The Orange County Register is reporting that a terrorist response readiness drill is scheduled for this week at the Navy Weapons Station in Seal Beach, adjacent to Sunset Beach which is patrolled by the Sheriff's Department. The Sheriff's Department is also responsible for patrolling all Orange County waterways.

The story said in part:

Naval Weapons Station plans drill on threat response

Anaheim Bay may be closed to private boats during Seal Beach drill, expected between Monday and Feb. 27.

By JAIMEE LYNN FLETCHER
The Orange County Register

SEAL BEACH – The Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station will take part in a nationwide training drill to prepare for potential threats to the base, which could include responding to terrorist activity, officials announced today.

The exercise is expected to take place sometime between Monday and Feb. 27; however, times and exact dates are unknown, said base spokesman Gregg Smith.

Residents may see increased security activity around the base and traffic may be heavy in the area. Access to the base could also be delayed; however, personnel are going to try to keep daily functions as normal as possible, Smith said.

To read the Register story click here.

Marine Operations Arrests Suspected House Burglar 

It was a quiet afternoon on the waters of Newport Harbor Wednesday afternoon but Dispatcher Brian Stanley heard a lot of activity on the Newport Beach Police radio. There was a report of a house burglary and Newport units were sent to the scene.

He reported the call to two patrol units in the harbor, crewed by Marine Operations Deputies Jim Slikker, Josh Baugh and William Nelson. 

The Deputies set a course for the scene of the reported burglary and they found they were the first law enforcement unit on the scene. Even more significant, they found an individual attempting to break into a boat, possibility to escape the land-based police units just arriving.

The Marine Operations Deputies confronted the man and place him under arrest. He was turned over to Newport Beach police. Newport Beach held him on suspicion of residential burglary and boat burglary.

The suspect was identified as Urbina Alberto Ever, 25, a deliveryman from Santa Ana. He was booked into the Orange County Jail and held on $50,000 bail. 

Lake Forest Graffiti Suppression Task Force Makes Its Mark
 
In July, 2008, Deputy John Mora, Deputy Ashraf Abdelmuti, and Deputy Dallas Hennessey were given a special assignment to locate and identify “taggers” in the City of Lake Forest.

Graffiti and its constant clean-up costs were having an enormous impact in the City of Lake Forest. Although incidents of graffiti have remained somewhat constant over the past eight years, the cost to remove graffiti or repair property damage caused by graffiti increased substantially.  For example, the cost to remove graffiti has reached almost $10,000 a month, up from just several thousand dollars a month two years ago.

Between July 2008 and December 2008 the Graffiti Suppression Task Force has successfully arrested 35 graffiti vandals. Through their investigations they have cleared 77 cases of graffiti totaling 10 felony counts and 67 misdemeanor counts of vandalism. The Graffiti Suppression Task Force has also served seven search warrants on suspected taggers which led to the discovery of an entire collection of “piece art” books and a roll call binder of two tagging crews in Lake Forest and Mission Viejo.

In October 2008, Deputies John Mora and Ashraf Abdelmuti were recognized by the City of Lake Forest for their dedication and intuitive investigation resulting in one of the largest and most successful graffiti investigations in Sheriff’s Department history.

Strategy, Accountability, Focus and Evaluation are management principles the Orange County Sheriff’s Department plans to utilize more effectively under a new program that will go into operation in January 2009.

When Sheriff Sandra Hutchens came into office in June 2008 she conducted an assessment of Department policies, performance and the organizational culture that had developed over the years.  The core values she found were good ones but the lack of consistency in record keeping, policies and procedures were a concern for both the performance of individuals and units within the Department.

The establishment of the SAFE (Strategy, Accountability, Focus and Evaluation) Program is intended to achieve an improved culture within the Department, one that always strives toward ever improving professionalism, self pride and organizational cohesion.  A dividend to the success of this program will be to reduce risk and liability, assist in employee development and promote problem solving behavior that is consistent with Department goals of serving and protecting the public. 

The SAFE Program will be managed by Lieutenant Mike Hiller and will serve as a catalyst to maintain consistency and a high standard of performance throughout the Sheriff’s Department’s 4,000 men and women working in 20 division commands.

