HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-11-21; City Council; 5672; Vehicle Thefts Car CountryI •
CITY OF CA.RGSBAD
AGENDA BILL NO. __ . ___ ~ __ w ......... 7.__;;J.. __________ _
DATE: November 21, 1978 ---,--------------------
Initial:
Dept.Hd./A(!ll,
C. Atty. ---DEPARTMENT: City Ma.nager ________ ;..__,_,..;;.,._ ______ _ c .. Mgr. .R
Subject:
VEHICLE THEFTS·-CAR COUNTRY
Statement of tha Matter
Staff has had meetings with Robert Knauf, Attorney for Car Country
auto dealers, and also with Car Country auto dealers relative to
vehicle thefts. Detailed reports from the Police Chief and the
Assistant City Manager to the City Manager are attached as exhibits.
These reports contain some suggestions for temporary as well as
permanent solutions to. the problem.
The Police Chief's memo lists three recommendations. His first
recommendation, that Car Country dealers meet with reprei1entatives
of the National Auto Theft Bureau to learn methods of pr0tecting
themselves and their fapilities, has already been done. His
second recommendation is consideration of authorizing one additional
police officer plus equipment for exclusive Car Country Patrol
56 hours per week for the balance of the fiscal year, supplemented
by random surveillance by plainclothes personnel on an ove:x:time·
basis. This cost would amount to $24,400. Chief Kundtz•s-third
recommendation would be a study of the Police Department located in a
new facility wi.th a look at areas adjacent to Car Country. The
staff feels howe.•er, that this last recommendation should be defer1:ed
at the present t:.me.
Funds are available in unappropriated reserves.
Exhibit
Memo from Police Chief to City M~nager dated 10/25/78.
Memo from Assistant City Manager to City Manager dated J.l/13/78.
Resolution No.-5£o,.1 {p authorizing transfer of funds
Recoffiil'endation
If Council concurs, adopt Resolution No. ~·fle R(o ,
Council action:
11-21-78 The matter was continued in order for staff to prepare a
report as to other methods of providing security, such
as low walls and the possibility of providing private
security service at the expense of the City.
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TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
CARLSBAD POLICE DEPARTMENT
MEMORANDUM
Paul D. Bussey
City Manager
Roy J. Kundtz f"Y~/)
Chief of Police~ }"fl ·
Vehicle Thefts -Car Country
October 25, 1978
This memorandum is intended to acknowledge vehicle thefts, especially in
Car Cmmtry, as a law enforcement µroblr.!m; examine some of the causes,
typical suspects; and reconmend temporary as well as permanent solutions.
Administration of Justice practioners recognize several ingredients
necessary to complete most crimes. 1. The availability of the commodity
and the ease of taking. To combat these, police departments' expertise
focuses on random con~picuous patrol by trying to give the impression of
omnipresence in order to deter crime. They also aid the, intended victim
in methods of protecting themselves. 2. Possible punishment after ap-
prehension. There is little possibility that thieves will spend time in
custody because it is fast becoming low in priority in favor of violent
crime. This is caused by overcrowded jails and no new construction.
There is also a body of social scientists who fail to believe that incar-
ceration is a positive deterent. 3. Lastly, the lack of moral conscience
in the thief. Church, schoo'I and family units have !lllowed conmunication
1,1edia to indoctrinate youth with a lack of responsibility for their acts.
In suggesting solutions for crime problems which pertain to prevention or
apprehension, an analysis of the problem and/or a method of operation
(M.O.) usually proves helpful. A review of all vehicle thefts from Car
Country offers little help towards establishing a cost effective deterent.
As an example: Of a total of 18 cars stolen from January 1, through Octo-.-,
ber 15, 1978, only 12 can be traced to a nine to eleven hour period of a
specific Jay. Too often investigating officers find that the reported
missing vehicle disappeared 11 sometime last month" or between October 6th
and lOth 11 • (A breakdown of these thefts is attached.) Investigating
further reveals that ~ost thefts have been aided by the availability of ,
keys left inside the vehicle, or the suspect somehow gained access to the
keys. (Some recent reports attached.)
Further complicating the problem is Car Country's geographical location.
