The Sheriff’s Activities League-Over 15 Years of Community Service

With a 30-year career in California, Sheriff Greg Munks has been the head of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office since 2006. Beyond law enforcement, Sheriff Greg Munks serves the youth of his community through his association with the Sheriff’s Activities League.

Founded in 1997, the Sheriff’s Activities League (SAL) provides leadership, education, and sports activities for disadvantaged youth throughout San Mateo County. SAL provides mentoring, sports, and arts programs for more than 1,000 kids. The organization also hosts an annual summer camp in the mountains, in which approximately 100 young participants enjoy traditional camp activities with strong gang prevention and anti-drug messages. SAL recently announced the successful conclusion of its Healthy Kids STEM pilot program to help female and minority students get a head start in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects.

At its heart, SAL strives to build youths’ self-esteem and to build trust among law enforcement officers, the youth of the community, and the community at large. To this end, the organization hosts approximately 30,000 people every year at the popular multicultural North Fair Oaks Community Festival. In early June, SAL was part of the volunteer “Be Seen Keepin’ It Clean” event to clean up public park space in North Fair Oaks.

To learn more about Sheriff Gregory Munks and the Sheriff’s Activities League, please visit the SAL website at http://www.sheriffsactivitiesleague.com.

Sheriff Greg Munks- The North Fair Oaks Community Festival

Law enforcement professional Sheriff Greg Munks spent six years serving as sheriff of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. While in the position, Sheriff Greg Munks performed community outreach with events such as the North Fair Oaks Community Festival.

For 12 years, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office has hosted the North Fair Oaks Community Festival. This popular annual event runs for a single day every August and delights more than 30,000 citizens with a variety of activities. Rides, food and beverages, arts and crafts, and live entertainment are among the attractions at this celebration. Moreover, it contains an hour-long parade.

Proceeds from the North Fair Oaks Community Festival go towards numerous programs established by the sheriff’s office. The Queen of the Festival scholarship provides money to five young women who are entering college but require financial assistance. Children benefit from the funding given to the Sheriff’s Activities League, which runs after-school and summer programs featuring athletics and arts and crafts. The North Fair Oaks Community Festival also supports S.T.A.R. Camp. Another yearly tradition, S.T.A.R. Camp involves personnel taking youths who are disadvantaged on a weeklong camping trip at YMCA Camp Loma Mar. To read more about this project and about Sheriff Gregory Munks and the Sheriff’s Office’s involvement, visit NorthFairOaksFestival.org.

Sheriff Greg Munks – Identity Theft Causes and Prevention

A member of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office since 1977, Greg Munks was elected to his second term as sheriff in early 2012. He serves the county as its chief law enforcement officer, chairs its Vehicle Theft Task Force, and chairs the executive board of the Northern California Regional Terrorism Assessment Center. Sheriff Gregory Munks also serves on several additional boards related to law enforcement, as well as organizations of law enforcement professionals, including the California State Sheriffs’ Association and the International Chiefs of Police. Among Sheriff Greg Munks’ many responsibilities as county sheriff is the safety of the county’s people and their property from predators both in person and online, and his office has issued guidelines for the avoidance of identity theft, one of the nation’s fastest-growing crimes.

Identity theft is the acquisition by criminals of enough personal data to enable them to impersonate their victims for the purpose of accessing their financial accounts and/or committing financial fraud such as fraudulently applying for credit in their names. Identity thieves are clever and constantly devise new ways to acquire victims’ information, from stealing mail from mailboxes to using confederates in restaurants to capture the data from the magnetic strip on credit cards. Identity thieves also hack computers using public Wi-Fi facilities in hopes of capturing the login codes people use to access bank and other financial accounts.

The sheriff’s website lists numerous steps which consumers can take to help prevent identity theft, including getting a locking mailbox, mailing bill payments from secure locations such as the post office or a locked collection box, opting out of preapproved offers of credit, and shredding those that do arrive, as well as using a secure browser when shopping or banking online. In addition, consumers should take advantage of legal protections to order free annual credit reports from each of the three credit bureaus, as well as order their annual earnings report from the Social Security Administration to ensure against misuse of their social security numbers. Further suggestions on dealing with identity theft are available on the sheriff’s department website at www.smcsheriff.com/safety-information/identity-theft.