In the future, the Sheriff’s Department will have easy access to statistics for Department wide crime fighting utilization. These uniform numbers will better enable managers to determine crime trends, staffing needs and resource deployment.  The standardization of regulations and policies will provide a better gauge to measure the performance of units and individual members of the Department.

A preliminary SAFE Unit was established in October 2008 following the Sheriff’s assessment of Department resources.  The unit’s members are experienced and understand the importance of policy development, information gathering, joint and inter-agency collaboration, and working with the public.  The SAFE Unit members are familiar with all aspects of the Department and have established themselves as progressive team members who are eager to face the challenges of developing a new and innovative program.

The new program is in large part the product of the project undertaken by consultant Lee McCown. He has an extensive background in law enforcement Risk Management. A similar assessment he conducted for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department contributed to a 35 percent reduction in litigation losses against that Department, with a significant savings to taxpayers. To see the Department Blog story on Lee McCown click here.

Lt. Hiller has most recently commanded the staff at the Central Courthouse where he directed the seemingly impossible task of ensuring the on time daily delivery of hundreds of inmates to dozens of courtrooms and the weapons screening of thousands of jurors and courthouse visitors. During his quarter century with the Department he has served as Academy Commander and he helped form the Terrorism Early Warning Group in 2002.

As SAFE Program Manager, Lt. Hiller will coordinate the tracking of such activities as use of force incidents, traffic accidents, officer involved shootings and citizen commendations of Department members.   These activities will be evaluated and assessed in regularly scheduled forums to allow managers to do trend and event analysis.  The assessment of trends and events within the jails or community will allow each division to manage incidents more effectively and proactively. 

In addition, SAFE will develop and implement an employee review process to provide a fair and responsible system for assessing an employee’s work performance.  Some examples of information maintained include, commendations, complaints, evaluations, etc.  This process benefits the employee as well as his or her current and previous supervisors and ensures the employee remains a productive and effective member of the department. More...

Santa Claus left his sleigh home Tuesday and caught a ride aboard a Marine Unit fireboat for a ride across Newport Beach Harbor.

Santa was aboard the Department vessel to pay a surprise visit to 215 seriously ill youngsters taking a harbor cruise courtesy of the “Make a Wish” Foundation.

Photographs by Professional Services Responder George Ridley

Santa was escorted by Sheriff Sandra Hutchens and the Deputies who make up the crew of the fireboat.

The youngsters and their families were aboard Crystal, a charter craft from Electra Cruises for a 2 ½ hour dinner cruise of the harbor when Santa and Sheriff Hutchens came alongside in the fireboat.

Santa distributed gifts to all the good children, and luckily none of the 215 youngsters aboard had made Santa’s naughty list.

While the youngsters were happy to see Santa and their parents glad to visit with the Sheriff, the Department personnel volunteering for the event were overjoyed to see Honorary Deputy Dylan.

Honorary Deputy Dylan was granted a wish last year, to be an honorary Deputy Sheriff for one day. He visited throughout the Department and won his way into the hearts of almost everybody he met that day. Dylan was on the cruise.

The following commendation was submitted by Yorba Linda resident Joanne Stone on Tuesday, November 18, 2008:

"I was one of the fortunate people whose home was spared in the horrific fire over this past weekend. Unfortunately, my neighbors up
the street from me on Juniper were not so lucky. I just want to send along sincere thanks to your department and your deputies for
helping our neighborhood and community through such a tragic, frightening time. Unfortunately, we were not able to thank your deputies
in person since we were evacuated, but please pass along our thanks to all of those deputies who worked so long and hard for our benefit.
Words cannot express our gratitude."

