📋
Extracted from Consolidated Report
This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.
Santa Cruz County Grand Jury
• 2023-2024
F1–f17 R1–r9 Board Of Supervisors September 25, 2024 Invited Responses Respond Within/ Respondent Findings
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 11 findings
F1
Page 209
Since 2016, the lack of comprehensive Annual Reports with detailed metrics on rape, including the tracking of stranger rape, leaves the community less informed, more vulnerable, and less safe.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
Page 210
The Grand Jury recommends that the Commission and the SCPD submit comprehensive annual reports as called for in Ordinance 81-29, using the 2005-07 reports as a model, with the 2024 Annual Report placed on the Commission's agenda by December 31, 2024 and future reports submitted on a consistent, annual basis. (F1)
F2
Page 209
By highlighting a generic national statistic on stranger rape, rather than assessing local metrics in the CPVAW 2023 Report, the City is minimizing stranger rape and misleading the public into a possible false sense of security.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
Page 210
The Grand Jury recommends that the 2023 Report be amended to remove the national entry on stranger rape, replacing it with accurate data for the City of Santa Cruz by December 31, 2024. (F2)
F3
Page 209
The lack of attention to long-time Commission programs such as the Safe Place Network and the Bar Coaster program leaves residents and visitors without important resources for their personal safety.
Related Recommendations (2)
R1
Page 209
The Grand Jury recommends that the City Council fund a dedicated staff person for the Commission with skills commensurate to the need for program and resource development, community outreach and visibility, data research and report writing and have such position advertised by December 31, 2024. (F5, F3) Preventing Rape and Domestic Violence published June 27, 2024 204 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury
R8
Page 210
The Grand Jury recommends that the CPVAW update the status of the Safe Place Network and the Bar Coasters program. If the programs are to be discontinued, a public CPVAW meeting is advised for that decision. If the programs are to be continued, the date of January 31, 2025 is recommended for the full reinstatement of these programs. (F3)
F4
Page 209
The loss of the in-person self-defense program for boys and girls in Santa Cruz City Schools lessens students’ ability to prevent sexual assault and interpersonal violence, inconsistent with the mandate of Ordinance 81-29.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Page 210
The Grand Jury recommends that the City Council begin evaluating options with the Santa Cruz City School District to reinstate the in-person self-defense program for middle and high school students of all genders by January 31, 2025. (F4)
F5
Page 209
The City’s replacement of a dedicated 20-hour per week Commission staff position with rotating staff with minimal hours has resulted in a loss of visibility for the prevention of rape and domestic violence, a loss of community connections, a lack of programs, inadequate resource distribution and less public awareness.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Page 209
The Grand Jury recommends that the City Council fund a dedicated staff person for the Commission with skills commensurate to the need for program and resource development, community outreach and visibility, data research and report writing and have such position advertised by December 31, 2024. (F5, F3) Preventing Rape and Domestic Violence published June 27, 2024 204 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury
F6
Page 209
The City’s refusal to allow the Commission continued access to redacted police reports prevents the Commission from making recommendations for police training and evaluating community complaints as required by Ordinance.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Page 210
The Grand Jury recommends that the City Council reevaluate the legal ability of CPVAW commissioners to access redacted police reports of rape as described in this investigation, and present the results of that research by December 31, 2024. (F6)
F7
Page 209
The SCPD’s decision to drop stranger rape alerts and case-by-case updates leaves the community unaware about this serious crime and therefore less safe.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
Page 210
The Grand Jury recommends that the SCPD reinstate community alerts for incidents of stranger rape, with case-by-case updates, by December 31, 2024. (F7)
F8
Page 209
The inconsistencies the Grand Jury found in SCPD’s rape numbers means the public, the CPVAW and the City have no accurate metrics about reported rape, leaving the community ill-informed and Annual Commission Reports unreliable.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Page 210
The Grand Jury recommends that the SCPD update its website to include the detailed metrics on Rape Incidents submitted to NIBRS and CIBRS, ensuring all data entries are accurate and available at each meeting of the CPVAW, and have this in place by January 31, 2025. (F8, F9)
F9
Page 209
The SCPD and the Commission’s lack of a consistent definition of rape leads to public confusion and potential undercounting of rape crimes in the City.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Page 210
The Grand Jury recommends that the SCPD update its website to include the detailed metrics on Rape Incidents submitted to NIBRS and CIBRS, ensuring all data entries are accurate and available at each meeting of the CPVAW, and have this in place by January 31, 2025. (F8, F9)
F10
Page 209
The Five Year Strategic Plan’s failure to include the prevention of rape and domestic violence leaves the community less aware and less safe.
Related Recommendations (1)
R9
Page 210
The Grand Jury recommends that Focus Area 5, Public Safety of the 2023-28 Five Year Strategic Plan include an entry prioritizing the prevention of rape and domestic violence, as mandated by Ordinance 81-29, and published by February 28, 2025. (F10)
F11
Page 209
The City Manager’s Weekly Update to the community has not highlighted the work of the CPVAW for the past two years, effectively relegating the prevention of rape and domestic violence to a low priority, leaving the public uninformed.
Related Recommendations (1)
R10
Page 210
The Grand Jury recommends that the City Manager increase the visibility of the CPVAW programs and events by publishing relevant information, at least quarterly, in the City Manager’s Weekly Update and that the first article be published by December 31, 2024. (F11)
Additional Recommendations 1
These recommendations are not explicitly linked to specific findings.
-
R81-29Page 189to make the prevention of rape and domestic violence one of its highest priorities. In 2023, the Santa Cruz City Council adopted a Five Year Strategic Plan. The Plan makes no mention of rape and domestic violence. Over the past decade, the City’s Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women has failed to provide the City Council with solid Annual Reports that document City, community, and police efforts to prevent rape and domestic violence. Recent reports have either included no data or limited data. The 2023 CPVAW Joint Report has no metrics on important trends such as whether the City of Santa Cruz still has a higher than average rate of rapes by strangers. What areas of the city were the crimes committed in? Have there been arrests? Long-standing Commission programs such as the Safe Place Network of local businesses are currently idle. This year the Santa Cruz City Schools District canceled the Commission’s popular self-defense classes for middle and high school students. The in-person classes are being replaced with an online self-esteem video. The City has ended the Commission’s thirty five-year access to redacted police reports of rape and domestic violence. These reports enabled the Commission to evaluate police response, respond to complaints and recommend training if needed. The Grand Jury submits its findings and recommendations to bring the City of Santa Cruz into compliance with City Ordinance 81-29. The personal safety and well-being of the community is at stake. Preventing Rape and Domestic Violence published June 27, 2024
Conclusions 2
-
CL1 Page 208City Ordinance 81-29 Section 3 (a) states, “It shall be the policy of the City of Santa Cruz that the prevention of rape and domestic violence shall be one of its highest priorities.” It is clear from each priority criterion evaluated for this investigation that the City is ignoring its mandate. This inaction leaves the community vulnerable and ill-informed with respect to rape and domestic violence. By adopting the Grand Jury’s recommendations, the City can bridge the gulf between their long-standing legal obligations and their current neglect of these critical services. The result will be a community better informed, better prepared, and less vulnerable to rape and domestic violence. Preventing Rape and Domestic Violence published June 27, 2024 Page 20 of 30
-
CL2 Page 2092023–2024 Consolidated Final Report 203
No Responses Found 1
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
Santa Cruz County
County