Thieves struck again Thursday night in Atherton as a community meeting on a recent rash of burglaries in town concluded.
At around 8:33 p.m., one or more burglars forced their way into a home on the unit block of Santiago Avenue by smashing a second-story balcony door window, according to an Atherton police press release. This happened around the same time police finished up the community meeting in Holbrook-Palmer Park's Jennings Pavilion, an event that drew about 200 residents.
Burglars set off a security alarm at the Santiago Avenue home as officers were responding to a call of smoke inside a home. This delayed the officers' response to the alarm, according to the release.
“Based upon the methods used by the suspect(s) to gain entry into the residence, investigators believe these may be the same suspects responsible for many of the previous burglaries,” the press release stated. Police don’t yet know whether any items were stolen from the home.
This was the fifth residential burglary reported in January. Earlier this week, there were multiple burglaries and a car theft in a 24-hour period.
Police department data show a dramatic increase in home burglaries in town year-to-year: There were seven home burglaries in 2017 compared with 26 in 2018.
Things began fairly quietly in 2018, but the last two months saw a spike in the number of home burglaries. Five incidents were reported in November and seven were reported in December.
The number of home burglaries in January was higher than any other month of 2017 and 2018, except for November and December 2018.
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Comments
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Feb 1, 2019 at 12:34 pm
on Feb 1, 2019 at 12:34 pm
thanks for the historical data.
Anything from 10 years ago?
Atherton: West Atherton
on Feb 1, 2019 at 1:47 pm
on Feb 1, 2019 at 1:47 pm
It's pretty sad that these people are getting away with so many of these jobs without the Atherton PD making any forward progress on capturing these crooks. We probably have the most surveillance cameras per capita of any town but still nothing. I think both the mayor and the Chief of PD should resign over this disgrace.
I guess they are focused on other problems like how to overspend taxpayer money on a civic center wanted by no one. What a joke. Maybe just give up as a town given the incompetence and merge Atherton into Menlo Park.
Registered user
another community
on Feb 1, 2019 at 3:02 pm
Registered user
on Feb 1, 2019 at 3:02 pm
Do not forget fighting with the fire department!!!, and with Cal Trains
Atherton: Lloyden Park
on Feb 1, 2019 at 5:39 pm
on Feb 1, 2019 at 5:39 pm
What this article didn't include is whether the police were busy scoping motorists running the stop-sign on Alameda & Atherton Ave. That or catching 36mph speedsters on El Camino!
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Feb 1, 2019 at 8:03 pm
on Feb 1, 2019 at 8:03 pm
Time for cameras at intersections that can read license plates. Portola Valley now has them, as do many other towns in the Bay Area. That, combined with constant patrols might help solve the problem.
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Feb 1, 2019 at 8:17 pm
on Feb 1, 2019 at 8:17 pm
Examples of other communities in CA implementing cameras:
Web Link
Web Link
Web Link
TIME TO GET CAMERAS UP AND RUNNING TO HELP FIGHT CRIME! We live in a world where we are used to the idea of cameras everywhere...no reason we can't have them in our town to protect our homes!
Atherton: West Atherton
on Feb 1, 2019 at 10:10 pm
on Feb 1, 2019 at 10:10 pm
Cameras, ok, but @Anonymous, we are paying the police a TON OF MONEY, where are they in all of this?
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Feb 1, 2019 at 10:47 pm
on Feb 1, 2019 at 10:47 pm
@cameras? I don't negate their role. Only stating that other towns similar to ours have had success in tamping down burglaries and other crime through the use of cameras.
another community
on Feb 2, 2019 at 10:47 am
on Feb 2, 2019 at 10:47 am
It is truly disturbing to read an overall increase in burglaries all over the Bay Area. I live in an ungated but ‘housing owner association’ (HOA) area in Saratoga & we too saw a sudden spike in burglaries (w/one violent incidence) in 2015 & 2016. So our private community decided to install cameras at all entrance points & the hiring of private patrol in the evening. That has certainly stopped the burglaries - at least for the time being - but one thing to remember is that these crooks almost always use stolen cars. So knowing the license plate doesn’t help much. And as seen often on home surveillance cameras, they cover their faces so well that they are totally unidentifiable. And in one recent incident, the burglars destroyed the cameras inside the home while burgalizing it.
