Crime & Safety

San Ramon is Growing Faster than City's Police Department

The city's police department has had 58 sworn officers since 2007, despite a population increase of over 18,000.

By Jane McInnis

While San Ramon is generally a safe place to live, the city may not have enough officers to adequately fit the needs of the growing population.

In a presentation before City Council on Tuesday, San Ramon Police Chief Scott Holder reported that despite the city’s growth--an increase of over 18,000 residents from 2007 to 2013--the number of sworn officers has remained the same.

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“We’re growing, but we’re not growing as a department,” Holder said to council members.

His report highlighted evidence of longer officer response time to calls due to heavy traffic and distance between calls. The 18.56 square-mile area is typically patrolled by 4 to 5 officers.

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In one example provided by the chief, response time exceeded 6 minutes for a major injury accident at Monarch and Wedgewood Road because of the extended distance.

When officers are spread thin, the department has found itself pulling detectives out of investigations to help patrol. Holder also explained that booking for a typical arrest takes three hours--which means one less officer on the ground.

Holder proposed the council would consider hiring four additional officers to adequately staff the beats. The council agreed that Holder should move forward with the process by working with the finance committee to determine the figures for additional staff.

“I want to make it clear; when we do budgets, there’s costs and then there’s priorities,” said Vice Mayor Dave Hudson. “We better take a look at what we’re staring at.”

Holder’s report also showed that the city has seen a 110 percent increase in stolen vehicles and a 37 percent increase in residential burglaries over last year.


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