Residential burglaries see drop in San Carlos

“Many of their instructors came out to all of our patrol teams and trained all of our patrol staff on all the latest resources and training in how to assist victims of domestic violence,” said Myers, a captain in the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office who oversees the San Carlos Police Bureau as chief. 

Property crimes increased modestly between 2022-23, but there was a decline in residential and vehicle burglaries. Myers said this can possibly be because of burglary deterrence measures such as automated license plate reader cameras. Crimes against society decreased, and a decline in drug and narcotic offense was cited to proactive patrols. 

According to a staff report, the department has “increased effort to arrest individuals caught with narcotics rather than simply citing and releasing” due to belief this allows these individuals to receive resources to address their addictions. 

There has been minimal fluctuation in significant traffic collisions within the last four years but 2023 reported lower numbers than 2022. There was a 24% decline in minor injury collisions and a 12% decrease in noninjury collisions. 

Myers said the decline “may be attributed to the latest enforcement initiatives in traffic collision-prone areas in San Carlos.”

The top three actions that caused collisions in 2023 were unsafe lane change, speeding and unsafe starting or backing. 

The city saw a slight reduction in vehicle and bicycle collisions. A San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury Report released in 2023 highlighted the need for improved safety measures for bicyclists in the county, and the Sheriff’s Office responded promptly by creating a portal for bicyclists to report any incidents in which they felt unsafe or felt a law was broken. 

There was also a decline in collisions related to drivers under the influence. Myers said the bureau implemented DUI checkpoints twice in 2023 and screened 1,945 vehicles. Out of 40 conducted field sobriety tests, three resulted in arrest. 

The overall stability of the city’s crime reports suggests continued success of the San Carlos bureau of the Sheriff’s Office, Vice Mayor Sara McDowell said. 

“Many of us like to repeat those [success stories] out in the community when people pine for the olden days when we had our personal San Carlos force and we can talk about all the great work that the Sheriff’s Office provides and all of the amazing resources that you have at your disposal to bring to San Carlos,” McDowell said.  

The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office has provided law enforcement services to San Carlos since October 2010. 

“As someone who has lived in this town for a long time, the coverage is better, everything is better,” Councilmember Ron Collins said. “I hope the public understands that.”

Response efforts

Dispatch for San Carlos received 11,992 total 911 and nonemergency calls from the public in 2023. Of those, 117 were considered emergency calls requiring immediate response, which averaged four minutes and 23 seconds. According to the Department of Justice, studies find that if police take less than five minutes to respond to a call involving a crime, the probability of making an arrest is 60%. This drops significantly after five minutes. 

Myers highlighted the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team, a partnership between the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and Behavioral Health and Recovery Services. PERT’s goal is to support individuals and families living with mental illness and reduce tragic outcomes involving law enforcement and those experiencing crises. 

PERT coordinates crisis intervention training focused on de-escalation tactics that was newly implemented for law enforcement in 2021.

“I think those additional tools and opportunities to de-escalate and solve issues in a more creative way are great,” Mayor John Dugan said.