Kern County Sheriff’s OHV Enforcement Team hit the trails

Brandon Muncy

The Kern County Sheriff's Off Highway Vehicle Enforcement Team will be kicking up dust in the coming months, as it focuses on improving OHV-user education and enforcement.

“Over the past couple years that I've been assigned here, we were inundated with calls for service regarding OHV type complaints,” said Sergeant Dean Marshall, “primarily in the Weldon, Onyx, Southlake areas of the valley.”

Kern County Sheriff’s Deputies Chris Banks and Steve Williams comprise the Kern County Sheriff’s Off Highway Vehicle Enforcement Team. The team plan to serve the valley over the coming months, and will be doing OHV enforcement and education.

The team’s goal is to promote positive education as well as provide law enforcement, Marshall said.

“We act as a liaison between the off-roaders and the residents of the community,” said Deputy Steve Williams, a member of the KCSO OHV Enforcement Team. “We can get the word out to the people who are riding the dirt bikes in the area that’s bothering members of the community and direct them to areas that are legal and away from the homes.”

Deputies, with the added advantage of dirt bikes, are able to access areas that would otherwise be inaccessible in traditional patrol cars or 4-wheel-drive vehicles. “By having members of the OHV team (in the Kern River Valley) we can go out and contact riders a little more personally,” added Marshall. “[In a patrol car] it's hard to get to a lot of places they go. This allows the officers to get to places where the riders are at.”

Sgt. Marshall called for more responsibility on the part of OHV riders and reminded the community, “The riders need to be responsible for their actions.” 

Off-roaders need be sure they are recreating in an area where it is legal to ride. On any private property, when riders know, or even if they don’t know, who owns the property, it is the rider’s responsibility to know they are on the property legally, with written permission, Marshall said.

“On public lands, off-roaders must be sure they ride on designated trails and routes, their equipment is up-to-date with current Green Stickers, spark arrestors, and those sort of things to prevent wildfires.

If residents know of problem areas they think need more attention than usual patrol functions, Marshall asked them to call the Kern County Sheriff's Substation at 760-549-2100. The team can do targeted enforcement for those areas.

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Source: http://www.kvsun.com/articles/2010/04/13/news/doc4bc4c473c427c958027274.txt

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