 Last week we had a great tour of the 5-year-new El Dorado County Public Safety Facility. We ate our lunch as Sheriff Jeff Leikauf told us about the state of law enforcement in EDC in 2024. The 108,000-square-foot facility on Industrial Drive in Placerville was opened in September of 2019. Highlights from Sheriff Leikauf's presentation: The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDCSO) is considered a good place to work. Hiring is selective enough that only 3.4% of all applicants get hired. Also, the training ethic is so strong that deputies here are required to get 110 hours of training per year, while the CA standard is a minimum of 24 hours of training per year. Our county came in as the 3rd saftest county in California, behind only Marin and Placer counties, in terms of crime per capita. The sheriff spent a fair bit of time on the homeless issue in our county, and in particular, in Cameron Park. Homeless encampments behind the Bel Air, and in the woods behind Moonraker Millhouse were cleaned up recently. The new homeless facility, the El Dorado Navigation Center, provides a place that offers a greater range of services than before, and more homeless are amenable to going there, which makes these camp cleanups easier. Also, the local Shingle Springs Tribe of Miwok Indians that runs the Red Hawk Casino is happy to provide manpower to help with the large manual effort that these cleanups imply. Besides what is typically involved in a cleanup, the sheriff likes to trim back the canopy of trees and bushes in the area. This improves fire safety and the removal of canopy makes it less comfortable for homeless to start camping in the same area again. The sheriff also discussed at length the County's ordinance to make it unlawful to distribute needles and drug paraphernalia to drug users in the County. This is in disagreement with state law, so there is likely to be a lawsuit on this subject. The sheriff also discussed some of the new equipment that the County has acquired for law enforcement, including The Rook, sort of a combination of a tank and a Bobcat; and a  helicopter that the County can use for search and rescue, firefighting and pursuit of suspects. During the tour of the building, we saw the offices of the many departments of the sheriff's office: detectives, operations, records, drug enforcement, locker room and workout room. The entrance atrium and the break room with their tall ceilings were particularly impressive.  The members were very grateful to the Sheriff and his staff for making us feel so welcome for this presentation and tour. |
Please join us for a talk by Natalie Moore of CASA El Dorado. Growing up in El Dorado County, Natalie Moore completed CASA El Dorado’s Advocate training in 2017. Becoming an Advocate ignited her passion for service to foster youth. Natalie joins CASA El Dorado with extensive experience in child welfare advocacy. With a law degree from Pacific Coast University, her background includes serving as court-appointed counsel for youth and families for the past five years. She is honored to now serve this vulnerable population in her new role as CASA’s Executive Director in the County she grew up..png)
