Salinas Police present 2024 annual report; committee asks about response times, online reporting and vehicle-theft grant

SALINAS, Calif. — Assistant Police Chief Luis Bravo presented a condensed version of the Salinas Police Department’s 2024 annual report to the Police Advisory Committee on Aug. 27, outlining crime trends, staffing and program developments and answering committee questions about response times, online reporting and vehicle theft enforcement.

The report, Bravo said, covers the department’s calls for service, arrests, staffing and specialty units, and is available in full on the department website. "This is just a condensed version," Bravo told the committee. He said the department handled about 132,147 calls for service in 2024 and made roughly 2,115 arrests. The department reported an average response time for priority 1 calls of about four minutes or less from dispatch to arrival, and a combined priority 1 and 2 arrival-rate statistic of about 86.93%.

The nut of the presentation was crime trends and department capacity. Bravo noted a sharp decline in homicides from earlier years, reporting six homicides in 2024 and saying the department had cleared or solved four of those cases. He described the decline in part as the result of investigative work, community cooperation and technology such as home surveillance and license-plate readers. "One is too many," the assistant chief said when discussing homicides.

The presentation summarized several operational highlights: - Staffing and diversity: The department reported roughly 128 sworn officers on duty at a point in 2024, with 161 authorized positions and recruits in the academy. About half of the department is Spanish-speaking, and the department reported growth in female hiring and higher educational attainment among staff. - Specialty units and equipment: The department had eight police canines in 2024 and reported nearly 99 canine deployments that year with multiple narcotics and firearm seizures. The Violence Suppression Task Force reported 71 felony arrests, 194 firearms seized and 358 drone deployments during the year. The department also noted plans approved by the City Council to buy 10 additional in-car Axon camera systems and 20 additional Axon evidence licenses. - Cadet program and outreach: Cadet participation grew from 11 cadets in 2023 to 22 in 2024, and outreach events (including National Night Out) rose significantly. Bravo said the department attended roughly 102 outreach events in 2024. - Evidence and investigations: The department booked nearly 23,000 pieces of evidence in 2024. Investigations reported about 395 assigned cases with 371 cleared or forwarded for prosecution; the department said detectives continue to work cold-case homicides.

Committee members pressed for clarification on several operational items. When asked how priorities are defined, Bravo said priority 1 calls are calls where "someone's in danger" — for example shootings, stabbings or in-progress incidents that present imminent risk of great bodily injury — and priority 2 calls are lower-severity incidents that still require timely response. He clarified that the department’s four-minute metric measures the time from dispatch (when the dispatcher tells the officer to respond) until the officer arrives on scene.

On online and non‑emergency reporting, staff said the digital report system is intended mainly for incidents such as minor collisions or thefts for insurance reporting; if a report contains suspect information the department prefers that callers use the nonemergency number (or 911 for emergencies) so officers can follow up. The committee raised concerns about in-person accessibility for residents who are not computer-savvy; department staff said they would look into improved lobby assistance.

The meeting also covered grants and enforcement priorities. Tanya Herrickson, the department’s police services administrator, said the city awarded a substantial state grant in 2023 to focus on organized vehicle theft and motor vehicle theft. "In 2023, we were awarded a $3,600,000 grant from the state to focus on organized vehicle theft and also motor vehicle theft," Herrickson said; she told the committee the program is now fully staffed and will expand focused enforcement in coming years. The department also said it had received tentative approval for two Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) grants to fund selective traffic enforcement and pedestrian/bicycle safety work for the Oct. 1 grant year.

Committee members sought more granular data on the share of the 132,147 calls that were priority 1 or 2; staff said some call-level statistics come through the county communications center but that the department can provide additional breakdowns on request. Members also asked about the department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) work and whether the department plans more proactive youth and parent outreach; the Salinas police outreach team said ICAC education is on the department’s radar and additional activity is expected in the coming year.

Votes at a glance - Approval of committee minutes (consent agenda): Motion to approve minutes of July 2025 was moved by Committee Member Gasca and seconded by Committee Member Camacho. Vote: Piretta — Yes; Miller — Aye; Gasca — Yes; Hayes — Aye; Chair Dela Rosa — Yes. Outcome: approved.

Why it matters The annual report provides the committee and public a summary of police operations, staffing trends and where city and state grant funds will be directed. Details cited in the presentation — response-time calculations, the vehicle-theft grant, the growing cadet program and the technology investments (Axon cameras, license-plate readers, drones) — are direct inputs to the department’s future enforcement and community-outreach priorities. Committee members repeatedly asked for clearer public-facing materials (priority definitions, non-English access at the lobby and downloadable reports) to help residents understand when to call 911, the nonemergency line or use digital reporting.

Next steps and follow-up Department staff said the full 2024 annual report and interactive materials are available on the Salinas Police Department website and can be downloaded. The department committed to providing additional call-priority documentation and to reviewing lobby assistance for non‑digital users. Staff also noted that the vehicle-theft program funded by the 2023 state grant will increase targeted enforcement as staffing and program resources continue to be deployed.

Ending note The Police Advisory Committee did not take new policy actions on the annual report itself; the meeting’s formal action was the routine approval of minutes. Several committee members thanked staff for the presentation and the outreach events; the department noted National Night Out drew an estimated 2,000 attendees this year.