Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Police topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Police chief reports 18% drop in Part I crimes in 2024; council receives and files annual report
Summary
Police Chief Saul Rodriguez presented a 2024 year-end report showing an 18% reduction in Part I crimes from 2023 to 2024, staffing progress toward 72 authorized officers, and increased investigative and booking productivity; council agreed to receive and file the report.
El Segundo Police Chief Saul Rodriguez told the City Council on March 18 that the department recorded an 18% reduction in Part I crimes between 2023 and 2024 and outlined staffing and operational changes the department credits for the decline.
Rodriguez said the department is authorized for 72 sworn officers and currently has 66 on the roster, including four in the academy and eight in the training officer program. He reviewed hiring: nine officers in 2022, ten in 2023, and 21 in 2024. Rodriguez said attrition and academy failures mean not every recruit reaches full patrol status.
On crime statistics, the chief reported an 18% drop in Part I crimes year over year, with property crime comprising roughly 85% of the department’s total calls for criminal incidents and theft alone accounting for 52% of those cases. He provided more detail: 22 robberies (13 described as retail/shoplifting-related “estes” incidents and nine traditional robberies, four involving a handgun), a 50% reduction in certain sex offenses, and a decline in aggravated assaults; many aggravated assaults were domestic-related or connected to homeless incidents. He said the department’s clearance rates in some categories approached 45% and that detectives obtained arrests in a significant number of cases.
Rodriguez described operational changes: monthly crime-review meetings, targeted tactical action plans, a holiday deployment that produced a 30% drop in incidents in high-retail zones, and a magistrate-review practice that holds arrestees for court rather than immediate cite-and-release. He reported increases in bookings (from 988 in 2023 to 1,267 in 2024) and in citations (from 2,168 to 2,815), which he characterized as a 28–30% increase in productivity.
Council members asked about repeat offenders, geographic concentrations (hotel-related incidents were limited), vehicle theft patterns (chief said Kias and Hyundais were disproportionately targeted), and closure rates; Rodriguez said higher staffing and additional detective resources will help closure rates and noted the department may expand beats if staffing allows.
Council agreed to receive and file the chief’s report by consensus.
The presentation included public-safety suggestions for the community (securing property, closing garage doors, registering homes for vacation checks) and a preview of early 2025 data that Rodriguez said showed continued declines in Part I crime year to date.
