San Joaquin County Local News: Crime & Justice


All Local Crime & Justice News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: The California mental health crisis is tied to both homelessness and rising crime.
UPDATE: California’s Mental Health Crisis: How We Got Here

How the California mental health crisis emerged out of the state’s history of deinstitutionalization and laws designed to protect the mentally ill, as well as the communities around them.

Image caption: The California Supreme Court has defined the state’s legal and political agenda for more than 170 years.
How the California Supreme Court Blazes Legal Trails

The California Supreme Court has kept the state at the forefront of legal issues surrounding abortion, the death penalty and same-sex marriage, starting in its earliest days in the Gold Rush era.

Image caption: The cycle of crime and homelessness is escalating, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Homelessness and Crime in California: Even More Complex Than You Think

The links between homelessness and crime are complex, and the idea that unhoused individuals present a danger to their community seems to be exaggerated.

Image caption: Access to abortion in California is limited in many areas, though state laws protect a woman’s right to choose.
Abortion Rights in California, Explained

California has historically been ahead of the rest of the country in expanding the legal right to abortion services. Here’s what state laws say today, and how we got here.

Image caption: California cities switch to more inclusive, district-based elections system.
Voting Rights...the Final Frontier

Pushed by activists, cities move from at-large elections to district races.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/17/2025
Wickey Two Hands was supposed to be the first person tried for camping in Fresno. Instead, after the city and county poured resources into his case, it was dismissed at the last minute.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/17/2025
A California Republican state senator finds his crime bills getting a warmer welcome this year. Democrats say they’re just responding to their voters.

California Local Pin Marker From Manteca Bulletin...

04/16/2025
Officials at the City of Manteca have come to a decision to build the next police station, at a cost of up to %56 million, at 680 South Main Street.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/15/2025
Almost everyone gets nervous during a traffic stop, but people with disabilities also worry about whether an officer understands their condition or could misinterpret their symptoms.

California Local Pin Marker From Manteca Bulletin...

04/14/2025
A new countywide cold case task force has been approved by the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors to work on taking on the 600 unsolved unsolved cases of various crimes including homicide.

California Local Pin Marker From Manteca Bulletin...

04/11/2025
And that was just for two intersections. As new red light cameras are installed at more intersections, Manteca Police expect even more tickets to be delivered in the mail as the city works to end rampant red light running.

California Local Pin Marker From Tracy Press...

04/11/2025
In their April 1 meeting, the Tracy City Council heard from the Chief of police that the newly installed red light cameras at two intersections had issued 498 warnings in their first month, more cameras in process of deployment across a total of 15 intersections.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/10/2025
After controversial sweeps in Kern County and a CalMatters investigation, the federal government will train agents on when they can stop and arrest people.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/08/2025
Contrary to its public narrative, the agency cast a wide net in its California immigration raid, setting the stage for a legal battle over how the government carries out mass deportations.

Local News Matters Stockton logo From Local News Matters Stockton...

04/02/2025
Image for display with article titled Reports of Federal Immigration Sweeps Are Warping Life in California’s Central Valley

TRUTH BE TOLD, there’s a lot of white trucks in Modesto.White Dodge Rams, white GMC Sierras, white F-150s, white Ford Transit vans, white Suburbans, white Silverados, white Chevy Colorados. So many white trucks, all of them American-made: a sure sign of danger to people who read about a January immigration raid 130 miles south and spent the next two months watching for signs of the next one.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/30/2025
Californians accused of crimes have the right to an appointed defense attorney if they can’t afford to hire their own. In that way they are just like criminal defendants in every other state — protected, at least in theory, by the Sixth Amendment’s right to counsel.

California Local Pin Marker From Manteca Bulletin...

03/28/2025
A grant for $82,461 will fund the purchase of eight e-bikes by the Manteca Police Department.

California Local Pin Marker From Manteca Bulletin...

03/26/2025
In a recently published "Chief's Corner", Lathrop Police Chief Stephen Sealy shared how his department has steadily improved incident response times.

California Local Pin Marker From Manteca Bulletin...

03/24/2025
Mateca Police Priority One call response times dropped by 56 seconds in 2024.

California Local Pin Marker From Stocktonia...

03/21/2025
Read on for details about the two new substations the Stockton Police Department plans to open in South Stockton.

Local News Matters Stockton logo From Local News Matters Stockton...

03/19/2025
Image for display with article titled San Joaquin Sheriff’s Office Raising Donations to Honor Peace Officers Killed in Line of Duty

THE SAN JOAQUIN County Sheriff’s Office has raised almost half of the $500,000 in private donations it needs to complete its memorial to law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. But the clock is ticking.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/17/2025
Ruby Marichalar couldn’t get an in-person meeting after California’s crime victim compensation fund denied her claim. She wasn’t the only one.

California Local Pin Marker From Manteca Bulletin...

03/11/2025
With a force currently consisting of 80 officers, Manteca Police Chief Stephen Schluer makes the case for hiring six more by mid-2026. Read on to learn more.

California Local Pin Marker From Manteca Bulletin...

03/07/2025
Courtesy notifications will be going out in the mail to a whopping 688 Manteca red light runners. Read on to see when offenders will start to get automated tickets at $490 a pop.

Local News Matters Stockton logo From Local News Matters Stockton...

03/06/2025
Image for display with article titled Arrest Made Months After 280-Gallon Oil Waste Allegedly Dumped Into Stockton Waterway

A man was arrested on suspicion of illegally dumping petroleum waste into a Stockton waterway, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.  Multiple agencies responded on Sept. 28, 2024 to a report of petroleum product released near the Smith Canal in Stockton. The US Coast Guard and other agencies responded to the incident and recovered the oil from the waterway and removed impacted soil along the canal, the CDFW said.