Car Country's isolation would seem to work to our advantage, but in
reality the opposite is true. Car Country's isolation makes it difficult
to apply routine methods of random patrol.
Analysis or profile of the thief is interesting but leaves little for
preventive patrol concentration. We have so far been able to identify
the following as active continuous car thieves:
1. Illegal aliens from agricultural work areas around Car Country
2. Military personnel
3. Professional car theft rings
4. Juvenile joy riders
5. Car Country employees
Recognizing that the Federal Government has not effectively dea1t with
illegal aliens or military personnel, and that California is still more
interested in the defendant's rights than the victim's, there remains
only two methods of curtailing the r:oblem of vehicle thefts at Car
Country.
I. The establishment of stringent controls by individual dealers to
make it more difficult to steal a car. The National Auto Theft
Bureau has a team whose purpose is to instruct auto dealers in
various methods of protecting themselves and their facilities.
Reconmendations:
1. Car Country dealers make time available for representatives of
the National Auto Theft Bureau to meet with and discuss various
methods of preventing veh'icl e thefts. Areas of concern should
include:
A. Inventory control
B. Key control procedures
C. Criteria for vehicle 11 try outs 11
D. Fen,:ing around dealerships
E. Driveway gates
F. Proper lighting
G. Effect of parking restrictions on Paseo del Norte from 9 P.M.
to 6 A.M. nightly.
II. Assignment of additional personnel ard equipment to Car Country.
With the growth in Car Country during 1977, the problems of thefts b,gan
to mount and a K-9 Patrol went into training early in 1978, and bec?me
operational April, 1978. To make tiis unit cost effective, it was deployed
to cover Ci!.r Country, Plaza Camino Real, Palomar l\irport Industrial Park;
Palomar Airpo:'t was to be added. While this unit has been successful, they
have obviously not stopped the Car Country thefts. This is partially caused
because his area of responsibility was large and the officer was available
for a maximum of 40 hours weekly. Furthermore, to assign this unit to patrol
only Car Country area 40 hours a week is not the best utilization of a
K-9.
(2)
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Full 24-hour patrol exclusively for Car Country, as requested in the
attached letter, is premature until full control has been applied by
the individual dealerships. As an example, exclusive coverage would
requ"ire five police officers plus equipment. The yearly cost would be
approximately $70,000 or a six percent increase in the Police Department
budget.
Reassignment or redeployment of a continuous unit at Car Country from
existing personnel would cause a corresponding decrease in the avdil-
ability of personnel to adequately police the rest of the city.
It would appear to be wasteful to patrol Car Country exclusively during
regular business hours.
Recomendation:
2. That the City Council consider authorizing one additional police
officer plus equipment for exclusive Car Country Patrol 56 hours
per week for the rest of the fiscal year.
Cost: One officer's salary plus fringe benefits $11,000
One radio car, equipped 7,600
Total: $18,600
This is to be supplemented by random surveillance by plainclothes
personnel on an overtime basis -approximately 54 man hours per
month at time and one-half ($13.50 per hour) for $729.00 per month
for an additional $5,800. It must be recognized that it takes an
average of nine months to fully train a police officer.
Further, th~j program should be re-evaluated for next fiscal year toward
the possibility of forming a permanent department strike force sometimes
called Special Enforcement Unit. This would go a long way toward hand-
ling special events and special police problems by making available a
particular body of men to work the entire city.
Lastly, as the city grows south and east, our ability ot utilize effec-
tive patrol and service the entire city is more diffic~lt. As written
in "Municipal Police Administration" by the International City Managers'
Association: "Perhaps no item of police equipment or property has the
potential for ptovi ding or denying optima 1 uti 1 i zati on of command and
supportive services personnel in any greater degree than the police
headquarters building itself."
RecolllTiendation:
3. The City Council study the relocation of the Police Department into
a new facility with a special look at areas adjacent to Car Country.
