Seaside police commander briefs safety commission on video evidence uploads, daylighting law and crime trends

Seaside police provided a staff briefing to the Community Safety Advisory Commission on how residents can share video evidence, recent enforcement actions tied to a California daylighting rule, and current local crime trends.

Commander Doja told commissioners Ring users can share video directly from the Ring app and explained the department uses Axon’s evidence.com system to attach uploaded digital evidence to an officer’s case. He advised residents to call and obtain a report number first so footage ties to an active case; otherwise online uploads are more siloed.

On parking and intersection safety, the commander described the state ‘daylighting’ rule that prohibits parking within roughly 18–20 feet of an intersection approach and said the department and public works have focused on education and targeted projects such as curb painting or bulb-outs at high-collision locations. "We couldn't cite [initially], but we can definitely give warnings," he said, describing an early-education approach to enforcement.

The commander also summarized crime trends observed by the department: an uptick in illegal firearm possession and increasing possession of crack cocaine. He said enforcement efforts are underway and that arrests have focused on people selling narcotics rather than users. He reported the department is nearly fully staffed, with recent hires completing field training and others in the academy.

Commissioners asked whether the department would produce public-education material; the commander said a patrol shift is preparing a 12-video traffic-education series for department social channels and welcomed topic suggestions from commissioners.

Next steps: The department encouraged residents to call for a report number before uploading evidence to ensure proper case handling and will continue coordinated education and targeted enforcement around daylighting and parking restrictions.