Agenda Item 8EAGENDA ITEM # 8E
JUNE 13, 2011
Atlantic Beach
Police Department
1" Quarter 2011
Highlights
The Police Department has maintained a high level of resources in the Mayport Corridor
and Royal Palms areas. The Police Department continued to have two full time COPS
Officers dedicated to the Mayport area. They have daily contact with the businesses and
residents in the community, interact with the kids at the Community Centers, and attend
Special Events. Our Patrol Officers spend much of their time providing a uniformed
presence in the corridor and our Crime Suppression Detectives have a heavy
concentration there as well.
The Florida Law Enforcement Challenge is a competition between similar size and types
of law enforcement agencies. It recognizes and rewards the best overall traffic safety
programs in Florida. The areas of concentration include efforts to enforce laws and
educate the public about occupant protection, impaired driving, speeding, and other areas
of traffic safety. Police Departments submit an application that documents their agency's
efforts and effectiveness in these areas. The winning safety programs are those that
combine officer training, public information, and enforcement to reduce crashes and
injuries within their respective jurisdictions.
The Atlantic Beach Police Department has been notified that it has placed in the top three
in our size agency division. The Department will be notified this summer at an annual
awards ceremony of the exact placement. Last year the Department placed 3` and
received credits towards $20,000 in traffic safety equipment. Receiving this type of state
wide recognition is an honor for the department and its employees and speaks volumes
about the commitment the department has about traffic safety in our city.
The Atlantic Beach Police Department continues to have an exceptional emergency
response time. The average emergency response time for the first quarter was 2 minutes
9 seconds.
Crime
The state wide crime stats have been recently published. The table below summarizes the
crime in Duval County as compared to the state average.
AGENDA ITEM # 8E
JUNE 13, 2011
Per Capita
Crime Rate
AB
NB
JB
Jax
Florida
2010
35.73
45.93
57.55
50.04
41.05
2009
38.60
45.23
72.24
56.67
43.97
2008
38.93
1 48.12
1 75.03
1 62.98
46.99
Crime rates for the past 3 years have been on a downward trend. The crime rate in
Atlantic Beach continues to be the lowest in Duval County and lower than the state
average.
The first quarter crime rate for 2011 is still very low, but there was an increase from the
first quarter in 2010. It is suspected that last year's extremely cold winter was a
significant factor in how low the crime rate actually was. It is important to note that while
up from last year's record low, crime in the first quarter is still down 30% from the first
quarter in 2009. Accidents have increased from 44 to 50 thus far this year as compared to
2010.
Crime in the Mayport Corridor also increased during the first quarter this year as
compared to the same time in 2010. Total part I crimes, which include property crimes
are at approximately the same level as in 2009. Crime decreased 25% between 2008 and
2009 and that decrease was maintained in 2010. This will be monitored very closely
throughout the year.
Productivity
Calls for service in the first quarter of 2011 were down slightly, from 7,120 in 2010 to
6,333 in 2011. Arrests were up during the first quarter this year by 14 %, having made
220 arrests in the first three months, compared to 193 in 2010.
The Crime Suppression Unit (CSU) continues to be very productive. They have made 14
felony arrests and 10 misdemeanor arrests during the first quarter. They have also made
2 alcohol deployment arrests during this time.
Animal Control had 558 calls during the first quarter. The ACO's conduct beach surveys
to measure leash law compliance. The average compliance rate for the first quarter of
2011 is 89 %.
Personnel
Currently the Police Department has three vacancies for police officer and one vacancy
for Emergency Communications Operator. Applicants are being processed for those
positions. All other divisions in the department are fully staffed.
Training
AGENDA ITEM # 8E
JUNE 13, 2011
The Department is deeply committed to providing quality training to all its employees. In
the first quarters of 2011, employees have attended training in the following topics.
• Leadership /Supervision
• Traffic Crash Reporting Updates
• Dealing with Difficult People
• Property and Evidence
• Glock Armorer
• DUI Enforcement Strategies
• Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs
• Crime Prevention
• CJIS Terminal Agency Coordinator
• Problem Solving Through Intelligence Led Policing
Advanced training keeps employees current and on the cutting edge of Public Safety
techniques, trends and strategies. The Department believes a better trained employee
results in the delivery of a higher quality of service. The above list does not include
classes taken by the employees who are enrolled in various college degree programs.
,