I think the spike has everything to do with the law that passed in California in 2013/2015 to reduce the overcrowded jails. That rule makes home invasion type of crimes a misdemeanor, which basically forces police to release the offenders with just a citation :(.
Registered user
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Feb 2, 2019 at 11:24 am
Registered user
on Feb 2, 2019 at 11:24 am
Just imagine what the Town Council could have done with the $70k it has spent auditing the Fire District, over which it has zero control and for which it has zero responsibility and which has 98.5% customer satisfaction, on crime prevention activities.
And now the Council has just decided to continue this totally reprehensible attempt to reduce fire services to residents of East Palo Alto and Menlo Park in order to fatten the coffers of the Town - without reducing the property tax bills of Atherton residents by a single cent.
They will fail but not without squandering more of the Atherton taxpayers's money and continuing to divert the Council's time from the far more pressing issue of crime prevention.
Atherton: other
on Feb 2, 2019 at 12:37 pm
on Feb 2, 2019 at 12:37 pm
To the council members who haven't been totally compromised by the police union in Atherton (Degolia, Lempres, Widmer) --- please start doing your jobs!
The town council is now literally -- LITERALLY, not figuratively -- trying to beg, borrow and steal to fund a town center that is overblown, no one really wants and we certainly don't need.
Begging…fundraising…didn't work.
Stealing…from the fire district…won't work.
Borrowing…when the bids still come in way over what we can afford, they will try to borrow the money. I believe our residents won't support this.
And all to build primarily functionality for a police department we can't afford any longer either. (Look at the recent article here about Menlo Park PD getting 13% raises…and you know how and where that's going to ratchet!).
The justification for spending $50M plus for the town center and most of the town budget on our own police? Rapid response times, being Johnny-On-the-Spot when a crime occurs.
But they're not! They couldn't even respond to a call on time for the burglary that took place during the evening of the meeting about the burglaries. And all of this when a lot of public attention is being paid. We would get no worse service from the Sheriff, arguably better, and save a ton of money. Money that should be used to repair infrastructure and roads we badly need or property values will suffer.
Wake up. Smarten up. Do your jobs. This department should have been outsourced awhile ago. No fiscal or logical argument supports retaining it. It's just emotion, sentimentality, and interference with how the residents are supposed to be represented by the APD union. At the very least, be totally honest with the residents about what the real costs of this department are going to run them over the next ten to twenty years and see if they're willing to pay it. I'm certain they won't if there is real information and disclosure versus lobbying and politics.
Registered user
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Feb 2, 2019 at 2:22 pm
Registered user
on Feb 2, 2019 at 2:22 pm
Great job Atherton PD!!
Peter
Police Department
Posted on: February 2, 2019
Firearm Arrest Made - February 2
0209firearmarrest
On 02/02/19, at approximately 2AM, Atherton PD officers conducting burglary enforcement contacted the occupants of a suspicious vehicle parked on the 300 block of Atherton Avenue. The driver, Devert Welch, a 26 year old male and resident of Modesto, was found to be in possession of a loaded firearm. Welch was arrested and booked into the San Mateo County Jail for being in violation of California Penal Code Section 25850- Possession of a loaded Firearm, and 25400(a)- possession of a concealed firearm in a public place.
Although we are still hoping to suppress residential burglaries with our burglary suppression detail, we still need your help. If you see something suspicious in your neighborhood, call us!
another community
on Feb 2, 2019 at 2:28 pm
on Feb 2, 2019 at 2:28 pm
Peter Carpenter said: "[whatabout] the 70k"
That's peanuts compared to the plethora of waste and controversies of the MP Fire District; redirecting some of the waste and largess of the FD towards crime prevention would have the potential for more impact than anything the 70k you lament|pontificate about could ever do.
Let me count the ways:
* the controller's office showed the Menlo fire district has the highest average wages of ANY state or local agency in all of California, with average wages $23,000 higher than those of the No. 2 agency. [reference: Web Link
* infighting and backstabbing among fire board directors (hmmm, I wonder who is involved in that????), inviting waste, riffs and disfunction. [reference: Web Link
* "during the 2015-16 fiscal year, the fire district received $41.1 million in property tax revenue, $11.8 million more than the combined total for the three cities it serves: Menlo Park ($14.1 million), East Palo Alto ($6.6 million) and Atherton ($8.6 million)." [reference: Web Link
Last I checked, 11.8 million is more than 70 thousand.
