What's a city to do?

Frustrated by a lack of police response. neighbors roll up their sleeves for a fight

By CHRIS TOGNERI
BEE STAFF WRITER

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When you lose faith in the police's ability to crack down on car thieves and vandals, what do you do?

Some take the law into their own hands.

Several people in a west Modesto neighborhood say thieves and vandals are targeting them, shattering not only their car windows but their peace of mind.

Tips to help prevent car theft
- Never leave car keys in the vehicle. It's estimated that 10percent of all cars stolen in Stanislaus County had the car keys in the ignition when they were taken.
- Always lock the doors and roll up the windows after parking a car. Even if the car is considered a "junker," most car thieves are not after the vehicle. They want to get what is in the vehicle.
- Park the car in the garage and close the garage door.
- Park in a well-lighted spot that gets plenty of pedestrian traffic.
- Never leave packages, money, cell phones, backpacks, purses or any other items out in the open; put those in the trunk or take them with you before leaving a car unattended. In most stolen car cases, the first thing the thief looks in is the glove compartment and the second is the ash tray because the thief is looking for change, cell phones and other valuables.
- Get some type of theft deterrent device such as a Club, which locks a steering wheel in place, or a car alarm that makes an audible noise. Make sure the alarm has a flashing light to warn thieves away.
- Get a car stereo with a removable faceplate on it and take the faceplate with you when the car is left unattended. Without the faceplate, the stereo is worthless to a thief.
Source: Stanislaus County Auto Theft Task Force

Web sites
Here are helpful Internet sites dealing with auto theft:
www.iii.org/individuals/auto/lifesaving/carjacking
www.auto-theft.info/prevention-tips.htm
www.aaa.com/news12/Automotive/theft00.htm
www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/04/28/051836.html
www.icbc.com/Crime-Fraud/autocr_thefta.html

Who you gonna call?
If your car or truck is stolen, there are any number of actions you might take: Scream, cry or just be stunned.
But it's also a good idea to make some phone calls immediately, and here are the ones experts say you should make:
- Police: The quicker you make a report, the better the chances of recovering your vehicle.
- Your insurance provider: If you're not sure whether your policy covers thefts, now is a great time to check.
- Local towing companies: Sometimes, a vehicle might be recovered and towed before you realize it was even stolen -- and storage at a tow yard can cost hundreds of dollars.
- Neighbors or neighborhood watch groups: They may have a guess as to who took your vehicle, or when.
- Area security patrols: If the vehicle was taken from a public place, perhaps a patrolling guard saw something.
Source: Police and insurance companies
How Modesto police dispatchers prioritize calls for help
Priority 1 -- Threat: Calls that include reports of in-progress felony crimes where there is a threat to human life. Average response time: Five minutes or less.
Priority 1 -- Non-Threat: Calls that include reports of in-progress felony crimes where there is not a threat to human life. Average response time: 23 minutes.
Priority 2: Calls that include, for example, reports of verbal fights, physical or sexual assaults where the suspect is no longer at the scene, shoplifter in custody, security checks. Average response time: 30 minutes.
Priority 3: Calls that include complaints of loud noises, animal control calls, reports of a crime that occurred days before-and vehicle theft. Average response time: 45 minutes.
Source: Modesto Police Department
Classic Mustang found at border; owner outraged
THE VICTIM: Jerry Jones, Salida
THE VEHICLE: 1966 Ford Mustang, stolen in 1998
THE STORY: "It was swiped from my house in Salida. I just had the oil changed and gas filled up. My neighbor heard it take off.
"I looked all over. You wouldn't believe how many Mustangs looked like it.
"Three weeks later I got a call. They caught an illegal (immigrant) driving it just north of the border near El Cajon (San Diego County). They confiscated the car and asked if I wanted to press charges. But he was going to get deported either way and I couldn't afford to lose two days of work."
THE COST: "My daughter and I drove down to pick it up. All in all, it was about $400 to $500."
THE QUOTE: "I was fortunate because I didn't expect to see it again. It could have been a lot worse. It gets me that somebody sleeps all day and steals all night. It was just a terrible feeling. You feel like you've been violated."

