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The Danville Town Council is set to look into details about crime and police responses over the past year at its regular meeting, weeks after celebrating the town’s return to the top spot as the safest city in the state according to an annual report.
DPD Chief Thomas Rossberg is set to provide the department’s annual update to the council with information on crime rates, police responses, and related trends during his first full year in the position in 2025.
“Through data-driven deployment, technology-enabled investigations, and strong regional partnerships, we improved case resolution outcomes while keeping Danville’s already low crime rates trending even lower,” Rossberg wrote in the report prepared for the upcoming meeting. “Ongoing meetings and direct communication with residents helped us address emerging concerns quickly.”
The past year has centered on traffic and pedestrian safety, Rossberg said, particularly near schools and high traffic areas, with community engagement serving as a priority alongside enforcement.
“Community outreach remained a cornerstone of our approach in 2025. Officer presence in parks, Downtown, and at public events-Including programs such as Coffee with the Cops and Recess with the Cops, fostered dialog, trust, and accessibility,” Rossberg wrote.
DPD officers issued more than twice as many citations in 2025 as they had the prior year, with the number rising from 3,198 in 2024 to 6,501 in 2025. Enforcement stops were up by more than 50%, with 8.953 stops last year compared with 5,376 in 2024. Total calls for service also increased to 28,156 in 2025 compared with 20,609 in 2024.
Meanwhile, total reported part 1 crimes – a key factor in the methodology for the annual, statewide safest cities report from Safewise, in which Danville recently returned to the top spot after coming in second last year – were down from 272 in 2024 to 257 last year. Traffic collisions were also down marginally to 280 in 2025 versus 288 in 2024.
Part 1 crimes are classified into two categories by the FBI: violent crimes including murder, forcible rape, aggravated assault, and robbery, and property crimes including burglary and theft.
Property crimes fell to a five-year low of 228 in 2025, down from 251 the prior year and from the five-year high of 315 in 2023. Violent crimes were also down to 16 last year, from a five-year high of 34 in 2023 and from 20 in 2024, but still above the five-year low of 10 in 2022.
Arrests for DUI crashes continued to rise last year, despite the 11 crashes reported in 2025 marking a downturn from 19 in the previous year. A total of 108 DUI arrests were made last year, compared with 83 in 2024, and 77 related to the 14 DUI crashes reported in 2023.
“This upward trend in arrests reflects the department’s heightened focus on DUI enforcement, including increased patrols, sobriety checkpoints, and public awareness campaigns,” Rossberg wrote.
“To further enhance these efforts, Danville PD received a California state grant to fund a new patrol vehicle dedicated to traffic and DUI enforcement,” he continued. “This addition will bolster the department’s ability to proactively address impaired driving and improve road safety.”
Other new technology and equipment has already been introduced and implemented by the department, including seven vehicles with “GPS launchers” that are able to tag vehicles for tracking, the use of drones for mapping crash scenes and searching for missing persons, and a “take the bait” program in which bicycles and packages equipped with GPS tracking are placed in higher crime areas.
Automated License Plate Readers from FLOCK Safety also continue to be at play via a fixed-price contract that includes maintenance and upgrades, with 17 FLOCK cameras at neighborhood entrances and exits now integrated with police systems.
“This combined effort, including ALPR’s role in automating license plate detection at major intersections and surveillance cameras at parks, aims to lower crime rates and aid in the identification and apprehension of suspects,” Rossberg said. “Plans are underway to expand surveillance to all major parks in Danville, enhancing safety and security across the community.”
Rossberg is set to present the annual informational report to the town council at its next regular meeting Tuesday (March 17) at 5 p.m. The agenda is available here.
In other business
*Management Analyst Cat Bravo is set to provide a legislative update.
*The council is set to issue proclamations recognizing March as Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Month and National Disabilities Month.
*As an item on the consent agenda, the council is poised to pass a resolution that would give its members a pay increase of $138 per month.
