Jaime Briano helps tutor children after school at Val Verde Park through the Sheriff’s YAL.

[KHTS] – Deputy Brian Rooney knows crime prevention and neighborhood policing start with being a part of the community.
For the last six or so years, he’s somewhat “entrenched” himself in the Val Verde area — taking part in coaching, tutoring, mentoring and other volunteer activities, in addition to his duties as a deputy in the predominantly Hispanic, working class corner of the Santa Clarita Valley.

And the result: When criminal activity occurs, people are more likely help deputies police the area, as opposed to running from an unfamiliar face in a law enforcement uniform, he said.

“You could easily paint the picture that if policing is going to have an honest impact in an area,” Rooney said, referring to the daily, hands-on community interaction of the Youth Activity League, “that’s a model of how to do it.”

Evidence of the sheriff’s efficacy in outreach can be seen in a number of ways, Rooney said.

A Search and Rescue Team volunteer uses a corporate connection with Boston Scientific to create an internship program there, supported by residents like AMS Fulfillment CEO Ken Wiseman, which offers jobs where opportunities might not have existed.

And yes, the crime numbers are lower for an area that used have a more significant gang presence, he said.

But perhaps even more important for the long term health of the area, the afternoon program has grown from a couple dozen Castaic Union School District students receiving tutoring to 60-75 regular daily attendees after school, which can get as high as in the hundreds during the summer.

The program runs as a partnership through the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department, with the programs based around Val Verde Park.

“The program itself has a great impact on the community and the children,” said Mari Roman, recreation service supervisor for Val Verde Park.

The two county organizations — the Sheriff’s YAL and the Parks Department — compliment each other to make a positive impact on the children, she said, noting the programs have not only been helpful in keeping children active, but also improving grades.
The principal for nearby Live Oaks Elementary estimates the afternoon tutoring has helped raise the GPA of participating students by about 50 percent, Roman said.

“Between all of us together, we make sure when a child stays until (the homework) is done,” she said, explaining how homework packets are checked before the children can go play.

“We help each other out in everything because we’re sharing the same children in the community,” Roman said. “We work really well hand in hand, and I think we enhance each other as a team.”

The program has been in Val Verde since 1998, but it’s seen tremendous growth in the last few years. The Sheriff’s Department program, supported by the Sheriff’s Youth Foundation, provides a free, “safe space” for children during the hours when “kids have an opportunity to get in trouble.”

Additionally, parents regularly thank Rooney, volunteers and staffers the Foundation supports through grants and donations, which have become all the more integral to community-building after the Boys & Girls Club closed up shop a few years back.
“It puts them in a safe, friendly environment that’s actively encouraging homework and tutoring,” Rooney said, citing two of the program’s main purposes. The YAL also uses sports like flag football, baseball basketball and soccer to encourage team-building and the kinds of activities that have been keeping kids out of trouble for years, he said.

Of course, at the end of the day, the residents also know he’s there to keep people safe, he said, and as a result of his community involvement, he’s a trusted source.

“When you go into Val Verde, there’s no disconnect (with the Sheriff’s Department),” he said. “And when the community knows you and trusts you, it makes you a resource.”

Crime Prevention Unit deputies divvy up the Santa Clarita Valley into eight areas, offering residents a person to answer to for each area.

In addition to patrolling and interacting with public, deputies analyze crime trends and reports and help the station adjust resources based on need, as well as working with detectives to make arrests.

CPU deputies post Nixle crime reports on a weekly basis, which alert residents to reported crimes, as well as offering tips and awareness about outreach events the station is hosting.

There are eight zones that were created with the program’s inception:
1. Gorman, Deputy John DeYoung and Deputy Barnaby Ortega, phone 661-799-5801, email jtdeyoun@lasd.org, bortega@lasd.org;
2. Castaic/Val Verde, Deputy Brian Rooney, phone 661-255-1121 email bjrooney@lasd.org;
3. Stevenson Ranch, Deputy Kevin Duxbury, phone 661-799-5158, email Kbduxbur@lasd.org;
4. Saugus, Deputy Chris Craft, phone 661-799-5461, cwcraft@lasd.org;
5. Valencia, Deputy Brian Heischuber, phone 661-799-5164, email baheisch@lasd.org;
6. Newhall, Deputy Daniel Dantice, phone 661-799-4411, dldantic@lasd.org;
7. Canyon Country West, Deputy Jonathan Wilson, phone 661-799-5159, jrwilson@lasd.org;
8. Canyon Country East, Deputy Betsy Shackelford, 661-799- 4283, BSShacke@lasd.org.