Santa Clarita Sheriff's 2009 Year In Review by Nathan Imhoff

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Table of Contents Leadership Our Core Values | Our Mission | Our Creed

Sheriff ’s Command Structure | Sheriff Leroy D. Baca

2|3

County of Los Angeles | Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich

4|5

City of Santa Clarita | Mayor Frank Ferry

6|7

Message from the Captain | Jacques A. La Berge

8|9

Station Station Area Overview | Operations Summary | Jail

10|13

Emergency Operations 21 Traffic Unit 22|23 Scheduling and Training 24 Community Sheriff ’s Office — Six Flags Magic Mountain

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Station Year in Review

Community Relations & Crime Prevention

| Newhall Community Deputy Technology 33 Sheriff Resources | Aero Bureau | COPS Facts and Statistics | Crime Totals

34|37

38|39

44|45

999 for Kids 46 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Foundation

Support Our Troops 48 Presidential Inauguration 49 Community Advisory Committee | C.E.R.T.

Outreach & Transparency 51 Western States Police & Fire Games

III

52|55

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Program Programs Overview 56 City of Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Business Alliance

City of Santa Clarita Commercial Vehicle Enforcement

Off-Road Enforcement Team 59 Protecting Local Youth | School Resource Deputies | School Watch

Success Through Awareness & Resistance — STAR

Every 15 Minutes 62 Sheriff ’s Teen Traffic Offender Program (STOPP)

Vital Intervention & Directional Alternatives (VIDA)

Youth Activities League (YAL) 65

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2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

As a leader in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department I commit myself to Ourperform Core Values honorably my duties with respect for the dignity of all people, IntegrityOurto Mission do right and fight wrongs, wisdom to apOur Creed ply common sense and fairness in all I do and courage to stand against racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and bigotry in all its forms.

As a leader in the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department, I commit myself to honorably perform my duties with respect for the dignity of all people, integrity to do right and fight wrongs, wisdom to apply common sense and fairness in all I do, and courage to stand against racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and bigotry in all its forms.

Lead the fight to prevent crime and injustice. Enforce the law fairly and defend the rights of all. Partner with the people we serve to secure and promote safety in our communities

My goals are simple. I will always be painfully honest, work as hard as I can, learn as much as I can, and hopefully make a difference in people’s lives. Deputy David W. March EOW APRIL 29, 2002

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review 2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

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Message from Sheriff Leroy D. Baca We are proud to be responsible for the public safety of the most diverse and complex county in this great nation of ours. We are members of each city and community and recognize that each deserves service that focuses on their unique priorities and needs. By continuing to work together to strengthen our strong partnerships, we will further expand on our shared successes as we have done this past year. Our success hinges on a long-standing reputation as an organization that prides itself with a high-level of professional integrity. Our daily acts of integrity, large and small, collective and individual, have defined the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department for many years, and have built a strong foundation for the public’s trust in law enforcement. We are the most visible symbol of government in our free society and public trust and confidence are central to social order, economic development, and sound government practices. We must continuously rededicate ourselves to foster integrity through an emphasis on individual accountability, and resist those who damage our credibility with actions contradictory to our mission and ethics. Our Core Values includes that we have the “integrity to do what is right and fight wrongs,” and it must be applied by each of us while performing our duties and while exercising our freedoms during off-duty hours. I encourage all of us whether in the Sheriff ’s Department or the community at large to embrace a culture that promotes openness and ensures a foundation that supports the highest quality of service to the public. I will continue to reinforce positive influences that help sustain our badge as a symbol of trust, as we all work together to continuously earn and keep the public’s trust.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Station Year in Review

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review 2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

In 2009, your Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station worked in partnership with Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich to help promote and enhance public safety in the Santa Clarita Valley. Supervisor Antonovich showed strong support for Sheriff Lee Baca’s gang suppression and enforcement efforts throughout the year. Mr. Antonovich repeatedly demonstrated his efforts to curb gang violence and that of repeat offenders. Ongoing gang, probation, parole and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) operations, under Supervisor Antonovich’s HI-CAAP (High Intensity Criminal Alien Apprehension and Prosecution) and D.I.S.A.R.M. (Developing Increased Safety through Arms Reduction Management) programs, occurred at various points throughout the year in the Santa Clarita Valley. On December 14, 2009, Supervisor Antonovich joined Sheriff Lee Baca at a community event to announce the launch of the Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers program in the Santa Clarita Valley and throughout Los Angeles County. The program, launched in a public-private partnership, offers rewards to anonymous tipsters who provide information leading to the apprehension and prosecution of criminals. Anyone with information on an unsolved crime is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers by calling 800-222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters “TIPLA” plus the tip to 274637 or CRIMES, or visiting the Web site at lacrimestoppers.org. In October, Los Angeles County Supervisor Antonovich spoke before members of the Santa Clarita Valley’s legal and law enforcement community during “Law Appreciation Day.” At the event, which was hosted by the Santa Clarita Valley Bar Association, he recognized Santa Clarita Deputy Lucas Darland for his outstanding law enforcement contributions to our community throughout the year.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review 2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

In 2009, your Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station continued its crime fighting efforts with the full support of Mayor Frank Ferry and the entire Santa Clarita City Council to keep our community safe. Given the declining state of the economy, we anticipated an increase in property and other crime and wanted to stay ahead of the curve. Working together, innovative new programs were developed to keep up with unique challenges created by the economic downturn. Programs like the Sheriff ’s Vacant House Check enhanced patrol efforts to help manage vacant residential properties in our community and keep unsightly or unlawful activity out of our neighborhoods and away from our businesses. Mayor Ferry worked in support of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station on several aggressive gang enforcement suppression operations and parole and probation compliance sweeps. On August 26, 2009, Mayor Ferry offered words of encouragement and support to more than 150 deputy sheriffs who were gathered at City Hall to brief before setting out on a massive pre-dawn operation aimed at an aggressive and violent local gang. The Mayor also partnered with the station’s Traffic Department and local businesses to launch an aggressive motorcycle safety and awareness outreach campaign. The campaign was aimed at reducing the number of motorcycle accidents and fatalities in the city of Santa Clarita that were impacting our residents and bringing tragedy into our homes and schools. The efforts paid off signif icantly as motorcycle collisions decreased more than 32 percent in 2009 compared to 2008 and fatalities were down an astounding 60 percent in the same comparison. He continues to show his support for progressive crime reduction efforts and the protection of our youth by working w ith the Sheriff ’s Department and the Wil liam S. Hart School District through the Communit y Court Diversion Program — a program that offers an alternative to the juvenile justice system for first-time, non-violent, juvenile offenders. In July, Mayor Ferry was the keynote speaker at the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department Academy Class #377’s graduation ceremony at College of the Canyons. He offered words of guidance and foresight to graduating deputy sheriffs who may be headed to protecting the streets of Santa Clarita in the near future. Mayor Ferry also joined Sheriff Lee Baca at a street dedication for fallen Deputy Randy J. Hamson in November and helped cut the ribbon at the dedication of our brand new state-of-the-art Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Station Detective Bureau in May. The city of Santa Clarita has partnered with the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department for law enforcement services since its incorporation in 1987.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Station Year in Review

Message from the Captain Jacques A. La Berge 23740 Magic Mtn Pkwy. Santa Clarita, Ca 91355 661-255-1121 www.lasd.org www.scvsheriff.com

After seeing decreases in many crime categories for the past four years within the station area, 2009 brought us new challenges and an overall crime rate increase. Fortunately, by working proactively and aggressively, we were able to focus our resources toward prevention and enforcement accordingly. With the economic challenges continuing from 2008, we anticipated increases in certain crime categories. When they began to occur, we were prepared to meet them head on. By working with the community in an aggressive crime prevention partnership throughout the year, we managed to get a handle on some of the crime increases we had begun to see early in 2009. Crimes such as assaults and burglaries were down in some areas of Santa Clarita in the fourth quarter of the year. A large part of the year-end crime rate reduction in burglaries can be attributed to the efforts of the Community Interaction Team (CIT) and the county wide Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) team who conducted more than 70 covert burglary suppression and saturation operations in neighborhoods throughout the Santa Clarita Valley. A dozen other operations involved bicycle, foot and T3 electric vehicle patrols. Other coordinated operations by patrol deputies in response to crimes in progress resulted in the immediate apprehension of a number of outlaws. School resource deputies conducted weekly curfew and truancy operations inhibiting juvenile crime. All these efforts resulted in nearly a 6 percent reduction in burglaries in the city of Santa Clarita toward the end of the year. All combined, robberies were down more than 2 percent and assaults over 14 percent in the last quarter of 2009. We continue to maintain our aggressive crime prevention strategies and community partnerships to try and maintain this downward trend but we anticipate 2010 will bring us even more challenges.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

What is even more impressive is the impact we left on gang-related activity and crime in Santa Clarita. We maintained a focused and aggressive gang suppression campaign in Santa Clarita throughout the year. The station’s Detective Bureau, COBR A Unit and CIT teamed up with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Probation Department to carry out several successful operations aimed at dismantling the six active gangs who commit crime in the Santa Clarita Valley. Utilizing these resources, we managed to significantly reduce violent gang-related crime in 2009 compared to 2008: Gang-related robberies were down 38 percent, assaults were down 32 percent, assaults with f irearms were down an encouraging 50 percent and there were no gang-related homicides. Deputies also carried out nearly 60 probation and parole compliance operations throughout 2009 as a way of keeping track of convicted felons living in the Santa Clarita Valley, ensuring they were in compliance with the terms and conditions of their probation or parole. During these operations, deputies worked under the guidelines of the Los Angeles County Department of Probation’s Developing Increased Safety through Arms Reduction Management (DISARM) Program — taking guns out of the hands of criminals. These operations will become even more important in 2010 as the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison system implements population reduction efforts that will result in the early release of more convicted felon parolees into our communities. We are already working aggressively on local intervention efforts and are gearing up to meet this new anticipated challenge. And as always, I want to recognize the residents of our valley who have been our eyes and ears in the communit y by actively reporting crimes when they see them occurring. Let’s continue our work together in 2010 and keep Santa Clarita safe. Keep the crime tips coming! “If You See Something — Say Something.” Local nonemergency crime tips can be reported anonymously at w w w.scvsheriff.com or by calling (661) 284-2-TIP (284-2847).

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

AREAS OF FOCUS • Quality of life issues • Public nuisance problems

Areas Covered

• Gangs & graffiti

The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station provides law enforcement services

• Violent crime

for the 596 square-miles of unincorporated county areas of the Santa Clarita

• Property crimes • Sustained intervention • Truancy and juvenile crime

Valley and 52 square-miles of the city of Santa Clarita (fourth largest city by population in Los Angeles County).

• Infrastructure improvements • Hardening of critical facilities • Community partnership • Unprecedented service levels • Crime prevention

Population (Unincorporated) | 98,000 est. Population (Contract City of Santa Clarita) | 177,000 est. City of Santa Clarita Contract Cost (2008-2009) | $17,759,438

• Transparency

Fifth Supervisorial District County of Los Angeles Supervisor | Michael D. Antonovich Representative — Senior Field Deputy | Rosalind Wayman

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Operations Summary The Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department has been providing law enforcement services for the area since 1850, long before it became known as the Santa Clarita Valley. In 1888, 12 years after the town of Newhall was established, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors proposed the construction of the first jail building on Spruce Street in Newhall. The jail was built and remained in use until 1906 when a new facility was built. In 1926, the Newhall Substation #6 was established on San Fernando Road. The current Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station opened its doors on May 8, 1972, and has continued its service to our residents ever since. In 1987, the city of Santa Clarita was incorporated becoming the largest new city in California. At the time of incorporation, the County of Los Angeles Sheriff ’s Department entered into agreement with the city of Santa Clarita to provide law enforcement services, forming one of the largest law enforcement contractual partnerships in Los Angeles County. That crime prevention partnership has been going strong for the past 22 years. Today, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station serves the 52 square-miles of the city of Santa Clarita and the 596 square-miles of unincorporated Los Angeles County. With an estimated population of just over 177,000, the city of Santa Clarita has grown to become the fourth largest by population in Los Angeles County and the 26th largest in the state. The city areas include Canyon Country, Newhall, Saugus and Valencia. The station also manages a $1.3 million contract with Six Flags Magic Mountain, providing one sergeant and four deputies to serve the park. The station is home to more than 200 sworn staff and 42 professional staff members. The station boasts unprecedented volunteer services and programs that saved the County of Los Angeles and the city of Santa Clarita more than $700,000 in operating and personnel expenses in 2009. The station currently has 105 volunteers, 43 reserve deputies and 29 explorers. The station has a f leet of 92 vehicles: 65 black and white patrol vehicles, three motorcycles, and nine sedans among other utility vehicles including vans, volunteer patrol cars and trucks. In 2009, the station’s secretariat staff processed and conducted data entry on more than 21,000 reports and documents. They also ran records checks on every arrestee and entered countless lost, stolen or recovered serialized property into the nationwide law enforcement database.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

JA I L O P E R AT I O N S After the arresting deputies or officers complete their booking process, personnel assigned to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station jail process all arrests made in the Santa Clarita Valley, including those made by the California Highway Patrol. Generally, the personnel assigned at this position are of the sheriff ’s job classification, custody assistant. In 2009 — the Santa Clarita Station jail processed more than 6,000 arrestees. Station jailers handle all administrative duties, including the collection of DNA samples, live scan f ingerprinting, processing of arrestees paperwork and housing arrangements. The station jail was refurnished in early 2009 using furniture left over after the Santa Clarita Valley Station Detective Bureau moved to its new location. Utilizing the previously used office equipment saved the County of Los Angeles an estimated $15,000.

Unincorporated Patrol Areas The unincorporated county areas of the Santa Clarita Valley have a service area population estimated at nearly 98,000, which encompasses areas of the Angeles National Forest, Bouquet Canyon, Castaic, Gorman, Hasley Canyon, Sand Canyon, Southern Oaks, Stevenson Ranch, Sunset Point, Tesoro, Val Verde and West Ranch. In 2009, the station also handled all patrol, rescue and law enforcement services for Pyramid Lake, which is located approximately 30 miles north of the station. Pyramid Lake deputies are also departmentally certified SCUBA rescue and recovery divers, known and used throughout the County of Los Angeles and in other parts of the nation when the need arises. The station is home to one of the premier offroad enforcement teams in the nation. The team is responsible for Hungry Valley Off-road Recreational Vehicle Park and patrol/enforcement efforts in all rural areas of the city and county, including areas in the Angeles National Forest. Recently, the program has expanded to be used in conducting evacuations in rural areas during southland wildfires. The station also has an unprecedented Search and Rescue Team made up primarily of highly trained Reserve Deputy Sheriffs and other station volunteers. These reserve deputies and civilian volunteers assist in mountain rescues, lost or stranded hiker operations, vehicles over the side, wildf ire evacuations efforts, disasters and emergency operations.

