SRPD to provide annual update to City Council

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The San Ramon City Council is set to hear an annual update from the city’s police chief on his department’s operations this week, which includes numbers on overall crime rates during the past year.

Overall, SRPD continued to see an upward trend in calls since 2022 but the nature of those calls varied in numerous ways since 2023, as did other aspects of the department’s operations with the introduction of new initiatives.

Some of those changes include the organized retail theft protection team, a new drone as first responder program, and the “Fire First” behavioral health response program.

The organized retail theft protection team, funded by a $5.6 million grant from the state in 2023, is in the throes of its three years of state funding. Their efforts yielded 83 arrests last year, with the behavioral health response program showing an 81% diversion rate.

Calls for service were up for the second year in a row at 79,805 in 2024 compared with 72,802 in 2023. Total offenses were also up compared with the previous year, with a total of 1,032 in 2024 compared with 881 in 2023. Those numbers reflect an overall 16% increase in property crime and a 35% decrease in violent crime compared with the previous year.

According to traffic statistics from SRPD, 2024 was a less dangerous year on the roads than 2023, with 472 crashes reported compared with 509 in 2023. DUI crashes were also down to 23 over the last year compared with 32 in 2023, with DUI arrests down to 52 compared with 71 in 2023.

San Ramon Police Chief Denton Carlson is set to present the departmental update at the upcoming San Ramon City Council meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday (April 8). The agenda is available here.

In other business

*The council is set to continue discussions on a proposed General Plan amendment being pursued by Sunset Development Company that would reduce the minimum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) in a central portion of the city to accommodate projects being eyed for the area.

*The Library Advisory Committee is set to provide their annual report to the council.

*The council is set to discuss remote participation options for its budget workshops for the upcoming fiscal year.