As celebrations for Cinco de Mayo come to a close, many events were peaceful and most community members and visitors legitimately enjoyed the cultural celebration that has been a tradition in San Jose for decades, the report said. San Jose Police Department ‒SJPD, for its acronym in English‒.
"We are proud to embrace and understand the importance of this celebration to residents and visitors, and we are planning accordingly to ensure everyone can enjoy it safely," authorities said in a statement.
He noted that, as in previous years, the Department took preventative measures to ensure the community could celebrate safely. In doing so, SJPD also employed zero tolerance for criminal behavior.
Over the weekend of May 5-7, SJPD oversaw Cinco de Mayo festivities, while responding to regular calls for service. During the course of normal operations, patrol units observed several misdemeanors, felonies, reckless driving incidents, secondary activities, and other quality-of-life offenses that required enforcement action to maintain the peace, they said.
While proactively patrolling from May 5-7, SJPD statistics included:
- Total service calls: 2,642
- Total arrests: 115
- Total vehicle seizures: 30
- Total citations issued: 407
- Total reports received: 352
- Total firearms seized: 6
SJPD said the dispatch center has historically received numerous requests from residents and business owners concerned about unauthorized gatherings and activities that would occur when people arrive in San Jose from out of town during the Cinco de Mayo weekend.
In recent years, he said, the Police Department has taken a reactive approach to traffic jams, violent crime and vandalism by responding to calls for service and taking enforcement action when appropriate.
That approach, he said, resulted in a large number of arrests and citations, and did little to alleviate the concerns of residents and business owners.
In that regard, he explained that approximately twenty years ago, they studied the crowd control measures that other cities employed during large-scale events of all kinds, and then developed a proactive approach to reducing traffic jams and crime that relied on strategic traffic diversions as a key component.
“In the years since this strategy was used, we have seen a reduction in violent crime and traffic congestion. San José residents are able to get around more easily and celebrate traditional Cinco de Mayo events, which is the primary focus of our efforts. In no way is our response to Cinco de Mayo intended or designed to inhibit anyone’s ability to celebrate the holiday,” he stressed.
However, due to continued staffing shortages within the Department, he said operational plans also included leveraging the use of road closures and other traffic diversions to limit further traffic congestion and avoid delays in response times to address any criminal activity.
“Similar closures and diversions have been used during other major events that draw large crowds across the city. The purpose is to ensure that traffic continues to flow and that community members can celebrate these events safely.”
The Police Department noted that it has been employing this proactive approach to Cinco de Mayo traffic and crowd control for nearly twenty years, and while the deployment of these measures is not new, “the Department recognizes the need to communicate these closures earlier.”
“Going forward, we will strive to announce any planned responses to large-scale events well in advance to ensure the community and our elected officials have adequate notice to prepare accordingly.”
“The San Jose Police Department welcomes and embraces cultural celebrations in San Jose. We strive to keep these events safe for our entire community to participate in and enjoy.”
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