Police Captain Richard Delao has recently moved into a new office on the Ventura College campus to help make use of the district law enforcement and help bring the community on board.
There may be other motives for the move to the VC campus but the biggest concern is the budget cuts. Even with the budget, Delao is very concerned with trying to reorganize the safety and security while having the limited budget.
“District and campus have been impacted by the budget, or lack of,” said Delao. “Police still need to issue safety and the raise the level of organizing the safety on campus.”
The move brings a more personal level of security to VC, since the office is now located on campus. Ventura College President Dr. Robin Colate is thrilled to have Delao come to VC.
“We’re glad to have him on the campus,” said Colate. “Gives the college a chance to interact with him on a more frequent basis.”
With a combined total of 200 cameras on all the three campuses and with an 100 more being put together, safety shouldn’t be questioned for quite a while.
Due to the recent retirement of Lieutenant Kegley, Delao has been searching for others that can help out with campus security but trying to keep it under the low budget. An option that he expressed interest in is the idea of bringing more sergeants and officers for lower pay, instead of taking on a limited number of sergeants for a higher pay.
“Sergeants would do the day-to-day duties and are allowed to hold certain positions within this organization,” said Delao. “Putting an officer and a sergeant together on certain tasks would still be cheaper than hiring one lieutenant. This will help cost savings and help provide safety and the long term budget.”
As of late, the campuses have been experiencing criminal acts in the parking lots with Oxnard College dealing with trucks getting their catalytic converters stolen and VC having a recent car theft.
A witness has stated that a white Suburban van was seen leaving the white Toyota truck after being broken into.
Delao has issued a warning to all truck owners to go ask around to mechanics or even the dealerships to see if there is some kind of device that can hold together the bolts even tighter to protect the catalytic converter. The price of safety is less than the price of a catalytic converter.
This move should be able to stop these criminals from breaking into these automobiles and the school security will be heading into a whole new direction. Delao has been praising the community for their help with the school safety issue.
“The surrounding community and the police department have joined together to reorganize and utilize safely on and around the campus,” said Delao.
The district police have also joined a program called 211, which is a 24/7 service provided to anyone needing something along the lines of life needs such as food and housing. Delao expressed how happy he is with this certain program.
“This is our first year with 211, and I couldn’t be more excited for this new beginning,” said Delao.
Delao had nothing bad to say about this move and is excited to start with this campus. He is excited to start the new year with his new office.