County Inmates Assist with Animal Training By Sheriff Greg Munks

Designed to socialize troublesome dogs into adoptable pets and to provide structure for San Mateo County jail inmates, the T.A.I.L.S. Program (Transitioning Animals Into Loving Situations) pairs shelter dogs from the Peninsula Humane Society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals with suitable inmates for an eight-week training period.

Started in 2009, the unique partnership has brought together 42 inmates with 42 dogs who have all successfully completed the dog training program. Both the men and the animals benefit from the instruction, and some participants grow quite fond of each other. Because the animal shelters face overcrowding, they also appreciate the service provided by the T.A.I.L.S. program.

Animal and handler spend two months together around the clock, attending training sessions and even sleeping in the same cell. The pets’ adoption potential is enhanced, while the men learn the importance of discipline and display improved behavior and an increase in civility.

About the author:
Since June 2006, Sheriff Gregory Munks has served as Sheriff of San Mateo County. He is responsible for initiating the T.A.I.L.S. Program. In 1995, Sheriff Greg Munks earned a Master of Business Administration from Golden Gate University.

Overview of The Coastside Neighborhood Response Team Initiative, By Sheriff Greg Munks

In March 2012, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office established The Coastside Neighborhood Response Team to combat gang-related criminal activities in and around the city of Half Moon Bay, California. Comprised of deputies already working in Half Moon Bay and the nearby communities, The Coastside Neighborhood Response Team aims to respond to a recent rise in gang-related crime and combat a lack of leads due to intimidation. The Coastside Neighborhood Response Team will work in conjunction with previously instated gang-related initiatives, including the re-deployment of the Gang Task Force, enhanced communication mechanisms, and graffiti abatement.

One of the initiative’s primary efforts involves identifying and monitoring gang members and gang-related activities. To improve communication between members of law enforcement, any information discovered through these efforts will be shared with the Sheriff’s Office for use in further investigations. In addition, this information will assist members of law enforcement in the ongoing prevention and intervention of gang-related crime activity.

About the Author:

Sheriff Gregory Munks played an integral role in the development and implementation of The Coastside Neighborhood Response Team. Sheriff Greg Munks has served as Sheriff of San Mateo County since 2007.

Proven Strategies for Reducing Recidivism, By Sheriff Greg Munks, San Mateo County

With most of the country’s prisons facing serious overcrowding, many public safety officials are seeking strategies for reducing the recidivism rate (that is, the rate at which ex-convicts offend again). So far, research has pointed to a few factors that lead to decreased recidivism:

•    Housing support: Some ex-convicts are barred from living in certain areas, and many have difficulty securing housing because of their criminal record or inability to get a job. Providing this crucial element of stability helps to keep offenders out of situations that might lead to reoffending.
•    Health care and/or substance abuse treatment: Without strategies for staying sober or dealing with chronic mental and physical illnesses, the likelihood of recidivism increases.
•    Training for legitimate jobs: Finding work is a huge hurdle for many ex-cons. Providing training in skills that are in demand, as well as “soft-skill” training (e.g., learning how to make a good impression in an interview), helps to overcome this barrier.

About Sheriff Gregory Munks

A law enforcement professional his entire adult life, Greg Munks has served as sheriff of San Mateo County since 2006. In this role, he introduced a re-entry facility that provides vocational training, substance abuse treatment, and health care to inmates returning to the public.

Sheriff Greg Munks’ Pet Partnership Marks Third Year

This summer marked the third anniversary of Transitioning Animals Into Loving Situations, or TAILS. Run jointly by Sheriff Greg Munks’ office and the Peninsula Humane Society, the program pairs dogs with behavioral problems with inmates from the Maple Street Complex Facility, a minimum-security prison in Redwood City, California.

The men attend training classes with the animals, where they learn potential job skills like dog grooming and obedience training. At the same time, the dogs get lots of attention and learn to behave, overcoming their documented social issues. After class, inmates bring the dogs back to the facility, continuing the dogs’ training, socializing, and physical workouts. The classes last eight weeks.

Since its launch, nearly 80 inmates and 40 dogs have completed the classes. All 40 of the previously unadoptable dogs have found homes, while inmates claim to enjoy the feeling of responsibility and normality.

Encouraged by the success of TAILS, Sheriff Gregory Munks plans to extend the program to female inmates. He has set aside space in a planned women’s facility.