Good Turnout, Talk for First 'Coffee with Cops'

Beefing up a daytime curfew ordinance and tips for deterring burglars were among the topics discussed as two dozen San Leandrans turned out for the first in a series of neighborhood meetings that San Leandro police have dubbed "Coffee with Cops."

Chief of Police Sandra Spagnoli and top deputies fielded questions for an hour on everything from traffic headaches to of a loaded, but unused, gun in the backpack of a student at San Leandro High.

"That is the topic of the moment," Spagnoli said, although at least one attendee had not yet heard of the incident.

Spagnoli said the city now has one officer assigned to work directly with the city's schools, but is assigning another and trying to get a third campus patrol specialist.

Among other initiatives, Spagnoli said, police are working with city council and school board officials to put more teeth in a daytime curfew ordinance, to give patrol officers a tool to discipline school-age youth, who may simply be cutting classes but may also commit daytime crimes.

Burglaries were among the concerns raised by attendees.

Joan Dalpe of St. Mary's Street told officers that crime seems to be on the rise since she moved to San Leandro nine years ago. She said her home was burgled five years ago and she fears a repeat.

Lt. Jeff Tudor said interviews with arrested burglars suggests the three best ways to deter them are alarm systems, dogs and active neighborhood watches.

Gangs came up.

Tudor said San Leandro has been fortunate so far to have less gang activity than surrounding cities. He asked the public to call in complaints of suspected gang members hanging around and said police would try to flood such areas with patrols to nip gangs in the bud.

"We don't want people flying their colors and claiming certain areas," he said.

Tudor said police are also trying to bust whoever perpetrated the over the Labor Day weekend along East 14th Street by, for instance, seeking any surveillance videos taken by businesses in the area.

Spagnoli said she has gotten complaints about a new automated phone answering system. She said the change was needed so the department could focus on answering 911 calls within three rings as required by the state. She said emergency call volume has gone up greatly since cell phone calls were redirected to local police rather than regional Highway Patrol offices, and live operators are most important on such calls.

Attendees asked police for help on traffic aggravations. Congestion around school drop-off zones was one complaint. Police said they could target such activity because it had a regular pattern. But speeding on city streets was harder to curtail.

Claudia McHenry with Citizens for a Safer San Leandro said many neighbors were frustrated with the Nex Cycle recycling station in the parking lot of the Safeway on Bancroft Avenue. She said it was unsightly and attracted recycling pilferers to the neighborhood. A lengthy process of moving the station to a different location is under way.

It wasn't all complaints as the police drew compliments for courtesy and responsiveness from Dalpe and others.

And while the perception is that crime is on the rise, police said statistics show that, last year, serious crime in San Leandro was at its lowest level in 30 years.

The department currently has 89 officers, down from a high of 94, police said.

The department's policy of openness apparently has its limits. Officers at this morning's event said nothing about an incident last night in which a San Leandro police car crashed into a liquor store.