Gilroy
– You can’t blame South County farmers if they feel like they’re
not the top priority of county law enforcement. For the second year
in a row, the valley’s rural crime deputy was at the top of a list
of budget cuts proposed by Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie
Smith.
Gilroy – You can’t blame South County farmers if they feel like they’re not the top priority of county law enforcement. For the second year in a row, the valley’s rural crime deputy was at the top of a list of budget cuts proposed by Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith.
Just weeks after Deputy Doug Vander Esch took over as South County rural deputy, Smith submitted a budget that would have slashed his position along with eight other uniformed officers, five of them in South County. But for the second year in a row, last-minute negotiations prevented the cuts and the popular Vander Esch will get to stay on the rural crimes beat.
“There was no question that it was going to be cut, but we were able to show that it’s needed,” Captain Ed Laverone said. “He’s done a real great job. You can tell what he’s meant to farmers and the crime rate down here.”
It’s not that Smith doesn’t value Vander Esch or his position, but staffing requirements don’t give her much latitude when it’s time to trim the budget. The first place she looks are non-required positions such as rural deputies.
“We’ve lost so many deputies over the last three or four years that we’ve gotten down to the bare minimum, where we’re really just providing service that we’re are required by law to perform,” Smith said of the 50 positions cut out of the budget in recent years. “Rural crimes are not mandated, but through [County Supervisor Don] Gage’s leadership we were able to convince the county that the cuts were too deep for us.”
Under a new budget that will be formally approved by supervisors in June, the sheriff’s office will lose four administrative positions, three of which are vacant. Gage said South County can’t afford to lose Vander Esch.
“We’ve got the worst response times in the county because the area is so big, and people have the right be safe,” he said. “We get a lot of calls from farmers who’ve had their tractors stolen, and we need someone to investigate things like that.”
Vander Esch transferred to the rural beat in January. When he took over, relations were strained between farmers and the sheriff’s office due to a rash of equipment thefts last year, but Vander Esch is getting rave reviews for his hands-on style and dedication.
Erin Gil, of Grass Farm’s Garden Accents on the San Martin-Gilroy border, said that Vander Esch has gone out of his way to keep an eye on the farm, which in the last year has been victimized by theft and vandalism.
“He takes more time looking out for our spot now, driving by at odd hours,” Gil said. “He’s doing a great job.”
And Vander Esch is liberal with his cell phone. He gives the number out freely and the phone is on duty even when Vander Esch isn’t.
“I was very impressed with him,” said Sylvia Hamilton, president of the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance. “He was over in five minutes after we talked and brought me all kinds of brochures and information and encouraged people to use his cell phone. I’m really glad they’re keeping his position.”
Vander Esch’s first big project was to encourage local farmers to register their equipment with a Owner Applied Number, a system developed by the FBI that helps law enforcement across the state track stolen equipment. When a tractor is registered in the system, it can be tracked much like a car with a license plate.
Vander Esch said he’s registered more than 80 new owners and updated information for about 25 people who registered years ago.
“In most cases, I had to let them know what their numbers were,” he said.
Vander Esch pushes the system wherever he goes and on everyone he meets. Lately, he’s used his bully pulpit to caution against gas theft, a problem that’s growing along with gas prices. Most farmers’ diesel tanks are so large, they don’t notice if 20 or 50 gallons have been siphoned out. There have already been a couple of incidents in South County.
“Everybody I talk to, I tell them to lock the stuff up, and if possible, put fences around it” Vander Esch said. “In past years it hasn’t been a problem, but with gas prices going through the ceiling, it’s going to be a hot item.”
