Crime down in Atwater, but public safety remains key political issue

It’s not every day a prominent Realtor and former city councilman uses a public forum to say his community is “going in a sh--hole.”

Andy Krotik, director of government affairs for the Merced County Realtor Association, said during a meeting Oct. 6 that he was concerned about the public’s safety in Atwater.

Krotik, who later said he regretted his choice of words, said his goal was to push law enforcement and community safety to the forefront of the political discussion in Atwater heading into the upcoming election next month.

During the informal town hall meeting, Krotik noted that police had received 71 reports of shots fired this year.

But, according to Atwater Police Department statistics, more than half of those reports were deemed unfounded and most came in during the last part of June and early July, leading police to conclude most people were hearing fireworks.

The actual number of confirmed incidents involving gunfire striking property — including pellet guns — was 23, as of Oct. 14, according to police statistics obtained by the Merced Sun-Star.

Records show that, at this time last year, the department reported a total of 89 reports of gunfire damaging property.

Crime stats falling

In fact, crime in Atwater is down in several significant categories: Assaults fell from 60 in 2015 to 44 so far this year; car thefts dipped from 160 last year to 114 so far this year; and robberies decreased from 22 in 2015 to 14 in 2016.

Interim Chief Samuel Joseph also noted reports of vandalism are down significantly this year compared to the same time last year. By October 2015, the department had received a total of 468 vandalism reports.

Joseph put together a special two-officer team dedicated to reducing such property crimes and said their efforts are beginning to make a major difference after police have made several arrests. As of Thursday, Atwater police had fielded a total of 255 vandalism reports this year.

“I give all the credit to the officers for making up that difference,” Joseph said.

Joseph declined to comment on Krotik’s remarks.

City Manager Frank Pietro said he was puzzled by Krotik’s remarks about public safety.

“I have no clue why Mr. Krotik would make a statement like that,” Pietro said. “I was a little shocked when I was told that’s what he said.”

Krotik, a former Atwater city councilman whose son-in-law, Matthew Vierra, is an Atwater police officer, acknowledged the statement could lead people think the situation in Atwater is worse than it really is, saying he “should’ve picked a better word.”

“I take full responsibility for it,” Krotik said in a telephone interview.

Shining a light on department needs

Krotik, a longtime public safety advocate, said he was trying to shine a spotlight on Atwater’s law enforcement needs. Among those, he said, are more uniformed officers on the streets. The city at one time boasted 34 sworn officers, but recession cutbacks saw that number fall to 28 today, and three of those officers are not working due to a combination of medical and administrative leave.

City and community leaders, including Krotik, said they have been pushing to find a way put more officers on the streets, but finding the money to pay competitive wages and benefits to qualified candidates continues to be a challenge for the smaller city of nearly 30,000 residents. Atwater struggles to compete with larger cities such as Modesto, Fresno and San Jose, which offer more pay and bonuses.

“My goal here is to make sure people are talking about this issue, to keep it on everybody’s radar, especially the City Council candidates’,” Krotik said.

Joseph agreed with the need for more officers and said he remains hopeful the department will be able to fill at least two of its seven open positions this year. Joseph said that as an instructor at the Merced College Police Academy he sees many qualified candidates completing training and said he plans to continue aggressive recruiting efforts. Atwater added a new officer to its ranks on Thursday.

In the meantime, however, Joseph said, Atwater officers will continue to operate under the familiar adage of doing more with less. And, Joseph said, he believes data show the department remains successful, both in reducing crime and in solving cases when crimes occur.

“Overtime hours are down, complaints are down, (internal affairs) investigations are down and morale in the department is good,” Joseph said.

Property crime stats may not reflect reality

Property crimes continue to be an area of concern for law enforcement, and not only in Atwater. While statistical reports are down in many places, including a significant drop in Atwater — 226 reported so far this year compared to 394 last year — many public safety leaders fear those numbers may not reflect reality.

Sheriff Vern Warnke said Propostion 47, which reduced certain drug- and theft-related crimes from arrestable felonies to cite-and-release misdemeanors, has changed the way those crimes are reported, both by members of the public and law enforcement authorities.

“I can’t tell you how many times a day I hear from somebody who tells me they had something stolen off their property and didn’t even bother to report it,” Warnke said.

The sheriff said while there’s no hard data available to prove people may have simply given up reporting minor and petty thefts, he’s heard plenty of anecdotal evidence that makes him firmly believe thefts under $1,000 in value “are going up and going up significantly.”

“Violent crimes are down, there’s no real doubt about that, and a lot of these numbers are good,” Warnke said. “But when Prop. 47 changed the definition of a crime and how we can go after the bad guys, I don’t think it did anything to actually reduce the numbers of those crimes as far as the number of victims is concerned.”

Joseph said he shares the sheriff’s concerns.

“I think we’ve seen, since Prop. 47 passed, a huge increase in the homeless population due, I believe, from the jails being required to release them now,” Joseph said. “Before (Proposition 47) they’d be in custody for longer periods and now they’re being released and there’s nowhere for them to go.”

With staffing issues and other law enforcement items on next month’s ballot, law enforcement leaders and community advocates such as Krotik say public safety should continue to be a key part of the debate.

“That’s all I’m trying to do,” Krotik said. “This isn’t a criticism of the Police Department or of law enforcement; it’s about trying to help get them the resources they need to be successful.”

This story was originally published October 20, 2016 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Crime down in Atwater, but public safety remains key political issue."