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Santa Maria Police Department highlights ALPR success, mental‑health response in 2024 annual report
Summary
Commander Dan Cohen told the council the department saw a steep drop in auto thefts after deploying automated license plate readers (ALPRs) and described expanded mental‑health response teams and new technologies; councilmembers asked for data on youth violence and program metrics.
Commander Dan Cohen presented the Santa Maria Police Department’s 2024 annual report to the City Council on June 3, 2025, citing declines in auto thefts and expanded crisis‑response programs while outlining training, technology and staffing figures.
Cohen opened with the department’s mission and staffing: “The Santa Maria Police Department serves a growing city of over a 10,000 residents across 23 and a half square miles,” he said, and said 2024 operations were supported by approximately 40 sworn officers and 60 professional staff on an annual budget the department described as “approximately $55,000,000.” The report described dispatch handling, patrol responses, detective work and specialized units.
Automated license plate readers and crime trends: Cohen credited the ALPR program with helping investigate more than 1,300 cases and produce 474 arrests and 418 recovered vehicles since the program…
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