Class Topics: Pan Handling, Crime Analysis, Animal Control

San Bernardino Police Department's Community Police Academy continues through Mar. 26 on Wednesday evenings, from 6-8 p.m. On Feb. 19, the first of three presentations focused on pan handling. The forums that followed looked at crime analysis and animal control. Lt. Michael Madden, born and raised in San Bernardino, and SBPD Transient Strategies officer calls upon residents to affect the kind of change he believes can make a difference. Considering the circumstances, Lt. Madden said, "As a result of the city's financial woes, having so many pan handlers makes people feel unsafe. And unfortunately, many of them have become emboldened and aggressive." That said, Lt. Madden wants citizens to understand that calls are prioritized based on there being "an eminent threat to life." Crimes in progress, such as domestic violence, burglaries, and car theft are priority-one calls. "Pan handling is generally a priority-four, so it may take 2-4 hours to address such calls," Lt. Madden said. Lt. Madden shared that homelessness and pan handling are a bigger issue than the police force can really handle, and that most pan handlers are not bad people. So, with the help of the community, the SBPD is aiming to give such people in need access to resources. In this way, one idea in the works is to provide the community with info cards that they can give to pan handlers rather than money. Pan handlers can then access local charities that can help them get cleaned up, and hopefully, reconnected with their families, Lt. Madden expressed. "The biggest way we can make the biggest affect is by educating the residents to not give money." Instead, Officer Madden encouraged residents to give to reputable local charities. Why? "A significant portion of the homeless population is addicted," said Lt. Madden. Therefore, giving money merely enables addicted pan handlers to continue to use, Lt. Madden said. The second presentation looked at crime analysis. Matthew Good is a Computer Science wiz who has been with the department for about 17 years. With the assistance of PowerPoint slides, residents were given a window seat into what the police department and their officers are able to utilize computers and technology to predict where crimes are most likely to reoccur. Officers on patrol access what looked like something from a futuristic film, all visible from the patrol car's dashboard. The final presentation was delivered by Animal Control Officer Susan Estrada. Just today, a west side resident stopped the officer thanking her department for doing a great job. Officer Estrada continued to share how the resident said that he hadn't seen as many stray dogs as before. And why is this? Officer Estrada shared how based on calls their department receives is where officers are going. The problem is, sometimes residents will wait until after several dog attacks have occurred by the same dog, before calling Animal Control. According to Officer Estrada, one such family didn't call until all three of their kids had been bitten on three different occasions by the same dog. In this case, people must call Animal Control at (909)384-1304.