LETTER FROM THE CHIEF

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new ” –Dan Millman

When I was a brand-new Deputy Chief, one of my co-workers gave me a paperweight with a simple message: what would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? This paperweight has been on my desk ever since. It is scarred from being dropped, scraped across desks, thrown in moving boxes, and buried beneath paperwork –and every time it catches my eye, I think about that question.

And now, I’m asking you: what would you attempt to do, if you knew you could not fail?

When I was appointed Chief, I picked this paperweight up and thought about my successes, but also the chances and risks I did not take in my 33-year career, usually because I was worried about the repercussions of failure, to myself or to my department. I contemplated the lessons I’ve learned about weighing risk and benefit, and the importance of teaching that skill to others. I considered the need for a new Chief to be bold, to embrace change, and the necessary risks I would have to take as Chief in order to move our department forward. I pictured the challenges ahead, and all the things that could go wrong. I worried over making the shift from striving for personal excellence, into leading our team toward continued departmental excellence.

The thing about that question, though – what could I attempt to do? - is that inevitably, it invites me to think about the endless opportunities available. What if we challenged the status quo, and it worked? What if we calculated the risks, and decided they were acceptable, and we took a brave step forward to try something different than what we have always done? What if I invited each of you to lean into change with me, and we all took a step forward together, as if we knew we could not fail?

The reality is, as we evolve in our work, mistakes will be made – but we must not view these as failures. I see mistakes as chances to learn and be better tomorrow. In this moment of leadership transition and change, we have the chance to ask ourselves this question, and to take appropriate and carefully considered risks which will lead to great rewards. I’m grateful to have been given the chance to stretch my skills, and grateful that so many of you have embraced the chance to try something new, too. Let’s proceed together as though we cannot fail, because that is how the courage to make lasting change is found. I’m looking forward to continuing the momentum we ’ ve started, and I’m excited to see all the things our department will accomplish!

Holly Benton Sworn In as Santa Barbara Chief Probation Officer

On March 20, 2023, Holly Benton was appointed by the Superior Court, County of Santa Barbara to the position of Chief Probation Officer of the Santa Barbara County Probation Department. Her formal swearing in ceremony was May 4, 2023. Chief Benton brings over 33 years of probation experience from San Bernardino and Santa Barbara counties. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of LaVerne in 1989 and her Master of Public Administration from California State University San Bernardino in 2012. She has served in Santa Barbara County as a Deputy Chief Probation Officer over various assignments, including the Juvenile and Adult Divisions, Research, and IT, since 2018. Congratulations Chief Benton!