Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/category/topics/public-safety/)
The Human Relations Commission effort is the third attempt this year by Andrew Do and Michelle Steel to increase the influence county supervisors have over other organizations.
Scott Evans Dekraai, who committed the worst mass shooting in Orange County history at a Seal Beach beauty salon in 2011, was sentenced Friday to eight consecutive life terms in state prison without the possibility of parole, one term for each of his eight victims.
All 13 cities that contract with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for their police services have voted to conduct a study to examine and possibly help curb some of the costs.
The Santa Ana City Council is considering filing a lawsuit against the county – and inviting other cities to join – alleging mismanagement of the millions of dollars in federal homelessness money the county gets each year.
Orange County’s largest homeless camp, home to hundreds of people living along the Santa Ana River near Angel Stadium, has a new set of visitors: twice-a-week patrols by a contingent of two dozen sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement officers.
Westminster police officers will get a salary increase each year over the next three years, after the City Council approved a new three-year-agreement for sworn and civilian Police Department employees.
A deputy district attorney and former judicial candidate, Karen Schatzle, has filed a federal lawsuit against the County of Orange and the District Attorney’s office alleging DA Tony Rackauckas retaliated against her and threatened her career because she ran against a judge he had endorsed.
Mission Viejo’s Mayor Pro Tem Ed Sachs told a city council meeting it could be time for south county cities to form their own police force due to the rising costs of contracting with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
The stepped-up patrols by sheriff’s deputies are scheduled to begin Friday, according to a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.
Following significant salary hikes granted by Orange County Supervisors to Sheriff Deputies, fueling a 33 percent increase in costs over the past decade, contract cities are now starting to publicly question whether they need to look into alternatives. OC’s biggest contract city, Mission Viejo, takes leadership on a new audit of Sheriff’s patrol services. Big questions also loom over whether city or county taxpayers own the long-term pension obligations for both Deputy Sheriff’s and Firefighters if cities bolt from current regional policing and fire protection models.