Laguna Beach business leaders get public safety update
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Laguna Beach Police Chief Jeff Calvert met with local business leaders last week, part of a stated goal to have his department do a better job of sharing its story.
Calvert provided information on departmental statistics — including arrests and citations — and community partnerships, then opened the floor to questions from members of the Chamber of Commerce during a virtual government affairs meeting.
Data pulled for the first seven months of the calendar year showed a year-over-year increase of almost 3,000 parking tickets over the same period. The 18,745 citations marked a 17.78% increase.
“That’s roughly $900,000 in revenue to the city,” Calvert said. “The top three parking citations that we write are parked in a city lot without a permit displayed, expired meter and posted no parking.”
The department has also seen increases in citations for speeding (1,217 through July, a 7.13% increase), loud exhaust (203, or 25.31%), drinking or smoking in public (1,427, or 56.30%) and dogs off leash (271, or 78.29%).
Calvert, who lives in the city and became the 18th chief in the department’s history in August 2021, credited the addition of a third motor officer and a dedicated traffic sergeant — Thomas Spratt — for the increase in speeding citations.
A park ranger program has helped the city enforce quality-of-life issues in the beaches and parks.
Laguna Beach has seen a slight drop in DUI arrests (from 169 to 157 in year-to-date statistics). Calvert noted a community partnership effort. Authorities have been notifying alcohol-serving businesses if an arrest happens after the individual visits their establishment.
“We provide the date, the time of arrest and actually the blood-alcohol level of the DUI driver,” Calvert said. “Not only are we sending these letters within our community but we’re also sending them outside the community.”
Business owners were “a little freaked out, at first” when the initiative began, Calvert said, noting the concern led to a town hall meeting sponsored by the chamber.
The notices, he explained, are not intended to be punitive, but rather to help reduce DUI incidents.
“I just got a phone call … from a very prominent business in Newport Coast, where I’ve sent several letters recently, and just explained that this is not punitive,” Calvert added. “But the owners don’t know what they don’t know, and so they can take the date and time of arrest and go back and see, is there a pattern with their bartenders over-serving?
“If so, let’s get them into responsible-service training, so we prevent people from being on the road, and hopefully, prevent somebody from getting killed.”
Following a presentation, Calvert was asked to weigh in on matters relating to theft and traffic safety.
On the former, the police chief said overall theft has been on the rise, although he qualified those numbers by saying retail theft has seen a decline.
“It’s on the beaches,” Calvert said. “We’re actively looking for strategies to address the theft on the beaches. It’s very difficult because it’s not just one beach. We have seven miles of coastline. From our stores, there seems to be a reduction in overall thefts.”
David Browning, president of the Orange County Mountain Bike Assn., asked for an update on kids riding bikes on the streets. Browning has shown interest in bringing a recreational amenity to the community — namely a pump track — that could divert some of that rider activity from the town’s heavily-trafficked corridors.
“I’ve publicly come out in saying, ‘This is not a Police Department problem. This is a parental problem,’” said Calvert, who characterized e-bikes as “e-motorcycles” that reach 30 miles per hour.
“We worked side by side with the school district, and we actually have e-bike safety courses now,” Calvert continued. “… We have one coming up on the 19th of this month. The kids actually have to take the course with us to get a sticker to put on their bicycle to actually ride their bicycles to the school district itself.”