(3)
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VEHICLES STOLEN-CAR COUNTRY 1978 Jan.1 to Oct. 15, 1978
Total Vehicles Stolen
Dixon Ford 5
Weseloh Ch. 5
Don Sharp 3
Finney 3
Toyota l
Rorick 1
Days of ~eek thefts occurred
(12 known)
Weds. 2
Thurs. 2
Fri. 3
Sun. 5
Time of theft
(12 known)
8 AM to 6PM 2
9PM 8AM 10
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18 This figure represents 15% of the
total vehicles stolen from within
the city for the year (119)
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DATE: NOVEMBER 13, 1978
TO: CITY MANAGER
FROM: Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT: CAR COUNTRY VEHICLE THEFTS
After receiving Chief Kundtz's memo regarding vehicle thefts
in Car Country, a discussion was held with Robert Knauf, Attorney
for the car dealers, on Monday, November 6, 1978. In attendance
were Chief Kundtz, Robert Knauf, and me.
We discussed the problems of policing Car Country and pointed
out to Mr. Knauf the futility of attempting to cover all of
the lots with the limited patrol capability we now have. Mr. Knauf
felt we should discuss our problems with the automobile dealers
and receive input frcm them as to methods which might help alleviate
the problem of thefts. He further stated he felt the dealers
would demand all the service they could get from the City, basing
their demand on the amount of revenue derived from Car Country
sales. Total sales tax revenue accured to the City of Carlsbad
for the first three quarters of 1978 amounted to $505,835 on sales
of over $50 million.
At the completion of the meeting Chief Kundtz and I agreed to
meet with the car dealers at their regular meeting of November 7,
1978. This meeting was well attended with all the dealerships
being represented.
I presented the overview of the City's position and used Chief
Kundtz's memo to enforce this reasoning. Chief Kundtz addressed
the dealers giving recommendations for better control by them
relative to keys, locking of vehicles, inventory control, proper
lighting, fencing around dealerships, driveway gates, and other
items of this nature. He invited them all to be present the
next day, November 8, 1978, when the National Auto Theft Bureau
representatives would meet with various dealerships and discuss
methods of preventing vehicle theft. In addition, Chief Kundtz
has recommended an additional patrol unit on a 56 hour a week
basis and additional overtime so that he could run randcm
surveillance by plain::::lothes personnel. The third recommendation
was for the City Council to study the relocation of the Police
Department into a new facility in Car Country or adjacent areas.
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November 13, 1978
Page 2
Subject: Car Country Vehicle Thefts
A review of the number of vehicles stolen from January 1, 1978
to October 15, 1978 indicated 18. The dealers felt that
it would be to their advantage to appoint a committee of two
who would work directly with Chief Kundtz in matters affecting
Car Country. It was suggested tha.t the City send their auto
investigator to the regularly scheduled meetings of the Car
Country dealers for discussion and dialogue.
Mr. Knauf requested that the report on car sales for the period
covering January 1, 1978 to date be forwarded to him and he
would,in turn,relay this to the City.
The car dealers were most enthused over the proposal to provide
additional patrol in the area if the City Council approved.
The meeting ended with the understanding that a report would be
made to the City Manager of the meeting and the fur.ther suggestion
that he carry forward the request to the Council for an additional
patrol unit and the overtime for a plainclothesman for random
surveillance.
WILLIAM C. BALDWIN
Assistant City Manager
WCB:ldg
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RESOLUTION NO. 5626
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
or CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING THE
TRANSFER OF FUNDS FOR SALARIES, EQUIPMENT,
AND OVERTIME FOR CAR COUNTRY PATROL.
BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Carlsbad
6 as follows:
7 1. That the transfer of Twenty-four thousand four hundred
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8 dollars ($24,400) from the Unappropriated Reserves Account
1-000-0900 to Police Salary Account 1-119-1110 ($11,000),
Overtime Account 1-119-1120 ($5,800), and Capital Outlay Account
1-119-3900 ($7,600) is hereby authorized and approved.
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2. That DepartmP.nt of Finance Fund Transfer No. 11 on ----
file in said department and incorporated by reference herein is
approved.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the
City Council on the day of , 1978, by --------------
the following vote, to wit:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
RONALD C. PACKARD, Mayor
ATTEST:
24 ALETHA L. RAUTENKRANZ, City Clerk
25 (SEAL)
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