Investing in Our Transportation Infrastructure

A Vision for the Future

Using Our Resources Wisely

Working With Our Neighbors

Information and Technology

Public Safety

Streamlining Decisions

Focus on the Future

The San Diego Region

The SANDAG Board of Directors

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Public Safety

SANDAG’s public safety efforts broadened with the consolidation of the Automated Regional Justice Information System (ARJIS). Some of the benefits of consolidation include providing seamless regional public safety policy and enhanced legislative outreach and funding opportunities. The Public Safety Committee (PSC), which started meeting in 2004, advises the Board of Directors on major policy-level matters related to public safety. Policy direction provided by the PSC and the Board combined with state-of-the-art technology and research capabilities help to enhance officer and public safety. The PSC was instrumental in the posting of high- risk sex offender information on the Internet and has supported law enforcement access to biometrics (fingerprint) information.

The Automated Regional Justice Information System is a complex criminal justice enterprise network that captures every police incident in the San Diego region. During the past several years, ARJIS has grown from 10 member agencies to 51 justice agencies representing local, state, and federal government within San Diego and Imperial Counties. Chartered with supporting a regional Web-based secure network that contains a variety of information to support law enforcement activities, ARJIS is used daily by 11,000 officers, investigators, and analysis. Other efforts conducted by ARJIS in 2004 included enhancing the crime mapping system, deploying law enforcement information into the field via hand-held wireless devices, and partnering with the Department of Homeland Security on information-sharing initiatives between ARJIS and Arizona justice agencies.

The SANDAG Criminal Justice Research Division continues to be a resource for local communities to assist in the planning process for crime prevention, public safety, and crime-reduction strategies. The Division functions as the Regional Criminal Justice Research Clearinghouse to compile and analyze crime and arrest trends and to provide historical and current crime and justice information for member agencies, law enforcement, and community organizations. The Division also offers independent and objective evaluation of specific programs geared to address crime, social, and quality of life issues in the region.

SANDAG publishes numerous comprehensive reports on many aspects of the justice system including domestic violence, juvenile arrests, drug abuse trends, resident opinion surveys, and regional crime statistics.

Research projects include the Substance Abuse Monitoring project (SAM); the Annual Arrest Report; a gun violence prevention effort for Project Safe Neighborhoods, and the Mid-Year Crime Report. Evaluation projects include the effectiveness of an adult literacy program coordinated through the District Attorney’s Office; Target Capacity Expansion – HIV Reduction Project; Ventanilla de Salud health outreach; Family Health Centers Hepatitis Outreach; Phoneix House young offender re-entry program; and several San Diego County Probation Departments juvenile justice prevention and intervention programs.