San Jose installing speeding cameras in late 2025

San Joseans with a lead foot will have to pay extra attention towards the end of next year. San Jose is placing 33 speed cameras in high-collision rate areas, which will automatically mail tickets to speeding drivers.

Traffic deaths doubled in San Jose from 29 in 2012 to 65 in 2022. The primary goal of these cameras is not revenue, but safety. All revenue from citations is required to be used for traffic calming measures.

The estimated cost of the equipment is $7 million, with an additional $3.6 million for data collection, public engagement, and racial equity analysis. That last item is specifically to avoid having these cameras only target specific ethnic communities or low-income neighborhoods.

Potential locations will be provided to the San Jose City Council this fall and the system is expected to go live by the end of 2025. 

Source: San Jose Inside

San Jose 2023 crime stats fare well among Bay Area piers

San Jose has been a relatively safe city for many decades, and at certain points was the safest big city in the United States. The final crime stats for 2023 are out and they bode well for San Jose.

In terms of homicides, San Jose came in at 36 for 2023 (this compares to 35 in 2022 and 31 in 20221). This is much less than San Francisco with 53 despite having 15% fewer people. If you look at Oakland, the stat disparity is even wider. Oakland came in at 126 homicides last year, 3.5 times more than San Jose despite having half the population.

Part of the reason why the rate is so low is that San Jose's homicide unit solves nearly 100% of all cases, something that is very rare in cities of a million people.

Source: NBC Bay Area

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan's 2023 holiday message

Our mayor's end-of-year newsletter featured several highlights in 2023. You can read the full thing in the source link below, but the items that really stood out for me as big wins were:

• Lower homelessness by 10% and we have 788 additional interim housing units in the pipeline
• Lower crime by 5%, Automatic License Plate Readers have helped solve hundreds of crimes in San Jose
• 300% increase in volunteerism, 500,000 lbs. of trash removed from streets and creeks
• San Jose residents and companies were granted the most AI patents in the country, San Jose also hosted an innovation summit to help the city leverage AI solutions
• Improved San Jose permitting times on both big and small projects

Overall, it seemed like 2023 was a very positive year for San Jose. I hope everyone has an amazing New Year's Eve and hopefully we'll have an even better 2024! 🎊🥳

Source: San Jose Inside

San Jose's most dangerous streets

A study was recently completed by 1Point21 Interactive and Henshaw & Henry, PC to find the most dangerous streets in San Jose. Five years of data was sourced from the California Highway Patrol's SWITRS database to compile the number of crashes, injuries, severe injuries, and fatalities at various intersections in San Jose. Over that period, there were 8,000 intersection-related crashes in San Jose, which sadly led to 10,118 injuries and 103 deaths.

The most dangerous regions are Alum Rock, Central San Jose, and South San Jose. Of those, the intersection of McLaughlin and Story is the most notorious, followed by Almaden Expressway and Blossom Hill. Capital Expressway and Ocala Avenue was third on the list.

To see the full study, head over here.

San Jose Crime

Earlier this year San Francisco kicked off a major benchmarking study against 16 peer cities. The data in the report is completely unbiased in relation to San Jose--our city had no part in the funding or creation of the report.

A striking chart that I came across shows both violent and property crimes in the benchmark cities. The ideal quadrant to be in for this chart is the lower left, meaning cities that have both low violent crime and property crime. The red arrow shows where 0 crime would be. Despite all of the noise regarding increases in San Jose crime over the past few years, not only were we in the best quadrant but we had the lowest per capita violent crime of any city except for San Diego. As for property crimes, we also beat out all but four cities (in a good way).

San Francisco has nearly double the violent crime and property crime in San Jose proper. Oakland takes it to the next level with quadruple the violent crime. So if anyone ever tells you that San Jose is not safe, you can send them the chart below.

Source: SocketSite

Home8 Smart Garage Kit

I'm a huge gadget nerd and extreme early adopter of new technology and came across something that might be helpful for a lot of people. San Jose has one of the lowest violent crime in the country (if not the world) for a city of over 1 million, but we have obviously struggled when it comes to theft and burglary. Home8 is a Silicon Valley company that creates smart security systems. They have just release a garage kit that comes with a smart garage door opener, HD camera, and siren.

