New Public Information Officer for SB Police Department

This is not an easy job, especially during these times when folks are claiming 1) that the PD doesn't do enough, and 2) that gangs are somehow running through the streets (lived here all my life, have yet to be accosted, but.... whatever).

Lt McCaffrey has done very well with what he is able to say and with the resources given him. Hats off to him.

I would hope that with the next officer in this position, the SBPD be given the opportunity to expand their ability to get timely (that's the key word for the day) and reliable information to the public.

Not for nothing, but having to wait for the Police Officer's Association to publish info on their website, by which time EVERY media outlet (including the online ones) has the same exact story, nearly word-for-word, in its pages.

Posting information online, as any and all crimes happen, should be a part of the new job. Obviously, post only the facts, and update accordingly. That's the other part of the job that never comes out in public: an update on things past the initial release. We don't have to wait weeks until the PD knows everything. But if we see lights and hear sirens, black-and-whites stacked over a location, we'd like to know what happened sooner than the weekly press report in another 6 days.

Ah, hope. It never let's us down. Right?

Good luck to the new PIO.

GANG ACTIVITY: "Eight_santa_barbara" seems skeptical re the level of gang activity in our community, but one doesn't have to get mugged to know that it's real. If you don't believe the media reports of knifings, beatings, and murders, or the blood stains on the sidewalk, you only have spend time in some of our less-affluent neighborhoods after dark; gangbangers are quite visible. I've been in SB since childhood, and I've lived east of Milpas on a couple of occasions. However, I've never seen such blatant and violent gang activity, or the level of gang visibility that there is now.

SBPD's PUBLIC INFORMATION FUNCTION: The SBPD's marketing strategy seems rather disingenuous - they concentrate mega-coverage on a few cases in order to draw attention from their failure to control gang violence. However, the department's shortcomings aren't going to be solved by installing a new PIO; the problem lies at the top of the food chain. There's a lot of grumbling in the neighborhood that the Chief - in his gargantuan effort to be PC - is failing to knock down the gangs. Meanwhile, law-abiding folks have to put up with the crime and violence that are the raison d'etre of these petty thugs.

To aspiringdiva (I hope you get to drop the "aspiring" part some day),

Let me clarify my comments: Yes, there is a gang problem in Santa Barbara.

My comments were directed at those who write on blogs and in letters that gangs are "terrorizing" and running things in Tombstone-style lawlessness. Of course we have a problem. But such language is entirely unnecessary, and only serves to get people's emotions going.

We can talk about this issue without indulging in emotion, and in doing so attempt to find solutions. Let's fix things without getting emotional-- and that's for folks on both side of the table, those who demand police action and those who demand community solutions.

I agree with you on the PD's marketing strategy. Their PR focuses on so-few things, even though the rank and file actually do make arrests and help keep overall crime low in the City. They ought to highlight these successes, however small, but at the same time ought not fear those times when the press for them may appear negative. Getting information out, any and all, to the public ought to be the goal when Cam Sanchez reevaluates the nature of the position and chooses Lt McCaffrey's successor.

Did anyone notice how abruptly McCaffrey stepped down and was re-assigned to dispatch? It was so sudden that Cam Sanchez had to appoint an interim PIO for three weeks until he could find a permanent replacement. And since when are experienced, high-ranking, high-paid lieutenants assigned to lowly dispatch? Sounds like either 1)McCaffrey quit suddenly in a dispute with Sanchez or 2)he was demoted by Sanchez for some transgression. Oh well, more turmoil under Chief sCam Sanchez.

zorro you truly hate SBPD don't you? Every comment that you post is anti-police. Tell us why do you hate them so? What did they arrest you for?