Crime Prevention The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station has been a leader in the County of Los Angeles in developing and implementing award winning innovative crime prevention programs. Many of these programs, efforts and teams have been replicated at other stations throughout the county. Programs like the award winning Fraud and Identity Theft Education (FITE) help protect our citizens from identity theft. The state of the art city of Santa Clarita and Sheriff ’s Web site www.scvsheriff.com provides a direct means of communication with the public in crime prevention and enforcement efforts. Other programs, like the False Alarm Reduction program, help curtail repeated and unwarranted responses by deputies to the same false alarm calls, freeing up valuable resources and improving overall response times. Seconds count during an emergency. Utilizing a restricted high-security key system, the new Emergency Key (e-Key) program is providing your deputy sheriffs direct and immediate access to gated properties during emergencies. The city of Santa Clarita also funds premier Sheriff ’s Business Alliance and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Programs. Community education and outreach have been the key components of prevention and intervention efforts in the station area. Our aggressive efforts have included parent educational brochures, public service announcements and a “Public Safety Month” campaign. Programs such as Neighborhood Watch, Success Through Awareness and Resistance (STAR), Every 15 Minutes, School Watch and the Sheriff ’s Teen Traffic Offender Program (STTOP) have helped in crime prevention and education efforts. The station’s School Resource Deputy program is second to none in Los Angeles County.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Intervention The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station has several juvenile intervention programs. Two of the most notable are the award winning Vital Intervention and Directional Alternatives (VIDA) program and the Youth Activities League (YAL). These programs provide referral and counseling assistance to parents who are experiencing behavioral problems with their children. The programs were created and implemented to assist Santa Clarita Valley youth between the ages of 12 and 17 by redirecting negative behavior into positive alternatives. In providing the programs, the city of Santa Clarita and County of Los Angeles recognize the importance of offering counseling, family action, community service, physical training, team building and career guidance to wayward youth in the community. These programs provide an aggressive intervention effort to help redirect negative behavior of our youth who may be tempted to explore gang aff iliation, drug use or crime. The Teen Court and Community Court programs offer alternative options to an already crowded criminal justice system. Youths are tried, convicted or acquitted, and sentenced by a jury of their peers from local high schools under the direction of the presiding judge or commissioner. All involved get a clear understanding of the justice system.

Suppression The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station is home to many innovative law enforcement teams that focus on specialized enforcement, saturation efforts, and crime suppression throughout the city and county. The Santa Clarita gang suppression efforts involve frequent operations combining resources from the city of Santa Clarita’s COBRA and Community Interaction Team (CIT), County of Los Angeles Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and the county Crime Impact Team (CIT). Many of these teams also focus on other crime and nuisance problems in the community, frequently joining efforts with other city, state and federal resources in suppression and enforcement operations. The use of probation and parole officials, ICE investigators and code enforcement off icials, just to name a few, supplement these aggressive crime suppression efforts. In 2009, these teams conducted 60 probation and parole compliance operations at more than 500 locations in the Santa Clarita Valley, more than 70 burglary suppression operations, numerous gang enforcement operations and a dozen paseo bicycle and T3 patrol operations. The station also has access to the city of Santa Clarita’s award winning graffiti tracking database which helps Santa Clarita detectives track, monitor and suppress gang graffiti and related crime.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

W H AT T O D O When calling the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station with an emergency or any other incident requiring the response of deputies, the caller should be prepared to provide the following information

When you walk into the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station, you will be greeted by a deputy sheriff or civilian volunteer working the position of the public counter. Sheriff ’s personnel facilitate dozens of walk-in requests daily, ranging from serious criminal matters to peace keeping requests. On average, deputies assigned to the counter area of the station write as many as eight reports a shift. This service to the public at the counter helps reduce the workload on deputies in the field.

if at all possible: · The nature of the call · The location of the problem · The location and contact info of the caller reporting the problem

In 2009, personnel from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station responded to more than 55,000 calls for service. Of those, nearly 3,000 were emergency or 9-1-1 calls. Hundreds of calls stream into the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station every day. During regular business hours, the calls are routed through the station’s two telephone operators to the appropriate destination. After hours, all calls are processed by the front desk dispatch personnel directly.

· Whether or not there are weapons involved, seen or accessible · Business names, cross streets and other area indicators or landmarks

Nearly every 9-1-1 call made in the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station area, including those made from a cellular telephone, are received at the station’s dispatch call center. In 2009, technology was enhanced to allow dispatchers even greater flexibility in efficiently getting help to those in our community who need it. A new mapping system has improved the dispatcher’s ability to handle and route emergency calls.

· Detailed description of person(s) involved · Detailed description of vehicle(s) involved

Also in 2009, four 36-inch monitors were added to the front desk dispatch center. These new monitors and systems give desk personnel the ability to actively monitor live cameras at Pyramid Lake and many Santa Clarita schools. In the near future, deputies and dispatch personnel will have the ability to monitor cameras at businesses right here in Santa Clarita. In the event of a burglary or robbery alarm activation, or any other emergency, dispatchers will have access to take a look and see what is going on while relaying that information to responding deputies. Access will only be provided for those businesses that choose to participate in the new Security Access Monitoring (SAM) program soon to be offered through the city of Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Business Alliance. Deputies and dispatchers can also monitor local news in the event of a pursuit, containment operation, fire or other emergency. Deputies also monitor newly installed station security cameras.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Station Year in Review

The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dispatch Center is staffed 24-hours a day, seven days a week and is responsible for receiving all telephone calls for service and dispatching field units. Law Enforcement Technicians (L.E.T. s) assigned as desk off icers receive requests for assistance from the public. They evaluate what assistance is needed and dispatch appropriate public safety personnel. Desk off icers also relay immediate information over the radio to patrol units when necessary. As the dispatcher is interacting with a caller, he or she is multi-tasking, communicating with other personnel, entering the call, utilizing communications systems and immediately starting the response of personnel to any incident or emergency. Dispatchers are trained to control the call and gather pertinent information as quickly as possible since mere seconds can make the difference in the final outcome of the call or emergency. It is crucial for dispatchers to control the conversation and the caller. Those calling the station should try to remain calm and patient with the dispatcher and be prepared to quickly and accurately provide pertinent information. Calls for service regarding non-emergency matters also come into the Dispatch Center. These services include traffic signal and street maintenance, traffic hazards, county and city property concerns, animal control issues and other legal requests. The Dispatch Center operations are supervised by senior deputy sheriffs who act as the watch deputy. Watch deputies are chosen for this position based on their experience working patrol operations. The Dispatch Center staff is committed to assisting in safeguarding the lives and property of residents of the Santa Clarita Valley and responding to public concerns that help promote a safe community. It is through their calm voices of reason and quick actions that allow for immediate and coordinated responses to emergency and routine calls for service in our community every day.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Station Year in Review

Twenty-seven detectives assigned to the Santa Clarita Detective Bureau in 2009 handled the investigations into every arrest made by patrol deputies. They, along with their support staff, handled more than 12,000 confirmed criminal cases in the Santa Clarita Valley. Before 2009, the detectives handled all that responsibility from a cramped 1,700 square-foot office with limited desk space, virtually no storage areas for equipment and only two criminal interview rooms. The detectives had very little room for tactical response planning, meetings and operations. Not to mention less than adequate paperwork and evidence processing centers. That all changed when Sheriff Lee Baca opened a new office space facility on March 27, 2009. The new 9,300 square-foot facility affords the detectives nearly five times the work space. The new facility includes a large conference room, a copy center, a central work area to process and inventory evidence and cases, and much needed interview rooms for thorough and complete investigations.

The Robbery & Assault Team This team consists of nine detectives supervised by a sergeant. The team is responsible for investigating all robberies, all domestic violence related crimes, adult related assault/sex crimes, terrorist threats/stalking, elder abuse, child abduction, annoying phone calls and attempt suicides. One of the detectives is responsible for maintaining our sex offender files and registration program.

2009 Statistics Investigators assigned

Assigned Cases

12,469

Suspects Identified

5,200

Firearms Seized

Search Operations

710

Warrant Operations

Surveillance Operations

Undercover Operations

Robbery & Assault detectives are assigned cases based on the type of crime and individual caseload. All detectives on the team are experienced in the investigation of all crimes against persons, robbery or assaults and sex crimes. All team members handle domestic violence cases; however, one detective is specified as a domestic violence investigator. The current Robbery & Assault Team supervisor is Sergeant Kevin Blake.

The Burglary & Fraud Team The team consists of nine detectives supervised by a sergeant. The team investigates property crimes including burglaries, most forgery and fraud, non-sufficient fund checks, grand and petty theft, auto theft and vandalism. Burglary detectives are assigned cases based on geographical area. For team assignment purposes, the patrol area is divided into five areas. One detective is assigned to each geographic area and is responsible for investigating all residential and business burglaries, auto burglaries, auto thefts and grand or petty thefts in the area. The remaining detective is assigned to investigate all â&#x20AC;&#x153;paper typeâ&#x20AC;? theft crimes including forgery, fraud, identity theft and non-sufficient fund cases. The current Burglary & Fraud Team supervisor is Sergeant James Anderson.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

The COBRA Team This team receives 90 percent of its funding from the city of Santa Clarita. The team consists of six detectives and is supervised by a sergeant. The team handles all gang and juvenile related crime and missing or runaway juvenile cases. The team is responsible for keeping track of the six identified criminal street gangs in the Santa Clarita Valley with a total active gang membership estimated at just over 300. The team conducts gang and youth-crime awareness presentations throughout the city and provides an anti-gang and anti-drug curriculum for the city’s junior high schools. The team sergeant also supervises the six school resource deputies and a Transit/Graffiti Investigator. School-resource deputies are assigned to the six high schools and cover the services at the junior high schools on an as-needed basis. COBRA detectives are assigned cases by the sergeant who works to maintain a balanced caseload among team members. Gang cases are assigned according to which gang is suspected of committing the crime. Each gang has two COBRA detectives assigned to investigate and monitor their activity. The COBRA Team is supervised by Sergeant Dean Currie.

Community Interaction Team (CIT)

2009 Gang Statistics Felony Arrests

389

Misdemeanor Arrests

437

Citations

Narcotics Arrests

Field Interviews

598

Graffiti Incidents

602

Taggers Identified

Graffiti Arrests

179

Search Warrants

2008 2009 % of Change Homicide

-100%

Assault

-32%

Robbery

-38%

The Community Interaction Team (CIT) is comprised of four deputies and a sergeant. The team, funded by the city of Santa Clarita, is used to pinpoint and resolve specific criminal and nuisance problems in Santa Clarita. CIT frequently interacts with other law enforcement and governmental disciplines to permanently resolve matters of concern to our community. The team commonly receives information from a number of different sources including: patrol deputies, crime analysts, station detectives, desk personnel, crime tip lines, city officials, business owners, and community members through the station’s Web site. The CIT is responsible for quality of life issues and criminal matters such as squatters, neighborhood disputes, abandoned cars, narcotics dealers, gang activity and graffiti abatement or enforcement. During 2009, CIT was frequently utilized to carry out or assist in a number of operations including, burglary suppression, a serial arsonist, gang sweeps and parole or probation compliance checks. The team also conducted a number of alcohol and tobacco sting enforcement operations to protect our youth. Sergeant John Bomben managed the Buffer Zone Protection Program (BZPP), obtaining grant funds that were used to purchase technologically advanced equipment to aid in the protection of our community and homeland security.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

The grant resulted in the delivery, installation and use of eight high end night vision goggles and two Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) devices. Four additional Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) systems were also added to patrol cars in 2009, bringing our total to 10, the most of any sheriff ’s station in Los Angeles County. In addition, an eight camera ALPR system was installed at a local intersection. At a cost of nearly $250,000, the project was paid for with BZPP grant money. Through the program, nearly 20 surveillance cameras were also installed in and around the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station and the Santa Clarita Superior Court. Probation Officer | The city of Santa Clarita also funds a full-time County of Los Angeles Probation Off icer. Probation Off icer Laura Bryce is assigned specif ically to the Santa Clarita Valley area and works primarily with the COBRA Team. She has been a great resource and has been very effective in monitoring probationers and assisting in crime-f ighting and reduction efforts. Probation compliance check operations are routinely done throughout the Santa Clarita Valley. Court Liaison | The Court Liaison consists of two detectives. They file most adult misdemeanor cases that do not require further investigation, act as a liaison with the Santa Clarita Superior Court, and provide subpoena service and control for the station. The Court Liaison team is supervised by the Burglary & Fraud Team or the Robbery & Assault Team supervisors.

Crime Analyst | Evidence | Fingerprinting Operationally, the Santa Clarita Detective Bureau is overseen by Lieutenant Steve Low. The unit is supported by one crime analyst, a station clerk, a detective bureau secretary and one fingerprint law enforcement technician. During 2009, the Property and Evidence room at the station was supervised by Property and Evidence Custodian II Carry Currie. Santa Clarita Valley Station patrol deputies and detectives booked more than 4,500 pieces of evidence during 2009. Each piece of evidence is checked, verif ied, controlled, tracked and categorized. The evidence is monitored through the use of property and evidence control books. Carry is on the evaluation team for the Property & Evidence, Laboratory Information Management System (PRELIMS), which is a new evidence program scheduled to be launched in 2010. She was selected to be on the evaluation team because of her extensive knowledge of evidence handling and procedures. The Detective Bureau utilizes a Law Enforcement Technician (L.E.T.) designated specifically for fingerprinting in order to improve case clearances and service to the community. The Fingerprint Technician handled 15 fingerprint requests per day on average in 2009. The availability of an on scene Fingerprint Technician has helped solved numerous cases throughout the Santa Clarita Valley.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Station Year in Review

Success Stories Bank Robbery | Canyon Country A bank robber was arrested just 27 hours after passing a note to a bank teller demanding money at the Bank of America in the 19000 block of Soledad Canyon Road, Canyon Country. Immediately following the robbery, detectives released information and a video depicting the suspect. Detectives analyzed and investigated the incoming tips. One tip ultimately led to the identification of the suspect. Detectives from the Robbery & Assault Team worked throughout the day and into the evening to verify the information. The suspect was ultimately located and arrested without incident during a search warrant operation at an apartment complex in the 27000 Block of Solamint Road, Canyon Country, just 1.2 miles from the bank.

Serial Arsonist Operation An Arson suspect was arrested by the CIT after numerous hours of surveillance. The suspect was responsible for starting 17 small fires in the Valencia Northbridge area. Numerous trash receptacles and dog bag dispensers located on the paseos were set on fire by the suspect. A series of intense operations conducted by deputies from C.I.T. resulted in the arrest of the suspect who was caught in the act during the early hours of the morning setting a trash container on f ire. He was arrested and admitted to arson detectives he had set several f ires.

