Santa Clara County Crime & Justice Articles

More details are emerging about San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan's plan to arrest or hospitalize homeless people for refusing offers of shelter — and the city could create a police unit to do so.
Mahan presented more details about his …

City of Gilroy officials are in the thick of the process to find and hire a new police chief, with Pedro Espinoza set to retire as of May 22.

A discussion among Santa Clara County supervisors on everyday gardening tools this week morphed into concerns about immigration witch hunts.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously axed Board President Otto Lee’s proposal for banning the use of gas-powered leaf …

San Jose firefighters raised internal alarms in 2023 about addictive painkillers that went missing from their paramedic drug inventories, and gave morphine from tampered vials to patients with traumatic injuries, according to email records obtained by San José Spotlight.
The …

In March, a  Nazi flag was hung on the north Morgan Hill overpass in where supporters of President Donald Trump had gathered for a political demonstration.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office is reporting a slight downtick in uses of force last year — yet deputies sent more people to the hospital.
The annual use of force report shows total incidents, such as deputies punching people …

Santa Clara County wants to help homeless people on probation avoid extra jail time by bringing legal services to encampments.
People on probation are required to attend regular meetings with a probation officer and court hearings. But for homeless people …

Authorities said this week they will not file charges against a person who hung a flag depicting a Nazi swastika on the Burnett Avenue overpass in Morgan Hill.

The New York Times today put the mayor in the national spotlight for leading the city council in a plan to threaten homeless people who don’t accept offers of shelter, saying it’s  the latest sign of frustrations over tent encampments …

Silicon Valley is known for technological innovation, but its jails are running on paper — and it's fueling a public safety crisis.
Santa Clara County is leading Bay Area counties in late-night jail releases due to an outdated paper-based processing …

San Jose police continue to issue handwritten tickets to homeless people even after the department switched to electronic citations — a practice that is raising questions.
Four homeless residents encamped near Cherry Avenue along the Guadalupe River said police regularly …

Former California Assemblymember Evan Low tried to conceal hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments to celebrity Alec Baldwin for campaign appearances using a big tech advocacy group he founded, according to a recent state report.
Low — who represented …

Santa Clara County leaders want to reduce recidivism at Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas and plan to study offering transportation and housing options upon release.
Unlike the county’s main jail in San Jose, Elmwood doesn’t have a nearby resource center …

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) promoted 125 cadets to the rank of officer. The graduation ceremony on March 21 marked the successful completion of a 26-week intensive training schedule at the California Highway Patrol Academy in West Sacramento.

Authorities are investigating a swastika flag that was displayed on the Burnett Avenue Highway 101 overpass in Morgan Hill during rush-hour traffic the afternoon of March 21.

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is taking a hardline approach in his budget plan to get homeless people off the streets. Community advocates are calling it unjust.
Mahan's upcoming 2025-26 budget message proposes several ways to tackle homeless, including reallocating …

Criminals driving through Cupertino could be caught by just their license plate as the tech hub becomes one of the last in Santa Clara County to install detection technology.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to …

Less than a week after Mayor Matt Mahan announced a bold push to arrest homeless people who refuse help, disturbing videos show San Jose police officers beating and verbally taunting an elderly homeless man  leading to a complaint from the …

San Jose homeless residents are at risk of being cited or arrested if they're caught sleeping or sitting on the sidewalk by early morning.
The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to extend sidewalk sleeping and sitting restrictions two hours early …

An appellate court last year found San Jose leaders violated a person's First Amendment rights with a rare restraining order that hindered him from filming police officers in public. The city is fighting to keep it in place anyway.
Nicholas …