A Message on the Department Reorganization
Sheriff Sandra Hutchens 

Our Core Values:

Integrity without compromise;
Service above self;
Professionalism in the performance of duty;
Vigilance in safeguarding our community.

We all continue to feel the effects of these challenging economic times, both in our professional and personal lives.  The Fiscal Year 2009/10 budget approved by the Board of Supervisors requires our Department to cut 28 million dollars from our budget this fiscal year. Based on revenue projections, we must prepare for an additional 60 million dollar cut in fiscal year 2010/11.  When faced with these unprecedented budget cuts, I directed my Command Staff and Division Commanders to “deconstruct” their commands and look at our core functions—those functions that impact our responsibility for direct public safety services.  The decision of who would be laid off was made as a result of what functions could be eliminated and/or combined without directly impacting our core mission.  These layoffs were not based on performance; they were based on the elimination or consolidation of functions and were made solely because of our current financial situation.  

During the past few weeks, I have met with each Assistant Sheriff, Executive Director, and Captain.  The purpose of the meetings was to tell them if they were staying or if they would be laid off.  For me, this has been one of the most difficult and gut-wrenching of tasks.  As I have publically stated, given the budget cuts we have been directed to make, I felt it my duty to preserve the delivery of front-line law enforcement so that the residents of Orange County would continue to enjoy the benefit of our public safety services and not be impacted by our budget cuts.

You will see from the attached Organization Chart that the shape of the Department has been dramatically altered.    I have cut two Assistant Sheriff and five Captain positions. Assistant Sheriff Hillmann with be responsible for Field Operations and Investigative Services. Assistant Sheriff James will be responsible for Custody and Court Services.  Executive Director Dostal will continue to be responsible for Administrative Services Command. 

Of the remaining nine Captains, two will serve as Area Commanders.  The Area Commander will assist their respective Assistant Sheriff with their expanded commands.  Tim Board will serve as the Area Commander for Field Operations and Investigative Services and Jay LeFlore will serve as the Area Commander for Custody and Court Services.

Director Gialamas, in addition to his Crime Lab responsibility, will assume command of Support Services.  Undersheriff Scott will assume direct responsibility for Professional Services Division and I will assume direct responsibility for Coroner and the Crime Lab/Support Services Divisions.I view these cuts as temporary and something that we cannot sustain for more than a couple of years. I fully intend to rebuild the department when the economy improves.In addition to our Command Staff cuts, we are having to impact the lives of 30-40 of our employees either through demotion or layoffs.  This process will be completed sometime in September.

I want to personally acknowledge the tremendous contributions of our personnel who are impacted by these budget cuts.  They have all contributed to the success of this Department and are to be congratulated for their commitment and dedication. Their service and individual contribution to the success of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department will not be forgotten.

Finally, I want to thank each and every one of you for your hard work and willingness to go the extra mile to secure the safety of all and to continue the great reputation of community service that the Orange County Sheriff’s Department so richly deserves.  Your actions serve to make me proud every day. It is an honor to be your Sheriff and to serve side by side with you.   My decisions have and will always be based on what is best for the public safety needs of Orange County and the continued success of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.  

To view the new Organization Chart click: New Org Chart.pdf (2.15 mb)

To view the old Organization Chart click: Old Org Chart.pdf (1.43 mb)

The Orange County Register reported on Sheriff Sandra Hutchens' report on her first year in office.

Sheriff Hutchens says she has made progress remaking department

Sandra Hutchens is also expected to discuss reform at county jails.

Earlier this week Board of Supervisors Chair Pat Bates wrote a commentary piece in the Orange County Register saying that the county budget crisis will force massive cuts in the Sheriff's Department.  Sheriff Sandra Hutches wrote a reply, published today in the Orange County Register's Opinon section, spelling out the measures the Department has taken to reduce costs and a plan for bringing federal revenue to the county to help keep public safety services at the level needed in Orange County.

Here is the rebuttal as it was published.

