Chief's Community Update - January 15, 2024

Our East Palo Alto community has been receiving a great deal of media attention from across the globe for our zero murders in 2023 community achievement.  Although it was a significant achievement for us, we must not rest and be satisfied with what we have done.  We must build on this momentum, keep working together, collaborate, and see what heights we can reach as a community.  

Rolled Curb Parking enforcement has commenced.  Vehicles parked on sidewalks along rolled curbs are subject to enforcement action.  For now, our Community Service Officers will issue a warning for first time offending vehicles, but all subsequent violations will result in a $38 citation for parking on the sidewalk.  

We understand there will be some adjustments for all of us, but we will make these adjustments together.  Please help us spread the word by educating your friends, family, and neighbors.

We are hiring!

Do you know someone who is genuinely a good person, has a passion for serving others, and would be a great fit for our department and community please bring them in.  We are hiring for:

Police Recruit

Police Officer

Our open recruitments can be found at https://www.calopps.org/city-of-east-palo-alto.

Anonymous tips and immediate service

We appreciate all the anonymous tips we have been receiving.  It is important to note that anonymous tips are not a resource for immediate police response as it is not monitored 24/7.  For immediate police response, either call 9-1-1 or our non-emergency phone number 650-321-1112.  For complaints related to property violations, please contact Code Enforcement department, which operates under our building department (https://www.cityofepa.org/building/page/code-enforcement).

When providing information to the police, we need specific information about the crime or criminal.  As an example, if you are reporting someone for dealing drugs, we need to know:

where and when they are selling the drugs

a detailed description of them (white female, blue jeans, red jacket, baseball cap)

any description of a vehicle

any other information you have about the crime. 

While we don’t expect you to jeopardize your safety to get this information, it is very important information if we make an arrest.  Not only will your tip provide us with accurate information about the suspect, but we are also able to serve as a witness to the crime and we can testify in court.  Please use these options for providing an anonymous tip.

You can make an anonymous tip to the police by calling or texting to (650) 409-6792.

If there is a topic you would like addressed in the next update, please feel free to send an email at jliu@cityofepa.org. 

Thank you,

Jeff Liu

Chief of Police