Over the last five years, Santa Clarita has seen a decline in its overall crime rate, despite the increase in population, which is currently at 213,500 according to the California Department of Finance.
Being among the safest communities in California, The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Department and City attribute the safety ranking to proactive programs such as the Crime Prevention Unit, COBRA team (Career Offender Burglary Robber Assault) and partnerships with schools, businesses and residents.
“Public safety is an important quality of life work effort for the City of Santa Clarita. Making sure our residents feel safe, that crime remains low and that we are continually assessing trends, staffing levels and needs is a top priority for the City Council,” explains Ken Striplin, City Manager.
Last year, Parenting.com named Santa Clarita in their top ten safest cities for 2014. Cities were selected based off FBI crime stats for cities with a population of 100,000 or higher. Violent crime rate, the number of sex offenders per capita and the Institute for Economics & Peace’s index, which examines “the absence of violence” across the U.S., including factors such as availability of small arms and the presence of police were all taken into consideration when selecting their Top 10 Safest Cities List.
To continue in the efforts of keeping our city safe, the new Mobile Command Center will help assist the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff Station with pre-planned events and large-scale emergencies.
“I’m extremely grateful for the partnership and collaborative effort for the funding of the Mobile Command Center from the City of Santa Clarita, the unincorporated area of the county as well as the Sheriff’s Department and help from the Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Foundation, all to make this whole thing come to fruition,” stated Captain Roosevelt Johnson.
To learn more about the SCV Sheriff’s Foundation and their Be A Star Program, which helps provide much needed police equipment and crime prevention materials and more, visit www.scvsheriffsfoundation.org.
photo by Joie de Vivre Photographie