Rialto Crime is Still Down (SB Sun Feb. 20, 2008) City Continues to add Officers, even without a 3% at 50 Contract!!

BS Ranch Perspective

It looks like The City of Rialto is in great hands with Mark Kling at the lead Position, and the area Management in a good position, there is one thing that is a problem that I can see is that the great experienced people that left, took off and the people that are here now are people out of the academy. The main reason that they left was the Police Department was sold out, and was being traded to the County & The Sheriff's Department! The other reason that they went to other agencies was that they were able to get what Rialto has promised twice and never delivered on, Garcia, Rialto's City Administrator, along with Owen, the then City's Attorney promised the RPBA (Rialto Police Benefit Association) that the 3% at 50 Retirement plan was going to added to the next contract if the Utility Tax was voted in, they at the time felt that the 3% at 50 would be a great incentive to gain employment and keep Officer's on the Beat working a long time, rather then keeping them at the 2% @ 55 Retirement Package!

Sadly there are a whole lot of Officers that will be leaving Rialto as soon as they realize that they are not going to get the 3% at 50 Retirement added to their Contract, and if that is not done then they will be looking to go to a department that does have that retirement package!!

There are a great number of Cities that are Expanding and looking for Police Officers to field because of the growing City Limits that most cities have!! Therefore if Rialto doesn't change their Retirement Package, there isn't a Raise that will make up for the Retirement that they are loosing out on, when they are stuck at a department where they don't even get a full retirement at the age of 55!!

Most other department's get a Retirement at the age of 50, and they have the prerogative to stay longer but they mostly will either change or go, but they most stay.

BS Ranch

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Rialto crime is still down

City continues adding officers

Jason Pesick, Staff Writer

Article Launched: 02/20/2008 10:27:21 PM PST

RIALTO - Crime continued its downward trend in the city last year despite increases in some areas.

There was a 11.4percent decrease in the most serious crimes, known as Part 1 violent and property crimes.

Violent crime taken alone, though, saw a 4.8percent increase. That increase came after a violent crime decrease of 16percent for the first five months of the year.

"As a police chief in a community for 18 months ... I'm pleased with the fact that, overall, our Part 1 crimes are down, but I think that we have a lot more work to do, especially with what we're about to be faced with," said Police Chief Mark Kling.

He said he's concerned the weak economy and a possible release of state prisoners due to state budget problems could lead to a rise in crime.

The marked decline in crime in Rialto was not altogether unexpected.

The Police Department continued to add officers throughout the year and continued to rebuild after near collapse only a few years ago.

In 2005, the City Council voted to eliminate the Police Department and replace it with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

That decision didn't stand, and the city hired Kling, who has implemented a number of new strategies to rebuild the Police Department.

When Kling took over, so many officers had left that the department only had 87 officers. It now has 112.

The centerpiece of Kling's vision for his department is the development

of the area command program. Kling's immediate predecessor, Frank Scialdone, who was brought in to stabilize the department during the chaos, decided the program was a good fit for Rialto.

Launched during the past year, the area command program divides the city into three areas, with a lieutenant in charge of monitoring each one and taking on problems as they arise.

Rialto seems to have fared better than some other areal cities. Part 1 crimes were up 4percent in San Bernardino, where violent crimes were up 7percent. In Fontana, violent crime was up 4percent, and property crime was up 20percent. But in 2007 both of those cities' populations grew, which often leads to an increase in crime.

Kling, who said rebuilding the Police Department is a seven-year process, said Rialto's numbers were consistent with what's going on around the region and the country.

"I think there's some trend information in the stats the region should be concerned with," he said.

One of the stats that pleased Kling was that his department responded to 543 fewer traffic collisions.

He also said he thinks response times are still too high.

Kling said people who don't live in Rialto often commit the crimes in the city.

"I think we have to continue to work with our neighboring police agencies," Councilman Joe Baca Jr. said.

He also said faith-based and nonprofit organizations in the city need to work together to take on crime.

The Police Department has provided the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office with the information necessary to write a gang injunction, which could limit where gang members can congregate in the city, Baca said.

For now, Kling said his next goal is to have his department fully staffed with 115 officers - three more than it has now - and then determine the impact on crime. He said he won't ask for an increase in that number from the City Council for the next budget cycle even though the officer-to-resident ratio is lower in Rialto than in a number of other area cities.

"What you're seeing is the dedication knowing that the employees in this Police Department continually have to do more with less," Kling said.