This story of a COPLINK Success Story comes from the outside the state. 

The Board of Supervisors approved the Orange County Sheriff's Department joining COPLINK on May 20.  

An investigator I know called me on a Monday and asked if my laptop and I would like to have lunch. We met at Anchors downtown while standing in line he briefed me on the case:

            On Sunday he was working an extra job at a church and found a Navy Credit Union credit card in the parking lot. He secured the card to turn into property after court on Monday. Monday came and while in court was speaking with a loss prevention officer from a local retail store. The loss prevention officer told him he was there on a bad check case. Upon showing the check to the officer he noticed it was a Navy Credit Union check. The check and the found credit card belonged to the same person. The loss prevention officer had video of the person who wrote the check as well as the vehicle (including tag) he was driving.

While waiting for our food we went to the table, I popped my wireless card into my laptop and fired it up.

            Upon running the persons (victims) name in Coplink it was determined her purse was stolen from her vehicle along with her wallet. The tag and vehicle came back to a person who had been arrested in Bradley County. The officer identified the arrestee as the suspect in the current case from the video. Warrants were taken out on the individual. Coplink also linked the vehicle to a residential burglary from 2 years earlier where tag information was obtained from a witness. The vehicle and suspect information matched the current suspect and that information was turned over to the Property Crimes Unit for prosecution.

They called our number and we sat down to enjoy a nice lunch and talked about how in less than 2 minutes we had just solved a case that would probably never have been solved because we did not have access to the information from Bradley County before Coplink. We would have never known the tag (which came back not on file) belonged to this person. The jail photo from Bradley County (30 miles away) made the identification of the suspect instantaneous. This is the most effective tool for law enforcement investigations that I have ever seen.

To read the Department blog account of the Board of Supervisors approving a COPLINK connection click here.

Sandra Hutchens was sworn in this morning as the 12th Sheriff of Orange County.

The ceremony was held on the steps of the Old Orange County Courthouse and those attending included members of the Board of Supervisors, Mayors and Councilmembers and officials of contract partners, police chiefs and law enforcement officials from the region and many members of the Department.  

She was selected on June10 after an exhaustive nationwide search that drew 48 applicants from across the country and even one from France.

Sheriff Hutchens signing oath of office

Bob Murray and Associates, the recruiting firm hired by the Board of Supervisors, interviewed 17 candidates and presented nine semi finalists to the Board of Supervisors.  The nine were interviewed during a marathon public session of the Board and ultimately Sandra Hutchens was appointed.  Her swearing in was delayed due to requirements that her psychological and medical fitness be certified.

Despite the divided vote on her appointment, members of the Board were unanimous in giving her their support for the job ahead.

“I wish her well,” said Supervisor Chris Norby, who favored another candidate for the job. “There will be a whole lot of challenges to be met over the next couple of years.”

The Department has faced criticism in the press and by Board members, along with a special grand jury that investigated the murder of an inmate at the Theo Lacy Facility. As Sheriff Hutchens takes office, she begins work on the promise to the Board of Supervisors to provide a review of the Department in 120 days.

Sheriff Hutchens brings to the job 29 years of law enforcement experience that has included street patrol, jail work, command, administration, and, most recently, heading the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Departments Office of Homeland Security.

Orange County city police chiefs are looking forward to working with her, said Anaheim Police Chief John Welter, President of the Orange County Chief’s and Sheriff’s Association.

“The Chiefs of Police in Orange County are looking forward to a close working relationship with Sheriff Sandra Hutchens.  We've already met with her to begin discussions on important County-wide crime related issues.  She's demonstrating the personal and professional skills needed as the Sheriff of Orange County.  We have all committed to assist her whenever and wherever she asks for support.  We wish her all the best in her new leadership role,” said Chief Welter.

County courts are also looking to her as a working partner, Presiding Judge Nancy Wieben Stock of the Superior Court of California, County of Orange said that:

“We are very pleased about the possibilities for the future with Sheriff Hutchens and continue to have great respect for and confidence in personnel at the Orange County Sheriff's Office. In partnership, we can have a positive effect upon those who seek justice services in Orange County.” 

Sheriff Hutchens has lived in Dana Point for 13-years and has been retired from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department for about a year. 

That was a combination that Orange County Supervisor Pat Bates found attractive.

