With a $1 million state grant and City Council approval, the Lompoc Police Department will send a school resource officer to Lompoc Valley Middle School as early as next school year. The goal is to provide early intervention and cannabis education, as the money pulls from a public safety grant associated with Proposition 64 that […]
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Lompoc modifies RV parking rules, increases penalty for camping in public
In another attempt to iron out parking regulations, the Lompoc City Council decided that RV owners with permits are exempt from a 72-hour parking ban. “It exempts RV owners with RV parking permits from the city’s ordinance that requires you to move your vehicle every 72 hours,” City Attorney Jeff Malawy said at the Aug. […]
Lompoc Police Department uses AI tool for non-emergency dispatch
An AI assistant is now answering calls made to the Lompoc Police Department’s business line to report non-emergencies. Police hope the technology, called Hyper, will allow dispatchers to focus on emergency situations. “It’ll help reduce the volume of calls coming directly into dispatch because there’s an enormous amount of calls that come through that aren’t […]
‘Hoof pursuit’: The Santa Maria Police Department’s mounted unit just got two more officers
One of Santa Maria’s Town Center East shopping plazas felt like the Old West to two police officers who chased down a suspected shoplifter outside of Big 5 Sporting Goods last summer. “We were actually in a hoof pursuit,” Santa Maria Police Department officer Jessica Rubio recalled, while sitting on her patrol horse named Buddy. […]

