Beverly Hills Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli has taken a tough approach to fighting crime since she became commanding officer of the department in March, but she is also focused on building relationships in the community to help keep crime low in the city of more than 34,000 people.

Beverly Hills Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli has led the department since March. She is focusing on community outreach and encouraged members of the public to get involved in crime prevention and public safety. (photo by Edwin Folven)

Spagnoli is mindful of citizens’ expectations about public safety and keeping Beverly Hills a vibrant business center and shopping destination. She has a compassionate approach to social issues like homelessness, and believes proactive policing and efficient deployment of resources can prevent incidents from occurring in the first place.

Spagnoli came to Beverly Hills from the Bay Area, after serving five years as chief of the San Leandro Police Department and four years as chief of the Benecia Police Department. The 33-year law enforcement veteran grew up in San Carlos south of San Francisco and started as an explorer with the San Carlos Police Department. She became a sworn officer in 1990 and rose to the rank of commander before taking the top positions with the Benecia and San Leandro departments.

She didn’t set out to pursue a career in law enforcement, she said, but the field provided direction and potential, and it became a job she loves. Her experience in the Bay Area prepared her for the rigors of big city policing and she jumped at the opportunity to lead the Beverly Hills Police Department when the position opened in 2015. Former Police Chief David Snowden retired and Spagnoli succeeded interim chief Dominick Rivetti, who oversaw the department for nine months. The city conducted a nationwide recruitment search for a new chief and Spagnoli was selected after multiple interviews with city staff members and council members.

“In 10 years of being a chief, you gain a lot of experience in developing community relations and handling complex police matters, developing policy and implementing it, and dealing with strategies in moving the department forward,” Spagnoli said. “I have also dealt with high-profile incidents, internally and externally, and I think all those experiences prepared me for the city of Beverly Hills. You have a world-class city with many complex issues. Policing today is not the same as when I started as a police chief 10 years ago. There are so many more things at the forefront of our minds as it relates not only to community safety but safety within the context of homeland security and terrorism. I think that having 10 years behind me as chief gave me the confidence to … move down here and take charge of a department that is a very good department.”

Spagnoli oversees a department of 128 officers and approximately 70 support employees. The chief said although the department is large, she had a smooth transition. The biggest crime problem in Beverly Hills is property theft and burglary. She said some of the increase in property crimes can be attributed to the after-effects of Prop. 47, a voter passed initiative that reduces some low-level offenses and drug crimes to misdemeanors, and AB 109, which transferred the responsibility of housing convicted criminals from prisons to county facilities from which they are sometimes released early due to overcrowding.

“Right now, from a policing standpoint, we are facing challenges as it relates to burglaries – commercial, residential and vehicle burglaries. The theft trend is very prominent not only in the county but throughout this state. The rise in crime as it relates to some of the policy decisions at the state level have impacted our crime rates. More people are being pushed at a local and county level to manage their issues related to Prop. 47 and AB 109. Each jurisdiction has a responsibility to manage as good as they can with the resources that they have,” Spagnoli said. “With that said, we have a very safe community where we have a less than three-minute response time to our priority calls for service. We have an outstanding relationship between public safety, both police and fire and the community that we serve, so to offset the challenges of some of the crimes that may be rising, we have done a very good job on the opposite side as it relates to getting to those calls.”

Another factor is people who come to the city to commit crimes because they believe it is a target-rich environment. Violent crime is low in Beverly Hills but is taken very seriously when it occurs, Spagnoli said.

“[We are] sending the message that if you come into Beverly Hills, we have the time to follow up on these crimes, and there is a very high likelihood that you are going to get caught,” she said. “We have community cameras, we have license plate readers, we have the eyes and ears of the community that are watching and we have a less than three-minute response time. You’re rolling the dice by committing crime in Beverly Hills.”

Homelessness is another major focus for the department, and officers try to connect people living on the streets with social services while balancing the need to address crime. Officers are assisted by members of the city’s Ambassadors program, a private security service that is contracted to help curb aggressive behavior while linking people in need with available resources.

“[Homelessness] is not only a big issue in Beverly Hills, it’s a big issue throughout the United States. And not only homelessness, but the mental health piece. A lot of them also have mental health issues so one of the things the city has done is really embrace social services. They have their own social worker and they have implemented the Ambassador program downtown where we place a priority,” Spagnoli said. “I’m very proud of the business triangle and want to make sure it’s free from some of the quality-of-life issues. We also understand that people have the right to be where they want as well. So we need to balance that and I think that the Ambassador program and our social services program has really helped in balancing the rights of the homeless and those with mental health issues while also having a world-class community where people want to shop and eat.”

Spagnoli is working to implement recommendations on hiring, recruitment and management outlined in a recent report on the department. As the city’s first female police chief, she hopes to be a role model for others, including women working in a male-dominated profession.

“I think there are challenges for everyone when you are moving up the ranks and I have certainly had challenges in my career. And I think now as chief, sure I serve as a role model not only to women or young girls, but as a role model to anyone who wants to get into this business, who aspires to be a leader and aspires to do something they think is unattainable,” Spagnoli said. “When I think of a role model, I don’t necessarily think of gender. I think when people put their mind to being successful, to training hard and learning, all those things go into being a successful leader.”

Spagnoli also hopes to personally reach out to anyone in the community who needs assistance, and called for more community involvement.

“We encourage community members to get involved in public safety. We encourage them to participate in our programs and our services, outreach programs and crime prevention programs. We have multiple ways to get involved. You can just go to our website. A neighborhood watch program is definitely a way to make a city safer. You can get involved block-by-block in improving public safety. The more people we have involved in neighborhood watch, the safer the community is.”

Spagnoli said although there are some issues still to tackle in Beverly Hills, she is optimistic about the city’s prospects in the years to come.

“We have a very bright future in public safety,” Spagnoli said. “We value and cherish our community partnerships and look forward to finalizing our strategic planning process so the department really has a path forward.”