UCSB Police Detective Receives Local Recognition

Det. Dawn Arviso of the UC Santa Barbara Police Department was one of 17 honorees to receive the H. Thomas Guerry Award. Given by the Santa Barbara Citizens Council on Crime, the award recognizes Santa Barbara County-area members of law enforcement for their superior performance and dedication to their community. It was presented Thursday, May 29, at a special ceremony at the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors Hearing Room in Santa Barbara.

Arviso was recognized for her expertise in interrogations and interviews, as well as her specialty in sexual assault situations.

A graduate of the South Bay Regional Police Academy in 1995, Arviso began her career with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department. She moved south to the Escondido Police Department before joining the UCSB Police Department in 2011.

“She has a very nurturing approach that puts survivors at ease, even with the most challenging of circumstances,” UCSB Police Department Chief Dustin Olson, said of Arviso. He also praised Arviso’s “keen investigative skills” and “superior interview techniques,” which have led to the identification of the suspect in a recent sexual assault case.

Arviso, who takes on various roles, including patrol officer and polygrapher, is also the lead instructor for the UCSB Rape Aggression Defense program, and works closely with the advocates at the campus’s Women, Gender & Sexual Equity Department.

The H. Thomas Guerry Award is a 45-year-old tradition established in honor of Santa Barbara Police Department Detective Horace Thomas Guerry. Guerry served the community from 1962 until his death in 1970 in the line of duty, while exchanging gunfire with two suspects on a cross-country robbery spree. He was 29 years old.