“She brings a fresh outsider’s perspective for advancing a new culture in the Department as well as insider knowledge on Sheriff’s operations and the menu of services provided within a county,” Supervisor Bates said.  “Sheriff-designee Hutchens’ extensive background in community policing, ethics training, managing nearly 1,000 sworn peace officers and overseeing a budget with $400 million in revenues will serve her well in leading our Sheriff’s Deputies. “     

Sandra Hutchens was sworn in as Orange County Sheriff on Thursday. A ceremonial swearing in will take place on Tuesday.

Chairman John Moorlach of the Orange County Board of Supervisors had this to say of the swearing in:

On March 17, 1995, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to appoint me to the vacant position of Treasurer-Tax Collector.  I was sworn in immediately following the vote.

We appointed Sandra Hutchens with the provision that she successfully pass the required medical and psychological tests.  Consequently, she was not sworn in at the June 10 meeting after our 3-2 vote.  Not knowing how long the process would take, we scheduled a public swearing-in ceremony for the June 24 Board meeting.  You should have already received my personal invitation.  If the e-mail failed to reach you, please consider yourself invited.   

We extended an offer to Sandra Hutchens to swear her in earlier, after the successful conclusion of the tests, if she so desired.  She did.  The Board offices were invited to the meeting three days prior.  Several of them sent representatives, including Supervisor Norby’s office.

I had the pleasure, as Board Chair, to perform the swearing in.  Judge Kirkwood was in the Hall of Administration for a Commission meeting and dropped into my office.  I invited her to stay a few minutes in order to meet Ms. Hutchens and Judge Kirkwood stayed to attend the meeting.

 

To read the newspaper accounts of the swearing in click More...

The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday recognized the Department's Emergency Management Bureau, along with emergency managers from coastal cities in Orange County, for the achievement of completing the Natonal Weather Service StormReady and TsunamiReady programs. Orange County has become the nation's most populous county to earn the Weather Service honor.

To read the Board of Supervisors staff report on the issue click here.  

To see the National Weather Service press release on the county's achievement click More...

 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...

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...

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...

The Board of Supervisors conducted interviews this week for the position of Sheriff. Understandably, there was a lot of discussion about the problems we are facing in our department. Over the last few months we have acknowledged the many areas we need to fix, but we also realize that these issues are not systemic, but isolated and individual in nature. The negative will undoubtedly garner headlines, but we also need to make sure we’re taking inventory of what’s right with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Among the numerous awards and recognition we’ve received, we continue to provide law enforcement services to one of the safest areas to live, work and play in the nation. Our Coroner’s facility serves as a statewide training facility and is a model for the state. An assessment conducted by the National Institute of Corrections last year noted that we operate one of the most professional jails while maintaining low assault rates; and our LA HIDTA Joint Drug Intelligence Group received the Outstanding Investigative Support Center Award of the year.

A commitment to excellence continues to thrive within our department, even as we work to correct shortcomings of the past.  With your great work and dedication, we will continue to have the opportunity to accentuate the positive while we eliminate the negative as we move toward a promising future.

Thank you for all you continue to do to lead our department in our mission to serve.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors held a marathon session on Tuesday to conduct public interviews of the finalists in their search for the next sheriff. The session was covered by both the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times.

Click here for the Orange County Register story.

Click here for the Los Angeles Times story.

ORANGE COUNTY OPERATIONAL AREA EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

PRESS RELEASE#4                                                                                                                      

Date:  May 22, 2008

Time:  2045

  

EVACUATION ORDERS LIFTED

  Voluntary evacuations orders have been lifted for Modjeska, Williams, and Live Oak Canyonsbut road closures in Williams and Live Oak Canyons remain in force for non-residents.  

Road conditions throughout Orange County may be hazardous due to the storm and motorists are cautioned to drive with care. Access to Modjeska Canyon is unrestricted but Williams and Live Oak Canyons are open to residents only. Santiago Canyon Road remains closed between Loma Ridge Road and Silverado Canyon. 

Cautionary signs are being placed at Modjeska and Santiago and Live Oak to remind motorists to slow down. 

Severe rain that caused mudslides in the canyons is believed to have damaged at least two homes and one business. There was one injury in a rain related traffic accident.  

The County of Orange issued a Proclamation of a Local Emergency Thursday afternoon.  The rain caused slides and damage to areas that were burned by the Santiago Fire in October and November 2007.  

The National Weather Service warned that similar rain and thunderstorms could return tomorrow afternoon. 

If residents have any questions, they can call the Orange County Emergency Operations Center hotline at (714) 628-7085 until 10 p.m. 

