Police Services Feasibility Study - City of Santa Paula

PREAMBLE
On March 8, 2004, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department undertook an
examination into the feasibility of contracting law enforcement services for the
City of Santa Paula. That examination included a comprehensive review of the
present service level and capabilities of the Santa Paula Police Department. We
reviewed the calls for service, crime rates and the Arroyo study of the Santa
Paula Police Department. Understanding that both citizens and police officers
placed drugs, graffiti, and gangs as the most prevalent issues facing the city, we
determined how we, as an agency providing police services to five contract cities,
would handle those problems.
The primary tools used to combat gangs, graffiti and drugs are crime tracking,
community policing and directed enforcement. These tools exist today in the
Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. Utilizing the County’s information systems
experts, the Sheriff’s Department has undergone a technology transformation.
From our Mobile Data Computer system being installed in our patrol cars to the
upgrades in the Ventura County Criminal Justice Information System, our agency
is able to access and track information as efficiently than any large agency in the
nation.
The Sheriff’s Department has a proven track record of using Community Oriented
Policing and Problem Solving (COPPS) to combat gangs and specific community
problems.
If the City of Santa Paula were to contract with the Ventura County Sheriff’s
Department, you would immediately enjoy improved radio coverage for all of the
patrol cars working in the City of Santa Paula. Each patrol unit would be
equipped with state-of-the-art Mobile Data Computers, which provide the latest in
field reporting. The City of Santa Paula would receive immediate access to
literally millions of dollars worth of technology acquired through grants, which the
County has spent over the last several years to improve radio, computer and
crime fighting tools.
The ability to instantaneously tap into the vast resources of the largest law
enforcement agency in Ventura County, while maintaining a small town
atmosphere, is without question a great advantage to contracting services. Each
of our five present contract cities are individually managed and staffed. Each city
has hand-selected the type and level of services they feel are important to them.
And most importantly, each of them is very satisfied with the level of personalized
service they receive.
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