Happy Halloween!

Some photos from the PD today...

Sgt. Scott Garner Graduates from Supervisory Leadership Institute

Today, Sgt. Scott Garner graduated from the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute (SLI). SLI is a program designed to stimulate personal growth, leadership, and ethical decision-making in California law enforcement front-line supervisors. Designed and implemented in 1988 through the efforts of California law enforcement professionals and top educators and trainers, the SBSLI is an intense program based on experiential learning techniques. Students are challenged to learn new ways to resolve issues through group and individual work.

Many supervisors and (now managers) at the Santa Cruz Police Department have completed the program. 
The curriculum takes students through an analysis of management and leadership and how each discipline compliments the other. Deputy Chief Steve Clark has taught many graduate school level classes at SLI and Chief Kevin Vogel encourages department supervisors to attend the program for personal and organizational development.

Join us for a West Beat Community Meeting

Tuesday, November 8, 2011   6:00 – 8:00 pm

 High Street Community Church

850 High Street – Santa Cruz, CA

Please join the Santa Cruz Police Department as we host a community town hall forum on crime and quality-of-life issues in our community. The department values your input and we believe it is essential to host an open community dialogue on issues impacting our neighborhoods. We want to create the opportunity for you to voice your on-going concerns, have neighbors meet neighbors in a positive environment and foster a crime-solving partnership.

The forum will provide for an open question-and-answer period about any concerns you may have and ideas how we can improve our mutual partnership for the benefit of our community.

You may contact Lieutenant McMahon at 420-5850 if you have any questions.

SCPD Most Wanted: Week of October 26th UPDATE - ARREST

 SCPD Most Wanted: Week of October 26th

UPDATE: Mr. Rodriquez was taken into custody on October 29

Suspect: Raul Perez Rodriquez

Description: 5'7" - 170 lbs. Unknown Local Residence

Mr. Rodriguez is on parole and is a documented gang member. He has numerous convictions for violations including felony assaults, domestic violence, car jacking, and narcotics violations in Santa Cruz county.  The California Department of Corrections has issued a no bail felony warrant for his arrest.

 If you see Mr. Rodriguez, please call 911 or Santa Cruz Police Investigations at 831.420.5820. You can also leave a tip via our iPhone app or on our website by clicking here.

Lt. Colleen McMahon Becomes First Female Motorcycle Officer in Department History

Lt. Colleen McMahon, a 22 ½ year veteran of the Santa Cruz Police Department, became the first female motorcycle officer in the department’s 145-year history. Lt. McMahon completed a rigorous certification process through the Alameda County Sheriff’s Motor Academy and received her final uniform outfitting this week. “Historically, law enforcement has maintained unnecessary and arbitrary barriers,” Chief Kevin Vogel said. “We’re proud that Lt. McMahon helped eliminate another glass ceiling and opened the door for all officers to experience the possibilities in this profession.”

For the last six years, Lt. McMahon has been in Patrol and commander of the Traffic Unit, overseeing all of the motor officers and general traffic functions. Over the course of her career, Lt. McMahon has worked in Patrol, Investigations, Downtown, served as the department’s original School Resource Officer, overseen Professional Standards and worked in the original Street Crimes Unit. Lt. McMahon came to the department after serving in the United States Army, working in military intelligence and as a translator. She is fluent in Spanish and Mandarin. “I am grateful for the opportunities and support I’ve received at the Santa Cruz Police Department and excited to serve our community in an expanded capacity,” Lt. McMahon said. “Hopefully this is a small step toward breaking down barriers and encouraging more women to consider law enforcement.”

For the last 7 ½ years, Lt. McMahon has taught at the California Motorcycle Safety Program at Cabrillo College, aiding new riders in motorcycle safety and defensive riding techniques. She received the RiderCoach Recognition Award from the California Highway Patrol for her effective motor instruction techniques.

Loud/Unruly Home List Updated

Did you know the Santa Cruz Police Department posts a list of all homes that have been flagged associated with the Loud/Unruly Gathering (Party) Ordinance? Every two weeks our department updates the list, which can be found here. The list is provided for neighbors and renters interested in learning about homes in their area. It helps people interested in renting at a location know whether the home has been flagged within the last twelve months. More information about the ordinance can be found here - search for section 9.36 and 9.37.

Halloween in One Week!

As we approach Halloween the Santa Cruz Police Department wanted to provide a few reminders:

• Be sure to slow down in the neighborhoods - kids will be out!
• We will have a large presence throughout the city on that evening including support from local allied agencies
• Downtown will be a safety enhancement (triple fine) zone. Road closures and detours will occur throughout the downtown area. We have posted maps of the zones and English and Spanish information about the fines throughout the downtown area as well as on campus (UCSC).

Most issues we face on Halloween are alcohol-related (including violence that stems from the over-consumption of alcohol). Please stay safe and sober - have a good (but responsible) time!

Click here for maps of the downtown detours, triple fine zone and road closures. 

Former SCPD Officer Becomes Chief in Atascadero

Former Santa Cruz Police Department officer Jerel Haley was just named as the new police chief in the city of Atascadero. Chief Haley began his law enforcement career in 1991 with the Santa Cruz Police Department and during his tenure with us served as a Field Training Officer and member of the Neighborhood Enforcement Team. In addition, he was a detective for SCPD and a member of the Santa Cruz County Narcotic Enforcement Team (SCCNET).

Chief Haley comes to Atascadero from Santa Maria Police Department. He was chosen in a nationwide search. 

You can read more about the appointment here.

Chief Vogel To Serve As Judge at Chili Cook Off

Chief Kevin Vogel will be a guest judge at this weekend's Chili Cook Off at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. A portion of the proceeds from the Cook Off goes to the Teen Center. The Teen Center is an important local public safety partner, giving local teens a healthy and supportive environment to spend their time. Feel free to lobby the Chief in advance for your best chili!

For more information click here.

Department Gang Experts Speak to Parents

Santa Cruz Police Department Gang Experts Bill Azua and Joe Hernadez joined with the County Office of Education and Mission Hill Junior High to outreach to parents about the gang involvement. The event, moderated by Deputy Chief Rick Martinez, focused on how parents can help prevent their children from getting involved in gangs. The Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote an article which can be found here.

SCPD Most Wanted: Week of October 19th

Santa Cruz Police Most Wanted: Week of October 19th

Suspect: Isabel Rivera
Description: 5-06, 140 - Unknown Residence 

Wanted For: Domestic Violence Warrant. Mr. Rivera was involved in a Domestic Violence incident which lead to the issuance of a warrant his arrest. If you see Mr. Rivera please call 911 or Santa Cruz Police Investigations at 831.420.5820. You can also leave a tip via our iPhone app or on our website.

Get to Know School Resource Officer Steve Pendleton

We sat down with School Resource Officer Steve Pendleton to learn a little more about him (and what it's like to hang out with students all day!). Some of you may remember Officer Pendleton during his first stint with the department in the 1990s - we were quite excited to get him back again last year after he worked over the hill outside of law enforcement. Let's get to know him better!

What are your favorite restaurants in Santa Cruz?  

    

Officer Pendleton: For Mexican food it's Taqueria Los Pericos, for sandwiches its Joe’s Pizza and Subs, and for Chinese food it’s Yan Flower.  All of these places make good food fast and at the right price.  What I'm still searching for is an excellent Vietnamese restaurant so I can get my weekly fix of Pho.

What five songs are you listening to on your iPod right now?   

Officer Pendleton: Right Now by Van Halen, Heavy Metal by Sammy Hagar, Tom Sawyer by Rush, It can Happen by Yes, and Forever by Y&T.  I’m stuck in the 80’s rocker years! 

When you're not hanging out with teenagers at our local high schools, what TV shows or movies are you watching? 

Officer Pendleton: I love comedies like The Other Guys, or Tommy Boy, and of course the Abbot and Costello movies were always a good time.

What is the most memorable case you've worked?     

Officer Pendleton: I really do not have a favorite case; we work so many cases I just keep moving on to the next case.  Even so, one recent case was rewarding and worth mentioning. 

A local church operates a school for autistic adults assisting them to adjust to self-sufficiency. A teacher noticed a subject walking back and forth in front of one of the classrooms.  He noticed this subject had just stolen two iPads used to assist in instructing students.  The teacher contacted this subject and recovered these items.  The teacher then noticed a student’s iPhone was missing for the same room the iPads were stolen.  Two other school staff members then assisted by logging on to “Find My iPhone” app they had loaded on the phone.  The located the phone just a few blocks away and notified Police.  Officer Aguilar responded and contacted the suspect.  I took the teacher over and he made a positive ID of the suspect. 

