Santa Cruz 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.

Image caption: With just two courthouses, Santa Cruz County has one of the smaller court systems in the Bay Area.
The Superior Court—Explained

One of 58 superior court systems in the state, here's how the Santa Cruz County courts work.

Image caption: The Santa Cruz civil grand jury meets in County Government Center
The Grand Jury—Explained

Santa Cruz’s civil grand jury promotes accountability in local government.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

10/06/2024
Image for display with article titled The Attack on the Popular Vote

In more than 30 states, it’s harder than ever to vote this year. But in California, it’s never been easier.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

10/02/2024
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.

California Local Pin Marker From The Mercury News...

09/25/2024
The Mercury News guide to the anti-crime and ant-drug dealing measure Proposition 36 on the November ballot.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

09/19/2024
The UC Regents approved campus requests for more tools for UC police months after campus protesters clashed with law enforcement.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

09/18/2024
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.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

09/13/2024
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.

Good Times logo From Good Times...

09/11/2024
Image for display with article titled Santa Cruz Takes a Stance Against Homeless Drop-Offs

Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley sent a clear message last week during an early morning press conference: Santa Cruz will not take on other cities’ unhoused populations. Accompanied by city and county officials, Keeley convened the media to unveil a new ordinance that makes the unannounced drop off of unhoused individuals within the city by other jurisdictions illegal.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

09/11/2024
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.

California Local Pin Marker From Santa Cruz Sentinel...

09/05/2024
A proposed new law proposed for the City of Santa Cruz would prohibit the unsanctioned drop-off of homeless people in Santa Cruz, as allegedly occurred recently when two San Joaquin Valley police officers dropped a homeless person off in the city.

The Pajaronian logo From The Pajaronian...

08/29/2024
Image for display with article titled Attorney General, Local Law Enforcement Officials Arrest 22 in Statewide Pot Shop Burglaries

California Attorney General Rob Bonta was in Santa Cruz County on Thursday to announce the arrest of 22 people who are facing a total of 32 felony charges stemming from multiple burglaries of marijuana dispensaries throughout the Bay Area.

The Pajaronian logo From The Pajaronian...

08/29/2024
Image for display with article titled County Supervisors Appoint New Sheriff

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously appointed Undersheriff Chris Clark to take the agency’s lead role, a decision that was backed by several members of the public and the leaders of numerous agencies that addressed the board.

California Local Pin Marker From Lookout Local...

08/29/2024
Data from the office of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff indicates a decrease in local fentanyl-related deaths in 2024.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

08/28/2024
California Highway Patrol officers received historically high raises in 2022 and 2023, but it continues to face a high vacancy rate of 16%.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

08/25/2024
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.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

08/25/2024
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.

California Local Pin Marker From Lookout Local...

08/23/2024
Following the retirement of Sheriff Jim Hart, Santa Cruz County Supervisors will need to appoint a successor.

California Local Pin Marker From The Sacramento Bee...

08/21/2024
The Sacramento Bee explains Proposition 6, the initiative to ban involuntary servitude.

California Local Pin Marker From The Sacramento Bee...

08/16/2024
The Sacramento Bee explains Propisition 36, the anti-crime measure on the November Ballot.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

08/16/2024
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.

California Local Pin Marker From Lookout Local...

08/16/2024
Lookout Local sat down with departing Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart for a look back on his 10 years in local law enforcement.
Join Us Today!