Anthony Bejaran was in a coma for over a week after being attacked at Tremont and Pier View Way.

Some say Oceanside’s explosive beachfront build-out of the last five years is a long-needed improvement. Others say it's created a sterile, high-rise urban monster. But no one is celebrating the recent uptick in downtown crime.

Citywide, person-on-person crimes increased by 14.5 percent from 2020 to 2021. Property crimes jumped by 7.6 percent.

Vandals targeted the parking facility at the SALT complex and the interior of the soon-to-be-opened Brick Hotel.

Consider these recent downtown specifics: Longtime local Anthony Bejeran was hospitalized two weeks ago after being attacked near the corner of Tremont Street and Pier View Way. According to a gofundme account which has raised $5,000 to help pay for his medical bills, he started breathing on his own February 10.

St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church recently had an exterior statue on Ditmar Street vandalized for the second time. Late-night vandals tagged the parking area of the SALT apartment/condo complex, as well as the interior of the soon-be-opened Pier Hotel.

ABC 10 News sent a crew to Oceanside last week to cover the February 5 theft of two $2,195 e-bikes from the porch of a couple's Pier View Way apartment.

The owner of one successful downtown business who declined to be named says one of his employees had to use pepper spray recently to deter an aggressive intruder. He says he still loves Oceanside but says that it can’t move forward without addressing public safety. “I wouldn’t mind kicking in $50 or $70 extra a week for a security patrol if the other businesses would do the same. And why can’t the business district we pay into contribute as well?”

Actually, the Downtown Oceanside Property and Business Improvement District actually does employ a security company. “I have never seen this security company. This is the first I have heard about it.”

St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church had a statue on Ditmar Street vandalized for the second time.

“I just want the [district] to be more accountable,” says Tom Aldrich, owner of the historic Brick Hotel which is about to open after a two-year renovation. “I have no issue with the [district] as long as they do something with that money. But up to now I haven’t seen much.”

That downtown business group includes the blocks bounded by Seagaze Street and Civic Center Drive and by Nevada Street and the ocean. Landowners within the boundaries pay into the business district’s annual operating budget of $370,000 which is used to pay for sidewalk cleaning, “economic development,” and safety.

The 101 Bagels & Subs cafe on Coast Highway is within that district. Owner Rocky Rabadia says he had no idea that there was a security company patrolling his street. He says safety is the one area that is still holding Oceanside back. “We are always getting compared to Carlsbad. If you go to Carlsbad, you will always see families walking around with strollers. You won’t see that so much in downtown Oceanside. Yes, Oceanside has gotten a whole lot better than it used to be. But some people still think of it as a Marine town with a lot of crime." He says when his wife shows up for work sometimes as early as 2:30 am that his place is surrounded by homeless people.

Ten of the 11 new Oceanside police officers sworn in February 10.

Bob Chiu

Gumaro Escarega is the chief operating officer of Mainstreet Oceanside which oversees the downtown business district. He admits that communication with his stakeholders could be improved, but that Mainstreet does send out emails and other outreach. He says that Mainstreet has over $100,000 in unspent funds its district budget rolled over from the previous year due to Covid. He says based on what his governing committee decides, Mainstreet may in fact earmark most of that extra cash for this year's security.

Escarega says Mainstreet currently pays $120,000 to Allstate Security of San Diego for security from 3pm to 11pm Monday through Saturday (until 1am Friday and Saturday) and 9am to 11pm on Sunday. “Based on what we hear, vandalism and assaults are increasing,” says Escarega. “It is a huge concern for us.” But he explained that security patrols do not have the ability to arrest.

Oceanside Police Chief Fred Armijo says that while he must focus on crime citywide, he does recognize a need to increase police presence downtown. Armijo says his goal is to create a four-person downtown patrol that would include officers on foot and on bicycle. He says he would like to launch that downtown patrol once his force gets up to 90 percent of its budgeted staff.

He says that given 18 current vacancies and others on leave due to injury or being in training, the police department is operating with only about 75 percent of its desired level of sworn employees on duty.

“I feel that when we are at 90 percent we will be better positioned to focus on the downtown area,” says Armijo. He admits getting young people to commit to police work keeps getting more difficult but his department was "lucky" last week.

On February 10 at a ceremony at El Corazon park, Chief Armijo swore in 10 of 11 new officers. By contrast the larger Chula Vista Police department welcomed only six new officers at a similar ceremony.

Armijo says it's no secret that police departments poach talent from each other. Oceanside will offer a $15,000 signing bonus for lateral transfers from other agencies, and an additional $5,000 if that transfer chooses to live in Oceanside. Of the 11 new officers, three were transfers (LAPD, SPDP, San Diego Harbor PD). The other eight were recent police academy grads.

Academy graduates do not get the live-in-town bonus lateral officers are offered. Armijo says the rookies benefit from the fact that the police pays for their academy tuition. Of the recent eight academy graduates, four came from the Temecula area. The others came from Huntington Beach, Escondido, and Vista. Only one new Oceanside officer was from Oceanside. Armijo, who was raised in Oceanside, wants to change that with a new program he is developing that will specifically focus on hiring homegrown officers. “We want to target kids who are recent high school grads or locals with a GED diploma. We have not done enough to reach out to kids who grew up here, who can have a feeling of hometown ownership.”

The 8 new Oceanside officers were part of the 128th police academy. There are only two officers set to arrive from the 129th class and three from the 130th. “We are disappointed in these low numbers," says Armijo. "We know we have to do a better job in the future with our homegrown project.”

Armijo says part of the ongoing struggle to hire quality officers will not change: many just won’t make the cut.

“At a recent entry level testing, we had 60 who applied. Of them, 32 showed up for the test and 24 passed. Of the 24, seven showed up for the physical agility test, and all but one passed.” He says the remaining six, like every potential recruit, must go through polygraph and psychological screenings. “Investigators knock on doors of your neighbors and former neighbors. They interview former employers. We look at your social media and your tattoos."

Previous pot use, for instance, is not an automatic deal killer. "You don’t have to have a pristine background,” says Chief Armijo. But major violent crimes, sex assault and major drug use he says will get you a veto. “This is a profession where you are charged with enforcing laws that may involve you taking away people’s liberty. These background checks will always be important.”