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  GOLD -  Sgt. Robin Mitchell of the Sheriff's Office
Robin Mitchell was a member of the Sheriff's Office Sex Crimes Investigation Unit for 10 years, serving as the Sergeant in charge of the unit for the past 5 years. This unit is responsible for the investigation of sex crimes against adults and children, physical abuse of children, collection and preservation of forensic evidence, registration and management of convicted sex offenders, and training of allied law enforcement officers in the area of sexual assault investigation. In addition to managing her team and handling a heavy and complex caseload, Sgt. Mitchell was tasked with remodeling the victim exam room at Dominican Hospital during 2008. She worked tirelessly with hospital management, physicians, nurses and contractors in the design and construction of a dedicated exam room for sexual assault and physical abuse victims. Sgt. Mitchell also took on the job of establishing new operating procedures and a memorandum of understanding for the use and management of the room. With all this before her, she still found time to teach training classes, coordinate case review sessions, and manage a state grant for sex offender registration compliance. Sgt. Mitchell's insistence on excellence is enhanced by her tenacity and relentless pursuit of justice, support, and humane treatment of victims. Her efforts have brought statewide recognition to the County in the area of sexual assault investigation and prosecution, while making our community a safer place.

  SILVER -  Shared by members of the District Attorney's Office Consumer Protection Unit

Left to Right:
Laura Partch
William Atkinson
Robin Gysin
Kelly Walker

The Consumer Protection Unit receives, evaluates and investigates consumer inquiries and complaints, serving as the community's first line of defense against the increasing problem of consumer fraud. The effects of consumer fraud are felt throughout every aspect of our community, including a large number of cases involving the elderly, stripping victims of their dignity and making them feel violated and fearful. As a result of their skill, dedication and tenacity, the Consumer Protection Unit will attain the highest amount of consumer fraud penalties ever collected in Santa Cruz County, anticipated at more than $850,000 in the current fiscal year. These funds make it possible for the District Attorney's office to continue to protect the citizens of Santa Cruz County by providing enhanced services and programs. The nature of the complaints investigated, evaluated and adjudicated by members of the Consumer Protection Unit are exceedingly complex. The extraordinary attention to detail and follow through demonstrated by each member have been of tremendous support to victims of consumer fraud.

  BRONZE -  Shared by members of the Probation Department's Pretrial Services Unit

Left to Right:
Nereida Rodriguez
Jesse Duque
Natalie Berns
David Rosell
Eduardo Guzman


The Pretrial Services Unit works to release inmates from custody who are not flight risks, thereby saving the County thousands of dollars in daily housing expenses at the jail. The Pretrial Services Unit has also been an integral part of ongoing efforts by the Jail Overcrowding Task Force to reduce overcrowding in the daily jail population. In addition to their traditional duties of writing pretrial reports for the court and supervising defendants in the community, the Pretrial Services Unit was assigned the task of making in-custody inmate residential treatment placements, a job that had previously been done by a dedicated, tenured specialist. In the face of an already heavy workload and with no additional resources, members of the unit picked up this assignment and promptly went to work placing qualifying inmates into appropriate programs. The efforts of each member of the Pretrial Services Unit have had extremely positive impacts on the daily jail population, and their consistent display of flexibility when asked to do more with less is deserving of recognition.