On July 16 at 11 minutes past midnight, Deputy Joe Allemand and Deputy Robert Witteman were working together as the Special Enforcement Team and spotted a suspicious vehicle in the north commercial area of Laguna Hills. Allemand and Witteman contacted the suspect, wearing a hardhat, and asked him what he was doing. The suspect was unable to tell a convincing story for why he was there so Deputies Allemand and Witteman further investigated. The Deputies located the suspect’s vehicle and discovered 41 brass fire sprinkler regulators in the bed area of the truck. The total value of the sprinklers was $80,000 dollars. The suspect/miner was booked into the jail. It was later determined several of the regulators were stolen from businesses in the City of Irvine. Both Allemand and Witteman were honored by the Irvine Police Department for their efforts.

Excerpted from the letter to Sheriff Sandra Hutchens from the Irvine Chief of Police David Maggard;
On the afternoon of October 28, 2008, Deputy (Shannon) Meier stopped a motorist who was not displaying license plates. Upon investigation, he learned the driver was on probation, searched the vehicle and located several catalytic converters and tools including a reciprocating saw. While Meier reasoned the converters were likely stolen, it was not immediately clear from which jurisdiction they were stolen. Maggard wrote, “Demonstrating outstanding follow-through and tenacity, he called the Irvine Police Department and learned that we were in the process of investigating several reported thefts of catalytic converters.” Meier coordinated his efforts with officers from Irvine P.D. and they were able to match four of the converters to four victim vehicles in the City of Irvine. Subsequently, the driver and his passenger were arrested and booked into the Orange County Jail.

The Orange County Register today published Sheriff Sandra Hutchens' rebuttal to their editorial last week criticizing the Department for jail reform and the recently released Jail Audit.

This was her rebuttal: 

Your editorial “Jail report: Spend more, reform nothing” provided a disservice to your readers and the community by misstating facts and giving the impression that the Orange County Sheriff’s Department used a jail audit to delay reform urged by the Orange County grand jury.

Reforms following the tragic murder of inmate John Chamberlain in October 2006 began even before the grand jury started looking into his death. That reform continues and has never been put on hold.

The jail audit was a top to bottom review of the county’s jail facilities and practices and policies of jail staff and administration.

The grand jury investigation brought to light some unprofessional practices that cannot be defended. None of the command staff responsible for those practices remain with the Sheriff’s Department. Jail commanders have been rotated and supervision within the jails has improved. There are more sergeants on the floor, we have computerized oversight of supervisor’s logs and enhanced video surveillance of both inmates and staff. Vulnerable inmates like John Chamberlain are now housed in a protected unit.

All of that was begun before the jail audit commenced and the effort continues on a daily basis.

My command staff and I have spent untold hours inspecting the jails and reviewing jail policies. We found a lot of problems but also a lot good practices worth keeping.

A 20-year study of in custody deaths in the seven Southern California counties showed that Orange County had the lowest death rate. Justice Department officials who inspected our facilities after Chamberlain’s death concluded, “the deputies we met were very professional, intelligent, and dedicated public servants who would be a credit to any organization.”

The consulting firm of Crout and Sida is one of the country’s foremost experts in corrections. Members of the firm spent over 1,000 hours examining every aspect of our jail system. They looked at the county jail system with a critical eye and made 115 recommendations for change.

Does that sound like they are recommending no reform?

Some of the recommendations provide savings but overall we have a need for more staff and improved facilities.

The price tag to implement the recommendations is something none of us want to hear in this time of cost cutting. Unfortunately it is true, we as a county need to spend money to fix our jails and run our system responsibly.

Your editorial calls for privatization of the jails to save money. While cities and the state are permitted to engage private firms to operate jails, a Sheriff under California law cannot. The Sheriff has a Constitutional requirement to operate the jails.

The use of non-sworn personnel to replace all deputies in the jail is another of your recommendations. Our jail deputies are mobilized in emergencies in Orange County. Many of the Deputies who helped evacuate homes in last month’s destructive wildfire work in the jails.

My comments to the board were minimized in your news reports. I do support and will initiate substantial civilianization of our jail staff but not at a level that would diminish our ability to respond to emergencies.

I am committed to jail reform and recognize the harsh truth presented by the Crout and Sida report.

Two years ago your paper took a hard look at the death of John Chamberlain. Perhaps it is time for your reporters to return to the story and see what changes have been undertaken since then. From the tone of your latest editorial, the change might surprise you.

Jubal at Red County is unhappy with the Sheriff's Department Blog.

"It used to be you'd check the OC Sheriff's Blog because you could find substantive news, or even breaking news. Now, it's awards ceremonies or eulogies to dead police horses. The irony is the departmental blog provided more substantive information under Carona than it does now. Why it has been dialed back, I don't know," Jubal wrote this week.

To read his view of the Department Blog click here.

