I was a member of the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department for over 33 years. I worked under five sheriffs and in the capacity of an executive for three of them. I held every rank on the department and worked my way up to Undersheriff. The only rank I did not hold was the most difficult and complex rank of Sheriff.
Bill Brown took office in 2007. He was an experienced and tested law enforcement leader with command experience from the Inglewood Police Department and chief-level experience from the Moscow Idaho Police Department. I first got to know him while he served as Lompoc’s Police Chief for 11 years. I found him to be bright, forward thinking, and collaborative. Bill is a former president of the California Police Chiefs Association and is now the immediate past president of the California State Sheriffs' Association. He is the only individual in the history of the state to have held both esteemed offices. It is no surprise that the top cops in the state chose him to lead and represent them.
Sheriff Brown was instrumental in securing a new jail in North County. The project has added hundreds of construction jobs in the county. The completed facility will enhance the safety of inmates and staff and to the citizens of the county. Although Bill was passionate about the need for a new jail, he was just as passionate about the need to keep individuals out of jail. He was a founding member of the Santa Barbara Prison Re-entry Project that successfully impacted recidivism and kept former prisoners from reoffending. He also was appointed by the governor to sit on the state Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. He embraces the fact that there is more to public safety than just locking people up.