SECOND QUARTER REVIEW AND ANALYSIS

POLICE DEPARTMENT

1. Police Department

As employees of the City of Salisbury, our mission is to protect and serve the public through police action. The functional area of the Department is Public Safety and its traditional primary functions are:

A. To protect life and property and to suppress crime.

B. To provide for related matters such as making arrests, enforcing laws, recovering lost or stolen property and preparing cases for court.

2. Police Department Goals and Objectives

Annually, the department assesses our progress towards the goals. Each division has sub-objectives which are used as measures to work towards the goals and as a means to assess progress. The sub-objectives are assigned to each division commander for accountability and reviewed quarterly.

A. Enhance Quality of Life for Residents and Businesses

· Initiate innovative strategies and maintain flexibility toward crime and disorder, street level narcotics, prostitution and quality of life issues.

· Implementation of training and enforcement programs directed at drug interdiction to reduce the availability of narcotics in the City.

· Continue cooperative efforts between the Salisbury Police Department, Salisbury University and property owners to address college/community issues.

· Educate the public to the community’s role and responsibility in the prevention, detection and resolution of crime and disorder by updating the Police Department’s Website regularly and having community meetings.

· Improve interaction of Salisbury Police Department patrol and community policing officers with businesses and substation residents.

B. Improve Customer Service

· Formulate new salary/benefits package to attract and maintain personnel for the Salisbury Police Department.

· Increase “Take Home” car program by two (2) vehicles for visibility and emergency response.

· Develop liaison position with business organizations such as Chamber of Commerce and Greater Salisbury Committee.

· Explore feasibility of expansion and consolidation of police substation(s).

· Utilize Mobile Substation throughout areas of the city to increase effective police community relations.

C. Promote Efficiency and Effectiveness within City Government

· Maintain, review, and update compliance standards as promulgated by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement along with Salisbury Police Department Directives.

· Specialized squads to address specific needs of the community such as traffic squad and special operations.

· Continue to assess effectiveness of Red Light Camera Program.

· Coordinate solutions to issues and concerns that, although not our responsibility, are observed or reported by/to the Police Department.

D. Reduce Cost of City Government

· Explore feasibility of implementing automated speed enforcement program.

· Fund police/community programs with grant funding.

· Continue development of programs to integrate police department technology with Wicomico County technology.

· Research and apply for grant funding for specific programs such as Homeland Security to reduce costs to the City.

· Implementation of an energy management program.

· Modification of City’s False Alarm Ordinance to affix responsibility to alarm companies and alarm owners.

3. Analysis of Activity and Accomplishments

A. On October 4, 2005, the Criminal Division arrested one juvenile male who was charged as an adult with attempted 1^st degree murder, 1^st & 2^nd degree assault, deadly weapon-int/injure and reckless endangerment for an incident that occurred on September 14, 2005 on the corner of Anne and Baker Streets.

On October 7, 2005, the Criminal Division arrested one adult male and charged him with 1^st & 2^nd degree assault, reckless endangerment, deadly weapon-conceal, deadly weapon-int/injure for an incident that occurred on August 29, 2005 in the 300 block of Charles Street.

On October 7, 2005, the Criminal Division arrested one adult male and one adult female and charged each of them with robbery, con-robbery, 2^nd degree assault, reckless endangerment, theft-less $500 for an incident that occurred on September 29, 2005 on Waverly Drive.

On October 7, 2005, the Criminal Division arrested one juvenile male and charged him with robbery, theft-less $500, 1^st & 2^nd degree assault, reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct, CDS possession-marijuana for two incidents which occurred at the Centre at Salisbury and one incident that occurred at the Chesapeake Steakhouse on September 9^th, October 2^nd, and October 7, 2005.

On October 14, 2005, the Criminal Division arrested one adult male and charged him with armed robbery, 1^st degree assault, handgun violation use/fel-viol crime and handgun on person for an incident that occurred on September 26, 2005 at 1020 Adams Avenue.

On October 14, 2005, the Criminal Division arrested one adult male and charged him with robbery, 1^st & 2^nd degree assault for an incident that occurred on October 11, 2005 at 600 Madison Avenue.

