Santa Cruz County Crime & Justice Articles

The Santa Cruz County Office of Inspector General recently issued a 58-page report about the Sheriff’s Office. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)
Community meetings
The Santa Cruz County Office of the Inspector General plans to share findings of …

The City of Capitola announced Friday that Capt. Sarah Ryan has been named the next Police Chief.

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

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 …

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 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 …

A Santa Cruz County justice program that places reconciliation over punishment has helped more than 240 people keep criminal convictions off their record since its inception in 2020, with just one case of recidivism.

By Alesandro Manzella

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.

After 133 people died in Santa Cruz County in 2023 after overdosing on Fentanyl, the Sheriff’s Office has launched a new way to address the problem, with a special focus on the people who deal the dangerous drug.

“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.

Three generations of “Steve Walpole”—(from left) Steve Walpole Sr., Steve Walpole Jr. and Steve Walpole III—attend the Special Olympics Torch Run in Scotts Valley last year. The community lost a significant link to its past when the elder Walpole died …