GRAND JURY SAYS POLICE STATIONS SHOULD BE KEPT OPEN AS HAVENS.Byline: Sabrina Decker Staff Writer Crime victims seeking haven in an emergency need better access to police stations after hours Adv. 1. after hours - not during regular hours; "he often worked after hours" , the Ventura County Grand Jury recommended in a report released Thursday. The report recommends that stations remain manned and unlocked 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or that they provide alarm systems for people in trouble. Just four of the 10 police stations the jurors visited were not staffed after hours, and only five had functioning video surveillance of the entrance, the report said. None of the facilities provided a protected environment or an alarm system at the outside callbox that connects visitors with the dispatch center. ``We became aware of a terrifying ter·ri·fy tr.v. ter·ri·fied, ter·ri·fy·ing, ter·ri·fies 1. To fill with terror; make deeply afraid. See Synonyms at frighten. 2. To menace or threaten; intimidate. experience that occurred as a woman drove home from work during the early morning hours,'' the report stated. ``She headed to the local police station for help, and upon arrival, she found a poorly lit building with no clearly marked entrance and no sign of any police personnel. She left and continued to be followed until she found a parked police cruiser cruiser, large, fast, moderately armed warship, intermediate in type between the aircraft carrier and the destroyer. During World War II, battle cruisers operated as small battleships, combining in one vessel maximum qualities of gun caliber, armor protection, and out in the community.'' Faced with limited resources and dwindling dwin·dle v. dwin·dled, dwin·dling, dwin·dles v.intr. To become gradually less until little remains. v.tr. To cause to dwindle. See Synonyms at decrease. budgets, authorities say staffing a station around the clock is rare. ``It's so infrequent in·fre·quent adj. 1. Not occurring regularly; occasional or rare: an infrequent guest. 2. that somebody comes by in the middle of the night that it's more efficient and more effective in terms of public safety to have officers out on the street,'' said Ventura County Undersheriff Un´der`sher`iff n. 1. A sheriff's deputy. Craig Husband. ``It's very expensive to have personnel standing by for the rare instances when somebody comes along.'' Many police stations, including most of those run by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department The Ventura County Sheriff's Department (VCSD) provides law enforcement for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California, USA, as well as several cities within the county. The cities that VCSD serves are Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, and Thousand Oaks. , provide emergency telephones outside the building that connect immediately with the dispatch center. The phones are very well marked and lighted, and they are the fastest way to get help, Husband said. ``The purpose is to attract attention,'' he said. ``By picking up the phone, you're going to attract the attention of every law enforcement officer in the city.'' |
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