ABOUT The PVE Police Department
Many would say we live in a safe community. We may never have a firsthand encounter with our police if we don't have them respond for a call for help. However, they are actively protecting and servicing our community every day.
This section introduces you to our PVE Police Department and how they serve our community based on information provided from the 2020 Police Ad Hoc study and other resources.
Read about specific topics below:
This section introduces you to our PVE Police Department and how they serve our community based on information provided from the 2020 Police Ad Hoc study and other resources.
Read about specific topics below:
- Pro-Active Policing
- How our PVE PD is Organized to Serve our Community
- Response Times of our PVE PD Bring Help Quickly
Pro-Active Policing
Many would say we live in a safe community where there is minimal crime. There are two main reasons that contribute to a low crime rate in Palos Verdes Estates.
A traffic stop is a common way for our police to find out if people are posing some danger to our community. It is also a dangerous activity for our police, since an officer never knows what he/she will encounter at the driver window.
Proactive Policing in PVE (1)
Our City is divided into two geographic areas, or beats, and Officers are assigned to each. Designating an Officer to a specific beat minimizes response time and allows the Officer to become familiar with the area, to recognize suspicious persons and their vehicles, and to anticipate potential problems before a crime is committed.
Proactive policing is an important part of Operations. In communities such as Palos Verdes Estates, where calls for service volume and crime rates are relatively low, Officers have time for self-initiated activity to thwart crime before it occurs. Proactive law enforcement is an important element of patrol, and the Officers’ collective effort in this regard is a reliable gauge of how well the Operations Division is serving the community.
In the year 2019, Patrol Officers were dispatched to 9,985 calls for service; 2,443 of these calls were 9-1-1. The total time expended on dispatched calls was 330,107 minutes (5,502 hours). During the same period, Officers observed and took action on an additional 15,748 separate incidents, expending 157,795 minutes (2,630 hours) on self-initiated activity.
This graph is a visual representation which compares the percentage of calls for service with the percentage of proactive policing activities.
These activities resulted in:
Police Reports: 862
Arrests and Field OR: 363
Traffic Citations: 3031
This shows how both residents and police can keep a watchful eye to keep our neighborhoods safe.
1) Taken from the PVE PD Police AdHoc Report, pages 15 - 17 (hyperlink https://pvestates.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=1466&meta_id=70379)
How You Can find Out About Crime Stats in PVE
The PVE PD is constantly working on making crime statistics more immediate and visible to the public. Currently, the best way to get weekly crime stats is through the PVE PD Weekly Community Update and Crime Stats. If you are not receiving this email, please contact Marcelle Herrera (mherrera@pvestates.org).
If the future, there will be an online resource that will update items by type, time and location using an online mapping tool. This tool will be announced to the community when it is ready.
- Neighbors keeping a watchful eye and reporting suspicious activities to our police
- Our police force employing proactive policing strategies to ensure that would-be criminals know that they are not welcome in our community
A traffic stop is a common way for our police to find out if people are posing some danger to our community. It is also a dangerous activity for our police, since an officer never knows what he/she will encounter at the driver window.
Proactive Policing in PVE (1)
Our City is divided into two geographic areas, or beats, and Officers are assigned to each. Designating an Officer to a specific beat minimizes response time and allows the Officer to become familiar with the area, to recognize suspicious persons and their vehicles, and to anticipate potential problems before a crime is committed.
Proactive policing is an important part of Operations. In communities such as Palos Verdes Estates, where calls for service volume and crime rates are relatively low, Officers have time for self-initiated activity to thwart crime before it occurs. Proactive law enforcement is an important element of patrol, and the Officers’ collective effort in this regard is a reliable gauge of how well the Operations Division is serving the community.
In the year 2019, Patrol Officers were dispatched to 9,985 calls for service; 2,443 of these calls were 9-1-1. The total time expended on dispatched calls was 330,107 minutes (5,502 hours). During the same period, Officers observed and took action on an additional 15,748 separate incidents, expending 157,795 minutes (2,630 hours) on self-initiated activity.
This graph is a visual representation which compares the percentage of calls for service with the percentage of proactive policing activities.
These activities resulted in:
Police Reports: 862
Arrests and Field OR: 363
Traffic Citations: 3031
This shows how both residents and police can keep a watchful eye to keep our neighborhoods safe.
1) Taken from the PVE PD Police AdHoc Report, pages 15 - 17 (hyperlink https://pvestates.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=1466&meta_id=70379)
How You Can find Out About Crime Stats in PVE
The PVE PD is constantly working on making crime statistics more immediate and visible to the public. Currently, the best way to get weekly crime stats is through the PVE PD Weekly Community Update and Crime Stats. If you are not receiving this email, please contact Marcelle Herrera (mherrera@pvestates.org).
If the future, there will be an online resource that will update items by type, time and location using an online mapping tool. This tool will be announced to the community when it is ready.