* The district has been buying up so much real estate with its obscene amount of cash, it literally is 'trying to figure out what to do with [one of] the propert[ies].' [reference: Web Link
* The district wasted nearly $100,000 drawing up plans and doing environmental studies on a new station in Belle Haven, threatening eminent domain, only to change plans and wasting almost $100k. [reference: Web Link
Last I checked, 100 thousand is more than 70 thousand.
Those that live in glass firehouses should not throw stones.
Atherton: West Atherton
on Feb 2, 2019 at 4:02 pm
on Feb 2, 2019 at 4:02 pm
Its good news somebody with a weapon was apprehended at 2AM on Atherton Ave. So thank you APD for doing your jobs. However I'm not impressed because the Sheriff's Office could have done the same thing. In fact the suspect was taken to San Mateo County Jail. I wonder if the process could have actually been smoother if we had removed APD as the middle man here. Questioning a suspect parked in their vehicle on the 300 block of Atherton Ave at 2AM is like shooting fish in a barrel. This is what we are calling doing great police work?
I was wondering what do the APD deputies normally do at 2AM? I'm a night-owl and its almost a sure thing not to see an APD patrol car in the late hours. I'm going to guess deputies are sleeping in their offices because they have nothing to do, just like the 6 fired UC Berkeley deputies back in July. If they're not sleeping they're definitely not helping reduce the basic code enforcement backlog...which can take up to 3 months in Atherton for the most basic things. How do we know we are not paying deputies to sleep on the job?! Classic small-town police dept problem. In fact a few months back I remember reading in CBS News Atherton Officers are actually looking for places to sleep in Town.
People make a big deal about APD's response time. I think if the Sheriff's office had a sub-station in Atherton they could achieve the same response times. The difference is what happens when the officers arrive. Here in Atherton I feel let down time and time again by what happens after they arrive...I am left dissatisfied and let down by what they call police work, they are more of a "country club security" and alarm service. It is why I am writing this comment hoping my fellow citizens can see the light! Imagine the things we can do with the money! I want to see Atherton drain after a rain storm like a modern city not this muddy puddly 3-rd world mess it is at every other intersection. Instead I'm afraid we are paying deputies to sleep and boasting about a response time.
Others have pointed out the cost of the new Civic Center. Why build a fully set-up police station when all you need is small San Mateo County Sheriff's outpost to achieve the same response times? Why does everyone have to pay for a facility where sworn officers are payed $90K+ to monitor alarms when Bay Alarm and many other private companies also do this just the same. This is a costly gimmick in my opinion. I don't believe APD is competent enough (ie a small-town police mindset) to monitor my alarm system or my house, not everyone should have to pay for those who decide to opt-in to this gimmick.
Why don't we shutdown APD and save 10-15M on the new Civic Center construction costs for not needing a police station. APD doesn't have it's own jail or practice shooting range either. They go to the County for those things because it doesn't make sense for Atherton to have those. Just like it no longer makes any sense to have a small town police department either, its an early 20th century vestige, which should go away when the existing police station is demolished.
Atherton: West Atherton
on Feb 2, 2019 at 4:18 pm
on Feb 2, 2019 at 4:18 pm
Smart communities like Bel Air use county police coupled with private patrol they pay for. I agree with CA Love. I don't think the APD is out patrolling the streets at night. We would save millions plus have better service and safety by outsourcing to the county and, if needed/desired, contracting with private patrol for the evenings. Suspicious thing would be called in to the county, but no gold-plated pensions, health plans, unions, etc. I have a hard time understanding why this wouldn't much better.
Registered user
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Feb 2, 2019 at 5:46 pm
Registered user
on Feb 2, 2019 at 5:46 pm
$70,000 would cover about 700 hours of overtime - and one additional officer would mean a 50% increase in the number of officers on the street in most cases.
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Feb 2, 2019 at 6:26 pm
on Feb 2, 2019 at 6:26 pm
Camera supporters:
Thanks for the links to communities planning to install cameras. I do not see any evidence in the links that cameras actually work in suppressing crime.