On December 4, 2008, Teresa Roach of Support Services Division received an email from Mr. Jim Hamersley, Chief Information
Officer of Kings County Government Center, Information Technology Department, thanking her for the professional service she
provided. The email from Mr. Hamersley stated:

"We appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to show Kings County IT, Sheriff, Hanford PD and Corcoran PD the Geospatial
product in production. We were all very impressed with your professionalism - knowledge, the Orange County centralized dispatch and
vision of the Orange County Sheriff's Department - Emergency Operation Center. It is always appreciated when other agencies share
their operational products and processes. We share the same idea about the patrol computers mounting units, etc... If you are ever in the
area of Kings County, please let me know, I would be happy to give you a tour and buy lunch. Again, thank you for your time and making
us feel welcome."

On December 1, 2008, Lieutenant E. Giudice received a letter of commendation from Captain Tom Gazsi, the Support Services Division Commander of Newport Beach Police Department.  The letter commended Harbor Patrol deputies Carlos Contreras and Kathy McBride for their assistance with a vintage fishing vessel moored in Newport Harbor. 

The letter stated:

“I want to extend a grateful thanks to Deputies Contreras and McBride for their thoughtful hospitality in transporting a few volunteers out and back to the vessel.  Please know that they were very professional and considerate.  Deputy Contreras was alone when he dropped us at the boat early in the day.  He made a number of “seasoned” suggestions that were remarkably helpful in making the repairs.  He even provided us with bottles of drinking water to help us through the work.  You have an exceptional group of professionals who I am honored to call colleagues in our profession.” 

Here are some kudos for field work others appreciated.

On November 21, 2008 Lieutenant Linda Solorza of Laguna Niguel Police Services received a letter from Sergeant Dave Sawyer of the Special Investigations Bureau commending Deputy Ross Caouette.   Sergeant Sawyer praised Ross for his actions on November 17, 2008. Sawyer received a call from Ross, saying he had stopped a vehicle in the City of Laguna Niguel with about (8) pounds of marijuana.  Ross went on to explain how he had developed information from a citizen informant regarding suspicious activity within a neighborhood in the City.  Ross took the initiative to watch the residence, make a stop and arrest, then notify the supervisor of the narcotic detail of his find.

Based solely on the observations and heads-up work by Ross, we were able to obtain a search warrant for the residence.  The search revealed almost (40) pounds of high-grade marijuana, (22) grams of cocaine and over $76,000.  We estimate the value of the marijuana alone to be in excess of $150,000.

During the preparation of the search warrant and subsequent search of the residence, Ross assisted with the detention of suspects, collection of evidence and preparation of required documents.  We recognized that he did not just sit around and watch us work.  Ross took the initiative and volunteered to help with many aspects of the investigation.

Sergeant Sawyer recognizes and appreciates all of Ross’s his hard work, dedication and ability to take an investigation to the next level.  He should be commended for his outstanding efforts and abilities.

On December 2, 2008 Lieutenant Linda Solorza of Laguna Niguel Police Services received a letter from Investigator Tracy Morris of the Criminal Investigations Bureau commending Deputy Miguel Sotelo.  Investigator Morris praised Deputy Sotelo for his actions on December 2, 2008 while working uniformed patrol in Laguna Niguel.  He came upon suspect who was recently arrested for having sexual activity with a 16-year old parked on a street in Laguna Niguel.  Through his interview Deputy Sotelo learned that the suspect was text messaging someone.  Deputy Sotelo dug further, conducted a records check and learned there was a restraining order prohibiting suspect from contacting the 16- year old victim.  Deputy Sotelo recognized the victim lived down the street from where the suspect was parked.  Deputy Sotelo went even further and contacted the victim. Ultimately the victim admitted the suspect had been text messaging her and she had even met him in person on two separate occasions.  Based on the information Deputy Sotelo received, the suspect was arrested for violating a court order.
 
Investigator Morris would like to commend the investigative efforts put forth by Deputy Sotelo of Laguna Niguel Police Services. Deputy Sotelo went above and beyond a normal occupied vehicle encounter.  As a result of his tenacity the suspect is again in custody, the victim is protected and supects’s bail was increased from hundred thousand dollars to five hundred thousand.  Deputy Sotelo is a credit to the City of Laguna Niguel and the Sheriff’s Department. 

