RETIRED LASD CHIEF SANDRA HUTCHENS PICKED AS ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF 

Today the Orange County Board of Supervisors selected Retired Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Division Chief Sandra Hutchens as Sheriff. She will command the second largest Sheriff’s Department in California, with 4,000 employees, including more than 1,700 sworn deputies. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has a budget of more than $700 million.

“My appointment as Orange County Sheriff signifies a time for reform; a time of change for the people of Orange County and this department,” said Hutchens. “It is an honor and privilege to serve, and I am resolute in my commitment to bring about transformation, restoring integrity and the public’s trust in our law enforcement agency.”  

A longtime Orange County resident, Hutchens emerged from a pool of 48 contenders for the job. Hutchens brings more than 29 years of high-profile law enforcement experience, including jail operations, patrol, investigations and administrative assignments. Throughout her career, she successfully moved through the ranks of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department from deputy to chief – experience that offers her intimate knowledge of a Sheriff’s Department and what a Sheriff’s organization truly needs from its leadership. 

Hutchens has identified the Department’s jail system as her first priority for change. Her experience includes working in the Los Angeles County jail system for more than six years at the rank of deputy, sergeant and lieutenant. Her experience has prepared Hutchens for the myriad of issues facing the Orange County jail system, including: overcrowding, supervision, efficient management of limited resources and accountability. This keen insight into the system has driven her desire to implement new solutions – including the application of technology and proven “best practices” in the worldwide law enforcement community.  

She visited the Department headquarters shortly after her appointment and was welcomed by the Department members she met during her visit. She also met with the Departments Command Staff to discuss the transition.

From the Register's Peggy Lowe:

Q: You have said you see yourself as an agent of change. What do you see as the first concerns in that department?

A: Certainly, the jail operations has been in the news of late and so that is a place where I’m going to start to do an audit of that. The other area is the culture. There’s concerns about the culture in the department, that would allow something like that to occur and I’m certainly going to take a look at that. I also want to do a internal and external assessment of the department. The internal where I meet with every deputy, every employee and hear from them what the issues are and what they need to do their job better and to hear from me what my vision is. The external assessment is with the city managers, the community, the board of supervisors, the district attorney, the entire law enforcement community of Orange County because I want to work very closely with them. That has not occurred in the past. It will occur while I am sheriff.

Q: Any concerns that you were not the candidate of the union?

A: No, I’m confident that I’ll be able to work with the union. I recognize the union’s role. I’ve talked with (union president) Wayne Quint. They will have a seat at the table and we will work through our issues.

Q: What is your vision?

A: My vision is to make this the best sheriff’s department in the nation and a model for the other law enforcement agencies to look at. I think we have the people and the skills to do that and that is where I’m going.

Q: Is the department corrupt? (referring to Supervisor Janet Nguyen’s characterization during the debate that the department is corrupt from top to bottom) More...

Stuart Pfeifer of the LA Times wrote:

A divided Orange County Board of Supervisors chose an outsider today to lead its troubled Sheriff's Department, naming retired Los Angeles County Sheriff"s Department Division Chief Sandra Hutchens as the county's 12th sheriff.

Hutchens will replace Michael S. Carona as the leader of California's second-largest sheriff's department. Carona resigned in January to focus on his upcoming federal corruption trial.

[...]

Hutchens, a Dana Point resident and the only woman to interview for the job, had said she was equally qualified to take the reigns. She has downplayed the role her gender might play in any decision.

Hutchens will serve the remaining 2 1/2 years of Carona's term and have the option to run for a new four-year term in 2010.

Christine Hanley took a look at Sandra Hutchens in profile piece today:

Those who have worked closest with Hutchens say she has everything it takes to be sheriff, describing her as bright and a polished administrator who is trusted and respected by her troops and has the political savvy and street credibility for the job.

"She's very effective in getting people to do the right thing. She does that by example," said Los Angeles County Undersheriff Larry Waldie. "I think the world of her. I hated to lose her. I think she would be a great sheriff." More...