A retired police chief from Ventura County has been tapped as the interim police chief for the Santa Barbara Police Department.
City Administrator Paul Casey on Wednesday announced the appointment of John Crombach, who has 36 years of law enforcement experience including time as the Oxnard Police Chief and most recently as assistant sheriff for Ventura County.
Crombach retired from that position in March 2014.
Casey said Crombach, who has indicated he does not want the permanent position, will assume the interim role after Police Chief Cam Sanchez retires Feb. 19.
“I’m impressed by John’s commitment to build relationships,” Casey said in a statement.
“He sees residents, businesses, and other agencies as his customers and uses a collaborative approach to work with neighborhoods on public safety needs. He has a passion for building strong teams within organizations and I think he’s a good fit for our Police Department during a time of transition.”
Crombach will oversee some 200 sworn and civilian staff and a department budget of $42 million while the city conducts a nationwide recruitment search to replace its police chief.
Casey guessed an appointment for Santa Barbara’s permanent police chief would come in July.
He has been searching for an interim police chief since October, when Sanchez announced he would retire after more than 15 years as Santa Barbara’s police chief.
Casey said Crombach is known for 20 years of service within the Oxnard Police Department, where he rose through the ranks to become police chief in 2005 and managed a staff of 227 officers and civilian staff.
“During his time in Oxnard, he helped establish the California Cities Gang Network to address gang and youth violence,” Casey said.
“He implemented a Cross Cultural Competency training program for employees and community leaders to build relationships and improve understanding of culture, ethnicity, and economic differences. Under his leadership, a citizen’s academy was created for the Oxnard business community and he worked closely with their Downtown Business Partnership to develop security plans for the downtown area.
Crombach received a bachelor’s degree from University of La Verne and a master’s degree in public administration from California State University, Northridge.
The Santa Barbara Police Officers Association applauded the choice, saying the union leadership has had a long relationship with Crombach.
“We are confident Chief John Crombach has the experience and vision we need in order to address the magnitude of difficult challenges that currently face our department,” the SBPOA said in a statement.
“He is a man of integrity who will appropriately direct our current command staff and provide us with the necessary tools that will restore the Santa Barbara Police Department to the ranks of the top law enforcement agency that it once was. Chief Crombach is well positioned to address these challenges and we are eager to begin to collaboratively address our issues.
“Currently, staffing levels are at an all-time low as the department has not adapted and stayed competitive with police departments statewide, resulting in difficulties recruiting and retaining quality officers. This has resulted in negative impacts on levels of service and response times to 9-1-1 calls. When you need a police officer you need the office to respond immediately and with adequate resources to quickly and safely address the situation. We simply struggle provide this level of service at this time.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.