Dreama Fumia
Brought to Quail Creek’s Madera Clubhouse by the Quail Creek Education Committee and Gil Lusk, the Police Chief of Sahuarita, John Noland, spoke with residents on September 29 at 6:00 p.m. about his background, the Sahuarita Police Department and Quail Creek. The Chief provided a lot of information, all of which cannot be captured here so the following are just some highlights of our evening with the Chief.
Chief Noland came to Sahuarita last December from Santa Rosa, California with 26 years of experience with the police department there. He holds an M.A. degree in Organizational Development and a B.A. in Spanish and a B.S. in Occupational Studies – all very useful in his chosen profession and in our community.
The Sahuarita Police Department employs 51 people, 44 of whom serve in sworn positions. Organizationally there are two divisions: a Field Services Division (typically patrol personnel) and a Special Services Division (includes administrative personnel as well as the detective and records bureaus). Dispatch services are contracted through the county as a cost efficiency measure. Thus, the police department works closely with the Pima County Sheriff’s Office. Chief Noland gave special thanks to the Volunteers in Police Service, or VIPS, many of whom are Quail Creek residents, for their invaluable service to the department.
Chief Noland reviewed elements of the police department’s Community-Oriented Policing (COP) or Neighborhood-Oriented Policing (NOP) which seek to forge effective connections between the police force and neighborhoods in a non-enforcement mode. Some elements include: Coffee with a Cop which is held at local area restaurants; assigning the same personnel to specific neighborhoods so that forming connections is easier and ensuring police presence at community events. The department also uses Beat Reports which contain relevant neighborhood activity information in order to provide knowledge continuity for personnel.
While the Sahuarita Police Department serves the residents of Quail Creek, our own Community Services Patrol provides 24 hour assistance to our residents thereby, in effect, augmenting Chief Noland’s department. For example, our private roads are subject to the authority of our Patrol for traffic management/control but the Sahuarita Police Department could assist with enforcement of roadway misdemeanors like DUI and reckless driving if necessary. Remember, in case of emergency, dial 9-1-1 first and give the dispatcher your street address. Something you may not know – Chief Noland said that the police department phones are not staffed 24 hours a day; therefore, he recommended that you dial 9-1-1 for help even if your police need is a non-emergency one.
If you are interested in more information, please visit sahuaritaaz.gov, under Town Services. Chief Noland noted that the police department webpage is being redesigned at this time so there will soon be additional features there along with a Facebook link. Oh, and the Chief mentioned a few times, that the Police Department was a big winner in the recent Chili Cook-off—wouldn’t be surprised to see something about that on the webpage soon!