Azusa Police Sergeant and Yucaipa City Councilmember Justin Beaver Shows How Members of Law Enforcement Can Make a Difference in Political Office

As a lifelong Yucaipa resident and a two-decade veteran of law enforcement, it’s not surprising that Justin Beaver is committed to ensuring the safety of his community. When he learned in 2020 that civic leaders hadn’t invested any additional resources in the Yucaipa Sheriff’s Station since the city’s incorporation in 1989 — despite the population having more than doubled during that time — he sprang into action. “I wanted more deputies to patrol my hometown,” he explains. “I wanted Yucaipa to be safer for my daughter than it was for me as a child.” When his pleas to elected officials fell on deaf ears, he realized he’d need to work from inside the political system. He ran for city council, won his election and served as mayor for two consecutive years, taking significant steps to reprioritize public safety and dramatically reduce homelessness.

Newly re-elected to a second term on the council, Beaver shares insights on his path to public service, how he’s made a difference in his city and the strengths that peace officers can bring to political office.

A Foundation in Service

It was happenstance that launched Beaver into a varied and distinguished career in law enforcement; he originally intended to join the Marine Corps. “After four years in the Young Marines throughout high school, I eagerly sought out my local recruiter, only to find that a turn of fate would see me medically disqualified, and my compass pointed directly at the Sheriff’s Department,” he explains.

He started as an Explorer in Yucaipa in 2005 and then worked as a part-time motor pool employee before attending the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Academy in 2009. After five years working assignments around the county — including a unique field training experience in the Joshua Tree area, where just seven deputies covered 900 square miles of the Mojave Desert — he lateraled to the Union Pacific Railroad Police in 2014. Promoted to the rank of Senior Special Agent 2, he was assigned to the Special Operations Team, a group of highly trained investigators focused on organized crime against the rail industry nationwide. In 2017, budget cuts led him to transfer to the Azusa Police Department.

“My time at Azusa has been incredible,” Beaver says. “I’ve worked patrol, SWAT, crimes against children as a detective, field training, persons crimes as a detective corporal, patrol watch commander and most recently the Department’s admin sergeant. I currently serve as the Honor Guard commander and the SWAT team leader for our Precision Rifle Team.” He also got involved in labor leadership, serving as treasurer for the Azusa Police Officers Association and then, after his promotion, for the Azusa Police Management Association.

But as Beaver’s career was thriving, he saw his hometown’s public safety declining. After 30 years of stagnant investment in Yucaipa Sheriff’s Station, there were still just three deputies tasked with patrolling a city that had grown to 50,000 residents, and “crime was through the roof, thanks to AB 109 and Prop 47,” he says. Beaver, whose family has proudly called Yucaipa home since the 1930s, was determined to preserve the city’s “small-town USA” feel for future generations. Deciding to run for office to address the problem directly, he immediately put his law enforcement skills to work. “I was used to talking to all manner of people, so I hit the ground running — campaigning in my neighborhoods and going door to door, talking to people, asking the tough questions, listening.”

Once he took office, however, he realized that not all of his professional instincts translated as easily to the political arena. “Law enforcement officers are very good at quickly and deliberately bringing immediate control to otherwise chaotic scenes — see a problem, fix a problem,” he says. “When I tried to apply that method to public office, it made my neighbors and constituents uneasy. They were not used to seeing government move quickly, effectively and without the expensive and laborious committees discussing an idea ad nauseam, or hiring a consultant to tell those elected how to carry out the will of the people. That’s when I learned that police work and municipal governance were starkly different.”

A Promise to Protect

Despite having to adjust to some of the realities of the political process, Beaver has been tremendously effective in addressing the issues that inspired him to seek office. “I am more than proud to say that I delivered every campaign promise I made,” he says. “We have added six deputies to our contract with the Sheriff’s Department and have reprioritized public safety. We now have a Public Safety Committee where matters are discussed openly and approached with common sense and collaboration.”

He also helped make major strides by taking a law enforcement–centered approach to addressing homelessness through Yucaipa’s Homeless Strategic Plan and Solutions Oriented Policing Team. “These two initiatives work hand in glove to address the homeless blight that was plaguing our hometown,” he says. “We empowered our deputies like never before. The bottom line was simple — it is not illegal to be homeless, but we will not provide outreach if you’re committing crimes. So if they were 11550, they went to jail. 11364? Jail. 647f? Jail. 11377? Jail. During that time, word spread: Do not go to Yucaipa if you are breaking the law. It doesn’t matter if you live in a mansion or a box, violate the law in Yucaipa and you go to jail. Period! The result? A 41% reduction in our homeless population in just six months. The numbers are still falling.”

Beaver was selected by his fellow councilmembers to serve as mayor in 2023 and 2024, which he describes as “a humbling experience, one of my proudest moments.” He prioritized being transparent and accessible in the role, spearheading a “Walk With the Mayor” initiative in which he filmed videos answering community questions about how government works and explaining why some changes can take years to achieve. “Communication in government is critically important,” he says. “All too often, taxpayers feel they are left out of the process and just want to see more quickly where their monies are going.” Those concerns continue to motivate him as he begins his next term on the council. With his initial public safety goals achieved — Yucaipa currently ranks as the second-safest city in San Bernardino County — Beaver says his efforts are shifting toward economic development and how to fund responsible growth without burdening constituents with more taxes.

Officers in Office

Asked what skills and qualifications make law enforcement personnel good elected officials, Beaver points out that the two spheres share a common goal. “Public safety has to be at the center of every decision made in government. Without a safe city, families will flee. Without safety, no business will invest in your community, depriving you of a critical tax base. If your city is safe, economic development and social development will follow.” He adds that peace officers are uniquely suited to take on these tough issues because they “generally have common sense and don’t panic at the sight of a problem. We reason through it, and apply logic, law and common sense.”

For his law enforcement brothers and sisters who might be considering seeking office themselves, Beaver offers a piece of practical advice: “Get yourself a good treasurer. Campaign finance laws are convoluted and tricky.” He also cautions that “public office takes a lot from your home life,” and credits the love and support of his wife — a seven-year veteran of law enforcement herself — with his success in government. But above all, he encourages officers not to underestimate the backing they can muster or the impact they can have. “Get out and talk to your community,” he says. “The media does an incredible job of making us feel we’re not supported. You’ll be surprised just how many of your neighbors want a cop on council.”