Police Program 2014-15Police Department
Purpose:
The Mission of the Atlantic Beach Police Department is to provide for the safety and protection of lives and property through courteous and professional public service, timely response
to problems and relentless pursuit of criminals, while always respecting each person’s Constitutional Rights and personal dignity. Our focus is to improve the quality of life in the
City of Atlantic Beach by maintaining community partnerships that promote safe streets and neighborhoods.
The police department operates eight (8) divisions which includes Administration, Patrol, Investigations, Crime Suppression, Communications, Animal Control, Crossing Guards, and Life
Guards. Each of these divisions actively engages in pro-active activities relative to community service, law enforcement and safety. The Police Department members engage in criminal
investigations, preventive patrol, traffic enforcement, crime prevention, traffic crash investigations, SWAT functions, DUI enforcement, record keeping, animal control, and support
for the Police Explorer Program. The Communications Division answers all 911 calls for police, fire, and emergency medical responses within the city of Atlantic Beach.
Key Objectives 2014-15:
One major initiative for the Atlantic Beach Police Department for the 2014-15 year is to continue and expand the educational component of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety program.
The goal is to continue to educate the public, enforce the laws, and add safety enhancements where needed; all in an effort to reduce accidents and injuries while raising awareness.
Other key objectives for the Police Department in 2014-15 include:
To continue placing an emphasis on Community Oriented Policing. One officer will continue to be assigned to the Community Oriented Policing Unit full time, which will focus primarily
in the Mayport Corridor area. This officer’s salary is mostly funded through a JAG grant. Other selected patrol officers will receive training and certification for police bicycle
operations so that they can conduct bicycle patrols as a tool to better reach out to and connect with the community. All officers will continue to get in service training on the community
oriented policing philosophies, which our department has adopted as a whole.
To continue with the Citizens Police Academy as a way to build relationships with citizens and educate them on the work their Police Department does.
To continue focused traffic enforcement throughout the city, with an emphasis on speed and DUI enforcement.
To seek and utilize all available grant funding for all police operations and emergency preparedness initiatives.
2013 Highlights:
The Community Oriented Policing (COPS) program and the Crime Suppression Unit continued to operate city wide with a strong focus on the Mayport Corridor area throughout the year. The
dramatic improvement in the drug, transient and prostitution problems since the Mayport Corridor Redevelopment initiative began. Numerous educational and mentoring programs and events
have been held at local community centers for children within the neighborhoods.
In 2013, members of the Atlantic Beach Police Department made 726 arrests, which include 237 DUI arrests.
Atlantic Beach had the lowest per capita (crimes per 1,000 residents) crime rate in Duval County for 2013 and was lower than the state average. City wide, there was a 12% increase as
compared to 2012 (from 368 to 414); however our crime rate is still below what it was in 2011.
Workload Data
Activity
2010
2011
2012
2013
Average Emergency Response Time in minutes
1min 47sec
2min 1 sec
2min 29sec
2min 55sec
Total Crime Rate Per 1,000 Population
35.73
37.33
28.86
32.22
Arrests
838
912
903
726
*Calls
29,889
26,200
21,831
21,906
Traffic citations
4,734
4,664
4,209
4,364
Index Crimes
488
473
367
414
*Note – The method of calculating calls for service with the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system was revised during 2011 which resulted the in significant reductions in this statistic.