Press updates after 10 p.m. can be obtained by calling the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Watch Commander.

John Moorlach, Chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors has issued a Local Emergency Proclamation to help in storm response.  

ORANGE COUNTY OPERATIONAL AREA
EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

  PRESS RELEASE # 3
  Date:  May 22, 2008
  Time:  1745

PROCLAMATION OF A LOCAL EMERGENCY

Severe rain that caused mudslides in several canyon areas along with evacuations and property damage prompted the County of Orange to issue a Proclamation of a Local Emergency Thursday afternoon.

The Proclamation was issued by John Moorlach, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. He acted in the absence of the County Board of Supervisors being in session in at the request of the Orange County Director of Emergency Services.

The Proclamation noted that there had been significant rainfall and it caused flooding, debris flows, mudslides and related damage in the areas burned by the Santiago Fire in October and November 2007.  The weather conditions and the short term weather forecast constitutes conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property in Orange County, the Proclamation said. The conditions are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of the County of Orange and require the assistance from other political subdivisions.

The Proclamation is intended to reopen the county’s claim for emergency compensation for damages and expenses related to the Santiago Fire. It will also help county emergency workers in seeking outside help if necessary.

Voluntary evacuations orders remain in force for Modjeska, Williams, and Live Oak Canyons.

The Orange County Fairgrounds (88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa) can accept large animals from residents.  Residents must call ahead to (714) 708-1588 to inform OC Fairgrounds that they are coming and to receive directions about which gate to enter.  Residents are expected to bring any necessary supplies for their large animals.

If residents have any questions, they can call the Orange County Emergency Operations Center hotline at (714) 628-7085.

Mud flows have been reported in Modjeska, Williams, and Live Oak Canyons.

Any residents requiring shelter please contact (714) 628-7085.

To view the proclamation click here: Orange County Local Proclamation Storm May 22 2008.pdf (105.92 kb)

The Orange County Board of Supervisors authorized the Department to join COPLINK, an multi-jurisdictional information sharing consortium first planned four years ago with a grant from the Department of Homeland Security. 

The Sheriff’s Department joining the consortium comes after several years of wrangling over legal and technical issues, said Capt. Mike James.   

“We’ve put those issues to rest and now we are a full voting member of the Integrated Law & Justice Agency for Orange County,” Capt. James said.

COPLINK is essentially a computer interpretation tool  which accepts information from all law enforcement agencies in the county, along with the Superior Court, the District Attorney and the Probation Department. Those agencies use a myriad of computer formats but COPLINK accepts all of the data and allows it to be accessed by agencies with otherwise non-compatible computer formats.  

Sheriff’s deputies and investigators will soon have access to information on individuals, crimes and events gathered by court and law enforcement sources throughout the county.  Bob McDonell, executive director of Integrated Law & Justice Agency for Orange County said the system is currently undergoing an upgrade that will enhance the service provided to law enforcement. 

Department personnel using the system will be able to access information from the Los Angeles Police Department, San Diego County, and a growing number of agencies around the state and the nation. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is expected to join the system soon, said McDonell, who retired as the Newport Beach Police Chief before joining the agency as Executive Director.  It vastly expands the number of data bases available to deputies on patrol, investigators and those classifying inmates in the jails.  “Now when there is a traffic stop a suspicious vehicle, you can find out not more than the driver’s traffic and criminal record,” Capt. James said. “You can find out if the person was a witness to a crime, a victim of a crime and who they hang out with.”  

The system also allows investigators to feed information about a crime and learn about similar elements in crimes committed elsewhere.  In March 2004, Orange County agencies secured a DHS grant through the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) program. The UASI Grant recipients in the County - Santa Ana and Anaheim - applied for the grant to en­hance the goals of improved homeland security efforts in the region, which included information sharing among County law enforcement and justice agencies as one of its primary goals for the purpose of thwarting crime and terrorism.

A multi-jurisdictional consortium known as the Integrated Law and Justice (ILJ) Project was already in place, and under the guidance of Deloitte Consulting, had just completed developing a “requirements defini­tion” for an information sharing project in preparation for a formal bid process to identify a solution. To learn more about COPLINK, check this out: 042408 Orange County CA Case Study.pdf (1.60 mb)

The Board of Supervisors also ratified the Memorandum of Understanding between the Naval Criminal Investigative Service for the Sheriff's Department to participate in the Southern California Law Enforcement Information Exchange (SoCal LInX). 

