Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Orange police chief praises declining crime as he prepares to retire; council presses on staffing and homelessness
Summary
Police Chief Dan Adams told the City Council that overall crime fell about 10% in 2024 and roughly 20% so far in 2025, while the department contends with staffing shortfalls, vacancies and increases in some enforcement actions. Councilmembers pressed for clarity on how policy changes and funding affect arrests and reunification efforts.
Police Chief Dan Adams, marking the end of a 35‑year career, told the City of Orange Council that the department recorded an "approximate 10% decrease in crime" in 2024 compared with 2023 and reported "about a 20% decrease" so far in 2025.
The presentation, given as part of the council’s public meeting, highlighted distinctions in reporting methods — including a national FBI change that categorizes some vehicular deaths as homicides — and noted that while the city recorded zero murders in 2024 it did record three vehicular homicides tied to criminal filings. "We sheltered 201 people last year," Adams said, noting an increase of 36 over 2023 and citing the department’s work to get people into shelter.
Why it matters: the report frames near‑term public‑safety improvements while underscoring persistent operational limits. Adams repeatedly tied future progress to staffing and funding. The department reported hiring 11 officers in 2024 and said it is down from a 2023 peak of 170 sworn officers to about 153, with dozens of vacancies and several officers eligible for retirement.
Council members questioned whether the crime decline reflects enforcement changes, new state law implementations and what local data show about repeat offenders. Council Member Tavares asked how fewer officers could coincide with falling crime; Adams pointed to arrest patterns, targeted units and technology such as Flock license‑plate recognition that he said "has been a complete game changer for us." Adams also said the recently changed legal landscape — including the passage of Proposition 36 at the state level — affects arrest, booking and sentencing practices and may act as a deterrent.
Homelessness and reunification: Adams and staff said reunification of people experiencing homelessness occurs when feasible but that available grant support for a reunification fund had not arrived this year. Captain/managerial staff explained that grant timing, not volunteer donations alone, explains gaps: "A majority of the funding that comes from grants and . . . other areas from the churches didn't come through for this year," a staff member said.
Operational pressures: council members pressed on coverage for jailer positions, response times and the department’s capacity to handle permit‑parking enforcement. Adams said the department averages roughly four minutes for emergency responses and that current staffing constraints require reassigning specialized units into patrol duties.
What happens next: there was no formal council action on the report. Councilmembers thanked Chief Adams for his service and discussed follow‑up questions for staff — including deeper breakdowns of arrest categories, reunification funding and more detailed five‑year tracking of staffing versus crime trends — ahead of future briefings.
