The California Highway Patrol (CHP) has announced the appointment of Lieutenant James Richards as the new commander of the Crescent City area office of the CHP. Commander Richards appointment is effective January 1, 2025.Commander Richards brings a distinguished 25 year CHP career to Del Norte County.After university, Lt. Richards served his country in the Air Force, stationed at McClellan Air Force base in Sacramento where he served two deployments to Saudi Arabia within the 77th Security Police, Operation Southern Watch. Lt. Richards earned the Air Force Achievement medal upon retiring in 1999.#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');Richards comes to Crescent City after a 20 plus year multi-level assignment career in Santa Barbara County. Since 2021, he has assumed a leadership role in the Dept. of Uniformed Hiring Program, overseeing State-wide recruitment in the cadet process, from application to academy.Commander Richards’ priorities include reducing the mileage death rate within the County, lowering criminal activity, strengthening the relationship between Del Norte’s local communities and insuring the very highest standards of safety, service and community.Commander Richards highest priority is staffing and officer retention.From the next Academy graduation, the Crescent City CHP office will welcome at least two new officers to fill the half-dozen officer vacancies.On a personal note, Commander Richards has embraced his assignment and has expressed his affection for Del Norte’s beautiful geography and its diverse cultural communities.CHP Commander James Richards plans to introduce himself to the Board of Supervisors and Crescent City Council in the coming days. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });