Halloween Behind the Scenes at SCPD

Halloween around the police department is an “All Hands on Deck” day.  Everyone works in some capacity to keep the city safe and deal with the influx of people and mitigate safety concerns.  Many of us will be working 12+ hours today to make it all happen. 

Aside from working incredibly hard, we manage to find a few ways to make it fun.

Meet some of our Administrative staff. 

Some of our Admin Team, Debbie Lentini, Jacqui Drechsler, Cyndi Shockey, Kimberlee Steele, Sarah Benjamin, and Amanda Gullings

Our Administrative Staff here at the Santa Cruz Police Department is the coolest.  They are amazingly hard working and fun.  This year for Halloween, they got together and dressed like the characters in the series, Orange is the New Black. 

The result…..they smoked the competition in the City’s Halloween Costume Contest this year, winning Best Group Costume!!!  Nice work team!

While they were at it, Records Tech Sarah Benjamin carved up a Never Forget pumpkin for Butch and Elizabeth.  Nice touch!!

 

 

Stay Safe Everyone….we will be out there on the job doing our best to ensure a safe Halloween for all. 

Three New Officers Graduate the Police Academy

The Santa Cruz Police Department graduated three new officers from the police academy today.  For the past 22 weeks they have been attending the academy in San Mateo as part of the South Bay Regional Public Safety Consortium (I know….it’s a mouthful). The rigors of academy life are not easy, and not everyone makes it through.  Just graduating is a commendable feat. 

The academy graduates are 

David Rosell, 

 

Adrienne Heebner

Marcel Cathrein

Prior to joining SCPD, David worked for years as a Deputy Probation Officer at Santa Cruz County Probation.  Adrienne has worked for years as a Dispatcher at the Santa Cruz Regional 911 center.  Marcel worked as a security officer at the Boardwalk just prior to joining our team. 

In the academy they not only learned the basics of police work from A to Z, but they also learned the importance of community service and giving back.  Their academy class (SB 120) raised money for a number of charitable organizations and even worked serving food at Glide Memorial Church. 

The trainees will now enter a 16 week field training program where they will be paired with training officers.  In the field training program they will be challenged once again to pass tests and demonstrate their capabilities on the job.  They will be evaluated daily and required to meet certain benchmarks in their training.  Upon completion of the program they will be assigned to work as solo patrol officers. 

   

Congratulations to David, Adrienne and Marcel.  We are proud of your accomplishments! 

Violation of Domestic Violence Restraining Order Leads to Arrest on Weapons Charges

Violation of a Domestic Violence Restraining Order eventually landed this guy in jail on weapons charges.  

This morning, SCPD Detectives arrested 46 year old Scott Talbot outside his home in the 100 block of Plateau Ave in Santa Cruz.

Mr. Talbot was being investigated for violating a domestic violence restraining order and for stalking his ex-wife.  Detectives arrested him and served a search warrant at his home.

During the search warrant, Mr. Talbot was found to be in possession of 3 firearms.  The firearms consisted of 2 shotguns and one pistol.  One of the shotguns was discovered concealed inside a hidden compartment in the wall of the home.

Possession of the firearms is in violation of the Domestic Violence restraining order.  Additionally, he was ordered to surrender any firearms under his control at the time the restraining order was served. None of the firearms were registered. 

Mr. Talbot was booked into jail for (1) Violation of a Domestic Violence Retraining Order, (2) Stalking, and (3) Being a prohibited person in possession of firearms.  Because of the circumstances in the case, Detectives obtained a bail increase to $150,000. 

Once Again, outstanding work by our Detectives to put this one together.  

Alert Neighbor Prevents a Home Burglary

Once again, alert and proactive neighbors stave off a would-be burglar. We have told a story like this one before.  Way to go Santa Cruz!! 

Yesterday (October 23^rd) a neighbor saw this suspicious person enter the side yard of a home in the 1100 block of W. Cliff Drive. 

This is Timothy Dollar - 27 Years Old.  Mr. Dollar self-identifies as “Transient”. He doesn’t have much in the way of prior police contact.

Our alert neighbor took note and called 9-1-1. 

This neighbor provided dispatchers with a great description of the suspect.  Responding officers were quickly on scene and located him across from the victim’s home. 

The suspect, Mr. Dollar, was experiencing his own drug-induced asylum and was attempting to break into the home.  

Thankfully he did not have the opportunity to take anything from the home.   

Mr. Dollar was booked into jail for being under the influence of drugs and for unlawful entry. 

Many, many thanks to the alert citizen watching out for his neighborhood.

Halloween Street Closures and Triple Fine Zone

Halloween is rapidly approaching.  While you are doing your last minute costume and candy shopping, the Police Department typically starts planning for this event 6 months in advance.  We bring in 100+ uniformed personnel, lighting and other equipment to ensure your Halloween is as safe as possible.  

In addition to all the resources covering the Downtown arena, we have the rest of the city to to patrol and protect.  Needless to say, this is an "All Hands On Deck" night for the Police Department.  

On average we handle about 325 calls for service between 7 PM and 4 AM.  Here are some arrest stats from previous years as well:

2012 = 32 Arrests and 59 Triple Fine Cites
2011 = 50 Arrests and 49 Triple Fine Cites
2010 = 40 Arrests and 23 Triple Fine Cites

We average about 100 "Nice Costume" comments per officer!

Each year we enact a Safety Enhancement Zone that triples the fines for certain Municipal Code violations that occur in a specified area and for a specified time. 

For 2013, the Safety Enhancement Zone will be in effect during the following times:

Starting:  12:00 AM October 29th
Ending:  3:00 AM November 1st

The Safety Enhancement Zone Flyer is here:
 

 
In addition to the Safety Enhancement Zone, we plan for street closures.  This includes tow away zones as well.  The times and location vary for "Closures" and "No Parking/Tow Away" zones so pay careful attention.  Here's the list:

 This list and flyer will also be on our Website at 

www.santacruzpolice.com

Have a Safe Halloween!