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...

A news story in the Los Angeles Times four weeks ago regarding Department overtime issues has triggered a county audit and an internal change on how overtime is tracked by Division Commanders.  

Meanwhile another news organization in the county continues the examination of Department overtime that they began in February.  Overtime expenses were recently reviewed by the Orange County Grand Jury.

The grand jury report was made public last week and on the issue of overtime, there was no adverse finding or recommendation and the Department was not required to respond.  The grand jury conclusion was this:  

Deputy Overtime in the OCSD Jail System

The Grand Jury examined the Sheriff-Coroner Department overtime costs for the last five fiscal years. Although overtime costs have increased during this timeframe, the increases have been proportionate to salary increases averaging 9% of salary and employee benefit costs. The Sherriff-Coroner Department has been under total budget for each of the last five fiscal years.

Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson recognized the need for Deputies to work overtime in order to fulfill our obligations. He thanked staff members who volunteer to work it in accordance with Department regulations. During the Santiago Fire and the subsequent flooding, over 1,300 individuals from the Sheriff’s Department worked overtime to protect the public. More...

Sergeant Mike Wallace:

I would like to once again take the opportunity to offer continued praise and recognition for the outstanding job that Deputy [Kimberly] Stansfield performs in my courtroom.  Deputy Stansfield has worked with me in my courtroom for the last three plus years.  During that time, our assignments have varied.

During the past year, we worked in Department N-13 for six months handling the Felony trial calendar of Judge Prickett.  In that assignment, she exhibited professionalism with life sentence inmates, victims and victim’s families, defendant’s family/friends, jurors, attorneys, as well as all the many other tasks required to perform in felony trials.  She not only assisted in making sure things went timely, but more importantly dealt with the increased security concerns and potentially volatile situations that arise in this type of assignment.  Our next assignment was Department N-6 as an open trial courtroom and included Misdemeanor trials, Preliminary Hearings, Civil Harassments/Civil Trials, Felony and Misdemeanor sentencing’s and miscellaneous matters.  Our current assignment is Department N-9 where we handle private attorney pre-trials and back-up preliminary hearings.

Deputy Stansfield is always on time and has consistently demonstrated a very high level of professionalism and courtesy when dealing with me, court staff, attorneys, fellow deputies, prisoners, jurors and the public in the audience.  I find her to be an excellent deputy sheriff and courtroom bailiff and she is a true asset to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can provide you with any further information.

Sincerely,

Lance P. Jensen
Superior Court Judge

Registrar of Voters, Neal Kelley, once again expressed his great appreciation for the impressive service Department Reserves provided in this week’s election.

The Department’s Ballot Transportation Team is made up of 64 Reserve Deputies and one Professional Services Responder. The team is headed by Reserve Captains Jay Wasserman, Rick Olson and Tony Tabet. Reserve Unit Office Manager Karen Waters and her staff helped organize the effort.

Once the polls close, everything is dependent on our Ballot Transportation Team ensuring that all precincts are accounted for at the Registrar of Voters office as early as possible. The Ballot Transportation for the June 3, 2008, Statewide Primary Election was a tremendous success made possible by the efforts of each of our team members last Tuesday night. As in every election, the team encountered challenges but none that were not overcome by the team’s combined efforts. By 11:25 pm, all of the driver/deputy teams had arrived at the Voter Tally Center, unloaded and were on their way home. That's a good two hours earlier than last February! By midnight, all 1123 precincts were accounted for and the Command Post was secured for the night.

Guilty on all counts.

Count 1: We find you guilty of having a dynamic personality and the professionalism that's second to none...

Click the image to read all five counts:

The Airport Operations Division held its second annual Top Gun Shooting competition from April 15th through May 15th, 2008.  The competition was held in the Mobile Pistol Range while it was stationed at John Wayne Airport.

The Top Gun Shooting Competition was developed to introduce practical shooting scenarios and to improve shooting proficiency with the duty handgun.  Participants are exposed to combat shooting under stress, simulating three different scenarios.

Members from Airport Police Services, Air Support Bureau and Explosive Detection Teams participated in the event.  The Airport Operations Division 2008 Top Gun winner was Sheriff’s Special Officer Sean Fowler.  Second place went to Sheriff’s Special Officer Jeremy Darett, and third place went to Sheriff’s Special Officer Wendell Frye.

The Airport Operations Division would like to thank the Sheriff’s Training Division, our sponsors and Weapons Instructor Dallas Ferrell, who designed the course and judged the event. This event would not have been possible without his help and expertise.

On May 22, 2008, the Orange County Narcotics Officers Association (OCNOA) presented their annual awards recognizing superior work in the area of narcotics enforcement. The Orange County Sheriff's Department was well represented by the way of nominations and awards. The following detail and individuals were recognized by the association:

o Investigator Garret DeGiorgio of South Narcotics received the "Street Level Narcotics Investigator of the Year" award for 2007.

o Sergeant Doug Doyle from the South Narcotics Detail received the "Narcotics Unit Supervisor of the Year" award for 2007.

