San Diego County Sheriff's Department

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO), is the primary and largest law enforcement agency in San Diego County, California, and one of the largest sheriff's departments in the United States: with over 4,000 employees, an annual budget of over $960 million, and a service area over 4,500 square miles extending to a 60-mile international border. The department, established in 1850, has over 4,000 sworn deputies and additional civilian support personnel servicing an area of nearly 4,526 mi².

San Diego County Sheriff's Department
Flag of San Diego County
Common nameSan Diego Sheriff's Department
AbbreviationSDSO
Agency overview
Formed1850
EmployeesApprox. 4,000
Annual budget$967 m (2020)[1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionSan Diego, California, U.S.
Map of San Diego County Sheriff's Department's jurisdiction.
Size4,526 square miles (11,700 km2)
Population2,974,859
General nature
  • Local civilian agency
Headquarters9621 Ridgehaven Court
San Diego, CA 92123
Agency executive
Facilities
Stations18
Jails8
Website
http://www.sdsheriff.net/
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar

The SDSO provides general law enforcement and public safety services to all unincorporated areas of the county (traffic enforcement, accidents, and other traffic related issues are handled by the California Highway Patrol).

Nine incorporated cities within the county (Del Mar, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, Lemon Grove, Poway, San Marcos, Santee, Solana Beach, and Vista) contract with the department for municipal law enforcement and public safety services. Within these cities, traffic enforcement is also provided.

The department operates and provides detention facilities (jails), court services, and specialized regional services (such as air support, search and rescue, SWAT, etc.) to all of the county and the nine contract cities.

The Wireless Services Division is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the San Diego County-Imperial County Regional Communications System (RCS).

The sheriff is elected by the voters of San Diego County. The current sheriff is William Gore, who was appointed by the Board of Supervisors in 2009 when Bill Kolender resigned,[2] and then was elected to a full term in June 2010.[3]

Organization

Office of the Sheriff

  • Public Affairs
  • Intergovernmental Legislative Affairs
  • Legal Affairs
  • Senior Executive Assistant
  • Division of Inspectional Services

Service bureaus

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is organized into five service bureaus: Law Enforcement Services, Detention Facility Services, Court Services, Human Resource Services, and Management Services. Each bureau is managed by an Assistant Sheriff except the Management Services Bureau, which is headed by an Executive Director.

Law Enforcement Services Bureau

  • Central Investigations Division
    • Central Operations Detail
      • Computer And Technology Crime High-tech Response Team (CATCH)
      • Elder Abuse
      • Financial Crimes
      • Homicide Detail
    • Family Protection Detail
      • Domestic Violence
      • Sex Offender Management Unit
      • Child Abuse Unit
  • Communications Division
    • Communications Center
  • Emergency Services Division
    • Arson/Explosives
    • ASTREA (air support unit)
    • Dive Unit (Search and Recovery)
    • Reserves
    • Search and Rescue
    • Special Enforcement Detail (SED)/SWAT
  • Special Investigations Division
    • Intelligence
    • Narcotics
    • Public Inspections
    • Street Gang/Narcotics
Patrol Stations, Substations and Field Offices

Court Services Bureau

Detention Services Bureau

  • San Diego Central Jail (SDCJ)
  • George Bailey Detention Facility (GBDF)
  • East Mesa Reentry Facility (EMRF)
  • Las Colinas Women's Detention Facility (LCDF)
  • South Bay Detention Facility (SBDF)
  • Vista Detention Facility (VDF)
  • Facility 8 (FAC8)

Human Resource Services Bureau

  • Personnel Division
    • Background Investigations Unit
    • Career Path Assessment Unit
    • Recruiting Unit
  • Professional Standards Division
    • Internal Affairs Unit
    • Risk Management Unit
  • Training Division
    • Detentions and Court Services Academy
    • In-Service Training Unit
    • Regional Basic Academy
    • Weapons Training Unit (Range)

Management Services Bureau

  • Data Services Division
  • Wireless Services Division
  • Contracts Division
  • Fiscal Services

Vehicles

Salmon-colored 1966 Dodge Polara
Green-and-white Ford LTD Crown Victoria, in 1991.
Black-and-white Ford Police Interceptor Utility in 2015

Over the years, the sheriff's office's marked vehicles have sported unusual paint schemes. Originally in a traditional black and white, they transitioned to a pink-salmon color in the 1960s. From 1971 to 1991 the vehicles were painted kelly green-and-white which were the campaign colors of Sheriff John F. Duffy. When he retired the fleet was returned to the black-and-white color scheme and has remained so ever since. The department has also had a few all-white cars over the years, but these were for Traffic Enforcement and Volunteer Patrols only.

Today, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department utilizes the Ford Crown Victoria and Ford Explorer as their base models for their fleet. The Dodge Charger is the base model for SDSO Traffic Units.

The SDSO also operates the Following Aircraft: Hughes 500, Bell 205, and Bell 407.

Weapons

  • Glock 22 .40 S&W- standard issue, some equipped with flashlight depending on deputy preference.[4]
  • Glock 23 .40 S&W- used by detectives and other investigators, some regular deputies carry it as well as an off duty weapon.
  • Glock 27 .40 S&W- backup gun for deputies, used by some investigators as well as an off duty weapon for some deputies.
  • Colt CAR-15A1/A2- R6520 variant used as a patrol rifle for deputies as is the R0603 (M16A1) variant can also be seen in patrol vehicles.
  • Remington 870 12 gauge- standard issue shotgun for deputies, is a pump action shotgun.
  • Springfield Armory M-14- used for certain situations, is not the standard issue rifle but the SDSO does have a few M-14's in the agency's inventory.[5]

Sheriffs

Deputies killed in line of duty

  1. Andrew Kriss, May 25, 1864, gunfire[6]
  2. Will Ward, November 27, 1899, assault[7]
  3. Thomas A. Fay, May 17, 1919, gunfire[8]
  4. Donn G. Witt, September 25, 1983, illness[9]
  5. Kelly Ann Bazer, January 13, 1986, gunfire[10]
  6. Lonny Gene Brewer, December 5, 1987, gunfire[11]
  7. Theodore L. Beckmann Jr., February 8, 1989, vehicular assault[12]
  8. Patrick Steven Coyle, February 16, 1997, aircraft accident[13]
  9. Ken Collier, February 28, 2010, vehicle pursuit[14]

Rank structure

Title Insignia
Sheriff
Undersheriff
Assistant Sheriff
Commander
Captain
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Corporal
Deputy Sheriff

History

The San Diego Sheriff department was formed in 1850, and since then it has served a diverse county consisting of many constituents with competing interests. San Diego Sheriff's department was a co-appellant in the very famous Supreme Court of the United States and Ninth Circuit cases Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352 (1983),[15][16] which held unconstitutional laws that allow law enforcement to demand that "loiterers" and "wanderers" provide identification; this continues to affect other departments nationwide.[17][18][19]

See also

References

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