Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020
Volume 155 No. 17 WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
A&E
Opinion
Sports
Film and theater students struggle with remote learning
President Trumpâs interruptions make debate entertaining
Is the NCAAâs rule on marijuana outdated?
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Students risk safety for proximity By Samantha Herrera STAFF WRITER
âI do not feel safe [living in Downtown San Jose],â said Ashley Guerrero, a San Jose State political science junior. âBack in my hometown Livermore, I can walk out at night without feeling worried that Iâm not going to make it back.â Guerrero and other SJSU students living downtown near the university said they donât feel safe because of a recent spike in crime, but also said thatâs the sacrifice they make to live close to campus. âI always make sure when I go out to let someone know because I live alone,â she said. âI have roommates, but technically Iâm somewhat by myself out here.â According to San Jose Police Department crime statistics, there were 18,531 crimes reported in 2020 from January to August. Of those, 2,872 were violent crimes, including 21 homicides and 1,672 aggravated assaults. There were also 15,659 property crimes. Child development junior Edith Urbano said that she chose to live downtown because walking to campus is easier than having to drive. âYou really have to pick and choose whatâs best for you if that means possibly risking your safety and stuff like that just to be closer to campus.â The recent homicide in front of the 27 North apartment building and the shooting on South Eight St. that left two dead and four injured are some recent examples that make students feel that downtown is a dangerous place to live. Urbano said she didnât know downtown was dangerous before living there, but BLUE NGUYEN | SPARTAN DAILY ARCHIVES now all she hears is the constant sound A community service patrol oïŹ cer closes oïŹ a scene with tape at the corner of North Sixth and East St. John streets on Sept. 21. of sirens. âEspecially now [with recent kidnappings and human trafficking reports], everything âGoing out late at night is not something patrol the university and have extra is super scary,â she said. âI carry a taser at that I do consistently anymore,â Urbano officers at construction sites, which all times just in case anything happens. Itâs said. âItâs scary to know that even if I are typically targets of theft, vandalism better to be prepared.â want to buy something at the corner and trespassing. Guerrero said walking downtown at store, something could happen.â âA lot of times we are at the same night is scary even when sheâs with a group Guerrero said SJSUâs University Police individual . . . and the criminal justice of girls. According to the SJPD crime Department needs to respond faster to system is really not prosecuting as much statistics report, a total of 390 rapes were escort calls from blue light emergency so that does affect crime,â he said. âThe reported in San Jose in 2020. phones located on campus. But more main thing that we need is for our âI guess you can say [Iâve been] verbally so, she said she wants UPD to extend its community to help us.â assaulted, being catcalled or being offered escorts further downtown so students He said students and residents need a ride back home or back to campus, can have a safer option to get to their to report if they see something because, just weird stuff,â Guerrero said. âSince I off-campus housing at night. âtogether we can make everything a started here [at SJSU] thatâs always been a UPD Capt. Frank Belcastro said lot safer.â common trend, especially for girls.â an overwhelming majority of the Edith Urbano Guerrero said young women basically Follow Samantha on Twitter child development junior crimes on campus are from outside canât go out on their own. sources and UPD officers constantly @sammiherreraa_
Going out late at night is not something that I do consistently anymore. Itâs scary to know that even if I want to buy something at the corner store, something could happen.
City Council reviews SJPD Internal Affairs report Audit shows 102 police misconduct allegations â highest number in the last ïŹve years By Stephanie Lam STAFF WRITER
The San Jose City Council asked San Jose Police Department officers during Tuesdayâs Zoom meeting if the department could improve officer training after hearing about a rise in procedural violations and inappropriate behavior while on duty. The SJPD Internal Affairs Unit presented the Department Initiated Administrative Investigations report at the meeting and revealed that 102 misconduct allegations were made against SJPD officers in 2019. The department is responsible for establishing policies and procedures within law enforcement, as well as reviewing police complaints and misconduct, according to
their procedural manual. This is the highest number of allegations made in more than five years, according to the report. SJPD Deputy Chief David Tindall said during the meeting that the department wasnât surprised by the high number of allegations. âThese are all things that [happen] when [officers] are younger and less experienced,â Tindall said. âIt hasnât become second nature to them.â Stan McFadden, SJPD lieutenant and police academy director, said during the meeting that officers with one to three years of experience are more likely to receive these misconduct allegations. The most common misconduct allegations discussed in the investigations report were procedure violations, such as forgetting to turn body cameras on and inappropriate behavior while on duty, such as driving under the influence. When a police officer believes a fellow officer violates the departmentâs policy or procedure, that person can file a complaint with the SJPD Internal Affairs Unit. According to the investigations report, Internal Affairs will launch an internal investigation to see if the allegation against the accused officer is true. Officers will investigate the allegations by collecting evidentiary material and by
A necessary component of policing is that [oïŹcers] have the degree of humility to accept their wrongs and their faults. Paul Soto San Jose resident
conducting witness interviews, according to the Internal Affairs manual. If the officer is found guilty of the allegations, the consequences can be anything from a verbal warning to getting suspended from work. Internal Affairs is responsible for tracking and maintaining the number of public complaints made against officers, according to the SJPD website. âIs there an opportunity for us to fine tune the field training program to reduce the number of allegations?â Maya Esparza, council member for District 7, asked during the meeting. Shivaun Nurre, the independent police auditor, said during the meeting that although the number of internal allegations increased
from last year, the number of complaints and concerns made by community members against SJPD decreased. In 2019, SJPD received 216 complaints, a 13% decrease from the previous year, according to the police auditor report. The office of the independent police auditor is separate from the police department and collects complaints made by the public against SJPD and the department of initiated investigations , according to the City of San Jose website. The independent police auditor compiles the data and releases a yearly report to reveal trends in officer behavior and offer recommendations for policy changes. After the report was presented, community members were allowed to comment on the report. San Jose resident Paul Soto asked SJPD to be more transparent about an officerâs background and qualification. He said officers should own up to their mistakes no matter what level of experience or position they are in. âA necessary component of policing is that [officers] have the degree of humility to accept their wrongs and their faults,â Soto said. Follow Stephanie on Twitter @Steph.C.Lam