Left to Right: Executive Director Rick Dostal, Assistant Sheriff J.B. Davis, Lt. Brad Virgoe, Sgt. Terry Todd, Sgt. Andre Spencer, Sgt. Robin Shirakawa, Sgt. Gary Horn, Assistant Sheriff Charlie Walters, Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson and Captain Ron White.

Lt. Virgoe has been assigned to Jail Operations, Sgts. Todd and Shirakawa to Central Jail, Sgts. Spencer and Horn to Theo Lacy.

Captains Ron White and Dave Wilson are among the latest graduates of Orange County’s Leadership Academy, designed to help county managers gain new insights on leadership and network with managers in other county departments.

The eight session course began in January and took place at Chapman University in Orange. The sessions included programs leadership challenges, leading to serve, leading teams, communicating as a leader, leading with integrity, leading through change and transition, and leadership visions.

The program has been in operation since 2004 and more than 250 county managers have graduated.

Among those who graduated with Captains White and Wilson were county managers with the Assessor, Auditor-Controller, Child Support Services,  County Counsel, County Executive Office, District Attorney, Health Care Agency, Housing and Community Services, Human Resources, Integrated Waste Management, Internal Audit, John Wayne Airport, Orange County Public Library, Probation, Public Adminstrator/Guardian, Public Defender, Resources Development Management Department, Sheriff-Coroner, Social Services Agency and Treasurer-Tax Collector.
 

A message from Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson to the troops: 

For the past twenty weeks I have had the opportunity to lead some of the finest men and women in law enforcement in the 5th largest Sheriff’s Department in the nation. During this time we have confronted many crucial issues, including the release of the Special Grand Jury transcripts and the cultural anomalies that were brought to light from within our agency. Serving our community during this historic transition and working to ensure that public safety remained uninterrupted has truly been a great honor.

We have faced many challenges in the last five months, and many more await our next Sheriff.  I am sure that our next Sheriff will have the support that you so graciously gave to me to achieve the successes we have accomplished as a team.
 
I want to thank the Board of Supervisors for their diligence during this selection process. I remain confident that their hearts are in doing what’s best for the residents of Orange County and for the men and women of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
 
Finally, I want to thank all of you for your unwavering commitment to providing quality law enforcement services. I have no doubt that with your dedication and passion our new Sheriff will join the department with the knowledge that our future holds much promise.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors narrowed the field of candidates for Sheriff from nine to two: leaving retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Division Chief Sandra Hutchens and Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters the only candidates now being considered for appointment.

Photos courtesy of the Orange County Register

         Sandra Hutchens                                       Paul Walters               

What follows are links to stories by the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times about today’s board action. 

The Orange County Register:  http://www.ocregister.com/articles/department-sheriff-carona-2058786-norby-walters

The Los Angeles Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ocsheriff4-2008jun04,0,7460800.story

Here is a link to the announcement by Hutchens that she wanted to be appointed Orange County Sheriff.
http://www.pr-inside.com/sandra-hutchens-announces-candidacy-for-r599673.htm

Here is a link to Chief Walters’ Website.
http://www.ci.santa-ana.ca.us/pd/chiefsbio.asp

Here is the report of a Q&A session each of the two remaining candidates gave to the Los Angeles Times. More...

Members of a group originally formed to combat Racial Profiling toured the Theo Lacy Facility on Thursday and pledged to work with the Department to help inmates lead productive lives upon their release.

Rev. Mark Whitlock, Senior Minister of the Christ Our Redeemer African Methodist Episcopal Church, in Irvine said was pleasantly surprised to find that Department officials at Lacy are working hard to help train inmates for the workforce and to help them avoid the pitfalls of drugs and criminal associates who contributed to their going to jail in the first place.

Reverend Whitlock is chairman of the Oden Commission, formed after Olympian Bev Oden was questioned about a bank fraud in May 2007. It turned out that  Bev Oden, who is black, had no connection to the crime.

While there was no acknowledgment of wrongdoing by law enforcement, the incident led to the creation of the Oden Commission and an open dialogue between law enforcement leaders and leaders of the black community in Orange County.

The tour of the Theo Lacy Facility was led by Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson, Assistant Sheriff Charlie Walters, Captain Dave Wilson and Inmate Programs Director Sharron Gibson-Casler. In addition to Reverend Whitlock, representatives of the N.A.A.C.P. attended.

“We have people here who need to be locked up. Most will be released. We treat them with respect and we do all we can to help them make useful lives for themselves when they are released,” Acting Sheriff Anderson told the group.  More...