The California Highway Patrol (CHP) responded to the newspaper’s inquiry regarding its current staffing levels and the status of the cadet academy.
CHP Public Information Officer Matt Napier wrote in an email, “Effective Dec. 17, 2020, the CHP Academy has temporarily suspended cadet training.”
CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray stated, “Cadets are critical to the CHP’s mission, however out of an abundance of caution, and in consultation with the California Department of Public Health and the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency, we are temporarily closing the academy to limit possible workplace exposure during the statewide surge in cases. We will continue to keep the cadets engaged in the education process through remote learning.”
Napier continued, “We look forward to welcoming back our 133 cadets in early 2021, however, a date has yet to be determined.”
Napier wrote the following regarding the San Gorgonio Pass area office’s staffing levels: “Our staffing levels have in fact been affected due to the delay in new officers graduating, frozen transfers between offices, and standard attrition from retirements and promotions. These factors have impacted several offices throughout the state and the San Gorgonio Pass area is not immune to this fact. Regardless, our office is committed to continue to serve the public to the highest level of safety, service and security that our Pass communities [have] come to expect from us.”
The newspaper asked if the following included in Napier’s response was due to the Stay-at Home order: “While we are always striving for improvement, our response times, enforcement, and public service remain at effective levels to continue to do our part in lowering the mileage death rate (MDR) in California. In fact, even with lower staffing levels, in 2020 the San Gorgonio Pass Area recorded the lowest number of fatal traffic collisions in our jurisdiction in the last four years. Additionally, our Idyllwild Resident Post remains fully staffed (three officers) to ensure the communities of Idyllwild, Pine Cove, Mountain Center, and Anza continue to receive the highest level of service in our rural areas and mountain highways.”
Napier responded, “We take great pride in lowering the total number of fatal traffic collisions in our area through several measurable means.
“Firstly, our partnerships with allied agencies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Cabazon, Hemet and Lake Hemet stations, Hemet, Banning and Beaumont Police Departments have never been stronger. We often lean on each other to improve response times and increase community engagement and education.
“Second, although crashes and DUIs dropped, speed citations for over 100 mph doubled in [the] third and fourth quarters of 2019 (statewide). It is a known fact that collisions at these high speeds tend to produce far greater injuries or deaths than slower speeds. To combat this statewide trend, we employed aggressive enforcement, as well as an emphasis on increased community engagement though public safety announcements and social media posts to educate the public and remain transparent of our goals and the means in which we intend to achieve those goals.”