Honesty, integrity and the truth at the SJPD
By Deborah Taylor-Hollis
My husband and I used to laugh about the lowly state of affairs in San Jose when we were robbed and the only thing the police could do was come out and take a report. Without witnesses, there was really no way to find the people who broke into the house and took a few hundred dollars in cash.
Several weeks ago, when our car was vandalized in the night, I tried to call in a police report, knowing that while the police could not do much, my insurance would demand a case number for the repairs. I was appalled when the police dispatcher told me the agency no longer took those kinds of reports in person or by phone.
The "policy" supposedly in place for the last three years is this: Complaints regarding auto vandalism in which weapons were not used and suspects are unknown can only be reported by fax, the Internet, written letter, or in person. If you do not make the complaint in person, someone will send your case number to you by mail-at his or her convenience-in about a week.
This sounded so wrong to me that I called the press liaison officer to find out what the "real" policy was. He verified my initial assumption, that if a citizen wanted to have a phone report--or even an "in person" contact--the San Jose Police Department (SJPD) would respond. He had never heard of such a policy to deny access, and said so strongly, but kindly and politely. He thought I might have misunderstood, or gotten a dispatcher who did not understand, and suggested I try again with a different dispatcher-they have more than 50. In the meantime, he would have one of the supervisors get back to me as well to check out this strange "policy." We both laughed, and I called another dispatcher.
Things did not go better. A second dispatcher also said I could not report over the phone, even though I repeatedly asked. It was obvious from the words she used (almost verbatim from the first dispatcher) that this was a written directive and not a mistake.
She did, however, forward me to "the boss" who at first said it was only "strongly advised" that people not make complaints by phone, despite the fact that the police no longer came out in person to take reports. He used phrases like "overworked" and "underfunded," and seemed less than forthcoming. I was unhappy with our first communication, but was willing to wait for a call back within two hours to clear up the problem and make my phone report.
No one called me back, and I called again. The "boss" had changed his tune about those phone reports, claiming they don't happen at all anymore for anyone, ever, if it's just auto vandalism. He was surprised that I was unhappy about sitting and waiting more than two hours for his phone call. He suggested that I didn't need a case number for my insurance, and that I was misquoting him. He was not happy anymore.
Something was fishy, and I had time to grab my pole and dig up the trouble. I felt that this was not right. I called his boss, the technical services senior supervisor chief, and left a message, following up two days later.
The chief was unhappy when he learned what was happening down in dispatch. No one had ever complained to him directly about this failure to follow city policy. He was proactive about my complaint and reviewed taped conversations, and, by the time I spoke with him, had already written a memo to remind staff about city policy. He was open, forthcoming, and told me that my concerns were valid and proper, and that he was glad someone had brought the trouble to his attention.
I was amazed, happy, and pleased. Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed that, if I uncovered something like this, it would be handled so well, so quickly and so openly.
Granted, the underling who decided to omit some services to citizens was trying to make the most of his resources and get more done with fewer people. However, he made changes and policy adjustments that were not his to make, and for an unknown amount of time, citizens have been living with restricted choices.
A few weeks ago I was disgusted with a city that had allegedly pared down its responsibilities to me to the point of disgrace. Today, thanks to people with honesty, integrity, and open doors, I am proud and pleased to have the SJPD around to protect me. One bad apple is not the whole tree.
Contact Deborah by e-mail at DBHollis@svcn.com or via a letter to the paper. Unlike our police department, she is not available by phone.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
