Santee’s new
top law enforcement officer is pleased to be back on her home turf.
“I’ve grown
up here my entire life,” said Sheriff’s Capt. Lisa Miller, a graduate of El
Capitan High School who went on to earn a master’s degree in 1992.
She launched
her law enforcement career while in high school as a cadet with the El Cajon
Police Dept. explorer program.
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| Capt. Lisa Miller |
Miller took
over command of the Sheriff’s Dept. Santee Station on Sept. 7 , succeeding Capt. Ed Musgrove as the city’s
de facto police chief. The Santee
station is the headquarters for 75 sheriff’s deputies who cover Santee,
Lakeside and unincorporated areas of El Cajon.
Miller has
worked for the sheriff’s department for 28 years and was previously stationed
in Santee when she was a patrol sergeant.
While
Santee’s reputation as a low-crime area is well deserved, the city has its
share of burglaries and drug-related crimes, she said. Deputies, including
officers on bicycles, also keep tabs on homeless encampments that spring up in
the riparian zone along the San Diego River.
With three
high schools in her jurisdiction, Miller intends to continue the department’s
emphasis on juvenile intervention programs. One of the more popular of these is
Start Smart, a seminar aimed at keeping young drivers from making fatal
mistakes involving alcohol or texting while driving.
“The idea
behind the intervention programs is to get juveniles straightened out before
they get into the (criminal justice) system, ”said Miller, who is married and
the mother of a teenage son.
Another
priority is the ongoing public education program that focuses on the “social
host” law that imposes criminal penalties on parents and other adults who are held
responsible for providing alcohol to minors.
Modern crime
fighting involves extensive use of analytics.
Using data
from crime reports, local crime analysts create maps illustrating where
clusters of burglaries and other crimes
are occurring. The maps, which
are updated every 45 days, are used by patrol deputies to focus on trouble
spots, she said.
“We’re doing
more crime fighting with intelligence and forecasting where (crimes) may
occur,” she said.
Keeping the
lines of communication open with the community are of utmost importance, she
said.
“One of my
strongest attributes is working with the community,” she said. “I’m
approachable and open. I can’t solve all the problems, but together we can work
on them.”
