Lt. Bovet's Last Day in Command of the Ramona Sheriff's Station

After 15 months commanding the Ramona Sheriff's Station, Lt. James Bovet has been promoted to Captain and will soon take command of the Santee and Alpine Stations. Lt. Hank Turner will take the reigns at the Ramona Station beginning Friday.

Under Bovet's watch Ramona has seen a dramatic decrease in reported crimes of all types- 2013 saw nearly half the number reported in 2012, according to data released by the Sheriff's Department in November. The number of arrests jumped by about 1/3 in the same period of time. Bovet said these two factors were linked and a positive sign.

Burglary and theft reports were reduced by about half compared to last year, which Bovet attributes partially to the break up of several burglary rings and the networks that support them.

The Ramona Citizens Advisory Group (CAG), which meets every few months to facilitate communication between the public and Sheriff's Department, was also started under Lt. Bovet's watch.

He said at the last CAG meeting that AB109, which essentially results in low-level offenders instantly out on the street, will be a continuing issue for Ramona.

Lt. Bovet, a Ramona resident, will be taking command over operations in Santee and Alpine that involve five times the number of people working at the Ramona Station.

Bovet told Ramona Patch as he started as commander that combatting drugs was going to be the major focus of his time in charge of the Ramona Station. He lived up to that goal, the last year included two big drug busts. Operation ‘A’ Team was an undercover operation that resulted in one arrest at Ramona High School, and Operation Mountain Shadow, a year-long bust that netted dozens of Ramonans.

The new commander, Lt. Turner, like Bovet, has a history in drug enforcement and about 20 years of experience in law enforcement.

Read more about the switch in commanders at the Ramona Sentinel