Police already have implemented increased patrols in high-crime neighborhoods, security cameras and $10,000 rewards for information leading to arrests and convictions.
By Katherine Tam and Karl Fischer
Contra Costa Times
RICHMOND, Calif. — Richmond city officials, responding to the public furor over a recent spate of shootings, are asking the California Highway Patrol to help police the streets.
The city used the same tactic at least three times in the past, most recently in 2005. It can work again, officials said.
“The homicides in Richmond dropped way down” when the CHP came before, Councilman John Marquez said.
Police Chief Chris Magnus wrote to the CHP on Thursday seeking teams of officers, possibly for three months or more, to join Richmond officers on patrols. But Magnus cautioned city leaders not to rely on the CHP alone to curb the violence.
“We know it works in the short term, but that is not a long-term solution,” Magnus said.
Police already have put in action a combination of short- and long-term fixes, including increased patrols in high-crime neighborhoods, security cameras in troubled areas and offering $10,000 rewards for information leading to arrests and convictions.
Richmond’s homicide total climbed to 47 in 2007, the highest since the early 1990s. Nearly half occurred the last three months of the year.
At a special meeting of the City Council Public Safety Committee on Thursday morning, residents took turns, sometimes in raised voices, pleading for change in a collective display of frustration. Officials can and should do more, they said, such as investing in youth programs, increasing job opportunities and enforcing loitering laws. A Hercules resident suggested bringing in the National Guard.
Richmond High School Principal Orlando Ramos said the city and schools need to collaborate on teaching conflict resolution to prevent disputes from escalating in the future.
“Unfortunately, everyone thinks the high schools need it; it has to begin in third grade,” Ramos said.
Underscoring the urgency of the anti-violence discussion Thursday morning, friends gathered later in the day to remember Ravinder and Paramjit Kalsi, who were shot and killed Dec. 27 in their San Pablo Avenue restaurant.
About 150 people -- including Richmond council members and faith leaders in the local Sikh community -- attended the service at Sunset View Cemetery in Kensington. Several people spoke about the brothers’ kindness and enthusiasm for their work and their lives.
“You are the family that was there for them,” Councilman Harpreet Sandhu said, referring to the crowd. “You rejoiced their hearts every day at Sahib Restaurant.”
The brothers’ family remains in Punjab, India; they had been trying to sell the restaurant they had run for about five years, in part to fund a return to their home country.
Councilman Nat Bates said city leaders and the police “are doing everything we can to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Some worry that the city’s anti-violence strategies won’t work. The Rev. Andre Shumake, president of the Richmond Improvement Association, said during the special meeting earlier in the day that the city is pumping money into a new Office of Neighborhood Safety that is led by a director who is not originally from Richmond and who does not have buy-in from locals familiar with the problem.
“It’s time to do something different,” Shumake said.
Richmond turned to the CHP for help in the 1970s and in 1994, and most recently in the summer of 2005 after 10 killings in one month touched off a similar political furor. Ten CHP officers and two sergeants, as well as Contra Costa sheriff’s deputies, patrolled troubled neighborhoods at that time.
The homicide rate dropped during those periods because CHP officers stopped cars for vehicle code violations, confiscated weapons and successfully took guns off the streets, Marquez said.
CHP officers currently are working in Oakland, where their six-month stint ends in February. The CHP said Thursday afternoon that it had not yet received Magnus’ request for help but is aware it is coming.
Richmond officials are seeking a state anti-gang grant to pay for local CHP patrols. The Public Safety Committee plans to ask the full City Council on Jan. 22 to find other money in case the state grant falls through.
Officials said it is premature to declare the Office of Neighborhood Safety, which launched Oct. 23, a failure. They asked anti-violence activists and residents to help solve the problem, such as by partnering with the city, calling in tips to help solve crimes, removing graffiti and forming neighborhood and business watch groups.
“It’s easy for people to be critics, but it’s harder for them to become meaningfully involved in the solution,” Magnus said. “We need to hear less talk and see more people coming forward. Is there anyone who does not feel action is needed at this point?”
Reach Katherine Tam at 510-262-2787 or ktam@bayareanewsgroup.com . Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer@bayareanewsgroup.com .
RICHMOND POLICE STRATEGIES
Police used overtime to double and sometimes triple the patrol in high-crime neighborhoods in recent weeks.
Richmond police unions agreed to put all patrol officers on 12-hour shifts beginning Jan. 20. The change means more officers on the street during peak crime hours.
The city asked the California Highway Patrol to send teams of officers to temporarily supplement police patrols in coming weeks.
City attorneys and a Contra Costa deputy district attorney will work on geographic probation for gang members and anti-blight projects in coming months.
The state Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement sent its Gang Suppression Enforcement Team to build felony cases against local gang members. The team began work last month.
Police offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to conviction of any city murder suspect.
A $2 million closed-circuit surveillance camera system will watch crime hot spots beginning in March.
The police department and Office of Neighborhood Safety are seeking a state grant to pay for crisis intervention teams, home chaplain visitations and youth outreach.
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