As department staff members waved goodbye to longtime employee Bonnie Eckert, who retired last week as records and communications manager, and patted Chief Scott Seaman on the back on Aug. 1 for 30 years of service in law enforcement, some fellow and former employees took a trip down memory lane.

Now in its 118th year, the police department has shifted through the years, just like the town of Los Gatos.

Known as the Los Gatos Police Department until Monte Sereno was incorporated with it nearly 10 years ago, some officers remember the department as being tight-knit and community-oriented, in an area low in crime.

But it hasn't always been that way.

"There were more bar fights," said John Jennings, who retired in 2000 after nearly 30 years of service.

Throughout the years, Eckert said that she has not seen a big shift in crime. There have always been thefts, burglaries, vandalism and drunkenness, with only a handful of murders and rapes, she said.

When Eckert and colleagues Sgt. Mike Barbieri, detective John Campos and Jennings started in the 1970s, a major downtown issue was "muscle cars" cruising down N. Santa Cruz Avenue.

"Cruising was a big part of the community," Barbieri said. "It was huge in Los Gatos up until 15 years ago."

"We barricaded downtown. If people wanted to go to the bars they had to walk in, not drive in," Campos said.

Eventually, however, cruising died off, and relocated to downtown San Jose.

But perhaps one of the biggest changes in recent years, they all concluded, is the increase of identity theft.

"Crime today is more complex--identity theft, mail theft, fraud, counterfeiting," Barbieri said.

Seaman said the complexity of the crimes often means a larger workload for the officers.

Not only are the crimes more complex, though, but there also is a lot more paperwork.

Barbieri took the example of a person driving under the influence of alcohol. What was once a two- or three-page report is now nine to 10 pages.

"Basic drunk driving was two forms. In 45 minutes, you could arrest them, book them and be back patrolling," Campos said. Now, he said, if everything goes smoothly, it takes between 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

"There are more forms on a DUI case than on a meth case," Barbieri added.

Seaman said that while some officers might think that there were more crimes 30 years ago, officers now have a huge workload, which includes the stacks of paperwork.

"Some senior officers say they used to be busier in town, and that it's actually quieter now. The bar scene was more active, but we still have some of that. Much of the work now is more time-intensive," he said.

This could be one reason why Barbieri and Campos think the camaraderie isn't what it used to be.

Frank Arnerich, a retired Santa Clara County Fire Department battalion chief, said it was common for firefighters and police officers to have dinner together. Now, Seaman thinks, they just don't have the time.

In the 1970s, there was another factor that affected the closeness of the officers--they were required to live within 15 to 20 miles of Los Gatos. Instead of commuting from Los Banos, Santa Cruz or Gilroy, many would live in town.

"It used to be a family. My home was open to them," said Don Dedini, who owned an Exxon gas station in Los Gatos for 36 years, where many of the officers would stop for coffee.

The officers who started in the 1970s not only witnessed more paperwork and different kinds of crime, they were also introduced to computers.

Now, cars have computers that allow them to run background checks and license plate numbers, and also have email access. There are also cameras in the car, but those are temporarily down, Seaman said.

Eckert said an important addition for her was the dispatch center, which was run offsite by the county until 1986.

Despite technological changes, some staff members are convinced that the new cops are a very different breed from the old officers.

"The older ones had military service, structure, discipline. Today, the officers are coming here and learning discipline. It's a whole new breed. They have more education, but their life experience is not as vast as the old cops," Eckert said.

But Seaman said this attitude about the new officers, regardless of the generation, is the one thing that will also stay the same in law enforcement.

"While this seems to be a new perception, that's the kind of thing police observers say have always been present," Seaman said.

"It's not a new observation. I bet a lot of people said that about me 30 years ago," the veteran added.

LOS GATOS TOP COPS

Town Marshals

1887-1888--J.L. Gellatt

1888-1890--A.M. Howell

1890-1892--L.E. Hamilton

1892-1894--J.L. Gelatt

1894-1898--M.F. Blank

1900-1908--E.E. Springer

1908-1912--J.D. Shore

1912 ­1921--J.F. Barber

1921-1926--H.O. Baird

Chiefs of Police

1926-1928--H.O. Baird

1928-1939--Henry C. Noble

1939-1943--Lyman Feathers

1943-1970--Ralph Phillips

1970-1983--Harold Johnson

1983-1988--J. Frank Acosta

1988-2002--Larry Todd

2002-present--Scott Seaman

Courtesy of the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department.