Davis police outline event-security plans and new downtown strategy ahead of Picnic Day

The police chief told the Davis Police Accountability Commission on Dec. 1 that the department uses a standardized risk-assessment and permitting process for large events, and that Picnic Day — which draws an estimated 70,000 people — poses exceptional staffing and public-safety challenges.

The chief said organizers seeking permits are evaluated on attendance estimates, alcohol service, event timing and prior incidents, and that the city can attach conditions such as fencing, vetted security or contracted off-duty (extra-duty) police officers. "We always do kind of a risk assessment process," the chief said, explaining that extra-duty officers work under contract at a fixed rate and must provide insurance but retain full authority while in uniform.

Why it matters: Picnic Day and similar large gatherings can rapidly exceed local capacity; the department described mutual-aid arrangements with neighboring agencies but said those resources are normally not reimbursed unless an emergency declaration triggers Stafford Act reimbursement. The chief told commissioners that for extremely large events other jurisdictions have deployed hundreds of officers and that Davis cannot reliably staff dozens of simultaneous, spontaneous gatherings.

The presentation moved from permitting to downtown safety data. The chief reported that calls for service in the downtown core rose to 9,685 in 2024 while robberies dropped from 10 in 2022 to 5 in 2024 and reported assaults fell from 21 in 2023 to 15 in 2024; reported thefts increased to 124 in 2024. The department described a downtown lead officer program: one highly visible officer working 10-hour shifts as a community and business liaison focused on root-cause responses, data-driven interventions with the Yolo County District Attorney's office, and coordination with homeless outreach teams and clinicians.

Commissioners pressed the chief on enforcement options for non-permitted Picnic Day gatherings and whether the city could limit events to campus property; the chief said the city historically declines permits for Picnic Day and that dispersal is an option only after violent or destructive behavior is reported because clearing large spontaneous gatherings requires substantial officer resources and can divert response to other 911 calls. He also described plans to step up joint communications with UC Davis and student organizations and to adopt a stricter enforcement posture than in recent post‑COVID years.

The commission's discussion also addressed crowd-management planning (egress/ingress, medical surge, lost-child plans), use of unmanned aerial systems for situational awareness and after-action reviews to identify training or planning gaps. The chief emphasized balancing safety and public experience while prioritizing de-escalation and service referrals for people with serious mental illness or substance use disorder.

The commission asked for follow-up briefings in the months leading up to Picnic Day and for more detail on the department's staffing and mutual-aid assumptions. The chief said staff will ramp up outreach and in-person meetings with student organizations as April approaches, and will provide additional planning updates requested by the commission.