OC Sheriff Sandra Hutchens spoke at the Orange County Association of Realtors on Friday and gave us “lessons” from her years at the helm. Hutchens will step down at the end of this year and the 2018 election will decide her successor.
Hutchens pointed out that her Department had 3,800 personnel, managed 13 cities and the unincorporated sections of OC, and had the “8th largest jail system in the country” with an average 6,600 average daily occupants. Among the occupants were nearly 1,000 ICE or U.S. Marshall detainees. She noted that 80% of the inmates were there for felonies and only 20% for misdemeanors. This was a switch from decades earlier when there were fewer serious criminals incarcerated.
She was most proud of
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- Improving the public perception of Police following the Gates scandal
- Developing over $40 million in extra revenues from the ICE/U.S. Marshall program and $180 million in funds for new building at Musick Jail.
- Not having to use “early release” for prisoners
- Keeping the crime rate reasonably low in the light of legislative changes
- Getting the community prepared for “active shooter” incidents
Looking at her successes, she attributed them to
- Teamwork
- Regional collaboration
- Using outside consultants
- Paying attention to the budget
- Being service oriented
- Staff having a global view and not confined to divisions
- Using technology
She said “the future is bright” but added, going forward, she sees challenges –
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- Dealing with budget deficits (this year it is $56 million).
- Dealing with the increase in drug use, especially among children, some of whom are as young as 10 years old.
- Dealing with the homeless problem, especially for those who are mentally ill and/or drug addicted (estimated at about 25%).
- Cost containment for the city contracts.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest where he serves as Mayor. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His Twitter handle is @DrJimGardner. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.
Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a town hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be Aug 16 at 7 pm at the Lake 1 Clubhouse (Ridge Route).