Foreign National Gang Member Operation Several law enforcement personnel from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff Stationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Detective Bureau, COBRA Unit and CIT partnered with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and representatives from the Los Angeles County Department of Probation to carry out a targeted gang enforcement operation in Santa Clarita. The personnel hit 16 locations in the Canyon Country, Newhall and Castaic areas where active gang members were known to reside. Each location was searched resulting in the detention of several criminal street gang members. The operation also resulted in the detention of known active foreign national gang members. All of those gang members were transported to downtown Los Angeles by ICE officials where they faced immigration proceedings.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Field Operations On any given day during a 24-hour period, as many as 70 patrol vehicles can be utilized by the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and more than 90 deputy sheriffs, including patrol supervisors, can be assigned to various field and station assignments. Many of those deputies and supervisors, overseen by the Station Watch Commander, are responsible for responding to calls for service, conducting initial investigations, report writing, emergency operations and a host of other duties. The patrol deputies are the first line of interaction with the public and are a key element to fighting and preventing crime. The patrol deputies handle crimes-in-progress, containment operations, observation investigations and arrests, jail booking procedures, evidence processing, emergency response, traffic collisions and investigations and proactive traffic stops. The patrol deputies are responsible for keeping apprised of current criminal events, crime trends, officer safety concerns and wanted suspects in the Santa Clarita Valley. At the beginning of each shift, patrol briefings are held by the supervisors to ensure the deputies are up to date with everything going on in Santa Clarita. Santa Clarita patrol deputies were very proactive throughout 2009, handling more than 55,000 calls for service and generating another 82,500 self-initiated observation incidents. In 2009, response times to emergency calls averaged just over 5 minutes and priority calls just over 9 minutes in the city of Santa Clarita. Your patrol deputies and other station staff wrote more than 21,000 total reports, made 6,123 arrests and logged 1.6 million driving miles in 2009 while patrolling our neighborhoods and protecting our communities.

Gorman Resident Deputies There are two resident deputies assigned to the rural Gorman area. This allows for one deputy to be on-duty and available for call-out seven days a week. Each deputy is assigned a take home 4 x 4 vehicle, in the event that they are called out for emergencies and need to access remote areas. There is a small sub-station located in the town of Gorman the deputies frequently utilize. Additionally, both resident deputies are trained in boat operations and assist the deputies at Pyramid Lake when the lake is overcrowded or having an emergency.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Above traditional daily law enforcement services, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station is responsible for responding to other major incidents, events and critical emergencies that may evolve into lengthy operations involving hundreds of personnel and resources. In addition to natural disasters such as fire, earthquake or flood, some other incidents may include barricaded suspects, aircraft accidents, substantial freeway or road closures, large scale evacuations, school emergencies, containments and persons in peril. The station’s Emergency Operations Center Command Post may even be activated for some large scale events that are projected to draw large numbers of people and have a substantial impact on the community. The primary function of the station EOC is to provide operational and logistical support to station personnel in the field and coordinate tactical or emergency operations from one centralized location. When necessary during a substantial emergency, teams of deputies are activated to staff and run the station’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), supplement normal law enforcement services, and take the operational responsibility off of the normal desk and field operations. If the incident or emergency exceeds the station’s capabilities and resources, the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department’s Emergency Operations Center (DEOC) will assume primary operational control and oversight of the emergency, and supplement the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station with personnel and resources. Although the Emergency Operations Center can be operated out of the Santa Clarita station, the station is also equipped with a mobile Emergency Command Post. The command post is a custom built trailer designed by members of the station. The Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Foundation generously donated the trailer to the station in 2005. The command post allows personnel to have access to phones, television newscasts, computers, printers, copiers, fax machines, radio and other emergency communications, maps, water, food supplies and a restroom. During 2009, the station’s Emergency Command Post was utilized for many events and emergencies. The Santa Clarita Marathon, Cowboy Poetry Festival, the Fourth of July Parade, AT&T Senior Golf Tournament, Gifts for Guns event and College of the Canyons’ drive-thru flu shot clinic were a few of the community events necessitating its use. The command post was also used during substantial emergencies and special operations such as the Station Wildland Fire, a barricaded robbery suspect, probation and parole search and compliance warrant operations, a gang suppression operation, several search and rescue operations and an operation involving the capture of an escaped inmate from Pitchess Detention Center (PDC) jail facility.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Station Year in Review

The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Traffic Unit consists of one sergeant, two investigators, one secretary and numerous field deputies. The unit investigates all traffic collisions and enforces all laws of the California Vehicle Code within the 52 square-miles of the city of Santa Clarita. In 2009, the community services officer issued 4,582 parking citations and towed more than 500 vehicles, primarily in response to public requests and complaints. She also issued 3,636 parking warnings. The unit has one operations assistant who manages the automated red light camera enforcement systems. The primary goal of deputies assigned to the Traffic Unit is to reduce, minimize or eliminate property damage, injuries and fatalities resulting from traff ic collisions. Utilizing enforcement efforts, education and even driving under the influence (DUI) checkpoint operations, the deputies are able to keep the streets of Santa Clarita safe for the thousands of motorists who traverse them daily. At the scene of a traffic collision, traffic deputies are responsible for providing first aid to victims, providing traffic control and securing evidence. They then conduct a thorough field investigation of each collision and submit a detailed report outlining accident and causal factors.

2009 Traffic Information Collisions

Total 1,769

Fatal Collisions

Injury Collisions

559

Property Damage Collisions DUI Collisions

1,206 145

DUI Collisions Fatality

DUI Collisions Injury

DUI Collisions Property Damage

Citations Issued DUI Arrests

20,320 519

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

The traffic deputies’ patrol vehicles are equipped with a number of technological features that aid them in enforcement and investigations. Radar and lidar speed enforcement devices are just some of the tools the deputies utilize. The station currently has 21 radar units and 12 lidar lasers to assist in speed enforcement. Deputies also deploy 16 Pre-Alcohol Screening (PAS) devices to assist in identifying drunk drivers. We have two hybrid radio cars used to identify unsafe drivers along with a Toyota Tundra and trailer utilized for traffic investigations and DUI checkpoints. Traffic deputies also utilize specialized equipment to investigate, reconstruct and document serious or fatal traffic collisions. Expert traffic investigators are available for the most complex accident scenes. Directed and localized traffic-enforcement measures are implemented in those areas of the community that have shown a higher propensity for accidents. Deputies also conduct traff ic enforcement based on requests from community members. The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station is one of the only stations offering online service requests pertaining to illegally parked or abandoned vehicles and traffic enforcement. In 2009, the Traffic Unit investigated 1,769 total collisions in the city of Santa Clarita. Unfortunately, four of those collisions resulted in fatalities. Funding for DUI enforcement and prevention programs was provided by a grant from the California Off ice of Traff ic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The purpose of the checkpoints is to educate the community on the hazards of drunk driving while enforcing DUI laws of the state of California. The checkpoints are an ongoing effort to safely remove drunk drivers from our streets. Other programs funded through the California Office of Traffic Safety, such as the Click It or Ticket campaign, aim at saving lives by enforcing seatbelt laws. The campaign relies on heavy enforcement and public education as a means to help California achieve 100 percent seat-belt use. The state’s seatbelt use rate for 2009 was 95.7 percent.

Motorcycle Collisions 2008

2009

% of Change

Total

-32%

Fatal

-60%

Injuries

-29%

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

The Scheduling and Training unit at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station operates with one deputy, an operations assistant and Sergeant Richard Nagler. The unit is responsible for scheduling the staff at the station and ensuring maximum coverage and service for the entire Santa Clarita Valley. They are also responsible for providing your deputy sheriffs and station staff with the latest in training, technology and legal updates. In early 2009, the scheduling and training off ice implemented a new computerized scheduling system. The system allows deputies and supervisors to access and view their schedules and effectively manage station personnel more efficiently. The station welcomed 26 deputy sheriffs for training throughout the year. Each of the deputies received extensive training through the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department’s structured program. Deputies are trained in all facets of law enforcement, preparing them to work effectively in the f ield and to protect the residents of the Santa Clarita Valley. This year, Master Field Training Off icer Deputy Jeff Curran was added to the program. Deputy Curran brings comprehensive knowledge and experience to the station’s program and monitors the progress of each of the trainees throughout the field training program. Three new field training officers were appointed in 2009 after an extensive testing and selection process. As part of an on-going effort to ensure deputies from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station are trained and prepared to immediately respond to any emergency on or around our school campuses in the Santa Clarita Valley, deputies utilize school campuses during the summer months to conduct realistic rapid response and deployment training. The purpose of the training is to develop life-like scenarios that will test and challenge the ability of the deputies to immediately respond to and confront any school related emergency threatening our youth. The advanced training program came into existence several years ago following many high profile incidents on school campuses throughout the nation. The Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department sent deputies and training staff members to learn from those incidents in an effort to develop an advanced training program and better prepare our deputies in the unlikely event they are needed. The training program has developed into one of the best in the nation. School safety plans were developed and school resource deputies are equipped with specialized equipment in the unlikely event they are needed. New technology and camera systems are also available to aid the deputies. By working directly with school officials in this training partnership, deputies and staff members are ready for any school related emergency.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

The Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department provides law enforcement services to Six Flags Magic Mountain through the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station under a $1.3 million annual contract. A team of four deputies and a sergeant are assigned to the Magic Mountain Community Sheriff ’s Office located near the public entrance. The deputies patrol the 260 acre-park and promote the safe, family oriented, fun-filled environment the park has become so well known for. In 2009, more than 2.5 million guests visited the park from all over the world, all under the watchful eyes of deputy sheriffs from the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department’s Santa Clarita Station. They pride themselves on using high visibility as a deterrent to crime. Deputies have recently patrolled the park and surrounding parking lots on bicycles and T3 Electric Mobility Devices. The patrols were such a big hit with park guests that Six Flags security has now implemented its own bicycle patrol team. In 2009, Magic Mountain opened a new roller coaster called “Terminator Salvation: The Ride.” Captain La Berge and Chief Tyler were among those present for the ride’s grand opening. The park also hosted a series of concerts including well known bands such as Berlin, Everclear and Oingo Boingo. Thanks to diligent efforts by deputy personnel, the park did not encounter any significant disturbances or incidents during any of these events. This year has brought an increase in family activities to the park. Many schools from throughout the Santa Clarita Valley hold events such as cheerleading, karate and dance competitions. Did you know that the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station’s COBRA team, School Resource Deputies, Magic Mountain Deputies and Sheriff ’s Explorers host and chaperone an “All Schools Dance” annually at the park? The event is a big hit for our local youth and provides an opportunity for students from several different high schools to interact, promoting unity, compassion and an understanding for other schools in the Santa Clarita Valley. If you have time off and are thinking about doing something fun for the weekend, visit Six Flags Magic Mountain and stop by and say hello to your deputies.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

In 2009, Pyramid Lake received approximately 175,000 visitors, with the majority of the attendance occurring between the Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. Pyramid Lake has three deputies assigned year-round, but is augmented with additional deputies during the busy summer months from Santa Clarita Station. Recently, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station’s Volunteer on Patrol program has been expanded to include Pyramid Lake patrols. We currently have two volunteers who have completed the State of California Boat Operator class and two additional volunteers who can assist them as deck hands. This enables the volunteers to utilize the department’s marked patrol boats on the lake for additional visibility and service. Additionally, two reserve deputies have completed the 40-hour State of California Boat Operator School, which enables them to operate the patrol boats and augment our regularly assigned deputies conducting full peace officer duties. With these additional personnel, we have substantially increased our patrol activity in order to aggressively enforce all federal, state and local laws. These comprehensive enforcement efforts have dramatically reduced illegal activity and boating accidents on the lake. In fact, Pyramid Lake has not had one fatal boating accident in two years. Over the past several years, Santa Clarita staff have authored and received numerous equipment grants from various organizations. These grants have funded the purchase of a new patrol boat and have allowed two others to be refurbished. SCUBA and boating equipment have also been purchased with these funds. We now have five deputies and one sergeant who achieved their divemaster certifications and completed the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s eight-week Public Safety Diver course. These deputies are now certified departmental SCUBA divers to a maximum depth of 165 feet for rescue and recovery operations. To accomplish these dangerous missions, each diver is issued approximately $10,000 of SCUBA equipment to enhance his or her safety and emergency services capabilities . The Pyramid Lake divers have conducted several boat recovery operations and have been requested to assist the Department’s Emergency Services Detail (ESD) and Marina del Rey Station on several large scale rescue or recovery operations. In 2009, the station received an $189,000 Buffer Zone grant from the Federal Department of Homeland Security. Some of the funds were used to design and install an internet based camera system at the lake. Multiple cameras and repeaters cover the entire lake and surrounding areas. They can be monitored at the lake sub-station office, the Santa Clarita Station or over the Internet by authorized personnel during an emergency. This comprehensive system affords the station watch commander the ability to assess any situation remotely, supervise emergency incidents and deploy additional resources as needed.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Station Volunteer Services and Programs The volunteer services and programs at Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Station are made possible by members of the community who have demonstrated a willingness to maintain a high quality of life in the area they live in. These individuals self lessly take time from their own personal lives and other responsibilities and devote it to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station and the community. Station volunteers include sheriff ’s explorers, patrol reserve deputies, mounted posse members, search and rescue, volunteers on patrol, station clerical staff and counter operations. In 2009, 177 station volunteers contributed nearly 35,000 hours of service, saving the Sheriff ’s Department and the city of Santa Clarita more than $700,000 in personnel costs. Some of the volunteers individually dedicated more than 600 hours of their own time throughout the year, many times performing the same functions as full-time paid personnel. These volunteers tirelessly give their time, day in and day out, all year long to help the residents of the Santa Clarita Valley with their altruistic acts of community service.

