Boulder Creek talks crime

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s office has ramped up parts of its coverage in the parks and downtown Boulder Creek with the help of community service officers and citizen patrols.
Nearly 40 Boulder Creek neighbors and business owners attended a meeting Sept. 15 at the Boulder Creek Fire Department to discuss recent crimes and ways to make the town safer.
The meeting stemmed from reports by residents of fights and assaults that resulted in injury, home break-ins and thefts, and several other crimes.
Deborah Elston, founder of the successful Santa Cruz Neighbors group, moderated the meeting and shared suggestions on how neighbors can organize to report and prevent crime.
Elston, whose family has a long history in the Big Basin area, suggested that individuals should act as “eyes and ears for law enforcement” and should use 9-1-1 whenever it’s appropriate.
Boulder Creek resident Denese Matthes organized and promoted the meeting.
Karen Park, owner of Joe’s Bar, spoke extensively on recent crime. She indicated that the biggest problems are the sons and daughters of notable local residents who group together and cause disruption and violence.
“I think people need to know what’s going on and make reports to the sheriff’s office,” Park said later. “I don’t want to bring more trouble to my business, but am I going to roll over? No.”
Park’s goal is to make downtown Boulder Creek a place where residents and visitors can walk around safely.
The 33-year business owner said she has seen groups of young people in their 20s and 30s with a stance that anyone who doesn’t live in Boulder Creek doesn’t belong.
“There’s definitely this ‘I own this town’ attitude,” she said.
After fighting or intimidating people in town, she said, the perpetrators use cell phones to alert their friends about the sheriff’s presence and leave before deputies arrive.
Sgt. Jim Ross of the San Lorenzo Valley Sheriff’s Service Center said his office is already working to identify the culprits. He added that if a deputy is able to identify a troublemaker, it’s often possible to enforce the terms of probation if the person has committed a crime in the past. That means it’s important for people to report crimes so the sheriff’s team knows what is going on, he said.
“I often hear about things after the fact,” Ross said.
A community service officer has been assigned to patrol the local parks, and citizen patrols have adjusted their schedules to patrol both the parks and downtown Boulder Creek during the evening, Ross said. The citizen patrols can also watch over homes left empty by people on vacation.
Ross pointed out a number of online tools, including ways to report abandoned cars and crimes and a mapping tool to help the department pinpoint problem areas.
“We need victims and witnesses to come forward and report a crime,” Ross said.
Elston suggested that people in Boulder Creek start up Neighborhood Watch groups and online message boards to stay connected.
Follow-up will include coordinating with the Santa Cruz Meth Project for a community gathering, as well as presentations by Ross on how to set up Neighborhood Watch groups throughout the San Lorenzo Valley.
Update: Sheriff’s Sgt. Jim Ross announced Thursday, Sept. 30 that two officers being paid overtime will patrol downtown Boulder Creek on foot during “peak hours” on the weekends. The program will start next weekend. Ross said peak hours are flexible and will be determined as the department decides when the officers are most needed.