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Community Policing: Prevent vehicle theft
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Anonymous user Tue Mar 21, 2006 15:43:00 PST
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1 response 0 comments Hello to all the readers in the Southwest. My name is Ryan Paslay, and I am a detective with the Bakersfield Police Department. 

I have recently taken Detective Mary Degeare’s position as the public information officer for the department. Detective Degeare transferred to a position in the internal affairs division, and I have since filled the void. I am excited about this new position and hope to do an excellent job at it. 

First, I’d like to provide a little background about myself. I was born and raised in Wasco, the child of a farmer and a teacher.

I began my law enforcement career in 1996 in Southern California as a deputy with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. 

After spending two years working in Southern California, I transferred “home” and have been employed by the Bakersfield Police Department since. 

I spent my first five years at the Bakersfield Police Department as an officer assigned to the patrol division, responding to calls for service and working as a proactive patrolman. 

I was then assigned to the Special Enforcement Unit, the city’s gang unit. I worked as a gang officer for just under two ½ years before being promoted to the position of senior police officer. 

As a senior officer, I was assigned back to the patrol division and worked training newly hired officers.

I was promoted to the rank of detective in November of 2005, where I worked in the General Investigations Unit handling missing persons. 

And finally, in January of this year I took on the Public Information Officer position. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of disseminating information to the news media and public. I’ve made my fair share of small blunders in front of the cameras, but so far the news media has been rather kind to me. 

My tips for this month involve theft from vehicles. As our city has grown, we have seen an increase in thefts from within vehicles. Whether parked in the local shopping center parking lot or on the street in front of your house, thieves have targeted valuables inside our vehicles. Drivers can take some simple steps to curb a good number of these incidents.

1.    Park in well-lit areas.
2.    Keep valuables out of sight — locked in trunk or at least out of plain view.
3.    Take stereo face plates off and place them out of sight.
4.    Lock your vehicle’s doors — too many thefts occur from unlocked vehicles.
5.    Have a vehicle alarm installed in your vehicle.
6.    Be observant and call the police department to report suspicious subjects who you see loitering about or looking into parked vehicles.

I look forward to providing a police-related column to the readers of The Southwest Voice, and welcome questions from the public. If there is a topic or a specific question you would like me to address or answer, please e-mail me at: rpaslay@bakersfieldpd.us

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