Survey of Police on Aliens Arouses Critics

Illegal aliens are involved in about one-third of the encounters made by police in North County, but most of those are for minor crimes such as traffic violations, according to a controversial opinion survey of officers released Monday.

Conducted by a task force formed by Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad), the poll stems from the heated debate in North County over the impact of impoverished immigrants from south of the border on everything from crime to health care.

The survey, done over several weeks earlier this summer, came under harsh attack from members of Latino and human-rights groups, who suggested it lacks any scientific validity and threatens to inflame racist sentiments in the community.

“It’s very obvious that there are a number of problems with this survey,” said Ozzie Venzor, a leader of the 300-member North County Coalition for Human Resources, a group sympathetic to the plight of immigrants who have flocked to the region. “This is a very critical issue, and we should get some real facts.”

But leaders of the special task force suggested that the poll represents an important jumping-off point and could lead to a more intricate study.

“The thing is an opinion survey, not a scientifically defensible survey,” noted San Diego County Supervisor John MacDonald, who is chairman of the group. “We all knew that. What good is that? It’s a starting point.”

MacDonald said he hopes the opinion poll will be followed soon by a more detailed study, but he suggested that funding constraints and other problems could hinder such an effort.

A subcommittee of the task force was ordered Monday to come up with recommendations based on the survey, which cost more than $1,000.

The eventual aim of the task force, according to MacDonald and others, will probably be to seek help from the federal government to overcome the impact of the thousands of migrant workers in North County who have put a strain on police, health care, social service agencies and schools.

“The whole reason for this exercise is to go to the federal government and say, ‘We’ve got a problem, guys,’ ” said Vincent Jimno, Escondido police chief and a task force member.

Long-Held Beliefs of Officers

While cautioning that the survey represents nothing more than the opinions of the officers involved, several law enforcement officials suggested that the results validate their long-held belief that migrant workers have a profound effect on the police workload in North County.

Jack Drown, an assistant sheriff serving on the task force, said the survey indicates that “a relatively small proportion of the base population has a disproportionate impact on police services in North County.”

Jimno agreed, saying the alien impact “is a real problem whether we like it or not. It’s there. It won’t go away. It’s going to be there for another 10, 15 years at least.”

But Venzor and others argued that the opinion poll was poorly drawn up, with questions that could elicit only responses that are negative to aliens.

Moreover, they noted that the survey, administered to officers on a voluntary basis, relied on the memory and estimates of law enforcement personnel instead of hard facts.

“The problem with this type of survey is that it’s all opinions,” Venzor said. “I think we need to do a scientific survey of some kind.”

Of the 470 patrol officers in North County, 171, or about 46%, completed the six-page survey. Sheriff’s deputies represented 79 of the respondents, while surveys were received from 29 officers in Carlsbad, 51 in Escondido and 12 in Oceanside.

Of an average of 71 contacts with individuals each week, officers estimated that 24 of those people, or about 34%, were illegal aliens. According to their responses, it took 37% of the officers 30 minutes to an hour per shift to handle contacts with aliens, while 36% said they spent one to two hours. An additional 21% indicated they spent less than 30 minutes a shift, and 7% of the officers responding said they spent three to four hours dealing with aliens.

A high percentage of the patrolmen said aliens represent a sizable portion of their workload. Asked if contacts with aliens represent a major part of their job, 84% either agreed or strongly agreed.

An additional 94% said they agreed or strongly agreed that aliens contribute significantly to rising crime, and 86% agreed or strongly agreed that contacts with aliens take more time than with U.S. citizens. Correspondingly, 85% of the officers said there is a need for more special training for law enforcement personnel, with 77% suggesting that more Spanish-language schooling is needed.

Officers estimated that illegal aliens make up 34% of the traffic accidents they handled, 56% of the hit-and-run accidents, 44% of the stolen vehicle reports and 45% of other traffic violations.

The patrol officers suggested, however, that the immigrants do not take part in a high percentage of felony crimes. They said that, on a daily basis, aliens take part in 1% of the violent felonies, 13% of the property felonies, 7% of drunken-driving arrests and 7% of the battery apprehensions.

Minor crimes made up the bulk of the contacts, according to the officers polled, with aliens representing 51% of the contacts involving traffic violations, 41% of the general disturbance misdemeanors (disturbing the peace, loitering, urinating in public, trespassing and others) and 36% of the cases involving drunkenness in public.

Questioned and Released

The officers said they typically question and release 35% of the aliens they come in contact with. An additional 22% are detained for the Border Patrol, 26% are issued citations, 17% are arrested for misdemeanors and 3% are arrested for felonies.

In their dealings with aliens, officers said, the immigrants are victims about a third of the time and suspects nearly two-thirds of the time.

While Venzor and others blasted the study, San Marcos Mayor Lee Thibadeau criticized the opponents, saying they are “taking things out of context.” In particular, Thibadeau suggested that Venzor and other critics were out of line for holding a press conference last week to debunk the study before the results were even released.

“If you’re just going to try to make headlines . . . then I think you’re undermining what all of us are trying to accomplish,” Thibadeau told Venzor during the task force meeting Monday.

After the meeting, Venzor offered few words on Thibadeau’s remarks, noting simply that “he can say anything he wants to.”

For each of the following statements, please circle the category that best describes your opinion, based on your patrol experience:

Strongly No Opinion/ Agree Agree Don’t Know Contacts with illegal aliens represent a major part of patrol officers’ workload. 43% 41% 3% Illegal aliens contribute significantly to rising crime. 58% 36% 4% Illegal aliens are more likely to be involved in serious felony crimes than minor, lesser offenses. 12% 27% 18% Illegal aliens are more often the victims of crimes than the criminals. 1% 23% 11% Contacts with illegal aliens generally take more time than similar types of contacts with citizens. 36% 50% 2% Criminal activity by aliens is usually the result of need or financial necessity. 11% 40% 21%

Strongly Disagree Disagree Contacts with illegal aliens represent a major part of patrol officers’ workload. 12% 1% Illegal aliens contribute significantly to rising crime. 2% 1% Illegal aliens are more likely to be involved in serious felony crimes than minor, lesser offenses. 41% 2% Illegal aliens are more often the victims of crimes than the criminals. 55% 10% Contacts with illegal aliens generally take more time than similar types of contacts with citizens. 11% 1% Criminal activity by aliens is usually the result of need or financial necessity. 25% 4%