About the Book
This is the true story of the Monrovia Police Department Nationally Recognized "Community Activist Policing" program from 1989 - 2017 Who would have ever thought that police officers might be asked to become social activists in their fight against crime? The thought of it conjures up pictures of the hippies and militants of the '60s. With these images in mind, one has a very difficult time picturing a police officer as a "social activist." In the early 1990s, the Monrovia Police Department realized that we had to become activists in order to gain the support of the community in stopping crime. We could no longer be viewed as only enforcers; we needed to make the transition to facilitators of community needs as part of a police- citizen partnership, working together to achieve a desirable community. We realized that if we did not establish a compassionate working relationship with the people whom we were sworn to protect, demonstrating that we cared about them, who would? If we did not fight for their right to live in a community that was crime- free and peaceful, who would? In reality, if the police do not work with neighborhoods in a compassionate and activist role on crime and quality-of-life issues, the void will often be filled by self-proclaimed anti-police activists, who are only interested in personal agendas and self-promotion and who will push their own agendas, often at the city's expense. We simply can't be effective without the help of other city departments, the school district, county and state agencies, and the citizens themselves. The people who live in a community know best what its problems are and how they can be solved. For the past 27 years, the CAP strategy has been a part of the city's daily life and has solved several long-festering problems. CAP is as much a philosophy of policing as it is a set of techniques, programs, and procedures that help bridge non- traditional department lines and build good management, a compassionate outlook toward community problems, and a commitment to doing something about them. CAP works because everyone is working together. City of Monrovia Part 1 Crime statistics
from 1990 to 2015. Part 1 Crimes are: murder and non-negligent homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft, and arson. Between 1990 and 2015 there was a 69% reduction Part 1 Crimes or 1,686 fewer Crimes in 2015 as compared to 1990. On July 22, 1996, President Bill Clinton visited the city of Monrovia to recognize Monrovia's Community Activist Policing Program (CAP) and Safe City Safe Schools programs as a national model. Excerpt comments from President Clinton's speech: "We have proposed to help and support communities that wanted to do a number of things that we thought would improve children's lives. And Monrovia is a sterling example of three of our major initiatives: the community policing, along with citizen participation; a tough truancy policy; and of course, the school uniform policy. And I wanted to thank you for that...." "What I'm hoping is that by being here today, we'll get enough publicity out of this so that 200 or 300 other communities will call here in a week or two, they'll call the principal, the superintendent, the chief of police, the mayor, and they'll say, Help me do this. Help me do this.... "
About the Author: Joe Santoro was a captain with the Monterey Park Police Department. In 1989, he was appointed the Monrovia Police Department's sixth chief of police. After 13 years, he honorably retired from the Monrovia department in October 2002, following 36 years of service in law enforcement. During his time the department saw the creation of Community Activist Policing, a new philosophy of policing and a collaborative approach to solving community problems. During his professional career he served as the academic dean at Rio Hondo College's Department of Public Service (retired) and during his 36 years in law enforcement he served as chief of police and deputy city manager for the city of Monrovia, California (retired), and held the ranks of captain, lieutenant, sergeant, detective, officer and reserve officer in the Monterey Park California Police Department. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a master's degree in public administration. He is a graduate of the California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training Command College, FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Program, and University of Southern California Executive Development Program. From 2011 to 2015 he was elected to serve on the city of Glendora, California's, city council. During that time he served as mayor, mayor pro tem, and council member. He has been a guest lecturer at local, state and national organizations on Community Policing, Asian Gangs/Cultural Issues, Police Innovation, Community Relations, Mental Health Services, and Volunteerism. Joe Santoro was a captain with the Monterey Park Police
