Santa Cruz County Crime & Justice Digest

State prisoners have long been a part of California’s firefighting force. Hundreds of them now are deployed in Los Angeles County.

After two reparations bills stalled in the final day of session last year, reparation advocates are campaigned at the state Capitol to drum up support for the same measures.

While cities in California continue to pass ordinances to combat illegal sideshows, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several laws that go into effect this year statewide to give municipalities more legal tools to address them. 

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

Following the cyberattack on Watsonville Community Hospital, some patients are being notified that their personal information might have been compromised. Read on to learn more.

City officials in Santa Cruz say swindlers claiming to represent businesses on the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf are soliciting donations following the structure’s partial collapse. “This is a scam,” officials said on social media Saturday.

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. 

In their December 17 meeting, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution declaring the county a sanctuary for immigrants. Read on to learn what that actually entails.

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 more about what departing Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart had to say in his farewell ceremony on December 10, and what's ahead for his successor new Sheriff Chris Clark following his swearing-in on December 6.

In an announcement on December 6, Watsonville Community Hospital officials confirmed the multi-day computer and Internet outage was the result of a cyberattack. 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.

Read on for more information about the emailed bomb threat which caused the Santa Cruz County Elections Department to evacuate their offices over the weekend.

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.

The new Office of Inspector General has been released noting concerns about use-of-force, deaths in custody and conditions at the county jail.

A summary of the City of Santa Cruz response to the Civil Grand Jury report on its efforts to prevent sexual assault and domestic violence and associated data tracking.

A summary of the first report from the newly formed Office of Inspector General on proposed reforms to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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