I have to admit that I've forgotten to close my garage door more than once. With this kit you can check on your garage in real time and also remotely open and close it with a smartphone app. There is also a sensor that can set off the siren if you do forget to close the door and someone happens to go into your garage. The tougher we make it for criminals to get into our homes, the less likely we are to be a target for burglars. Check out the release below for more info.

Home8 Gives Consumers Unprecedented Security Access and Control of Their Garages
Smart Garage Starter Kit Pairs with Mobile App to Deliver Remote Control and Video Capabilities for Anytime, Anywhere Access

FREMONT, Calif.-- Home8, a new venture by MivaTek, today set a new standard in home security and awareness with the introduction of the Smart Garage Starter Kit. The smart protection platform features the Shuttle intelligent hub with a built-in siren, HD camera, and garage door opener, allowing users to not only visually check in on their garages via the Home8mobile app, but also open and close the garage door regardless of location. The Home8 Smart Garage Starter Kit retails for $229.99 and is available for purchase at www.home8systems.com. “Our Garage Door Starter Kit serves a dual purpose by taking steps to help prevent break-ins, while at the same time giving users exclusive smart features that can be used for practical, everyday living.”

Garages remain an enticing target for burglars as it gives them quick access to goods or can be used as an entry point into the actualhome itself,” said Daniel Wong, Worldwide Vice President of MivaTek. “Our Garage Door Starter Kit serves a dual purpose by taking steps to help prevent break-ins, while at the same time giving users exclusive smart features that can be used for practical, everyday living.”

The Home8 Garage Starter Kit delivers peace of mind bygiving users full control of their garages no matter where they are. The HDcamera allows users instant visual access to their garage to make sure the door is properly closed or that no one has entered the property. The Home8 garage door pairs with the mobile app allowing users to open and close the door from their smartphones. Uses include opening and closing the door for a delivery person, using it as a failsafe in the event a user is locked out of the house, or simply reassuring one’s self that the garage door was closed minutes after driving away from the house. To see how the Home8 Garage Starter Kit works,watch this video.

The Home8 Garage Starter Kit Includes:

• Shuttle Intelligent Hub: The Shuttle intelligent hub serves as an integrated bridge and smart controller, providing wireless access between a user’s devices and the Home8 cloud. It creates a closed network, protecting data with bank-level encryption and anti-sniffing technology, so that only users and those they authorize can access the Home8 system. The Shuttle is also equipped with a 110db built-in siren and 4GB of memory storage.
• Mini Cube HD Camera: The Mini Cube HD camera features motion detection, night-vision, and 2-way audio. A ball-and-socket mount makes it easy to swivel the camera in any direction.
• Garage Door Opener: The Home8 garage door opener makes your garage door smarter. It pairs with the Shuttle and the existing garage opening system to give users remote access.
• Mobile App: The Home8 mobile app allows users to stream live video and open and close the garage door remotely.

A recent study by Parks Associates finds a growing demand for smart garage systems. According to the study, 15 percent of U.S. broadband households plan to buy a smart garage door opener in 2016, particularly homeowners under the age of 35. Further, of the 9% who already own a smart garage system, nearly 50% interact with it on an almost daily basis via a smartphone, tablet, or computer.

The Home8 Smart Garage starter kit is easy to install and works with most existing garage opening systems. Users can also purchase additional devices to customize their Smart Garage platform, control multiple garages from the same mobile app, and expand their system beyond the garage by installing HD cameras and sensors throughout the property for complete home security and awareness. For more information on the Smart Garage Starter Kit and other Home8 products and services, visit www.home8systems.com.

Social Media
Twitter: @Home8Systems
Facebook: facebook.com/home8systems
Instagram: instagram.com/home8systems
YouTube: https://youtu.be/vft_b0xR_rY

About Home8
Home8 delivers home awareness and smart protection through its smart living platform. Home8 solutions include sensor-initiated video recording, cloud and local storage options, notifications to multiple tiers of recipients, and can be used in multiple locations all accessible under one single mobile app. For Home8’s comprehensive and affordable alarm, awareness, and assurance solutions and services, please visit www.home8systems.com.

Serious Crime Dropped by 9.1% in the First Half of the Year

This Labor Day, I think I'll post some good news about crime in San Jose. If you compare total serious crimes between January and June of this year and the same period in 2013, there is a notable 9.1% decline. You can find other positive stats in the letter from Chuck Reed below.

