Chief Salvatore V. Rosano 1974 - 1996

Career

Chief Rosano began his law enforcement career while attending San Francisco City College and San Francisco Sate College. He served first as a correctional officer at San Quentin Prison and then as a dispatcher at the South San Francisco Police Department. On his 21st birthday he was appointed as a police officer for the South San Francisco Police Department. His assignments included patrol and traffic officer, detective, sergeant, and division commander. He was appointed Chief of Police of South San Francisco in 1970.
Salvatore V. Rosano in police uniform

Achievements as Chief

Chief Rosano was appointed as Chief of Police for Santa Rosa in June 1974. During his tenure Chief Rosano was responsible for the implementation of a variety of progressive programs. He established a Neighborhood Oriented Policing Program, chaired Sonoma County’s first Domestic Violence Task Force, and instituted California’s first Vehicle Impound Program that became a national model. In partnership with a private inventor, he developed the first illuminated crosswalk warning system to improve pedestrian safety, created the first Environmental Crimes Unit in the nation, and chaired the California Police Chiefs Firearms Regulation Committee, whose recommendations have now largely been codified into California Law.