BUENA PARK
The year 2017 was a good year for North Orange County because the “ North Orange County Public Safety Task Force ” was formed .
What is the North Orange County Public Safety Task Force ? Purely stated , the Task Force is a pilot program which , without a doubt , has proven to be a highly monumental creation that demonstrates the epitome of excellence . It is comprised of Police Chiefs and public safety leaders from ten law enforcement agencies in the cities of Anaheim , Brea , Buena Park , Cypress , Fullerton , La Habra , La Palma , Placentia , Stanton and Yorba Linda who have been given a unique opportunity to administer 20 million dollars of additional funding towards uncovering innovative ways of collaboration to develop creative approaches in problem solving from a regional perspective . With this extra source of support , the Police Chiefs are committed to engaging and serving thousands of individuals who live on our streets , or are perhaps clinging to a life of corruption through criminal activity . In essence , it is the public safety issues that have plagued the quality of life in our communities for many years now .
The additional funding , negotiated into California ’ s state budget by Senator Josh Newman , is now making the hopes and dreams come true in the lives of at-risk youth , homeless individuals and those persons who are struggling to re-enter society after having been incarcerated .
Under the leadership of Buena Park ’ s Police Chief , Corey Sianez , the Task Force is finding solutions to these public safety issues that have no city boundaries . From a regional approach , the group is tackling the challenge of restoring and establishing safer and healthier communities within the ten North Orange County cities in Senator Newman ’ s district .
Making this additional funding available has helped to mitigate these societal issues and is being made possible via the Task Force working with nearly 40 community-based organizations from across North Orange County – organizations like CityNet , Big Brothers Big Sisters , the Boys and Girls
Club , and the Sunburst Academy , just to name a few . With partnerships such as these , the Task Force has taken problem solving to a regional level and is succeeding !
One example is an attempt to establish a “ Bigs with Badges ” program , which is an offshoot of Big Brothers Big Sisters . This program enables our law enforcement personnel to mentor and be a role model to vulnerable children that will lead them down a path of success . Bigs with Badges is something that is unprecedented and has never been accomplished on the West Coast . This is no longer the case as it has been placed in the hands of the Task Force who is helping to bridge the gap between law enforcement and children , which is so important in today ’ s distrusting climate . Bigs with Badges teaches children that police officers are available to help them through life ’ s complexities .
Another example is the partnership with the Sunburst Academy , which operates out of the Los Alami-
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