The Sheriff's Blog is not intended to create controversy; in part it does provide a venue for the Sheriff to give her view on controversial subjects. It is also intended to give the public a look at what members of the Department do day in and day out.  These feature stories Jubal complains about are meant to do just that. The story earlier this week about the Deputies who book inmates into the jail gives a look at a typical shift with the Deputies in the booking area. There have been news stories about them in the past but those were always about complaints people had made against them. To read the Blog story click here.

We don't shy away from controversy, the Blog has included entries in recent weeks about both the CCW issue and the Jail Audit. Those matters are hot right now but tame compared to some of the issues the Sheriff's Department has faced this year and during the last term of former Sheriff Mike Carona.

And just to make it very clear, we will not stop posting stories about Deputies and others in the Department being honored. And we won't take down the eulogy to Cabby, a long valued member of our Mounted Unit.

The Los Angeles Times reported today the number of complaints filed by the publice against Orange County Sheriff's Deputies less than five-percent the number of complaints when compared to Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputies. Size of the Departments and demographics may be part of the reason, Los Angeles has five times as many Deputies as Orange County and patrols much higher crime areas.

On the recommendation of Stephen J. Connolly, executive director of the Orange County Office of Independent Review, Sheriff Sandra Hutchens ordered complaint forms to be made available online. They can be found at the lower left side of the Department's Website hompage, titled Personnel Complaint Form, listed under Quick Links.

To read the full Los Angeles Times Story click here.   

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has just released its 2009 Facts and Figures Report. It gives lots of information about the FBI and it's current mission for Homeland Security, as well as the Bureau's fight against political corruption, white collar crime, drugs, organized crime and civil rights crimes.  

The report also contains information on the FBI staff, what kind of people they hire and the ethnic makeup of the FBI workforce.

Many of our Deputies and Investigators work closely with FBI.

To see the entire report click here. 

Eight Marines were given commendations from the Department, presented by Assistant Sheriff Jack Anderson, for their efforts that were credited with saving as many as 100 lives in a hotel fire that took place on November 9.

One of the Marines is Pfc Adam Reidling, son of Lead Forensic Specialist Michael Reidling, of the Department's Crime Lab.

The eight Marines are all recent boot camp graduates now assigned to Company B, Infantry Training Battalion, based at Camp Pendleton.

The Marines were on leave and staying at the America's Best Value Inn on Lake Center Drive when they smelled smoke on November 9, 2008. They spotted smoke coming from a vending machine but recognized the danger it presented to the hotel complex. They immediately began warning residents that the building was on fire, going door to door and assisting in the evacuation of the parking lot.

The Orange County Fire Authority responded to the fire, which destroyed three of the hour buildings in the hotel complex.

"Due to the extent of the damages, it is clear that the actions of the Marines saved the lives of numerous hotel guests," Lt. Don Barnes, Chief of Police Services reported to the Lake Forest City Council.

The Department, the city and the Orange County Fire Authority have all given the Marines commendations.

The Reidling Family: Lead Forensic Specialist Mike Reidling, his son Marine Pfc Adam Reidling and Cathy Reidling

Assistant Sheriff Anderson invited the Marines to apply to join the Department should they decide on a new career following their enlistment in the Marines. Assistant Sheriff Anderson acknowledged that the Marines had received recognition from the Orange County Fire Authority earlier but pointed out that firefighters have to all ride together in the same firetruck. With the Sheriff's Department, they would get their own car. The audience broke out in laughter.   

"We're always looking for heroes," Assistant Sheriff Anderson said.

One of the Lake Forest City Council members played an electronic rendition of "The Halls of Montezuma."

On Thursday November 19,2008, Sgt. Jeff McLain (AOT-STC-RTU Training Sgt.) was nominated and elected to the position of President of the Southern Counties Training Association (SCTA). The association is made of representatives from southern California sheriff’s departments, probation departments, police departments and other public agencies who participate in the Corrections Standards Authority’s (formerly known as the Board of Corrections) Standards and Training for Corrections (STC) program. Membership includes personnel from the following counties; Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura. The mission of the SCTA is similar to OCTMA (Orange County Training Managers Association). They work with the CSA to discuss training mandates and issues, improve training opportunities for personnel, etc.  This should be beneficial for OCSD for our training needs and development of our annual STC training schedule. 

To learn more about the Southern Counties Training Association click here.

Left to right: Sgt. John Hollenbeck, Capt. Mark Billings, Dispatcher Kelli Sheridan, Lt. Erin Giudice, Sgt. Fritz von Rettberg, Sgt. Steve McCormick.

Homeland Security Division Captain Mark Billings presented Marine Operations Dispatcher Kelli Sheridan with a commendation for her role in saving the life of a drowning fisherman off Corona Del Mar on October 3rd. Others involved in the rescue were honored earlier; click here to see the Blog entry on Oct. 06 for details of the earlier commendations. Click here for the Blog entry on the rescue.  

Captain Billings praised her quick thinking and ability to keep calm under stressful circumstances, all of which allowed her to coordinate the deputies' response to that emergency.  The ceremony was also attended by the bureau's commander, Lt. Erin Giudice, and three sergeants.