‘Moving Into the Future Video’ Highlights Police Department

Rancho Cordovans seem to take great pride in their city. Perhaps it’s because the city is still fairly young and people are still excited by that. Perhaps it’s because every day people can be involved in the ongoing progress of the city. Or maybe it’s because the city really does have the amenities and the services that residents should be proud of. It is probably a combination of those reasons and more for most Rancho residents if we would stop to think about it.  With so many organizations and services in our area, many can get over looked and become under appreciated. Rancho residents can’t let that happen. In an effort to update residents on what they are doing to increase the quality of life for its citizens, The Rancho Cordova Police Department recently released a pair of videos that touch on what it is they are doing in our community.

The two Youtube videos can be found here and are narrated by the Chief of Police, Reuben Meeks. What many residents might not know is the impact RCPD has had on our youth. The police department saw an increasing trend in truancy and crimes committed by area youth and have taken a proactive stand to reverse this trend. The RCPD trading cards that have been available for kids were provided by private funding and were and effort to familiarize youth with the officers as people. The front of the card has the name and picture of the officer and the back of the card houses a brief biography. RCPD has partnered with Sacramento County Sheriffs Department to bring other programs that are available to youth including; the Police Activities League which encourages area children to participate in social, educational and leadership activities, Friday and Saturday night events that keep kids off the streets and gives them a safe alternative to other weekend evening activities,  and after school programs. Future events may include an ATV and motorcycle training class, a golf clinic, Junior Giants, and boxing classes. The police department uses the youth programs to provide a safe activity by mentoring youth.

The Rancho Cordova Police Department is also active in the Weed and Seed program that for the first time in RCPD history, is proving successful. Since 2006, we’ve seen a decrease in crime in Mills Park, an 8% decrease in robberies throughout the city, and a 14% decrease in destruction of property. The Narcotics Suppression Unit has also been successful. The Unit works flexible hours to ensure that they are available when and where they are needed.

A newer and very successful addition to the department is the license plate recognition system which works with the computer in the police vehicle. The plate recognition system continuously scans and photographs license plates and compares them with a national registry of lost, stolen, or wanted vehicles. on just the first day of use, the system ran over 4,000 plates and recognized two vehicles as being reported as lost and another that was reported as stolen. The city should also claim bragging rights for being the only city in the county without a death this year due to street racing. The RCPD has hosted 4 operations over the last 5 months targeting street racing and has issued 75 citations, impounded 12 cars and arrested 9 people. In a 2008 residential poll, Rancho Cordovans said they felt 13% safer on the street than they were in 2006.

I would imagine that being a police officer is a thankless job. The people they are working with might not appreciate what they are doing. Take a look at the videos and the next time you see a police officer, remember how much they are doing to make your city a better and safer place to live.

Similar Posts:

• June 24, 2010 – Former Rancho Cordova Police Chief Reuben Meeks Could Face Criminal Charges For Impersonating a Police Officer
• June 7, 2010 – Get Ready to Vote in the Primary Election June 8
• July 11, 2010 – Suspect Arrested in Fatal Rancho Cordova Shooting
• June 14, 2010 – Sacramento County Budget Hearings Begin Today
• June 11, 2010 – Beware of Services Offered For Free Public Records

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Posted by Michelle Ventress on Nov 6 2008. Filed under Public Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.