Fighting crime in Linda

Ask Linda residents what they want for the community, and chances are the response will be relatively simple: peace, quiet and safety.

But if no one fights for those critical rights, a community suffers. That was the message to about 40 Linda residents during a crime summit Thursday evening.

“We're here to do the best we can so you can feel safe in your homes,” said Yuba County Supervisor Dan Logue, who hosted the summit. On either side of him sat a panel of county officials and law enforcement officers who have an interest in Linda.

“These are very exciting times for the county of Yuba, but they're certainly challenging times,” said Sheriff Steve Durfor. With a rising population comes more demands for crime assistance, he said.

The once rural county with rural problems has given way to a county with metropolitan problems, Durfor said.

In response, the Sheriff's Department put deputies who worked behind a desk into the community, he said. They are also participating in partnership programs with other agencies in and out of the county to handle everything from drugs to sex offenders.

But most of all, the Sheriff's Department wants people in the community to come forward when they see problems.

“We can't do it alone,” Durfor said. “It requires your input.”

Reports of violent crime in the county are down this year so far, he said. Durfor hopes the trend will continue with the community's help.

“We can't be successful if we don't hear from you what's going on in your neighborhood,” the sheriff said.

It was a message brought up continuously during the 1 1/2-hour meeting.

Laura Miller, a Sheriff's Department crime prevention officer, urged residents to form neighborhood watch groups. Crime in communities with established and vigilant programs always goes down, she said.

“Do something,” Miller said. “And that something is getting involved with us.”

She encouraged people to get to know their neighbors, watch for things that don't belong there and call the Sheriff's Department.

“If something's broken and you don't fix it, it will only deteriorate,” Miller said.

Capt. Scott Silsbee, commander of the Yuba-Sutter California Highway Patrol, held a stack of more than 40 citations issued to drivers during a period of 96 hours of overtime that officers worked since the new year started.

The CHP is responsible for traffic enforcement in the county's unincorporated areas.

The Highway Patrol tries to focus officers in the areas of the greatest need and where the most complaints come from, he said.

The CHP is understaffed, but if residents contact the department, it will respond, he said.

“I have to put my resources where the accidents are at,” Silsbee said.

Appeal-Democrat reporter Daniel Witter can be reached at 749-4712. You may e-mail him at dwitter@appeal-democrat.com.