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DPS Officers Visit
Belmont Village
During their September visit to Belmont Village Senior Living, Public Safety staff met a resident, John, who is a retired motorcycle officer from Bell Police Department in So. California.
On October 21, the Public Safety staff organized a surprise visit to John and got a chance to meet a new resident, David, who is a retired CHP Officer.
The DPS Traffic Unit, Lt. Donald Discher, PSO Ava Phillips, PSO Andrew Laveroni and PSO Rudy Ramirez, arrived on their Harley Davidson Road King motorcycles and were joined by Special Operations Deputy Chief Kelly Fitzgerald and Patrol Lt. Bruce Fisher at Belmont Village. John and David were happy to talk shop and motorcycles with the officers, sharing stories and coffee.
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Sunnyvale Howl'oween Pet Parade
PSO Dan Pistor and PSO Amy Pistor meet a Yorkie with high hopes at the Sunnyvale Howl'oween Parade on October 25th. " Roxi" was attending the event with her guardians Martha and Erik Martin. |
Volunteers Needed
San Miguel School needs volunteer reading tutors for their first graders - do you have an hour or two per week to help?
You can contact the school at:408-522-8278
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Your Local Sunnyvale Crossing Guard
Name: Christian Redondo
Location: Sandia/ Fairwood (Fairwood Elementary School)
Years of Service:
4 Years (all at the same post!)
Why/How did you get involved with the Sunnyvale Crossing Guard Program?
Christian was watching the local Sunnyvale City cable channel, and saw a commercial ad for the crossing guard program. He went straight down to the Department of Public Safety to pick up an application!
Safety Quote:
"When dropping your children off, have them exit the vehicle on the curbside. Do not let your children exit the vehicle on the street side. That way the children are not exposed to oncoming traffic."
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Prevent Winter Thefts
The winter months bring with them a bit more of a chill and moisture in the air. This causes some of us to leave our vehicles running in the driveway to give the defroster a chance to work or to leave them running in front of the corner convenience store to keep the heater going. Unfortunately this increases the risk of becoming a victim of auto theft.
The Regional Auto Theft Task Force "RATTF" indicates that during the winter months, vehicle thefts rise significantly. "A large number of these vehicles are "warm-ups, which has caused the proliferation of organized groups that roam residential neighborhoods during the early morning hours in search of easy targets."
It only takes a few seconds for a determined and experienced thief to take your valuables or your car if you leave it running or unlocked. Protect your belongs by putting them away and do not leave your car running. Don't be an easy target.
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Sunnyvale DPS Upcoming Events
DECEMBER
Dec 16
Dec 22 and 23
Parent Project Graduations
Dec 24 Christmas Eve
City Offices Closed
Dec 25 Christmas Day
City Offices Closed
Dec 31 New Years Eve
City Offices Closed
JANUARY
In the Schools - Basketball Shoot out Qualifiers (7th & 8th Grade) Jan 1 New Year's DayCity Offices Closed
Jan 28
Challenge Team Meeting ChallengeTeam.insunnyvale.com |
For questions and comments about the Sunnyvale DPS newsletter Beyond the Badge,  you can e-mail us at: pubsfty@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us
© 2009 City of Sunnyvale, CA
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 Message from the Chief
Happy Holidays!
A few weeks ago I was invited to an early Thanksgiving luncheon at eSilicon Corporation, 501 Macara, right here in Sunnyvale. This wonderful corporate partner wanted me to attend so that they could present a check to the Department of Public Safety that would allow us to purchase two Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs).
So the back story is - this generous donation of $5000 to the City came to us at the "expense" of eSilicon's traditional holiday party. The people at eSilicon chose to forego their festivities so that someone else might benefit from the money that they would have otherwise spent. As I sat at the table with 55 really smart engineers and team members, I could not help but notice the culture of support and giving that abounds at eSilicon. As CEO Jack Harding spoke, you could tell where it all came from, and you could tell why eSilicon is so successful. It takes the commitment of every team member to achieve great things..... and there it was, all around the table.
As I accepted the $5000 check for our department, for our community, I tried my best to relay our appreciation, and my hope is that everyone around the table at lunch that day realizes that the gift they gave that day will allow us to continue to build our AED program and that their generosity will one day lead to saving the life of a victim of sudden cardiac arrest .... Right here in Sunnyvale.
So to Jack Harding CEO, and to everyone employed at or served by eSilicon, you have our thanks. Your unselfish action will allow someone to have a second chance at life! Chief Johnson(408) 730-7161, TDD (408) 730-7501 or email pubsfty@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us |
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South Peninsula Hebrew Day School Visit
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Volunteers Brett Carmody and
Chaplain Bob McKee
This month, we would like to feature two of our dedicated DPS volunteers.  The first is Brett Carmody, who has been volunteering with the Department of Public Safety for going on three years. He started here as a senior at Homestead High School in their Special Needs Work Experiwnce program. After graduating from Homestead, Brett attended De Anza Community College in their Learning in Communities (LinC) Program and continued volunteering here.
