On Friday, Interim Antioch Police Chief Brian Addington provided updated data on police staffing levels in the City of Antioch.
According to Addington, the data was as of Friday, March 8, 2024:
The Police Department is authorized for 115 sworn officers and currently has 85 officers. Of these, 30 officers are on various forms of leave—leaving the department with just 55 active sworn personnel.
As for patrol, out of the 55 officers on active duty, 38 are assigned to patrol. This figure excludes police lieutenants but includes four officers still in training.
Addington added that Antioch has four police trainees set to graduate from the academy in May, two in June, another four who will begin their academy training in April, and six more to start in July.
Discipline Handed Out?
Although neither the City of Antioch nor Chief Addington could comment nor would verify officer discipline related to the FBI and District Attorney investigation regarding text messages, discipline has been handed out according to several sources as the city hits the 1-year mark in the investigation.
Over the past few weeks, this includes:
- Termination of officers (start of the process)
- At least one officer returned to work
- Several demotions
- Suspensions
“Due to California law, I’m restricted from discussing specific personnel matters. I understand the public’s interest in the text message scandal and the need for transparency from the police department. We are committed to being as open as possible while adhering to legal constraints. The City plans to issue a public statement once we have a resolution,” said Addington.
Officers on the move?
Through multiple sources and channels, it appears at least three officers are in the process of finding other jobs and looking to leave Antioch Police.
CHP or Contra Costa County Sheriff to Assist Antioch?
Its still on the table, but nothing firm or known if its being pushed.
In February, Governor Newsom’s increased deployment of state law enforcement in Oakland and the East Bay — including a temporary surge of 120 officers — has resulted in the arrest of 71 suspects, the recovery of 145 stolen vehicles, and the seizure of four crime-linked firearms.
Back in August of 2023, Antioch Councilmember Mike Barbanica called for help from both the CHP and Contra Costa County Sheriffs Office. In September, however, during the Council meeting, no action was taken. Meanwhile, Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe used that meeting as to accuse “bloggers and Facebook warriors” of using the data inaccurately or say there is an increase or rise in crime in the city of Antioch which he called “inaccurate”. He said there was misinformation people was using as weapons against the council and overall in the city of Antioch–ultimately, crime in 2023 was and is “up”.
City of Antioch Sees Increase in Crime in 2023
Note – due to staffing levels and under-reporting of crimes, the numbers are likely higher.
The Antioch Police Department has updated its crime data for 2023 where they saw an increase in total offenses by 1,127.
With a police force that is understaffed, the city saw 131 additional burglaries, 166 additional larcenies, 45 more robberies, 399 more vandalism, 595 more vehicle thefts and 48 more weapon violations in 2023 when compared to 2022.
Here is a look at the crime data as provided on the city of Antioch website.
2022 | 2023 | +/- | |
Murder | 9 | 10 | +1 |
Negligent Manslaughter | 2 | 3 | +1 |
Justifiable Homicide | 4 | 1 | -3 |
Rape | 43 | 33 | -10 |
Robbery | 166 | 211 | +45 |
Aggravated Assault | 513 | 436 | -77 |
Burglary | 428 | 559 | +131 |
Larceny | 1480 | 1646 | +166 |
Motor Vehicle Theft | 650 | 1245 | +595 |
Arson | 16 | 8 | -2 |
Simple Assault | 944 | 1029 | +85 |
Intimidation | 77 | 55 | -22 |
Bribery | 0 | 0 | n/a |
Counterfeiting/Forgery | 21 | 9 | -12 |
Vandalism | 673 | 1,072 | +399 |
Drug/Narcotic | 78 | 61 | -17 |
Drug Equipment | 21 | 24 | +3 |
Embezzlement | 7 | 17 | +10 |
Extortion/Blackmail | 1 | 5 | +4 |
Fraud | 587 | 428 | -159 |
Gambling | 0 | 0 | n/a |
Kidnapping | 36 | 24 | -12 |
Pornography | 6 | 8 | +2 |
Prostitution | 1 | 1 | – |
Sodomy | 6 | 10 | +4 |
Sexual Assault w/object | 7 | 1 | -6 |
Fondling | 49 | 33 | -16 |
Incest | 0 | 0 | n/a |
Statutory Rape | 11 | 3 | -8 |
Stolen Property | 115 | 101 | -14 |
Weapons Violations | 173 | 221 | +48 |
Human Trafficking, Commercial Sex Acts | 1 | 0 | -1 |
Human Trafficking, Involuntary Servitude | 2 | 0 | -2 |
Animal Cruelty | 3 | 3 | – |
Total Group A Offenses | 6130 | 7257 | +1,127 |
*2023 crime data is based on unaudited RMS data at the time of report generation and is subject to change
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