On October 19, 2005, the Criminal Division arrested one adult male and charged him with attempted 1^st & 2^nd degree murder, 1^st degree assault and reckless endangerment for an incident that occurred on September 1, 2005 at the rear of Giant Foods on South Salisbury Boulevard.

On November 9, 2005, the Criminal Division arrested one adult male and charged him with manufacturing counterfeit currency (6 counts), possession of forged currency (6 counts) and theft-over $500 for incidents that occurred during October and November 2005 at local convenience and department stores.

On November 9, 2005 the Criminal Division arrested one adult male and charged him with 1^st & 2^nd degree murder, 1^st & 2^nd degree assault, possession of a deadly weapon and reckless endangerment for an incident that occurred on October 16, 2005 at the intersection of Isabella and Church Streets.

On November 11, 2005, the Criminal Division arrested one adult male and charged him with armed robbery, robbery, 1^st & 2^nd degree assault, handgun on person, handgun violation-felony, theft and reckless endangerment for an incident that occurred on November 7, 2005 on South Division Street.

On December 9, 2005, the Criminal Division arrested one adult male and charged him with 2^nd degree rape, 1^st & 2^nd degree assault, 3^rd & 4^th degree sex offense for an incident that occurred on December 4, 2005 at University Terrace.

On December 30, 2005, the Criminal Division arrested one adult male and charged him with 1^st & 2^nd degree attempted murder, 1^st & 2^nd degree assault, reckless endangerment (2 counts), handgun in vehicle for an incident that occurred on July 28, 2005 at Sandy’s One Stop - West Main Street.

B. The Police Department assisted with traffic and/or crowd control while covering the following special events during this quarter.

· Traffic/crowd control for Salisbury University Homecoming Parade

· Traffic/crowd control for Seagull Century Bicycle Ride

· Traffic/crowd control for Night of the Living Zoo

· Traffic/crowd control for Asthma Association Walk

· Traffic/crowd control for Salisbury Christmas Parade

C. Crime Prevention/Community Affairs Unit

Current Concerns Voiced By The Community:

· At the meeting with participants from the newly revitalized Delaware Avenue Neighborhood Watch group, concerns were voiced about youths loitering in the area, graffiti and the neighborhoods overall condition.

Potential Problems That Have A Bearing On The Law Enforcement Activities Within The Community:

· The increased amount of crimes committed against seniors this quarter became a priority for all law enforcement in Wicomico County.

· Burglaries, although down from earlier in the year continue to be a problem in the City of Salisbury.

Recommended Actions That Address Previously Identified Concerns And Problems:

· The Criminal Investigation Division will focus on crimes against the elderly and throughly investigate all of these cases.

· An increased presence of sector cars serves as a deterrent to burglaries within the City. Extra patrol checks in burglary prone areas are recommended.

Progress Made Toward Addressing Previously Identified Concerns And Problems:

· Progress has been made to revitalize the Neighborhood Watch Program on Delaware Avenue. With the assistance of concerned citizens living in this area, the program is up and running.

· Information has been received from Neighborhood Watch regarding drug activity in the Delaware Avenue area, this information has been passed on to Vice/Narcotics and COPP.

· On December 16, 2005, an adult white female was arrested on numerous charges of crimes against senior citizens. She would gain access to homes by going to the door and asking for directions or to use the phone.

· With respect to burglaries, patrol officers have been asked to speak with citizens on their beats in an effort to make them more aware of the problems in their areas.

The Crime Prevention/Community Affairs Unit was active this quarter in the following areas:

· The Telephone Reassurance Program continues to be an asset to senior citizens of Salisbury. SPD personnel along with volunteers call registered seniors who live alone or have health problems. These seniors look forward to their daily call and the volunteers are dedicated to letting these people know that we care about their well-being and safety.

· The Community Affairs personnel attended sixteen (16) community meetings on various topics and concerns during this quarter. Citizens of the City were educated as to the workings of the Police Department and informed as to what assistance we can provide for them.

· The Kid-I-Dent Program continues to be in high demand. During this quarter, 226 children were photographed and fingerprinted. The parents/guardians keep these items in a safe place with the understanding that if their children are missing, they would provide law enforcement with the information.