On December 1, 2008, Lieutenant E. Giudice received a letter of commendation from Captain Tom Gazsi, the Support Services Division Commander of Newport Beach Police Department.  The letter commended Harbor Patrol deputies Carlos Contreras and Kathy McBride for their assistance with a vintage fishing vessel moored in Newport Harbor.  The letter stated:
“I want to extend a grateful thanks to Deputies Contreras and McBride for their thoughtful hospitality in transporting a few volunteers out and back to the vessel.  Please know that they were very professional and considerate.  Deputy Contreras was alone when he dropped us at the boat early in the day.  He made a number of “seasoned” suggestions that were remarkably helpful in making the repairs.  He even provided us with bottles of drinking water to help us through the work.  You have an exceptional group of professionals who I am honored to call colleagues in our profession.” 
 

The Marine Operations Bureau recently received a “Thank You” card from the Orange County and Inland Empire Chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  The card stated:
“On behalf of our Chapter, we’d like to thank you for all your effort and support to our wish kids and helping us make a difference in their lives.  But most of all, we appreciate your dedication which enables our kids to believe that wishes really do come true.  We wish each of you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving.”

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.  

The Newport Harbor Patrol and Sergeant John Hollenbeck were recognized on Saturday at the American Cetacean Society Conference in Monterey. Deputy Joel Monroe said that the Harbor Patrol had helped to track sightings of bottlenose dolphins up.

Deputy Jason Middlekauff took a photograph of one dolphin (in the poster below) that was identified by markings as having been identified in San Diego Harbor as long as 20 years ago.

     Marine Operations Deputies J.C. Roberts and Tracy Sizemore were honored in a ceremony at the Newport Harbor station on November 6th.  Sheriff Sandra Hutchens presented the Deputies with their official commendations, earned for saving the life of a drowning fisherman off Corona Del Mar on October 3rd.  Dispatcher Keli Sheridan also received a commendation for her actions that day, although she was unable to attend.  The ceremony took place in the station’s conference room, packed full of Marine Operations staff members including bureau commander Lt. Erin Giudice, the Harbor Reserve unit, and representatives from local yacht clubs and businesses.  Sheriff Hutchens praised their dedication to duty and selfless actions in a dangerous situation in which a drowned fisherman was pulled from heavy surf and resuscitated by the two deputies.  Their actions were a perfect example of the outstanding performance of the staff of the Orange County Sheriff’s Marine Operations Bureau.

Left to Right: Deputy J.C. Roberts, Sheriff Sandra Hutchens and Deputy Tracy Sizemore

For details on the rescue as reported in an earlier Department Blog entry, click here.

Sheriff Sandra Hutchens gave her 120-day report to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, with her Command Staff outlining for the Supervisors the specifics of changes and plans that have been undertaken since she was sworn into office.

The PowerPoint presentation that was given the the board follows:

State of the Department - Oct 7 2008.pptx.swf (2.75 mb) 

For the Orange County Register's story on the Sheriff appearing before the Board of Supervisors click here.

Sheriff Hutchens held a press briefing on her presentation to the Board of Supervisors.

For the Orange County Register's story on the briefing click here. 

For the Los Angeles Times story on her briefing click here. 

Harbor Patrol Deputies rescued fisherman on Friday. Here is an account of the episode by Harbor Patrol Sergeant David Ginther.  

On Friday, October 3rd several people decided to try their luck at fishing above the rocky shoreline known as Ladder Rock along the cliffs of Corona Del Mar. Unknown to them, their luck would be rather diverse that day – from tragic to miraculous. The ocean, which occasionally claims a fisherman or mariner’s soul, was about to make another hardy attempt.

The adventure began that morning when the group of fishermen made their way to the coast then climbed a rugged cliff providing a perch about forty feet above the shore. In the afternoon, after hours of angling, they heard the heartrending screams from one of their party. They saw their friend missing from the cliff and flailing helplessly in the water below. He had apparently slipped on the jagged, slippery surface and fell into the cold ocean waters. They threw a life line from the cliff in a futile attempt to save their friend but were defeated by the insufficient length of the rope. Their fellow angler, clad only in sweatpants and a t-shirt, was soon unconscious and being drawn away from them by the hungry sea.

