The San Luis Obispo Police Department (SLOPD) released crime statistics from this year’s Safety Enhancement Zone period, which began Sept. 8 at 12:01 a.m. and ended Sept. 18 at 7:00 a.m. In comparison to other years, SLOPD saw decreases in minor in possession violations, noise citations and noise Disturbance Advisement Cards (DAC).
In 2013, San Luis Obispo City Council first designated the start of the Cal Poly school year as a Safety Enhancement Zone period. The period extends from the first day of Cal Poly housing move-in through the first weekend after academic classes begin.
Violations of San Luis Obispo City Municipal Code during the Safety Enhancement Zone period result in double fines, which can be written by SLOPD and University Police Department (UPD) officers. These violations include noise disturbance, urinating in public, open container, dangerous and deadly weapon posession, social host and unruly gathering.
Since the Safety Enhancement Zone was first implemented, minor in possession violations have decreased by 7 percent and noise citations have decreased by 48 percent. SLOPD issued 12 noise citations, the lowest number since 2013.
Noise DAC also decreased by 5 percent. DACs are formal warnings issued by Student Neighborhood Assistant Program (SNAP) employees. SNAP employees are Cuesta and Cal Poly students employed by SLOPD to act as first responders to noise complaints. SNAP employees cannot issue noise citations.
Although the number of drunk in public citations were lower than they were at their peak of 51 cites in 2015, SLOPD saw a 38 percent increase in them since last year. This year, SLOPD issued 29 drunk in public citations as opposed to 21 in 2016.
“Noise party calls” increased by three percent, but were lower than their peak in 2014.
In the advisory message, SLOPD said although the Safety Enhancement Zone period has ended, the department will continue to enhance enforcement and “have a low tolerance for negative behaviors that impact our community.”