"With the department celebrating its 75th anniversary last year, many city leaders tout the success of the model as part of the reason Sunnyvale ranks among the safest cities in the Bay Area and beyond. And while the data is unclear on whether the combined department should take the credit for that success, the model has offered unique advantages that city leaders say could serve the city for years to come."
"When the department was founded in 1950, Sunnyvale had fewer than ten thousand residents and Santa Clara Valley was just beginning its transition from agricultural destination to the beating heart of technological innovation. At the time, Sunnyvale had a police department of only 16 people, a volunteer fire department and no EMT department. But in 1950 Sunnyvale was looking to begin a professional fire department, and then City Manager Kenneth Hunter thought that blending the police and fire department wo"
Sunnyvale public safety officers are trained and equipped to perform policing, firefighting and emergency medical duties. Officers carry traditional policing gear alongside a defibrillator and full firefighting uniform with respirator. The integrated department rotates personnel between roles, allowing officers to serve as police one year and as firefighters the next. The model traces to 1950, when Sunnyvale consolidated limited policing resources with plans for a professional fire service and no EMT unit. City leaders tout the cross-trained model for helping make Sunnyvale one of the safest Bay Area cities, while acknowledging that causation remains unclear.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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