The emergency phone call was received at the Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol dispatch center in Newport Harbor. Twenty-six year veteran Marine Dispatcher Keli Sheridan gathered the critical details and immediately dispatched the fireboat manned by Deputies J. C. Roberts and Tracy Sizemore. The crew, responsible for the entire Newport Harbor and miles of the surrounding coastline, responded with lights and siren to the location about a mile down coast of the harbor entrance. They left under the impression that the distressed subject would be merely assisted aboard their boat. That the victim was drowning would soon be revealed.

The victim’s luck was about to change with the tide, literally. More...

It's called Harbor Watch and it is hoped that it will do for the Orange County boating community what Neighborhood Watch has done for residential areas.

"The goal is to have hundreds of extra sets of eyes and ears out there and to have anything suspicious reported to us," Harbor Patrol Sergeant Steven McCormick.

Harbor Patrol wants to hear about things that observers may feel are suspcious but not worth reporting.

Harbor Patrol wants to hear about things like people who appear to be engaged in surveillance, those who look out of place near critical facilities, tossing into or recovering items from the water, unattended boats and vehicles in criticial areas, unusual diving activity, boats signaling each other and people transfering between boats.

The program has begun with a pamphlet that has already been distributed to to shipyard operators and will soon being going out to marina operators and, ultimately, to boaters and shoreline residents.

"With all of our Homeland Security concerns, we want to hear about just about anything," Sergeant McCormick said. "We want to keep people alert, looking for suspicious activity."

The Harbor Patrol has enlisted its Reserve Deputies to help put together a presentation to take to public meeting and to do outreach in the Newport Harbor area to promote the program.

To see the program flier click: Harbor Watch 2008 flyer.pdf (603.02 kb)

The Christian Talk Radio station KBRT (740 AM) broadcast a series of spots called “Uncommon Heroes” to remind people that the heroism of 9/11 is repeated in everyday events to this day.  Three of the segments involved the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

To hear one involving a boat rescue by Deputy Diane Honicker and Deputy Russell Endsley, both of Harbor Patrol/Dana Point,

Both deputies were awarded Medals for Lifesavings in 2006 in connection with the rescue.

The announcement of their award said: Deputy Diane Honicker and Deputy Russell Endsley will be awarded the Medal for Lifesaving for saving the lives of four men whose boat was capsized by a large wave and had sunk. The four men were returning to Dana Point from San Diego where they had been fishing for bait. Sea conditions were rough with seven foot swells -- and Deputies Honicker and Endsley had to navigate in the darkness using the compass and radar due to decreased visibility to find them in the treacherous waters. More...

Captains Lee Trujillo (left) and Mark Billings 

Sheriff Sandra Hutchens announced the promotion of two captains and a reorganization of some divisions in the Department.

The two promotions went to Department members of long standing who have helped the Department with skill and dedication throughout their careers.  

For a look at the new organization chart click here: Scan003.pdf (27.09 kb)

Captain Lee Trujillo, a 23-year veteran of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, has been promoted to Captain and placed in charge of the Department's Investigations Divsion.

He previously had served as Chief of Police Services for the City of Stanton.

Captain Trujillo has held many positions with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, including patrol supervisor for San Clemente and Stanton, sergeant of the Directed Enforcement Team, and watch commander at the Intake Release Center (IRC) and the Emergency Communications Bureau (ECB).  Lt. Trujillo is also a former member of the Sheriff’s Department’s SWAT team and worked narcotics and gang enforcement.  He brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise.

Earlier this year he was awarded the Medal of Merit for his part in the setting up the Department's Cross Designation Program with Immigration Customs Enforcement to identify illegal immigrants incarcerated in the Department's jails.

Captain Mark Billings holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biological Science from California State University, Fullerton and a Masters in Conflict Management from Caifornia State University Dominguez Hills.

He joined the Orange County Sheriff's Department in 1985 and worked Corrections until 1989. He was promoted to Deputy II in 1989 and held assignments in Special Enforcement, Traffic and served as a Field Training Officer. He promoted to Sergeant in 1995 and returned to Corrections until being assigned as a Tactical Sergeant at the Sheriff's Basic Academy. He served at the Academy from 1996 to 2000.

