In the wake of the Labor Day melee at Pacific Beach, Capt. Boyd Long of the San Diego Police Department’s (SDPD) Northern Division told the Mission Bay Park Committee (MBPC) that increased staffing and a proactive approach are helping officers prevent and manage crime on area beaches. The advisory committee also discussed Mission Bay Park’s recent rat problem at its regularly scheduled meeting, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2, at the Santa Clara Recreation Center, 1008 Santa Clara Place.
“Our cops do a great job of putting people in jail,” Long said.
Over a five-day period including July Fourth, Boyd said police made 23 felony and 145 misdemeanor arrests. Officers also issued 799 misdemeanor, 600 traffic and 1,669 parking citations and conducted 302 field interviews, according to Boyd.
For neighborhood-specific data on arrests, visit arjis.org, the Automated Regional Justice Information System website.
While the number of felony arrests stayed roughly the same as those in previous years, misdemeanor arrests almost doubled since 2006.
“I look at increasing arrests as a good thing,” said MBPC member at large Mike Duckor.
The spike in arrests is due to more officers, not more crime, Long said. A heightened police presence of more than 300 officers on the beaches and bays enabled the SDPD to aggressively pursue crime before it escalated, said Boyd.
“We used a very proactive approach this year,” he said.
In 2004, Chief of Police William Lansdowne authorized bolstering staffing levels as part of a three-year plan to manage the crowds that flock to beaches on Independence Day.
Boyd estimated that approximately 40 officers patrolled the beaches in 2003.
Critics of the plan have charged that the roughly $1 million the city pays in overtime is too high a price for cash-strapped San Diego. Furthermore, they argue, the additional police presence would be unnecessary if alcohol were banned on the beach.
Others believe that such large crowds require hundreds of officers, regardless of whether alcohol is present. On July 4, approximately 650,000 people visited area beaches, with roughly 1.8 million hitting the sand from June 29 to July 8.
After years of debate on whether alcohol should be legal on the beaches on the Fourth of July, it is the Labor Day incident between police and a group of can-throwing beachgoers that has brought the alcohol issue to a head.
“We managed that scene extremely well,” Long said. “We did not get anywhere close to exhausting our own resources.”
After the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, mobile police forces were established, said Long. Additional units could have been brought in from throughout the city if necessary, he added.
The Labor Day conflict prompted Councilman Kevin Faulconer to propose a citywide alcohol ban on beaches.
Acknowledging the tug-of-war over alcohol, MBPC Chairperson Rick Bussell said, “The whole idea here is to enforce the rules “¦ and try to find a balance. What really makes this work is we are a team.”
The city and county of San Diego teamed up to handle another problem that has plagued Mission Bay Park in recent months: rats.
In response to increased rat sightings at the Mission Bay Jetty, Supervisor Greg Cox had County Vector Control conduct a study on rat activity in the area. Nontoxic bait stations were placed along the riprap of the jetty at 50-foot intervals on June 27 and 28. The stations were checked the following morning to determine there were problem areas near Quivira Basin and along the North Jetty around Mission Bay.
The county then contacted the city to develop a plan to reduce Mission Bay’s rat population.
“It’s a good example of the city and county working together for the good of the public,” Cox said. “Two groups working together sometimes come up with a better solution.”
The city contacted a pest control company to apply bait and rodenticides to reduce the rat population. Parks staff also trimmed the overgrown vegetation, dead palm fronds and low-lying shrubbery that provide shelter for the rodents.
Rats cannot survive without food, water or shelter. County officials advise residents to remove the food source from their property by keeping garbage cans covered at all times. Residents should also avoid storing food in garages and storage sheds unless it is in rat-proof containers and trim overgrown vegetation.
“Upon the last application of bait, there were no takers,” Mission Bay Park Manager Susan Gonzales said. An additional survey will be conducted.
“It’s a great team effort, great job,” said MBPC member Pamela Glover. “We don’t see [rats] like we used to.”
The County’s Vector Control Program provides free inspections, educational presentations and rat control starter kits. For more information or to schedule an inspection or presentation, call (858) 694-2888 or visit www.SDVector.com.
In other park news, Gonzales reported that park staff have started a three-year plan to trim palm trees. Close to 1,400 trees need trimming from the west to east shore, she said. Roughly one-third of the trees have been trimmed.
The South Shores RV dump, the second such facility in Mission Bay Park, is now fully operational, Gonzales said.
Construction could soon begin on the South Shore Promenade. Part of the 2002 update to Mission Bay Park Master Plan, the project includes a concrete walkway with benches, landscaping and artwork. If construction goes according to schedule, the promenade could be complete in six months.
The MBPC will next meet Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m. at a to-be-determined location.