Millbrae police bureau reports fewer overall calls and property crimes; vehicle theft and some assaults rose

Captain Eamon Allen of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office presented the Millbrae Police Bureau annual report on Jan. 27, saying the bureau "responded to 14, over 14,000 calls for service" in the past year and that violent crimes were down slightly from 88 to 83.

Allen told the council that property crimes showed a larger decline, with figures presented in the slide deck (the presentation cited a drop from roughly 475 to 291 incidents year‑over‑year). He also said violent‑crime clearance rates improved "to about 69%" for the year and highlighted several notable cases that led to arrests and weapon seizures.

The chief warned that one category rose: "the 1 that is up is assault this year; it went from 15 last year to 21 this year," and he said motor vehicle thefts were an ongoing problem across the Bay Area as thieves exploit delays before stolen vehicles are entered into tracking systems. Allen described how the bureau uses technology and partnerships to respond, listing deployment of 23 body‑worn cameras, 21 fixed ALPR/FLOCs, 17 in‑car dash cameras, and the new StarChase geolocation tool.

Council members focused questions on how the shift to NIBRS/SIBRS reporting affected year‑to‑year comparisons, the city's ability to track and count people who are unhoused, and enforcement options tied to recent ordinances. Allen said the department had backfilled earlier data and that his management analyst had worked to make the current report "apples to apples" for the last reporting cycle. On homelessness he said the department tracks associated incidents (shoplifting, vandalism, arson) but does not maintain a nightly count of people sleeping in Millbrae and that a county one‑day count will provide better trend data.

The presentation also detailed diversion and crisis response work: the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT) referrals were cited (about 86 referrals for the city during the period discussed), and Allen credited partnerships with city engineers and regional teams for traffic and pedestrian safety gains. Vice Mayor Rinaldi and others pressed for continued education and engineering interventions to reduce pedestrian injuries; Allen recommended a combined approach of daylighting, traffic calming and enforcement.

Allen closed by commending deputies and highlighting several recent cases — including a significant fentanyl seizure and a case alleging an online threat that led to a search warrant and arrest — as examples of proactive investigative work.

Next steps: the council thanked the chief for the report and discussed scheduling an annual e‑bike safety update from the motor deputy.

(Reporting based on the presentation and Council Q&A.)