Restored Chevy stripped; owner buys parts again
THE VICTIM: Les Poulson, 74, Modesto
THE VEHICLE: 1965 Chevrolet pickup, stolen in 2003
THE STORY: "It was parked right in front of my house in east Modesto. We found it in an orchard but we had to pay to retrieve it from the police yard. (The thieves) stripped the visors, glove compartment, tailgate, headlights, windshield wipers and radio. They took the hubcaps but not the wheels. They took all the parts because it was restored. They also hit two of our neighbors."
THE COST: "(My) truck was drivable. It cost me $2,000 … twice."
THE QUOTE: "Now I park it at another person's house in the garage. It seems like it would be so easy (for police) to catch them, but when they do, they don't do anything."
-- Compiled by Bee staff writer Roger Hoskins
While on patrol in Modesto recently, officer Rick Applegate watched a call flash across a computer monitor mounted to the dashboard of his car.
At 8:31 p.m., a pregnant woman in west Modesto dialed 911, telling dispatchers her mentally disabled brother was threatening her.
When the woman called, not one of the 18 police officers on patrol was available. They were all responding to previous calls.
So, although the woman said she needed help now, she didn't get any for 38 minutes.
Thankfully, responding officers found no sign of violence at the woman's home and no arrests were made.
But that fortunate ending belies a serious problem for Modesto police, Applegate said. "We don't have enough officers on the streets. People have to understand that."
If a pregnant woman in distress must wait 38 minutes for help, how quickly can victims of property crimes, such as auto theft, expect help?
The answer, Applegate said, is not very quickly.
"We have to respond to other calls first," he said, such as calls where lives may be in danger, or where police still have a chance of catching a suspect.
Modesto has 264 police officers, or 1.25 per 1,000 residents. Many of those officers serve in administrative roles. Fewer than 100 are assigned to patrol.
The national average is 2.3 officers per 1,000 residents, according to Department of Justice statistics.
Chief Roy Wasden said the department needs about 130 more officers to bring the force up to 1.85 officers per 1,000, a number the City Council has determined Modesto must reach.
"That's the hard and fast goal we've set," said Councilman Will O'Bryant, a former Alameda County sheriff's detective. "If we had a lot of money, we'd shoot for two (officers per 1,000 residents)."
O'Bryant said budget shortfalls at the state level have deprived the city of key funds and prevented the council from spending more money on the police department.
Asked when the department will reach the goal of 1.85 officers per 1,000 residents, O'Bryant said: "There is no realistic timeline. We're all watching our dollars. (But) we can't wait to get money, we need to look for new ways of funding. It has to happen, but how, I don't know. I would be open to anything."
Meanwhile, police are forced to put the minimum number of patrols on the streets 95 percent of the time, Applegate said.
From 3:30 to 9 a.m., there are a minimum of nine patrol cars on the streets. From 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the number increases to 15. For the next 11 hours, the minimum number of on-duty patrol officers is 18.
When none of those units is available to respond, calls are placed on a waiting list.
At any given time, there are an average of 20 to 30 calls awaiting police response, Applegate said. On a busy weekend night, there could be 40 or more calls holding, he said.
11,000 incidents in September
It was not always this way. Applegate recalled the early 1990s, when he volunteered as an Explorer with the Modesto Police Department.
"Back then, it was a lot to have five calls holding," he said. "But in the last five to 10 years, the growth of the city has far outpaced the growth of the department."
Police said they received 7,332 calls for service in September. Officers also responded to several thousand incidents that were not called in, such as car crashes, or officer-initiated searches of "suspicious" individuals, Applegate said. In all, Modesto police handled more than 11,000 incidents during the month.
With so many calls, dispatchers must prioritize them.
Calls reporting vehicle thefts, when the suspect is no longer present, are listed as a Priority 3, the lowest priority that on-duty officers handle. Police also have Priority 4, 5 and 6 calls, but they are almost always delegated to volunteers or community service officers, Applegate said.
The average response time for Priority 3 calls is 45 minutes, Applegate said. But it could take hours, and some Priority 3 calls are not answered at all.
For instance, on the night the pregnant woman called for help, a different woman on Encina Avenue reported neighbors throwing rocks at her house. The watch commander, however, decided too many calls were holding and did not send officers to the address, Applegate said.
Later that night, a caller reported two vicious pit bulls trying to bite passers-by. Another said a man, possibly drunk, was stumbling in and out of traffic on a busy road.
No officers were available, so police did not respond to either call.
Until more officers are added, police officials said, calls reporting nonviolent crimes will continue to be placed on holding lists, or go unanswered.
"But it's not like there are 10 cops sitting at a doughnut shop right now," Applegate said. "Our cops stay busy all the time."
Bee staff writer Chris Togneri can be reached at 578-2324 or ctogneri@modbee.com.