He was made Lieutenant in 2000 and worked Corrections, as a Watch Commander and as the County Mutual Aid Coordinator-Terrorism Warning Group Chair/Commander, Operations Support Division from 2001 to 2002. In 2002 he was assigned as Chief of Police Services to the City of Dana Point and he remained there until 2006. He was named Commander of hte Sheriff's Regional Training Academy in 2006 and served in that position until his promotion to Captain and Command of the newly formed Homeland Security Divison. In 1994 he was named Dana Point Deputy of the Year and was a Gold Star recipient, ACT  and Course Instructor  at the Basic Academy, and trained as a Drug Recognition Expert.

Duke and Harbor Patrol Fireboats were among the Department Units that saluted the Recruits of Basic Academy Class 185 at the traditional Hot Dog Run at the Huntington Beach Pier on August 13. 

The class is to graduate tonight.

Harbor Deputy William Nelson took these pictures of the Air-Sea salute and high speed maneuvers that followed.   

The 87-foot long Coast Guard patrol vessel Narwhal will be berthing at Department's Harbor Patrol Dock while the federal governments upgrades the Newport Harbor Coast Guard Station.

The "Beer Can Races" go back for half a century but the now crowded waterway no longer has space for 40 foot sailboats to race at top speed, according to the Department's Harbor Patrol.

The controversy over the race and the challenge it poses for Harbor Patrol was reported ina story in today's Los Angeles Times.

The story said in part: Sailboat racing in Newport Harbor is a beloved summer pastime that borders on obsession for some. But now that harbor police are stopping boats -- midrace -- to issue speeding citations, many longtime racers consider dropping out.

To read the whole story click here.

This just in from Harbor Patrol Dispatcher Brian Stanley

The boating public in Orange County will soon have an extra layer of security to rely upon in the event they need emergency police, fire or medical services.  Thanks to the diligent work of Lt. Colin Murphy, formerly of the Sheriff Department’s Emergency Communications Bureau, the State of California has recognized the Harbor Patrol dispatch center as a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP).  As a PSAP, the Harbor Patrol has been given permission to install, and the state of California has agreed to pay for, a computerized phone system that will significantly enhance its ability to provide rapid emergency services to the citizens who rely on the Harbor Patrol for those services. 

When a citizen in Orange County calls 911 from a standard landline phone or cellular phone their call is routed to the police department having jurisdiction over that area.  When that call is answered by the emergency dispatcher, data is received on the dispatcher’s computer screen that indicates the caller’s address and phone number.  When the caller is using a cellular phone the data received indicates the caller’s phone number, cellular service provider, and the address of the cell tower receiving and relaying the call.  Additionally, by using global positioning satellite technology, the dispatcher receives the approximate lat/long location of the cell phone.  [more[

Prior to the installation of the enhanced 911 system, the Harbor Patrol dispatchers have used a standard landline to receive emergency and non-emergency calls for service.  When a 911 call was transferred into the Harbor Patrol dispatch center by the receiving police department all data was lost.  Often a caller in the middle of an emergency situation is too scared, irate or uncertain to give the emergency dispatcher pertinent information such as their location or phone number.  If a call was lost or dropped prior to obtaining a phone number, the dispatcher wasn’t even able to attempt a call back.  
Another feature of the enhanced 911 system is the ability for the dispatcher to transfer and conference phone calls.  This will make it easier for information to be relayed to multiple public safety agencies at the same time, eliminating confusion and saving valuable time.

The enhanced 911 system the will be a valuable tool for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol dispatchers and will allow the Harbor Patrol to provide the same level of public safety services to its citizens as all the other PSAP centers in Orange County. 

The Orange County Sheriff's Harbor Patrol Division provides law enforcement, marine/residential firefighting, open-water rescue and vessel assistance in the three Orange County harbors of Sunset/Huntington Harbor, Newport Harbor, and Dana Point Harbor, as well as the 48 miles of Orange County Coastline.