Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s office opens satellite center in Davenport

People living in a small Santa Cruz County community said they no longer feel forgotten.

Sheriff Jim Hart delivered on his campaign promise Wednesday by opening a permanent service center in Davenport and putting three staff there, who will be working seven days a week.

“We have all these pocket beaches that you can’t really see the activity,” longtime resident Noel Bock said. “We know what’s been going on down there, and there’s a lot of partying and a lot of littering.”

And more visitors have been flocking to these beaches.

“Actually, I just saw it on one of my friend’s Instagram. I just thought we’d come and check it out,” said Kyle Gionet, a student from Santa Clara.

The sheriff’s office is also expecting an uptick in foot traffic with a new national monument and hiking trail in line to open. But some may not be familiar with the lay of the land.

“We have a lot of cliff rescues that happen. And people have been washed out to sea because they don’t realize this is not Santa Cruz’s Cowells beach, this is open sea and it is dangerous,” Bock said.

On top of that, there are quality of life issues for residents, including traffic, theft and burglary.

“When you are talking about sending a deputy for a call for service from Live Oak, and you have a 25-minute response time … that’s just not acceptable,” Hart said.

Residents can now expect shorter response time and more services and programs such as crime preventative home and businesses inspections, child safety and workplace violence education, and beach patrol.

“When the community trusts you, and they know that you will answer your phone or you will answer your email and you will respond to their needs, on top of that trust comes a lot of community support,” Hart said.

Depending on the number of people visiting Davenport, Hart said he will consider increasing staffing at the North Coast Service Center.

The North Coast Service Center is the sixth one in the county.