COVID, gangs played possible role in Atwater 2020 homicides increase, says police chief
Atwater’s 2020 crime trends were described by Police Chief Michael Salvador as a shining star — with one big thorn in the middle.
While overall total crime decreased by about 20% in Atwater last year, homicides rose from one to four.
“Unfortunately, violence is definitely up,” Salvador told Atwater City Council during the department’s annual report on Monday.
From Livingston to Los Banos, local crime’s year in review was similar around Merced County. The 28 recorded homicides represented a roughly 86% increase from the 15 homicides reported in 2019. Nearby Fresno and Modesto too saw the year play out similarly.
The four homicides in 2020 made for an abnormal year in Atwater, too, Salvador said. The city typically sees one or two homicides annually. Deaths as high as four have not been tallied since 2010, according to FBI uniform crime reporting (UCR) program data for Atwater.
Salvador also said there was no common thread between the circumstances around the deaths.
Last year’s overall drop in offenses concluded with 1,213 reported Part 1 crimes in Atwater, Salvador said. Part 1 crimes include homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft, auto theft and arson.
Two-thirds of those 2020 reports were property crimes.
Some of the other crime data released by the department showed:
Rape: 10 in 2019, 2 in 2020, down 80%.
Larceny theft: 708 in 2019, 579 in 2020, down 18%.
Burglary: 140 in 2019, 136 in 2020, down 3%.
Aggravated assault: 173 in 2019, 274 in 2020, up 58%.
Robbery: 22 in 2019, 29 in 2020, up 32%.
Vehicle theft: 183 in 2019, 185 in 2020, up 1%.
It’s important to note the data only includes crimes reported to police — as many crimes go often go unreported by victims and witnesses.
Salvador said the pandemic is partly to blame for the rise in homicides. The four deaths were each among high school-age victims.
If schools had been open as normal, he said he wonders whether those who were killed may still be living.
The pandemic also affected property crimes, the chief said — but more positively. Over all, property crimes decreased by about 12%.
“Property crimes are crimes of opportunity,” Salvador said. “If your residents are all home, that opportunity isn’t there.”
However, that means that when residents return to work in full force, those crimes could return to normal heights.
COVID-19 shutdowns diminished traffic collisions and associated injuries as well, Salvador said. Both were down in 2020 by at least 8% and 20%, respectively. The most notable impacts were seen during the height of citizen shelter-in-place compliance in spring.
Despite the violence marring 2020, Salvador said he is optimistic about wrapping up much-needed improvements to the Atwater Police Department this year.
The department made headlines in 2018 when issues with its evidence locker came to light. Investigators believed guns, drugs and cash had gone missing. The evidence room was shut down, the former police chief terminated and Salvador was soon hired to ameliorate the situation.
“The department was very fractured and had a lot of turmoil,” Salvador said. “My goal is to never allow that to happen again.”
Salvador told City Council on Monday that as of that morning, Atwater’s evidence room had been upgraded to fully comply with the state Department of Justice’s scathing audit.
Salvador said 99% of the to-do’s outlined when he took control of the department two years ago, including critical updates to the department’s outdated infrastructure and technology, have been accomplished. Remodels of the station’s interior are anticipated to be complete by the end of 2021.
Looking forward amid the nascence of a new year — and with a new 2021-22 city budget looming — Salvador is preparing for more renovations to Atwater police.
A new sergeant will join the team in March. And come time for City Council to approve the next year’s financial plan, the chief will ask the city to budget for a second in command.
What other cities saw in 2020
The City of Livingston saw its first homicide in five years. Merced and Los Banos reported the highest death counts of 2020 at nine homicides each.
Merced’s numbers represented a three-death increase, but still remain consistent with homicides during recent years, according to Merced Police Chief Tom Cavallero.
Merced police haven’t seen a dramatic increase in overall violent crimes. Merced Police Capt. Jay Struble said gang violence was about the same in 2020 as the prior year.
But Los Banos, the jump was significantly higher. Just one homicide was reported in the city in 2019 compared to the nine deaths in 2020.
Los Banos Police Chief Gary Brizzee said he could not identify a pattern responsible for the increase, and didn’t see any reason to pin the rise on the COVID-19 pandemic. A majority of homicides were gang related, he said.
One of the department’s 2020 feats was establishing a dedicated gang enforcement team due to increased staffing. Measure H half-percent sales tax allowed sworn officers to grow by seven.
Still, Los Banos is down four officers from being completely staffed. Brizzee said the department needs local residents who want to serve to make the community safe and vibrant.
“We need people who care about the community to join our ranks,” he said.
This story was originally published February 27, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
