As 2014 ends and 2015 begins, the City of California Police Department counts its progress. Events involving police officers frequently topped national headlines throughout the past year.
Police Chief Mike Ward recently took a look back at his first full year at the helm of the California Police Department and wanted to emphasize the positives of police work within the community. "The goal of the California Police Department is to serve the citizens of California," said Ward. "Yes, a component of that is enforcing state and local laws. However, a much larger percentage of time is spent knowing the community and supporting programs to assist the residents of our community."
The chief spoke of several new programs which were launched in 2014 to provide better service to California residents. One of those is Vacation Watch. Through this service, residents can request a house check when they are out of town. Another service began in September with the department's participation in the National Drug Take Back event. During this event, citizens were able to drop off unused prescription drugs for safe disposal. Chief Ward plans for the department to continue participating in this event each year. To have this service available year-around, a secure drop-off container has been procured. The container is permanently located at the California City Hall.
Other new programs focus on supporting local businesses. The Night Eyes program was launched to provide additional patrol of local businesses. Business Watch offers classes for local business on a variety of topics such as workplace violence. This service also provides email alerts. During the last year, Bank Security Training was provided for all local banks and Active Shooter Classes were hosted for teachers of California R-1.
The department itself has seen many improvements and a primary objective during the year was an increase in training of officers. In addition, the department was re-organized to improve service to the community and efficiency in policing with the promotion of Dale Embry to Captain, Scott Harkins to Sergeant and an additional full-time officer added to the roster. The department went through a re-branding with a new department patch and new uniforms. An important equipment addition was the equipping of each officer with a body camera.
One department accomplishment that Chief Ward is particularly proud of is the establishment of the Color Guard. "Our officers are proud of the community they serve and the Color Guard is a way for them to display their pride," he said.
Officers of the California Police Department look forward to continuing a high level of service to California residents in 2015. A mass text alert system will soon be launched and other programs are in the works. Included in those programs are a women's self-defense class.