Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office is changing the way they police

Policing across the country is a hot button topic that’s caught the attention of many.

“With the horrendous situations that are going on, where police are killing people without even stopping for a moment to find out what’s happening,” Joy Hinz from Aptos said.

With mounting fear and distrust between police and community members, the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Department is trying something new.

“Although our agency is not dealing with the issues that are happening federally, it’s a good time to get a step ahead before we get to that point,” Deputy Socorro Luna said.

On Thursday, the sheriff’s office made a public commitment to update and re-examine its policing model. They want to embody more transparency and better reflect community standards.

“I think that’s something that’s lacking right now… a strong connection with the law enforcement agency to understand that they’re a service to our community,” Santa Cruz County Community Action Board Member Javier Diaz said.

Over the next six months, a new task force made up of 20 sheriff’s officers and personnel will look at 79 recommendations that came out of President Obama’s task force report for “21st Century Policing.”

“How we can best implement that in our particular agency, what the best community fit is… and then we will be rolling out policies and practices to reflect that,” Chief Deputy of Operations Craig Wilson said.

Some of the recommendations they are already looking into include body cameras and making demographic data public for car and pedestrian stops.

“To make sure that there’s not practices or policies or patterns that have bias or implicit bias,” Wilson said.

In addition to the sheriff’s task force, law enforcement officials say they will have a task force of 20 citizens who will also look at the recommendations, and how they can be applied to neighborhoods.