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TPD: Rita Ranch not bombarded by violent crime
Thelma Grimes/Vail Sun
Except for some quality of life issues, officials of the Tucson Police Department said Thursday that Rita Ranch does not have a crime problem.
At the request of the Rita Ranch Neighborhood Association (RRNA) Capt. Bill Washington and Assistant Police Chief Sharon Allen came attended the meeting to discuss current police levels in the southeast Tucson community and what the department is doing to protect residents.
Washington provided the more than 30 residents in attendance with four maps, two showing how the city is split into sectors and two showing the crime levels in every sector.
From violent crimes to property crime incidents, Rita Ranch, in sector 8, or a very large east side portion of coverage, has very few crimes.
Washington received questions from Rita Ranch Neighborhood Association Board members and came equipped with answers to address residents' concerns.
A lasting concern for residents has been response times in Rita Ranch, with questions about how long it would take an officer to get to a major emergency.
Washington said he reviewed what he called level-one calls over the last months. He explained that level-one calls are when someone's life is in danger for a variety of reasons.
Out of 232 total calls, four of those level-one calls came from Rita Ranch. The department's goal is to respond to a major emergency within five minutes. With all 232 calls, the department's average response time was 4.8 minutes.
Specifically looking at the four calls from Rita Ranch, the department reported that one involved a mentally challenged 17-year-old girl threatening to kill her mother with a knife. Police were on the scene in just over five minutes.
Another call in May concerned a man who was threatening someone with a gun. Police were on scene in six minutes, and no one was injured. In July there was a report of a break-in that took police 5.4 minutes to respond, and in September a resident reported seeing someone in a dark home across the street with a flashlight. Police responded in just over five minutes where they found the homeowner was testing his new flashlight.
While not all calls were not of level-one importance, Allen and Washington stressed to residents throughout the meeting that even when you are not sure, always call the police either at the non-emergency number of 792-CITY, or 9-1-1.
The more calls the police receive, the more they can assure the safety of the public.
There were also questions involving how many officers are on the streets, and whether or not the department needs more.
Allen said the goal is to have 2.4 officers per thousand residents. Right now levels are at 1.9 officers per thousand.
Washington and Allen also agreed with questioning from members of the RRNA that Sector 8, which includes Rita Ranch, is about 75 percent larger than all other city sectors, Washington agreed that the sector is 129 square miles, and Allen said there had been a plan to split it into two separate sections, but because of funding and other problems, it may take two to four years to do so.
Washington stated several times throughout the meeting that he felt Rita Ranch was receiving proper police service.
"Patrol officers are assigned by squad and by types of criminal activities in various neighborhoods," he said. "Frankly, the calls we receive in this area are quality of life issues like noise and graffiti. We also have to look at the volume of calls coming in, and that dictates where officers gravitate."
Washington said residents should report noise, graffiti and as several pointed out, problems with area youth riding quads and causing a nuisance. The captain said if residents are not receiving a good response from officers to call him directly and he'd be happy to take care of the problem.
After a short exchange with Ken Moyes, a member of the RRNA, Washington said the bottom line is he is accessible and has been trying to form a relationship with Rita Ranch residents for the last three years.
Speaking directly to Moyes, Washington said, "I am disappointed and shocked by your words of disconnect between the department and Rita Ranch. I have not been able to build a relationship with you people. I have been here three years and my office is open. If you are not getting the level of service you are entitled to it's my job to take care of that for you."
Washington can be reached at (520) 791-5700.
Except for some quality of life issues, officials of the Tucson Police Department said Thursday that Rita Ranch does not have a crime problem.
At the request of the Rita Ranch Neighborhood Association (RRNA) Capt. Bill Washington and Assistant Police Chief Sharon Allen came attended the meeting to discuss current police levels in the southeast Tucson community and what the department is doing to protect residents.
Washington provided the more than 30 residents in attendance with four maps, two showing how the city is split into sectors and two showing the crime levels in every sector.
From violent crimes to property crime incidents, Rita Ranch, in sector 8, or a very large east side portion of coverage, has very few crimes.
Washington received questions from Rita Ranch Neighborhood Association Board members and came equipped with answers to address residents' concerns.
A lasting concern for residents has been response times in Rita Ranch, with questions about how long it would take an officer to get to a major emergency.
Washington said he reviewed what he called level-one calls over the last months. He explained that level-one calls are when someone's life is in danger for a variety of reasons.
Out of 232 total calls, four of those level-one calls came from Rita Ranch. The department's goal is to respond to a major emergency within five minutes. With all 232 calls, the department's average response time was 4.8 minutes.
Specifically looking at the four calls from Rita Ranch, the department reported that one involved a mentally challenged 17-year-old girl threatening to kill her mother with a knife. Police were on the scene in just over five minutes.
Another call in May concerned a man who was threatening someone with a gun. Police were on scene in six minutes, and no one was injured. In July there was a report of a break-in that took police 5.4 minutes to respond, and in September a resident reported seeing someone in a dark home across the street with a flashlight. Police responded in just over five minutes where they found the homeowner was testing his new flashlight.
While not all calls were not of level-one importance, Allen and Washington stressed to residents throughout the meeting that even when you are not sure, always call the police either at the non-emergency number of 792-CITY, or 9-1-1.
The more calls the police receive, the more they can assure the safety of the public.
There were also questions involving how many officers are on the streets, and whether or not the department needs more.
Allen said the goal is to have 2.4 officers per thousand residents. Right now levels are at 1.9 officers per thousand.
Washington and Allen also agreed with questioning from members of the RRNA that Sector 8, which includes Rita Ranch, is about 75 percent larger than all other city sectors, Washington agreed that the sector is 129 square miles, and Allen said there had been a plan to split it into two separate sections, but because of funding and other problems, it may take two to four years to do so.
Washington stated several times throughout the meeting that he felt Rita Ranch was receiving proper police service.
"Patrol officers are assigned by squad and by types of criminal activities in various neighborhoods," he said. "Frankly, the calls we receive in this area are quality of life issues like noise and graffiti. We also have to look at the volume of calls coming in, and that dictates where officers gravitate."
Washington said residents should report noise, graffiti and as several pointed out, problems with area youth riding quads and causing a nuisance. The captain said if residents are not receiving a good response from officers to call him directly and he'd be happy to take care of the problem.
After a short exchange with Ken Moyes, a member of the RRNA, Washington said the bottom line is he is accessible and has been trying to form a relationship with Rita Ranch residents for the last three years.
Speaking directly to Moyes, Washington said, "I am disappointed and shocked by your words of disconnect between the department and Rita Ranch. I have not been able to build a relationship with you people. I have been here three years and my office is open. If you are not getting the level of service you are entitled to it's my job to take care of that for you."
Washington can be reached at (520) 791-5700.
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RR_Resident wrote on Nov 27, 2008 9:36 PM:
If the Rita Ranch Neighborhood Association was really interested in addressing the issues of crime and police coverage in the Rita Ranch area they would have had a couple of questions or points they wanted to make and then let the public interact with the TPD representatives. Instead, roughly 75% of the allotted time was spent by Mr. Moyes asking his pointless questions and looking smug.
Kudos to TPD and Capt. Washington in particular for their willingness to come to this meeting and their patience to put up with the fools we all had to suffer that night. "