The City of Santa Clarita & SCV Sheriff’s Station -- Protecting Our Youth -- Know Where They're At! Know Who They're With! Know What They're Doing! Staying Involved = Staying Safe. 

Every year the City of Santa Clarita and the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station work tirelessly to ensure the safety of the youth within our community. As part of these efforts, the City of Santa Clarita promotes numerous youth related programs, partners with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station in crime prevention and enforcement programs, and provides resources to parents, which will assist in planning, controlling and surviving teenage celebrations, parties, and graduation events. 

As we enter into the academic promotion, graduation, and eventually Summer break season and many of our youth in the Santa Clarita Valley have time off from school and other responsibilities, it becomes even more critical to remind parents how important it is that our youth relax and celebrate responsibly and our parents stay closely involved with their teenager's activities. 

This time of the year young adults from all our local high schools attend prom nights and graduation night ceremonies, commonly referred to as "Grad Night." These celebrations are designed to be joyous occasions filled with youthful exuberance as our teenagers celebrate one of the greatest achievements of their young lives. The City of Santa Clarita and your Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station want to ensure that they remain joyous and do not turn to tragedy. 

The overwhelming majority of our youth in the Santa Clarita Valley are making the right decisions and taking personal safety and accountability seriously. However, the harsh reality is that some may make poor decisions during these celebrations that can result in severe consequences. This is an important time for parents to talk to their teenagers, educate them on the dangers associated with drinking alcohol, drug use and unlawful behavior to help them make the right choices. 

“Every year at this time deputies respond to parties in which teenagers are unsupervised and participating in unsafe or criminal behavior,” explains Captain Paul Becker of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station. “I intend to increase patrol and protection efforts on every graduation night this year in an effort to keep our youth safe as they celebrate one of the biggest accomplishments of their young lives," added Becker. 

The results of unsupervised teen parties can be tragic, as alcohol and drug use has led to death and injuries. Other times, complaints of loud, unreasonable noise is reported by neighbors. There are times when we also see an increase in sexual assaults directly connected to these types of gatherings. 

Each year, Santa Clarita Sheriff’s deputies responded to over 3000 calls for service involving either large parties or loud music complaints. Some of these incidents involved parties in which teenagers were found to be unsupervised and participating in unsafe or criminal behavior. 

We would also like to remind parents of the possible liabilities they face by hosting a party or having a party at their residence in which illegal activities occur. 

California law holds parents liable, both civilly and criminally, in the event of any injury or death when alcohol is either furnished or allowed to be consumed by a minor on their property. 

The Sheriff’s Department has always taken policing neighborhood parties and disturbances seriously. It is the policy of the Sheriff’s Department to maintain the peace, security, and serenity of our neighborhoods by responding to and abating neighborhood disturbances, including loud parties, unreasonably loud music and other noise-related incidents that disturb the quality of life of our community. 

In these situations, deputies must balance the rights of party participants to have a social gathering against the right of the neighbors to be free from unreasonable noise and disturbance. 
The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station would like to remind you -- Don't Drink and Drive! Remember, underage drinking is against the law, but don't complicate matters by adding driving to that. We will be conducting a Driving Under the Influence (D.U.I.) checkpoint during the month of May. 

Be aware that the Santa Clarita Safe Rides is a program independent of the Sheriff's Department that provides free, safe and confidential rides home to teenagers who are not in a condition to drive or want to avoid being a passenger with a dangerous driver. On any Friday or Saturday night you can simply call (661) 259-6330. Although the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department does support the free service, as it has undoubtedly helped save lives, we do not condone underage/teenage drinking. The fact is, since programs such as Safe Rides and Every 15 Minutes have been in existence, D.U.I. related traffic collisions and deaths involving teenage drivers have decreased dramatically in the Santa Clarita Valley. Drunk Driving: Over the Limit - Under Arrest! Stay Safe - Stay Sober - Stay Alive! 
By following a few precautionary guidelines and making responsible choices, our youth can have the incredible graduation celebration experience they expect and deserve. 

On behalf of all the staff at your Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station: Congratulations to our soon to be 2013 Graduates! 

Make sure you tune in this Friday, May 10th 2013, between 10am and 11am to Santa Clarita Valley’s only local radio station, KHTS AM 1220 where Deputy Dubin and Juvenile Intervention Team Detective Velek will be live on-air discussing many of the issues discussed in this message. If you’re not close to a radio – you can stream the live broadcast at www.hometownstation.com or by downloading the free KHTS app from the app store on your smart phone. Don’t forget to tweet Deputy Dubin at @jdLASD during the broadcast for questions or comments. 

