Lone Sacramento-area female police chief is taking a top cop job in Southern California | The Sacramento Bee

Folsom Police Department Chief Cynthia Renaud is headed back to Southern California to take over as the Santa Monica Police Department’s top cop.

Renaud is expected to begin her new job in late April, the city of Folsom announced in a news release Tuesday morning. She grew up in Long Beach and served in the city’s police department for 20 years before coming to Folsom in 2011.

“There are really no words to express my admiration for the Folsom community, my respect for the men and women of the Folsom Police Department and my thanks to the entire city team I have had the pleasure of working with for the past seven years,” Renaud said in the release. "No matter where the future leads me and my family, Folsom will always be in our hearts and we are better people for having been touched by the warmth and genuine character of all those whom I have served and who we have come to call friends.”

Renaud is the lone female police chief both in the Sacramento region and on the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s executive board, which she is expected to lead in 2020.

In a column published last month, The Sacramento Bee’s Marcos Breton openly wished Renaud had challenged Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones in his re-election bid this fall.

Santa Monica Police Department has 460 employees and an $86.6 million operating budget, while the Folsom Police Department runs on $22 million and 105 workers.

Benjy Egel: (916) 321-1052, begel@sacbee.com