To see the Board of Supervisors staff reports on both agenda items click here: More...

Topics include the use of overtime, early release of inmates and personnel transfers. Here's a rough transcript:

Good Morning Chairman Moorlach and Honorable Supervisors,

I’m here this morning so that I can keep you informed of transitional changes in our jails and provide updates on other media stories.

I’ll begin today on the familiar subject of Jail Operations

As many of you know, last Friday, we announced the Promotions and/or Transfers of 36 department personnel – 17 of whom will be rotating from their current position in the jails.

The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriff’s (AOCDS) opposed my previous rotation of 23 personnel assigned to the jails in April, resulting in their filing for a court injunction to stop the transfers which was ultimately denied by the court.

In working with the County CEO Human Resources team and County Counsel’s Labor Relations Team, I am departing from long held departmental practices, and following through as appropriate with the issuance of necessary policy changes in the transfer/rotation of personnel in our jails to rectify serious and ongoing problems of the past.

I believe these transfers will create positive and lasting changes in our operation and that they will positively impact department culture – and I continue to invite the Board of Directors of AOCDS to work with me and be part of the solution.
Our Jail Operations made other news last week as well:

Although I have no plans at this time to release inmates early from our jails, On May 6, we filed a request to obtain a temporary court order authorizing the department to release inmates up to 5 days early.

We previously had a federally ordered legal authority to manage inmate population through a system of early releases resulting from the Stuart v. Gates decision. That authority was eliminated when the court order was vacated. Therefore, we sought the order to allow us the flexibility to manage inmate population as circumstances beyond our control dictate.

Jail overcrowding has been an issue here in Orange County for the past 20 years and we routinely utilize Early Release to ensure we are in the confines of the law

In fact, last year we released 1491 inmates (124 per month on average) and during the first four months of this year we released 47.

This afternoon, I am meeting with the County’s District Attorney office, CoCo, Probation and a representative of the California Department of Corrections and Reabilitation to ensure we have measures in place to ensure we can continue to handle jail overcrowding.

In other news indirectly related to Jail Operations, the Los Angeles Times recently ran a story about the department’s use of Overtime pay

I want to assure the Board that we are saving money – even as we utilize OT to fill shifts

1. The average cost of overtime for March and April is 9% less than the average for Dec, Jan, and Feb.
2. From FY 03-04 through FY 06-07, overtime exceeded budget by an average of $6.5 million while the other Salary and Employee Benefit line items was under budget by an average of $22.6 million.  This represents an annual average savings of $16.1 million for total Salaries and Employee Benefits.

I have begun implementing accountability procedures to ensure OT is tracked to each user and utilized in accordance with existing department guidelines

And, because of the tight economy and the fiscal challenges we all face, I have asked that each Division Commander find ways to decrease the amount of OT costs.

Since January 15, when I took over as Acting Sheriff,

• We have cut OT by 9%

The Acting Sheriff ended his remarks with a presentation and update on the Musick Correctional facility expansion.

The Acting Sheriff's request for court authority to release Orange County inmates up to five days early appeared to take many by surprise. What has become a routine procedure to manage our nearly constant jail overcrowding caught many individuals off guard, if only because of the current approach we are being forced to pursue -- that of obtaining a temporary court order authorizing the department to release inmates early.

There are several issues related to jail overcrowding that affect us and we believe it is important for all to understand these challenges in the context of jail operations:

·We previously had a federally ordered legal authority to manage inmate population through a system of early releases resulting from the Stuart v. Gates decision. That authority was eliminated when the court order was vacated.

·The Sheriff has no immediate plans to release inmates early from our jails.

·We are seeking this order to allow us the flexibility to manage inmate population as circumstances beyond our control dictate.

·Failure to properly manage inmate population could lead to another federal mandate that could have a more significant negative impact on the community than the early release of certain inmates.

·The Cross Designation Program adds to our overcrowding problem. The ICE agents do not pick up detainees on weekends and this can add an additional 50 inmates to our population on the weekend until they are picked up Monday morning.

·Many events, both planned and unplanned lead to an increase of arrests resulting in spikes to the jail population such as concerts, the OC Fair, demonstrations, civil unrest, natural disasters, etc.

·Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations regulates adult correctional facilities, but does not address issues such as overcrowding.  It does, however,  require attention to safety, security, basic human needs, etc. which can be affected by overcrowding.

