Measure I will help police force grow with Porterville

In July 2008, the population of Porterville was under 52,000. With 62 sworn police positions, the staffing ratio of sworn officers per 1,000 in population was 1.2.

In July 2018, the population of Porterville has increased by nearly 10,000 with no additional sworn officers allocated for that growth. To simply maintain the previous ratio, the department would have needed to add 12 officers.

For 2008, there were less than 28,000 calls for service. Calls for service are when residents request some type of police service. These calls are reactive in nature and generally occur when an incident or crime is in progress or has occurred. In 2018, the department is projected to reach over 40,000 calls for service by the end of the year. This equals an increase in calls of approximately 30%.

In 2008, there were over 37,000 officer-initiated activities. These are proactive, preventive services/activities that officers engage in when not handling citizen requests for services–these preventive services lower crime rates. In 2018, the department is expected to document less than 19,000 officer-initiated activities. This is nearly a 50% decrease which is directly attributed to the increased calls for service.

As you can see from the above information, calls for service impact the ability of officers to conduct proactive policing. Any increase in calls for service, without an increase in staffing levels, directly and negatively impacts the ability of officers to perform officer-initiated activities.

Priority one calls are violent or serious crimes that have just occurred or are in progress. In 2008, the response time for officers to priority one calls was less than 4 minutes. In 2018, the average is over 5 ½ minutes. This is a near 30% increase. Faster response times to priority one crimes are imperative to providing public safety and minimizing the effects of violent and/or serious crimes.

Porterville’s City Council placed Measure I – a local one-cent sales tax measure – on the November ballot. If enacted, Measure I could provide funding for public safety and other City services including:

Requiring all funds be used locally, for Porterville

Maintaining police, fire and emergency response times

Preventing property crimes like thefts and burglaries Repairing potholes and maintaining streets Keeping public areas safe and clean Maintaining and improving school safety Addressing homelessness Increasing after-school and library programs

There are about 200 gang members who live in or frequent Porterville. Measure I could also provide funding to allow the City’s Police Department to better address gang violence, including drive-by shootings and assaults with a deadly weapon, and help keep gang members and drug dealers from nearby communities out of our City.

Measure I includes fiscal accountability provisions such as establishing a citizens’ oversight committee, public disclosure of all spending and performing annual independent financial audits. These fiscal safeguards will ensure funds are used efficiently, effectively and as promised, and only for programs and services that benefit Porterville residents. For more information on Measure I, visit: www.ci.porterville.ca.us.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 6th. All Porterville residents are encouraged to participate. For more information on voting or to find your assigned polling place, visit: tularecoelections.org. Eric Kroutil is Chief of the Porterville Police Department