Monday night, the city’s new Sheriff’s Captain was at City Hall to say hello. He made himself available for two hours, and local business owners and members of the community alike were on hand to voice concerns they had about the safety of Santa Clarita.

It wasn't intended for him to outline his approach to crime in Santa Clarita, he was just there to meet us all, and listen to what we had to say.

As he told the city: “It is important that I get to know the community and learn first-hand what the issues are. I look forward to learning everything I can and work cooperatively with the community on solving problems and lowering crime.”

The biggest issue of the night? Graffiti. La Berge said that he heard mostly about the growing problem of graffiti, and he plans on working as aggressively as the city does, to prevent it. 

Former Sheriff’s Captain Patti Minutello was on leave from her duties for several months before being replaced.

This was the first of two pseudo “meet and greets”, with the second coming on February 26th in the Santa Clarita Activities Center.