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Pismo Beach police report: crime down in several categories, traffic enforcement and non‑injury reports up
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Summary
Police Chief Smith told the council the 2025 annual report shows small declines in Group A and property crimes and sizable decreases in some narcotics and weapons violations, while self‑initiated officer activity and traffic enforcement rose; staff said they are compiling collision data and pursuing corridor analysis and grants.
Police Chief Smith presented the Pismo Beach Police Department’s 2025 annual report at the April 7 council meeting, saying many serious crime categories declined even as the department recorded more traffic enforcement actions and a rise in non‑injury collision reports.
Chief Smith reported that Group A crimes — the category reported to the FBI that includes crimes against persons and property — declined by about 1% (from 86 to 85 incidents). He said property crimes fell about 14%, forgery/fraud decreased roughly 27% and narcotics and weapons violations also declined in the mid‑30% range. “For the most part, I’d like to say we live in a relatively safe community,” Chief Smith said.
At the same time, the department logged an increase in calls for service to just over 17,000 and a 29% rise in self‑initiated police activity. Chief Smith noted a 51% rise in traffic enforcement activity compared with the previous year and explained that the department took more non‑injury collision reports at the request of involved parties even though the total number of collisions recorded in 2025 (525) was lower than in 2024 (581). He said, in part, the increase in reported collisions reflects more parties asking for official reports for insurance purposes.
Chief Smith also credited an OTS grant that funded overtime for targeted DUI enforcement and said the department made 198 DUI arrests during the reporting year. On dispatch, he said the department will begin using a new phone package with AI‑assisted transcription and routing to help dispatchers triage nonemergency calls while preserving dispatcher oversight.
Council members pressed staff on the causes of increased traffic reports and whether roadway design or increased impatience by drivers were factors. Staff said they are compiling collision data and preparing a project initiation document for the Price Canyon Road–to‑101 corridor (due May 20) to identify primary collision factors and potential countermeasures; simple fixes like relocated signage have sometimes produced immediate improvements in problem locations.
Staff also said Caltrans has begun work on the 101 managed lane project and that the city will continue outreach to minimize local impacts as construction continues. The department’s community service technician and civilian evidence technician work were highlighted as helping quality of life and records management.
Next steps described by staff include completing the collision analysis, prioritizing corridor work, pursuing relevant grants, and implementing feasible engineering or signage changes based on the data.