Sure, cameras may catch the local teenagers getting in some trouble, and the businessman visiting his mistress; cameras may even keep bored homemakers from inviting the milkman/mailman/poolguy/pizza guy in for a 'cup of coffee', but is there a statistical significance in crime reduction?
Or is it just a safety blanket?
Registered user
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Feb 2, 2019 at 6:30 pm
Registered user
on Feb 2, 2019 at 6:30 pm
Cameras are like locks.
You don't need perfect locks to stop a burglar just better ones that other houses.
Similarly, communities with cameras are less attractive to burglars than communities without cameras - why take a chance of being caught on a police camera if you don't have to take that chance.
Registered user
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Feb 2, 2019 at 6:36 pm
Registered user
on Feb 2, 2019 at 6:36 pm
A well written study on the subject:
Web Link
The study concluded that the efficacy of cameras varies and is largely dependent upon how the surveillance system is set up and monitored.
“Our study is interesting because it suggests that cameras can have a very powerful impact on crime, and a cost beneficial one, but it also suggests cameras don’t work in all places and all contexts,” said Nancy La Vigne, the director of the Urban Institute and one of the report’s co-authors.
For instance, in Chicago, surveillance cameras proved highly effective in reducing crime in one neighborhood, but in a nearby area they proved to be of little help.
In August 2003, Chicago authorities installed cameras in Humboldt Park and West Garfield Park in highly conspicuous areas with flashing blue lights mounted on top.
Prior to the installation of cameras, Humboldt Park had experienced a brief spike in crime with nearly 500 reported incidents in a single month, but after the cameras were put in place, crime dropped 20 percent the following month and stayed low. In contrast, in West Garfield Park, which is in the same police district, crime rates remained the same.
In digging deeper, the report found that residents in West Garfield Park did not believe that police officers regularly monitored the cameras and therefore continued to commit crimes as if they were not there. In addition, Humboldt Park had a much higher concentration of cameras, which led to faster response times and the increased likelihood of disrupting crimes in progress.
Johnnie King, the owner of King’s Hardware in West Garfield Park, complained that even if crimes were caught on camera, police would be slow to respond because they were not actively monitoring the system.
“If you don’t pay attention or even know it, what good is having it out there?” he asked.
Even with the crime rate showing no change in West Garfield Park, the report concluded that the benefits of the surveillance system outweighed the costs.
Chicago had spent roughly $190,000 a month on its surveillance system in Humboldt Park and West Garfield Park, but by installing the cameras, the city saved roughly $815,000 on criminal justice costs as well as victims’ financial and emotional costs. The benefits in Humboldt Park alone were enough to make up for the cost of installing cameras in West Garfield Park as it saved the city $4.30 for every dollar it had spent on installing cameras from the number of crimes it had prevented.
Based on its analysis, the report found that surveillance cameras can deter crime and are cost-effective, but only when they are properly monitored and installed.
“Overall, the cameras—when actively monitored—were effective at cutting down crime. And the savings and benefits of fewer crimes outweighed the cost of the surveillance system.”
To maximize the efficacy of cameras, the report recommended that authorities involve the community to ensure that they understand why the cameras are being put in place and to minimize objections, prioritize training for detectives and prosecutors to know how to properly use surveillance footage in cases, and to ensure that cameras feeds are actively monitored.
As a whole the report concluded that surveillance cameras are a useful law enforcement tool and can assist in preventing crimes, but are not a panacea by any means.
Atherton: West Atherton
on Feb 4, 2019 at 9:19 am
on Feb 4, 2019 at 9:19 am
Memo to Lloyden Park resident who complained about Atherton Police tagging motorists going 36 miles per hour on El Camino.
I use El Camino 3 0r 4 times a day. Each time, I either get cut off, or flipped off, by cars going 56 MPH - not 36 MPH !!!
Menlo Park: The Willows
on Feb 4, 2019 at 11:52 am
on Feb 4, 2019 at 11:52 am
I attended a debutante party in Atherton a few yrs back that easily cost the family $45k
So, let’s stop pretending that money is an issue for ‘The Town of Atherton’ to get things done
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Feb 4, 2019 at 12:32 pm
on Feb 4, 2019 at 12:32 pm
The only thing the police are good for is showing up AFTER a crime and writing a report (that will go into some big black hole somewhere) or harassing minorities who dare to drive into Atherton.
