Concord Police Chief Bustillos Shares Successes, Challenges at Public Safety Update

At the City Council meeting, Concord Police Chief Mark Bustillos shared public safety data and answered Council’s questions about the department’s efforts to prevent and address crime.

View the April 1 presentation and more on the Concord PD webpage.

Here are a few highlights from Chief Bustillos’ presentation:

Crime data

• The City of Concord is required to use the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to track offenses. Chief Bustillos presented NIBRS crime statistics that show the types of crimes that are decreasing and increasing. Examples include in 2024, motor vehicle theft decreased by almost 19% and vandalism decreased by 8%. Arson increased by 64%. View the complete NIBRS data here.
• Shoplifting rates have increased in Concord, as they have in many communities across the Bay Area. Changes to state law that went into effect in 2025 means more people are being held accountable.

Use of force

• Concord Police logged 296 uses of force out of more than 110,000 service calls in 2024. CPD requires two officers to be present whenever a suspect is being taken into custody, which can help reduce use of force incidents.

Programs that save police time

• The Concord Connect app is catching on with residents who use it to report quality of life issues, like graffiti, abandoned vehicles, and overgrown landscaping. This helps officers focus on public safety calls.
• Concord Police Department’s extensive usage of the county’s Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime (A3) program helps people in mental health crisis get the care they need. In 2024, mental health-related police calls were down by 41%; that means more people in crisis are receiving the mental health and clinical support they need, rather than a police response.

Technology in policing

• In 2024, License Plate Reader (LPR) technology helped Concord PD solve robbery, shooting, and fentanyl overdose deaths in the community.
• Additionally, police are using drones to help locate suspects and keep the community and officers safe.

Police response times

• Police arrived at Priority 1 scenes faster in 2024. Priority 1 response times dropped from nearly 10 minutes in 2023 to about 7.5 minutes in 2024. Priority 1 is when an event is actively happening and there is an ongoing threat to life and property (for example, the suspects are still on the scene of a burglary or someone is actively being assaulted).

PD is hiring!

• There are opportunities for officers, administrative staff, and dispatchers at Concord PD.

View the presentation.

View the slides.