Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Capt. Brandon Barclay, the SCV’s de facto “chief of police,” shared a message with the business community Thursday, touting another month of reduction in overall crime numbers as the department works to increase its number of deputies.
Barclay quoted Ronald Reagan, Maya Angelou and Robin Williams during his visit with the Valley Industrial Association at Margarita’s, answering questions about public-safety concerns and giving advice to residents about how to stay safe.
Barclay mentioned his visit with local business owners was one of several community discussions he had made in recent days, including a trip to Westridge later that evening to talk about “home hardening” with deputies from the Major Crimes Bureau.
The visits weren’t about responding to a crime uptick, he said Friday, it was about being proactive and making sure residents know they can dialogue with their local law enforcement agency.
Barclay shared the latest crime data revealed a 19% overall decrease in Part-I crimes, despite a 9% increase in violent crime that he said was largely attributable to a “generational gang” in Newhall that had been targeted by a significant Sheriff’s Department operation.
A veteran gang detective said in August the evidence is still being investigated and linked to other cases, and Barclay said Thursday he was hopeful the District Attorney’s Office would bring forth more prosecutions from that work.
Barclay said even though Santa Clarita’s a safe city, there are things people can do to avoid being victims of high-tech crime rings, such as one the station caught in April using drones to target homes and then WiFi jammers to knock out their camera systems.
There are also less-sophisticated “jugging” thefts, where people get followed from banks after covert surveillance helps thieves find someone who has just made a large deposit — a crime the business leaders inside the Mexican restaurant should be aware of, he said.
“I believe as Ronald Reagan said, ‘Failing to prepare is preparing to fail,’ right?” he said at one point Thursday, answering a question about how deputies were working with school districts, as well as local colleges, to train in the event of an active-shooter situation.
He later said preparation was part of the idea behind messaging for Westridge, too, in terms of reminding people about the need to thoroughly screen any workers who might have close access to their homes and some other new ways thieves are gaining access.
When asked his views on gun ownership, he responded by asking the Valencia crowd which amendment gave the right to bear arms, and a chorus responded with, “the Second.”
He quipped back, “Or as Robin Williams might say, ‘The right to arm bears,’” which drew several laughs. He encouraged people to exercise their rights, but to do so responsibly, adding that he knew it wasn’t a laughing matter.
“That doesn’t mean you go out and buy a 9 mm and leave it there so your young kid can get access to it. That’s very important,” he said, adding gun ownership was a “tremendous responsibility.”
“So, you have to then also be trained with the weapon and make sure you’re familiar with your equipment,” he said. “Because remember, on every call for service that I go on, there’s a gun in every room. Why? Because I’m bringing it there.”
The business community also asked about how it could help, in response to recent data indicating deputies are still working five to seven mandatory overtime shifts monthly to fulfill city and county policing obligations with 77% of its traditional workforce.
Barclay said the station receives great support from the city, which is working on bolstering local traffic enforcement, and the station also is looking to acquire a state-of-the-art 3D laser scanner, which is useful in forensic investigations at crime scenes.
Barclay said the station feels a lot of love and called it a “flagship” as the department’s largest, but asked, as with anything, that people remember there’s a human element, which he always tries to do when working with the community.
One of his closing sentiments was a cribbed quote he credited to Angelou, whom he called a “great civil rights activist,” with, “Say what you said, do what you do, but you’ll always remember how they made you feel.”
