To meet surging violence in south Fresno neighborhoods, new teams of officers deploy

Fresno police will target an upsurge in murders and shootings in the southern portions of the city by deploying three special response teams in those areas beginning in January, Chief Jerry Dyer said Wednesday.

There have been 53 murders in Fresno so far this year, compared to 39 in 2016 and 2015, and the chief indicated he would not tolerate the spike. He made his comments during a news conference that followed the department’s monthly Crime View session, where the chief crunches crime stats with his command staff. So far this year, there have also been 468 shootings, compared to 445 for the same time in 2016.

The response teams are composed of a sergeant and six officers and they will be deployed in the southwest, central and southeast policing districts.

“They will make a tremendous impact on crime,” said Dyer, who challenged criticism that officers sometimes make disproportionate traffic stops in certain portions of the community..

“That is what it takes to keep people safe,” he said, because officers target areas where crimes, including shootings, take place. He noted that in recent days, officers on similar assignments have made 35 arrests and taken 12 guns off the street.

“We’re going to do it in a much larger way in 2018,” he added.

Addressing the increase in shootings, the chief expressed new concern with keeping firearms out of the hands of gang members, who often commit their crimes with guns stolen from firearm dealers and private homes. He said that he and his officers are making an effort to contact every federally licensed dealer to make sure that gun stores are secure. He also urged homeowners to secure their guns in a safe. In addition, the department is expanding the city’s ShotSpotter system to 12 square miles so officers can rapidly respond to gunfire.

Dyer noted that gang members often share firearms used in shootings. In one case, officers determined that just seven guns were used in 30 separate shootings, through the use of new technology that analyzes the origin of shell casings left at crime scenes.

During the conference, the chief also noted some positive trends:

▪ Auto theft is down in the city by 14.9 percent.

▪ There has only been one robbery initiated on a social media site in the past 28 days.

▪ A spike in pharmacy burglaries by thieves targeting codeine-based medications also dropped to just one break-in during the 28-day period.

This story was originally published December 13, 2017 at 3:41 PM with the headline "To meet surging violence in south Fresno neighborhoods, new teams of officers deploy."