FAREWELL—Capt. Brent Kerr, left, receives a commendation from Derek Ross, chairman of the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council. SYLVIE BELMOND/Acorn Newspapers While overseeing patrol operations for Thousand Oaks and the unincorporated areas of Oak Park, Bell Canyon, Casa Conejo, Lynn Ranch and Hidden Valley, Capt. Brent Kerr also became an advocate for the communities he served.

In addition to addressing traffic problems, burglaries and vandalism, the Ventura County Sheriff’s captain and liaison for Oak Parks’ 14,000 residents also spent time educating students and school officials about the dangers of substance abuse and bullying.

Next month, Kerr will transfer to the sheriff’s department Major Crime Bureau, which handles homicide investigations, major fraud, and sexual assault and robbery cases.

Kerr says he will leave behind fond memories.

“I will miss the daily interaction we had on trying to overcome all the issues facing society today,” he said.

Derek Ross, chairman for the Oak Park Advisory Municipal Council, said Kerr helped to improve public safety in Oak Park by developing open relations between the community and the sheriff’s department.

“We’ve been very lucky to have Capt. Kerr. He’s very approachable, compassionate and extremely communicative,” Ross said.

Since Oak Park doesn’t have money to pay for a crime prevention officer and outreach programs, it’s important for law enforcement to work with the community to raise awareness about the crime and drug issues.

During his two-year tenure at the helm of the East County Division, Kerr also supervised the local reserve unit and field-training budget.

Kerr earned a bachelor of science degree in business management from the University of Phoenix and a master’s degree in Emergency Management from California State University, Long Beach. He began his career as a patrol deputy in three contract cities prior to being promoted to work in investigations, special enforcement and detention services. He also managed the VCSD academy, which trains new recruits and oversees ongoing training of veteran officers.

Prior to coming to Oak Park, Kerr was a patrol watch commander and jail manager for the sheriff’s department. He also directed internal affair investigations and managed the budget for his division. Kerr said he looks forward to his new assignment at the Major Crime Bureau.

He stressed that his greatest passion is his family. He and his wife of 30 years, Julie, have two children. The husband and wife are lifetime residents of Ventura County.