Duty and the beach

Lauren Vane

Municipal Code Enforcement Officer R. Fallah loves Laguna Beach, and

he has a unique way of showing it. He writes tickets -- lots of

tickets -- to visitors and locals alike.

From jaywalking to smoking on the beach, Fallah patrols the sand

and streets and enforces the city code in the community he has called

home for 14 years.

Call it tough love. Fallah digs his job because he’s helping the

city fulfill a goal of making Laguna a safe place to live and visit.

“He’s taken his responsibility seriously; he’s doing an excellent

job,” said Police Chief Jim Spreine.

Fallah, who asked that his first name not be used due to safety

concerns, is not a sworn member of the police department, but he is

the city’s first year-round municipal code enforcer. While Fallah is

entrusted with enforcing the city codes throughout all of Laguna,

most of the time his work takes him to the beaches, which keep him

busy all year long.

On a Saturday afternoon in late May, with Laguna’s beaches already

peppered with a mixture of sunbathing tourists and locals, Fallah was

focused, looking for any signs that someone might not understand the

rules of the beach.

Body language, Fallah said, is the No. 1 tip-off that someone is

doing something they’re not supposed to be doing. When Fallah comes

walking down the beach and a beachgoer acts as if he’s got something

to hide, Fallah goes in to take a closer look.

Strolling the sand at Main Beach, Fallah was searching for the

most common offender: The beachgoer enjoying an alcoholic beverage on

the sand.

Like a spy plane on a reconnaissance mission, Fallah swoops in and

does a fly-by.

When Fallah does notice someone drinking on the beach or violating

any other section of the city code, his first response is to inform

that person about the rules.

“My goal is when I do contact people, I like to educate,” Fallah

said.

Even though the beach rules are posted at the entrance to every

beach, many people are visitors and may not have seen the sign or

aren’t familiar with the rules, Fallah said. For that reason, Fallah

sees his job as a combination of law enforcement and teaching.

Unfortunately, it’s often the case that those violating the city

code need a little more than education, Fallah said.

“Warnings don’t work in some cases,” Fallah said. “But a citation

is a lesson to be learned for life.”

Having Fallah onboard all year frees up police officers for

higher-priority calls, Spreine said.

Fallah handles many of the nuisance calls, such as barking dogs,

that residents take very seriously, Spreine said.

“A lot of the things he does are the things that are very

important to the local residents,” Spreine said.

While receiving a pricey ticket for enjoying a beer at the beach

might seem annoying, there are many reasons why it’s necessary to

enforce the city code, Fallah said.

For example, having alcohol on the beach can turn into a dangerous

situation. Intoxication and swimming are a bad combination, Fallah

said.

A supper of wine and cheese goes nicely with a sunset stroll, but

Fallah has another idea.

“Water and cheese are a perfect harmony,” Fallah said, laughing.

Though Fallah is the first person to patrol the beaches for

municipal code violations full time, at the end of June he will be

joined by a team of seasonal employees hired by the city to patrol

the beach during the busy summer months.

Police records clerk Larry Wohrman spent a summer working as a

seasonal beach patrol officer.

“You gotta have good communication skills, but you also need to be

authoritative and not back down from situations,” Wohrman said.

Starting with beach patrol is also a good opportunity to begin a

career in law enforcement, Wohrman said. Three of the beach patrol

enforcement officers he worked with are now sworn police officers,

Wohrman said.

“It’s a good stepping stone to get your foot in the door and to

get into the city,” Wohrman said.