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Organization: Santa Clarita Sheriff's Station
Date: July 1, 2008
Message from the Captain
Anthony La Berge • Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station • July 2008
Greetings!
With the commitment of the City of Santa Clarita to keep public safety a top priority, we have made some great progress toward improving and enhancing every level of our service and infrastructure at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station over the past several months.
The 2008-2009 Public Safety Contract with the City of Santa Clarita went into effect July 1st and we have added two Patrol Deputies, which will help us improve responsiveness and crime prevention efforts. We have also added one Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Deputy to help keep our local roadways safe and free from large and potentially unsafe commercial vehicles.
Over the past several months we have worked hard to target and dismantle the active gangs in the Santa Clarita Valley. Several identified gang members have been met head- on with swift and aggressive action; including probation and parole compliance checks, and warrant enforcement operations. Several of these calculated operations were made possible by combining resources from the City of Santa Clarita, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and the County of Los Angeles.
Members of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff Station's Detective Bureau; the COBRA Unit; and Community Interaction Team (CIT), along with resources from the County of Los Angeles, including deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department — Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) North County Crime Impact Team; deputies from the Countywide COPS Team assigned to the Santa Clarita Valley; personnel from Operation Safe Streets (OSS) and the Gang Enforcement Team (GET); and detectives from the Sheriff Department's Narcotics Bureau and Narcotics K-9 Detail; joined the City's dedicated full-time Probation Officer and the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to carry out these proactive enforcement and prevention efforts.
Many of these resources were coordinated and deployed in several separate operations throughout the valley in an aggressive effort to keep our communities safe. These operations resulted in the arrest of known gang members, the confiscation of drugs and firearms, and the virtual dismantling of many of the gang elements in the valley.
As a result of these aggressive efforts we have seen a reduction in graffiti related vandalism and violent gang related crimes and assaults. In fact, the early indication for the first 3 months of 2008 is that our efforts are paying off in a BIG way. Nearly every crime category is down in the City of Santa Clarita, in comparison to the same time period last year, and we anticipate that trend will continue throughout 2008, with additional aggressive zero tolerance gang enforcement operations planned. Violent crimes are down more than 18 percent. In addition, our property protection and personal safety message seems to be paying dividends, as burglaries are down more than 26 percent and thefts are down 16 percent.
However, our work is not done as vehicle thefts in the Valley are up 35 percent and robberies are up one percent over the first three months of last year. Utilizing resources such as the City of Santa Clarita's Sheriff's Business Alliance and the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's Taskforce for Regional Auto Theft Prevention (TRAP), we are aiming to reduce those numbers through enforcement operations, and training and educational campaigns to increase public awareness and prevention.
Perhaps the single biggest property related crime prevention tip we can offer is to remind all residents and motorists in the Santa Clarita Valley to always secure personal property, purses, and electronics. Don't leave them in your car or open garage and always lock your doors. A little prevention can go a long way.
As we enter into the hot summer months, it is imperative that we are vigilant around the swimming pools. Already this year we have responded to several emergencies where young children have been involved in tragic incidents of drowning or near drowning. Close supervision of our children and young adults around water is crucial. Even those who know how to swim should be closely supervised as tragic accidents can still occur. Don't let water floatation devices give you a false sense of security. Visit our web site at www.scvsheriff.com for complete water and other safety tips.
Summer heat means more people are out in the evening, more cars are on our roadways, there are more social gatherings, parties and celebrations, and less school related responsibilities for our youth. Be aware of where your teenagers are, who they are with, and what their activities are. Be cognizant of your neighbors and their right to peace. Never leave pets or children in hot cars and care for the elderly during hot summer days. Remember, the new cell phone laws went into effect July 1st. Visit our web site for complete details and information on these new laws. Also, consider brush clearance before we move into the heavy fire danger season.
National Night Out 2008 — America's Night Out Against Crime is Tuesday, August 5th. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the event. National Night Out is a unique crime and anti-drug awareness event. I encourage each of you to get out into the neighborhood for a block gathering celebration where we can all talk about issues pertaining to community safety and send a message that we stand together against crime. We hope you will make plans to join us. You can contact Sergeant Gregg Lewison of our Community Relations staff at (661) 799-5158 for additional information or to get involved with the event.
On behalf of all the staff at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station, I want to wish everyone a safe, productive, and relaxing summer season. Remember, preventing crime in Santa Clarita is everyone's business and responsibility — "If You See Something — Say Something." Non-emergency crime can be reported anonymously at SCVSheriff.com or by calling (877) TIP LASD (877-847-5273) or (661) 284-2-TIP (661-284-2847). Best regards,
Captain Anthony La Berge
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station
Chief of Police for the City of Santa Clarita
