Last week was the celebration of National Police Week.
The Friday before, I rode along with Deputy Frank Barrett and his K-9 partner Buck for the
evening shift. This was a new experience for me. Over the eight hours, we covered a lot of
geography and I caught a glimpse of what it must be like to be a deputy out in the
community. One thing the evening did confirm was that we have drug and alcohol problem in Scott Valley
and that our youth is being affected.
In January, I spoke with
Captain Murphy about the Sheriff’s Department. He reported that the Department
provides law enforcement for approximately 30,000 of the 45,000 people who live in the
county. Like the cities, the Department provides general law enforcement, but it also
provides such countywide services as coroner’s work, search and rescue, Veteran
service, emergency service, bomb disposal, special weapons and tactics, boating and waterways patrol. In addition the
Department has responsibility for civil services such as document service, evictions and
postings.
Several of the cities in Siskiyou County provide their own police service. The cities of
Montague, Fort Jones, Dorris and Dunsmuir contract with the County for
deputies assigned to provide service to their jurisdiction. The Sheriff’s Department
will also investigate major crimes for the cities, such as arson, child molestation and
homicide.
Captain Murphy explained that
there are currently four deputies and a sergeant assigned to Scott Valley
and Salmon River. Of that, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) pays for one
deputy and Fort Jones pays for 1 ½ deputy sheriffs. The sergeant assigned
works half time in the Valley and half in Yreka.
In Dunsmuir, the city pays
for a sergeant and four deputies. Montague pays for one full time deputy and Dorris pays
for a piece of all of the deputies and the sergeant assigned to east county.
The picture of Sheriff’s
personnel has changed slightly from January, as positions for three additional deputies
were created from two vacant sergeant positions; but at that time, the force stood at:
- Undersheriff position (vacant);
- One Captain Division Commander;
- Two Lieutenants in charge of the Patrol and Service
(records, training, administration) Bureaus;
- Eleven Sergeants authorized (5 vacant and one injured);
- 42 deputies (two positions frozen.) This includes those
paid by contracts with the cities and U.S.F.S. It also includes Calmmet and METgrant
funded positions in narcotics and the general funded DARE officer. Assignments in January
included three deputies in Scott Valley; three
in Happy Camp; four in Dunsmuir; seven in
South County, four in East County; and nine at
headquarters.
- Ten Reserve Deputy Sheriffs (These are part time positions. Depending on their
level of qualification, some are paid, some are not;)
- Five part time summer boating deputies paid by grant
funds;
- Ten dispatchers (one part time) partially paid by four
dispatch contracts;
- Six clerks;
- One OES (Office of Emergency Services) technician;
- One veterans service representative;
- Two senior legal secretaries;
- One person assigned to elder abuse/Crime prevention
funded by grants;
- One motor pool coordinator; and
- Three forensic technicians.
Last Year, the Department
also had three men called to military duty who have now returned.
Next time you drive by a
deputy on patrol, be sure to give them a friendly wave. The job isn’t easy and it is
important for the community to show that they stand behind them.
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