"Chico isn't just a place, it's a lifestyle!" Words straight from the Chamber of Commerce website, which rightfully boasts the town's friendliness and sense of community. "Just far enough away from the chaos of big city living." But unfortunately Chico is not shielded from big city crime.
Greg Welter "I believe the reality is that crime is up in the Chico area over the last two years and especially the last six months."
From bike path muggings to Downtown shootings, Greg Welter covered crime for the Chico Enterprise Record newspaper for more than a decade.
Greg Welter "Chico is a unique community, there's no question about it. It has a lot going for it. But criminals can come from anywhere for any reason."
So what's happening? Why the rise in crime? Chico police captain Ford Porter points to increased population, medical marijuana, the economy, and the reality of budget constraints within his own department. But more recently law enforcement officers across the state are particularly concerned about AB-109, the Prison Realignment Law.
Captain Ford Porter "We've seen a huge spike in residential burglaries in the last month or so."
And Porter says, while there's no data yet to prove it, the early release of jail inmates certainly is a major contributing factor.
Capt Porter "And then that really falls in our lap as we are the ones dealing with them day in and day out."
But people ought to be able to take a jog in Bidwell park or walk home from classes in broad daylight without fear of being robbed or raped. We should be able to go away for the weekend without having our home broken into. Or is this the new normal? Before you lay all the blame on police, or city budgets or jail overcrowding, ask yourself: 'How well do i know my neighbors?'
Capt. Porter "Community involvement is what we need. We need people to care enough to say 'I see something going on that's not right and i'm going to call rather than 'it's not my problem."
Meanwhile, with its shrinking budget, Chico PD has evolved into a type of triage mode, forced to prioritize and reorganize programs to get more officers patrolling the streets, taking away from the more proactive community police efforts of the past. In the meantime, this former crime beat reporter has some very important advise for the rest of us: 'Be aware of your surroundings and take precautions any time your out.'Greg Welter "And that's something i think people lose sight of. They go about their day to day business and they aren't always thinking that golly there may be somebody out there trying to do me harm: break into my car, steal my car, rob me at gunpoint, punch me in the nose."