Also, SJPD is starting to add Community Service Officers (CSOs) to assist sworn police officers with lower priority calls for service (traffic collisions, vandalism, etc.). This makes perfect sense, why waste an officer's valuable time with incidents that can be handled without a badge or gun. The CSOs will also cost the city less money, which can free up more budget for additional officers and perhaps higher compensation to help retain/recruit officers.

Dear Neighbors,

Good news rarely makes headlines, which is why I'm writing to you today.

San Jose has experienced a significant decrease in serious crime since 2012.

The San Jose Police Department has just posted data for the first half of 2014, and the data shows:

• Total serious crimes dropped by 9.1% from January to June of 2014 (over the same period in 2013). That decline builds on a 10.3% decrease for calendar year 2013.
• Homicides dropped by 20.8% in the first six months of 2014. In 2013, homicides declined by 15.6% over 2012.
• Violent crimes in San Jose in 2013 were at the second-lowest level in a decade.

These crime statistics and more can be found on the SJPD website.


I want to thank the men and women of the San Jose Police Department for their continued efforts to reduce crime in San Jose. With the leadership of Chief Larry Esquivel, they have responded to problems creatively and redeployed resources effectively.

We are also adding new resources to the department. Last week, our first Community Service Officers graduated from the academy and are in field training. CSOs will assist sworn police officers in investigating and completing police reports on lower priority calls for service, such as property crimes, non-injury traffic collisions, vehicle theft, vandalism, and other non-emergency circumstances. This will allow sworn SJPD officers to focus on responding to high priority emergency calls for service and have more time for more proactive enforcement.

Community Service Officers will be stationed out of the South San Jose Substation. You can learn more in SJPD's press release.

Thank you also to you, your neighborhood associations, and community organizations, for your work with our police department to make our city safer. The positive relationship our police department has with our community is critical to preventing and solving crimes.

Thank you,

Mayor Chuck Reed

Saturday Stats: San Jose Still the Safest Big City

A new study to find the safest cities for "your wallet and well-being" was released last month by CreditDonkey. They specifically look at the number of violent crimes, total crimes, and ID theft for each 1,000 residents and the variance between the median. They only evaluated "big" cities with populations above 500,000. Guess which city topped the rankings? It was San Jose by a pretty strong margin.

New York came in 5th and San Francisco was nowhere to be seen on the list.

Source: CreditDonkey

Safest Big Cities for Your Wallet, Well-Being

1. San Jose, CA

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA

• Violent crime % differential from median: -21%
• Total crime % differential from median: -23%
• ID Theft % differential from national average: -21%

San Jose earns the top spot because it’s the only large city in the country to fall more than 20 percent below the national benchmark in all three categories. It also holds the distinction of having the lowest incidence of violent crimes per 1,000 people among all cities with populations over 500,000 considered for these rankings.

What you may not know about San Jose: In response to budget, staff, and crime concerns of late, the city of San Jose launched the RCITI (pronounced “our city”) program in early 2013 to reaffirm the police department’s core priorities. Reducing gang-related crimes and being responsive to residents’ needs are among the program’s key goals. The city reports that gang-related crime fell 28 percent during the first three months of 2013 compared to the same period last year.

2. San Diego, CA

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

• Violent crime % differential from median: -12%
• Total crime % differential from median: -32%
• ID Theft % differential from national average: -16%

San Diego actually has a lower incidence of crime as a whole than San Jose, but it ranks behind its in-state neighbor because it has higher violent crime occurrences. Still, the statistics for San Diego are impressive considering it’s one of only three cities in the top 10 to have a population greater than 1 million.

What you may not know about San Diego: The city has promoted the concept of neighbors watching neighbors by partnering with Nextdoor.com, a San Francisco-based social network for neighborhoods. Each community has its own website that only those residents can access. They can exchange information about what they’re seeing in their neighborhood, including safety issues.

3. El Paso, TX

EL PASO, TEXAS

• Violent crime % differential from median: -10%
• Total crime % differential from median: -32%
• ID Theft % differential from national average: -12%

The first three cities on this list are the only ones that fall below the national benchmark in all three categories, and El Paso is the last of that group. Its violent crime and total crime differentials are third and tied for fourth best, respectively, among all the cities we considered.

