If current crime trends continue this year Turlock could be looking at an overall increase in crime, according to data from the Turlock Police Department reported at a special Turlock City Council meeting Tuesday.

The police department reported crime is up by 3 percent for the year and that rate could grow if the current trends continue, however, the department is implementing 10 specific strategies that should result in a reduction, said Turlock Police Chief Robert Jackson.

The special report was prepared at the request of the city council after members received complaints from residents about increased crime.

When looking at the data from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, the police department identified auto burglaries, auto thefts and residential burglaries as the top three crimes in the city when looking into Part 1 crimes.

In that time period there were 455 reported auto burglaries with the most reports (163) coming from the neighborhoods that make up beat four, which is west of Geer Road and north of Hawkeye Avenue.

There were 417 reported auto thefts in Turlock during that time, with 146 coming from beat three. Beat three is south of Hawkeye Avenue and west of Lander Avenue.

There were 376 reported residential burglaries, of which 106 were reported in beat one. Beat one is the area east of Geer Road and north of Hawkeye Avenue.

All of these crimes could actually have higher occurrences, as not all of the crimes are being reported by the public.

“If things are not being reported, then we don’t know there is an issue,” Jackson said.

The police department also looked at calls for service in this same time frame and found a marked increase in the number of self-initiated calls from officers, especially for extra patrols. In this time frame officers were dispatched to a total of 63,466 calls, with 36,716 coming from dispatch and 26,750 being self-initiated. Self-initiated calls can include extra patrols for areas experiencing higher crime rates, traffic stops and follow-up investigations.

The top three calls for service coming from dispatch were for suspicious person (2,020), disturbance (1,725) and verbal disturbances (1,430).

During the time frame of July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, the Turlock Police Department made 5,498 arrests. Over the last few years most arrests were for warrants, vehicle code violations, public intoxication, larceny and assaults and this held true for the most recent data, except that arrests for possession of methamphetamine outpaced larceny arrests, according to the police department’s data.

The same time frame has also seen the police department responding to more Turlock Municipal Code violations, particularly after complaints were raised about homeless individuals camping in city parks. The department issued 258 citations for dog license violations, 240 citations for unlawful camping violations, and 59 citations for open container violations. For illegal nuisance behaviors, the police department 240 citations for unlawful camping, 59 citations for open container violations and 53 citations for possession of a shopping cart off premises.

To help reverse the crime rate the police department is initiating 10 strategies that will target specific trends and expand community outreach. The 10 strategies are:

1) Crime Analyst disseminate information for directed enforcement

2) Fully staff CORE

3) Overtime opportunities for directed patrol

4) Traffic Safety Unit deployed in hot spot areas

5) Detectives work with probation on compliance checks

6) Deploy bicycle and Trikke patrol in parks and other areas

7) Assign a detective to auto theft

8) Transfer NextDoor to the Crime Analyst

9) Identify the Top 3 Turlock specific social media sites

10)Engage the community for qualitative information

“I’m excited about our future and I think what we have here is going to work,” Jackson said.