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Capt Bolin is a 27 year veteran of the LA County Sheriff’s Dept and has been at the Lomita Sheriff’s Station for 3 years (replacing Capt Ronene Anda, who was promoted to Commander).  The Lomita Sheriff’s Station was established in 1975 and has 91 sworn deputies, 24 civilian employees and 69 volunteers.  It covers 23 mi² including the Peninsula cities.

Capt Bolin discussed the philosophy of Excellence in Policing at the Lomita Sheriff’s Station.  It was recently rated 2nd in performance of 23 in the County Sheriff’s Dept, the only Station of its size to rank so high.  He described 4 law enforcement incidents to show how striving for perfection (which is unattainable) leads to excellence at his Station.

 

(1) A suspect shot at 7 people, wounding one.  He was wearing a red hood, and a female deputy soon spotted him in Harbor Hills and called for backup without alerting him.  He was quickly surrounded by 4 patrol cars and was trapped where he couldn’t flee into the nearby housing project and endanger others.  Although armed and dangerous, he was quickly taken into custody.

(2) A suspect with a murder record robbed marijuana from 2 persons and fled in a car.  7 locations known to be associated with him were staked out to watch for him.  An automated electronic license plate identification system in a patrol car spotted his car parked.  Several unmarked patrol cars converged to his location, but the suspect got into his car with his girlfriend and drove away.  To avoid a dangerous high-speed chase, they let him go but quietly followed without alerting him.  When he stopped near Harbor Regional Park, one of the officers on site saw an opportunity for immediate capture without endangering others, and he was taken into custody before he could enter the freeway.

(3) A notorious identification thief was tracked to his home.  When Deputies knocked on his door, he ran upstairs and jumped out through a glass window into his backyard to flee, but Deputies were already there waiting for him and took him into custody without incident.  He had been stealing from mailboxes and packages on doorsteps, working with some associates.  52 victims were identified, some of whom he had filed for their tax refunds payable to himself.  (He had been identified from an anonymous tip to http://lacrimestoppers.com/, showing the importance of civilian cooperation in fighting crime.)

(4) A rash of residential burglaries was traced to one crew of Long Beach Crips.  4 members (with criminal records) were working together in broad daylight, wearing collared shirts and looking like clean-cut college students.  They engaged in “knock-knock” burglaries, where they ask an irrelevant question if the door is answered, and if no one is home they go around to the back where they won’t be seen committing a burglary.  Their car was stopped in Lomita after having left a burglary site with a non-new TV.  A search of the car also revealed a toolkit, watches, jewelry and other suspicious items.  Warrants were served in Long Beach, and a number of other stolen items were recovered, solving a large number of crimes.

In response to a question, Capt Bolin stated that the California early-release program of prisoners had not yet impacted the South Bay area in terms of re-arrests.  Unlocked vehicles are the biggest crime problem in Palos Verdes, and leaving home windows and sliding doors unlocked is also a common problem.  He urges everyone to report ID thefts and other crimes.  If they have occurred outside the jurisdiction of the Station reported to, the information is transferred to the appropriate jurisdiction.