After almost five years, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station officials are gaining a new voice for outreach as Deputy Josh Dubin, the station’s “social media boss,” is being promoted to detective next month.

Dubin has served in a number of roles since joining the Sheriff’s Department in November 2005, including crime prevention, patrol, investigations and of course, outreach — a role in which he’s worked to raise law enforcement interaction with the community through a variety of means over the last three-plus years.

“Our goal is to be as community-specific as possible, because there are a lot of things unique to the Santa Clarita Valley, and how residents use social media, as well as working directly with local media outlets,” said Sheriff’s Department Commander Mike Parker, regarding department outreach.

The Neighborhood Watch is hosted twice a month on KHTS AM-1220 with Deputy Josh Dubin and Perry Smith

One of the Sheriff’s Department’s goals is to keep people informed and reduce unnecessary fear through information, and deputies have built community partnerships in the Santa Clarita Valley to meet that goal, he said.

“Josh really exemplifies that,” Parker added. “He’s done such a wonderful job, and I’m sure the public would agree he’s really been a tremendous asset in building that team between us, the public and news media outlets.”

Dubin co-hosts a show that’s aired twice a month on KHTS AM-1220 called “Neighborhood Watch,” where he discusses law enforcement activity, crime preventions and other outreach for the Sheriff’s Station for the last 18 months. He’s also been on numerous national shows, such as “Good Morning America,” to promote and discuss department messages.

Going forward, Deputy Kevin Duxbury, a Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station patrol deputy soon to be assigned to the Crime Prevention Unit, will take Dubin’s spot when he leaves in April. Dubin is going to be investigating crimes reported at Pitchess Detention Center as a detective.

Social media, public outreach

Outreach has been at the forefront of Dubin’s assignment over the last three years, after former Sheriff’s Station Capt. Paul Becker created the position Dubin has held since 2012.

Being a lifelong Santa Clarita Valley resident, Dubin has a unique understanding of the community, which has been a great benefit to residents, said Jeri Seratti Goldman, co-owner of KHTS AM-1220.

Dubin grew up in the Santa Clarita Valley, attending Valencia Valley Elementary and Valencia High.

“Josh has been invaluable to the Santa Clarita Valley and our local law enforcement outreach,” she said, “and it’s been incredibly helpful to know we have a trusted, reliable resource to address questions when the community turns to us for answers.”

In addition increasing the station’s ability to interact with the public through Facebook, Twitter and the various forms of social media, Dubin coordinated efforts with school and sheriff’s officials to lead talking informing parents about social media trends, programs they should be aware of, etc.

He’s been proud to be a part of a concerted push by the Sheriff’s Department to engage the public more effectively, he said.

“If you take it back 10 or 15 years, we had no way of interacting and engaging in the public,” Dubin said, contrasting that to now, when the SCV Sheriff’s Station has 5,000 likes on its Facebook page, 10,000 followers on Twitter and reaches thousands more through its use of Nixle, a free media service used by law enforcement agencies to interact with the public, in addition to others.

“It’s been an honor and pleasure to work in and serve the community where I live, the Santa Clarita Valley,” Dubin said Monday. “I look forward to my new assignment, but I enjoyed helping parents and community members in their efforts to stay informed. As a single parent myself, I appreciate that I live in such an engaged, involved community.”