San José has a well-earned reputation as the "Safest Big City in America". One of the keys to its success is that it views public safety as the responsibility of every City department, not the Police Department alone. City police officers respond quickly to emergency calls and spend about 40% of their time educating the community by attending neighborhood meetings, school presentations, and “meet the neighbors” events. Other City departments also play a significant role in keeping the community safe through a number of proactive programs. The Department of Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services (PRNS) is home to programs like Youth Intervention Services, Safe School Campus Initiative, Project Pride, The Right Connection, Turn It Around, and Clean Slate. The Safe School Campus Initiative/Right Connection is the City's crisis response protocol for responding to incidents of youth violence in and around schools. Since its inception in 1996, the protocol has greatly improved communication and collaboration among schools, the Police Department, City youth programs, probation and community-based organizations in responding to youth-related violence. Last year alone the program received over 530 requests for services. City libraries also feature youth events and programming to offer constructive after school activities.

The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force partners with PRNS, the Library, government and community-based organizations to reduce gang activity by providing safe opportunities for youth and their families to be successful and productive in their homes, schools, and neighborhoods. Since 1995, gang-related arrests in San José have gone down by 47 percent. By focusing on collaborative crime prevention and providing positive alternatives for youth, San José is a national model of success in keeping young people on the right track and residents safe. In the arena of gang prevention, for example, over the last year 5,000 students and their parents participated in the Challenges and Choices (C2) program. This program educates 3rd, 5th and 7th graders about recognizing challenges and developing good decision making skills. Examples of San José's gang intervention strategies include the Safe Alternatives Violence Education (SAVE) diversion program for minor weapon offenders and the creation of Gang Investigation Units (GIUs). Last year over 330 San José youth and their parents went through the SAVE program. The GIUs conduct training for SJPD personnel and other law enforcement agencies as well as coordinate 'gang presentations' to schools and community groups. Innovations designed by the GIUs include Violent Crimes Incident Maps to track gang-related crime and assist in proactive police operations as well as Suspect Vehicle Sheets that enable police to track 'wanted' vehicles involved in violent crimes.

The Truancy Abatement Burglary Suppression (TABS) program, the Student Attendance Review Board (SARB) and the School Habitual Absentee Reduction Program (SHARP) help ensure that students succeed in school. Success in school helps reduce student vulnerability to gang pressure, so they are less likely join gangs or commit gang-related crimes. For Example, the Truancy Abatement Burglary Suppression (TABS) program reduces the potential for daytime burglaries by providing two centers in San José where Public Safety Officers, school counselors and community-based counselors provide immediate assistance to youth and their families. Nearly 5,500 youth participated in the TABS program over the last year. Indeed, within a few years of the program’s inception, the daytime burglary crime rate dropped by 50%.

Additional cutting-edge public safety highlights in San José include the Office of the Independent Police Auditor (IPA), Megan's Law Database Online and the Police Department's use of Taser devices. The San José IPA has become an international model for effective civilian oversight of law enforcement. Marking its eleventh anniversary in 2004, the IPA educates citizens about their right to file a complaint and provides an impartial forum this to take place. Last year the San José Police Department launched Megan's Law Database Online, one of California's first online databases providing information about sex offenders living in San José. The site includes a map with approximate residences of high-risk offenders, offenders' profiles, photographs, physical descriptions and summaries of their crimes. With over 33,000 hits to date, the website's success has generated significant interest from community members as well as other law enforcement agencies. Finally, the San José Police Department became the first on the West Coast to fully equip its first-responder uniformed officers with Taser devices. Supported by the City's Human Rights Commission and purchased with federal grants, the Taser devices use neuromuscular disruption to more safely control suspects resisting arrest.