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Sheriff’s Capt. La Berge Presents Quarterly Message

Letter titled “The First 150 Days”

Below is a message from Captain Anthony La Berge:
 

Greetings!

 

ImageI want to personally thank you for the very warm welcome I have received since assuming command of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station earlier this year.  I truly appreciate your good wishes, your input and of course, your support for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station personnel. 

 

As a 20-year resident of Santa Clarita, I know the area and have always appreciated the close-knit feeling of this community.  Since becoming your Sheriff’s captain, I have had the opportunity to work closely with neighborhood groups, local businesses, organizations, individuals and our elected officials in an effort to improve community safety, and begin to develop new and innovative programs and modalities that will accomplish this goal. Your suggestions and your support are invaluable to me as I work with my staff here at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station to prevent crime where we live and work.  Over the last few months, we have put into place a number of improvements aimed at increasing community safety and awareness. 

 

We are very pleased with the recent arrest and conviction of prolific graffiti taggers that have plagued our valley and the region.  Over the last few months, a small group of graffiti taggers was responsible for several hundred thousand dollars in property damage (throughout the region) and through arrests made of these taggers, they are now off the street and facing state prison time. 

 

One area of work we are focusing on in conjunction with the City of Santa Clarita is public awareness and media relations with regard to daily Sheriff’s Department activity here in the Santa Clarita Valley.  Right now, we are providing a daily information log to local media.  In the coming months, we anticipate providing this information to the public via our new and improved Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station website, which we plan to launch later this year.

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New technology will aid in the suppression of auto thefts and improve our investigative data bases, enabling the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Department to be more effective in arresting criminals committing robberies, burglaries and auto thefts in our community.  The new technology will also be instrumental in assisting our department in keeping closer tabs on sexual registrants who reside in the Santa Clarita Valley; something our residents have told us they want us to do.

 

We are moving forward in expanding, enhancing and developing community-based programs. We launched several aggressive educational campaigns involving various media outlets in an effort to help keep our community informed as to crime prevention tips and statistical awareness. All this is being done in hopes of urging everyone to get involved in some way with crime prevention efforts so we can maintain the safest possible community.  We must avoid being easy targets for criminal opportunists.  The best way to deter crime is to work together and send a firm message to those considering committing crime in our community that we are involved and will not tolerate these unlawful acts.

 

As part of this effort, our Community Relations/Crime Prevention Unit launched the School Block Watch Program which is designed to give us extra eyes and ears near our schools to help deter crime in and around these educational facilities.  The program is similar to that of the traditional Neighborhood Watch.  As this program expands, it is our hope that it will deter crimes such as vandalism, graffiti, theft and drug use that can disrupt the educational process.  Look for the new signs in a neighborhood near you soon!  We worked closely with the City of Santa Clarita to launch the Pull to the Right campaign, which through distribution of educational literature, will help improve public safety responses to emergencies and will make our roadways and emergency responses safer. 

 

Some of you have contacted us regarding late night teenage house parties.  At this time, we are working on "A Parents Guide to Teenage Parties and Dances,” an aggressive campaign, which will include an informative brochure and will be launched to educate parents on how to best chaperone their teenagers parties. 

 

Once again, I want to thank you for your support and your continued communication with the department.  I encourage you to get involved with our neighborhood and business watch programs which provide a high level of proactive safety education and empowerment. 

 

Best Regards,

Anthony La Berge

Sheriff’s Capt. La Berge Presents Quarterly Message

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