Santa Clara County Crime & Justice Articles

Daniel Lopez Zavala, who escaped from the San Benito County Jail on May 28, was arrested in San Jose Wednesday night following a regional manhunt, authorities said. 

Santa Clara County leaders may equip sheriff’s deputies with Tasers as uses of force trend downward.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 4-1 — with President Susan Ellenberg opposed — to explore implementing Tasers for deputies at a smaller …

Local law enforcement will not have access to the camera footage to support criminal investigations, because regulations strictly prohibit the use of the cameras for anything but enforcing speed limits.

San Jose leaders could select a new police chief by September. But before they do, some advocates are urging them to speak with families who lost loved ones to police shootings.
The city has mounted a monthslong public outreach effort …

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.

One day after the downtown altercation, NAACP chapter President Rev. Jethroe Moore sent an email to acting Police Chief Paul Joseph critical of the arrest of the alleged attacker.

Santa Clara County is experiencing a surge of domestic violence cases, spreading county prosecutors thin and holding up court hearings at a time when a looming budget deficit will cut District Attorney resources.
The DA’s office has pulled prosecutors from …

Eddie Aubrey, currently working with the Richmond Police Department, has been investigating police misconduct since 2016

Milpitas residents can review police data on crimes and other incidents with the launch of a new digital dashboard.
The city's police information dashboard came online Friday. It houses crime data, the department’s annual reports and officer misconduct information. Residents …

San Jose has appointed a new independent police watchdog after months of scandal and instability plagued the office responsible for investigating officer malfeasance.
Eddie Aubrey, who heads the office of professional accountability for the Richmond Police Department, is taking his …

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen is moving to eliminate the county’s death row, looking to sentence the 15 local men still sitting on it to serve life in prison without the chance of parole instead, according to an …

Weeks before the San Jose City Council sat down to discuss this year's budget, advocates and residents sounded the alarm about gaps in mental health services and asked officials to expand access to a non-police response program.
Councilmembers on Tuesday …

Former Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith has lost her appeal of a court case that barred her from public office in 2022.
Smith argued that by retiring prior to being found guilty of six corruption and willful misconduct charges …

Blood-alcohol tests often aren’t really conclusive when it comes to determining whether a person is too impaired to drive. Many people who are over the legal limit are probably perfectly fine to drive, even if doing so might get them …

The newly approved measure is expected to strengthen laws prohibiting the illegal possession of catalytic converters, marked or unmarked, and will enact stricter fines.

“Intelligent” speed-limiting technology will be required in all new California cars starting in 2027, if a new law authored by San Francisco Senator Scott Wiener passes.

In San Mateo County, a new law allows police to charge homeless people with criminal offenses if they don’t accept shelter. SCOTUS will soon weigh in with a potential landmark decision in an Oregon case.

As the COVID pandemic eased, so did the epidemic of death on the road. Somewhat. But the ongoing crisis of traffic fatalities remains at high levels with early numbers form 2023 appearing to top 4,000 in California.