Thousands of community members dressed in their spooky costumes poured into the Santa Clarita Valley’s Sheriff Station Sunday afternoon for the station’s 33rd annual Halloween Carnival and Haunted Jailhouse.
This year, representatives from multiple law enforcement bureaus such as the SCV Search and Rescue, and Sheriff Department’s Bomb Squad along with firefighters with the L.A. County Fire Department showed off their specialty vehicles and talked attendees through what their teams do for the community.
Deputy Robert Jensen, spokesman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station, said that the goal of hosting the Halloween Carnival and Haunted Jailhouse is to bring the community and law enforcement together.
“The whole point of today is to just create a partnership with the community and let them know regardless of what you know of law enforcement, we’re here to be a resource for you,” said Jensen. “So, we’re kind of doing a show-and-tell letting you know, like, ‘Hey, we’ve got this to offer, this to offer, and this to offer’ and then giving you a chance to come and touch those trucks.”
Jensen said to help form a bond between community and law enforcement, community members are given a chance to learn about what each team does and how they use their equipment so when they see it again when officers are responding to a scene, they will understand how deputies are trying to help.
Local resident Fallon Toma and her family said it was their first time attending the event and that they were excited to come and show support to their local law enforcement.
“We heard it was a great event to come to every year, so we were excited,” said Toma.
To her surprise, there was a lot to do and see at the event, from vendors to bureaus to the haunted jailhouse.
“I think there’s been a lot of lot of things to do, which is awesome. We did the haunted house, which we didn’t think we were going to like it or do it, but it turned out great,” said Toma.
Multiple local vendors featuring face painting, an obstacle course, carnival games, and reptiles from the Placerita Canyon Nature Center and food trucks came out to support the sheriff’s event.
“Today’s event is a hodgepodge of support from local vendors,” said Jensen. “We have people from the Samuel Dixon Family Health Center. We have people from Blessings for Cops. We have people from Genesis Driving School, the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts. I mean, there’s so many vendors.”
Jensen said the vendors reached out to the sheriff’s department to support their mission to be present in the community.
Fallon’s son, Aiden Toma, 13, came dressed in a balloon dog costume and was excited to participate in the costume contests that were held throughout the day’s event. He wanted to show it off and hoped to place in the contest.
Fallon Toma said she was happy that the sheriff’s department hosted a community event for Halloween because it shows how they want to have a relationship with their community.
“Honestly, it’s the fact that the sheriffs (hosting) and having the community come together,” said Fallon Toma. “Seeing the sheriffs come together and bringing everyone together has a sense of community.”
Jensen said the event could not have been put on without the help of the City of Santa Clarita, the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Clarita, the California Highway Patrol, and the fifteen deputy explorers that were helping out. He said it was amazing getting to see kids make happy memories at the station and create that bond.
“Seeing the kids get excited about it,” said Jensen. “I mean, they’re in a jail, they’re laughing, they’re smiling, and they’re having fun, and they’re making memories with their friends, and they have memories now with deputies and our volunteers and our explorers. So, we’re stoked.”
