Chief Lorenzo Dueñas SR Junior College

Sometimes it is good to question authority figures.  Lorenzo Dueñas did as an aspiring young man in high school when he ignored a counselor’s suggestion that he need not apply to college.  He was advised he would not be a successful student.  Decades later, Lorenzo holds advanced degrees and is himself an unmistakably proven, trusted authority figure:  He is Chief of the Santa Rosa Junior College Police Department.

Lorenzo studied and worked alongside colleagues in Brazil as part of a Rotary Group Study Exchange.  He organized stateside efforts to aid disabled Brazilian officers who received no service benefits for on-the-job injuries.

Currently his department is larger than Healdsburg, Sebastopol and Rohnert Park Cotati’s.  With a student population as high as 36,000 and attendant problems of homelessness and drugs, his staff of 13 sworn Police Officers, 6 dispatchers, 6 non-sworn Community Service Offices and 15-30 cadets are responsible for the main Santa Rosa Campus, Petaluma, Shone Farm.

Challenged with recruiting qualified candidates to fill vacancies, Chief Dueñas informed the audience of the extensive background checks performed on applicants.  Of a field of 30 applicants, only 20 make the first cut and only 1 in 10 make the second.  Only 63% of  officer vacancies posted in the county since 2011 have been filled. 

Social Media is another new dimension of law enforcement, along with body worn cameras.  Transported drug trafficking also is an issue.  Chief Dueñas also commented on the effect AB 109 (Realignment) has had on jail populations and Proposition 47 passed in 2014 reduced many crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, and the subsequent reduction of fear of incarceration for many still criminal acts.

Chief Lorenzo Dueńas exemplifies well the principle of serving and protecting.  With distinguished military service in the Marine Corps, Healdsburg Police and as Sonoma County Assistant Sheriff, Lorenzo sets a very high bar for local youth does well!