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.

 

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.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department Bomb Squad held a demonstration this week to alert parents to the dangers of explosives that their children can make from materials found around the home.

Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson told the members of the press who came for the demonstration that as summer approaches and children are out of school, the Department wants to make sure parents, teachers, neighbors and friends are aware of this very real danger posed by homemade explosives.

The dangers include pipe bombs, fireworks, bottle rockets and other devices that young people have been known to make and explode.

On hand for the demonstration and to talk to the press was Vanessa Viramontes, a victim of an explosion and Dr. Mike Lekawa, UCI Medical Center Trauma surgeon who has treated numerous cases of injuries due to explosions.

For pictures of a watermelon blown apart by an M-80 firecracker click More...

Orange County Register Reporter Amy Taxin and Photographer Leonard Ortiz spent time with five Deputies who are completing on the job training to become Cross-Designated Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  The journalists observed the deputies during part of their on the job training at the Intake Release Center earlier this week.

To see their report, click here.

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...

Newport Harbor, Calif. - The U.S. Coast Guard and Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) signed a memorandum of agreement on Monday, May 12, 2008.  The agreement delineates the specific responsibilities of each agency when responding to maritime incidents in Orange County, Calif.

 

To read the Coast Guard press release click here.

Updated
Five Deputies graduated on Friday, May 9 after completing a four-week-long intensive training program on immigration law and Immigration and Customs Enforcement procedures for removal of undocumented individuals booked our jails.  Once they return they will receive additional training from our deputies who are already ICE trained as well as one week of training with the Federal ICE agents over at the Federal building in Santa Ana.

The deputies will be cross-designated as ICE agents and will serve as such in our jails.   They were trained at the Mecklenberg County Sheriff’s Department in North Carolina.

The five Deputies are Jesus Hernandez, Naomi Jimenez, Cynthia Mata, Hector Martinez and Art Tiscareno.

On December 21, 2006, twelve deputies and two sergeants successfully completed the four week training course for the 287(g) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cross-designation program.  The newly trained deputies will also be cross designated as limited authority ICE agents.

Due to recent transfers, four of the deputies will remain at the IRC and one will go to Theo Lacy after they complete their on the job training here.

Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson attended the graduation and delivered these remarks.

Good Afternoon. I want to thank you for inviting me to be here today. I’m Assistant Sheriff Jack Anderson, currently acting as the Sheriff of Orange County, California.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is currently in its 2nd year of screening for undocumented foreign nationals during the booking process in our jails.

We pursued our partnership with Immigration and Customs Enforcement because it was essential that we reduce crime, reduce jail overcrowding and reduce cases in our court system.

For us, the Cross-Designation program is not about immigration, it’s about law enforcement. More...

A dozen public safety officers from around the state were at Harbor Patrol headquarters in Newport Beach for a weeklong training program on fighting fires on the water.

Agencies that sent personnel to the training program were the California Department of Fish and Game, the Los Angeles Fire Department, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the Sacramento Police Department and the Los Angeles County Lake Lifeguards. Harbor Patrol is one of only two agencies in California to provide training in marine firefighting tactics.

Fighting fire on the water is a difficult task, with the boat carrying the firefighters and the boat on fire both moving at the same time and independently of each other. Each is influenced by wind, tide, current and other factors. Playing a heavy stream of water on the boat on fire is likely to cause the boat to move. More...

First a man dashed out from behind a screen, holding a gun and making threats for a moment, until the Deputy opened fire.

Next came a man with a knife lunging toward the Deputy. The quick response was to open fire.

When the man came from behind a screen holding a cell phone, the Deputy held fire and shouted out, “Get down on the ground.”

Finally a man came from behind a screen waving his empty hands and demanding to know what was going on. The Deputy again held fire and shouted for the man to get on the ground.

This sequence played out 16 times last week; once for each of the Deputies finishing up the selection process for the Department’s SWAT contingent. They used simunition weapons for this part of the tryouts, which were conducted at the Department’s Tactical Training Center located at the Katella Training Facility in Orange.

“You need to think on your feet, be able to handle specialized weapons, and make split second decisions,” SWAT Sgt. Joe Balicki had told the applicants. The evaluators, all currently members of the SWAT team, checked to see that the Deputy being tested had not only opened fire when confronted with the life threatening circumstances but whether the shot was on target. More...

The sky was overcast and the water calm on the morning of March 25th, 2008. Three United States Coast Guardsmen shoved off aboard an Orange County Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol Division vessel on a training/operational mission in Newport Harbor.

