I think we’ll have a very safe summer, predicted Police Chief William Lansdowne to a City Council committee on Wednesday, June 14, after announcing plans to target crime at the beaches with several programs and strategies.
Full-time beach teams from San Diego Police Department’s Northern Division will be deployed and will enforce misdemeanor offenses such as open containers of alcohol or minors in possession of alcohol, and vandalism, among other crimes. Lansdowne said just the physical presence of many officers will prevent crime through high visibility.
Surveillance cameras will be used in some beach areas, though Lansdowne did not specify which areas. The traffic division will work in conjunction with the daytime beach teams. Special event traffic controllers have been assigned every Sunday throughout the summer from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. from Belmont Park to the South Mission Beach jetty.
Park rangers will be assigned to the Mission Bay Park area during the daytime throughout the summer. They will work on what Lansdowne’s report described as “quality of life concerns” such as illegal parking, illegal lodging and litter.
The police department’s western division will increase walking patrol teams in Ocean Beach to enforce alcohol regulations. Officers will be assigned to walking patrols on Newport Avenue to increase police presence at night.
Lansdowne told the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee that since July 4 falls on a Tuesday, many will treat the holiday as a four-day weekend. Officers plan to be in full force to handle problems such as fighting, alcohol and glass violations, illegal fireworks, fire hazards, and public intoxication.
The last Fourth of July holiday weekend attracted crowds of 1 million people to all the city’s beaches. The chief’s report said last year there were 28 felony arrests, 84 misdemeanor arrests, 1,418 misdemeanor citations, and 98 people taken to detox for public drunkenness.
“Our enforcement focus is to curb violence, reduce thefts and remove severely intoxicated individuals,” Lansdowne said.
Lansdowne said the department will “use lessons learned from previous events…we’ll take a look at what works and what doesn’t work.”
A traffic grant will be used to fund two-days overtime dedicated exclusively for the beach area traffic enforcement.
The report was accepted by the committee, which is composed of Councilmen Kevin Faulconer, Tony Young, Ben Hueso and committee chairman Brian Maienschein.