Menlo Park: Fair Oaks
on Feb 5, 2019 at 5:45 pm
on Feb 5, 2019 at 5:45 pm
Atherton PD could not find their rear end with both hands and a map! It is way overdue for SMCSO to take over services. I have said this for years. The Town would save MILLIONS and the residents would get real cops with real experience to deter and solve crimes. APD has always been a high paid security guard service and has zero experience in dealing with real crooks. APD is very good at picking up newspapers for people on vacation (likely crooks watching them do this and go back later), turning off sprinklers and dealing with barking dogs. Enough...end this and the money saved benefits everyone.
Registered user
Menlo Park: other
on Feb 5, 2019 at 5:58 pm
Registered user
on Feb 5, 2019 at 5:58 pm
laughing:
actually, at this point, you do have real cops with real experience. You have a number of ex-San Jose PD cops working there. Trust me, they have plenty of experience. You even have a retired SJPD officer working there. 30 years experience at SJPD. Most of them came there when San Jose screwed them on their retirement. The problem you have is two fold. Not enough cops on the street, especially in unmarked units and dumbbells not locking things like cars and doors and not setting alarms. Of course, they don't want to take any responsibility for their own stupidity and thus blame it on the police.
Menlo Park: Fair Oaks
on Feb 5, 2019 at 11:22 pm
on Feb 5, 2019 at 11:22 pm
Sorry Menlo voter...if these so called keystone cops have all that experience then these burgs would be stopped long before nearly 2 mill in property was ripped off....here is the truth...disgruntled ex SJPD cops sit on their rear ends collecting a
ridiculous salary and benefits package at the tax payers expense while double dipping do nothing at all...shameful screw over of the taxpayers....enough.
Atherton: West Atherton
on Feb 6, 2019 at 7:10 am
on Feb 6, 2019 at 7:10 am
Laughing, I'm not a big fan of APD, but I think your comments are a bit harsher than I would go for. I don't like the double dipping either. Nonetheless, we get to the same result. Obviously Atherton is known for paying high salaries to officers but with less chance of dangerous incidents. The larger issue is because the town is so small, we can't really have enough officers patrolling the streets because a lot of the money is going to overhead like dispatch, chief, etc. In a larger city, the overhead would be a much smaller percentage of the budget. In Atherton, it's very large. It is time to outsource to the county and use just some of the savings for a private patrol service. Not only would we be saving tax payer money, we'd have more actual crime prevention going on. Adding $50M on top of this for a new town center to provide mainly police offices is nuts at this point, especially when this incident illustrates we are really supposed to be paying them to be out on the streets protecting our homes, not having meetings in a $50M town center.
Registered user
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Feb 6, 2019 at 7:19 am
Registered user
on Feb 6, 2019 at 7:19 am
"The larger issue is because the town is so small, we can't really have enough officers patrolling the streets because a lot of the money is going to overhead like dispatch, chief, etc."
It is called economies of scale and that is why ALL the fire agencies in San Mateo County have ONE consolidated dispatch center. That is why MPFPD serves 90,000 residents and there is not, as much as the Town Council would like it, an Atherton Fire Department serving 7,000 residents.
Menlo Park: Sharon Heights
on Feb 6, 2019 at 12:52 pm
on Feb 6, 2019 at 12:52 pm
Menlo Voter, laughing is correct. If the former SJPD officers are God's gift to Atherton as you suggest, then there would be zero crime. What is obvious is they all are collecting paychecks and enjoying the benefit package without having to do anything to earn said salary and benefits. What a joke this Town is and always has been. Outsourcing as Woodside, Uninc. MP, San Carlos, Half Moon Bay, Portola Valley and many other San Mateo County Cities do is the only fiscally and safety minded thing to do for teeny tiny little Atherton. Bring in the Sheriff's Office. Crooks are actually gonna stay away if they know real law enforcement is there.
Registered user
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Feb 6, 2019 at 1:20 pm
Registered user
on Feb 6, 2019 at 1:20 pm
There is no need to disparage the current Atherton PD in order to make the case for a consolidated police service provided by the San Mateo County Sheriff.
A small department, by definition, cannot contain the same breadth of expertise that the much larger Sheriff's Department already possess.
