Category Archives: Kern County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO)

Sidewalks and Solar Streetlights Coming to Every Street in Downtown Mojave in early 2018

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Mojave, CA – Monday, Nov 27. Construction on a Mojave’s largest municipal infrastructure project in years will begin in January of 2018, according to officials from Kern County. The project includes sidewalks along every street in downtown Mojave, to be joined by 50 solar-powered streetlights installed concurrently along those streets.

The project is the joint venture between Kern County and the Mojave Foundation, with Kern County being responsible for the sidewalk installation and long-term maintenance of the lights, and the Foundation raised $112,000 to purchase the lights from local residents and most businesses operating in Mojave and on the airport. “Our partnership with the Mojave Foundation continues a long track record of Kern County partnering with the private sector and non-profits to improve the safety, health, and quality of life of our residents,” said Zack Scrivner, Kern County Supervisor, Second District. “I applaud the efforts of all involved to bring this needed infrastructure project to completion.”

The Mojave Foundation believes this is the ideal public/private partnership, with local communities as stake-holders in their own municipal investments, and governments contributing to the long-term sustainability of projects. The largest donations for this project came from Terra-Gen Energy, Golden Queen Mine, Northrop Grumman, and the Mojave Marathon, and were made through the Foundation’s 501c3 nonprofit status. 100% of the funds raised over the past three years were directed exclusively to this project.

The lights are provided in partnership with Greenshine New Energy, in Lake Forest, California, who is contributing to support of Mojave’s community development. Greenshine provides municipal lighting to communities all over America, but has taken special interest in the unique aerospace community of Mojave.

The project comes on the heels of another investment by Kern County and local energy companies in the “K-street” project, which brought 20 solar power streetlights and crosswalks to two blocks along K-street.

These investments are designed to stem the rise in pedestrian traffic fatalities as well as stabilize the security situation in our community. Six pedestrians were killed by vehicles since 2013, and three consecutive years of budget cuts have left the Kern County Sheriff’s office with two-thirds fewer deputies in southeast Kern County. There are now about 15 deputies solely in Mojave to cover an area half the size of Connecticut, previously staffed by over 40 deputies in Mojave, Rosamond and Boron. The introduction of Marijuana dispensaries and cultivation has further strained our community, enabled by blighted housing, complicit property-owners, and an eager market. While we cannot fix these public safety problems through law enforcement alone, the least we can do is turn the lights on. Through investments in public infrastructure and targeted recruitment of new storefronts and developers to Mojave, we hope to displace the illicit activity with more sustainable businesses and housing.

About The Mojave Foundation:
The Mojave Foundation is a nonprofit 501c3 organization registered in the state of California dedicated to making Mojave a safe and desirable place to live, work and do business. We do this by raising funds through public and private donors to execute community projects quickly and efficiently. We live and work in Mojave, and are committed to making the community a net asset to the incredible aerospace companies who innovate, fly and test here. We are also committed to environmental and economic sustainability, and believe in lasting public-private partnerships where local stakeholders take responsibility for the future of our community, with critical support from local authorities.

Coin Wash Reopened!

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Coin Wash MikeMay 7: The Mojave Coin wash is now open again, and the burglar has been identified by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. The Coin Wash has been closed since April 7th when a burglar destroyed several coin dispensers and washers and stole several hundred dollars of quarters. The Coin Wash is now under a new management, and open longer hours. The new manager, Michael Smoot, a long-time Mojave resident, is leading a new generation of young Entrepreneurs in Mojave. Mr. Smoot, 32, spent the last two weeks repairing the damaged equipment in the building and restoring previously broken dryers to accommodate more customers than ever before. Mr. Smoot will also be on site at all times to ensure that all customers have a safe and pleasant experience, and to guard against future vandals.

Coin Wash MamabearThe community has universally rejoiced at the return of the coin wash. “I am so happy to have the Coin Wash back” said local resident, Ethel Brooks, “One man came in on Monday when they first reopened and did what looked like three weeks of laundry! We’re going to keep Mike on FULL TIME!” Other residents rejoiced in the restored sense of pride. “I had to have somebody else to wash my clothes, it was embarrassing” said long-time resident Mama-Bear, “I want to wash my own clothes, thank you very much!”

The Mojave Foundation applauds Mr. Smoot for being the first of a new generation of entrepreneurs in Mojave, and restoring a critical service to the community. We also commend the local shopkeepers and residents who identified the suspected burglar to the Kern County Sheriff’s.

