Auburn PD reports more cases cleared, chronic homelessness down

Auburn Police Chief Ryan Kinnan presented his 2023 annual report to the Auburn City Council this week. There have been changes in how the state of California tracks crime, Kinnan reported, with statistics tracking all 58 types of crime. The Auburn Police Department took 1,402 cases with a clearance rate of 61.48 percent, which is a 16-percent increase over similar statistics in 2022. Crimes against society were up 71 percent. These crimes include DUIs, drugs and narcotics and disorderly conduct incidents. Crimes against property were down in 2023, with a decrease of 34 percent. These crimes include arson, burglary and vandalism. Crimes against a person – simple and aggravated assault – was down 9 percent. "We broke up where our arrestees live," Kinnan said. "Just over a third live in the city, a third live in the county and just over 25 percent live outside the county. A lot of people are coming into the city of Auburn and we are catching the bad guys and putting them in jail." Regarding calls for service, Kinnan said alarm alerts are the department's most popular call for service. Kinnan said those calls often take considerable time to clear, usually 30 minutes, and typically 97 percent of the calls are false alarms. Regarding response times, Kinnan said officers are able to respond to Priority 1 calls within an average of 4 minutes and 24 seconds. Kinnan also covered officer-initiated incidents, which are ways the team can be proactive. These incidents include area checks, traffic stops, business checks and security. He said throughout the year, officers spend 550 hours on foot patrol – that is close to 1.5 hours a day. Speed was the main culprit in the department's collision statistics, accounting for 26 percent of accidents. Overall, traffic collisions were down 42 percent but traffic incidents were slightly up. Traffic stops increased more than 108 percent in 2023. The department made a 45-percent increase in DUI arrests with a total of 174. The average blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit, Kinnan said. Kinnan sang the praises of the department's Problem Oriented Policing team, which addresses items patrol officers can't get to. "They become the face of the police department," Kinnan said. "They do a lot of work and become our liaison to outside agencies." Kinnan reported the city's chronic homeless community was down 26 percent, as that number was reduced from 26 at the start of the year to 19 by the end. According to the report, the officers contacted 15 separate people per month and on average three declined services. Kinnan cited technology upgrades, including the installation of Flock Safety Automated License Plate Recognition cameras, which assisted in the arrest of individuals for three stolen vehicles, one assault with a deadly weapon and one post-release community service arrest. On average, the cameras scan more than 19,000 plates daily. Also helping deter crimes are the addition of cameras at the city's School Park Preserve and Auburn Chamber of Commerce, Kinnan said. Since cameras were installed at School Park Preserve, calls for service at the park have reduced 61 percent. Kinnan concluded his report outlining some of the challenges the department is facing, starting with aging technology. The department's 7-year-old body-worn camera system is "at the end of life," Kinnan said. He estimated replacing that system would cost $125,000. The department is also in need of new radio infrastructure, which will cost the city $261,000 with $49,000 annual maintenance costs. The Auburn Police Department's aging facilities are also presenting issues for officers. Maintenance has continued to be deferred and they are dealing with issues "on an as-needed basis," such as the water heater, which stopped working recently. He also shared the department's computers are outdated, another $21,000 needed to upgrade their tools. Council members thanked Kinnan for his detailed report. "I think that we should talk about how we want to deal with our facilities possibly as part of the Strategic Plan," said Mayor Rachel Radell-Harris. "Historic buildings are great but challenging to work in and challenging to maintain so that should be something we talk about as a group."