The Sheriff’s Office still provides police services to the town. Sheriff David Livingston still investigates his own agency’s use-of-force incidents. The sheriff continues to defend Hall even after a jury found him guilty of assault in the 2018 shooting death of Laudemer Arboleda.
In the news
This page contains news article for those interested in all facets of law enforcement oversight and reform. These articles span all states and cover police departments as well as Sheriff's departments. We're providing this information for those who wish to better understand why oversight is needed, the challenges it faces, and where and how it has improved the communities that have adopted it. Articles will open in a new tab.
The hidden billion-dollar cost of repeated police misconduct
More than $1.5 billion has been spent to settle claims of police misconduct involving thousands of officers repeatedly accused of wrongdoing.
Jury transcripts shed light on Santa Clara County sheriff corruption accusations
Thousands of pages of testimony portray Laurie Smith as willing to bend and defy laws to defend her agency and practices.
Legal Questions Mount Amid San Francisco Rape Kit DNA Case
[T]his week’s revelation that the San Francisco police crime lab used a sexual assault victim’s DNA against her in an unrelated property crime case — and the allegation that it may be a common practice in California — has prompted a national outcry among law enforcement, legal experts, lawmakers and advocates.
We need a little fixin’
We should all welcome a healthy system of checks and balances that holds power accountable. The Sheriff’s Office’s lack of oversight is problematic and unjust, and frankly, is just bad governing. Luckily, there is a group called Fixin’ San Mateo founded as a direct result of a lack of accountability after egregious actions from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s group proposal flops
The group would have consisted of 15 to 20 residents who would meet regularly with the sheriff’s office to provide feedback on issues of community importance. Yet it would have lacked the transparency requirements and subpoena power afforded to independent oversight committees under Assembly Bill 1185.
Judge places Santa Rita Jail under external oversight, ending mental health abuse lawsuit
Santa Rita Jail is run by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office and holds roughly 2,000 detainees on any given day, making it one of the largest jails in the country. The jail’s treatment of people with mental disabilities was at the core of the class action lawsuit—Babu v. Ahern—and the practice of locking people in isolation for long periods of time has drawn outcry from attorneys and activists.
Analysis highlights bias in San Mateo’s policing
Analysis of San Mateo police data has found Black and Latino people are disproportionally more likely to be arrested or have use-of-force interactions compared to white people, with law enforcement leaders acknowledging more must be done and community leaders pushing for substantial change.
L.A. County sheriff’s unit accused of targeting political enemies, vocal critics
The unit, named the Civil Rights and Public Integrity Detail, has pursued a long-running investigation into one of Villanueva’s most vocal critics, L.A. County Inspector General Max Huntsman, and others despite sheriff’s officials being told by the FBI and state law enforcement officials that it appeared no crimes had been committed, a senior sheriff’s official said.
Lack of data is the biggest hurdle to Sheriff’s Office reforms, says oversight group
According to a 26-page report compiled by the Office of Independent Review (OIR) Group, an outside law enforcement auditing group, major obstacles to meaningful reform include a lack of extensive data collection and inaccessibility to information.