Deputies Arrest Burglar

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March 4: Deputies from Mojave arrested a suspect after an attempted break-in of an RV in the Denny’s parking lot Tuesday morning. Kern County Sheriff’s officials do not believe that the suspect was connected to the wave of burglaries in the Miracle Manor and Mojave Gardens neighborhoods of Mojave in November, December and January. The suspect was identified as a local Mojave resident who has been arrested 18 times since 2000, mostly for burglary, petty theft, and drug-related crimes, according to Superior Court records of Kern County. The 33 year old suspect was arrested again as recently as October, but KCSO officials claim that this individual is a typical product of the prison-release guidelines presented by AB109, which went into effect in 2011.

CSU HITS THE STREETS!

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CSU by carDecember 4: After six months of recruitment and applications and training… Mojave’s own Citizen Service Unit (CSU) takes to the streets in an effort to bring more eyes and ears to the community. Mojave’s CSU team of volunteer police consists of eight individuals, who will conduct non-hazardous law enforcement activities, such as transporting vehicles between Mojave and Bakersfield, vacation checks, handling documents and evidence, and establishing a greater presence in targeted areas. The arrival of CSU could not come at a better time, as Mojave has suffered from 15 break-ins or attempted break-ins in the last 30 days, and some CSU volunteers will be helping the Sheriff’s Deputies provide over-watch in some of the most affected areas at night. CSU members are required to serve eight hours per month, and attend monthly meetings, but this class of volunteers is eager to hit the streets until this recent crime wave subsides. For more information on volunteering with CSU contact Todd@MojaveFoundation.org, or click here to fill out an application.

Volunteer Police Squad Graduates Academy

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CSUNovember 16: Mojave’s own Citizen Service Unit (CSU) graduated the required police academy this Saturday, held at the Mojave Air & Space Port. This month’s class contained 18 volunteers from several communities throughout Kern County. Mojave had 7 volunteers go graduate the academy, as part of the first multi-member team of CSU volunteers in Mojave in years. Volunteers will be sworn in on December 5th, and will be in uniform and on the street patrolling Mojave’s neighborhoods soon.

9 houses broken into in 10 days

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Mojave has been the center of a rash of break-ins the last two weeks. Nine houses have been broken into, or attempted to be broken into, mostly in the Miracle Manor neighborhood, or the O St, P St, Q St section of downtown. “We think it’s possibly the same guy hitting Mojave and Cal City” said Sergeant Williams, of the Mojave Sheriff’s Sub Station. The modus operandi of this burglar has been especially brazen. Each burglary he has entered the home while the victims are watching TV, sleeping, or eating dinner. He stealthily steals their purse or jewelry or other valuables and slinks out the window before anybody knows. Several residents saw somebody in their yard or trying to gain access to the window and scared the criminal off before alerting authorities. While no one has been hurt yet, deputies believe this burglar may be armed, due to the brazen nature of his crime, and ask that residents take a few simple precautions to secure their homes. SGT Williams recommends locking their windows and doors, especially at night, and putting a wooden or plastic dowel in the window sill to block the window from opening. He also asks residents to turn on as many exterior lights as possible and leave a light on in the house at night. Finally, he requests that residents call the Sheriff’s Office to report anything unusual. “You wouldn’t believe what people don’t report” says SGT Williams. “We conduct pattern analysis of each call, and each call helps deter crime.”

Sheriff offers another way to fight Gang & Drug activity

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The Kern County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) has announced a new set of phone number for concerned residents to report illegal activity anonymously. Mojave residents can call  661-392-6000 to report drug activity, and 661-392-6003 to report gang activity. Mojave is at a critical juncture, where residents have a rare opportunity to reverse the rising tide of crime in Mojave once and for all. There are several events all converging right now: (1) our volunteer police squad, CSU (Citizen Service Unit) is standing up in late November, (2) Mojave Makers & Radio Shack are about to roll out an outdoor camera system under $200, (3) Drug dens like the Wagon Wheel are being taken off the street, and  (4) The high-crime apartments on L & Trinity have recently been cleared, and are under renovation. NOW IS THE TIME for local residents to take ownership of their neighborhoods, and raise the cost of committing crime in Mojave. Our next Neighborhood Watch meeting is on Monday, October 7 at 6:30 p.m., and residents of Downtown Mojave are launching their own Neighborhood Watch on Tuesday, November 4th.