Doscher readies for retirement

Gone this week from the office of Yuba City Police Chief Richard Doscher, who will retire Tuesday, was the replica of a tipstaff, a symbol of power wielded by pre-16th century English sheriffs.

Soon to go from a garden outside the window of his corner office was the classical statue of St. Michael, the patron saint of police officers, casting Satan out of heaven in the Old Testament.

Both were gifts from Doscher's wife, Kate — symbols, perhaps, of the chief's strongly held belief that law enforcement is "not a profession, it's a calling."

That belief, Doscher said, is one reason he mulled over his decision to retire for more than a year before announcing it in September.

That and the fact that, after 31 years, the Police Department has become like family, he said.

Deputy Chief Rob Landon will become chief at a chain of command ceremony Tuesday.

As Doscher leaves, he can point to almost four months without a fatal drive-by shooting in Yuba City. That wasn't true in August when, in the wake of fatal shootings along Bridge Street, the Police Department was being criticized by some residents for doing too little in the way of prevention. At the time, Doscher replied testily to comments left on the Appeal-Democrat's Web site.

What those same residents didn't know — and what he couldn't talk about then, Doscher said — was that undercover officers were buying guns from criminals as part of Operation Showdown, the multiagency effort that culminated in November with the arrest of about 35 suspects in Sutter and Yuba counties, most on gun and drug charges. The 10-member gang task force founded in October by the city and county was instrumental, he said.

Doscher tied the removal of guns from the streets and the arrest of gang members to the city's recent relative peace.

"The critics say we could do better. But you can't say what you're doing. You take the hits, and in a few months you say what we're doing," he said.

"It's so difficult to make any headway when victims don't cooperate," he said, referring to the "don't snitch" ethic among gang members.

"If we don't make a rapid arrest, people think we're doing it wrong. I invite them to ride along with our officers and see what it takes" to make an arrest, he said.

Doscher predicted that the nation's deepening recession will cause an increase in both property and violent crimes. Property crimes are already up; violent crime, particularly domestic violence, also increases during tough economic times and will certainly do so again, he said.

Violent crime, which historically makes up 9 percent of all Yuba City crimes, actually dipped to a 20-year low during the 12-month period ending in August despite this year's drive-by shootings, Doscher said.

The recession is also taking its toll on Police Department finances. In response to decreased local and state tax revenue, $300,000 has been carved out of the current budget by leaving three jobs unfilled, including a patrol officer spot, said Doscher.

If the economy and tax revenues don't improve by March or April — and Doscher acknowledged there's little chance of that happening — more cuts will be needed, leaving the department with a choice of winning concessions from employee unions or cutting more jobs. So far, the unions seem cooperative, he said.

Revenue projections for the next budget are "extremely pessimistic," he said.

Doscher said he's most proud of the department's technological advances during his 13 years as chief. State and federal justice officials call the Police Department the nation's most technologically advanced for its size, he said.

When he became chief in 1995, the department was one of the first in the state to use the Internet. Today, it's probably the only police agency outside of New York to have a secure, National Security Agency-approved phone line for trading top secret or higher information with federal entities, including the FBI and Beale Air Force Base, he said.

The department has worked with defense contractors to test new equipment, including a multi-camera system for recording and researching license plate numbers in parking lots. Currently being tested is an automated ticketing system that scans driver license bar codes, Doscher said.

Aside from technology, the biggest improvement has been an increased emphasis on the department's human element, Doscher said.

"I'm not saying the best at what we do," the chief said, but employees who were once seen as tools for accomplishing a goal now "are valued as human beings."

The family feeling at the Police Department makes it hard to leave, Doscher said. Department employees were there at the hospital when his children were born and drove 180 miles to attend his mother's funeral, he said.

"One of the hardest things I'll ever do is walk out of here at 5 p.m Dec. 30," he said.

Appeal-Democrat reporter Rob Young can be reached at 749-4710. You may e-mail him at ryoung@appeal-democrat. com.