· The Auxiliary Officers volunteered over two hundred hours this quarter. They assisted this agency with vehicular, parade, foot and mounted patrols in well populated areas of the city. These officers are especially useful for directing and controlling traffic during special events.

Community Affairs Officers Participated In The Following Special Events:

Neighborhood Watch & Community Meetings - 16

Bike Registrations - 3

Tours of Police Department -4

Kid-I-Dent (fingerprinting) - 225 children

Recruitment Testing - 2

D. The Community Oriented Policing Unit (COPP) has become more flexible due to schedule adjustments and tactics associated with “quality of life” violations within and occasionally outside of our patrol sectors. Some of the most significant are as follows: Working with the owner/manager of a residence on Church Street to evict all tenants based on continued criminal activity including prostitution and CDS activity. During continuing saturation patrols, officers were at the scene of a stabbing incident in progress on Short Street, officers rendered first aid to the victim and the suspect was arrested. COPP assisted Special Operation’s personnel with surveillance, busts and search and seizure warrants stemming from CDS investigations. A search and seizure warrant was executed on Clay Street resulting in the seizure of two ounces of powder cocaine. Officers arrested a subject in the sub-station area for CDS and seized 3.59 grams of crack cocaine (an 8-ball) with street value of $700.00. In addition arrests were made for possession of CDS - 2.5 grams of marijuana, 2.5 grams of cocaine and digital scales. Officers assisted BHZ and the Fire Department with city code violations.

In addition, officers conducted several concentrated enforcement operations geared at reducing criminal activity associated with homeless/vagrant subjects. Seven arrests were made for using and selling CDS, possession of a deadly weapon, seizure of 5 grams of marijuana, 17.7 grams of cocaine and a crossbow. We continue to focus our resources and manpower toward targeted criminal activity and “Quality of Life” issues which include public intoxication, trespassing, loitering and illicit drug activity. We attended all community and HEAT team meetings to foster teamwork and share critical information. We maintain contact with property owners, neighborhood associations and other city agencies. We believe that our ability to react quickly to community concerns reinforces a positive relationship with the citizens of Salisbury.

Statement of Problems and Corrective Action

All known problems which were encountered have been reported through normal channels.

Statistics

A. Criminal Activity

1. Offenses Known and Reported

These are Part I crime classes of the Uniform Crime Classification. All other crimes and offenses are reported under Part II classes. No "offense known" information is collected for Part II classes, only arrest information.

Murder 1

Rape 8

Robbery 50

Assault 231

Breaking and Entering 131

Theft 454

Motor Vehicle Theft 39

2. Number of Persons Arrested for Criminal Offenses

These statistics show the number of adult persons arrested for both Part I and Part II criminal classifications.

Murder 1

Rape 1

Robbery 14

Breaking and Entering 16

Theft 55

Motor Vehicle Theft 2

Assault 55

Forgery 9

Fraud 8

Vandalism 8

Drugs 86

Concealed Weapon 1

Offenses Against Family 0

Liquor Laws 2

Drunk Driving 25

Disorderly Conduct 8

Arson 0

All Others 233

3. Juveniles Taken Into Custody 147

4. Arrested For Other Jurisdictions 32

5. Field Interviews of Suspicious Persons 1,042

B. Traffic Activity

1. Accidents Investigated

Total Number Reported 695

Injury Accidents 90

Hit and Run 152

Fatal Accidents 1

2. Traffic Arrests

Reckless/Negligent Driving 41

Red Light 68

Right of Way 45

Speeding 370

Stop Sign 66

Miscellaneous, Moving Violations 135

Fail to Stop at Accidents 64

License Violations 202

Seat Belts 111

Registration 196

Revoked/Suspended License 111

Tampering 0

Miscellaneous, Non-Moving Violations 154

3. Warnings Issued 1,699

C. Miscellaneous Services

Services Answered by Patrol Cars 10,552

Non Criminal Complaints Investigated 5,465

Fire Department Assistance 44

Alarms 655

Doors Found Open 38

Fires Discovered 6

Escorts Provided 172

Sudden Deaths Investigated 4

Suicides/Attempted Suicides 13

Bomb Incidents 0

D. Animal Control Agency

Calls for Service 259

Impounded Dogs 61

Impounded Cats 38

Dead Animals Picked Up 38

All Others 14