[KHTS] – About a dozen west side residents met with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Captain Roosevelt Johnson and Zone Three Leader Deputy Kevin Duxbury at the Starbucks in the Valencia Marketplace Wednesday morning. Shirley Miller, the new public information officer for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, attended the event, as well.

“I started this event because there was something lacking in terms of engagement with the community,” said Johnson. “My thought is, we shouldn’t have to wait for the community members to come to us, it’s our responsibility to get out in the community and figure out what’s going on.”

The Santa Clarita Valley is split up into eight different zones: Gorman, Castaic/Val Verde, Stevenson Ranch, Valencia, Newhall, Canyon Country West and Canyon Country East. Johnson’s goal is to get out to every zone to talk to the community members, “I just started up again this year. Last year, I went through all eight zones.”

Photo: Jessica Boyer/KHTS

In most places, traffic-related issues are the number one concern, said Johnson.

“It’s not necessarily the crime or anything like that,” he said. “The Santa Clarita Valley is a very safe community and it’s our intent to keep it that way.”

Some people also had concerns regarding firework activity in the Santa Clarita Valley.

On the Fourth of July alone, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s received 147 calls related to fireworks, Johnson said.

“Far too often, we’re in the office or in the station doing our day-to-day business but this is an opportunity to really let our guard down and meet and greet with people as they are and find out exactly what’s on their minds,” said Johnson.

Stevenson Ranch resident Claudia Hawkins was among the attendees at Coffee with the Captain who brought her 8-year-old boy.

“I think (this event is) a great thing, specifically for me, because the Sheriff’s Captain is an African-American and my son is a young African American boy growing up in this community, I wanted to bring him out and have him meet the Sheriff’s because we understand the history between the police and the community and most recently African-American boys,” said Hawkins. “For me, it’s important, in raising my son, that he understands that there is an entity within the community that is supposed to be there to help keep them safe. It’s my duty to introduce him to that so that he has that feeling of security when he’s alone in the community without me.”

The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station officials tries to shift the times of “Coffee with the Captain” to meet the most people they can. Sheriff’s are looking to host evening functions as well.