This suspect had other stolen property on him along with several hypodermic needles.   This suspect was arrested for burglary and possession of drug paraphernalia.   I outline this case because it was solved by fast and effective actions by school staff.  We take many theft reports without much suspect information but this case was different.  School staff preplanned for such an event and took fast and appropriate action that led to the arrest of one of many drug addicted subjects who commit crimes to support their drug habit.  School staff actions made it possible to return the student’s iPhone in addition to holding this suspect accountable for his actions.     

We've heard you are a car guy. So is it a Ford, Chevy, or Toyota in your garage?    

Officer Pendleton: Funny you should ask such a question with such brands, I’ve owned them all.   My first cool car was a 71 Camaro I painted Hugger Orange with White stripes in my dad’s garage. My dad was so stoked at that… Not!  Then I went to a 69 SS/RS convertible Camaro, a 70 Mach 1 Mustang and a 68 427 Corvette.  Then I bought an 83 Toyota 4x4 and drove it through the Rubicon Tahoe Jeep Trail.    They all had their pro and cons.  Oh yes, and a wallet full of repair bills.

Now that we know everything about the "present you" - how about the "past you?"

Officer Pendleton:  I started to work it Santa Cruz Police Department in 1994 after seven years in construction, five years as a reserve for the San Mateo Sheriff’s Department Scuba Dive Rescue Team, and one year as a reserve for the Campbell Police Department.  I worked five years for SCPD of which two years I worked in the traffic division riding a motorcycle.  I left SCPD in 1999 and went to work for the city of Morgan Hill's Housing Department.  During this time I also worked as a volunteer firefighter for the Santa Clara County Fire Department and return to school at the University of San Francisco where I obtained my bachelor’s degree in sociology.  After eight years with the city of Morgan Hill I left and went to the city of San José's Housing Department where I was a supervisor for the Housing Rehabilitation programs.  Then after eleven years of absence I returned back to the Police Department in July of 2010 and I now work as the school resource officer for all Santa Cruz city schools.

Last question... name something the public doesn't know about our department you think they would find interesting.

Officer Pendleton: I would suspect many people have not been exposed to the extensive hiring process of a police department.   It generally starts with a written exam followed by a physical agility performance test.  Then there is an oral board interview which scores the candidates. At this point I have seen processes for police departments go from over 500+ applicants down to less than thirty to move on to the background phase.   The background process uses both a polygraph examination and a detailed screening process into the candidate’s personal and professional history.   This process eliminates many if not most of the remaining candidates.  There is then an in-depth physical examination to determine if the candidate is able to perform the physical duties as needed by a police officer.  Once the candidate gets past all of this, they hopefully move on to the Chief’s interview.  This entire process can take anywhere from four months to one year to complete and even then there's no guarantee of being hired!

Popular Science Magazine Features SCPD!

Popular Science Magazine, with a readership of over 7 million monthly readers, is featuring the Santa Cruz Police Department in this month's (November) issue. While the issue has just hit the newsstands (and you can purchase at your local bookstore) at this time no online link is available. The magazine is featuring our predictive policing program and spent two days at our department in July. The feature-length article takes an in-depth look at the program, the history of predictive analysis in general, and other agencies considering the program. It is an outstanding article and we're proud to be featured by Popular Science!

Sounds of SCPD Fourth Installment

We're back with another installment of the beats of SCPD. So what do people listen to while at work? Here are three more people we checked in to see what they were listening to...

Anna Concepcion (Operations)

• Ricky Don’t Loose that Number/Steely Dan, 
• I Just Haven’t Met You Yet/Michael Bublé
• Harvest Moon/Neil Young.

Debbie Lentini (Records)

• My daughter's band OTR (click here to listen!)
• KWAV radio 
• Journey

Bonnie Stow (Records)

•  Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne 
• Jar of Hearts - Christina Perry
• Forget You - Cee Lo Green
  
  

Want to check the first three installments? It includes the music choices of Chief Kevin Vogel, Deputy Chiefs Steve Clark and Rick Martinez and more. Here you go!

One
Two 
Three

KUSP Features SCPD

KUSP, the local NPR affiliate, featured SCPD's predictive policing program. Deputy Chief Steve Clark provided an overview of the program. You can listen to the podcast here.