What you may not know about El Paso: El Paso is right on the Mexican border, and the police department has to be especially vigilant to try to prevent Mexico’s high occurrence of drug crime from seeping across it. Of particular concern are “stash houses” that act as temporary drug warehouses to facilitate widespread distribution.

4. Los Angeles, CA

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

• Violent crime % differential from median: +3%
• Total crime % differential from median: -33%
• ID Theft % differential from national average: +21%

Fourth place goes to Los Angeles largely because it has the second best total crime differential while also having the second largest population. It’s the first city in the top 10 to have more violent crime occurrences per 1,000 people than the U.S. median, but at only +3%, it scores better than most U.S. cities including many of those on this list.

What you may not know about Los Angeles: Crime in Los Angeles has declined over the past decade, particularly the number of incidents involving gangs. The city has two programs that aim to keep youth out of trouble. The A.C.T. program (Abolish Chronic Truancy) looks to spot patterns of truancy as early as possible and coordinate the efforts of administrators, teachers, parents, and students to fix it. And the S.A.G.E program (Strategy Against Gang Environment) educates parents on recognizing signs of early involvement in gangs, improving neighborhoods, and diverting the attention of kids away from gangs.

5. New York, NY

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

• Violent crime % differential from median: +29%
• Total crime % differential from median: -48%
• ID Theft % differential from national average: +5%

By far the largest city in the top 10 with a population of over 8 million, New York ranks fifth because its relative total crime differential is the second most favorable among the metropolitan areas evaluated despite having a higher incidence of violent crime than all but one other city on this list (Tucson).

What you may not know about New York: Reducing crime has been a main priority of Mayor Michael Bloomberg since he took office more than a decade ago. A number of initiatives – some more controversial than others – have been launched during his tenure. Among the most recent is the Juvenile Robbery Prevention Program, which identifies at-risk youth and uses early intervention to dissuade them from committing additional crimes.

Wednesday Wishlist: Measure B Compromise

I have tried to avoid this topic, but the recent murder spree and popular opinion that the SJPD is degenerating because of Measure B has made it unavoidable.

First off, I think some incarnation of Measure B was bound to happen sooner or later. People like to scapegoat Chuck Reed, but I think the truth is that he was handed a bad deck of cards with two options: 1.) do nothing and bankrupt the city 2.) reform the pension plans. The decision was clear but I think the execution could have been softened substantially. The reduction in benefits has reduced officer moral and made our force less competitive than our neighbors in retaining top officers. Ideally, SJPD would have been given something in return for the lower pensions.

So my wishlist for the week is a compromise between the city and the SJPD. I think the reforms are here to stay, but the doesn't mean salaries cannot be increased. I would love to see the temporary 10% paycuts officers when the downturn began to be immediately lifted along with a timeline for adding an additional 10% increase in salary. Additional salary can be just as if not more attractive than a better pension. In 2010, Google conducted surveys to see which form of compensation would be more likely to motivate and retain their employees if that benefit were to be increased. They discovered that the answer was not bonuses, free haircuts, or even more Google stock... it was salaries, and they ended up increasing the base salary of all employees by 10%.

I think the same strategy Google took to prevent employees from jumping ship to Facebook (which I bet they are now regretting) can go a long way to keep SJPD officers that have worked long and hard for the city of San Jose from going to other departments. If you look at the map below, there is a lot of work that needs to be done, and having a content and motivated police department is going to be critical to maintaining San Jose as the safest big city in the world.

(As a side note, if you look at the crime map below note that none of the homicides were in Downtown San Jose.)



Image from the Mercury News

San Jose Crime Rate

Just how safe is our city? Well let's take a look at some official crime statistics that I stumbled upon from the SJPD website. Between 1989 and 2008, our population grew from 757,964 to 989,496 yet homicides fell from 40 to 31, rape cases fell from 399 to 220, and aggravated assaults fell from 2,939 to 2,268. Let's put this in perspective. In 2008 San Francisco had a population nearly 200k LESS than San Jose and had 99 homicides, more than triple the San Jose rate. Oakland with a population of 420,183 in 2008 had a staggering 124 homicides. Detroit, the city closest to San Jose's population in 2008, had a mind-blowing 368 homicides. You often hear that San Jose is one of the safest large cities anywhere, but the proof is in the numbers.

Okay, one more fun statistic. Does anyone want to venture a guess as to how many 2008 homicides were in Downtown San Jose? Zero.