DIANE DIXON LETTER TO RESIDENTS AND BUSINESS OWNERS 

I want to share some good news with you. As you may have heard, the City Council last week approved adding four officers to the Newport Beach Police Department, to be assigned to the Peninsula. This action is a direct result of the hard work and active participation of many dozens of Peninsula residents and business owners who have worked together to call for change.
 
As many of you know from personal experience, there are compelling reasons for this addition to the police force. As Police Chief Jay Johnson informed the Council:
 
Area 1 (basically the Peninsula and Lido Island) led the city with a 26% increase in violent crimes (such as rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults) last year.
 
Area 1 led the city in arrests with 1,174 last year - a 21% increase from the previous year. By comparison, Area 4 (Corona del Mar and Newport Coast) has 53% of the city’s population, yet only had 269 arrests – and that was a 13% decrease from the previous year.
 
In addition, according to the Chief:
 
This year, as of May 27, Area 1 has had a further 30% increase in violent crime and again leads the city in arrests with 430 - a 27% increase from the same time period last year.
 
These statistics are compelling enough, but as you know there is also an array of enforcement issues on the Peninsula, including traffic on Balboa Boulevard and the Boardwalk, homeless-related issues, property crimes and late-night alcohol related nuisance incidents. 
 
Meanwhile, the NBPD has also seen its workload increased citywide by AB 109 and Prop. 47, which have moved non-violent offenders to local jails or to supervised or outright release.

We were also able to achieve this with no budget impact. The new officers will be paid for by a 25-cent increase in certain parking meter rates, savings on police overtime, and other economies in the budget. Also, even with the added officers, the city’s employee headcount will go down by the end of the new fiscal year and will be flat with the prior year.
 
So I want to thank my fellow Council members and Chief Johnson for their focus and action on this issue of high importance to the residents of District 1. I also want to again thank the bar and restaurant owners of the Peninsula for developing and implementing a voluntary plan to address the late-night incidents. And I want to thank you, the residents, for your hard work and patience in this process.
 
Together, the residents and business owners of the Peninsula and the city have worked together to take major steps toward reducing the crimes and nuisance violations on the Peninsula.
 
Best regards,
 
Diane