CASA Recap for March 4th, 2015

Rio Linda and Elverta’s Community Awareness Safety Alliance met Wednesday at the Depot Building for their bi-monthly conference with local law enforcement and Sacramento County leadership. Many Sacramento County Sheriff’s Deputies were in attendance, as well as our local CHP officers. County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan could not attend due to a previous engagement, but Deputy Chief of Staff Celia Coronado attended in her stead.

We didn’t get the opportunity to hear from Celia, however, as the conversation with the Deputies ran over 1.5 hours.

(Unfortunately, I just realized that all my notes that I took on my phone have vanished, so this will be a much shorter update than I wanted to provide. Sorry about that!)

Many of our local homeless were in attendance, organized by The Rio Linda Elverta Food Closet. They were hoping to address the perceived mistreatment of the area’s homeless by the Sheriff’s Department. Captain Rodriguez stepped in and said we won’t be addressing grievances at the CASA meetings, and that there was a proper method to address grievances.

The point that permeated the evening is that the Sheriff’s Department can’t do anything if they don’t know about an issue. YOU HAVE TO CALL. Even if they don’t come right away, even if they don’t make contact with you, just call and get the paper trail and a create a history so they can allocate resources appropriately. You will not be a nuisance to them. Just CALL.
It was noted throughout the evening that their visibility has improved since the last meeting 2 months ago, it’s made a difference, and it’s appreciated.
A lot of talk about homeless, and the problems they bring. Deputy Mantei and Deputy Pace with the Transient Detail were in attendance.
People don’t sell things door-to-door anymore. If you have a questionable door-to-door salesman, call the Sheriff so they can investigate.
If you see someone in your neighborhood who doesn’t belong, or looks sketchy, CALL. You’re not wasting their time. They want to be able to come talk to these people and find out who they are, and build a background on the person.

It was decided that if you have questions about a specific incident, please email the information to Lisa Morris at lisalmorris@comcast.net. She will be able to compile the information and forward it to the agencies for research, which will allow them to answer questions about specific incidences appropriately.

The Chamber of Commerce has reorganized the office at the depot building, which will be staffed by Sheriff volunteers on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. These volunteers will be able to help with crime reports, missing person follow up, graffiti abatement, and citizen walk in and phone contact. There will also be a security guard and a Chamber representative present.