Community-Oriented Policing has a New Face in Rio Vista

Your neighbor is parking somewhere they shouldn’t, or someone is harassing you, or there is a code enforcement issue—something that needs a resolution but not a full police response. Who are you going to call? Well, now a new Problem Oriented Policing (POP) officer is available to find solutions for individuals and businesses in Rio Vista.

Officer Santiago Ventura has been designated that community-oriented problem solver, according to Police Chief Jackson Harris.

“The main goal of POP is addressing the situation where our average patrol officer has to go from call to call. Sometimes that can get kind of busy and their initial response is to go out and try to deal with a particular situation that doesn’t require a full-on law enforcement response,” said Chief Harris.

“But there are times when a more broad solution or more complicated solution is needed, and a lot of times our general patrol staff just doesn’t have the time required to give to that. That’s again when the POP officer is going to come out and look for those out-of-the-box creative solutions.”

“Sometimes just being able to have the communication and have that familiar face is really really important”, says Chief Harris. ”We want the public to know as we want them to trust us, to know that we’re really here for the benefit of the community.”

Solutions for Businesses

The goal of the program for businesses is to answer a need for advice and action. “I can participate in local projects and any events related to the business establishments here,“ explained Officer Ventura.

“Local businesses can report to me basically any quality of life issues surrounding the business establishment, whether it’s parking enforcement, loitering, homelessness, noise complaints, even code compliance checks if need be.”

The POP officer is also available to advise businesses on safety and security practices.” I can also provide business establishments with tips overall such as how to manage their security infrastructure. This can range from not putting merchandise close to an exit, setting up a grab-and-go shoplifting opportunity, to putting their cash register in place is not accessible to the public or how to detect fraudulent checks, cards or money.”

If the officer sees it’s necessary, he will reach out to city or Solano county resources such as the fire department, public works or counseling services to solve problems. For example, they are working with the local business community to start a chaplaincy service to serve Rio Vista.

Part of Officer Ventura’s duties include walking around the community to talk about local challenges and get feedback. “You’ll see me interacting with the citizens on a daily basis,” he said. He looks for feedback to develop suggestions for new programs or revisions to existing procedures, working in conjunction with Community Services Officer Kim Guggemos and the entire RVPD staff.

Community Outreach

As part of the RVPD’s community outreach, Ventura is also the primary liaison for the School Resource Program, to be the bridge between the police and the school communities. His friendly face will provide an advocate, role model and friend for students, teachers and staff.

Another “officer” involved in community events is well-loved police dog Rio. His handler Officer Jesse Urban will take Rio to city events as well as make appearances in the parks, dog parks and other locations. to add another friendly face. But the chief emphasized that he is a working dog, and has both community relations and policing duties.

Chief Harris believes he has a great team to handle the outreach. “The idea is again the community outreach is critically important because if we don’t interact, we can’t expect people to listen to us when they don’t know us.”

“We want the public to know us. We want them to trust us, to know that we’re really here for the benefit of the community. Having these programs and the opportunities for us to get to know each other is critical for that,” Chief Harris said.