Healdsburg Crime Reports Rising: Public Security Cams on the Table

A big theme at the last City Council meeting was local crime trends. Healdsburg police officials presented their stats from over the past year, as they do annually — then used the data to make the case that the city should set up at least 10 public security cameras at seven crime-prone locations around town, costing at least $37,500. Here’s what our local law enforcement officials are seeing, crime-wise: Total incidents involving Healdsburg police went up around 13 percent last year, compared to the year before. Reports of theft-related crimes like burglary and larceny have been on the decline, police say, as well as domestic disputes — but incidents related to drugs, weapons and violence have been on the rise. Matt Jenkins, our chief of police, said these local trends mirror a recent rise in violent crime, and gun-related violence in particular, across California. “So as we see those increases in simple assault and aggravated assault” here in town, he said, “I don’t think those are isolated just to Healdsburg.” Still, the local numbers are enough to turn some heads: Healdsburg cops made nearly 750 arrests last year, compared to around 500 the year before, and around 475 the year before that, their stats show. The arrest number for 2023 is the highest we’ve seen in years. So, what to do about all this? One thing police officials are proposing is a new “public safety camera program” in Healdsburg — partly because of the success of the license-plate readers they installed around town early last year, which they think has done a lot to bring down the number of local car thefts. Healdsburg Police Lieutenant Luis Rodriguez explained at the meeting that the cameras would be a tool to investigate crime and discourage criminal behavior — not a system where officers would be watching and monitoring people 24 hours a day. “The reality is that we don’t have the capability to have somebody watching these cameras all the time,” he said. “It would be more of a reactive and investigatory tool.” There was no actual vote on the proposed camera system at the meeting, but councilmembers seemed generally supportive. “The city council Tuesday agreed to revisit the issue, likely in May,” KRCB reports. If they end up approving the new camera system, the tech could reportedly be installed as soon as this summer. (Source: KRCB & Healdsburg City Council via Facebook)