Reader Rebuttal: county budget
Reader Rebuttal to Chairwoman Pat Bates' column, "Delaying pain would hurt
more," Orange Grove, June 16, 2009
By SANDRA HUTCHENS
Orange County sheriff


The Orange County Board of Supervisors has taken many fiscally prudent steps
to address the growing budget challenges we have faced over the last year. I
commend them for their leadership. I would like to share some of what the
Sheriff's Department has done to address our budget shortfalls because,
while we still face a deficit, I am proud to say that we are poised to
finish this fiscal year about $20 million under budget.

Chairwoman Pat Bates' column in the Register ["Delaying pain would hurt
more," Orange Grove, June 16]states, "The Sheriff's Department is faced with
making $45 million in reductions." Our actual reductions add up to about $53
million when you include the $7.4 million in cuts that we are making and not
asking the county to restore. These cuts included eliminating hospital
security for outside agencies' arrestees, reducing maintenance of our
facilities, deferring equipment purchases, reduced helicopter flight time
and a reduction of 38 positions.

While we appreciate the board's restoration of $25 million, a number of
options have been suggested to close the $20 million gap that remains,
including eliminating vacant positions, reducing administrative nonsworn
staff, managing overtime, reducing vehicles and reducing overhead for our
contract cities - all of which we are already implementing.

Over the past year, we eliminated 67 vacant positions and cut 150 extra help
positions. We reduced overtime by 18 percent, cutting 6,000 hours of
overtime from each two-week pay period as compared with the previous year.
Additionally, we have closed 360 jail beds at the James A. Musick Facility
and, as we introduce the correctional services assistant (a civilian
classification) into our jails, we will further reduce the cost of managing
our jails.

The use of professional (nonsworn) staff is essential to our operation and
in most instances contributes a substantial cost saving when compared to
staffing the same position with a uniformed deputy. When you dial 911, your
call is answered by a nonsworn employee. The dispatcher who sends a deputy
to your aid is also nonsworn. Nonsworn personnel respond to crime scenes to
gather evidence, they staff the crime lab and the coroner's office, and they
analyze crime reports and manage the offices so our sworn personnel can be
out in our communities.

Administrative management represents 1.7 percent of our workforce. With the
addition of law enforcement management (captains and lieutenants) it's 3.5
percent - still lower than other county agencies.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that we utilize a variety of
volunteers to augment the great work of our deputies and civilian personnel.
Last year, our reserve deputies and professional service responders
performed work that would have cost the county $7 million.

I have proposed to the board that we take advantage of a recent decline in
our inmate population to enter into an agreement with Immigration and
Customs Enforcement to house ICE detainees for a fee. Revenue generated
would help us avoid significant cuts to our core services. On Tuesday, I
plan to again ask the Board to reconsider my request for $7 million to see
us through finalization of our agreement with ICE. As sheriff, it is my duty
to maintain public safety, and we cannot absorb cuts of this magnitude
without a significant impact on the superior quality of life we enjoy in
Orange County.

Updated with Power Point presentation on 06-11-09

To see the Power Point Prsentation given at the meeting click: Home Town Police Services.pptx.wmv (6.66 mb)  

Sheriff Sandra Hutchens held the first in a series of Town Hall Meetings on Tuesday and introduced residents of Mission Viejo to their new Chief of Police Services: Lieutenant Mike Gavin.

Photos by Professional Services Responder Randy Frager

Sheriff Hutchens introduced herself to the crowd and provided information about the Department. She described the various roles in which it serves the community: patrols, investigations, custody services, and providing training and recruiting services for contract cities such as Mission Viejo. She also talked about plans for the Department, such as phasing in Custody Assistants to make sworn Deputies available for other duties, saving the Department about $10 million a year. She alerted the Mission Viejo residents to the Straw Vote taken earlier in the day by the Board of Supervisors, which, if formalized on June 23, will result in reduced public safety services to all residents in Orange County.

To see the Orange County Register story on the meeting click here.

She introduced Captain Ron White, Commander of the South Operations Division, and he told those at the Town Hall meeting about his division's responsiblity for the safety of 600,000 residents, answering 200,000 calls for service each year.

Captain White in turn introduced Lieutenant Gavin, a 23-year veteran of the Department who has vast experience in patrol and investigations, as well as custody operations.