Sheriff ’s Explorer Program The Santa Clarita Valley Station’s Sheriff ’s Explorer program has created a volunteer partnership between youths in our community and law enforcement. The explorers, between 16 and 20 years of age, receive extensive training in an academy setting. They then participate in community affairs and law enforcement related activities. The Sheriff ’s Explorer program is youth oriented and is affiliated with the offices of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and Learning for Life. Its primary purpose is to provide, through actual experience, a means by which young men and women may determine if they would like to pursue a career in law enforcement. Sheriff ’s Explorers assist regular deputy sheriffs by performing non-hazardous duties. The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Explorer Post #631 currently has 29 active explorers supervised by three program advisors: Deputy Laurie Baylis, Sergeant Gregg Lewison and civilian advisor Ric Bisarra.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

EXPLORER EVENTS In 2009 your Sheriff Explorer volunteers took part in many events • City of Santa Clarita Health Fair • Driving Under the Influence (DUI) checkpoints • Spray paint and graffiti tools sting operations • Alcohol and cigarette sting operations • Amgen Tour of California Bicycle Race • AT&T Golf Tournament • All Schools Dance • City of Santa Clarita Emergency Expo • Gifts for Guns • City of Santa Clarita Cowboy Poetry Festival • Special Olympics Tip-A-Cop • City of Santa Clarita Evening of Remembrance — Santa Clarita Youth Grove • Every 15 Minutes programs • “999” for Kids fundraiser • Role players for reserve deputy training • Role players for deputy sheriff training • Peace Officers Memorial Run • Police and Fire Olympics • Special Olympics “Polar Plunge” • City of Santa Clarita Teen Scene Unplugged • Santa Clarita posse training • Community Shred & E-Waste Disposal days • Kid Print Expo • City of Santa Clarita Street Art Festival • Diabetes walk fundraiser

In 2009, the explorers logged more than 3,300 volunteer hours. The explorers worked at 33 community events, public outreach and education forums, and enforcement operations. Explorer duties consist of traffic and parking control, report writing, public fingerprinting, crowd assistance at parades and civic events, anti-crime campaigns, search missions, statistical computations and special decoy enforcement operations, just to name a few. They even assisted local nonprofit organizations. In July, the Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Explorers competed in an explorer competition sponsored by the Whittier Police Department called “Camp Superstar.” Ten explorers and sheriff ’s advisors attended the competition, which was held in Lake Arrowhead. Our explorers took home trophies in the tug-of-war competition and rescue stretcher relay. The event is held annually and promotes leadership, teamwork and fitness. Steve Youlios, the owner and operator of Jersey Mike’s Subs, held a fundraising event to benefit the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Explorer program in 2009. The money raised helped the explorers participate in events and purchase equipment. During the all-day event, hundreds of customers, Sheriff ’s Explorers, community leaders and Sheriff ’s personnel visited the sandwich shop. Steve and his employees made three sandwiches every two minutes for 11 hours. When the event was over and the exhausted employees closed the doors, the generous residents of the Santa Clarita Valley had raised more than $1,700 for the Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Explorer program.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Sheriff ’s Posse The Sheriff ’s Posse is a group of dedicated Reserve Deputies and civilian volunteers who utilize their own horses to provide support to your Sheriff ’s Department. They receive special training to perform duties such as patrols of urban and rural areas, search and rescue, crowd and traffic control, public relations and special events. In Santa Clarita, the Sheriff ’s Posse even provided mounted observation patrol at the Westfield Valencia Town Center during the holidays in 2009 and rode at Melody Movie Ranch during the Cowboy Poetry Festival.

They also reached out to Santa Clarita Valley youth by participating in the Youth Activity League (YAL) in Val Verde. As an element of the program, the Sheriff ’s Reserve and Volunteer Posse hosted the Posse Youth Program. During the program, several Santa Clarita youth were given a unique opportunity to meet the Sheriff ’s Reserve and Volunteer Posse, interact with, learn how to groom and care for, and even ride atop the horses. The posse members led them around the arena while hosting a post event barbecue.

Not only does the posse provide extra enforcement, protection and rescue resources, the kids really enjoy seeing and meeting the horses and volunteers. Law enforcement started on horseback with the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department in the Santa Clarita Valley more than 150 years ago. That tradition continues today with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff Station’s mounted posse.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

VO L U N T E E R OPPORTUNITIES Sheriff ’s traditional volunteer programs offer residents the opportunity to be directly involved with nearly every aspect of the sheriff ’s station. Volunteers may choose to be a part of such traditiona l functions such as: •

•

Clergy Program — Clergy members in the community who ride with the deputies and assist in dealing with human crisis Front Desk and Counter Operations — Volunteers work the station front counter in a volunteer uniform to greet the public and provide station services Clerical — Volunteers work in the station secretariat and assist with filing of reports and work under the direction of the secretaries Volunteers on Patrol — Work in volunteer vehicles in a volunteer uniform assisting in the field as additional eyes and ears patrolling our community for suspicious activity or safety hazards

Sheriff Reserves | Patrol | Search & Rescue

There are currently 43 reserve deputies assigned to the Santa Clarita Valley Station. These volunteers provide law enforcement services in Santa Clarita, handling everything from patrol to search and rescue. Some reserve deputies are also members of the Sheriff ’s Posse. The volunteer Search & Rescue Team participates in extensive training every month, perfecting its skills in first aid, rope and rigging systems, the Department’s incident command structure, specialized GPS & tracking systems and even rappelling from the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department’s Air 5 rescue helicopter. Search & Rescue Reserves are Emergency Medical Technicians who can handle technical rescues in Los Angeles County and beyond through the Office of Emergency Services. The Search & Rescue team handles between 12 and 20 emergency call-outs per year, ranging from missing elderly with Alzheimer’s and children with special needs to injured off-road riders at the Hungry Valley Off Road park. They also handle vehicles over the side, missing hikers or downed aircraft searches utilizing the Electronic Locater Transmitters (ELT). The

•

Graffiti Watch

•

Non-hazardous directed patrol assignments

•

Fire Watch

•

Vacation House Watch

Uniformed deputy sheriff reserves worked more than 400 patrol shifts

•

Vacant House Checks

•

Business Watch support

in 2009. The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station also has a dedicated

•

School security checks

•

Conducting park security checks

•

Requests for city or county services

hours, made numerous arrests, wrote several hundred reports and issued 1,500

•

Disabled persons assistance

citations in 2009. The reserves are also utilized to help supplement law

•

Fingerprint Services — Applicant Live Scan

enforcement services at special events, such as marathons and parades.

Search & Rescue reserve deputies are on call 24-hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days out of the year and their salary is $1 a year.

reserved deputy patrol car working every weekend to respond to party and music disturbance calls. Reserve deputies monitor more than 236 registered sex offenders residing in Santa Clarita. The deputies logged more than 13,000

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

SCV Sheriff Volunteers Recognized Every year, during “National Volunteer Week,” the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station recognizes all the committed volunteers who devote their time throughout the year to making the Santa Clarita Valley a better and safer place to live. At the event in April 2009, more than 160 volunteers were recognized. Those volunteers dedicated nearly 40,000 hours of volunteer service and saved the County of Los Angeles and the city of Santa Clarita more than $800,000 in 2008. Throughout Los Angeles County in 2008, 3,871 Sheriff ’s Department volunteers dedicated 429,378 hours saving the Los Angeles County, the Sheriff ’s Department and taxpayers nearly nine million dollars. The luncheon recognition event is hosted annually by the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Foundation. Some station volunteers are involved with specific programs that enhance service to the public in the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station’s area. In 2009, station volunteers Del Andreini, Mike Onesto, Ric Bissara and Sheriff ’s Explorer Steve North dedicated more than 200 hours of volunteer service to the station running the Live Scan public fingerprinting services program. Together, they handled more than 400 appointments throughout the year. Your Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station is one of the only stations in Los Angeles County offering online Live Scan f ingerprint appointment scheduling to the public through our Web site at www.scvsheriff.com. This portable Live Scan system enables applicant related information to be processed electronically. Live Scan fingerprint technician volunteers also donated their time to go out into the community and fingerprint all coaching applicants at the William S. Hart Baseball complex and other local nonprofit community organizations. Station volunteer David Collins and other volunteers on patrol also took on new responsibilities in 2009 with the launch of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Vacant House Check program. The volunteers check and log each vacant house check request, process necessary follow-up with sheriff ’s station and other community entities and interact using electronic communications with the resident who submitted the request.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

COMMUNIT Y R E L AT I O N S Community Relations Programs, Events & Interaction • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Haunted Jailhouse Holiday Toy Store Station Tours Identity Theft Prevention Presentations Senior Safety Presentations Child / School Safety Talks Internet Safety Presentations Special Education Safety Talks Career Talks to High School Students V.I.D.A. Program Support & Graduations Private Entity Contracts School Attendance Review Job Shadow & Student Internships City Council Meeting Security Lunch with a Deputy Community Health Fair Red Cross Blood Drives Seasonal Safety Tips Charitable Giving

Joint Projects with the city of Santa Clarita • • • • • • • • • • •

Emergency Expo Fourth of July Parade & Fireworks Show Marathon AMGEN Bike Race Cowboy Poetry Festival Street Arts Festival Teen Scene Unplugged Youth in Government Job Shadow AT&T Golf Tournament Security for City Council Meetings Extreme Neighborhood Makeover Event

Community Relations & Crime Prevention In 2009, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff Station’s Community Relations and Crime Prevention unit consisted of one sergeant and two deputies. The unit is involved in community events and programs, crime prevention education and awareness, volunteer services, charitable giving campaigns, and a multitude of other services to the residents of Santa Clarita. One of the primary duties of the unit is to educate and inform the community on the latest crime prevention techniques. One of the best ways to keep neighborhoods safe and get people involved is the Neighborhood Watch program. Through the program, Community Relation deputies provide information on auto theft protection, burglary prevention, home safety, personal safety, graffiti reporting, senior scams protection, identity theft and reporting suspicious persons. Currently, there are over 200 Neighborhood Watch Block Captains working to keep Santa Clarita safe through this program and the station. These individuals take an active role in protecting their community. They receive information via e-mail of crime related matters, newsletters and safety information. During 2009, Community Relations and Crime Prevention deputies conducted nearly 50 Neighborhood Watch meetings throughout the Santa Clarita Valley.

Newhall Community Deputy Santa Clarita Valley’s oldest community, Newhall, is undergoing a dramatic renewal project. The local township is taking on a new persona complete with an old-town appearance. The Sheriff ’s Department has a store front Community Sheriff ’s Office in the center of this new and exciting development. The Community Sheriff ’s Office, located in the Newhall Community Center, is where you will find Deputy Joseph Trejo, a 27-year veteran of the Department. The center boasts a state-of-the-art boxing venue that has produced several prominent boxing professionals and a place for Santa Clarita youth to visit. Deputy Trejo interacts with the Newhall community, business leaders and the city of Santa Clarita on a daily basis. Deputy Trejo has developed a truly unique hometown law enforcement bond with the community along with a level of service and trust that is truly unprecedented.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

For many years, the city of Santa Clarita, County of Los Angeles and the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station have been recognized for utilizing the latest in technology to protect our community. With the ever-changing and expanding technological frontier, we are constantly exploring new and innovative equipment and programs. The goal is to provide your deputies with tools to operate at the highest level of productivity and eff iciency. After all, those who have the intent to do wrong in our community are utilizing various technological aids to commit their crimes, and it is paramount that your Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station remains a step ahead. Aggressive and innovative practices continued with the implementation and use of advanced technological tools throughout 2009. Through our many community partnerships and the Sheriff Department’s vast resources, we were able to maintain our open and willing approach toward testing, providing and deploying the most advance systems and equipment available, all in an effort to provide the highest level of protection and service to our community. Equipment like Automated License Plate Readers, BlueCheck Wireless Fingerprint Devices, Security Access Monitoring (SAM) camera systems, T3 Electric Mobility Devices and Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) night vision goggles were at the forefront of our efforts in 2009. The Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology consists of patrol vehicles equipped with a number of cameras and a computer system capable of automatically reading and checking 1,000 vehicle license plates an hour as the deputy drives around town — answering calls for service and conducting other duties. The city of Santa Clarita purchased two ALPR equipped cars and others were obtained through various grant programs. We currently have ten such vehicles deployed at any given time in the Santa Clarita Valley. The system directly contributed to investigative efforts and aided in solving a number of criminal cases in 2009. One of the other newer technologies used by deputies in 2009 was the BlueCheck Wireless fingerprint devices. These devices aid deputies in the field with investigation and arrest procedures by utilizing a secure wireless fingerprint device, Bluetooth technology and a PDA cellular phone system. The BlueCheck devices work in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department’s secure data network to allow deputies to perform a rapid fingerprint check of subjects in the field, compare fingerprints to over 4 million known criminal subjects and receive an identif ication response within minutes. In some cases, this tool streamlined arrest procedures and reduced the time commitment of the deputies and jail operations staff, thereby freeing up the valuable resources for other community enforcement and protection efforts.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

RESOURCES · Aero Bureau · Special Enforcement Bureau

Station Support Resources The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station has the support of the entire

· Operations/Emergency Services Detail

Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department. The Department boasts premier

· Special Enforcement Detail

deputies from your sheriff ’s station can call on the vast knowledge and specific

· Sheriff ’s Response Team · Canine Services Detail · Emergency Operations Bureau

crime prevention, intervention and suppression programs. When needed, expertise of law enforcement professionals from virtually every law enforcement discipline. These experts offer all the resources from one of the most highly regarded and recognized law enforcement agencies in the world. Your Santa Clarita deputies interact with and utilize many of these experts and their

· Arson / Explosives Detail

resources every day. With the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department,

· Hazmat Detail

resources.

· Transit Services North Bureau · Metrolink Bureau

Santa Clarita residents get greater flexibility and a broad range of services and

Aero Bureau

· Commercial Crimes Bureau

The Sheriff Department’s Aero Bureau is just one of the many resources readily

· Fraud Detail

of missions in support of law enforcement operations and related activities in

· Major Crimes Bureau

Santa Clarita. Since 1966, the Bureau’s primary mission has focused on aerial

· Special Victims Bureau

reconnaissance, surveillance and ground unit support. Other missions and

· Homicide Bureau

roles have surfaced such as search and rescue, prisoner transportation, aerial

· Narcotics Bureau

photography and crime scene containment. Approximately 85 percent of the

· Taskforce For Regional Autotheft Prevention

Bureau’s 10,000 annual flight hours are flown in support of patrol operations,

· Community Oriented Policing Services Bureau

in response to high risk calls and missing person searches. Aerial patrols

available to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station. Deputy pilots fly a variety

which include pursuit management, suspect searches, ground unit coordination

· Operation Safe Streets Bureau

significantly enhance the effectiveness of the patrol unit while adding an extra

· Scientific Services Bureau

frequently available for service in northern Los Angeles County in the cities

margin of safety for the deputy sheriffs on the ground. Two helicopters are of Lancaster, Palmdale and Santa Clarita.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

The helicopters are equipped with advanced electronic systems to help us best protect the community. Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) technology has revolutionized aerial search tactics. The FLIR unit is an imaging technology that creates video output using thermal energy and is one of the most valuable law enforcement tools on today’s police aircraft. The sensitivity and accuracy of the unit makes it nearly impossible for a suspect or vehicle to avoid detection. The helicopters are equipped with LoJack vehicle tracking technology and have moving mapping systems integrated with Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology. These map systems pinpoint the aircraft’s location and provide heading and distance information to the crew as they respond to calls. This information is beneficial in coordinating ground patrol units during pursuits or containments from the air, greatly enhancing safety. Other advanced technology on the aircraft provides video downlink capabilities. The crew can send video back to a central Emergency Operations Center in the event of a major emergency or catastrophe Searchlights and public address systems have also been upgraded to increase effectiveness. Although the use and maintenance of these helicopters is expensive, they are an incredibly valuable tool in protecting our community and deterring crime. The Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department is unique in that we are responsible for more than 4,000 square-miles and a population base of more than 9 million people. We service 88 contract cities as well as the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The use of these helicopters as crime fighting and prevention resources can be spread out between all service areas, including the Santa Clarita Valley. With such vast boundaries, it is extremely important we have the ability to cover large geographical areas quickly. This allows us the ability to send helicopters to areas where they are needed most at any given time of day.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) team is a community based policing unit which supplements law enforcement services in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and the Santa Clarita Valley. The team is funded by the County of Los Angeles to positively impact quality of life issues with directed enforcement operations. The COPS team assigned to Santa Clarita is made up of four deputies, one sergeant and one lieutenant. The Santa Clarita COPS team conducts search warrants, probation and parole compliance checks, illegal narcotics operations, vehicle theft stings and sex registrant operations. In 2009, the team also carried out several operations including burglary suppression, Section 8 compliance, surveillance, counterfeit goods, illegal vending, property abatement and foot patrols. The team is part of the Nuisance Abatement Team (NAT), which is a team designed to clean up and abate nuisance properties in the unincorporated areas of the Santa Clarita Valley. NAT consists of members from the Department of Public Works, Building and Safety, Code Enforcement, Regional Planning, Animal Control, the District Attorney’s Office and the Health Department. COPS team members regularly attend Town Council and other community meetings to liaison with community members and address local issues or concerns. The COPS team is unique in that it can be deployed as an additional resource at a moment’s notice to any sheriff ’s station area in Los Angeles County. COPS team deputies from other stations were deployed throughout the Santa Clarita Valley on several occasions in 2009.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Station Year in Review

Each deputy assigned to the Santa Clarita Station COPS team has specif ic unincorporated areas they are responsible for including Castaic, Val Verde, Stevenson Ranch and unincorporated Canyon Country. Team members garnered a number of accomplishments in 2009, including the arrest of nine individuals for residential burglary in February. Those arrested were linked to a number of crimes. In March, a counterfeit operation was conducted at the Saugus Swap Meet which netted eight felony arrests. An aerosol spray paint compliance operation was conducted by the team utilizing Santa Clarita Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Explorers as decoys. Team members also executed a search warrant on a local residence for illegal DVD sales. In the month of June, the COPS team brought in even more additional resources from other stations and conducted a number of enforcement and prevention operations. Every member of the Santa Clarita COPS team is certified in bicycle patrol operations. The team conducted a number of bicycle patrol operations in late 2009. The team made 96 felony arrests, 164 misdemeanor arrests and put 46 gang members behind bars throughout the year.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Station Year in Review

In 2009, deputies made 6,123 arrests throughout the year and responded to 55,524 calls for service, including 2,725 emergency (9-1-1) calls. Deputies generated 82,599 selfinitiated observation incidents and contacts and documented 21,237 incident reports.

2009 PUBLIC SAFETY BY AREA Calls for Service

Incident Numbers

Arrests | City | County

City | 41,929

City | 15,850

Adult | 4,719

County | 13,595

County | 5,387

Juvenile | 1,404

Total | 55,524

Total | 21,237

Total | 6,123

2009 CRIME TOTALS City of Santa Clarita Crime

2008

2009

Change

% of Change

Homicide

100.0%

Forcible Rape

5.3%

Robbery

128

129

0.8%

Agg Assault

269

273

1.5%

Burglary

636

707

11.2%

Larceny Theft

2,031

2,037

0.3%

Grand Theft Auto

461

327

-134

-29.1%

Arson

52.0%

Total

3,571

3,535

-36

-1.0%

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Station Year in Review

2009 CRIME TOTALS Unincorporated Santa Clarita Valley Crime

2008

2009

Change

% of Change

Homicide

100.0%

Forcible Rape

11.1%

Robbery

5.1%

Agg Assault

100

-4

-4.0%

Burglary

363

416

14.6%

Larceny Theft

784

810

3.3%

Grand Theft Auto

137

120

-17

-12.4%

Arson

-13

-59.1%

Total

1,455

1,504

3.4%

City of Santa Clarita & Unincorporated County Combined Crime

2008

2009

Change

% of Change

Homicide

100.0%

Forcible Rape

7.1%

Robbery

167

170

1.8%

Agg Assault

369

0.0%

Burglary

999

1,123

124

12.4%

Larceny Theft

2,815

2,847

1.1%

Grand Theft Auto

598

447

-151

-25.3%

Arson

0.0%

Total

5,026

5,039

0.3%

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay Run Did you know every year deputies and other personnel from your Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station volunteer their time to compete in the annual Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay Run? The race, dubbed the “largest police foot pursuit in the world,” is a grueling 120-mile relay that begins in Baker, California on a Saturday and ends in Las Vegas, Nevada early Sunday morning. Started in 1985, the race has grown to involve more than 6,000 competitors and thousands of additional support staff annually. It is the largest law enforcement event of its kind in the world with teams participating from Canada, Germany and throughout the United States. It is a positive event for your deputies and other station staff members to participate in, reinforcing the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s principles of camaraderie, physical fitness and teamwork — all of which are important to protecting our community. The support staff, logistics and teamwork required to field a team in this event year-after-year is a testament to the fortitude and commitment of the men and women protecting our community. The Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Station was one of 247 teams that entered the race in 2009. The team participated in the Mixed Invitational category and finished 25th. Participation in the event would not have been possible if not for countless station volunteers and staff who offered their time to support the team with radio communications, logistics, transportation and other key roles. Community business leaders and organizations stepped up in support of the team providing vehicles, entrance fee support, team equipment and other items crucial to the safety and success of an all day and night run through the desert. Since the inception of the race, more than 100,000 law enforcement personnel have tread across the desert in this challenging event.

Gifts for Guns The first Gifts for Guns event was held in Santa Clarita on April 18 and 19, 2009, in the parking lot next to the “Do It Center” store. The event attracted a steady stream of residents who wanted to safely surrender firearms they no longer wanted. Throughout the weekend, 255 guns were turned in, including 128 pistols, 91 rifles and 36 shotguns. Among those guns, were two assault rifles and one assault pistol. More than $22,000 worth of gift cards were distributed during the event. One Santa Clarita resident dropped off 11 guns, including a Thompson .45 caliber submachine gun, an SKS assault rifle and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Another resident dropped off a TEC-9 assault pistol with an expanded capacity magazine. Your Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Station is looking for innovative ways to keep our community safe. These firearms that were on the streets and in our homes will be safely disposed of and will never hurt anyone.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Haunted Jailhouse What better way to reach out to the community than to invite children and families to spend the day with us at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station? More than a thousand children from all over the Santa Clarita Valley attended the 20th Annual Haunted Jailhouse event on Saturday, October 25, 2009. The event included Sheriff ’s Department displays, moon bounces, music, food and plenty of game booths provided by nonprofit organizations from throughout the Santa Clarita Valley. Residents even visited the “Dunk a Deputy” booth for a chance at dunking station commander Captain Anthony La Berge to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. The annual event provides a safe, fun and adventurous Halloween outing for the community to enjoy every year. It also helps us continue to build community partnerships. Will we see you next year? We hope so! The Haunted Jailhouse event has been held at the station for 20 years. On average, more than 3,500 residents attend, and more than $5,000 is raised for charitable organizations in our community each year.

Operation Kid Print The safety of children in Santa Clarita is a primary goal of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station. In 2009, the city of Santa Clarita and Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Station launched the Operation Kid Print program. The event made its debut on Sunday, October 18, 2009, during the Kid’s Expo at Golden Valley High School. More than 450 local kids were fingerprinted at the event. Sheriff ’s deputies from the Santa Clarita Station, supported by volunteers and explorers, worked quickly to keep up with the line of kids who passed through the mobile command post vehicle to get their small fingerprints taken at the event. As the children waited patiently to get printed, several had an opportunity to take their picture next to a life-size display depicting a deputy and his K-9 companion. They got to see just how they might look in the future as a deputy sheriff. The new Kid Print booklet contains information that could be valuable if a child is lost or abducted. Parents were also given other valuable information pertaining to child safety. Catch us at the next event or start the process right now at www.scvsheriff.com.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

National Night Out Against Crime The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station hosted National Night Out Against Crime on Tuesday, August 4, 2009. Deputies were joined by the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the California Highway Patrol and Santa Clarita residents in a show of unity and solidarity against crime. Sponsored for the last 25 years by the National Association of Town Watch, National Night Out is a nationwide event in which over 11,000 communities participate to promote community safety. The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station looks at the event as a wonderful opportunity to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, generate support for local crime prevention efforts and programs, and send a message that our neighborhoods and residents are organized and vigilant.

Community Shred & E-Waste Disposal Day The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station and the city of Santa Clarita teamed up to bring Santa Clarita residents two Safe and Secure Community Shred and E-Waste Disposal Days in 2009. The events were very successful. More than 1,800 Santa Clarita residents drove through the designated disposal areas bringing 4,000 boxes of personal documents. Deputies and Confidential Data Destruction representatives estimate 60 tons of old tax records, bank statements, cancelled checks and other papers were shredded into tiny pieces at the events. In addition, deputies f illed large trucks with more than 200 pallets of televisions, monitors, computers and other electronics. Nearly 70 boxes of old medication were also turned in. With identity theft being one of the fastest growing crimes in America, the goal of the program is to reduce the possibility of becoming a victim. Shredding personal papers and unwanted financial documents is one of the best ways to protect yourself.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Community Toy Store The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station’s annual Toy Drive brings joy to less fortunate families from throughout the Santa Clarita Valley every year and 2009 was no exception. The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station’s Toy Store concept is unique because it offers parents the opportunity to be directly involved with “shopping” for their children’s toys rather than just being given a random toy. These families enjoy taking part in the true holiday spirit of giving. This concept also offers the parents the flexibility of choosing an ageappropriate toy. The 2009 efforts began early in the year when vouchers were issued to every participating school in the Santa Clarita Valley. The vouchers are then given to families who were determined to be in need during the holiday season. The families then brought their voucher to the Toy Store in December. Santa Clarita residents, businesses, volunteer organizations and virtually every school district in the Santa Clarita Valley graciously donated toys, bicycles, gift cards, money, wrapping paper and time in order to make the Toy Store a success. Princess Cruises Community Foundation graciously donated $5,000 to the event in 2009. In addition, several other local businesses donated more than 200 gift cards for less fortunate teenagers. More than 450 families and 1,210 children benefited from this year’s Toy Store. Deputies distributed more than 3,500 toys and gift cards to children and teens. College of the Canyons graciously allowed the Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Station to use its facilities for the event. The day after the Toy Store ended, deputies from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station brought leftover toys to more than 100 sick and injured children at Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

COMMUNI T Y HERO The city of Santa Clarita and Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department recognized a local hero on Tuesday, February 24, 2009, at a City Council meeting. On behalf of Sheriff Lee Baca, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Captain Anthony La Berge presented Canyon Country resident Gary Borg with the Sheriff ’s Star Scroll, one of the highest honors given by the Sheriff ’s Department to individuals or organizations outside the department for heroic acts. Gary Borg acted quickly, calmly and in a heroic manner when he saw two people in peril in the water at his local community swimming pool near Rosehaven Lane and Rue Entree, Canyon Country. Faced with a sudden and unexpected life threatening emergency, he immediately reacted, jumped into the water and pulled both victims out of the pool. He performed Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on one of the victims while nearby teenagers dialed 9-1-1 and began tending to the second victim. Neither person was conscious or breathing. Gary managed to revive one of the victims and rendered aid until emergency services personnel arrived. As a direct result of his quick and courageous actions, the victims received immediate emergency medical attention and one of them survived the near drowning. The surviving victim has since made a full recovery.

Deputy Recognized for Outstanding Service The Santa Clarita Elks Lodge held its annual Community Service Awards night on March 9, 2009. At the event, Santa Clarita Valley Deputy Lucas Darland was recognized for his outstanding service to the community. Deputy Darland, an eight-year veteran of the department, was assigned to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station in March of 2005. Lucas has made a positive impact on the community ever since. He was promoted to Field Training Officer and has trained several newly assigned deputy sheriffs with the same community principals and work ethic, ultimately instilling in them the same positive attitude he projects daily. He clearly demonstrates his vast knowledge of the law on a day-to-day basis. His unique ability to positively influence those around him and his proactive approach to protecting our great community are exemplary. In 2008, Deputy Darland made 317 arrests in Santa Clarita — one of which involved out-of-state drug traffickers who had a large quantity of marijuana secreted in their vehicle. More recently, he detained a local gang member for questioning regarding several vandalism incidents. That detention ultimately led to a search warrant operation. The operation resulted in the recovery of a gun, stolen property, and the arrest of a second gang member believed to be responsible for three armed robberies. At the event, Deputy Darland was described as a hard working deputy who puts the protection and preservation of his community at the top of his priorities. Deputy Darland was also recognized on October 2, 2009, by Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who spoke before members of the Santa Clarita Valley legal and law enforcement community during the fifth annual Law Appreciation Day — an event hosted by the Santa Clarita Bar Association. Several law enforcement officials and community heroes were recognized at the event for their outstanding contributions to the Santa Clarita community. Darland was also recognized in June 2009 by the Santa Clarita Masonic Lodge. “Deputy Darland projects such a positive influence on all those around him,” said Captain J. Anthony La Berge. “He always has a smile on his face and just has a knack for tracking down the bad guys and protecting our community,” he added. Congratulations Deputy Darland! Thank you for making Santa Clarita such a great and safe place to live, work and play.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Captain Recognized for Crime Rate Reduction At the February 10, 2009 City Council Meeting, Santa Clarita Station Captain J. Anthony La Berge and the staff of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station were recognized for their efforts in reducing the overall crime rate for the city of Santa Clarita by nearly 15 percent in 2008, and realizing year-over-year reductions in crime for four years dating back to 2004. Captain La Berge stood shoulder to shoulder with many station personnel as he accepted the “Silver Plate,” one of the city’s highest achievement recognition awards. Inscribed on the back of the award read: “In special recognition of SCV Sheriff Captain Anthony La Berge for extraordinary leadership and great work in helping keep our City safe,” Mayor Frank Ferry and the Santa Clarita City Council, February 10, 2009.

American Red Cross 2009 Hometown Heroes Two Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s personnel were recognized at the 2009 American Red Cross Hometown Heroes awards ceremony. First Responder Hero | Deputy Mark Wood | Deputy Mark Wood was recognized for life saving efforts he performed on a suicidal man after responding to a call on Wednesday, August 27, 2009. The man had attempted suicide and was unresponsive, not breathing, and had no pulse. Deputy Wood joined American Medical Response Emergency Medical Technicians and several Santa Clarita good samaritans in attempting to revive the man. The patient was revived and was transported to a local area hospital in critical condition. Adult Hero | Patricia Deyoung | On January 31, 2009, an elderly Santa Clarita man suffering from dementia was reported missing. The man had gone for a walk and never returned. The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station initiated immediate search protocol. Deputies utilized numerous resources but could not locate the man. Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Secretary Patricia Deyoung was working that evening and learned of the critical missing person. On her way home from work, Patricia observed an elderly male walking slowly on Soledad Canyon Road in Canyon Country. She stopped and noticed the man appeared confused and lost. A deputy responded and confirmed the elderly man was the critical missing person. Patricia Deyoung’s actions caused the prompt and safe return of the elderly man to his family. Patricia’s actions were selfless and honorable.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Hundreds of community members, business leaders, deputy sheriffs, firefighters, California Highway Patrol officers, American Medical Response personnel, friends and family members joined at the Racer’s Edge Indoor Karting facility on June 25, 2009, to raise money for children in need and other causes. The event, dubbed “Fast and Furious First Responders,” welcomed representatives from Santa Clarita emergency service agencies who volunteered their time and, in partnership with Racer’s Edge, brought an indoor kart racing challenge to local government, the public and business entities. The first responders challenged each other and offered a unique opportunity for the public to race against a police officer, deputy sheriff, paramedic or firefighter — all for a great cause. The byline for the event was “SCV Sheriffs & CHP Officers Seen Racing.” The Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Station was joined by an estimated 400 residents throughout the evening at the five hour charity event. More than 200 people raced while others cheered them on and enjoyed the music, food and prizes. By the time the checkered flag was dropped, the event had raised more than $6,000, a substantial portion of which was donated to the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department’s 999 for Kids program. The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station and other sheriff ’s stations throughout Los Angeles County host events in support of the annual 999 for Kids fundraiser. If people in the community need emergency help, they call 9-1-1, but if deputies need emergency help they radio “999.” In 1985, the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department and the Department of Children and Family Services joined together and developed the 999 for Kids program as a way to help physically and mentally challenged children throughout Los Angeles County who are victims of the most severe cases of child abuse, neglect and family violence. Those interested in donating to the 999 for Kids program can visit the Web site at www.999forkids.org.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

The SCV Sheriff ’s Foundation was organized under the laws of the state of California and exists as a nonprofit public benefit corporation. Formed in 1984 under the name Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Booster Club, the organization was created by local residents whose desire was to assist the local law enforcement effort in a tangible way. Since that time, this volunteer organization has purchased equipment and provided help to accomplish the law enforcement mission in the Santa Clarita Valley. In addition to providing much needed police equipment and crime prevention materials, the funds raised by the foundation help civilian volunteers, the Law Enforcement Explorer program and the Reserve Deputy program at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station. Some items the Foundation has purchased or provided funding support for are: • Narcotics prevention vehicle

• Child fingerprint identification kits

• Bicycle patrol uniforms and equipment

• Search & Rescue radios

• Emergency Mobile Command Post trailer

• “McGruff ” — Crime prevention costume

• Equipment lockers

and coloring books

• Donations to Baker to Vegas Relay Race

• Explorer trips and competitions

• Search & Rescue vehicle painting

• Night scopes

• Fingerprinting equipment

• Helicopter equipment

• Drunk driving enforcement trailer

• Posse donations

• Training video equipment

• Reserve company donations

• Radio equipment for volunteers on patrol

• Community self-defense training

2009 was a year of transition with the organization’s name change and the adoption of new operational guidelines and bylaws. The year commenced with the board of directors participating in an in-depth review of its fundraising and organizational functions and efforts. After a considerable amount of debate, the board voted to update the club to a foundation and adopt the new name, now officially the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Foundation. You can find out more about the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Foundation on the Web at www.scvsheriffsfoundation.org.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

In 2009, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station had three station family members proudly serving on active military duty in protection of our country.

Deputy Antonio Delgadillo | United States Marine Corps, Chief Warrant Officer. Antonio is currently serving with the Military Transition Team out of Camp Pendleton. He left for Iraq on February 8, 2008, and is expected to return to protecting the residents of the Santa Clarita Valley in late January 2010. Antonio has been a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department for more than 14 years and has been assigned to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station for nearly four years.

Reserve Deputy Rafael Borrayo | United States Army, Captain, Airborne Special Operations. Rafael is currently serving in Iraq. He has been deployed to Basrah, the largest city in southern Iraq. Rafael has been a reserve deputy at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station for five years working patrol in f ield operations. Rafael is not expected to return to the United States until March 2011.

Station Civilian Volunteer Steven May | United States Air Force, Security Forces Squadron. Steve is currently serving out of the Channel Islands for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Steve is a station volunteer who came on board in 1999 and works with the station posse. He has selflessly given his time to the service of this community and our country. Steve is expected to return in July 2010. We missed having these three individuals around the station in 2009 and look forward to their safe return. Their commitment to our station and the service of our country is a direct reflection of the kind of people they are.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Did you know the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department deployed 150 deputy sheriffs to Washington, D.C., for the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama held on January 20, 2009? One of those deputies was from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station: Deputy Patrick Rissler, a 29-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department and a graduate of Academy Class 203. At the inauguration, Deputy Rissler joined 25 other law enforcement agencies and about 8,000 uniformed officers from throughout the country to assist the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in providing security for the event. In order to have peace officer powers in this jurisdiction, Deputy Rissler and the others were sworn in as United States Marshals on January 19. They received a thorough briefing and started the following day at 3 a.m. He was very thankful for the cold weather gear provided by the department since it was in the 20 degree range at the start of the day. Deputy Rissler worked a security detail along Pennsylvania Avenue and Constitution Avenue. He proudly represented the Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Station, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with off icers from the Louisville Police Department, the Detroit Police Department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol. He described the trip and experience as exhausting but rewarding, and one he will never forget. He was proud to represent the SCV Sheriff ’s Station and our community at this historical event. He brought back some photographs to share with the station and the community.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

C.E.R.T.

Community Emergency Response Team The Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) began in 1999 and started operations at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station this year. CERT members are volunteers who are trained in basic skills to assist the sworn officers and the community in times of substantial emergencies or natural disasters. The training includes learning the Incident Command System, basic first aid and search and rescue. The basic skills assist the community in identifying, organizing and utilizing people and resources until trained first responders are available. CERT members receive quarterly training to increase their skills. During emergency situations, CERT members are also prepared to perform non-emergency tasks allowing trained emergency response personnel to handle critical emergency situations. Several members of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station’s CERT are members of the countywide Rapid Response Team who are called out during mutual aid assistance at many major emergencies. They were some of the first volunteer responders to areas of the Station Fire.

Are you aware that Santa Clarita has a group of concerned citizens that serve as a liaison between the community and the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station? The Community Advisory Committee is not a civilian review board, but a group whose mission is to develop a better understanding between the Sheriff ’s Department and the residents of Santa Clarita through education and communication. They work closely with station personnel concerning law enforcement issues in our community. Community Advisory Committee members are all classified as Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department volunteers. Each member undergoes an extensive background check and Sheriff ’s Department approval prior to being appointed by the station captain to serve on the CAC. Also, many of the members receive extensive training through the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department. That training can include the Sheriff ’s Department’s organizational structure, policies and procedures, complaint and commendation procedures, internal investigations, use of force guidelines and reporting, Peace Officer Bill of Rights, review of patrol training procedures, ride-a-longs with deputies to observe field operations, criminal justice system protocols and crime trend analysis. Many members have even had the chance to receive additional department insight in areas such as the Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB), Contract Law, K-9, emergency management, the advanced Community Academy, the Arson Explosives Detail, and homeland security. The Community Advisory Committee was formed in April 1993. Its members consult with the station captain and staff on matters relating to public safety and the community as follows: • • • • • • •

Assists in determining the law enforcement focus for the community. Represents the views of the community relating to law enforcement efforts, programs, needs and concerns. Advises the station on matters relating to public perception of law enforcement issues, services and performance. Enlists community support for local law enforcement activities. Educates the community on law enforcement protocols, needs and goals. Assists in identifying programs that are uniquely suited to the community’s needs. Works toward establishing and maintaining community partnerships.

Over the years, some of the key accomplishments of the Community Advisory Committee have been the Teen Court program, establishing the local CrimeTip Hotline, conducting Town Hall meetings, obtaining supplies for patrol vehicles and sponsoring the Community Academy. The committee presents an Outstanding Service Award to a member of both the sworn and professional staff of the station quarterly.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

The Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Station continued its extensive community outreach efforts in 2009. With the primary goal of maintaining community crime prevention partnerships, the Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Station opened its doors like never before. By sharing and providing information to public and local community press outlets, offering the public safety ride-along program, conducting station tours, updating content daily on our interactive Web site and utilizing the latest in technology, we were able to keep the public well apprised, involved and protected throughout the year. The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station relies on the immediate dissemination and flow of information to best serve the needs of our growing community. Public safety related community services are available via the Internet on the station’s Web site www.scvsheriff.com 24-hours a day.

SCVSheriff.com • Unique Web site visitors: 50,039 • Total Web site visitors: 73,988 • Total Web site page views: 210,994 • News Room total page views: 97,942 • Total daily content subscribers: 2,044 • Online crime/nuisance tips received: 330 • Press Releases written and posted: 155 • Press Advisories written and posted: 12 • Community questions answered: 323 • Performance comments & suggestions: 244 • Public Live Scan appointments: 377 • e-Services online requests processed: 542

The current version of our Web site was launched in September 2007 in partnership with the city of Santa Clarita and has been a huge success. It has helped us educate the public on crime prevention matters, understand what the community wants and expects from its Sheriff ’s Department, and provides us with the means to notify all of our 250,000 residents in a moment’s notice of current information critical to public safety by utilizing the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Alert Web notification systems. These Web notification sections, Sheriff e-Notify and Sheriff e-Alert provide a forum where community members can sign up to receive various information related to the latest news, press releases, Neighborhood Watch, SCV Alerts, the city of Santa Clarita’s Sheriff ’s Business Alliance, youth programs and “What’s Happening” current events directly from Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station. The site even provides an area for online crime tip reporting and a feature that allows community members to ask law enforcement related questions. The SCV Sheriff ’s News Room area of the site is frequently updated with the latest press releases and provides instant notif ication capabilities and direct informational feeds to community based news outlets and members of the community who have signed up to receive them. Working together, we realized the importance of providing real time information to our very technologically savvy community by using today’s advanced platforms and taking our law enforcement to an interactive level of communication and service. In 2009, we continued our community outreach goals by understanding the vision and needs of our community and packaging it into a comprehensive and informative interactive online community. Visit us soon at www.scvsheriff.com. The city of Santa Clarita, Los Angeles County and the Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Station — working together to reach out to our community like never before!

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

During June 2009, Santa Clarita proudly welcomed the 43rd annual Western States Police and Fire Games (WSPFG). The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station was excited to have the games take place in our community. Station personnel, volunteers and reserve deputies provided security and assistance for nearly every event in Santa Clarita throughout the week. The Los Angeles Sheriff ’s Athletic Association (LASAA), under the direction of its President Richard Barrantes, sponsored and hosted the 2009 event. The Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department and Los Angeles County Fire Department co-hosted the event with the support from the County of Los Angeles and the city of Santa Clarita. Santa Clarita welcomed more than 5,000 police, sheriff, and fire personnel and their families from more than 400 emergency service agencies throughout the United States, some from as far away as New Hampshire, Hawaii and Florida. All told, it is estimated that more than 10,000 visitors and participants poured into the Santa Clarita Valley for the seven-day Olympic-style event, including nearly 500 from the Los Angeles Police Department, more than 350 from the California Department of Corrections, and over 100 from the San Francisco Police Department. The participants competed in more than 65 individual sporting events, including boxing, baseball, football, hockey, basketball and swimming. Your Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station was well represented at the games with 17 deputy sheriffs participating in various events, many of them winning medals and top honors. Professional staff members, volunteers and family members from the station also participated in many other facets, including score keeping, security, judging and coordination of individual events. All told, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station had more than 50 deputies, sergeants, lieutenants, reserve deputies, explorers and volunteers involved in events and functions.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Station Year in Review

Station Event Participants & Results Event(s)

Participant

Archery

Dep.

Boxing

Dep.

Mountain Bike

Silver Medal

Sammy Soehnel

Silver Medal

Dep.

Half Marathon

2- Gold Medals

Robert Wilkinson

Dep.

Equestrian

John Skikas

Result

Diane Short

2- Gold 1- Silver

Ana Rubalcava

Bronze Medal

Ice Hockey

Dep.

Blake Carpenter

Silver Medal

Soccer

Dep.

Michael Deegan

Bronze Medal

Michael McPheeters

Bronze Medal

Soccer

Dep.

Softball Wrestling

Dep. Toby Dep.

Coe

Gabriel Barlow

Station Event Participants Event(s) Participant Baseball

Dep.

Allen Hodge

Baseball

Dep.

Roland De La Maza

Baseball

Dep.

Brian Rooney

Ice Hockey

Dep.

Robert Morris

Mountain Bike

Dep.

Chris Wyatt

Surfing| Triathlon| Cycling

Dep.

John Leitelt

Soccer

Dep.

Geoff Elliott

Event Coordinator Angling

Dep.

Baseball

Sgt.

Brad Szarkowski Darren Harris

Lt.

Brenda Cambra

Lt.

Mathew Dunlop

Ron Olfert

Res. Dep.

Mike Terry

Sgt.

Richard Cohen

Res. Dep.

Victor Monroe

Dep.

Patrick Rissler

Res. Dep.

Raffi Maronian

Exp.

Anthony Lopez

Res. Dep.

George Dooley

Res. Dep.

Victor Duran

Dep.

Laurie Baylis

Exp.

Adriana Perez

Dep.

Artie Thompson

Dep.

Travis Kelly

Vol.

Brent Bollar

Exp.

Anders Torjesen

Exp.

Joey Galate

Dep.

Michael Marshall

Vol.

Phil Zablocki

Steve May

Res. Dep.

Vol.

Gus Ruiz

Dennis Sande

Res. Dep.

Robert Lewis

Res. Dep.

Sgt.

Dep.

Bodybuilding

Silver Medal

Station Volunteers | Security | Other

Res. Dep.

Station Event Coordinators

Gold Medal

Robert Holden

Scott Shoemaker John Sanna

Res. Dep.

Harvey Heischuber

Stephen Mcintyre

Vol.

Hal Shiffman

Vol.

David Hauser

Res. Dep.

Vol.

William Kimball

Timothy Gunther

Res. Dep.

Fernando Porlucas

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

The games were filled with many personal stories, such as the story of the “Wongs” softball team and Deputy Robert “Bobby” Corrales. The Wongs team from the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department was a dominate softball team for more than 15 years winning gold, silver and bronze medals at a number of events in several states while participating in the Police and Fire Games and other tournaments. It shared its success with leader Bobby Corrales, known by many and his teammates as “Papa Wong.” Bobby, a veteran deputy sheriff, spent 24 years with the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department, including service time in Santa Clarita at the Superior Court. Unfortunately, Bobby lost a hard fought battle with leukemia on April 23, 2009. The former Wong team members, now further along in their careers, got together and decided to come out of retirement after seven years of not playing softball to participate in games in memory of Bobby. The team members could have entered in the senior category, but instead opted to enter into the open category to face the best in young softball talent and competition, and to show respect for the Wongs team that Bobby was so much a part of. The team honored Bobby’s family at the opening game and wore a patch with Bobby’s retired number on it, Bobby “Papa Wong” Corrales — #11. They didn’t field a shortstop (one of Bobby’s positions) for the first batter of every game. The Wongs battled all week long, making it to the medal rounds despite several injuries. Down by 11 runs in the bottom of the final inning of an elimination game and facing a challenging team of Los Angeles Police Officers, it looked as though the “old Wongs’” dream was over. The Wongs huddled around Bobby’s jersey, ironically number 11. That’s when something miraculous and magical happened. It was as if Bobby stepped onto the field once again. The Wongs kept hitting and scoring, ultimately acquiring 12 runs to win the game and secure a bronze medal. Numerous sporting, entertainment and social events took place throughout the week as part of the WSPFG. All the events and social functions were free and open to the public, including live bands playing at the Hyatt Regency Valencia Hotel; bodybuilding competition at College of the Canyon’s, Performing Arts Center; and boxing at Santa Clarita Studios. Many Santa Clarita residents and businesses also got directly involved with the games. Volunteers from our community, provided assistance with registration, merchandise sales, score keeping, timekeeping, logistics and operations support throughout the games. The sporting events offered some great competition and entertainment.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

It is projected that the 2009 Western States Police and Fire Games in Santa Clarita brought a substantial economic benefit to the community as a result of visitors spending estimated at more than $8 million. The week-long event was generously supported by a variety of businesses and community partners, including the County of Los Angeles, the city of Santa Clarita, William S. Hart Union School District, College of the Canyons, ALADS, Coca-Cola, Southern California Edison, Santa Clarita Studios and more. “This was a big week for our hospitality businesses in the Santa Clarita Valley, with most of our hotels noting they were at full occupancy as a result of the event,” said city of Santa Clarita Mayor Frank Ferry. “In addition to the positive economic benefit the event brought to our hotels, restaurants, and retail, an event of this scale positions the Santa Clarita Valley as an ideal sports venue for other big events of this size. The city of Santa Clarita, in partnership with tourism businesses and tourism partners, will absolutely be reaching out to attract similar events in the future.” Throughout the week, events were featured in numerous local and regional print editorials, which garnered immeasurable awareness for the Santa Clarita Valley as an ideal sports destination. The Western States boxing finals at Santa Clarita Studios was featured on the Fox 11 News. Additional media coverage included American Police Beat, FireRescue.com, The Signal, Ventura County Star, Lancaster Local News, California Sheriffs Magazine, Peace Officers Association of Los Angeles County Journal, Santa Clarita City Briefs, Officer.com, WordPress.com KHTS AM 1220, American Police Beat, Firehouse World, Daily News and KTTV FOX 11 LA.

2009 WSPFG Operational Officials Michael Graham

President of the California Police Athletic Federation Assistant Sheriff (Retired) — Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department

Richard Barrantes

Executive Director Chief — Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department President — Los Angeles Sheriff ’s Athletic Association (LASAA)

Jonna Wiltshire

Operations Director Sergeant — Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department

Timothy Klement

Sports Director Sergeant — Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Other Programs • Teen Court • Community Court • Neighborhood Watch • Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) • Vacation Checks • Community Shred & E-Waste Disposal • False Alarm Prevention • Vacant House & Business Checks

Santa Clarita Valley Station has many innovative crime prevention and community intervention programs. Many of these were developed in direct partnership with the County of Los Angeles, the city of Santa Clarita, and/or various community organizations. The purpose of these programs is to enhance law enforcement services, improve community interaction and outreach, reduce or prevent crime and create a safer community for us all. The efforts were developed and put in place in response to the needs of our community. The goal is to provide the most effective and innovative programs to protect our residents. Each year, new programs are adopted, developed or amended that help your sheriff ’s station provide and maintain optimum service levels.

• Live Scan Public Fingerprinting • Community Academy • DUI Checkpoints & Saturation Patrol • Click It or Ticket Campaign • Disaster Communications (Hamwatch) • Fire Watch • Bicycle & T3 Paseo Patrols • School Safety Presentations • Share Tolerance - Stop Hate and Respect Everyone (S.H.A.R.E.) • Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers • Motorcycle Safety Public Service Announcement • Deputy Leadership Institute (D.L.I.) • Teen Scene Unplugged • Security Access Monitoring (SAM) • Operation Identification • Emergency Key (e-Key) • City of Santa Clarita Graffiti Task Force • Fraud Identity Theft Education

Some programs, like the award winning Fraud and Identity Theft (F.I.T.E.), were created to help combat one of the fastest growing crimes in America identity theft. The program, created in partnership with the city of Santa Clarita and the Santa Clarita Chamber of Commerce, was developed to educate, protect and provide residents, seniors and businesses with the knowledge needed to avoid becoming victims of fraud and identity theft. In 2009, deputies taught FITE classes throughout the Santa Clarita Valley. Still other programs, such as the Special Needs Registry, were developed to help protect those Santa Clarita residents who need it most. The city of Santa Clarita and Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Station began the Special Needs Registry program to help Santa Clarita Deputies locate missing persons who do not have the ability to tell them where they live due to a diminished mental capacity, such as Alzheimers, dementia or Autism. Residents can register their loved ones on the Internet and provide pertinent information and pictures. This information helps deputies in the event they come across a person who needs help in our community or they are called upon to try and locate someone with special needs who is missing. As the Special Needs Registry has grown, Project Lifesaver was introduced by the city of Santa Clarita to help locate missing persons with more severe special needs. Project Lifesaver works through the use of a radio frequency locating device. The person with special needs wears a wristband and when the caretaker reports his or her family member is missing, station personnel can activate antennas with receivers to track a signal that helps them locate the missing person. Personnel from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station never stop looking for and developing innovative programs that will aid in protecting our ever growing and changing community.

(F.I.T.E.)

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

One of the challenges for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station has been to find the most efficient means to reach out to our business community with the latest in crime awareness and prevention techniques to help stop business crime. The solution we found to do that is the city of Santa Clarita Sheriff ’s Business Alliance. Developed and made successful by Sergeant AJ Rotella, the alliance focuses solely on business crime prevention, education, training and networking. Monthly workshops were held throughout 2009 based on community feedback obtained from business owners to target industry-specific requests for crime prevention training. Our program includes: Safe Banking Program, Security Access Monitoring Program, False Alarm Reduction Plan, Emergency Key Access Program, an Online Crime Prevention Resource Center, Crime Prevention Training Classes, Auto Identity Theft Prevention Program, Vendor and Solicitor Enforcement Plan, Emergency Enclosure Program and the dedicated Sheriff ’s Liaison to the City’s Business Community. The alliance has assisted Santa Clarita businesses and the community as a whole in reducing crime, and the impact of the program has been felt both locally, as well as nationally. Many members of the sheriff ’s station have become involved, as business-related issues are shared several times a week. In addition, the Business Relations Sergeant routinely meets with patrol deputies during briefing to provide new information and discuss related problems specific to our business community. Monthly workshops held by the business alliance have become so popular that several classes have reached capacity and have been repeated to meet the demand and interest from the community. More than 1,500 participants have attended one or more of the monthly workshops, which focus on different industries and crime prevention tips. The business alliance has created a true partnership between Santa Clarita, the Sheriff ’s Department, and our local business community.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Station Year in Review

The Commercial Vehicle Enforcement program funded by the city of Santa Clarita has already paid dividends in protecting our community from dangerous commercial vehicles, whose drivers are unlawfully traversing our local roadways and putting themselves and other motorists at risk. Accidents involving these large vehicles can have devastating and often tragic results. Deputy James Peterson, who is assigned to the program, has undergone extensive specialized training in commercial vehicle safety and compliance. He drives a specially equipped enforcement and inspection vehicle. It is his responsibility to ensure commercial vehicles within the city comply with California laws and regulations regarding safety, licensing and registration. In 2009, Deputy Peterson teamed up with the traffic deputies from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Station, Commercial Enforcement Officers from the California Highway Patrol and the city of Santa Clarita Department of Public Works General Services and Traffic and Transportation Planning Divisions, to conduct a number of checkpoint inspections. Many trucks are not in compliance with the law try to avoid freeway traffic or other enforcement efforts, only causing more traffic and unsafe conditions for our motorists on local roadways. Some of the equipment and other violations discovered on these commercial trucks can include steering concerns, inadequate brakes, lighting violations, tires and wheels in disrepair, and frame or suspension malfunctions. Deputy Peterson also makes sure trucks are in compliance with federal and state loading requirements. Commercial vehicles operating in violation of weight requirements can lead to very serious traffic collisions. Deputy Peterson utilizes portable scales to weigh the trucks during enforcement stops. Since the inception of the program, he has issued more than 1,200 citations and taken over 150 unsafe or improperly registered vehicles off the road, undoubtedly saving lives.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

In response to the hundreds of complaints the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station receives annually regarding illegal off-highway vehicle activity, an Off-Road Enforcement program was developed in 2001. Select personnel are trained in Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) laws and the use of the dual-purpose motorcycles in both street and rugged terrain applications in a rigorous 80hour training program developed by the Department’s Motorcycle Training Unit. The program has become a huge success by providing deputies with the ability to access rugged trails and foothill areas to issue citations and arrest individuals for OHV violations and other illegal activity. Every year since 2003, Santa Clarita Station has been awarded grants from the State of California for OHV enforcement. These grants have ranged from $20,000 the first year, to $98,000 in 2008/2009. The program receives additional funding from the city of Santa Clarita as well as the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department. Santa Clarita Station now has two sergeants and 10 deputies trained in OHV enforcement. Additionally, the station has a fleet of 10 dual purpose motorcycles which have entirely been paid for with grant funds. In 2009, the team conducted more than 60 enforcement operations issuing hundreds of citations and warnings. Every year, the deputies issue the highest number of citations and warnings for illegal OHV activity in the entire state. In 2004, legislation was also enacted to return 100 percent of illegal OHV citation revenue to the issuing local government to encourage on-going OHV enforcement. This has resulted in an estimated $80,000 in citation revenue to the County of Los Angeles annually with 100 percent of the cost of this enforcement being paid for with grant funds. The team frequently assists with search and rescue operations and the search for suspect(s) in both urban and rural areas. Additionally, the off-road team has been added to the Escape Plan at Pitches Detention Center. Team members are immediately called in and deployed into the foothill wash areas surrounding correctional facilities if a county jail inmate attempts to escape. In 2009, the Off-road team was deployed several times during wildfires in both the Santa Clarita and Crescenta Valley station areas. This became an efficient and effective way to conduct evacuations in narrow remote mountainous areas where ingress and egress is difficult.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

S c h o o l Wat c h The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station joined in partnership with the city of Santa Clarita, the County of Los Angeles and the Sulphur Springs School District to launch the “School Watch Program.” The program is modeled after the “Neighborhood Watch Program” and encourages community members who live near local elementary schools to stay aware of activity that happens on and around the campuses. Those who notice any suspicious activity, such as vandalism, graffiti, burglary or unsupervised children on a campus after school hours, have a direct partnership with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and are encouraged to contact the station at the first sign of such activity or trouble. The goal of the program is to create a buffer zone of protection on and around our elementary schools in the Santa Clarita Valley, protect our children, prevent unlawful use and abuse of our school campuses and create the safest possible learning

The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station currently has six school-resource deputies working under the supervision of Sergeant Dean Currie. Each school-resource deputy is assigned to junior and senior high schools. The school-resource deputies and the COBRA Unit receive specialized training in rapid response. These specially trained deputies are ready to respond at a moment’s notice to any school related incident in our community. All deputies receive realistic training involving scenarios held on school campuses throughout the Santa Clarita Valley to ensure they are prepared in the unlikely event there is an emergency. The city of Santa Clarita and County of Los Angeles are already ahead of the curve when it comes to protecting our school campuses and our students. With the funding and placement of these deputies directly on our school campuses, there is a direct resource immediately available to students and school staff. School resource deputies develop a rapport with many of the students and staff members. This direct partnership and development of trust, coupled with the deputies being on campus, creates a unique avenue of communication, safety, and understanding. Many times throughout the school year, these deputies receive information directly from students and staff members of potential problems developing. The deputies are able to take immediate action and prevent these potential problems from arising at all, or stop them from escalating. The launch of the School Watch Program in March 2008 has also added extra eyes and ears around many of our schools. Since its launch, 15 elementary schools in Santa Clarita have adopted the program. The ultimate goal is to maintain our school campuses and surrounding areas as safe zones free of gangs, drugs, violence, crime and misuse.

environment. By involving school officials, teachers’ aids, Parent Teacher Association (PTA) members, and other selected individuals who live in

All schools in the William S. Hart School District are now equipped with cameras on campus that can be monitored from Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station. There is also video available for viewing when burglary or vandalism occurs. Several crimes have been solved by having these cameras in place in 2009.

proximity to the school, and creating a formal “School Watch” group, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and city of Santa Clarita hope to take school safety to the next level.