They have called police and requested extra patrols, they said, but nothing changes.

"We're Number One in the nation (in per capita car theft), but the cops won't do anything for us," said Erika Borges, who lives on October Way, south of the Modesto Junior College West Campus. "You start to wonder why we're paying taxes."

Feeling abandoned, some neighbors are fighting back. Many homeowners have set up video surveillance cameras to monitor their property 24 hours a day. Neighbors communicate with each other via walkie-talkies, reporting any suspicious activity. Several people walk the streets late into the night, using flashlights to check dark corners and alleyways.

Others are resorting to more extreme measures.

Nelson Borges, for example, said he sometimes sleeps on his living room couch next to the front door — with a loaded handgun and a shotgun.

"I'm just waiting for someone to come through the door," he said. "I'll lay them out."

When told of the neighborhood's complaints, police officials said the area is not being hit by thieves and vandals any harder than other areas in Modesto.

These neighbors don't buy that. On a recent Sunday afternoon, a dozen locals gathered in the Borges' driveway, recounting a crime spree they said began in the spring and continues today.

Several cars have been stolen or broken into. Others have been shot up with paint balls or splattered with eggs.

Siphoning gas and throwing rocks

George Russell said thieves siphoned gas from his sport utility vehicle and van. Tony Poli said he was sitting in his car one night when someone heaved a rock through the windshield, narrowly missing him.

Borges, a father of 9-month-old triplet boys and former U.S. Marine, said his pickup was stolen from his driveway in late March. Police recovered it, but someone tried to steal it again in August. The would-be thieves smashed the rear window, but didn't get the truck because a neighbor armed with a baseball bat chased them off.

Borges has recorded strangers walking up to his front door late at night, apparently casing the house. One person snubbed out a cigarette on a wall by his front door, he said.

In Poli's case, when the rock came through his windshield, he became obsessed with catching the culprits.

So, armed with a sawed-off shotgun, Poli began stalking his front yard late at night, waiting for them to come back.

"I was thinking, 'You stop in front of my house, I'll shoot your tires out — or worse,'" Poli said. "When I went outside with my shotgun, it was fully loaded. I had shells in my pockets; I didn't care. It got that bad."

For their part, police said they encourage community activism in the form of neighborhood watches. But they do not endorse vigilantism.

"People get frustrated, but … are they ready to kill someone over that?" Chief Roy Wasden said. "That's a sobering thought. It's pretty final to kill someone."

It's also illegal. If Poli were to kill someone on his own property, he would have to prove that his life was in danger, that he acted in self-defense. Otherwise, hecould be charged with manslaughter, or worse, officer Rick Applegate said.

No choice but to fight back

Neighbors counter that they are left with no choice but to do the job themselves.