Crime & Safety
For the Sheriff, Tomatoes and Praise
The Alameda County Sheriff's Office held a special community meeting in San Lorenzo Monday as part of its reaccreditation under the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
Few officers of the law can claim to have their own locally-engineered species of California tomato.
But Alameda County Undersheriff Richard Lucia has one.
The "Rich Lucia" tomato is an oversized cherry hybrid, a cross between a three-pound behemoth and the quarter-sized baby.
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Volunteer Charles Woody plied community members and cops with 24 of the unique plants that he'd arranged in Styrofoam cups for the Sheriff's Office's reaccreditation hearing Monday night.
The forum was part of an ongoing renewal process for the force, which threw open its doors to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies in a bid to maintain its 15-year certification.
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"It takes a lot of courage on the part of a management team to let outsiders like us in," said Major Paul Baggett of Florida, who led the panel. "From what we’ve seen so far, this is a very engaged law enforcement agency that’s very in tune with the community."
The non-profit holds police forces to 464 national standards. Though the accreditation isn't mandatory, Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern said the external review helps break bad habits while exposing the force to best practices from around the country.
"It requires us to get perspective," Ahern explained. "It's simply to make sure we exceed or meet national standards so we can best serve the community."
But for members of the unincorporated community, the meeting was a chance to heap praise, mixed with a pinch of criticism, on the local police force.
"They've got some excellent people in that unit," said Bob Swanson, who works in District 4 Supervisor Nate Miley's Castro Valley office. "Who you gonna call—Ghostbusters? No, I call the COPPS shop, because they take care of it in a friendly, nice way."
Speakers shared stories of police doing everything from manning the BBQ at community events to mentoring the Castro Valley School District on how to work with a parent on the Megan's Law list.
Ashland resident Patti Hart praised the Community Policing and Problem Solving Unit (COPPS) for its work in Paradise, while acknowledging that change has been slow in coming to the troubled area.
"I have to say that the paradise left Paradise Boulevard about 10 years ago," Hart said. "We have a creek behind us that the drug dealers use as their avenue of opportunity. If you’d like to see our version of thriller, come at about 5:30 in the morning — you see them all coming to get their methadone."
Hart went on to describe how a dog tied in her back yard was killed by a stray bullet, and how neighbors had slaughtered a goat for Easter in the creek behind her house. In each instance, she said, officers from the department responded quickly and compassionately.
"We’re very very lucky to have Deputy April Luckett," Hart said. "We have a lot more paradise back in Paradise now."
Others were less generous.
San Lorenzo resident Michael Moore wanted to know why the Sheriff's Office website lacked the type of crime log available through other departments.
Community member Sylvia Ramirez told the panel the agency seemed insufficiently prepared to deal with computer crimes, saying the agency had failed to respond to a complaint she filed after her identity was stolen.
"I have the highest trained computer forensic individual maybe in the nation working for me," Ahern said.
Still, the overall tenor of the meeting was positive, even celebratory.
"They let people know that we are important. I think the Sheriff’s department has show again and again that that’s true," said San Lorenzo Village Homes Association President Kathy Martins. "I'm so incredibly grateful."
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