It’s official. The officer who will be joining Keld Hove in the city’s new beefed-up Restorative Policing program is Craig Burleigh, a 6’3”, über-friendly rugby player from Bristol, England.
Burleigh, a seven-year police department veteran, is already on the job helping connect Santa Barbara’s homeless with services, treatment and, with luck, housing. On Friday, July 22, I saw him help a young woman get information about the Social Security benefits she needs to land a bed at the Hotel De Riviera. Waiting in the Social Security office’s waiting room for her number to be called, talking casually, Burleigh teased her, “Hey, if I’m screwing up, you’ll tell me.” To read more, see homelessinsb.org.