{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"KZYX News","title":"Fort Bragg City Council Hears Annual Reports on Crime Statistics, Homeless Programs, and Stray Animals","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":392,"description":"Fort Bragg City Council Hears Annual Reports on Crime Statistics, Homeless Programs, and Stray Animals The April 14th City Council meeting was lightly attended. It's not clear if an error on the agenda itself was partially to blame.  The Zoom meeting link was missing the passcode, making remote participation impossible, although streaming was available.  Emails to the city clerk were responded to with the correct link.   Two annual reports, one from the Fort Bragg Police Department and one from the Mendocino Coast Humane Society, provided insights into crime rates and the number of stray animals.Chief Cervenka provided crime statistics for 2024. The police responded to over 15000 calls, which resulted in 1166 reports, 514 arrests, and 315 traffic citations.  They seized 8.75 pounds of illegal drugs and 26 firearms.  There were 106 vehicle collisions, of which 8 were due to DUIs.   In general, crime decreased locally except for domestic violence, which increased by 53%.  Chief Cervenka said the increase was due to better training of his officers, who are making more arrests, and the victims’ access to post-pandemic assistance.Chief Cervenka also provided an update on the extreme weather shelter for this past winter.  The extreme weather shelter is run by the police department through their Crisis Response Unit (CRU) program, which facilitates helping houseless individuals off the street and into housing.  The extreme weather shelter operates from November 15th to March 31st and is opened based on precipitation and temperature as predicted by the National Weather Service.  The shelter operated 83 out of the possible 136 operational days, provided beds 644 times for 107 individuals.  The emergency shelter handles overflow from the hospitality house, which maintains 25 beds.  Although there was an increased need for beds this past winter, there was a 15% drop in individuals needing help.  Cervenka attributed that to the police department's homeless housing program,...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/xZpAumwbhFUpJUYcwaQ1-q6snzOyqAm13l7cW6AWPCM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mMzkz/NjAwNjc2OWMyZmFk/YWY2YTdmYjI5M2Mz/YWMxNy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}