The Oceanside Police Department's Safe Place Program is designed for all hate crimes.

A hate crime includes criminal acts that are committed, in whole or in part, because of one or more of the following actual or perceived characteristics of a victim:

1. Race or ethnicity
2. Religion
3. National origin
4. Gender
5. Sexual orientation
6. Disability

The members of the Oceanside Police Department strive to serve all members of our community. We work collaboratively with our communities to understand what challenges minority communities may face. The Safe Place program is a partnership between the Oceanside Police Department and sponsored locations. It gives victims of bias or hate crimes a Safe Place to go after their incident, where the sponsored location will shelter them while they call law enforcement for help. 

The Safe Place Program informs community members where sponsored locations stand on bias-motivated incidents and hate crimes because hate has no place in our communities. From the moment a person steps inside a Safe Place-sponsored location, victims of hate crimes will be treated with care, dignity, and respect from not only the employees of the sponsored location but also the Police Officers who respond to investigate the incident. Oceanside Police Department’s Safe Place Program assists police with obtaining the necessary information for their investigation by empowering victims to report hate crimes or bias-motivated incidents.

The Safe Place Program was created to start bridging the gap between victims of hate crimes and the police. Through this program, the Oceanside Police Department is committed to taking the first step in letting the community know where we stand on incidents of hate and hates crimes. The Oceanside Police Department’s Safe Place Program seeks to build trust and provide quality service that actively prevents crime, reduces the fear of crime, and promotes safety.

Individuals who commit criminal acts out of hatred attempt to keep specific groups of people and our community in fear. By standing up to these hateful individuals, the Oceanside Police Department will be able to hold suspects accountable for their actions, ultimately strengthening our community. 

How to join to Oceanside Police Department Safe Place Program

There is no cost associated with becoming a Safe Place-sponsored location. Upon completion of a Safe Place training session instructed by the Oceanside Police Department, sponsored locations will be provided with a Safe Place sticker for the newly sponsored location. To become a new Safe Place-sponsored location, a location will need to train its employees to do two things if a victim of a crime comes in:

1)    Staff shall let the victim stay in the business’s safe (public) area.

2)    Staff shall call 911 immediately to report the incident and request a police response. 

Businesses and Social Organizations may sign up for the Safe Place Program HERE.

Is the Safe Place Program Available in Other Languages? 

The Oceanside Police Department Safe Place stickers and documentation is now available in six languages (Chinese, English, Korean, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese). 

Information on reporting a crime has been translated and is available in Amharic, Arabic, Farsi, Korean, Oromo, Somali, Spanish, Tigrinya, Traditional Chinese, and Vietnamese. 

Both 9-1-1 and the non-emergency line (760)-435-4900 take phone calls, and Officers can take reports in over 240 different languages through spoken interpretation and written translation provided by Language Line Solutions.

How many other cities participate in the Safe Place Program?  

The Safe Place initiative has been licensed and enacted by nearly 300 Law Enforcement Agencies, large and small, across the United States, Canada, and Europe giving hundreds of thousands of Safe Places for victims of bias or hate crimes to get help.

Can Past Hate Related Crimes and Incidents Still Be Reported?

Yes. Victims of a hate crime can still report their incident even if a significant amount of time has passed. It is never too late to report a hate-related incident.

Please call our non-emergency line at (760) 435-4900. By contacting the non-emergency line, the Oceanside Police Department will have a police officer respond to you so they can properly document the incident.