SAN DIEGO SHERIFF


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ABOUT US

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is the chief law enforcement agency in the County of San Diego. The department is comprised of approximately 4,000 employees, both sworn officers and professional support staff. The department provides general law enforcement and jail functions for the people of San Diego County in a service area of approximately 4,200 square miles. In addition, the department provides specialized regional services to all of the county, whether they are needed in incorporated cities within the county or in the unincorporated areas not serviced by a city law enforcement agency.

SHERIFF'S ROLE

The Sheriff, who is elected by the residents of San Diego County, is the chief executive officer of the department. He and his executive staff manage the large multi-million dollar operation. He manages seven major detention facilities as well as seven major patrol stations, four patrol substations, a crime laboratory and the large number of support operations necessary to provide full law enforcement coverage for the County of San Diego.

GENERAL SERVICE AREAS

The Sheriff's Department is organized into six general service areas which includes the following:

Above: San Diego County Sheriff's Department's organizational chart.

Law Enforcement Services

Currently the Sheriff's Department provides contract law enforcement services for the cities of Del Mar, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, Lemon Grove, Poway, San Marcos, Santee, Solana Beach and Vista. In these cities the Sheriff's Department serves as their police department. There, the department provides full service law enforcement ranging from general patrol and traffic functions to specialized investigative services.

In the unincorporated (non-city) areas, the Sheriff's Department provides generalized patrol services as well as all the necessary law enforcement investigative services. The California Highway Patrol provides the traffic service for these areas. These communities range from the urban neighborhoods to the very remote rural communities of San Diego County.

Click here to view the Crime Rate per 1,000 Residents for the cities and unincorporated areas of the County of San Diego. This information is developed by the San Diego Association of Governments.

It is noteworthy that the majority of those with a crime rate less than the regional average are primarily handled by the Sheriff's Department.

Detention Services

The Sheriff's Department also operates seven major detention facilities. These facilities, commonly called "jails", are spread throughout the county. Each facility is much like a city itself. A wide variety of services such as laundry and food services are necessary and vital to maintaining the day-to-day operation.

The Sheriff's detention facilities hold over 5,000 inmates on any given day. The routine movement of these inmates to courts, hospitals and between the seven detention facilities requires a fleet of buses, vans, cars and deputy sheriff's to accomplish the task. In addition, approximately 15,000 meals a day must be prepared just to feed the inmates.

Court Services

The department assumed responsibility for Court Services in January 2000. For several years, this service was provided by the Marshal's Office. However, as a result of both local and state legislation, these services were consolidated under the Sheriff. The Office of the Marshal was retired.

BUDGET
The department's adopted operating budget for Fiscal Year 2007-08 is approximately $566,141,681. The total adopted county budget for FY 2007-08 is about $4.7 billion.