By Mary O’KEEFE

The Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station has a new captain – Robert Hahnlein officially took the lead at the station on April 17 but has been acting captain for several months.

Hahnlein follows Todd Deeds, who was named captain of the CV Sheriff’s Station in 2019 but has since stepped down due to medical issues. The new captain was chosen by a committee that included community members.

“We worked together as deputies in the past and I am confident in Rob’s leadership in moving the station forward,” Deeds said.

Hahnlein has served with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for 32 years and is very familiar with the CV area not only because of his time at the CV Station but CV is his hometown.

“I was born in Glendale and raised in La Crescenta,” he said.

He attended Lincoln Elementary, then Clark Middle School and graduated from Crescenta Valley High School. He lives in Crescenta Valley and his children also went through CV schools. So he knows the area as a community member as well as the newly appointed station captain.

“What I am hoping for is for our deputies to have more training so they can be better informed when making decisions in the field,” he said of his plans for the future.

He also wants more patrol cars in the field and to have better response times, which leads to better crime deterrents.

The CV area has relatively low crime rates compared to other areas in LA County, in part due to proactive measures by the sheriff’s department, and Hahnlein gives a lot of credit to the communities the CV Station serves.

“The community is very proactive,” he said. “The community is one of our biggest supporters.”

Representatives from the CV Sheriff’s Station shared tips on how to avoid crime, often at meetings of the CV Town Council and the La Cañada Flintridge City Council, as well as at local Neighborhood Watches.

“I just want to make sure that [residents] keep their eyes [open] for their neighbors,” he said. “I would like to ramp up our Neighborhood Watch programs.”

Having cameras and motion detector lights are helpful in deterring crime and could help deputies locate suspects.

There is not a large homeless population in the CV area and, when deputies do respond to a call concerning a homeless person or someone who appears to suffer from a mental illness, they can call in a mental evaluation team to assist. The team, composed of a nurse and a deputy, will respond to the call.

“We find them medical [support], psychiatric help or housing,” Hahnlein said.

Hahnlein said he is excited to begin work as the official captain of his hometown station and looks forward to working with the community.