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30 March 2002 - North County Times
Vista records several years of crime decline

By Ron Raposa

VISTA – City officials and the Sheriff's Department attribute a significant decline in the city's crime rate since 1996 – 43 percent according to one set of statistics – to a strong city commitment and some innovative programs.

"I think there's a whole host of reasons for the decline," said Assistant City Manager Rick Dudley. "The City Council has been pretty emphatic on the issue. We've added deputies even though the crime rate has been dropping. We always keep an eye on it." Dudley and other officials said a good area economy also contributed to the crime decline. Other county cities recorded declining crime in recent years, although, depending on the figures used, Vista has some of the more impressive reductions.

From 1996 through 2000, the last annual report available from the San Diego Association of Governments, crimes per 1,000 residents in Vista went from 43.7 to 31.1, a 29 percent decrease. The figures, based on FBI statistics, include violent and property crimes but not drug offenses. The countywide average of crimes per thousand went from 46 to 32.4 in that same period, a 30 percent reduction, but Vista's figures were better than 13 of 25 jurisdictions listed. Escondido had a 31 percent reduction to 39.9 crimes per thousand and Oceanside a 26 percent reduction to 36.4. Carlsbad had a 45 percent decline in crime, from 45.7 per 1,000 residents to 25.1. Vista's figures are more impressive in the California Crime Index, which excludes larceny, a category that includes less serious crimes such as petty theft.

Using that state index, Vista's crime rate from 1996 through 2000 declined 43 percent, to 14.5 per thousand. Only one county city had a greater decline, Carlsbad at 50 percent to 9.8 crimes per thousand.

Vista, a city of 92,000 people and 17 square miles, contracts with the county Sheriff's Department rather than has its own police department. Eleven county cities, including Encinitas and Solana Beach, contract with the Sheriff's Department. "We've looked at having our own police department a number of times," Dudley said. "But to have the same amount of resources would cost us several million dollars more."

In Vista, 102 people, including, 90 sworn officers, work from the central Sheriff's facility by the Vista court complex and three substations, said Lt. Grant Burnett, who heads the administrative services division. Capt. Scott McClintock commands the operation. "We're basically the police department for the city of Vista," Burnett said.

Burnett said crime-fighting efforts in Vista have been among the more successful of contract cities, a success he attributes to a strong commitment from city officials. "We owe a lot of our success to Mayor (Ed) Estes and the City Council," Burnett said. "They're the ones who have identified public safety as a priority."

According to Dudley, Vista's contract with the Sheriff's Department was $7.6 million in 1996 and $10.1 million last year. "Safety has been one of our top priorities," said Councilwoman Judy Ritter.

Burnett said the department "responds to what the City Council has deemed as priorities."

"They want us to target drug-related activities and no other city has put so much effort into its COPPS program," he said. COPPS, Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving, emphasizes having officers work closely with community residents to develop programs to make neighborhoods safer.

Both Burnett and Dudley said the city's involvement with the county's Methamphetamine Strike Force has helped reduce crime in Vista. The city was the only one in the county willing to participate in the program, which also involves counseling offenders, Dudley said. "Drug arrests in Vista have been up in the last few years and property crimes have been going down," said Burnett, who noted that many burglaries are committed by people trying to generate money to buy drugs.

Vista's crime rate continued to decline in 2001 to 27.7 per thousand from 29.3 in 2000. But the crime rate this January was up. That was largely because of an increase in property crimes, to 241 from 166 the previous January. Violent crimes increased from 28 to 29. "We'll continue to keep an eye on that," Dudley said "I wouldn't say we've achieved heaven on earth. Unless you have zero crime, there's always more to be done."