How our PVE PD is Organized to Serve Our Community
As provided in the recent Police Ad Hoc Committee Report (1), the PVE PD is divided into two divisions which operate under the Chief of Police:
How You Can Find Out About Volunteer Positions with PVE PD
Although a number of our PVE PD Volunteer teams are on a COVID break, there is hope that they will be re-engaged soon. If you are interested in any of these teams, you can find out more at the PVE PD main page. Many of the volunteer groups have their own pages listed on the left column of the PVE PD page. We will also be featuring these support groups in future articles.
Because of our Volunteer groups in PVE, we were prepared to support Seniors during the COVID outbreak, are prepared in case of disaster or civil unrest and have people who can support our officers to help maintain safety on our trails, bluffs, beaches and city streets. Participating in any of these groups or as a Block Captain for PVE Neighborhood Watch are great ways to give back to your community.
- Operations: The uniformed enforcement division which includes patrol, traffic enforcement, rescue operations, bluff-top and shoreline patrol, bicycle enforcement and parking enforcement.
- Support Division: Responsible for providing the tools needed for Operations to function. Budget management, logistics, investigations, dispatch, jail, records, property and evidence, emergency preparedness, community relations, internal affairs, training, and animal control are all functions of the Support Division.
- Blue Boxes: Sworn and Unsworn staff by position
- Green Boxes: Sworn and Unsworn staff by areas of responsibility
- Yellow Boxes: Volunteer teams that support the identified functions
How You Can Find Out About Volunteer Positions with PVE PD
Although a number of our PVE PD Volunteer teams are on a COVID break, there is hope that they will be re-engaged soon. If you are interested in any of these teams, you can find out more at the PVE PD main page. Many of the volunteer groups have their own pages listed on the left column of the PVE PD page. We will also be featuring these support groups in future articles.
Because of our Volunteer groups in PVE, we were prepared to support Seniors during the COVID outbreak, are prepared in case of disaster or civil unrest and have people who can support our officers to help maintain safety on our trails, bluffs, beaches and city streets. Participating in any of these groups or as a Block Captain for PVE Neighborhood Watch are great ways to give back to your community.
Response Times of our PVE PD Bring Help Quickly
Our patrol and dispatch officers work together to create quick communication when calls come into the station. Because our PVE PD officers know our city so well, they are able to move to streets, trails or beach locations directly. As provided in the Police Ad Hoc Committee Report, the PVE PD provides response times that bring help to needed locations quickly.
Response time is the difference between when a call is received and when the first Officer arrives on scene. When a resident calls the (PVE) Police Department to report a crime (whether on 911 or the administrative phone number), the dispatcher starts obtaining information from the caller.
This information is entered into the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system and a Call for Service is generated, including the date and time the call is received. This is considered pre-dispatch time.
The Dispatcher then assigns the call to an Officer who drives to the scene. This is considered travel time.
The combined pre-dispatch and travel time represent the total response time.
Many law enforcement agencies, particularly those that must hold calls until an Officer is available, only consider travel time as their total response time.
To interpret the following charts, it is important to note: calls for service are divided into three categories:
Priority 1 - A call for service that requires an emergency response, such as a crime in progress or a citizen in distress.
Priority 2 - A call for service that requires an immediate response, such as a non-injury traffic accident or a roadway hazard.
Priority 3 - A call for service that does not require an immediate response, such as a disturbing the peace call.
The Table here reveals the average response times for Priority 1, 2, & 3 calls for service in calendar year 2019. This data was derived directly from the timestamped computer CAD system; and was not manually collected.
1Taken from the PVE PD Police AdHoc Report, page 1 (hyperlink https://pvestates.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=1466&meta_id=70379)
Response time is the difference between when a call is received and when the first Officer arrives on scene. When a resident calls the (PVE) Police Department to report a crime (whether on 911 or the administrative phone number), the dispatcher starts obtaining information from the caller.
This information is entered into the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system and a Call for Service is generated, including the date and time the call is received. This is considered pre-dispatch time.
The Dispatcher then assigns the call to an Officer who drives to the scene. This is considered travel time.
The combined pre-dispatch and travel time represent the total response time.
Many law enforcement agencies, particularly those that must hold calls until an Officer is available, only consider travel time as their total response time.
To interpret the following charts, it is important to note: calls for service are divided into three categories:
Priority 1 - A call for service that requires an emergency response, such as a crime in progress or a citizen in distress.
Priority 2 - A call for service that requires an immediate response, such as a non-injury traffic accident or a roadway hazard.
Priority 3 - A call for service that does not require an immediate response, such as a disturbing the peace call.
The Table here reveals the average response times for Priority 1, 2, & 3 calls for service in calendar year 2019. This data was derived directly from the timestamped computer CAD system; and was not manually collected.
1Taken from the PVE PD Police AdHoc Report, page 1 (hyperlink https://pvestates.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=1466&meta_id=70379)
If you see suspicious behavior, contact the PVE Police Department, (310) 378-4211.
Your call gives them a reason to check.
Your call gives them a reason to check.