced and modified various programs, initiatives and training to enhance service delivery:
• Citizens on Patrol
• SAFFE
• Enhanced Social Media presence
• Implicit Bias Training
National Recognition
Advancing 21st Century Policing Initiative
The San Antonio Police Department is the largest of the 15 law enforcement agencies selected by the Department of Justice to participate in this Initiative. The goal of this 16-month project is to assess how the San Antonio Police Department is implementing the 21st Century Task Force recommendations, provide guidance and technical assistance on how to implement additional recommendations, and to have SAPD serve as a national model for community policing for agencies across the country.
IMPACT Team
The IMPACT Team has been selected to make a presentation entitled “Collaborative Management of Homelessness: Making an IMPACT in San Antonio” at the Alliance for Innovation’s Transforming Local Government Conference which will be held in Tulsa, OK in April 2017. In addition, throughout the year, the IMPACT Team has been highlighted and recognized in numerous publications and has been studied by law enforcement agencies from across the nation in an effort to emulate the success that has been achieved to date.
2017 Strategic Plan
• Violent Crime Taskforce
• HOPE Team
• Fencing Interdiction Team