Happenings

As I sit here, its Thursday morning and a few days after National Night Out Hollister. It is 6:45 AM I just got back from the gym, I'm off duty, drinking coffee sitting in my own sweat (lol I'm painting a picture here). It was such a nice event. I loved the location at the Veterans Memorial Building. I was honored to have our event at a place that I love so much. Thank you Veterans for allowing us to have our little celebration at your place. 

National Night Out Hollister 2016

I am interested in hearing feedback about the event. We obviously moved the event to this new location. I personally thought it was a great spot for it. Drop me a line if you wish. 

This of course comes on the heels of the Hollister Independence Rally the first weekend in July. For those of you that went to rally. What was your experience like? I had a great time. I was working obviously, but it was a friendly crowd for the most part. 

Currently we are working on the 2016 SBC Fair, the Red Ribbon Glow Run (10/22/16 at 7 pm at Dunne Park)  - (link for sign ups here)  https://runsignup.com/Race/CA/Hollister/RedRibbonGlowRun. 

Also working on our Holiday Bicycle Project. 

Hollister Independence Rally 2016

However our biggest project is the day-to-day operations of this police department. We are constantly busy, that's just the way that it is. We are in full recruitment mode, pretty much all of the time now. Always on the look-out for great police officers. 

Now, I do not want to use this blog as a political stump, but I do need to mention something. In November, we will need your support in the election as there will be an extension to the current sale tax here in Hollister. 

It is just a fact. We cannot do all of the things we do now, without this extra funding. Continuing this 1% sales tax measure is the only way to continue that sort of success in the future. BTW Hollister is still lower than every other city around here. If you're shopping in Hollister, you're getting a bargain in sales tax.

Anyway, please consider these programs that we are doing now, that we couldn't do without the extra funding from Measure E. Here is a short list. 

• Jr Giants (over 720 kids this year get to play free baseball/softball) - Our program in its 2nd year is third largest in the entire SF Giants organization.
• United States Tennis Association (USTA) HITS Program - two completely free sessions of a 5 week tennis program for kids in our community. 
• NFL's Punt, Pass & Kick Contest - completely free for our communities kids
• MLB's Pitch, Hit and Run Contest - completely free for our communities kids
• Gang Officer
• 3 School Resource Officers
• 3 Patrol Officers
• 1 Records Clerk
• 2 Community Services Officers
• 1 K9 Officer (possibly one more real soon)
• We have been recognized twice as the National Police Department of the Year (2013 & 2016). To put this into perspective, there are over 12,500 police departments in the US.
  
  

  

  2016 National Police Department

• I had the honor of being named National Chief of the Year in 2014
• We were honored with the National Law Enforcement Challenge award for our Motorcycle Traffic Safety program at our motorcycle events (very competitive award).
• Maintained fast response times to emergencies
• GREAT program taught in our schools by our officers (Gang Resistance Education and Training)
• CSI - Crime Scene Technician (We were able to hire and train our very first CSI)
• Re-started our Police Explorer Program
• Numerous other safety & crime prevention awards and recognitions

I would like to continue to grow our department, into a more comprehensive community service / proactive type setup if we get the opportunity to continue the same level of funding after November's election. What that means to me is:

• Bringing back dispatch / 911 to our community!!!
• More Police Officers (to actually have a carry-over / swing shift)
• Full-time Crime Prevention Officer for Neighborhood Watch and other community support
• Full-time PAL Officer
• Traffic Unit
• Street Crimes Team (vice, gangs, narcotics, etc)
• Crime Analyst (Predictive Policing)
• Grant Writer (Because I am tired of being the only one, lol)

Jr Giants at AT&T Park 2016

Ok that's all I have for now. I'll be doing a My Chief Thoughts Live soon.

Until then, be good to each other.

Chief