In meeting with Sheriff Shannan Moon, I was pleased to encounter still another local government official in the prime of their career. Another great professional in the right job at the right time.
Shannan Moon was elected Sheriff in 2018. The National Institute of Mental Health Disorders that year declared a national health crisis, with 26% of all Americans, about 1 in 4 adults, suffering from a diagnosable mental disorder.
That our society is suffering from a mental health crisis was scarcely a surprise to our new sheriff. At the time of her first election, she was a 28-year veteran of the force, having joined the Sheriff’s Office in 1990 and advanced through the ranks as a correctional officer, deputy, sergeant, lieutenant, and captain. In 2001, Sgt. Moon was the lead detective who responded to the shooting at the County Behavioral Health Office and at a nearby restaurant, a tragic incident in which a psychotic man killed three people and injured two more. It was a defining moment in the sheriff’s career. “Working on that case,” says Moon, “I became convinced we needed to do much more in this county to de-escalate any crisis involving the mentally ill.”
In the years to follow, Moon studied various models of crisis intervention teams in other California counties. “For years, I told colleagues I wanted a crisis team here. As soon as I became sheriff, I set aside the necessary resources and began discussions and planning with my staff and with local behavioral health agencies.
Next the Sheriff’s Office was awarded a grant from the State Department of Justice, and in 2020, Sheriff Moon introduced the first mobile crisis intervention team to the county. By 2025, the Sheriff’s Office has been able to add another team and are hoping to fund two more. “Our teams pair deputies with licensed clinicians. It’s incredibly helpful to respond in the field to individuals and families in crisis, where a decision can be made to detain the individual or refer them for help. By now, county families are familiar with the program and are calling and requesting help from the mobile crisis team. It might involve an obvious mental health issue,” says Moon, “but it could manifest itself as domestic violence, a landlord-tenant dispute, a drug overdose, or a potential suicide. The team arrives at the scene of the crisis; an evaluation is made of whether the person poses a threat to themselves or others; the team then makes decisions, drafts plans, or offers referrals that bridge mental health and law enforcement services.”
To fully appreciate Sheriff Moon’s time and effort in establishing this program, it is essential to realize the scope of responsibility she assumed upon her election in 2018. Our county sheriff supervises a staff of 180 employees, including 70 law enforcement officers. She is responsible for the patrol division, the county jail, the coroner’s office, the departments for special investigations and major crimes, the neighborhood watch program, animal control, school safety, search and rescue operations, emergency evacuations, and homeless outreach.
Obviously, Shannan Moon is a busy professional with a strong work ethic. She knows the departments of the sheriff’s office from her many different promotions and assignments over the years.
Adding to her qualifications as sheriff, Shannan Moon was born and raised in Nevada County, the daughter of a Nevada County Deputy Sheriff, and a graduate of Nevada Union High School and Sierra College.
“I love being the sheriff of my hometown. I love the people I have met throughout my years living and working here, my family, my friends, my co-workers, and my fellow citizens. I love Nevada County, and I always have.”
Among the government employees I have interviewed in the last few months for these YubaNet “Here’s To” columns, I have now been privileged to speak with our county sheriff, our county special education teacher on special assignment, our Grass Valley Fire Department Battalion Chief, our Nevada City ex-Mayor, our Condon Park Maintenance Technician, our Grass Valley City Engineer, and our Grass Valley City Manager.
These people have something in common. They are all fine professionals, doing a great job, day in and day out.
So are many other local government employees: public school teachers, firefighters, public health employees, police officers, public works staff, mail carriers, EMT’s, city and county clerks, public school administrators, mental health intervention teams.
Yet despite our positive interactions with these local government professionals and despite visible, tangible evidence to the contrary, some aggrieved citizens again and again repeat the tired old lie: “government is the problem, not the solution.”
January of 2025 is the right time to issue a correction: here’s to our local government professionals, from our sheriff to our public school teachers to our park and road workers. They serve us daily with customary professionalism and civility, offering not problems, but solutions.