San Joaquin County Crime & Justice Digest

California legislators want to limit deportation actions at schools, but they can’t ban immigration officials.

Data from the Stockton Police Department show local homicides jumped 20% over the previous year. Read on to learn more about this disturbing finding.

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS ARE proving that they play a vital role when it comes to public safety in California. The California Reentry Institute, directed by Collette Carroll to help potential parolees, has graduated more than 230 incarcerated individuals in San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.

Californians accused of certain drug and retail theft crimes may already be facing stiffer penalties under an initiative voters passed this year, alongside related bills Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law. 

The City of Lathrop project to develop its own police force began almost 5 years ago, and the Lathrop Police Department began law enforcement duties on July 2022. Read on to learn more about the history of the effort and where things stand today.

Stocktonia looks back at the past year of the Stockton Police Department gun buyback program.

California recorded historically high numbers of deaths in county jails for the past six years. Now, counties expect to house more prisoners as Prop. 36 takes effect.

Read on to learn more about the ongoing dispute between the San Joaquin County Sheriff and the Superior Court as it escalates, this time with a charge of improper access to confidential documents.

Following a "cybersecurity incident" which led to the shutdown of Internet access to court systems, online services have been restored. Read on to learn more.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Racial Justice Act into law in September 2020, following the police murder of George Floyd. For the first time, defendants can put bias from any brush with the criminal legal system — from arrest to sentencing — on the stand.

In their November 19 meeting, the Stockton City Council approved $6.5 million in funding for new equipment for the Stockton Police Department. Read on to learn more about how the funds will be used.

The Stockton Police Department announced the hiring of 60 additional officers this year, brining the total number of officers to 380. Read on to learn more about the turnaround in staffing and how the reauthorization of the Measure A sales tax helped fund it.

In their November 12 meeting, the Stockton City Council voted to accept federal funds to be used to install license plate readers throughout the city. Read on to learn more about this deployment of city-wide surveillance technology.

California wants to protect witnesses in workplace investigations from deportation, but the Biden administration program for undocumented employees is at risk with Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

An update on efforts to restore online services following a cyber attack on the San Joaquin County Superior Court computer network.

With proponents of Proposition 36 raising nearly $15 million so far — about three times as much as its opponents — and 71% of likely voters in support, it appears the statewide ballot measure will pass in November.
And that’s exactly what immigrant rights advocates are worried about.

Supporters of a proposition to ban forced labor in California prisons believe they have a strong message centered on rehabilitation. But as Election Day nears, polls show it’s a toss-up or trailing.

The state Labor Commissioner sometimes struggles to get back pay to workers when it reaches wage theft settlements. It tries social media, TV and hotlines. But money owed to employees is still sitting in state accounts.

The Mercury News guide to the anti-crime and ant-drug dealing measure Proposition 36 on the November ballot.

The UC Regents approved campus requests for more tools for UC police months after campus protesters clashed with law enforcement.

Worries about retail theft and fentanyl deaths shaped a November ballot measure that would toughen some criminal penalties. Here are the facts about California crime trends.

For five years, California officials responding to the homelessness crisis had to work around one big restriction imposed by the federal courts: Because they didn’t have enough shelter beds, cities generally couldn’t make homeless camps illegal.

More than two-dozen California cities passed, strengthened or are considering ordinances that penalize people for sleeping outside, after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed cities to crack down.

In their September 3 meeting, the Tracy City Council approved a $2.5 million contract for police body cameras and tasers.

Stocktonia reports on the Stockton Mobile Community Response Team, which is dispatched to mental and behavioral health incidents as an alternative or addition to police.

California Highway Patrol officers received historically high raises in 2022 and 2023, but it continues to face a high vacancy rate of 16%.

In their August 27 meeting the Sacramento City Council approved an update to the police military equipment policy.

In the final week of session, legislators are debating whether to give more leeway to public school teachers when to report students to law enforcement. Supporters say disabled and students of color are unfairly disciplined, but opponents say school safety is at risk.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken to using state resources to fight crime on a local level. Not everyone in the cities he’s taken an interest in is thrilled with the results.

Per state law, the Manteca Police Department is holding a public event to display its military equipment on September 3 from 6:00PM to 7:00PM.

The Sacramento Bee explains Proposition 6, the initiative to ban involuntary servitude.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills that aim to make it easier to prosecute retail theft. He’s asking voters to reject a ballot measure that would impose even tougher penalties.