Welcome Sheriff Fryhoff

Sheriff Jim Fryhoff has started his term today. These are the highlights from his first email to the department. In 2013, I predicted he would be the next sheriff. Well, I was off by a term but here he is.
 
The sheriff and the executive staff will be in the jails and field during daily operations to “check in” with deputies, not to “check on” them, as Fryhoff wanted to highlight. Under Sheriff Brooks, I rarely saw anyone above captain in the field, and the only Chief Deputy (now Assistant Sheriff) I saw in the field with any regularity was Geoff Dean (Car 5). Dean later became sheriff.
 
Cowboy hats are now authorized in the following authorized styles: 
Straw (warm weather)
Felt (cold weather)
 
Fryhoff encourages them to be used as conversation starters with the public. No word on campaign hats, which were the officially authorized Class B cover. Ballcaps in “inclement” weather only. Literally a handful of people outside the academy wear them, like four deputies and a couple cadets. Okay, more than that but you very rarely see any Ventura County smokies.
 
He’s also announcing a plan for better recruitment and retention. The new motto is “Be safe and do the right thing.”
 
All in all it’s a positive and welcome message. Jim is a great guy, very friendly and personable. Under the last sheriff, employee morale sagged. The nitpicking of little things like detectives not wearing ties (IIRC) was an example of some of the pettiness. Happy cops make good cops and Ventura County deputies literally are some of the finest peace officers in the world. Making VCSO a crappy place to work hurts hiring and retention which creates a poorer pool of cops for the public and hiring is hard enough.
 
While both he and Ayub are good cops and looked out for the public, I had to support the guy who was more behind the line staff. My only concern is that Fryhoff’s appreciation for community policing doesn’t turn into an attitude that is soft on crime. I don’t think so, but you can trust the tough looking guy to be a hardass if nothing else. All in all, I think the public is in very good hands and is being represented by a guy who has the public good at heart.