The goal of the mission was to further coordinate response capabilities between members of the Federal Government’s Coastal Security Force and Orange County’s Coastal Law Enforcement /Rescue Unit.  The exercise was also designed to provide Coast Guardsmen and Deputies the chance to gain insight into the other’s techniques, command structure and daily operations. 

These issues are crucial. Should a terrorist attack or a natural disaster occur the established Port Security Act, which covers the Orange County coastline, would require both the United States Coast Guard and The Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol to work together to ensure the safety of Orange County’s Harbors. 

One of the first encounters involved the three-man Coast Guard boarding party stepping aboard a 50-foot power boat from an Orange County Sheriff’s Department Fireboat. The expensive pleasure craft  kept cruising through Newport Beach Harbor with the boarding party still aboard.  More...

This video was featured at the Medal of Valor luncheon last Friday. The Register covered the ceremony here.

From the OC Register:

Ladera Ranch residents seeking tips on protecting their families in an earthquake, fire or other emergencies have a new resource in town.

The first Community Emergency Preparedness Academy class is Tuesday, April 1 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Oak Knoll Village Club. Classes continue every Tuesday for eight weeks.

[...]

The academy is presented by The Orange County Sheriff's Department, Orange County Fire Authority, Medix Ambulance Service, American Red Cross, Santa Margarita Water District and Mission Hospital. 

Read more here.

From their website:

[...]

Dogs were used in the training exercise and are also used in real-life disasters.

"We are a team," said Lisa Samsel from the Orange County Sheriff's Department in California.  "He (dog) leads me sometimes and I lead him sometimes."

The team worked together, learning how to communicate.

"This job would be so much easier if we were able to talk to the dogs," added Captain Ingledue.  

It may only have been a training exercise, but it's training that will someday save a life.

There are 28 teams from across the county in town for the training.  Teams say they never want to use the training they get, but they need to make sure they're prepared.

The latest group of Public Service Responders to join the Orange County Sheriff’s Department as volunteers include a DNA research supervisor, an equity firm COO, an attorney, a cable splicer, an orthodontist and a plastic surgeon.

The life skills these 55 volunteers bring to the department are a valuable resource that is available when needed to fulfill the mission of the Department. Many of these volunteers turn out no matter what time of the day or night they are called. They receive no pay and hold no law enforcement powers or any right, beyond that of an ordinary citizen, to carry a firearm.  All PSRs must complete CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams) training to remain active in the program.

The program is administered by Capt. Brian Wilkerson and Lt. Thomas Slayton

PSRs contribute many hours of their personal time to help the Department in a myriad of ways. Some of the PSRs work on individual projects for the Department, providing their expertise wherever it is needed.

For example, some PSRs recently set up a blog for the Reserve Division.  The address of that Website is: http://www.ocsdcsd.org/blog/

Others join Reserve Units that accept PSRs. Those units include the following:

High Tech Services: This Reserve Unit provides highly trained experts in a wide range of fields, including photography, video technology and computer technology.  The unit provides help to the department in such fields as teaching parents how to protect their teens from Internet dangers to assisting the bomb squad in training and researching ways to disarm explosives. The unit seeks members who have expertise in a wide variety of skills, ranging from architecture to database design, computer programming, Web design and video production.  More...

Agapito "Gapo" Soto, an information technology consultant for our Department, supports three divisions: Risk Management, the Terrorism Early Warning Group (now OC Intelligence Assessment Center), and the Emergency Communications Bureau. Whenever the communications/media team arrives up at the Emergency Operations Center Gapo is called to help fix whatever computer we've broken.

Here's what the American Staffing Association has to say about Gapo:

Here's the reason why Soto is now National Staffing Employee of the Year: For most people at the Orange County Sheriff's Department, the work day starts at 8 and ends at 4. For Soto, however, the day starts at 7 and ends at 5 or whenever he is no longer needed there. It's that simple. More...

Professional Service Responder George Ridley was honored by the Orange County Board of Supervisors with the Excellence in Volunteerism Award.

PSR Ridley was chosen from more than 20,000 volunteers for the county government, said Board of Supervisors Chairman John Moorlach during the ceremony, conducted at a PSR meeting Thursday at the Department’s Regional Training Center in Tustin. 

 “You sacrifice your personal time, time you could be with your family, time you could be doing other things and actually earning income, but the truth is you volunteer because you want to give back to your community,” Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson said in thanks to the PSRs at the meeting, including 56 who were about be appointed PSRs.

