Sacramento PD rolls out new mobile police station to help reach residents

Teenager Elias Corsbie, and his aunt Helen, were unsure of what to do next. So they wandered over to the group of officers near a hulking Sacramento police truck.

It was Saturday morning and Elias’ bicycle had been stolen just hours earlier at a nearby home. The pair had seen the officers in the parking lot of the Oak Park Community Center. Helen asked: Where could they file a police report?

The two had unwittingly stumbled on a new effort by the Sacramento Police Department to make services more accessible to residents. Inside the expansive vehicle, records officials were on hand to help with fix-it tickets, court dates and to file reports.

The idea of a mobile station was inspired by police in the United Kingdom, said Lt. Brent Kaneyuki, one of the officers at the scene. After Saturday’s event, the agency was planning to have the vehicle set up in other areas of the city.

Police spokesman Officer Chad Lewis said the department was seeking input from residents on where it should go next.

“Our hope is that this program will help members of our community with obstacles to accessing our services like those with incompatible work schedules, transportation issues, child-care, or other life circumstances,” Lewis said in an email before the event.

After filing a report, Helen Corsbie said she was grateful to have the mobile station there.

She and Elias were the first and only people to use the service Saturday morning. Most of the activity in the parking lot came from children who grabbed stickers from officers and the blaring brass instruments, and thumping drums, of a marching band that performed nearby.

As for her nephew, the loss of bike was still raw. Elias, 16, had only had it for about four months. But he had worked hard for it. And it had style; with its bright orange and blue colors. The ache of not having it made him angry.

“Me and that bike got a bond,” he said, before tears formed in his eyes.