|
The community service officer (CSO) is a nonsworn employee authorized
to enforce certain rules and municipal codes in order to allow police
officers time to respond to higher priority calls for service. Community
Service Officers do not carry firearms and investigate low-risk
criminal activity. Community Service Officers can be identified
by their light blue uniform shirts.
Patrol officers are assigned a "beat" - a geographical
area of the city which is their responsibility during their working
hours. Patrol officers are highly visible and easily recognizable
to provide a sense of safety in the general population, and to instill
a sense of apprehension in the criminal population. Patrol officers
respond to immediate, dangerous calls for assistance from citizens,
investigate crimes, and arrest those who commit crimes in their
presence. They become knowledgeable enough about their beat to try
to be in the right place at the right time to protect the public
they serve.
The Operations Division has a 24-hour commitment to the public.
In response to the needs of the community and to address certain
crime issues, the Operations Division is divided into a variety
of sections/units.
- Patrol Section
The Patrol Section is divided into teams of officers assigned
to specific beats within the City to respond to calls for service
and provide a visible deterrent to crime. Each shift is supervised
by a sergeant. Each beat has a beat coordinator to coordinate
the around-the-clock activities of the geographical area.
- Police Reserves
The Police Reserve Unit consists of men and women from a variety
of professions who donate their time to be a part-time, sworn
police officer or community service officer who assists the full-time
officers in their assigned duties. Reserve officers find their
contribution to law enforcement exciting and rewarding. Reserve
officers go through the same selection process and training as
a regular officer.
- Downtown Unit(DTU)
The Santa Cruz central business district encompasses an 18-square-block
area which has become the social focal point of the community.
A team of officers are assigned to a walking/ bicycle patrol to
maintain a close working relationship with all to provide a crime-free
environment and to assure equal use by all citizens. The Downtown
Unit maintains an office at 1126 Pacific Avenue.
- Traffic Unit
Since the invention of the automobile, many laws have been passed
to keep them from running into one another. Traffic officers are
charged with the responsibility of enforcing traffic laws, investigating
traffic accidents, and hit-and-run accidents. The traffic unit
responds to specific neighborhood complaints, conducts traffic
surveys, advises the Traffic Commission, and assists on patrol
calls for service.
- Abandoned Vehicle Detail
In response to the community's desire to improve its appearance
and to reduce an attraction to crime, a community service officer
is assigned to remove any vehicle parked on a public street for
more than 72 hours. Up to 40 abandoned, broken down, and/or stripped
vehicles are removed each week.
- Community Services Section
The Community Services Section is responsible for a variety of
functions. It includes all police recruitment, crime prevention
activities, community outreach, police reserves, and police training,
as well as our liaison to our dispatch communications services.
- School Resource Officer
Within the Community Services Division, there are officers assigned
to work as liasons to Santa Cruz City Schools called School Resource
Officers. Their primary responsibilties are the safety and security
of the schools. They use various patrol techniques including vehicle
patrol, foot patrol and bicycle patrol on the various campuses.
The SRO's also attend school sporting events, special training
and meetings for the schools.
- Homeless Resource Officers (HRO)
The Homeless Resource Officer has the ability to address problems
facing the homeless community. Through collaborations with social
services, mental health and available referral agencies, the HRO
can provide field assessment that lead to appropriate referrals
for homeless people. A collaborative team approach helps the homeless
person connect to services and address the issues related to his
or her cycle of homelessness.
The HRO has 7 identifiable duties: Outreach, Liaison, Advocate,
Referrals, Training, Administration, and Case Management.
The Homeless Resource Officer program is new to the City of
Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz Police Department and is designed
to provide a service to the City of Santa Cruz and the homeless
community through multi-agency collaboration. By using a problem-solving
format, the focus of the program intends to improve all quality
of life issues in the homeless community. To meet this goal,
the HRO program remains devoted to the principals of community
service.
- Communications Services
The Police Department contracts with Consolidated Communications
for emergency dispatch services. A communications unit dispatcher
is the first person a citizen telephoning the Police Department
may reach. Dispatchers are responsible for gathering certain information
from the citizen to determine what type of incident is being reported,
prioritizing the request, assigning a patrol unit to respond,
and relaying as much information as necessary to the officer by
radio. Dispatchers must simultaneously answer telephone lines,
operate the police radio, and enter/retrieve necessary information
from computers.
- Training Unit
All police officers are mandated by state law to receive specific
training to become a police officer and are required to attend
training in various aspects of law enforcement each year to remain
state certified. The Police Department also mandates officers
receive training on those issues of importance to the community,
based on input from the citizenry. All training is coordinated
through local community colleges. When certain skills or expertise
are required to meet the department's needs, officers are sent
to specialized schools throughout the state, all certified by
the California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission.
Once a potential police officer passes the rigorous employment
selection process, the trainee is sent to a six-month academy. Upon
successful completion of the academy, trainees are required to train
with senior Field Training Officers for an additional 16 weeks.
During this time, the trainee becomes familiar with local ordinances,
procedures, geography, and equipment. After this training period,
the trainee will be able to independently handle any call for service.
|
The Santa Cruz central business district encompasses an 18-square-block
area which has become the social focal point of the community. A
team of officers are assigned to a walking/ bicycle patrol to maintain
a close working relationship with all to provide a crime-free environment
and to assure equal use by all citizens.
The Downtown Unit maintains an office at 1126 Pacific Avenue.
Traffic officers are charged with
the responsibility of enforcing traffic laws, investigating traffic
accidents, and hit-and-run accidents. The traffic unit responds
to specific neighborhood complaints, conducts traffic surveys, advises
the Traffic Commission, and assists on patrol calls for service.
|
