Deputies Will Use Mobile Mini-Station

A 32-foot-long motor home seized from a suspected drug dealer has been given a new life as a mobile sheriff’s mini-station, Sheriff Larry Carpenter said Tuesday.

The black-and-white vehicle will roam 11 communities in Ventura County each week starting July 1, Carpenter said. The areas chosen have not had a strong sheriff’s presence in the past because of their small population or rural location, he said.

People will be more likely to report crimes and other problems if they see the mobile station in their community, Carpenter said.

“It’s kind of a bookmobile of law enforcement,” he said.

For the past two years, the recreational vehicle has been used as a sheriff’s command post capable of use during emergencies or disasters. The mobile station has emergency radio dispatching capabilities, a fax machine, cellular phones, laptop computers and a printer. A deputy recently suggested that the department put it to full-time use by turning it into a station, and Carpenter agreed.

The vehicle will make its debut in El Rio, one of the neighborhoods selected for a weekly visit, Carpenter said. Other communities include Casitas Springs, Hollywood Beach, Meiners Oaks, Montalvo, Nyeland Acres, Rincon, Saticoy, Silver Strand and Ventura Avenue.

A location in each of those areas has been designated, and the station will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will be staffed by one sheriff’s deputy, a technician and two volunteers, Carpenter said.