[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 170 (Friday, November 21, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TRIBUTE TO VACAVILLE'S CRIME PREVENTION EFFORTS

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                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 20, 2003

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker I would like to take 
this opportunity to call my colleagues' attention to a real success 
story in the City of Vacaville, California. As this article printed in 
the Fairfield Daily Republic explains, the Police Department in 
Vacaville is receiving a good deal of well-deserved recognition for the 
programs and services it provides. The Vacaville P.D.'s comprehensive 
and preventative approach to crime is a welcome one, and it is having 
an amazing effect. Despite statewide increases in crime this past year, 
major crime in Vacaville is significantly down. In a sense, by 
investing time and effort in the community, they are stopping crime 
even before it happens. This should be a lesson to all of us. I urge my 
colleagues to read the attached article, and I commend the City of 
Vacaville and its Police Department for all their hard work.

             [From Fairfield Daily Republic, Nov. 27, 2003]

 Combatting crime ``holistically''--Vaca Police Use New Approaches To 
                          Make Community Safer

                            (By Nada Behziz)

       Vacaville.--For decades, American doctors have prescribed 
     pills for pain--white ones, blue ones, big ones, new ones.
       And for centuries, practitioners of traditional Chinese 
     medicine have eased aches, strains and spasms through herbal 
     remedies and preventive care.
       Now, those two philosophies are merging in Vacaville in a 
     slightly different venue: public safety.
       The Vacaville Police Department's transition from the ``war 
     on crime'' model to more of a preventive slant is what police 
     officials attribute to the city's decrease in crime.
       ``We're not at war with our community,'' said Vacaville 
     police Chief Bob Harrison. ``We're looking at crime more 
     holistically. We want to provide comprehensive care to really 
     get at the problem.''
       Vacaville is one of the only cities in California that not 
     only provides preventive programs within elementary and grade 
     schools but has a department within the police department 
     that provides comprehensive, preventive resources to the 
     community.
       Sarah Jacobs was torn between loving her husband and saving 
     her children. It wasn't until a rainy evening when her 
     husband threw her and her two sons out of the house with 
     bruises that she packed her bags and left.
       ``We had no where to go, but I knew we had to leave,'' 
     Jacobs said. ``I heard from friends that the police 
     department could help, so that was the first place I went.''
       Jacob found a warm place to sleep, an arrest warrant for 
     her husband who left bruises all over her body and parenting 
     resources to help her children recover, all in the same 
     place.
       ``The police department was able to take care of my every 
     need,'' Jacobs said. ``Now it's time to take care of myself 
     emotionally.''
       Vacaville's Family Investigative Response and Services Team 
     office based within the police department staffs 
     investigators, counselors and volunteers that provide 
     resources for at-risk families.
       Officials say their FIRST program helps stop crime before 
     it happens by nourishing families and showing them non-
     violent ways of solving disagreements.
       Many Vacaville residents in need of services, including 
     parenting classes and access to computers, don't know where 
     to find them. The center provides a ``one-stop-shopping 
     place'' for people to get the help they need.
       Through FIRST, 28-year-old Jacobs was placed in 
     transitional housing, a furnished home of her own where the 
     agency could counsel and monitor her.
       And she was introduced to a new family.
       ``Anything I could possibly say I need, they're on top of 
     it. I've never had to call my counselor in the middle of the 
     night, but I know she's there,'' she said. ``I never had 
     family that I was close to and could trust, now I found 
     them.''
       Today Jacobs plans to return to school next year to earn a 
     bachelor's degree in business administration. She has hopes 
     of one day becoming a lawyer.
       The department first focused on domestic violence issues 
     six years ago, but it wasn't long before police officers 
     noticed that residents who visited were not in need of police 
     services as much as they were human services. The program 
     expanded to incorporate elder abuse, sexual assault and child 
     abuse situations more than four years ago when FIRST opened 
     its doors.
       ``People ask us often if we believe this is our job as a 
     police department,'' said Lt. Scott Paulin, who runs the 
     FIRST division of Vacaville Police. ``We have to look beyond 
     putting handcuffs on people and fill the gaps to prevent the 
     criminals in the first place.''
       The gap between criminal activity and the department's 
     clearance rate is slowly closing. While crime increases at a 
     steady rate in California, this year alone, part one crimes--
     which include homicides, rape, assault and theft--have 
     already dropped 6 percent from last year in Vacaville. The 
     department's clearance rate hit almost 30 percent, a goal 
     that Harrison says the department will surpass this year.
       With one of the lowest percentages of overall crime in 
     California, Vacaville was chosen this year by the California 
     attorney general as one of two state police agencies for its 
     ``Best Practice Program,'' which will be featured on the 
     attorney general's Web site as examples of excellence for 
     other cities. The decline in crime, Harrison says, is in part 
     due to the officers visibility in the area and their personal 
     investment since the vast majority live in the city.
       ``If it's in your back yard, you care if it's clean,'' 
     Harrison said. ``Many of our officers live in town and it's a 
     place they use on a daily basis and want to take good care 
     of.''
       But Officer Erwin Ramirez says the commute from the Bay 
     Area is worth not worrying about a parolee coming after his 
     wife and three children.
       ``When you have three kids and a wife, you want to keep 
     them away from danger,'' said Ramirez, who says he makes at 
     least five arrests each month. ``It's a great city but I 
     don't want to risk my family's danger by living here.''
       Ramirez came to Vacaville three years ago after beginning 
     his career as a patrol officer with the Suisun City Police 
     Department and says the stark difference between the 
     community's reaction to police officers is what makes 
     Vacaville special.
       Driving around in his patrol car, Ramirez is approached by 
     children on their scooters smiling and waving as he drives 
     by.
       ``The department has done a great job at dispelling the 
     stereotype that comes with the police,'' Ramirez said. ``We 
     go around the neighborhoods and talk with the people and hand 
     out stickers to the kids. Hopefully they will remember that 
     the next time we come by.''

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