Thompson, a veteran police officer, talks about gangs, deputy
morale
A Watsonville police officer of 22 years and San Benito County
sheriff candidate, Darren Thompson is wary about one thing: making
sure the people of San Benito County know he calls Hollister his
home.
”
I want to make it clear
– I live here,
”
Thompson said.
”
I live in Hollister but like the pleasure of nearly 50 percent
of the people here, I commute to work.
”
In his 22 years in Watsonville, Thompson has carried many
positions. Currently, he is a lieutenant who oversees all
investigation and budget activity in Watsonville as part of
department administration.
Thompson, a veteran police officer, talks about gangs, deputy morale
A Watsonville police officer of 22 years and San Benito County sheriff candidate, Darren Thompson is wary about one thing: making sure the people of San Benito County know he calls Hollister his home.
“I want to make it clear – I live here,” Thompson said. “I live in Hollister but like the pleasure of nearly 50 percent of the people here, I commute to work.”
In his 22 years in Watsonville, Thompson has carried many positions. Currently, he is a lieutenant who oversees all investigation and budget activity in Watsonville as part of department administration.
“I’m not an ambitious person – I’ve held many assignments and I’ve held many ranks but when I came into law enforcement, I came for my passion for people and my love for justice,” he said. “And every position I’ve held I thought of it as a new occupation, not a stepping stone. I never thought it would lead to anything else, but it did. It led to promotions. And looking back at my career, it’s given me a lot of skill sets.”
After recent events involved with the sheriff’s office, Thompson said he thought his skills would be a good fit for the office.
“I figured I was the best candidate that was getting into the race, and so I jumped in,” Thompson said.
If elected, Thompson plans to spend time with each deputy in the office trying to determine why they got into law enforcement, he said.
“It’s critical people are in law enforcement for the right reason,” Thompson said. “Many come into law enforcement for the right reason but they become distracted from that.”
Thompson wants to discover each deputy’s “values and principles” to find if he or she is the best fit for the job.
“I want to know each of my staff members and know what their skill set is and the character is – I want to find where they are passionate,” Thompson said. “One of my core values is that an inspired employee will out-work a required employee.”
He said he hopes an inspired employee displays strong justice principles.
“Justice begins within the walls of the organization,” he said. “Discipline is an issue of justice.”
Displaying justice inside the building is just as important as displaying it outside the building, Thompson said. Doing so will help prevent officers from taking advantage of their powers.
It would help prevent another situation like that involving former deputy Michael Rodrigues, convicted last year for rape, he said.
“We need to be diligent to constantly monitor the behavior and conduct of our personnel – keep morale standards high and keep that target on the wall and the constant reminder that we need to be of the highest character,” he said.
Using a just system should allow the office to stay strong and help fight other problems in the community, such as gangs.
And the threat of gangs is growing every day in Hollister, Thompson said. To help alleviate the problem, the police agencies in the area need to work together.
“Right now, we know that Hollister is a bedroom community for Norteno gang members that are active outside the area,” Thompson said. “We need to identify them, but getting to know who they are is a process that’s going to take inter-agency cooperation throughout the region.”
The department needs to be more aggressive in gathering information, he said. The more information, the easier it will be to catch them.
To do that, the community needs to get involved.
“The role of the law enforcement is to equip the community to combat gang growth and activity,” Thompson said. “Gang members seem to be a group of people that ignore consequence – it’s time to work together as a community.”
Most of all, Thompson wants the connection between the officers and the community to be stronger. He wants the officers to treat every person they contact with respect.
“Anytime we are rude on a stop or we don’t investigate greatly, we are hurting ourselves,” Thompson said. “Every person they touch in the community is a potential juror or has friends and family that are a potential juror … Often decisions are made by jurors based on their perception of the officer or deputy that is testifying.”
