The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office welcomed 10 new custody deputies upon their graduation from the Allan Hancock CORE Custody Deputy Academy.

The custody deputies were sworn in by Sheriff Bill Brown on May 22, ahead of the commencement ceremony.

Sheriff Bill Brown, center, wearing a dark suit, stands with 10 new custody deputies. (Courtesy photo)
Sheriff Bill Brown, center, swore in 10 new custody deputies. (Courtesy photo)

The CORE Custody Academy Class #16 included Custody Deputies Brian Bautista, Jesus Cabrera Jr., Raymundo Estrada, Luis Lopez-Zarate, Joaquin Quintero, Erik Sheets, Dylan Stockton, Nathan Valdovinos, Alex Vasquez and Matthew Woods.

Custody Chief Vincent Wasilewski, who gave the keynote speech on May 23, told the graduates the most important thing to hold onto in the years ahead is empathy.

“With empathy, we can touch the lives of everyone we meet and provide our services with the humanity and compassion that our fellow community members deserve,” he said.

The class of 10 recruits completed 260 hours of instruction, which included emergency planning in a custody facility, report writing, ethics, investigation procedures, classification of inmates, contraband detection, arrest and control, physical training, and direct supervision training.

Custody Deputy Bautista earned the title of Class Valedictorian; Custody Deputy Estrada was presented the Santa Maria Elks Lodge Leadership Award; and Custody Deputy Quintero received the Ron Battles award from the Deputy Sheriff’s Association.

Readers who are interested in a career in law enforcement or know someone who is, can visit SBSheriff.org to apply.