On Tuesday, the Antioch City Council agreed to take the first steps towards creating an Antioch Police Department substation within Sycamore Square.
The item was approved in a 4-0 vote, with Mayor Ron Bernal absent. The item will return on June 10 where staff has been directed to come up with measurable items to determine success for what could be deemed as successes during the 18-month pilot period.
The terms of the lease would be for a 18-month time period at 1084 Sycamore Drive. The cost would be not to exceed $33,127.50 paid from the police facilities general fund budget.
This would include:
- Lease: $12,603 ($1 per month for July 1, 2025 – Sept. 30, 2025 & $840 per month Oct 1, 2025 – Dec 31, 2026
- Ballistic Glass & Installation – $21,049 cost: City to pay 50% = $10,524.50
- Substation Setup costs: One-time expenditures for furnishings, signage, technology, and operational readiness = $10,000.00
Antioch Police Lt. Mike Mellone presented the proposal for a Antioch Police substation.
“This initiative reflects a strategic and data informed investment in public safety and community stabilization,” stated Mellone. “Over the past year, the Antioch Police Department has responded to nearly 2600 calls for service within a quarter mile radius of Sycamore Square. And within the shopping center itself, there have been over 900 calls for service including 33 shooting investigations, 9 aggravated assaults investigations and hundreds of loitering complaints including public disturbances, narcotics activity and fights.”
Mellone shared these were not just crime data on a page of paper, but they represent crime victims, businesses, and community members who are impacted by the ongoing crime and disorder going on in this area.
“The impact on quality of life in this area has been severe and the demand on law enforcement resources has been significant,” shared Mellone while adding when officers are continued to be deployed to this area, they are drawn away from other parts of the city.
He called the substation a “proactive solution” serving as functional base for patrol officers, community service officers and volunteers in police serve—writing reports, conduct briefings or take breaks from this location.
“The sustained presence will act as a deterrent and reinforce responsiveness and improve responsiveness to the area,” explained Mellone noting this model was supported by empirical evidence citing a study in New Jersey over a 6-year period showing a reduction in burglary and vehicle theft.
Mellone called it a model public-private partnership with favorable lease terms and the cost sharing agreement showed the property owners commitment to improving safety in the corridor.
Even in 2014, Antioch Police frequently were at Sycamore Square
During public comments, 7 speakers spoke mostly in support, but called for more services, more community engagement and this was simply a start.
Councilmember Tamisha Torres-Walker thanked everyone for going through the process and having spirited debate along with concerns. She also said the Sycamore area had been segregated from resources. She called it a challenge for her because she had to put aside her personal beliefs.
“The community wanted a police presence, or something that could make them feel safe or like the city actually gave a damn,” said Torres-Walker. “That the police department did, and the community said we needed additional resources. I believe in community-based violence solutions. I believe in re-imaging public safety and putting resources in spaces that have been segregated from resources so the culture can change, and shift related to violence and incarceration. And when the residence in that corridor tell me they want this substation, it made sense that I advocated for that, they voted for me. Even people who don’t agree with me and can’t wait until I am out of this seat, agrees with this substation.”
She added, the owners of the HOA left for a safer space while homeowners and renters to deal with the fallout of the violence—she called for conversations with the HOA about keeping the community safe.
“This will not just help the residents of Sycamore, it will help the city as a whole,” said Torres-Walker who added its going to important for all of Antioch and hoped it could be supported. “This is below market rate, we are pretty much being given this property”.
Councilmember Don Freitas, who stated he had great reservations about this proposal, considered this a pilot project, he asked Mellone how they would evaluate this program. He asked by June 10, that all interested parties come together to figure out the measurements that they view this substation.
“I applaud the property owners because they have completely contributed in this regard, but this is for 18-months,” stated Freitas. “I want to make sure that when we go through this, we are clear at the beginning how we are going to measure this operation. It’s important, it could provide data, because I am hopeful that it will be successful. Therefore we would have all the information to tell all the community, look you guys criticized, we did our homework, we did our evaluation, we measured it through the entire 18-months, here is the empirical data.”
Freitas added that there were a lot of “naysayers in this community” but this was about hope. He said he would support the motion if they do an evaluation.
City Manager Bessie M. Scott said every area is different but they could have preliminary metrics. She noted some of the information requested by council, may have to be seen in action first, but could use community engagement, crime stats and resource previsions which would be co-dependent model on strategies the police department will use, but could create metrics, which could change, as they look at quarterly data.
Freitas said every 90-days a report should be made to the council and the community about what is going on with this substation and the impact its having as this is an 18-month pilot.
Councilmember Monica Wilson said she supported this.
Mayor Pro Tem Louie Rocha shared while at Antioch High School, they could provide a lot of resources for students who lived in the Sycamore Corridor but was always concerned they were not doing enough by extending into the community where they live.
“I am all in favor of bringing resources to the community but I do think as councilmember Freitas pointed out is we need to look at the data and what the outcome are,” shared Rocha adding that Prewett Park was built with a substation and if they do this right, maybe they could learn something and do something with southeast Antioch as well in the future. “I am all in favor of this.”
The council then voted 4-0 in favor of the resolution for an 18-month lease for the Antioch Police Department substation in Sycamore Square. The motion also included the city create measurements of success to report back to the city council on June 10 for review.
Full Agenda – click here
Previous Stories:
- Feb 15 – Antioch Saw Record Homicide and Vehicle Thefts in 2024
- Nov 2024 – Antioch Agrees to Begin Conversation on Sycamore Square Police Sub Station
- Nov 2024 – Antioch City Council Set to Discuss Substation at Sycamore Square
Editors Note: This dates back to June 2021 when they mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe and Tamisha Torres-Walker along with the Antioch Police Department held a press conference
