Irvine : Juvenile Investigator Named Officer of Year

Juvenile investigator and four-year Irvine police veteran Tracy Jacobson has been named the city’s 1985 Police Officer of the Year.

Jacobson, 28, was among five finalists for the award, along with Doug Coffing, Tom Hume, Jeff Kermode and Larry Montgomery.

At a luncheon sponsored by the Irvine Chamber of Commerce and the Exchange Club Tuesday, Police Chief Leo Peart described Jacobson as a hard-working professional who “exemplifies the quality of excellence that members of the Irvine community have come to expect from our police officers.”

A surprised Jacobson said, “I feel very honored to be selected. But I feel like I’m the lucky one to work with such fine people and such a fine department.”

Jacobson, one of eight women on the 112-member force, began her law enforcement career as a part-time public safety aide for the department’s crime prevention unit. After joining the department in 1982, she worked as a patrol officer for three years. She was then transferred to the investigation unit, where she was the school resource officer.