Chief's Community Update - February 5, 2023

East Palo Alto Police Department star

Thank you for visiting our website and taking a moment to read this community update.

 

We are starting a new program proposed by a long-time community member to create a partnership that leads to an open and transparent dialog between our police department and our community.   Please take 30 seconds to complete this 5-question survey attached to this email. We want to gather information on which items in each topic matter most to you!  After completing the survey, please help us by sending the link below to other community members who may not have it.

EPAPD COMMUNITY ROUNDTABLE

 

Personnel:

This past week I conducted Chief’s interviews with Community Service Officer applicants who passed the oral panel interviews.  We have some good candidates who are now moving on to the intensive background investigation stage of our hiring process which includes fingerprinting, a polygraph examination, and a deep dive into their personal histories.

 

We have 2 Police Recruit and 2 Reserve Officer applicants in the background investigation portion of their hiring process.

 

Anonymous tips and immediate service

We appreciate all the anonymous tips we have been receiving.  It is important to note that anonymous tips are not a resource for immediate police response as it is not monitored 24/7.  For immediate police response, either call 9-1-1 or our non-emergency phone number 650-321-1112.  For complaints related to property violations, please contact Code Enforcement department, which operates under our building department (https://www.cityofepa.org/building/page/code-enforcement).

When providing information to the police, we need specific information about the crime or criminal.  As an example, if you are reporting someone for dealing drugs, we need to know:

  • where and when they are selling the drugs
  • a detailed description of them (white female, blue jeans, red jacket, baseball cap)
  • any description of a vehicle
  • any other information you have about the crime. 

While we don’t expect you to jeopardize your safety to get this information, it is very important information if we make an arrest.  Not only will your tip provide us with accurate information about the suspect, but we are also able to serve as a witness to the crime and we can testify in court.  Please use these options for providing an anonymous tip.

You can make an anonymous tip to the police by calling or texting to (650) 409-6792.

 

If there is a topic you would like addressed in the next update, please feel free to send an email at jliu@cityofepa.org

 

Thank you,

 

Jeff Liu

Interim Chief of Police