Fast Response and Familiar Faces: Putting Our Police First
Fast response and officers neighbors know by name: that is what stops problems before they become crimes. Before we spend public money renewing cameras, I will ask the Sheriff's Department for its best plan to deliver both, and what staffing it takes.
Where we are
Laguna Hills is served by a small, dedicated team of Sheriff's deputies and community service officers under the City's contract. Fewer than 30 sworn officers cover a city of about 30,000 neighbors. A recent police report to the council shows priority calls answered in about five minutes and crime down from the year before.
That is a strong foundation, and I want to protect it. Our officers should have what they need to answer calls fast, at any hour, in any neighborhood. They should also have the time to know the people they serve.
The Sheriff's Department will speak for its deputies. My role is to tell them what Laguna Hills wants: fast response, officers neighbors know, and strong privacy protections. Then we will work together on the best plan to deliver on those goals.
When you say something, someone should answer
This election you will hear "If you see something, say something." It is good advice, and it only works if someone is there to answer and follow up. When neighbors trust the officers they call, problems come to light early. Daniel Oates, a former Aurora, Colorado, police chief, told The Atlantic: "We hear about it before it's a big problem."
Cameras show. Officers prevent.
A camera can show what happened. A police officer who knows the neighborhood can step in before a small problem becomes a crime. The evidence that plate-reader networks like Flock prevent crime is contested, and I lay it out in my position on Flock cameras.
What has worked elsewhere
Two approaches have research behind them. Problem-oriented policing is where officers and neighbors take on one recurring problem, such as car break-ins or unsafe traffic near a park. A 2020 review found it cut crime and disorder by about a third in the average study. Community policing, with regular contact and familiar faces, improves residents' satisfaction with their police. I want both in Laguna Hills.
My commitments as your District 4 representative
- Give neighbors an officer they know. Ask the Sheriff's Department about a named police liaison for District 4 neighborhoods and homeowner associations.
- Solve the problems residents report. Ask the Sheriff's Department to use problem-oriented policing on the two or three issues neighbors raise most, and report the results back publicly.
- Get more neighbors into the programs we have. Expand access to Neighborhood Watch, Business Watch, and crime prevention design reviews, with outreach to seniors and in English, Spanish, and Farsi.
- Put officers first, and keep privacy in the room. Law enforcement will always ask for more tools, and that is their job. My job is to remind the Sheriff's Department that Laguna Hills values privacy as much as public safety, and to ask for its best plan to deliver both. That starts with response times by hour and area, and a straight answer: would the same dollars do more as officers or as Flock? I will vote against renewing the Flock contract. See my position on Flock cameras.
What public safety problem do you most want solved in your neighborhood?
I want to hear your questions, concerns, and ideas.
Email Tiffany