Demand for officers rises as police activity declines

Laguna Beach police are facing difficulties in policing the city in a time of rising demands and fewer officers, a review of statistics from 2006 suggests.

Hampered by staff shortages and burdened by more requests for assistance, officers wrote 10% fewer reports and made fewer arrests in 2006 than in 2005, despite a 9% increase in the number of calls for service, according to statistics compiled by the department.

Officers wrote 5,396 reports in 2005 and 4,832 in 2006.

Police also tallied a 29% decrease in traffic citations between 2005 and 2006.

Most startling are numbers showing that drunken driving arrests plummeted by 37% in 2006 compared to 2005.There were 553 DUI arrests in 2005, and only 346 in 2006.

Laguna Beach has received honors and accolades over the years for making more DUI arrests than any other agency.

Police Chief Michael Sellers attributes the steep decline to a 30% staffing shortfall, resulting from unfilled police positions and injuries that have kept existing officers out of action.

At the same time, an increase in visitors to the city has meant more citizen calls for service, and overall criminal activity has started to rise after falling over the past decade.

“We’re down in staff, and in the ability to initiate activity,” Sellers said. “We have fewer people answering more calls for service.”

Sellers, who was born in Laguna Beach, says his department is now gearing up for the busy summer season, when calls for service reach a peak.

“This was an art colony and now it’s a world-class resort,” Sellers said. “Laguna has been discovered, people are saying ‘wow,’ and as a result they all show up.”

Fewer arrests seen

Capt. Mike Hall, support services division commander, keeps track of statistics for the department.

Hall agrees with Sellers that there is a correlation between the high number of citizen calls to police and a drop in police activity, including arrests. This is due to a reduction in the amount of time officers can spend on patrol, looking for illegal activities and following through with arrests.

In Laguna Beach, citizen-initiated calls have been on the uptick since 2002, Hall said.

“We have more visitors, tourism has picked up and MTV has made Laguna even more popular,” Hall said.

Sellers said demographic changes in the city have resulted in some interesting statistics.

“There is an increase in certain kinds of crimes. Assaults are up, burglaries are down,” he said. Incidents of graffiti vandalism have risen as well.

At the same time, a lack of sworn personnel has reduced the number of detectives actively working on cases because detectives and other sworn personnel, such as motorcycle officers, are called to fill in as patrol officers to keep a minimum force in the field, Hall and Sellers said.

Hall said four positions are vacant and eight officers are out with injuries. This is expensive for the city, which must pay overtime for officers to fill in and also keep on the payroll officers too sick or injured to work.

Recruitment issue

Laguna Beach is not alone in finding it difficult to fill positions and, therefore, must compete against larger departments with higher pay scales.

“The No. 1 problem in law enforcement is filling positions,” Sellers said. “Anaheim, Irvine and Santa Ana [police departments] have vacancies even though they pay more than Laguna Beach.”

Sellers said another factor hampering Laguna is the high cost of housing.

“People can’t afford to live here,” he said. “Riverside County, where people can afford to buy homes, is taking people away from us.”

Retiring baby boomers will further erode the staffing of the force.

“Between 2007 and 2011, half the department will turn over,” Sellers said.

Sellers has made recruitment a top priority and has begun to make personal appearances at police academies, promoting Laguna to newly minted officers.

He said interviews of new recruits have increased as a direct result of meeting the Laguna Beach police chief face to face.

STATISTICAL COMPARISON (2005-06)

Here is a statistical comparison of 2005-06 compiled by the Laguna Beach Police Department: