By Patric Hedlund, Editor

Let’s start out with one important fact. We respect and appreciate the sergeants and deputies who are assigned to the Frazier Park substation. Over the years we have worked with many of them closely and appreciate their service.

That does not mean that they don’t make mistakes. And it doesn’t mean that questions about a possible culture shift at the substation should be ignored by the press and the community.

One of Kern County’s principal investments of your tax dollars is in law enforcement. Law enforcement is expensive. But good law enforcement does not need to be more expensive than bad law enforcement. The difference between the two is the culture of service that is established within the organization.

We have been fortunate over the past decade to see constantly improving relations between local law enforcement personnel and the community. Under guidance of Sergeant Mark Brown the Frazier Park substation became a training location where deputies were schooled in the ethos and techniques of effective community policing.

Together, the community and the sheriff’s deputies were able to make sure that the only armed robber who ever pulled a gun on a Frazier Park Market store clerk went back to prison. The Mountain Enterprise published a photo of the robbery in progress on our front page and put a video on our breaking news website, along with an editorial urging people to make it clear that this cannot happen here without consequences.

It was tips from our own Mountain Community residents that led to the apprehension of James Brammer, a Los Angeles County resident who had already committed a string of more than 20 similar robberies in Los Angeles. He did all this within weeks of being released after 18 years in prison for the same type of crime. No citizens in Los Angeles came forward to nail the guy. But more than one Mountain Community resident provided information that helped send this man who was endangering others back to prison.

Together, these communities are one small town that unite to stop this kind of violation—as long as we trust that the deputies and the sergeant down at the substation are willing to do their part well.

A fundamental contribution of Sgt. Mark Brown was his emphasis on the need for young deputies to respect the differences between these unincorporated Mountain Communities and Bakersfield (along with nearby towns such as Wasco, Lamont and Arvin).

Youth gang activity is not a significant factor in our lives here, unlike many other regions of Kern County. The people who live here want this to remain a healthy place to raise children, a place where their grandparents can retire and live safely.

Policing here is effective when it has a collaborative style.

Showing respect to our local citizens—young people and elders—is a positive way for deputies to gain eyes, ears and a productive ‘Neighborhood Watch’ mindset here.

Reaching out to the community, keeping residents informed, winning their trust and asking for their assistance can make all the difference between whether the mission “to protect and serve” is fulfilled…or not.

The Sheriff’s Logs published in this paper have long been an important tool for keeping the community in the loop regarding events of concern. Sheriff’s logs of police arrests are, by law, public records. They inform the community about how things are going in their town. They show taxpayers that KCSO employees are contributing to the wellbeing of these villages. They also hold law enforcement accountable when they take someone into custody. In the U.S., public records laws protect us against the kind of secret arrests that ‘disappear’ people in totalitarian countries.

Cherry-picking by a sergeant about which arrest records are to be public knowledge and which are not is a very slippery slope.

Last week we reported the outrage of homeowners and neighbors when it appeared the relationship was far too cozy between the substation and arrested burglars who vandalized and moved into a Frazier Park home [“Family says cabin seized by thieves—Claims deputies failed to investigate crime, left needles, drugs for family to clean up”]. This is at a time when burglaries are not being solved and rifling of mailboxes in the region is starting again.

Now we have learned that the Kern County District Attorney’s office has rejected the case due to insufficient evidence and has referred it back to the Frazier Park substation for further investigation.

There was abundant evidence at the house this reporter viewed. Mrs. Jutta Nussbaum photographed it when she and her son were allowed into the home after the arrests. But deputies did not gather the evidence. They left it behind, telling the family: “clean it up, but don’t stick yourself on the ‘sharps’” (hypodermic needles), said Brent Nussbaum.

When confidence falters about willingness of sheriff’s deputies to perform good investigative police work so those harming others can be convicted, we have a problem.
We invite the sergeant to take this opportunity to explain what occurred and how service will improve.

This is part of the March 25, 2016 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you.