A small department cannot significantly increase its local patrol strength in response to an increase in localized criminal activity as can the much larger Sheriff's Department.
A small department requires the same four FTEs to provide 24/7 dispatch as does a much larger department.
Registered user
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Feb 6, 2019 at 7:51 pm
Registered user
on Feb 6, 2019 at 7:51 pm
Why doesn't the Town Council follow Woodside's lead and develop a Request for Services from the Sheriff which details the level of specific police services that the Town wishes to have and then get a proposal from the Sheriff to provide those services?
That proposal could then be put before the voters to decide if they wanted the Town to contract with the Sheriff's Department.
And if the voters decide to do that then the whole design of the Town Center will then need to be revisited.
As seldom happens with government here is an opportunity to increase the level of police services at a lower cost AND to substantially reduce the size and cost of a new Town center.
Registered user
Menlo Park: other
on Feb 6, 2019 at 9:05 pm
Registered user
on Feb 6, 2019 at 9:05 pm
"Why doesn't the Town Council follow Woodside's lead and develop a Request for Services from the Sheriff which details the level of specific police services that the Town wishes to have and then get a proposal from the Sheriff to provide those services?"
Because they wouldn't have their own private police force at their beck and call.
Atherton: other
on Feb 7, 2019 at 2:41 am
on Feb 7, 2019 at 2:41 am
@Peter
The 2017 Measure A vote results indicate Atherton residents are supportive of the current town center plans, which includes a police station. Residents are willing to use non-dedicated general funds to make up a shortfall in funding construction.
At this point, it's too late to change the civic center plans as it's already out to bid.
Atherton: West Atherton
on Feb 7, 2019 at 6:33 am
on Feb 7, 2019 at 6:33 am
@Resident: "The 2017 Measure A results indicate Atherton residents are supportive of the current town center plans…"
Measure A ballot question: "Should the Town of Atherton supplement private donations with available non-dedicated General Funds to meet the funding shortfall, where one exists, for construction of the new Town Center?"
When the revised bids come back indicating General Funds will be insufficient to build this Town Center, as the prior bids have, this ballot result will be meaningless.
Regarding the police, it's also important to pay attention to 2017 Measure F: "…shall an ordinance be adopted to continue a Special Parcel Tax for three years and allowing for the expenditure of funds derived from such tax?"
The results: no.
It's really disingenuous of you and the town center people to use results that assumed entirely different economics to maintain support for this boondoggle still exists.
"At this point, it's too late to change the civic center plans as it's already out to bid."
Let's see how that works once the revised bids come back and there's no money to build the plans you want.
Registered user
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Feb 7, 2019 at 8:14 am
Registered user
on Feb 7, 2019 at 8:14 am
" it's too late to change the civic center plans as it's already out to bid. "
As I predicted long ago the bids on the slightly modified design will come in well over budget.
The current construction market is overloaded with demand and who would want to accept a contract with a contentious local government in that climate?
Atherton: other
on Feb 8, 2019 at 1:51 am
on Feb 8, 2019 at 1:51 am
@Hilarious
Measure F did have a majority support, just not the two thirds to pass. The No on F campaign didn't list the civic center as one of the reasons to vote no. The primary reason to vote no was that the town had sufficient and growing tax revenue already without having to renew the parcel tax. Even the proponents acknowledged this point to an extent because Measure F only requested three years of continuance.
In any case, the bids will be more competitive this time due to the much larger number of contractors that plan to bid.
Atherton: Lloyden Park
on Feb 8, 2019 at 11:29 am
on Feb 8, 2019 at 11:29 am
It is more than obvious that outsourcing police services for this very very small yet unbelievably expensive department is long over due. Citizens are fed up with the nonsense. Millions of dollars will be saved every fiscal year. Look above at the support for outsourcing...speaks for itself.
