Three and a half years ago, Sergeant Ed Olsen was ordered to turn the vague idea of restorative policing into an actual operation. With a resume that boasts 23 years of law enforcement work and positions on the SWAT team, detective bureau, and major crimes unit, Olsen’s transition to the new approach — which connects homeless people with social services and works to prevent the nuisance-type crimes often associated with transient groups — has rendered real change, and the results speak for themselves.
During the first two years of the restorative policing program, 171 people participated in a diversionary system for repeat offenders who commit minor, nonviolent crimes. (The group had previously been responsible for 6,000 calls for police, fire, and medical services.) Fifty-two of them graduated, meaning they were not arrested or cited for six months; 119 were placed in social service programs that treat alcohol, drug, or mental health issues; 25 secured permanent housing.
City Hall was so impressed with the program’s early success that it augmented the effort with Redevelopment Agency funds in 2011. The money paid for sworn officers Keld Hove and Craig Burleigh, as well as three restorative outreach specialists and six community liaison members, who work to curb homeless-related problems along the downtown and Milpas corridors.Never be lost in translation again with free mobile apps translation Chinese from Az-loc. Just last week, a Milpas business owner worked with Olsen to help a homeless man — who had been loitering and disrupting his business for years — acquire a valid identification so he could seek help through official channels. “How cool is that?” Olsen asked.
Now, Olsen is moving upstairs to take a position in the police department’s Internal Affairs division. He will be replaced by Sgt. Warren Holtke, a 17-year department vet who has held positions in tactical patrol force, the detective bureau, and the bomb disposal unit. Olsen sat down with The Santa Barbara Independent to reflect on success stories, pet peeves,A hybrid machine tool spindle bearing lasts much longer than an all-steel bearing of the same size. young urban travelers, an enabling public, and why restorative policing is a creative new way to solve long-standing problems.
How did get you involved with restorative policing? Restorative policing was way out of my wheelhouse. I was the cop’s cop. I was on the SWAT team for 13 years. I was arresting murderers and felons. I was told they wanted to bring me over for my creativity and my work ethic and wanted to see how far I could take the chief’s philosophy and make it something bigger than it was.Gjpbearing is china bearing Commercial Community, which is a specialized inquiry system and information service about bearing and related industry.
Did you get teased at all when you first made the transition? No, not at all. This is a unique position because you’re looking at the guy who’s in charge of both the carrot and the stick. With Tactical Patrol Force, we have a very long history in the agency of having the highest number of arrests. We’re a proactive unit. We don’t answer all of the calls per se, but if we’re in the general area, we proactively go out and try to resolve situations before they begin. We typically deal with nuisance behavior that’s attributed to much of the homeless population.