Sandy's police force at full staff

Newest officer hired began training Monday at Oregon law enforcement academy

By Jim Hart

The Sandy Post, Nov 17, 2009

Jim Hart / Sandy Post

Before he joins a Sandy police training officer for the graveyard shift last week, newly sworn officer Sam Craven stands beside a local police car.

Sam Craven, recently sworn in as Sandy’s newest police officer, is an outdoorsman. That’s why he is excited to have been hired in Sandy.

A native of eastern Clackamas County, Craven grew up near the Clackamas River outside of Damascus.

His aspirations to become a law enforcement officer were piqued during a career search after he graduated from George Fox University with a major in history and minor in Spanish.

That career search began after he returned from his job of several summers on-board a charter fishing boat.

While researching careers, Craven discovered that among the things appealing to him about a career in law enforcement was being trained to act in situations that local residents would not encounter.

He also likes the idea of teamwork – working alongside other people who have received similar training.

“Law enforcement officers are always learning,” he said, “learning to stay current with the changing realities, changing laws.”

Craven’s closest encounter with law enforcement was as a teenager, when he worked with the Oregon State Police checking businesses’ compliance with tobacco laws.

A couple of years ago, as soon as he thought he wanted to be an officer of the law, he started reading about the career and did a lot of ride-alongs. He had to prove his interest to himself at ground zero.

“Those ride-alongs confirmed to me that this is something I wanted to do,” he said.

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