Sheriff’s office working to reopen Los Banos substation to public

The Merced County Sheriff’s Office is gearing up to reopen its Los Banos substation to the public.

The first day Sheriff Vern Warnke took office, he told the former sheriff and then undersheriff Tom Cavallero that he wanted to reopen the substation.

“We pulled it off,” Cavallero said, “and I know (Warnke) is thrilled.”

The substation closed to the public early in 2010 due to budget cuts. There were two staff members who dealt with the public, and that was cut to one before there were none. When it closed to the public, the sheriff’s headquarters in Merced was the only place for people to conduct any kind of business with the sheriff’s office.

Deputies continued to work out of the substation, covering the unincorporated areas around Dos Palos and Los Banos as well as Santa Nella and the Gustine area.

Now, the county has authorized the sheriff’s office to re-establish the substation’s public operations. The sheriff’s office won’t make any new hires to staff the substation, but will instead relocate employees there. Lt. Steve Sziraki also has been stationed there along with two detectives, Cavallero said.

Merced County residents will be able to go to the Los Banos substation to make a report, add information to a report, speak to a detective or get a vehicle released to be towed.

“When members of the community can interact face to face, relationships develop,” Cavallero said. “In law enforcement, that’s always a good thing.”

To get the substation ready to serve the public, less than $5,000 of equipment must be set up. Other than that, the sheriff’s office isn’t spending a substantial amount of money to open it, Cavallero said.

Last year, the sheriff’s office reopened the Delhi substation to the public in a similar manner.

It’s unclear when exactly the substation will reopen to the public, but the sheriff’s office is hoping it will happen by the first of the year.

This story was originally published October 14, 2015 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Sheriff’s office working to reopen Los Banos substation to public."