Atherton: West Atherton
on Feb 8, 2019 at 12:59 pm
on Feb 8, 2019 at 12:59 pm
I have lived in Atherton for decades. We have been bilked by the APOA repeatedly for funds and the special tax, the regular tax, fundraisers sucking money from generous residents...for what I ask?? The ONLY murder this town has ever had was in 1996. That case resulted in the Sheriff's Office being brought into to work it and solve it. These so called officers do nothing. Oh they poach in unincorporated areas to arrest people. Notice those arrested are never residents? There is a reason for that. You see, it is a well known fact that Atherton Police "Officers" are forbidden from arresting or citing Atherton residents. Dont want to make the cash cows angry right?? So in their immense boredom, they drive outside town limits to find anything to do. This causes them to never be patrolling the streets of Atherton thus resulting in the missed bad guys smashing windows and climbing into home to steal 1.9 Million dollars in loot. Wake up! Any crime of significance will result in the Sheriff being brought in. Get rid of Atherton Police now. Outsource to those who know what they are doing.
Registered user
Atherton: Lindenwood
on Feb 8, 2019 at 1:02 pm
Registered user
on Feb 8, 2019 at 1:02 pm
I compiled this data in 2014 - I doubt that the relative costs have changed significantly.
A talented reporter might wish to update these comparisons.
*******
Cost comparison 2013
Agencies which have their own Police Department:
Atherton
As of the census of 2010, there were
6,914 people
4.9 square miles (12.8 km²)
Police budget $5.6 M in 2012/13
$810 per capita
Redwood City
As of the census[1] of 2008, there were
75,508 people
34.6 sq miles
Police budget $31.7 M
$419 per capita
Palo Alto
As of the census of 2000, there were 58,598
people
23.7 sq miles
Police budget $29M
$494 per capita
Foster City
As of the census of 2000, there are 28,803
people
The city has a total area of 19.9 square
miles (51.6 km²), of which 3.8 square miles
(9.7 km²) is land and 16.2 square miles
(41.9 km²) is water.
Police budget $9.6 M
$333 per capita
Burlingame
As of the census of 2000, there were 28,158
people
The city has a total area of 15.6 km² (6.0 mi²).
11.2 km² (4.3 mi²) of it is land and 4.4 km²
(1.7 mi²) of it (28.19%) is water.
Police budget $9.5M
$337 per capita
Hillsborough
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were
10,825 people
The town has a total area of 6.2 square miles
(16.1 km²), all of it land.
Police budget $8M
$739 per capita
Los Altos
The population was 27,693 according to the
2000 census.
6.3 square miles (16.4 km²).
Police dept budget $13.46 M
$485 per capita
Menlo Park
As of the census of 2010, there were
32,026 people
17.4 square miles (45 km2), of which
10.1 square miles (26 km2) is land
and 7.3 square miles (19 km2) is water. Police services budget $14.95M
$466.80 per capita
East Palo Alto
As of the census of 2009, there were 35,791 people,
2.6 square miles (6.7 km²), of which 2.5 square miles (6.6 km²) are land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.78%) are water.
Police budget $10,262,651
$287 per capita
Agencies which contract out their police services:
Saratoga
The population was 30,318 at the 2007 census.
The city has a total area of 21.1 square miles
(31.4 km²)
Police costs via County Sheriff $4.34 M
$143 per capita
Woodside
11.8 square miles (30.5 km²)
As of the census of 2010, there were
5,287 people
Police services via County Sheriff $1.45 M
$274 per capita
new contract 2012/13
The Woodside Town Council approved a budget that included ■ Sheriff's contract: A council majority approved a three-year $1.45 million law enforcement contract with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. Unlike the annual jumps of 10 percent in previous contracts, this one rises by 4 percent for the first year and 3 percent after that.
Portola Valley
The population was 4,462 at the 2000 census
9.2 square miles (23.7 km²)
Police services via Sheriff $498,601
$111 per capita
San Carlos
The population was 27.238 in 2008
5.93 square miles
Police services via proposed Sheriff's contract
$6.8 M
$248.62 per capita
Contra Costa County
Excerpt of FY 2011-12 Law Enforcement Comparison Survey – Cost Per Resident
Municipality Cost Per Resident
Moraga $137.44
Lafayette $171.57
Danville $188.33
Oakley $214.50
Orinda $227.25
Menlo Park: Fair Oaks
on Feb 8, 2019 at 3:11 pm
on Feb 8, 2019 at 3:11 pm
Long timer, you forgot to mention that those officers who were good at their jobs in Atherton quickly left for other bigger, professional departments most often after having filed and won law suits against the town. The hundreds in thousands lost in law suits to the town is another reason to outsource. Just the savings here would be massive.