·Jail overcrowding leads to increased jail violence as more inmates are housed in smaller spaces.

·Jail overcrowding places an unreasonable burden on our classification system. An alarmingly increasing number of inmates require special handling (separation, protective custody, etc). The additional inmates reduce the number of available single person cells available to house special handling inmates.

·Jail overcrowding creates health and sanitation problems. When the system exceeds 90% capacity we are unable to move inmates out of housing areas to complete routine maintenance.

·Housing juveniles at the Theo Lacy Facility reduces available housing for adult arrestees.

Although we missed the printing deadline for the Orange County Register, the Acting Sheriff spoke to the Register's Tony Saavedra yesterday afternoon -- the online version of his story is here and it is probably significantly different from the story in print. Here's a cut of what's online:

Members of the Orange County Board of Supervisors – the panel that will appoint a new sheriff – said Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson erred by not telling them that he was seeking to release inmates early to ease crowding, but it was unclear how it would affect his candidacy.

Supervisors were diplomatic in their criticism, but stressed that the sheriff needs to keep the board and county prosecutors apprised of such actions.

"He does have the authority, but it's best that all of us know what's going on, especially under the circumstances," said Supervisor Chris Norby. "We all want to be kept in the loop."

Anderson is one of nine finalists vying for the two-year, unfilled term vacated by former Sheriff Mike Carona, who resigned in January under federal indictment on corruption charges. The finalists will be interviewed publicly by the board on May 27.

Supervisor Bill Campbell said he didn't know about Anderson's early-release plan until he read it in the newspaper.

"I was surprised…especially since I met with him on another subject," Campbell said. "Sheriff Anderson has got a lot of balls in the air and made a miscue."

Campbell added that being acting sheriff "can be a plus, but it can also be a minus (for his candidacy). But he has done some good things."

Anderson explained Wednesday that he is not asking to do something new. The department has released thousands of inmates over the last 20 years, under a court order that recently expired. Anderson said he is asking for a new, temporary court order.

"To us, it's just routine stuff," said Anderson, who will now make regular reports to the board and other county officials on the jail crowding problem.

Additionally, the Acting Sheriff explained our early release process to the Board of Supervisors in a memo last evening. Here's the contents: More...

The Los Angeles Times featured a picture and story today on the removal of privacy walls at the Theo Lacy Facility.

To see the story, click here.

Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson mentioned the construction work in his briefing to the Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, May 6. 

The Acting Sheriff spoke today about one of several court actions AOCDS has undertaken. He also gave an update on construction at Theo Lacy and continuing transitional changes in jail operations.

Right now, TV news cameras are inside Theo Lacy videotaping the deconstruction of privacy walls inside the barracks. This morning the Acting Sheriff referred to this deconstruction stating, "Yesterday, deconstruction in F Barracks at Theo Lacy began – with the removal of the privacy walls, which had been in place for 22 years. I think the removal of F Barracks privacy walls is a fitting symbol to the removal of our Department’s historical privacy walls and the ushering in of the Sheriff’s Department’s new culture of transparency and accountability."

Specific to AOCDS, he spoke of their most recent court action on the personnel transfer schedule: "The Board of Directors of the deputy’s union took us to court over this matter. On April 24, County Counsel represented us in Court. The union lost their move for an injunction and the transfers took place as planned on April 25, 2008. The next hearing before the judge on this matter is scheduled for May 16, 2008."

There are numerous reasons for the personnel transfer schedule as discussed in the Declaration we provided to the judge in court on April 24. The Declaration is available in full right here. Additionally, they are detailed in his address posted below. More...

Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson addressed the board this morning. Peggy Lowe covered it here. I'll have video later this week:

Good morning Mr. Chairman and honorable members of the Board.

When I addressed this honorable Board last week Supervisor Campbell asked about the inclusion of audio recording capability within the guard stations as an additional measure of safety. Supervisor Campbell used an example where a city jail employee was able to activate an audio button to summon assistance.

Without specifically revealing our jail security measures, currently Sheriff’s employees working in our jail housing areas have as many as four separate methods available to them to summon assistance outside their assigned housing area.

After having some time to further study the matter, and after receiving some valuable insight from 2nd District staffers, I have concluded that there is a workable model that will allow for a balance between an intrusive invasion of personal freedom, and the safety of staff and inmates.

I would like to propose an amenable solution, that audio recording capabilities be installed in the guard stations but they are only activated:

(a) when a deputy in the station activates it for safety reasons, or