DEPARTMENT: Police
DEPARTMENT HEAD: William P. McManus, Chief of Police
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT: 2019 Crime Metrics Update
SUMMARY:
Briefing on 2019 Uniform Crime Report (UCR) crime trends and the efforts of the Violent Crime Task Force (VCTF) and the SAPD Community Engagement Program.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
At the September 20 Public Safety Committee, Chief McManus will provide a briefing on the 2019 Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and Violent Crime Taskforce (VCFT) statistics, the results of the SAPD Community Engagement Program, and the results of a Repeat Offender Analysis.
Over the last two years, San Antonio experienced a decrease in violent crime. In 2017, there was a 4% decrease in Uniform Crime Report (UCR) crimes followed by a 16% decrease in 2018. This decrease is due in large measure to the ongoing efforts of the VCTF which is a proactive, intelligence-driven initiative comprised of local, state and Federal law enforcement agencies that strategically focuses on identifying and apprehending known criminals responsible for a significant share of illegal activity and violent crimes throughout the city. At the September 20 Public Safety Committee results for the first half of 2019 compared to 2018 and 2017.
Uniform Crime Report (UCR) Crime Data
The Uniform Crime Report (UCR), which is published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation annually, is comprised of monthly violent crime and property crime statistics reported by over 18,000 law enforcement agencies across the nation, including the San Antonio Police Department.
Violent Crime Task Force
This Task Force was created in January 2017. Under this initiative, SAPD combines intelligence and analytics to deploy a group of covert SAPD units working with other law enforcement agencies to target individuals who have and are committing violent crime such as murder, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Since its inception, the VCTF is responsible for a total of 22,732 arrests, 8,013 felony warrants executed, 2,894 firearms recovered, 2,045 gang members arrested and the seizure of over 1 million grams of drugs and over $3 million through August 23.
SAPD Community Engagement Program
The Department’s community engagement program proactively establishes contact with individuals in high crime areas in an effort to facilitate support services and to prevent criminal activity. The program works closely with the Department’s Victim Advocacy Unit and other programs, such as SAFFE, to provide valuable services and coordinate community projects. In addition, the community engagement program coordinates its efforts to compliment the activities of the Violent Crimes Task Force to ensure its services are offered in areas with significant criminal activity.
Repeat Offender Analysis
Earlier this year, at the request of the SAPD, the Office of Innovation completed a study to determine the percentage of crimes committed in which either the perpetrator and/or victim has a previous criminal record. The results of this analysis will be presented at the Public Safety Committee on September 20, 2019.
RECOMMENDATION:
This briefing is for information purposes only.