Galt police chief: Homelessness the biggest 'quality of life' issue

Mar. 24—GALT — Crimes and police incidents in Galt increased by more than 10% last year, but police chief Brian Kalinowski said it is no cause for alarm.

Kalinowski presented the Galt Police Department's annual statistics report to the city council Tuesday night, and said his officers responded to 23,350 incidents in 2022, up 11% from the prior prior.

Nearly every major statistical category the department tracks saw increases from 2021 to 2023, the largest of which was officer-initiated incidents, such as probation searches and traffic stops. Such incidents rose 30% over the course of 2022, with 8,315 compared to 6,395 in 2021.

Of those, traffic stops totaled 2,350, an increase of 5% from 2021. Felony arrests increased from 156 to 186, while misdemeanor arrests declined to 397 from 554.

Traffic collisions also increased by 5% last year, with a total of 272 reported, and hit and runs with property damage increased by 4.1%, totaling 76. Injury collisions had the largest increase in traffic statistics, climbing 83% with a total of 55 reported last year.

In all, officers issued 983 traffic citations, of which 607 were moving violations. The total number of citations issued was an increase from 655 in 2021.

As for major crimes such as robberies, murder and assaults, the latter had the largest increase, with 242 reported last years compared to 195 in 2021.

Rapes increased from 10 to 15 reports and robberies increased from 16 to 21, and vehicle thefts increased from 32 to 44.

Homicides and burglaries were a couple of the incidents that remained static, with one homicide and 55 burglaries reported in both 2021 and 2022.

Kalinowski said the department's dispatch center received a total of 25,571 calls, of which 5,602 were 911 calls.

Officers were able to respond to 94.7% of those 911 calls within 15 seconds, he said. They were also able to respond to 84.3% within 10 seconds.

A total of 117 firearms were removed from Galt streets, and officers confiscated 281.3 grams of methamphetamine in 87 cases investigated.

Another 224 grams of cocaine were seized in 15 cases involving the narcotic, and 202.7 grams of fentanyl were taken in 18 cases.

Officers used force 18 times in 2022, and Kalinowski said all were found to be within the department's policy. Ten vehicle pursuits that occurred within the city were also found to be within policy, he said.

Four internal complaints against officers were filed, as were four external complaints, of which two were investigated by the department's internal affairs division. Both were sustained, Kalinwoski said.

The city council was happy with Kalinowski's report, stating the statistics showed officers were taking a proactive approach to addressing crime in the city.

"I'm very happy with the traffic citations number being up 30% over last year, which obviously is being proactive," councilman Shaun Farmer said. "Because traffic, we all know, is a big topic in town. It always will be, so I like seeing that number (of citations)."

Councilman Rich Lozano agreed, stating one of the reasons his family moved to Galt was because officers took initiative to stop a suspicious person on the street or to conduct probation searches on known offenders to keep the city safe.

"I do like seeing the 300 officer-initiated activity," he said. "It kind of goes hand-in-hand with the citations that are up. It really drives home the fact that our officers aren't sitting in a parking lot reading the newspaper. They're actually doing stuff in the community, and it's greatly appreciated."

When asked where he thought Galt could improve when it comes to public safety, Kalinowski said more needs to be done to address homelessness.

He added however, it's not just a Galt problem, but an issue the entire state is facing.

"Crime is not a big issue," he said. "You see some of these numbers, but I think we're generally within line (of previous years). I would like to see them all at zero, but I think homelessness is the biggest quality of life issue people see and have that negative reaction when they see it."

A link to Kalinowski's report will be shared on www.facebook.com/GaltPolice.