PROGRAM: President Pat introduced Ventura County Sherriff-Commander of the East Valley Sheriff station- Darin Hendren.
Commander Hendren said the sheriff's department truly appreciates all of the support it receives from the community; it is truly appreciated.
He reported that crime in Ventura County is the first quarter of 2025 is down 22% over 2024. He reported that Ventura County is the safest county in California: he attributes that to the combined efforts between law enforcement and the community's willingness to be involved.
In 2024 the department received 56,700 calls and made 7,928 arrests.
The sheriff dept's organized retail theft taskforce recovered $660K in stolen goods and this week they just recovered another 1 million dollars in stolen goods in the San Diego area.
The have a pentenyl task force as well, and a homeless liaison unit that works with the homeless and public health and mental health to help the homeless recover and transition into a productive life.
They just graduated 40 new recruits last week and have another 30 enrolled for the next cadet training. That will make the department fully staffed in over 30 years.
There are many volunteer opportunities as well-Chaplin unit, Explorer program (14-21 years old), mounted unit, volunteer search and rescue. They have a reserve Sheriff unit that works part time, and their Volunteers in Policing that handle.
Pres. Pat then introduced Fire Captain-Paul Mason (17 years' experience). He was part of a regional task force that handled search and rescue and recovery in the Eaton fire. It was a 30-person task force that went into the Eaton Fire communities to search properties for people that were missing.
Capt. Mason said a K-9 dog named Mazie did an incredible job of going into burned out properties and alerting them if there were human remains. They used drones to search hillside areas. They searched homes, barns and other structures, they sadly found the remains of dogs, livestock, horses and even human remains. All in all, it was a necessary and good experience because it helped the families find closure and start the healing process.
He described the base camp they used as a mini city; with a hospital, mapping tent, chow line, supply tent, fueling station, porta potties, showers and sleeping areas.
Capt. Mason and Commander Hendren both said they could not do their jobs without the overwhelming and amazing support of their wives and families.
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