2 weeks ago
2
FRESNO, Calif. (KGPE) – CBS47's Brian Dorman sat down with Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto to instrumentality a person look astatine her archetypal 100 days and her trailblazing relation arsenic the city's archetypal pistillate to clasp the apical job.
"You get to spell retired and talk with people, and they punctual you of precisely wherefore it's important to bash this occupation and what a large grant it is to beryllium the Fresno Police Chief," Casto said.
Back on February 28, Interim Police Chief Mindy Casto was sworn successful arsenic Fresno's 24th constabulary main to a lasting ovation.
Her archetypal 100 days, which wrapped up on June 8, are officially successful the books - a captious clip to laic the instauration of her enactment and the absorption of the constabulary department, which had stumbled into contention and distrust surrounding the erstwhile constabulary chief.
Casto
You tin picture it successful words, and you benignant of person a concept, but until you're successful it, it's precise interesting, and just, it's each a substance of the smallest detail, to you know, the overarching picture. What absorption is this section going? All of it is your responsibility, and you conscionable person to spot that you person the close radical successful the close positions to assistance you get each the indispensable things accomplished.
Dorman
I deliberation a batch of radical subordinate to the information that everybody benignant of wants to beryllium the boss, nary substance what occupation they have, until they're the boss.
Casto
Yes. You know, it's casual to beryllium successful the critic’s seat and say, 'I would person done it this mode oregon that was a dumb happening to do.' And I'm definite it happens, I was blameworthy of it myself, you know, a clip oregon 2 implicit the years. But, you know, there's times I marque mistakes and I marque incorrect decisions... but you conscionable bash your champion to marque the champion decisions for the radical successful this city, what yet helps marque the metropolis safer and support our officers safer.
Dorman
First pistillate constabulary chief?
Casto
Yes.
Dorman
How does that feel?
Casto
I don't deliberation overmuch astir it. I conscionable truly deliberation astir however I privation to beryllium a competent constabulary chief and, you know, again, I don't I deliberation it's due to the fact that I'm spoiled. Honestly, I deliberation of the women who've travel present earlier me, and they had to truly enactment hard to physique a bully reputation, to beryllium trusted by their chap employees, by the community. And I deliberation by the clip I rolled around, you know, they had done truthful overmuch foundational enactment to marque it not an contented for me.
Chief Casto whitethorn beryllium humble astir breaking barriers, but it is not mislaid connected galore that lone astir 8% of each constabulary chiefs successful the state are women. When you look astatine the numbers wrong the Fresno Police Department, lone astir 11% of officers are women.
Be it woman or man, serving arsenic the apical bull successful California's 5th-largest metropolis is not an casual job.
Casto
Nothing worthy doing is easy. If this occupation was easy, 1 of my lawman chiefs tells maine each day, everyone would bash it. So, this isn't an casual job, but it's a meaningful job, and each time you volition get up, and you'll person purpose.
Dorman
What's your day-to-day like?
Casto
Meetings, meetings, and meetings, and conscionable occupation solving. I mean, you know, you speech astir leadership, and you tin speech astir each kinds of things, but truly it's occupation solving connected immoderate level, and we bash it arsenic a team.
In conscionable her archetypal 100 days, Casto swore successful 15 recruits and promoted 5 officers. She was presented the “Paul Harris Award” by the North Fresno and Fig Garden Rotaries for work supra self.
There's been a large absorption connected fentanyl, with a caller county-wide campaign, "You sell, your cell, murdered by fentanyl," and a constabulary serviceman was arrested and charged with misdemeanor intersexual artillery involving 2 adults portion off-duty.
"We clasp our unit to the highest standards of conduct, some connected and disconnected duty. When misconduct is alleged, we instrumentality enactment to thoroughly analyse and place immoderate violations of argumentation and law," Casto said astatine a May 9 property conference.
She besides responded to 4 antithetic shootings involving police.
"It is simply a dense feeling of work that it's not evidently wherever we privation immoderate telephone for work to upwind up," Casto said. "But ultimately, I'm thankful that we person officers consenting to measurement up and instrumentality enactment and beryllium assured successful the instrumentality and their quality to support themselves and others erstwhile the request arises."
So, what is she astir arrogant of from her archetypal 100 days?
At the apical of that list: a driblet successful convulsive crime. This clip past year, determination were 13 homicides compared to 7 this year. Of the 29 shootings this year, detectives made arrests successful 22 of them.
"I'm truly arrogant of the lives that we've saved. In 2021, 2020, we had 732 shootings and 74 murders down to, you know, present we're looking astatine 7 murders twelvemonth to date. The lives that person not been mislaid successful the metropolis and the calamity that's been prevented has to beryllium acold and distant fig 1 for me.
"We cognize that reducing transgression is important, but it's not the lone happening due to the fact that it's a fearfulness of crime. Right? And erstwhile you person a batch of unhoused people, possibly loitering oregon folks connected fentanyl, and you're trying to get gas, that's precise scary. So don't deliberation for a infinitesimal that we don't recognize that, you know, portion of our occupation is to trim the fearfulness of crime," Casto said.
The main is besides arrogant of the simplification of deadly crashes - a precedence she laid retired connected time one.
"Traffic fatalities are down 41% this year, but I don't privation to conscionable permission it astatine that due to the fact that we've seen respective really, truly horrific DUI fatalities this year. So that's thing we ne'er instrumentality a remainder on, are DUIs. We person an Office of Traffic Safety grant, and each play of the twelvemonth nearly, we are doing further operations for DUI oregon distracted driving," she said.
Looking ahead, Casto says she’s focused connected maintaining transgression reduction, expanding officers’ professionalism and training, hiring much officers from 855 to a goal of 926, and:
"I've been saying this connected our non-emergency response, and I cognize that plentifulness of radical successful the metropolis would hold with maine connected that," Casto said. "That's thing that we request to enactment on."
Casto besides talked astir her mentorship from erstwhile constabulary chief, present Mayor Jerry Dyer, her days arsenic a bushed bull and not forgetting wherever it each started arsenic a teen from Caruthers successful a bull car for the archetypal clip connected a ride-along, and what it’s truly similar having some her hubby and her lad successful azygous with her.
Casto
For my husband, I benignant of consciousness atrocious for him. He doesn't get to instrumentality precise galore vacations, and helium has to perpetually enactment astir my schedule. But he's been amazingly patient, and I truly admit that.
I deliberation there's conscionable nary higher compliment and nary greater objection of dedication oregon committedness to this assemblage to person your kid articulation the section and service successful the aforesaid capacity. So, I consciousness truly fortunate, and I spot that helium makes bully decisions, and I'm definite helium gets teased, too, but helium doesn't archer maine astir it.
Dorman
I'm conscionable funny to know, what bash you privation your full unit to know?
Casto
Well, that I emotion them and they're connected my caput and their information is truthful important to maine and I privation them to beryllium capable to spell retired and bash this occupation with assurance and cognize that they're supported, not conscionable by me, but by this community, and that we cognize that things are ever going to beryllium perfect, that we admit what they do, that they sacrifice, you know, their spiritual, emotional, and carnal wellbeing each time connected behalf of this community.
