San Diego Police Think They Can Prevent Future Crimes By Bothering People At Trolley Stops

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/01/14/3611072/egregious-san-diego-policing/


http://voiceofsandiego.org/2015/01/12/sheriffs-dept-is-tracking-and-arresting-criminals-before-they-commit-major-crimes/


http://alamedacounty.granicus.com/DocumentViewer.php?file=alamedacounty_93a73ff337aa40e40f7a9c49ba912bab.pdf&view=1


A thorough investigation launched by the Voice of San Diego discovered a police operation that purported to curb serious crimes in the future by identifying and questioning people who did not pay a trolley fare. Experts tell ThinkProgress that the program is unlikely to achieve its goals, and that it ignores more effective ways to prevent crime.


The basic premise of the operation, dubbed Operation Lemon Drop, was to identify and penalize people who could commit a crime in the future, by patrolling areas where low-level offenders converged. During the four-month operation, more than 30 officers from the sheriff’s department boarded a trolley at the Lemon Grove station and asked people if they paid the $2.50 riders fare. Anyone who did not pay or gave officers probable cause to approach them — such as listening to loud music — was pulled aside and questioned. Of the 16,631 people who police confronted, 451 received citations. Only 1.1 percent of the people questioned, or 186 individuals, were arrested for felonies or misdemeanor charges.

30. Sheriff - Authorize the Sheriff to apply for and accept the 2014 Federal Office of Community Oriented

Policing Services Hiring Program grant, to increase police presence throughout the AC Transit System and provide School Resource Officers throughout Alameda County, for the period of 9/1/14 - 8/31/17, in the
amount of $1,000,000 - CAO Recommends: Approve