SCPD Most Wanted: Week of October 5th

Santa Cruz Police Most Wanted: Week of October 5th

Suspect: Javier Teledez Sosa

Description: 35 years-old, 5'08", 170lbs

Santa Cruz Resident

Wanted For: Felony Domestic Violence Warrant. Mr. Sosa was arrested in October of 2010 for domestic violence. If you see Mr. Sosa please call 911 or contact Santa Cruz Police Investigations at 831.420.5820. You can also leave a tip on our website or via our iPhone app.

Get to Know Police Volunteer David Josephson

Today we sat down with police super-volunteer David Josephson. Wonder why the iPhone app scanner feed became 100 times better this week? Thank David. On top of being a super-volunteer he is also an audio engineer and radio guru. Let's get to know him better!

What made you want to volunteer with the Santa Cruz Police Department?

David: I really like living and working in Santa Cruz and hoped that I could give something back to the community.

What 5 songs do you have on your iPod right now?

   David:  I don't have any songs on my iPod. Sorry, maybe it's weird for an audio engineer to say this but I really don't like recorded music very much, particularly not when it's compressed and re-synthesized as it is with iPods and MP3. But in the music computer at home, there's Bela Fleck, Thelonious Monk, a lot of Bach, David Grisman and some 17th century music from Italy that I'm working on.

Tell the world about your background...

    David: I'm from the east coast, grew up mostly in Berkeley, spent some time in rural northern California, went back to Berkeley for engineering school, worked in geophysical instruments for about ten years and started my own company making microphones in 1988 in San Jose. We moved company and home to the west side of Santa Cruz in 2000. Now the company has 8 employees including the three principals and we're building a reputation worldwide for some of the highest quality microphones for recording and broadcasting available anywhere, www.josephson.com 

What is the coolest thing you’ve done during your tenure at the PD?

  David: Saving the city $19,000 by donating some old walkie-talkies that could be used as trade-ins on new ones. Now instead of sending perfectly good working radios to the factory as trade-ins, they can be kept for backup and special events.

What is your favorite restaurant in Santa Cruz?

   David:  It's sort of a three-way tie, Cellar Door at the Bonny Doon Vineyards, Gabriella Cafe, and Avanti.

Why is it important for people to volunteer with their local government?

   
  David:  Because if it's going to work, government has to be "we" instead of "they." This is my old Yankee family history talking, I guess, but we did say "of the people, by the people..." There is an economic aspect -- if someone contributes $1000 worth of their labor, that can potentially save many thousands more in tax revenue that would be needed to recruit, hire, support and account for that expertise. This is particularly true for specialized short-term work like the radio stuff I'm doing with the PD. If a group of people called a "city" has a functional requirement that needs a corps of expert, trained people at the ready 24/7, it's most efficient for those people to hire and motivate folks like police officers, nurses, firefighters and the like. But public safety has grown a whole subculture of supplier industries that put their own interests ahead of the people who are served by the public sector -- as a result, agencies get sold stuff that doesn't do what they need. Lots of people in a community like Santa Cruz have specialized experience in fields that can directly benefit their neighbors. It might be okay when times are flush to buy a bunch of extra stuff, but especially when budgets are tight, people who can contribute their expertise where it's needed can make a big difference in equipping first responders with the tools they need.

The feedback that community involvement gives to the people is also important. If a government works by involving its constituents in the work, rather than by building empires of consultants, contractors and vendors, everyone who participates can be a little more aware of how their neighbors are living and what kinds of things they are worried about, proud of, aspiring to, etc. You don't have to join the Peace Corps and go to Borneo to make a difference in a community, you can do it at home.

View Entertainment Permits and Conditions for Local Businesses

In effort to help provide open and accessible information to our residents we have posted all local entertainment permits and conditions for local entertainment venues. Click here to view them.

Department Joins with UCSC on Party Patrols and Education Campaign

Over the last few years the Santa Cruz Police Department has partnered with UCSC on an education and enforcement campaign to help curb loud and unruly gatherings. UCSC has historically offered to help offset a portion of overtime costs for dedicated party patrols and this year the university has continued that program. Over the last three weeks, SCPD officers have run occasional party patrols working to help alleviate this continuing burden on local neighborhoods. Neighbors have often complained of parties with as many as 500 patrons, underage drinking, loud noise and all of the associated issues you would expect from parties this large.

During these operations over the last three weeks officers have given nearly 50 citations - most for noise violations or the City's Loud/Unruly Gathering ordinance. Additionally, at yesterday's neighborhood block parties, students and administrators from UCSC met neighbors as part of the education campaign. The occasional overtime patrols will continue throughout the year.