Click Here for the Morongo Basin Sheriff Station Web Site

Overview

The Morongo Basin Station is the third largest Sheriff's Station, in square miles as well as for calls for law enforcement services within the county of San Bernardino. The station services an area of approximately 5,200 square miles with a population in excess of 85,000 citizens.

Within the station's area of responsibility are the incorporated communities of Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms as well as the unincorporated communities of Morongo Valley, Landers, Johnson Valley, Joshua Tree, Wonder Valley, Pioneertown, Amboy/Cadiz, and Flamingo Heights.

Over 2 million tourists visit the Morongo Basin annually from virtually every country in the world. This influx of travelers is a direct result of having the Joshua Tree National Park, one of the nations largest, as a neighbor.

Another major attraction for the Morongo Basin is the world's largest United States Marine Corps base, located at the city boundary of Twentynine Palms.

In order to meet the needs of such a diverse area, the station utilizes more than 200 volunteers. They include uniformed Reserve Patrol Deputies, Search and Rescue, Mounted Search and Rescue Posse, Explorer Scouts, You Are Not Alone phone group and seven separate citizen patrol units.

Joshua Tree Citizen Patrol

Joshua Tree is located midway between the Town of Yucca Valley and the City of Twentynine Palms.

Follow Park Blvd. South and you will enter into Joshua Tree National Park, visited annually by millions of visitors from all over the world. The Park is famous for it's seasonal wildflowers, natural diversity in terrain and a mecca for serious rock climbers.

Rich in history, Joshua Tree has a beautiful natural history museum containing artwork from local artists as well as other types of memorabilia.

The Joshua Tree Citizen Patrol provides valuable pro-active patrol to travelers along State Route 62, which is a popular route for travelers visiting Las Vegas, Laughlin and the Colorado River.

Although small in size, the residents of this sleepy desert community have come to depend on the citizen patrol to help keep crime down.

Some of the unit's responsibilities include:

• Providing vacation checks on residents' homes while out of town
• Extra patrol to areas experiencing community problems
• Home security inspections (checking locks, windows, lighting, etc.)
• Business checks to businesses after hours
• Welfare checks to elderly folks and shut-ins
• Traffic control during accidents, power outages and flooding
• Crime scene containment Assist the Crime Prevention Officer with safety programs, such as Neighborhood Watch
• Provide a safety booth during special events (pass out literature and provide child fingerprinting)

It has been proven that the most successful crime prevention program a law enforcement agency can have is Citizen Patrol. The second most successful is Neighborhood Watch. Both consist of concerned citizens working with law enforcement to better their community by watching out for suspicious activity and reporting it.

Each volunteer must successfully complete a 50-hour training academy. During this academy students learn to provide the above services plus become certified in First Aid/CPR, Driver Awareness and Radio / Patrol Procedures.

Volunteers purchase their own uniforms and contribute 16 hours per month to the Department. Members of the citizen patrol are volunteers and do not receive pay for their services. Their reward is the satisfaction of a community that is lower in crime and safer for all that lives and works there.

For more information on the Joshua Tree Citizen Patrol, contact the Morongo Basin Station's front desk, at (760) 366-4175.