The City of Live Oak encourages the public to become involved with the Sutter County Sheriff's Office through the Neighborhood Watch Program. Neighborhood Watch meetings are generally held at a residence and the program will bring in different speakers or topics for the meetings.  Getting the public involved is an essential  element to the success of the Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPPS) philosophy. Community Oriented Policing is a model-based upon relationships between deputies and citizens who work together as partners toward proactive identification and problem-solving of issues to achieve a higher level of crime prevention in the community.

Each deputy is directly accountable and responsible for determining the needs of the community and using all available resources, including the members of the community, to confront the issues and solve problems together.

In 1829, Sir Robert Peel, who is considered the father of modern law enforcement, made the following statement about the role of the public in their community.

"The public are the police and the police are the public. The police, are only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to the duties incumbent upon every citizen in the interest of community welfare and existence." 

The key to the success of the Neighborhood Watch Program is that individuals develop a kind of "ownership" of the their neighborhood and a relationship with the Sutter County Sheriff's office. This will foster the free flow or exchange of information where people can communicate with a deputy about anything that goes on in their neighborhood.

 For more information on the Neighborhood Watch Program, please contact Deputy Andre Licon.