Redding PD’s NPU announces 2,000th arrest
REDDING, Calif. — Although earlier budget cuts had axed the Redding Police Department’s former Neighborhood Police Unit (NPU), after seeing a significant rise in crime and quality of life issues in their city, in January 2016, the department re-established the specialized, five officer team.
Consisting of four officers and a supervisor, Redding PD’s NPU focuses on solving long-term problems through enforcement efforts, outreach efforts and working in partnership with the community.
Although NPU officers can and do back up patrol officers on dangerous and high-priority incidents, without having to answer or respond to 911 calls the newly re-formed unit was an immediate success. Right away NPU officers began racking up big numbers of arrests, while shutting down drug homes and cleaning up the city’s most blighted and problematic areas.
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Since the NPU’s creation nearly five years ago, the unit has focused on specific geographical locations in the City of Redding that include Downtown Redding and the Hilltop and Dana Drive Business District, according to Redding Police Department Neighborhood Police Unit supervisor Corporal Timothy Renault.
Going out regularly on foot, bicycle and all-terrain motorcycles, as well as in traditional patrol and undercover vehicles, the unit also patrols the Sacramento River Trail System and the city’s surrounding parks.
Without the burden of having to answer patrol calls for service, Redding PD’s NPU has the ability to go out on foot, bicycle and all-terrain motorcycle patrols, while confronting many of the city’s most problematic areas. Redding Police Department photo
Additionally, NPU officers investigate gang activity, problematic drug houses and motels that bring crime into the city’s residential and business areas and works with community-based groups to identify growing crime trends and implement crime prevention measures.
From January 2016, through September 2020, NPU officers made more than 10,000 contacts, according to Renault; who said of those contacts, nearly 2,000 involved people who were on probation or parole.
As of Sept. 30, just five years after the NPU’s creation, officers made their 2,000 arrest, Renault explained; saying those arrests included nearly 750 people arrested for felony crimes and around 1,250 misdemeanor arrests.
Redding PD’s Neighborhood Police Unit recently announced their 2,000th arrest, saying the majority of arrests made by the unit’s officers are connected to narcotics. Redding Police Department photo
“A majority of the arrests made by NPU are connected to narcotics,” Renault continued; adding that over the last five years, NPU seized approximately two pounds of cocaine, 23 pounds of methamphetamine and 14 pounds of heroin.
“NPU also seized 118 firearms from suspected drug dealers, convicted felons and dangerous criminals,” said Renault.
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“I’m extremely fortunate to be able to work with and supervise this unit,” Renault told SCNS of the NPU and the officers he supervises and works with daily. “I can tell you this is the most rewarding position I’ve been involved in.”
“We look forward to continuing the great partnership between the Redding Police Department and the citizens we serve,” Renault said; while thanking the community for their support over the past five years.
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Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.
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