Acting Sheriff Anderson noted that the PSRs last year donated 15,232 hours of time to the Department and that meant a savings to the county of $1,142,400 based on the average savings for a volunteer worker. The reality is that many of the PSRs are professionals; doctors, lawyers and airplane pilots, so the savings is likely much greater.

Chairman Moorlach said the PSRs help give Orange County, “one of the finest Sheriff’s Departments in the country.”

Chairman Moorlach then turned his attention to PSR George Ridley, who takes photographs for the Department.

“George is one of the most active members of the PSRs, with 1015 service hours,” Chairman Moorlach told the gathering.   “In addition to photographing the Medal of Valor Ceremony, the Peace Officer Memorial Ceremony and graduations, he has helped the Terrorism Early Warning Group by taking aerial photographs of all the potential terrorism targets in the county.”

PSR Ridley spent 49 hours in the air on the mission and devoted a total of 128 hours to the project.

The work was challenging, PSR Ridley said in an interview before the ceremony. More...

Deputy Rich Reyes usually patrols Laguna Niguel with shined shoes, a freshly pressed uniform and a determination to protect those he serves. 

But on a recent Friday, Deputy Reyes dressed kind of scruffy and began to behave like a bomber committed to blowing up lives and property even at the expense of his own life.

Deputy Reyes was one of several actors used in the Department Bomb Squad’s Active Bomber Course, designed to introduce deputies and police officers in the challenges of responding to a scene and finding a suicide bomber, or homicide bomber, somebody willing to blow themselves and others to make a political point or to carry out a crime.

The goals of the course include:

•  Increase the awareness, knowledge and skills of the street officer to homicide bombings and other person borne bomb incidents.

• Increase the safety of the responding officers to homicide bombings and other person borne bomb incidents.

• Increase the safety of the public during homicide bombings and other person borne bomb incidents.

There has been lots of terrorist bomb training in recent years but too often it has been heavy on history and theory and short on how to handle situations that street officers are most likely to find themselves. More...

On November 7, the Orange County Chiefs of Police and Sheriff’s Association approved the development of the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center (OCIAC). OCIAC has assumed the duties of the Terrorism Early Warning Group (TEWG) and will expand to provide a countywide effort on anti-terrorism efforts, all-hazard mitigation, and law enforcement Terrorism Liaison Officer programs.

This new approach was the product of a countywide collaboration between the Sheriff’s Department and local police. OCIAC will establish county-wide criteria for terrorism liaison officers and set guidelines for information sharing and intelligence assessment. The center will also be responsible for the assessment of critical infrastructure and analysis of crime information, public tips and leads.

OCIAC is currently staffed by members of the Sheriff’s Department, Anaheim Police Department, Garden Grove Police Department, Irvine Police Department, Santa Ana Police Department, Huntington Beach Police Department and the FBI. The Orange County Fire Authority and the Health Care Agency will soon join the center.

OCIAC should be notified of any incident or information relevant to terrorism, including but not limited to:

- International or domestic terrorism
- Possession of explosives, improvised devices or bomb threats
- Photographs containing suspicious items or activities
- Contact with an individual on a terrorism watch list
- Regional crime threats
- Officer safety or threats against government officials

The staff of the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at (714) 628-3024. The center’s website can be accessed at www.ociac.org. The website contains information on anti-terrorism efforts and also has a link allowing members of the public to contact OCIAC directly with their questions or tips regarding suspected criminal or terrorist-related activity.

The new Consul of Mexico in Santa Ana and two of his top aides came to Department Headquarters on Friday to meet Assistant Sheriff Jack Anderson, Acting as the Sheriff-Coroner.

“We want to insure that all foreign dignitaries are safe in Orange County,” Acting Sheriff Anderson told the trio of Mexican diplomats.  He told Consul Carlos Rodriguez y Quezada that the Department had a good working relationship with his predecessor.

When problems arose, the Department and the consulate staff worked together to solve them, Acting Sheriff Anderson said.  When the consulate staff found itself the target of a protest in San Juan Capistrano, the Department stood by to insure the protest was peaceful.

“It’s not our job to take sides,” Acting Sheriff Anderson said. “We will only take action if we see someone breaking the law.”

Consul Rodriguez y Quezada was accompanied to the meeting by Deputy Consul Manuel Herrera and Vice Consul Connie Capulin.

He added that a controversial issue in the community is illegal immigration. More...