Fixin’ San Mateo County (FxSMC) is pleased to announce that the ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NorCal) has endorsed FxSMC and is partnering with them to support efforts to establish independent civilian oversight of the Sheriff’s Office.
FxSMC Board Chair Jim Lawrence stated, “We are very appreciative of the commitment by the ACLU-Northern California to support the effort for independent civilian oversight here. We look forward to working with the ACLU as well as the Board of Supervisors and Sheriff Christina Corpus to make oversight a reality.”
ACLU-NorCal has been intentional in its efforts to support the establishment of civilian oversight of local sheriff departments, including working in collaboration with communities in Alameda and Sacramento counties. In May, the annual ACLU-NorCal conference featured a workshop on sheriff oversight, reflecting its commitment to expanding oversight as part of an effort to improve policing and public safety.
FxSMC incorporated as a 501(c)4 nonprofit in November 2021 and launched a public advocacy campaign in March 2022. With FxSMC endorsements from 50 local elected officials and five city councils as well as 25 or more local organizations, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in September 2022 to set up a subcommittee to look at oversight models, and in November they voted unanimously to go ahead and establish oversight. Fixin’ SMC has been meeting with the Board subcommittee as they look at models. The expectation is to have an ordinance in place by year end, to be operationalized in 2024.
In last year’s June 2022 primary election, the County also elected a new Sheriff (Christina Corpus, the first female Sheriff in the county, and one of two first Latina Sheriffs in California) who ran on a reform platform of transparency, integrity, and community engagement. Partnering with our Sheriff’s Office to create civilian oversight will provide our community an opportunity to assist the Sheriff in their mission to serve and protect public safety.