The city of Santa Clarita provides the primary funding for the deputies with supplemental funding by the County of Los Angeles and William S. Hart School District.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

The Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘s Department’s Success Through Awareness And Resistance (STAR) Unit provides drug, gang, bullying and violence prevention education to students and community members. Coordinated by deputy sheriffs assigned to the Department’s Leadership and Training Division, the STAR program is a collaborative effort between educators, students, parents and other community resources to raise awareness. The STAR Unit curriculum is designed to prevent the use of “gateway” drugs (alcohol, tobacco and marijuana) and violence among students. Prevention education promotes development of pro-social skills through value clarification programs that influence attitudes and behavior. The goal is to prevent anti-social behavior. This is accomplished by providing students with an understanding of the negative consequences associated with anti-social behavior and the benefits realized when they make decisions that help them achieve positive goals. During the 2008-09 year, STAR deputies assigned to the jurisdiction of the Santa Clarita Valley taught in every elementary school. Partial funding for the program was provided by the city of Santa Clarita. The deputies taught a total of 967 lessons to 5,666 students in the fifth and sixth grades. In addition to the lessons, STAR deputies spent time with the students on campus during lunch, recesses, and before and after school. They also organized STAR culmination ceremonies where the students who completed the program received STAR T-shirts and culmination certificates. Ten parent education classes were also provided and approximately 652 parents attended. Topics included Internet safety, school violence, bullying, narcotics prevention and consequences of gang involvement. STAR deputies also teamed up with the Santa Clarita Graff iti Task Force, incorporating an anti-graff iti message to encourage students to help keep Santa Clarita graff iti-free. STAR deputies also held 13 Red Ribbon assemblies at six schools in Santa Clarita. In addition, one STAR deputy participated in the Vital Intervention and Directional Alternatives (VIDA) program, which focuses on students who are in need of intervention to get them back on the path to success.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Every year, the city of Santa Clarita, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station and local high schools join in partnership to conduct the Every 15 Minutes program. This emotionally charged program is an event designed to dramatically instill teenagers with the consequences associated with drinking alcohol, reckless driving and poor choices. The program challenges students to think about personal safety and the responsibility of making mature decisions. The goal of this powerful, high impact and very emotional program is to educate all individuals regarding the severe dangers awaiting those who make poor choices, particularly those related to reckless driving, speed contests, and drinking alcohol and driving. Deputies join forces with school off icials and select students to “drive” the message home. Several students are taken from classes at the start of the day, as if they had been “lost” in a tragic incident. They are joined by other participants at a driving under the influence (D.U.I.) simulated collision scene, which is set up near the school for the junior and senior classes to view, depicting fatalities and serious injuries to several students. During many of the programs, the Air-5 rescue helicopter from the Department’s Aero Bureau is used to simulate an airlift of a critically injured student to a local hospital. Several other “injured” students are treated at the scene by the Los Angeles County Fire Department and taken to a local hospital. The drunk driver is arrested and taken to the Santa Clarita Superior Court where a simulated conviction for manslaughter occurs. Following the school demonstration and court proceedings, the program participants visit the Santa Clarita Valley Youth Grove at Central Park and the Eternal Valley Mortuary. The Youth Grove is a centralized location in the city of Santa Clarita dedicated to Santa Clarita youth who have died in traffic related incidents. It provides a safe, identifiable location for young people and community members to remember the youth we have lost. City officials speak to the program participants at the Youth Grove. The students involved in the 2-day program then visit a local hotel for dinner where community members who have experienced real-life drunk driving related tragedies in their family and counselors speak about how it feels to lose a loved one in a drunk driving related incident. The student participants draft a letter that is given to their parents which begins with the phrase: “Yesterday I was killed by a drunk driver and I never got to tell you ...” Finally, an assembly is held at the hosting high school for the entire junior and senior class where several guest speakers, who had family members killed in crashes in the Santa Clarita Valley in past years, convey their strong and emotional messages. The program sends a poignant reminder about the dangers associated with poor life choices.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

The Sheriff ’s Teen Traff ic Offender Program (STTOP) is an innovative intervention program to educate young drivers and their parents about bad driving practices. The program is designed to intervene when a young driver displays poor judgment or dangerous driving behavior. How does it work? | STTOP will take the information phoned in or submitted online about the driver, his or her vehicle and the dangerous driving behavior, and use this information to try and identify the offender. After locating the driver, a sheriff ’s deputy conducts an intervention with the driver and his or her parents. The intent of the program is not to prosecute, but to correct and educate the offender and his or her parents. Getting parents involved is the key. Teenage drivers typically behave when their parents are in the car. The parents can’t always be present and peer pressure, or simply wanting to impress friends, often leads to serious collisions or even deadly consequences. The goal of STTOP is to make teens better and safer drivers, which in turn benef its all drivers on the roadways. Parents can expect an experienced, uniformed deputy sheriff from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station to come by their home unannounced to discuss their teen’s driving. This has a dramatic impact on the teen and the family as they are often times not sure why a deputy is knocking on their door. The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station conducted hundreds of these intervention visits to homes throughout the Santa Clarita Valley in 2009. During many of the visits, the deputy found the parents were not aware of their teenager’s dangerous driving behavior. They often express gratitude and appreciation for the program and the deputy’s visit. Report dangerous teen driving by calling 877-310-STOP (7867).

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

The VIDA (Vital Intervention and Directional Alternatives) program was established in February 2006 in the city of Santa Clarita as an intensive 16-week program to assist “at-risk” youth. VIDA is a collaborative effort between law enforcement agencies, the city of Santa Clarita, community-based organizations, volunteer United States Marine Corps drill instructors and other community volunteers. In providing the program, the city of Santa Clarita and the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station recognize the importance of offering counseling, family action, community service, physical training, team building and career guidance to wayward youth in our community. This is done in an effort to help redirect negative behavior of our youth, who may be tempted to explore gang affiliation, drug use or crime. Law enforcement personnel oversee the program and play a major role in the intervention and overall development of the youths. For many, successful completion of the program can result in new beginnings, a new outlook, and potentially the establishment of a lifetime of positive influences and contacts. The program is funded by the city of Santa Clarita. Grant money from the Federal Government’s Gang Resistance Education and Training program (GREAT) helps provide supplemental staffing on an as-needed basis. In 2009, forty-five teenage students graduated from VIDA classes 17 and 18. During the 16-week program, each teenager participated in close order drill, physical training, community service, educational talks and family counseling. During week 14 of the program, eight VIDA sites from all over Los Angeles County participated in the “VIDA Games.” The games test their skills in a number of competitive events and challenges, including a close order drill program. During the event, each class must execute various facing movements that are judged by a master sergeant from the Marine Corps. The knowledge portion of the games consists of a 20-question quiz where participants demonstrate their knowledge of VIDA history. The day is culminated by a physical training portion and each VIDA squad competes in various track and field events. After the events are completed, each VIDA site is given a combined score of all the events, ultimately crowning a VIDA Games Championship Class. The VIDA program participants from Santa Clarita classes 17 and 18 each won top honors at their respective games in 2009. In fact, the Santa Clarita VIDA program has taken first place at four consecutive VIDA Games dating back to 2008. During the final week of the VIDA program, participants take part in “The Crucible.” The Crucible is a grueling 13-mile overnight hike through the mountain trails at Whitney Canyon in Santa Clarita. Deputy Tim Ferrone, who runs the program, was recognized by Sheriff Lee Baca as the VIDA Deputy of the Year in 2008. The Santa Clarita program is also the only VIDA program in Los Angeles County with a dedicated informational Web page and online interest application at www.scvsheriff.com.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

The Santa Clarita Valley Youth Activities League (YAL) started in 1994 at the Val Verde Community Regional Park and is funded by the County of Los Angeles. There are currently 82 local children registered to attend the various Youth Activities League programs. On a daily basis, there are about 30 children between the ages of 7 to 17 who arrive at the park after school and participate in programs such as homework club, computer classes, half-hour hustle, as well as sports leagues like football, soccer, basketball and softball. The program is designed to provide education, adventure and activities for school-age children. This year, the Youth Activities League provided field trips to Disneyland, Magic Mountain, Universal Studios, the Gene Autry Museum, the Natural History Museum and the California Police Activities League Annual Beach Camp day. There are several clubs which are provided by the Youth Activities League, which the children are able to join. The most popular are the fishing, movie, bowling, golf and bike clubs. In 2009, the Bicycle Education and Registration (BEAR) program started. The program provides bicycle repair, safety, education and registration to participants. Each participant receives a bicycle at the end of the class. The Stop Hate and Respect Everyone (SHARE) program was also presented to YAL participants in 2009 at Val Verde Community Regional Park. Each year, the California Police Activities League provides the “Sacramento Experience” for high school age teens. The teens are able to tour the California State Capital building and learn about our government in a three day trip to Sacramento. In 2010, we hope to join the State Parks Off-Road program and introduce all terrain vehicles safety, laws and use to the Youth Activities League.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Although we honor their memory and sacrifice every day, there are certain times throughout the year the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department comes together with family members, friends, dignitaries, community leaders, elected officials and the community to recognize and remember our fallen heroes in special memorial ceremonies locally and throughout the nation. The month of May is a special time every year where law enforcement personnel join in partnership to pay respect and honor the memory of all those heroes in law enforcement who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the protection of our country and our communities. The 2009 ceremonies hit close to home for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station and the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department as local deputy Randy Hamson’s name was added to the Los Angeles County Peace Officers’ Memorial in Whittier, the California Peace Officers’ Memorial in Sacramento, and the National Peace Officers’ Memorial in Washington, D.C. Throughout the month of May, Santa Clarita deputies participated in several memorial events in remembrance of Randy, and all the law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty throughout our nation. Deputies and other personnel from the station were involved with the Department’s 2009 Memorial Torch Relay Run, which began on May 22, 2009, and ended on May 24, 2009. The relay run covered 339 miles and commenced at the Sherman Block Sheriff ’s Headquarters Building in Monterey Park traveling non-stop throughout the day and night to each mainland sheriff ’s station. The Memorial Run this year was dedicated to several Southern California peace officers and all those throughout the nation who have given their life in the protection of our communities and country. The Memorial Torch was passed from teams of runners, bikers, walkers and joggers who devoted their own time to honor the memory of all those who have fallen. The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station ran five legs of the Memorial Torch Relay Run covering 25.7 miles throughout the Santa Clarita Valley.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

The same torch was ultimately used on May 27, 2009, at the 40th annual Los Angeles County Peace Off icers’ Memorial Ceremony held in the beautiful Memorial Park at the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Training Academy and Regional Services (STARS) Center in Whittier to ignite the Peace Officers’ Memorial Wall in tribute to fallen law enforcement off icers, including Deputy Randy J. Hamson and Deputy Juan A. Escalante from the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department. Sheriff Lee Baca presided over the ceremony to commemorate the lives of officers who died in the line of duty while serving the residents of Los Angeles County. Attending the memorial ceremony were several federal, state and local dignitaries, in addition to family members, friends and co-workers of the fallen officers. The ceremony included musical performances by members of law enforcement and the release of white doves on behalf of the fallen officers.

Those honored and remembered were: Deputy Juan A. Escalante | Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department EOW: August 2, 2008

Officer Spree DeSha | Los Angeles Police Department EOW: September 12, 2008

Deputy Randy J. Hamson | Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department EOW: October 24, 2008

Officer Joseph P. Sanders | California Highway Patrol, Santa Fe Springs EOW: December 15, 2008

Lieutenant Curtis A. Massey | Culver City Police Department EOW: January 28, 2009 Bronze plaques with the names of all five officers joined the more than 470 law enforcement officers whose names are inscribed on the Memorial Wall to honor their dedication to duty and the ultimate sacrifice they made. Also in May, several deputies from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station joined in caravan to Sacramento for the 33rd annual California Peace Officers’ Memorial Ceremony in tribute to our fallen friend and hero.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

The deputies joined members of Randy’s family, Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy D. Baca, Santa Clarita Station Captain Anthony La Berge, former Santa Clarita Valley Station Captain Patti Minutello and thousands of law enforcement officers from around the nation. The deputies attended the somber ceremony, but bestowed high praise as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger honored our fallen comrade and his family. Ten other fallen law enforcement officers, whose names were added to the now more than 1,400 on the memorial, were also honored and remembered. Later in the year, deputies from the station continued their outpouring of support for Randy when they traveled to Washington, D.C., to honor Randy’s memory at the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Ceremony. Randy’s name joined more than 17,500 law enforcement officers who have been killed in the line of duty. Two motorcycle deputies from the station had the prestigious honor of escorting Randy’s family members and the families of peace officers from throughout the nation who had lost their loved ones in the line of duty. Deputies Travis Kelly and Michael Marshall were two of twelve Sheriff ’s Department motorcycle deputies who made the trip. Deputies Kelly and Marshall, along with hundreds of motorcycle officers from around the country, conducted an escort from Ronald Regan National Airport to area hotels for family members of the fallen officers. Deputy Kelly and the Sheriff ’s Department’s honor guard met Deputy Hamson’s family as they arrived in Washington, D.C. The family was escorted to its hotel. Throughout the week, the deputies escorted the families to various events including a candle light vigil and a visit to the Capitol building for the Peace Officers National Memorial Day ceremonies. Deputies Kelly and Marshall raised over $11,000 to pay for the Hamson family’s air fare and lodging. The deputies made personal sacrifices, overcoming logistical and f inancial obstacles to be a part of Randy’s dedication and memoriam in Washington, D.C.

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Both deputies said they were moved by the event and were proud to represent Santa Clarita and the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department in remembering all those who have given their life in the line of duty. The tributes to Randy’s memory continued throughout 2009. In a continuing show of support, the city of Santa Clarita, Santa Clarita deputies and Pardee Homes honored Randy and his family with a street dedication. Sheriff Lee Baca, Captain J. Anthony La Berge from Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department; Mayor Frank Ferry, City Manager Ken Pulskamp from the city of Santa Clarita; President and Chief Executive Officer Mike McGee Pardee Homes; and Rosalind Wayman, senior deputy for Supervisor Michael Antonovich, joined family members, friends and colleagues on November 24, 2009, to forever memorialize Randy. At the event, deputies from the station stood shoulder-to-shoulder in unity with members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the California Highway Patrol to pay tribute to Randy, and looked on as Randy’s brother Tim Hamson, a Los Angeles city firefighter, and Randy’s three sons climbed a Los Angeles County Fire Department ladder truck, which was draped with an American flag, and unveiled the brand new sign for Deputy Randy Hamson Court. The naming of the street and placement of the sign was made possible after Santa Clarita City Manager Ken Pulskamp pursued the matter and joined in partnership with Pardee Homes in June of 2009. Ultimately, a beautiful new community being developed by Pardee Homes, known as Golden Valley Ranch, was identified as the perfect location. Deputy Hamson was investigating a traff ic collision on Saturday, August 16, 2004, when he was struck by a car. After a long, hard-fought battle, he succumbed to his injuries on October 24, 2008. “The loss of Deputy Randy Hamson was tragic for the Sheriff ’s Department and the entire Santa Clarita community,” said Mayor Frank Ferry. “The city of Santa Clarita hopes the dedication of a street sign, which was placed near a school and a planned senior community, in his name will preserve his memory and his honorable service to this community forever.”

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Project Manager | Author | Content Darren Harris | Sergeant | Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station

Graphic Artist | Designer Nate Imhoff | Project Volunteer

Copy Editor Aleksandra Gajewski | Project Volunteer

2009 Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff ’s Station Year in Review

Printing Correctional Services Division | Jail Enterprises Unit Vocational Print Shop — North County Correctional Facility