Concord Police Chief Presents 2023 Crime Data

At its April 9 meeting, Concord Police Chief Mark Bustillos presented its 2023 Crime Data to the City Council.

The chief kicked off the presentation highlighting when he first started as chief four-years go that they did not have all the data because they had trouble collecting it—now they have the tools to move forward and a modern data driven police department.

Bustillos explained the change to the NIBRS system which now include all crimes within a certain call—for example, a robbery with a firearm, a punch and dragging someone 20-ft, it now includes in the data as a kidnapping, robbery and assault. Previously, it was 1 felony crime in the data.

“Gross numbers do look larger, but we are counting the gross numbers per event,” explained Bustillos.

Bustillos called it no surprise they were up in burglary, breaking and entering within the City of Concord. He also highlighted the increase in weapon law violations.

“We are getting a lot of guns off the street,” stated Bustillos who said its happening every week which shown in the 381 number.

Staffing:

Chief Bustillos says the Concord Police is staffed at 135 officers and are authorized for 140 sworn. They currently have 2 laterals in process, 5 trainees in two academies. He said 4-6 service retirements by years end who are not coming back—they are on staff until the process is complete.

He says right now, the department has 124 officers for a city of 130,000 people.

He has 13 dispatchers and are authorized for 17.

Concord Police Response Times

2023 – 9:50 minutes
2022 – 11:17 minutes
2021 – 12:30 minutes
2020 – 10:17 minutes
2019 – 12:32 minutes

Robbery up 21

Robbery is up 21 which Bustillos explained a lot of these started off as a petty theft, but with the hiring of security guards, the thief presents a weapon and it becomes a robbery.

“We believe the number is up because some of the stores fortifying themselves with security guards and we are seeing the number of incidents where its gone from generally a petty theft of a thing or object and the person produces a club, knife, weapon to complete the robbery,” explained Bustillos.

Simple Assault up 28%

“We have a population in Concord that doesn’t solve their problems with words, they solve it with violence,” Bustillos said. “You took my thing, I am taking it back, I punch you and going on. We don’t have a lot of random assaults… We have very few events where it’s a stranger assaulting another person. Its often times people who know each other.”

Enhancing Data Collection and Reporting

Legacy Systems Upgrade: Modernized infrastructure to support NIBRS requirements, enhancing data collection and analysis capabilities.

2021: Implemented Mark43 Computer Aided Dispatch & Record Management System.
2022: Strengthened records management by hiring a dedicated Records Manager and team expansion.
2023: Implemented Peregrine Technologies for real-time situational awareness, data analysis, and increased transparency.

Staff Training: Officers and staff educated on NIBRS protocols, ensuring accuracy in data collection and reporting.

2024 NIBRS Roadmap: Future updates to ePolice (online) reporting system planned for full NIBRS compliance and improved data submission processes.

2023 Investigation Highlights

Pursuing Justice: Solving a 2021 Homicide

June 2023: Through an extensive investigation, utilizing various forms of evidence including phone records, DNA, and license plate reader data, charges were filed against Viliami Ofanoa for the Feb. 2021 homicide.

Multi-Agency Investigation Into Organized Retail Theft

Sep. – Nov. 2023: Concord Police, in collaboration with the Contra Costa FBI Safe Streets Task Force and local law enforcement agencies, successfully investigated and charged three individuals for their involvement in a series
of 25 organized retail thefts and burglaries across the greater Bay Area, resulting in over $650,000 in losses.

Arrest for Murder Linked to Fentanyl Overdose

Dec. 2023: Police responded to a fatal fentanyl overdose and through their investigation, were able to identify and arrest the supplier of the counterfeit painkiller containing fentanyl for murder