A Message from Police Chief Andrew Binder: June 2024 Edition

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PaloAltoConnect

5 min read2 days ago

A quarterly update on Department activities

Happy summer! In this community update, I will discuss some tips on how to keep yourself safe from fraud, talk about recent cases involving robberies of mail carriers, discuss ongoing data collection efforts as part of the Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA), and share some heartwarming news about an injured hawk that our personnel saved!

Fraud Prevention Tips

While Palo Alto generally remains a very safe city, white-collar crimes like fraud, scams, and schemes are unfortunately prevalent in town. We often see scammers targeting elderly members of our community, though of course people of any age can be victimized. Here are four broad crime prevention tips to ensure you don’t fall victim to fraud:

1. Let calls from unknown numbers to go voicemail. If you receive a phone call from an unknown number, especially if you are not expecting a return call from someone, let it go to voicemail and then decide if the caller is legitimate before you consider calling them back.

2. Never send money to anyone you have not personally met. Regardless of if they ask nicely or threaten you, never send money to anyone you have not personally met. This could include sending money via give cards, pre-paid cash/credit cards, money transfer services, or cryptocurrency.

3. Never send money directly from your bank account to anyone with whom you are not personally familiar. This could include via wire transfer, ACH, or personal check.

4. Do not invest in cryptocurrency without prior knowledge. Until or unless you fully understand how cryptocurrency works and where your money is going, do not invest in cryptocurrency.

Visit our Scams, Schemes, and Fraud webpage for much more detailed information on specific types of scams that we often see (including telemarketing schemes, credit card fraud, impersonation of law enforcement / IRS agents, and more) and ways to safely make payments to pay bills for legitimate businesses and services.

Read other crime prevention tips for other crimes such as residential burglaries at www.cityofpaloalto.org/StopCrime. There’s also information on how best to report suspicious activity, how to be a good witness, and what to do if you become a crime victim.

Mail Carrier Robberies

Robberies of United States Postal Service mail carriers are on the rise in the region, and we’ve had three such cases in Palo Alto since December, including two last month. In one case from May 11, prompt calls from neighbors resulted in our officers being able to arrest two suspects following a vehicle pursuit. Those suspects, one of whom was a 17-year-old juvenile, were both armed with replica handguns that our officers recovered at the arrest scene.

Robbers target mail carriers for their postal keys, which are used to access locked Postal Service mailboxes. Thieves then use those stolen keys to commit mail theft, which in turn facilitates identity theft, fraud, and other white-collar crimes. This robbery trend is serious enough that the United States Postal Inspection Service offers a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any suspects. Unauthorized possession of a postal key is a federal crime, a conviction for which can carry a prison sentence of up to ten years.

You can help by keeping a watchful eye out, so our mail carriers stay safe. Please remain alert for suspicious behavior around mail carriers, Postal Service vehicles, and common mailboxes, and promptly report any suspicious activity to us. This might include vehicles and/or people appearing to follow mail carriers while they’re on their routes.

For more details on the other two cases, both of which remain unsolved, read the news release for the December 6 crime here and the May 16 crime here.

Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) Update

Our Department believes in fair and impartial policing, free from discrimination or bias. We are committed to providing outstanding service while respecting the racial, cultural, and other differences of those we serve in our diverse community.

Since January 1, 2022, the Department has been collecting state-mandated data on qualifying incidents (stops/detentions, person searches, and arrests) to comply with California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA). All RIPA data from calendar year 2023 is now listed on our online dashboard and viewable at www.cityofpaloalto.org/PAPDripa.

In conjunction with the City Manager’s Office, staff are continuing to work with the National Policing Institute to provide an analysis of our RIPA data and look forward to reviewing the public report once it becomes available.

A Happy Ending to a Hawk Rescue Story — With Video!

You may not know that when our Animal Control Officers (ACOs) are off-duty, our patrol officers respond to animal-related calls. A couple weeks ago, one of our officers was driving on Alma Street and encountered a hawk standing in the middle of a traffic lane! It appeared to be injured and was not flying away.

While one officer blocked traffic, another officer gently picked up the hawk in a blanket and took it back to our station until an ACO came on duty. Our ACO spoke with wildlife experts at the Peninsula Humane Society, and after ensuring there were no obvious injuries, the experts recommended that the ACOs attempt to release the hawk to see if it would fly away; if it did not, further evaluation and medical treatment would be needed.

Our ACOs took the hawk to a safe location at Peers Park, and it happily took to the skies and flew away! You can see videos of the rescue, as well as the release, on our Instagram account here.

After chatting with the ACOs, it sounds like the hawk was likely “stunned” at the time we found it, perhaps by accidentally flying into a wire or window, or maybe by being clipped by a passing car with a glancing blow while flying. Regardless, the time it spent with us was apparently enough to allow it to recover fully. We’re very happy to have been in the right place at the right time and to play a role in this rescue.

In closing…

Remember, we’re only a phone call away if you need us — 9–1–1 for emergencies, or (650) 329–2413 for our 24-hour dispatch center.

Do you have a question or are you interested in sharing your perspective with me? Please send me a note at andrew.binder@cityofpaloalto.org. I look forward to hearing from you.

Andrew

Ways to connect and stay informed with PAPD

We are the only municipal police agency in Santa Clara County with an unencrypted radio frequency, which gives you real-time access to police radio transmissions.