Groups, Individuals Honored for Community Policing Efforts

The 1995 slaying of Fountain Valley resident Jane Carver during her morning jog enraged and anguished loved ones but drove them to action as well.

Police say it was their efforts, such as raising reward money and passing out fliers to elicit tips, that helped lead to a suspect’s arrest. So, for that work and their continuing efforts, such as creating a 10-kilometer run that raised $72,000 in scholarships for the children of violent-crime victims, the Friends of Jane Carver Volunteers was one of seven groups and individuals honored Tuesday with community-oriented policing awards from the Orange County Human Relations Commission.

“It was very frustrating for family, friends and the community,” Carver’s husband, Albert, said of the slaying. “Everyone had a desire to do something to help the Police Department, and also try in some way to turn this horrible tragedy into something positive.”

Rusty Kennedy, executive director of the Human Relations Commission, said his group created the awards three years ago to recognize local efforts in community policing, a technique in which officers patrol specific troubled areas the way old-time beat cops did, build trust with residents and work with them to fight crime.

The awards, given before 380 officers and civilians at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, also include $1,000 grants for the winning groups.

Other recipients were Janice Palermo of Capistrano Villas III; Garden Grove Police Officers John Maciel and Carey Daus sharing an honor; the San Clemente Police Services Project 74 of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department; the Santa Ana Police Family Violence Emergency Response Team; a group of agencies joined as the Community United For Fullerton Safety; and Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Schmutz, lauded for his work in Lake Forest.

Schmutz said he used his mounted-patrol horse and coloring books to gain the trust of neighborhood children and to show them an officer is “not just someone in a uniform who arrests bad guys. It shows a human side of law enforcement.”