Chief's Community Update - September 24, 2023

Thank you for visiting our website and taking a moment to read this community update.

This past Wednesday you may have noticed some increased law enforcement presence in our community due to a planned funeral and related activities.  We had forecasted a high probability of violence due to high tensions, and wanted to take precautions to ensure friends and family of the deceased were able to safely mourn and pay their respects.  We requested a large number of law enforcement personnel from around San Mateo County and brought in off duty East Palo Alto Police personnel with the goal of deterring any acts of violence in our community. 

Throughout the day, numerous community members approached our personnel and thanked them for creating a safe environment for them.  We recorded no Shotspotter activations that day.

Rolled Curb Parking

We have tentatively selected October 5 for our community meeting to discuss rolled curbs.  We are trying to secure a good location in the Gardens to hold the meeting.  I hope to have the location secured early this week.  Once determined, we will publicize the meeting on our website, Facebook, and Instagram accounts. 

We will continue distributing flyers throughout our community where rolled curbs exist. 

If anyone wants to help us distribute flyers, please come by the Police Department.

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