March 4, 2004

Police Chief Rob Davis shares his vision for San Jose
Top cop meets with residents at Vineland Library

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

The Vineland Library played host to a meet-and-greet with new Police Chief Rob Davis on Feb. 25 in an effort to allow residents the opportunity to meet San Jose's top cop and hear his vision for the community looking forward.

Due to a last minute Homeland Security meeting in San Francisco, Davis arrived approximately 45 minutes late to the library's community room, where more than 30 residents and school officials had been waiting. “We won't ask him how long it took to get here,” Vice-Mayor Pat Dando joked as Davis arrived. “These are things you don't ask, but we're happy to see he's safely here.”

Dando restated the fact that San Jose remains the safest big city in the country, “because we have such committed police officers at the rank and file to our administration and to our leadership,” she said. “I am very confident with our new chief that that is going to continue to be the case.”

According to Dando, Davis, who lives in Almaden with his wife and daughter, is “home-grown,” shedding a more personal light into his ongoing dedication. “He knows our area very well and he certainly is as committed to our community as he is to the whole community of San Jose,” she added.

Davis in fact lived just a stone's throw away from the library as a boy—land previously occupied by the former Vineland Elementary School, where his siblings attended classes. “I was home grown,” he admitted. “This literally is home, right here.”

With a head full of ideas, his vision for a more proficient, up-to-date police department begins admittedly with the implementation last December of the department's Megan's Law Web site, making available information on high-risk sex offenders via the Internet. “We are one, if not the first city in California, to have this information on the Web site,” said Dando, whom Davis touts as being one of the city's biggest advocates of public safety.

In an effort to notify communities of sex offenders living in their neighborhoods, the enactment of Megan's Law came on the heels of the abduction, sexual assault and murder of 7-year-old Megan Kanka in 1994. 33-year-old Jesse Timmendequas, who had been convicted twice before of sexual assault, lived with two roommates [also sex offenders] on her street. He later confessed to her murder.

Pursuant to the enactment of Megan's Law, the Department of Justice, Sheriff Departments and Police Departments [serving a population of 200,000 or more] are required by statute to make specific information available to the public via electronic media on all high-risk and serious-risk sex offenders. Before the launch of the Megan's Law Web site, those wishing to view the database could only do so at various policing agencies, and under strict guidelines. It was cumbersome at best.

“This is exactly the type of thing I'm talking about trying to do moving forward,” Davis explained. “We have a reputation for being a very innovative department—a leader in that arena. My concern is that we don't lose that edge.”

“Thanks to Pat and the City Council, without their support, we would not have gotten this Web site up,” commented Sgt. Ron Helder. “It covers the current 26 high-risk sex offenders in San Jose.”

High-risk offenders are classified as having been convicted of at least one violent sex crime, along with a combination of other offenses. According to Helder, serious offenders are not yet included, yet legislation is currently in the works with the rules committee to implement that in the future.

The Sex Registration Enforcement Team, or the 290 Team, [named after the penal code section that requires anyone convicted of a sex crime to register with the state of California] consists of five detectives and one crime data specialist. Detectives James Ford, Jim Menard, Frank Swaringen, and Raul Martinez were on hand to cover the basics surrounding both the navigation of the website and their respective roles in monitoring the over 2,300 sex offenders registered in San Jose.

“This is the best assignment that I've ever worked on because we track sexual predators in the city of San Jose,” admitted Detective Ford. “It's very rewarding work.”

Additional revamping of the department Web site to make it a more reliable source of timely, community related information remains a priority, where Davis plans to focus on providing more immediate communication to residents, including the posting of sketches or photos of suspects at large, rather that waiting for the media to release them, and the ability to for the community to download crime information in their area onto personal handheld devices. “There's a lot we can still do, especially here in the Silicon Valley to push information out to the public so you're even more aware,” he said. “It doesn't take a ton of money to do this. We have the talent, the capability, and the skills to be able to do this as we speak.”

Davis cited successful programs that have become barometers for cities around the country looking for guidance and direction. However, he's not about to use that as a green light for San Jose to rest on their laurels. “When it comes to using technology, there's so much we still need to do,” he reiterated.

Enhancing the “community policing concept” is yet another project Davis plans to expand heavily upon in an effort to gain better access to issues at the street level, thereby improving the lines of communication up and down the ranks. It is an effort he said will encourage more interaction and collaboration with members of the community. “We do not do it by ourselves,” he explained. “We're extremely fortunate that we have that here in San Jose and are only going to get more innovative. We're not going to settle for second best.”

“We have absolutely no intention in the midst of the budget crisis of relinquishing our reputation,” Davis concluded. “Of ceasing to be innovative or ceasing to recognize that we don't, as a police department, solve the crime problems that occur here in San Jose without the help of the community, schools, churches, politicians, and all the other folks out there who are involved. It really is a team effort.”