San Fernando police report: 261 of 500 overtime hours used; chief launches coalition to prevent gang violence

San Fernando — Police Chief Fabian Valdez updated the City Council on enhanced patrol operations funded by a recent $50,000 overtime allocation and outlined a two-track approach that pairs short-term enforcement with longer-term prevention.

Valdez reported the department has used about 261 of approximately 500 overtime hours authorized for targeted enforcement since August. He listed recent activities including parking-enforcement details, four traffic-enforcement details, two crime-suppression operations, a bike-team high-visibility patrol, an undercover retail sting conducted with Target—s crime-prevention team, registrant-compliance checks and special operations that led to arrests. Valdez said one special operation led to an arrest and that other investigations are being followed up with the district attorney.

Prevention and schools: The chief described a new San Fernando Community Coalition to Prevent Gang Violence intended to coordinate prevention, intervention, diversion, education, rehabilitation and enforcement. He said the department and Recreation & Community Services will pursue after-school programs, mentoring and supports for students and families and have scheduled another coalition meeting for Jan. 8.

Patrol staffing and technology: Valdez outlined staffing numbers and goals: the department had about 32 sworn officers on payroll with several officers in training or the academy, leaving roughly 28— 29 deployable officers; his target is to reach 35 sworn officers to achieve about six patrol officers per shift. He also told the council the department is exploring technology to improve report writing and patrol tracking, including body-worn-camera integrations and AI-assisted report tools to free officers from administrative time and increase street presence. The chief said GPS vehicle tracking and CAD integration could support equitable patrolling across neighborhoods but acknowledged labor and privacy issues would need to be addressed through meet-and-confer procedures.

Council response: Several council members pressed for clearer performance metrics and recommended data-driven tracking of patrol routes and activity. Councilmembers asked staff to explore low-intrusion ways to measure patrol coverage, to return with budget implications and to pursue grant opportunities or partnerships (including LAUSD collaboration) for prevention programs.

From the transcript: Valdez said, "we have used approximately 261 hours so far of the approximately 500 hours available," and described the coalition: "We are leading a coalition... to Prevent Gang Violence." He also told the council that technology piloting is under discussion: "There's a software now that will allow, artificial intelligence to basically write police reports... police officers who would still have to review the report."

Next steps: Staff will present follow-up options about patrol tracking (GPS/CAD), potential pilot programs for report-writing efficiency and programmatic grant opportunities for the prevention coalition. Council members signaled support for data-driven measurement and asked staff to return with options and cost estimates.