Lieutenant Gavin introduced key members of his staff as well as Deputies Gary Lewellyn and Richard Olszynski, who were honored with the Medal of Valor this year for their part in a gunbattle at the Mission Viejo Mall where a serial armed robber was killed. He said he was proud to have been selected as Chief of Police Services and he will work hard to keep the community one of the safest cities in the country.

Sheriff Hutchens and Mission Viejo fan Rebecca Auer

Many of the residents at the meeting had questions for the Sheriff and Lieutenant Gavin.

The first speaker recited the complaints made by a group that opposed the Sheriff's review of Concealed Weapons Permits and the Sheriff once again explained that she had a duty to bring the permits in Orange County into line with state law. She added that she has issued new permits and there are currently close to 900 active permits issued by the Department.

Others at the Town Hall meeting were more concerned with problems around their homes.  One woman complained that friends of her son are ticketed when they use the family's parking permits to park at her home. Lieutenant Gavin said he has been looking into the problem and the ticket she originally complained about had been dismissed.

Other concerns included residents failing to clean up after their dogs in a neighborhood meadow and the practice of motor officers using the sidewalks when monitoring traffic in busy areas where residents have asked for increased enforcement.

The problem is one that is under review but requires a balancing of the needs of the community to provide increased traffic enforcement when necessary without creating a danger to pedestrians.

Captain Dave Wilson talks to KUCI's Mari Frank about the Department's new S.A.F.E. Division and standards of accountability.

To listen to the interviews click the icons below.

Recent statements by a prosecutor about a “code of silence” as part of a “thin blue line” are an affront to all in law enforcement.

In my 30 years in law enforcement I have never heard a prosecutor make such an irresponsible claim.

The remarks came after a mistrial was declared in the case of Sheriff’s Deputy Christopher Hibbs, prosecuted for assaulting an arrestee with an electronic control devise, a Taser.  It was a criminal case developed by deputies and Investigators in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and turned over to the District Attorney for prosecution.

As soon as it came to my attention that misconduct may have taken place in connection with the Hibbs case, I ordered a review of the trial transcripts and other documents available to the Sheriff’s Department. We will look for any evidence to support the allegation that a deputy, or a few deputies, attempted to cover up for their colleague.   If it is determined that such misconduct took place, we will take action that is in the best interest of the public we serve.  If we find no misconduct took place, our employees will be exonerated.

When I took office in June 2008, I inherited a Department that had just been publically criticized by a special grand jury investigating the death of inmate John Chamberlain.  The Grand Jury and the District Attorney decided not to bring any criminal charges against any members of the Sheriff’s Department in connection with the Chamberlain case.  At the time I became Sheriff, all of the Department personnel accused of wrongdoing in connection with the Chamberlain case had either left the Department or they had already been placed on administrative leave by Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson.  None of the individuals named by the Grand Jury for misconduct during the Chamberlain case remain employed by the Department. 

I found no support in my Department for those culpable in the Chamberlain case.  I found a great deal of support for me to take the action necessary to hold our deputies and civilian employees accountable for their actions, to commend excellence and to discipline the malicious and substandard performers.

Staff changes, enhanced supervisory procedures, and accountability measures have been implemented to ensure that any culture of complacency that may have existed is extinguished.

Any evidence of Department personnel covering up for each other will be treated as a violation of Department regulations and if facts warrant, a criminal act. 

Even clear evidence that a couple of deputies covered up for each other would not rise to the level to be classified as a “code of silence.”  I’m not sure what the “thin blue line” remark was meant to convey. 

A “code of silence” can only flourish in an institution that encourages it. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department as it exists today only encourages its members to be truthful and forthcoming.  Any conduct that is not truthful and forthcoming will be subject to discipline, up to and including termination.  If criminal conduct is discovered it will be turned over to the district attorney.

The members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department will do their jobs to the best of their ability.

The overwhelming majority of the 4,000 men and woman who work in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department have exhibited that they excel at their jobs and perform their duty with honor and integrity. The communities we serve know this.

When Department employees are unsuccessful because of a lack of competence or malicious conduct, their failure and their fate will be the Sheriff’s responsibility.

Sheriff Sandra Hutchens: