- High visibility with residents is a key to community police
work in town of Windsor
by NATHAN WRIGHT, Staff Writer
Carlos Basurto is one of Windsor’s celebrities. When he drives
the streets, many wave. When he stops, a family brings out a
home-cooked meal and a soda, trusting that he’ll return with the
dishware. When he stops at a stop sign, a woman rolls down her
window and offers up some local news.
Basurto is a deputy with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department,
which contracts with the Town of Windsor for its police services.
He is one of 14 officers who patrol the town, preventing crime and
assisting the community.
“They wave because they know you,” Basurto said. “You’re not
going to get anything done without the people behind you.”
Basurto believes community relations is a major part of his job.
As he patrols the streets, he’s able to identify many pedestrians
and drivers by name. He knows some because he’s arrested them,
others because he went to school with them or because they played
on one of his children’s sports teams. Most he knows from years of
endless patrols in the Windsor area.
Basurto works the swing shift, patrolling the streets from 4
p.m. until 2 a.m. His office is a patrol car, which includes a
computer attached to a global positioning device that directs him.
When a call comes in, he’s able to read the dispatch, screen the
individuals involved and locate the address on the map. Basurto is
happy with his mobile office, as it allows him to work in the
environment he enjoys.
“I like working outside, interacting with people,” he said.
“Every single day is different. That’s what I love about this
job.”
During a recent night’s shift, Basurto receives a call from a
man who said that his ex-girlfriend is stalking him. Basurto spends
more than an hour speaking with the man, gathering all the details
and offering advice.
Later, a woman almost collides head-on with Basurto’s patrol car
and speeds away to her home a few blocks away. Basurto quickly
turns around and follows, catching her just as she pulls into her
driveway. The woman has no license or insurance, forcing the deputy
to tow her car. Basurto cannot risk allowing the woman the
opportunity to drive again, and towing the car is his only
option.
According to Basurto, the biggest issues for Windsor patrolmen
include traffic, gangs and domestic disputes.
“Gangs create just about any problems you can think of in a
community,” he said. “There’s a lot of stuff the people don’t see
until someone gets killed. Then it’s all over the papers.”
When people call in and complain about traffic problems, patrol
officers will migrate to a troubled location. The department has
two deputies who specialize in traffic enforcement, but all of the
officers look out for traffic violations.
During one of Basurto’s shifts, a man approaches him and
complains that a youth “keyed” his car. He has no proof, but he is
hoping Basurto will be able to bring the kids into the station and
question them. The man also suggests using a polygraph device to
apprehend the perpetrator.
“This is not CSI (a popular television police show),” Basurto
said. “People tend to believe what they read in the paper, what
they see on TV. They think it’s real.” What people do not see on TV
is most of what Basurto does.
“We spend most of our time driving around, being a deterrent,”
he said. “The more they see you, the less likely they are to get
into trouble. We drive around and let people see that we’re out
here.”
And see him they do. On a slow night, Basurto makes round after
round, covering all the different Windsor neighborhoods. When a
call comes in, he investigates it. When he sees someone in the
street he knows, he waves or stops to say hello.
After work, Basurto drives home and resumes his day job of being
a father of two.
His father was a Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputy before him, and
he admits that he “didn’t want to have anything to do with it” when
he was growing up.
Now his own 11-year-old son teases him when he goes to Krispy
Kreme Doughnuts. “Even my son teases me about it,” he said,
referring to the stereotype that all cops eat doughnuts. “And I
don’t even like doughnuts that much.”
