Five Questions for Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel

Santa Cruz Police Chief who took office at the end of last year, promised to answer any questions we had by email. Here are five.

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1.What accomplishment  are you most proud of as a policeman?
 
I am proud of my entire career as a police officer for the City of Santa Cruz.  This is something that I have wanted to be since I was a very young boy. 

In terms of my accomplishments, Santa Cruz expects a lot from their police department and I am very proud to have the privilege to serve this community as Chief of Police.

 Without a doubt, my proudest moment occurred as my family and friends watched my Mom pin my Chief of Police badge on me when I was sworn in as the Santa Cruz Police Chief on December 15, 2010.
 
2. Can more money help the SCPD? What is the first thing you would do if you were suddenly granted $500K more a year?
 
Without question we would hire more people. Over the last decade we’ve seen a 20 percent decline in overall staffing with a 30 percent increase in calls-for-service.

There are so many more community-focused things we would like to do that are hard to do with our current fiscal reality. We’ve been very fortunate that the City Council, City Manager and community in general have done all that they can to sustain our current staffing levels.

But if $500,000 fell from the sky we would put more officers and community service officers on the street to serve our community.
 
3. The trial time on using First Alarm to provide patrols downtown and around Harvey West is winding down. How has it worked? Is it something you want to continue?
 
We have received universally positive feedback from the community and businesses about our usage of First Alarm to supplement patrols downtown and in the Harvey West area.

Without question, First Alarm is not a replacement for our patrol staff. But we are appreciative to have an extra presence in these areas while we fill our ranks back up.

We will be meeting soon with stakeholders to ensure to program has continued to meet expectations. If so, we will try to continue the program to the best of our financial ability.
 
4. Can we ever win a war on drugs? As the chief of a town with a most liberal take on drug use, has lowering the priorities on such things as marijuana led to harder drug use, as predicted by some experts?
 
I can’t speak to the greater war on drugs but I can speak to the challenges in our community.

Lowering the priority of marijuana, through the Measure K ordinance, has changed nothing operationally with our agency.

Given we field over 75,000 calls-for-service/year, we were already focusing our priorities on other issues. But that isn’t to say that we haven’t lost opportunities for funding based on the ordinance especially in the asset forfeiture realm.

Other agencies that don’t have the ordinance have actually been able to receive funds that would have come to our agency based on seizures that occurred in our jurisdiction. But it is drug use in general that we see as a constant challenge.

Violent gang operations are funded through the local heroin, meth and marijuana trade. We partnered with federal agencies to help get a handle on major drug operations in Pogonip and other areas.

There isn’t a day that goes by where we don’t encounter criminal issues (including some that lead to violence) because of local drug use and sales. 
 
5. What is your favorite and least favortite things about living in Santa Cruz?
 
I have a lot of favorite things about Santa Cruz, but my most favorite thing about living in Santa Cruz is the small-town feel that our community has.  It is virtually impossible to go anywhere in this town without seeing someone that you know.

  This really gives Santa Cruz a unique sense of community.  Aside from the small town feel of Santa Cruz, I really like the climate and the natural beauty that Santa Cruz has to offer.  

My least favorite thing about living in Santa Cruz is the fog during the summer months. I love it when September and October get here because it finally feels like summer!