Deputy Scott Solorzano, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office’s new community resource officer, stands with his vehicle. Solorzano said he was thrilled to take on the new role and looks forward to strengthening ties with the Lincoln County community. (Photo courtesy Maria Solorzano)
Since Feb. 26, former patrol deputy Scott Solorzano’s day-to-day has changed dramatically as he steps into the new role of community resource deputy, conducting outreach and community work across the county on behalf of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
In a phone call on Tuesday, March 5, Solorzano was enthusiastic about taking on the wide range of responsibilities wrapped up in the new role, which Chief Deputy Rand Maker said was created with the intention of bringing outreach and community services to vulnerable populations across Lincoln County.
“I’m absolutely having a blast,” Solorzano said. “The range of services that I can offer the community is so broad … Hopefully, the rewards are going to be beneficial across the community.”
“This is the first step in hopefully being a little bit more proactive instead of reactive,” Maker said in a phone call on March 5.
As envisioned, the community resource deputy will take on the challenge of “building relationships with vulnerable populations in our county – whether that’s kids, the elderly, those with substance use disorders… a wide range of community members,” Maker said.
Apart from a school resource deputy stationed at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office did not previously have a community resource deputy or similar position. Solorzano said that he believed the decision to add the role to the department was an important development with wide-reaching implications for the community and local law enforcement.
In the role, Solorzano interacts with a range of community members, including schoolchildren. Many towns throughout Lincoln County did not previously have a school resource officer, Solorzano noted. He will fill that role, dividing his time between schools to visit with students and support programming.
By 1:30 p.m. on March 5, for example, Solorzano said he had already been to three schools: first Dresden Elementary School, then a visit to Edgecomb Eddy School, and finally lunch at Jefferson Village School.
The kids had been very glad to see him, Solorzano said, joking that at each school he had been asked “100 questions” about himself and his work.
“They absolutely love it,” he said.
Solorzano said that reactions from school administrators had been similarly positive.
“We are fortunate to have you,” said AOS 93 Superintendent Lynsey Johnston after Solorzano introduced the position at the Jefferson School Committee meeting on Monday, March 4.
“It’s something that’s definitely needed,” Jefferson School Committee Chair Walter Greene-Morse agreed.
In addition to working with schools, Solorzano said he was also planning to be involved with reaching out to the county’s sizable elderly population through visits to senior living centers and senior programming.
“They were the ones that built our towns, and now they’re in their older years … we just owe so much to them,” Solorzano said. “What the sheriff and chief want, and I agree, is to be able to make connections and build relationships with our elderly community.”
Elderly individuals can be particularly vulnerable to exploitation, as many live alone or rely on caregivers and some may be more likely to fall for scams, Maker said. Last year, Lincoln County residents lost $300,000 to scammers, he noted.
Establishing relationships with older Lincoln County residents, Maker said, could aid the sheriff’s office in empowering the most vulnerable to avoid such ploys.
Many elderly residents are also veterans, Solorzano said, identifying another group with which he hoped to become more involved through his new role. This includes supporting veterans’ mental health, he added.
As community resource deputy, Solorzano hopes to be a connection point through which community members in need can access addiction support, mental health resources, and other forms of assistance.
Solorzano said that transitioning into the new role from his previous work as a patrol deputy would allow him more time to slow down and get to know the individuals he serves.
Patrol deputies encounter individuals struggling with their mental health or addiction “on a daily basis,” Solorzano said. But with a high volume of calls, they aren’t always able to follow up on cases or check in on everyone they may want to. As a community resource deputy, however, Solorzano said he anticipated having more freedom to develop relationships with community members and provide ongoing support.
Solorzano said that he, Maker, and Brackett had agreed not to use the traditional patrolman’s uniform for his role, opting instead for a more dressed-down uniform that they hoped would make the community resource deputy more approachable.
Solorzano brings 17 years of law enforcement experience to his new role. Deciding to transition away from patrolling towards community engagement, he said, was easy.
“When the sheriff and the chief offered this position to me, it didn’t take me long to accept it,” he said. “I know this is called ‘work,’ but it’s not work for me.”
Just as Solorzano has taken to his new role, the Lincoln County community seems to have taken to him. After only one week of making the rounds as community resource deputy, “I’ve got my daily planner almost all booked up,” Solorzano said.
Maker said that the role represented a step towards proactive policing that has been made possible by the department being more fully staffed than it has been in some time.
“We have plans as our staffing gears up,” Maker said, including more “proactive” roles, like a full-time traffic enforcement deputy role that the department hopes to create next.
Having gotten a running start, Solorzano has high hopes for the potential positive impacts of the community resource deputy position on all of Lincoln County.
“My goal is for this just to take off,” Solorzano said. “I believe this will grow. The future is absolutely bright.”
