SHIRLEY KIMBERLIN Everything I list turns to SOLD! 805-886-0228 skimberlin@aol.com
This week’s listings on the back page
Top cop retires
New chief of police comes to town
Photo finish
BY LEA BOYD
Brad McVay characterizes his retirement from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department as a “promotion from lieutenant to grandfather.” Having held the chief of police services role in Carpinteria for the last two years, McVay will turn over the position to Lieutenant Mike Perkins and then plans to spend a lot more time with his five grandchildren, the youngest of which arrived just BOYD last week. Lieutenant Brad McVay retires next month after In 2013, McVay was handed a substation leading the local substation of the Santa Barbara recently downsized by County Sheriff’s Department for the last two years. the recession. The reans to up their vigilance when it comes ceptionists and a detective position had to locking doors and keeping valuables been eliminated, and members of the out of sight. public accustomed to walking into a loThe homeless numbers in Carpinteria cal office to have their issues addressed have also risen in the last couple years, found themselves facing a locked door. and McVay said that dealing with a “That’s one of my biggest frustrations,” higher rate of nuisance calls, particularly McVay said, reflecting on his time in with mentally ill transients, has pulled Carpinteria. his officers away from other policing duThe City of Carpinteria allocates ties. “A bunch of our resources are getthe largest portion of its budget to its ting gobbled up by that effort,” he said. contract with the Sheriff’s Department, Nonetheless, McVay said that Carand McVay acknowledged that the depinteria has been a pleasure to work cision to cut back on law enforcement in. “It’s a great community. It’s a very, was not made lightly. When he was very small minority that we have issues promoted to the helm of the shrunken with,” he said. substation, he brought a long resume of Work is unlikely to come to a compolice experience, much of which was plete halt for McVay when he enters gained in Carpinteria. That background, retirement next month. He may do some McVay’s approachability and his strong part time private security work and commitment to the public, have allowed hopes to contract with the department the department to maintain a close reto develop a peer support program for lationship with the community despite officers and a training program in crisis fewer resources. Still, McVay hopes that intervention delivery, an effort to equip eventually the substation will return to every officer with the tools to deescalate its more robust staffing. confrontations. On his watch, McVay has seen new Years ago he discovered a passion challenges crop up in the community. for working with and training police Theft is on the rise, and that trajectory canines, and he plans to work with dogs will likely continue, he said. The passage as a hobby now. He also will fill his time of Proposition 47, which reclassified with more beach volleyball and family. most nonviolent crimes from felony to The big shoes that McVay leaves misdemeanor, has kept petty criminals will be filled by Mike Perkins, whose from overcrowding jails, but as a result, 25-year tenure with the department McVay noted, it has increased the number of repeat offenders on the street. See POLICE CHIEF Access to drugs often motivates the crimes, and McVay advises Carpintericontinued on page 5
PHOTOS BY PETER DUGRÉ
Carpinteria Junior Lifeguard Aly Springer, right, protected her home beach by winning the B group flags competition at Carp Comp on July 17. The JG competition had hundreds of youths at city beach representing 10 agencies from up and down the central coast. Carpinteria finished in third place and did the local program proud. For further coverage, turn to pages 26 and 27.