Authored By: 
Sgt. D. Harris & Deputy J. Dubin 
jddubin@lasd.org 
661-255-1121 EXT. 4411 
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station 

The City of Santa Clarita returns for the fifth time in race history as a host city for the 2013 Amgen Tour of California with the Stage 3 Finish on Tuesday, May 14, and the Stage 4 Start on Wednesday, May 15. 

The City of Santa Clarita will kick off the Amgen Tour of CA with a series of events including a viewing party at Salt Creek Grille, SENSES Rock the Bike, and Bike to Work Day. Please join us on Tuesday, May 14 for the Lifestyle Festival, which will take place at the Westfield Valencia Town Center at the corner of Citrus and Magic Mountain Parkway, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information on the Amgen Tour of California and related events go to SantaClaritaTourofCA.com. 

Please be aware of the significant traffic impacts to local roads during the course of the event. Plan ahead and avoid impacts by checking for the latest traffic information at www.SantaClaritaTourOfCA.com. 


TRAFFIC IMPACTS 
Tuesday, May 14 
12:45 - 1:30 p.m. There will be an approximate 20-minute closure of southbound San Francisquito Canyon Road, west to Copper Hill Drive, and through the industrial center to the I-5 Freeway between 12:45 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. 

2:30 - 4:00 p.m. There will be an approximate 40-minute closure of southbound Bouquet Canyon Road west to Valencia Boulevard, and to Magic Mountain Parkway between 2:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. 

Wednesday, May 15 
12:15 - 1:00 p.m. There will be an approximate 10-15 minute closure on McBean Parkway, from Town Center Drive north to Newhall Ranch Road, and to Highway 126 between 12:15 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. 

Emergency vehicles will have continuous access to the entire Santa Clarita Valley at all times during the race as the safety of residents and spectators alike is the number one priority to both the presenters of the race and all agencies involved. 

For traffic and event information www.SantaClaritaTourOfCA.com 
For Amgen Tour of CA event information: 661.250.3787

Contact Information: 
Amgen Tour of CA 
Event Information 
661-250-3787

News media, including network television news programs, aired surveillance video and photos caught by school camera systems. The photos depicted one of the two men believed to have stolen items from inside the administration building during the Hart High School burglary. Detectives began receiving tips from our proactive and involved Santa Clarita residents. Detectives were able to use the information obtained from the public to develop suspect information. 

On Friday, April 19, 2013, during the early morning hours, Gonzalo Ortiz, a 20 year-old male and suspected gang member from Santa Clarita, was arrested along with a 17 year-old male in connection with the school burglaries. Suspect Ortiz is being held without bail, due to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hold. He is scheduled to appear in North Valley Superior Court on Wednesday, May 01, 2013. 

Detectives from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station have continued to follow leads and investigative trails in the case. As a result, additional search warrants have been issued and served at other Santa Clarita locations. Those search warrants have resulted in the recovery of some of the stolen school property. 

The investigation is continuing as detectives work to keep our schools and community safe. Fortunately, high resolution cameras on many of our school campuses are also assisting in making it extremely difficult for these late night criminals to get away without detection. “We will not tolerate criminals victimizing our schools and disrupting the educational process,” said Captain Paul Becker of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. “We will utilize our school and community partnerships and available resources to apprehend and prosecute these individuals. The safety of our schools is always a top priority for the men and women of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station,” concluded Becker. 
-------------------------------------------------------- 
Original Story - https://local.nixle.com/alert/4984752/ 

Detectives from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station's Career Offenders, Burglary, and Robbery Apprehension (COBRA) Team are seeking public assistance in identifying two people of interest thought to be responsible for four separate incidents of school burglary that occurred over the spring break between Friday, 03/29/2013 and Friday, 04/05/2013. 

The attached photos were captured from a surveillance camera at Hart High School during the early morning hours on Friday, 04/05/2013. The photos depict one of the two men believed to have stolen items from inside the administration building during the Hart High School burglary. 

The four incidents occurred at Old Orchard Elementary School, Sierra Vista Junior High School, Newhall Elementary School, and Hart High School during the spring break. Laptop computers, a television, and other items were stolen during the burglaries resulting in a substantial loss for the school district. In each of the incidents, forced entry was made into offices or classrooms on the campuses. The offices were ransacked and the items stolen. 

Our local school resource deputies are in contact with many of our school administrators daily and work to ensure open lines of communication between our station and all our schools. Santa Clarita Valley Station patrol deputies have been briefed on these burglary incidents and will continue extra directed patrols at our schools and surrounding neighborhoods. Residents are asked to immediately report and suspicious persons or vehicles on or around school campuses, especially during off school hours and weekends. If you see a flashlight or cell phone light on a school campus during the night time or early morning hours you should call 9-1-1. 

With 6 school districts, more than 70 public and private schools, and a student body population in excess of 50,000 students in the Santa Clarita Valley, protecting each of our schools is no small task. We need the eyes and ears of our local residents. Preventing and solving crimes involving our schools is extremely important to all the deputies assigned to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. Deputies will not tolerate the disruption of the educational process in Santa Clarita and anyone intent on negatively impacting our schools and their educational resources. As the investigations continue, we are asking anyone with information regarding these crimes or the man pictured to call detectives with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station’s COBRA team at 661-255-1121. For anonymous tips, please call the LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477). 

As part of April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month campaign, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station will be actively ticketing those texting or operating hand-held cell phones on April 3rd and 16th, 2013. Drivers who break the law and place themselves and others in danger will be cited with no warnings. The current minimum ticket cost is $159, with subsequent tickets costing at least $279. Last April, over 57,000 tickets were written statewide for texting and hand-held cell use. There were nearly 450,000 convictions in 2012. Whether it’s a ticket or a crash, as the campaign theme states, “It’s Not Worth It!” 

Distracted driving is a serious traffic safety concern that puts everyone on the road at risk. In recent years, hundreds have been killed and thousands seriously injured in California as a result of collisions that involved at least one driver who was distracted. Nationally, an estimated 3,331 died in 2011. As a result, law enforcement across the state, including the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station are increasingly cracking down on cell phone use and texting. This April will see over 225 local agencies plus the CHP conducting zero tolerance enforcements. 

“We all know that talking on our cell phones while driving is distracting, but that doesn’t stop some people from continuing to do it,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Captain Becker “This effort is intended to educate our community about the dangers of cell phone use while driving. We hope that once people see the statistics and realize the danger involved, they will change their driving habits to help protect themselves, their families, and others on the road.” 

Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. Younger, inexperienced drivers under 20 years old have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes. In addition, studies show that texting while driving can delay a driver’s reaction time just as severely as having a blood alcohol content of a legally drunk driver. 

Studies also show that there is no difference in the risks between hands-free and hand-held cell phone conversations, both of which can result in “inattention blindness” which occurs when the brain isn’t seeing what is clearly visible because the drivers’ focus is on the phone conversation and not on the road. When over one third of your brain’s functioning that should be on your driving moves over to cell phone talking, you can become a cell phone “zombie.” 

To avoid a distracted driving ticket or crash, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s offers drivers the following tips: 

Turn off your phone and/or put it out of reach while driving 

Include in your outgoing message that you can’t answer while you are driving 

Don’t call or text anyone at a time when you think they may be driving 

Sgt. Richard Cohen 
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station 

1/22/2013 -

Although unpredictable, flu season usually starts in October, peaks in January and February, and ends in May. It came early this winter in the U.S., and initial reports showed a significant rise in the number of reported cases. Over the past few weeks, patient visits for flu-like symptoms have steadily increased, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Consider some timely stats on how the flu impacts individuals, employers and the health care system:

• 47: States reporting widespread flu activity during the week ending January 5.
• 554,313: Hospital visits for symptoms of “influenza-like illness” during the week ending January 5.
• 111 million: Workdays lost because of sick days relating to the flu, reported in 2011.
• $4.6 billion: Direct cost of flu season in the United States, including doctors’ visits, hospitalizations and prescriptions.

Here are tips for protecting your family during flu season:

Get vaccinated. Anyone over the age of 6 months should consider getting a flu vaccination, especially high-risk individuals like seniors over the age of 65, pregnant women, people with a history of respiratory issues, and those who work in a health care setting. Flu vaccines are offered in many locations, including doctor’s offices, clinics, health departments and pharmacies as well as by many employers.

Wash your hands several times per day, use hand sanitizer and avoid touching your face. There’s no greater preventive measure to help reduce the chance of infection than practicing good hygiene. Hand sanitizer has been found to kill 99% of all germs in 20 seconds. When washing your hands, use warm water with soap, scrub for 20 seconds and pat dry with a clean towel. And make a point to wash your hands or use hand sanitizer when you’ve touched high-exposure items in public areas, such as using an ATM, handling money or pumping gas. Avoid touching your face so viruses don’t invade the mucous membranes in your eyes, nose and mouth.

Increase vitamin C intake. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that can aid in removing toxins and free radicals from the body. It’s a natural antihistamine and increases your immune cells which can come under attack when your body comes in contact with infection. The North American Dietary Reference Intake recommends 90 milligrams per day. Sources include dietary supplements; fruits such as kiwi, orange, grapefruit and tangerine; and vegetables like broccoli, spinach and tomatoes.

For additional information on this year’s influenza season, you can visit www.cdc.gov/flu.

Source: CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/11/health/flu-numbers/index.html