Brett is skilled in washing and detailing cars and is very interested in Fire Services. His instructor at Homestead High School recognized Brett's skill and interests and approached Sunnyvale DPS with an idea - what if Brett could wash fire trucks for the department? This has become a win-win situation: Brett gets experience honing his skills and once a week a fire crew gets a break from washing a truck!
Brett is currently partnered with DPS Chaplain Bob McKee. The two meet on Wednesday afternoons to complete Brett's assignment, which includes Brett phoning the fire stations to see who needs rig washing services that day. It takes about 2 hours to wash a fire rig. One week, they arrived at the station during the Joint Fire Academy and Brett got to ride in a tiller truck visiting from Mountain View Fire Department - this was a highlight as the truck was only 8 days old.
Chaplain Bob has been with the department for about a year. He is available on-call for traumatic incidents that happen in Sunnyvale. He also helps out with happy occasions such as with the invocations and benedictions at academy graduations.
"It's great working with Brett," commends Chaplain Bob. "He is so outgoing and friendly. Within five minutes of arriving, we know everyone at the station. Brett is very informed about the latest equipment and stays up to date on all the calls by listening to his scanner. Brett has great questions for the firefighters and they are always happy to provide the answers."
Recently, Brett was hired part time by Peninsula Infiniti in Redwood City. His job duties include detailing show room cars once a week. He is supported by a job coach provided by Abilities United and is able to get to his job using county transit. |
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Neighborhood Preservation (NP) Division joins the Department of Public Safety (DPS)
Public Safety is excited to announce that the Neighborhood Preservation (NP) Program is now coordinated through DPS. NPP, formerly under the direction of the Community Development Department, will work hand-in-hand with DPS and other city departments to bring an enhanced holistic approach to solving neighborhood concerns. NPP's commitment remains the same: to maintain and improve the quality of life in residential and commercial neighborhoods.  NP staff members (L to R): Chris Koelbel, Maribelle Hightower, Steve Frias, Jhoanne Navarro, Dale Huber, Christy GunvalsenNeighborhood Preservation is staffed by a group of dedicated City employees and DPS is now proud to call them our own. Manager Christy Gunvalsen has worked for Sunnyvale since 1997 and has been the NP Manager since 2000. Senior Specialist Dale Huber has been with Neighborhood Preservation since 2005. NP staff also includes three full-time Specialists: Jhoanne Navarro-Tran who has been with the City since 2000 and with NP since 2001, Chris Koelbel and Steve Frias have both been with NPP since 2006. Part-time Specialist, Debi Brandt, has been with NP since 2004 and Senior Office Assistant, Maribelle Hightower has worked in NP since 2006. Neighborhood Preservation enforces municipal code violations throughout the City. Examples of such violations include junk and debris in public view, overgrown vegetation and weeds in the front yard and graffiti on private property.   Before... and after pictures of NP involvement with clean-upNeighborhood Preservation also takes part in special projects throughout Sunnyvale that focus on assisting residents and business owners in maintaining and improving their properties. Projects like the Neighborhood Enhancement Action Team (NEAT), the Neighborhood Enhancement Program, and free Dumpster Days have been implemented to assist the community in keeping their properties free of code violations and in compliance with Sunnyvale Municipal Codes. NP staff also regularly attends community events and takes part in neighborhood association meetings to preserve channels of communication between City staff and its residents and businesses. Community members are encouraged to contact Neighborhood Preservation with questions or complaints at: (408)730-7610. |
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Holiday Crime Prevention
During these difficult economic times dishonest individuals are looking for any way to make a profit. Because previously lucrative ways of making money may no longer exist, or are limited, these individuals are turning to crimes of opportunity and fraud. The most notable crimes of opportunity are burglary and theft. Auto burglaries, residential burglaries, and commercial burglaries, all can be limited to number of occurrence if the proper preventative steps are taken. In regards to vehicles, be sure that all items of value, especially laptops (laptop bags), satellite/GPS systems, purses, shopping bags are not left visible in the passenger compartment. Place these items in the trunk. Remember, it is worth the couple of minutes it takes to do this rather than to have to pay several hundred dollars to replace a window. For your homes and business, be sure doors are looked and the perimeter of your property is well lit. Items of value should not be visible through open blinds or sitting on desks that are on the street side of business offices. Be attentive to suspicious people and activity that are unfamiliar to the area. Do not try to confront suspicious people, but do call the police immediately. A delay in reporting makes investigations and/or arrests very difficult. With all of the information coming out about mortgage modifications, refinances/loans, be sure the information you are getting is from a reputable source. A lot of the mail/email you receive in regards to these services is ripe with fraud. Avoid Identity theft and call any business you plan on providing information to and verify it is a legitimate business. Use the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to assist with business verification. During the holiday season burglaries and thefts tend to increase, please help the Department of Public Safety continue to keep Sunnyvale safe by reporting suspicious activity to 9-1-1. Your Crime Prevention Unit can be reached at:(408) 730-7140 or you can reach Lt. Locke (Crime Prevention Supervisor) at: rlocke@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us | |
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