Both sheriff candidates interviewed once more with the Free
Lance about the key issues in the race. The decision to run for San
Benito County Sheriff was made a long time ago by Darren Thompson,
but the reasoning is still clear – to fill the needs of the
community, he said. The Watsonville police lieutenant has been
involved with law enforcement for nearly 23 years, and it started
with a need to serve others, he said.
Editor’s note: A similar profile of Pat Turturici was posted previously.
The decision to run for San Benito County Sheriff was made a long time ago by Darren Thompson, but the reasoning is still clear – to fill the needs of the community, he said.
The Watsonville police lieutenant has been involved with law enforcement for nearly 23 years, and it started with a need to serve others, he said. Earlier this year, it evolved into a need to help the community he lives in, while he moved to San Benito County with his family six years ago.
“A lot of people are currently doing all the right things for all the right reasons, but others still need some assistance,” he said.
He then decided to pursue the belief in helping the community by running for sheriff, Thompson said in an interview with the Free Lance. Thompson believes that the sheriff’s office needs a change and reassessment of its character, he said.
If elected, Thompson would promote better accountability within the department, he said
“I want to develop competency and challenge the character of the men and women at the sheriff’s department in all assignments, not just deployments,” Thompson said.
Reassessing the character of those within the department is Thompson’s first priority, he said.
“We’ve seen some high-profile work where it would be important, and character issues surface,” he said. “My first goal is to achieve the greatest kind of health in an organization we could achieve.”
That starts with working with the public and “doing the best work every time,” he said. Thompson wants to create an emphasis on having better communication with the public, including informing people of the department’s policies and the law.
“Since I’ve been campaigning, a lot of concerns could be addressed with education and explaining simple nuts and bolts of police work to people,” he said.
In-house at the sheriff’s office, Thompson wants to focus deputies on being “others’-centered”
“We want to set the vision of the entire staff,” he said. “We are there to serve others and I want to challenge them (deputies) to be others’-centered.”
And reestablishment of the goals and vision of the staff would allow them to do the best work possible – including help prevent a growing threat of gangs, he said.
To prevent gang growth, Thompson wants to focus on two things: prevention and suppression.
Prevention starts with establishing a “well-designed” program that targets youth, describing the issues that gang involvement brings. But most important, the program needs to be run by the “right person,” Thompson said.
“I value these programs but I’m more concerned with leadership than their design,” he said. “Prevention is essential.”
To suppress the gangs, Thompson hopes to work with other local law enforcement agencies by sharing information and consolidating data.
If the consolidation between the Hollister Police Department and the sheriff’s office does take place, Thompson would be ready to handle the extra load, he said.
“I would be excited for the opportunity to work with them,” he said. “If you contract the two agencies and their two service populations, it’s not that much different than the size of the Watsonville Police Department and its service population.”
For the profile on Pat Turturici, go here.
