Recommendations to Beach Alcohol Task Force

The following are a list of recommendations I am suggesting the Beach Alcohol Task Force consider implementing to address the growing alcohol-related problems in Pacific Beach and surrounding communities:

Crime and Safety

1 Goal
Develop a statistically valid period of crime rate statistics including San Diego Police, Fire and Lifeguard service calls and response data.

Recommendation
• Initiate a 90-day (i.e. July-August 2007) or annual test period (ie 2008) with no alcohol allowed on any beach, park, boardwalk or outdoor public areas within the cities of Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Mission Bay Park and Pacific Beach. The purpose of this effort would be to gather crime statistics during the test period – which would then be compared with similar time periods from the ‘Trial Period’ three years of 2004-2006.

2 Goal
Determine actual City resources and costs for police, fire and rescue as well as lifeguard services allocated to beach communities.

Recommendation
• Record all San Diego Police, San Diego Lifeguard and San Diego Fire Department Calls for Service, Citations and Arrest Records if alcohol was a factor in the contact.
• Combine all San Diego Police and San Diego Lifeguard and San Diego Fire Department alcohol-related records and statistics.
• Track city-wide origin of crime perpetrator (i.e. if drunk was from PB and injured a Mid-City pedestrian it should also be recorded as a PB-related alcohol incident).
• Provide all statistics via an online search tool by zip, census tract and police beat.

3 Goal
Determine which licensees are generating the most alcohol-related crime perpetrators

Recommendation
• Record place of last drink and/or all places of drinking by any person arrested or cited for any crime
• Provide reports on regular basis to Neighborhood Code Compliance as well as Alcohol Beverage Control and community.

4 Goal
Give communities ability to monitor crime and safety status

Recommendation
• Release all crime and safety statistics on timely basis.
• Provide alcohol-related citations and arrests as separate sort category
• Provide online search, sort and report tool for all statistics

5 Goal
Determine if existing enforcement and legal system and processes are working

Recommendations
• Develop criteria for determining if a crime is ‘alcohol-related’ – may need to change identifier to ‘alcohol-involved’ to remain consistent
• Establish a citation-to-penalty tracking program which monitors outcomes (penalty, restitution, probation, recidivism) of violators.
• Determine which alcohol-related crimes are being tracked in current system.

6 Goal
Give SDPD ability to monitor beach communities electronically

Recommendation
• Provide funding and fundraising support to install security cameras along the boardwalk, along Garnet Avenue and tie into existing system for Summer 2007

Bars and Restaurants

7 Goal
Reduce level of rapes originating in Garnet Avenue establishments

Recommendation
• Institute Escort policy whereby intoxicated females are escorted to taxis or designated driving services alone (without any companions).
• Work with rape prevention experts to develop program to address issues
• Scrutinize historical cases to determine causes as well as prevention strategies

8 Goal
Prevent potential over-serving of bar patrons

Recommendation
• Deny all alcohol licensees the ability to offer ‘Bottle Service’ whereby bottles of liquor can be purchased by a group of guests and self-served.
• Conduct additional ABC/SDPD Vice undercover operations on a consistent basis

City Resource Deployment

9 Goal
Increase transportation alternatives to both beach goers and evening bar and restaurant patrons.

Recommendation
• Install consistent taxi stands throughout busiest areas.
• Establish beach communities as ‘high-impact’ areas and establish a special fee taxicabs can charge (i.e. $2 surcharge) for short-fare runs during evenings.
• Develop MTS Shuttle Service using Pacific Beach as pilot area
• Stagger bar release times to help regulate transportation demand
• Establish contract relationship with Designated Driver Association or similar agency that provides rides home to impaired potential drivers.

10 Goal
Reduce amount of drunk drivers in beach communities through increased exposure and enforcement

Recommendation
• Increase DUI Checkpoints and Saturation Patrols significantly.
• Establish mandatory and immediate 30-day impound of vehicle for all DUI’s
• Conduct ‘shoulder tap’ programs by SDPD in parking lots

11 Goal
Increase perception of personal safety in beach and business areas

Recommendation
• Establish beach communities as high-impact zones and get City crews to do graffiti remediation without citizen complaints.
• Improve lighting along Mission Blvd. and Garnet Ave.
• Repair lighting reported over six months ago
• Increase number of trash cans on beach (staggered) and along Mission Blvd. and Garnet Ave.

12 Goal
Reduce amount of alcohol-related citations and arrests in beach areas

Recommendation
• Improve beach signage and place in more prominent locations
• Fund program for education of residents and guests of beach rules

13 Goal
Strengthen House Party, CAPP and Social Host enforcement

Recommendation
• Recommend to SDPD that they work with citizen volunteers to pre-screen house parties to help prioritize SDPD response.
• Ask SDPD to report any CAPP’d homes via website with specific address

Licensee Enforcement

14 Goal
Determine if licensees are staying within their required limitations.

Recommendation
• Conduct random audits of receipts for food and beverage sales if licensees are under a food/beverage split license.
• Audit Keg sales records and receipts
• Prosecute ‘Phone Tree’ violations of establishments warning each other of enforcement activities

15 Goal
Reduce number of intoxicated people in beach areas and business district

• Strictly enforce load capacity violations
• Require drivers license scanners at all liquor licensees
• Conduct more ‘shoulder tap’ programs and minor decoy operations with or without Alcohol Beverage Control participation.
• Increase ‘quality-of-life’ crime enforcement actions (i.e. drunk in public, urinating etc.)
• Disallow serving to participants in organized ‘Pub Crawls’
• Disallow ‘Pub Crawls’ or multi-location events sponsored by licensees.

City Policy or Law Changes

16 Goal
Give local community authority to monitor licensee behavior and recommend (with weight) course of penalty action

Recommendation
• Instill a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) policy whereby all new liquor licensees must follow certain guidelines to maintain possession of their license.
• Community decides if Public Convenience and Necessity is met or not

17 Goal
Include ‘grandfathered’ establishments within new Conditional Use Permit process

Recommendation
• Instill a Deemed Approved policy which requiring all existing alcohol licensees to enroll.

18 Goal
Reduce underage drinking and exposure of alcohol marketing to children.

Recommendation
• Restrict alcohol advertising via vehicles, airplanes and billboards
• Restrict alcohol marketing at public events
• Remove ability of licensees to hold special events in parking lots

Alcohol Task Force Strategies

19 Goal
Continue to help shape laws and policies with goal to reduce alcohol related crimes and community issues.

Recommendations
• Develop a ‘working’ Task Force, convened upon conclusion of existing Task Force which includes representation from:

Education Community (College/K-12)
Police/Fire/Lifeguard Department
City Attorney/Prosecutor’s Office
Medical Community (Doctor/Trauma)
Recovery & Prevention Community
Policy Groups (MADD)
Community Leaders
Town Councils of Beach Areas
Civic Groups (SavePB, FreePB)
Service Providers (DDA)
Business Owners
Business Leaders