Sheriffs

The state Senate approved a measure Friday aimed at easing overcrowding in Los Angeles County jails. Sheriff Lee Baca sought the proposal, which would allow sheriffs to transfer low-level felons from jails to home detention and track them with electronic ankle bracelets. Sheriffs already have the authority to order misdemeanor offenders to home detention; the new measure would expand that authority. "If inmates sentenced to low-level felonies in county jails are added [to home detention]

Nearly 50 candidates from 14 states and three countries have applied to become the next sheriff of Orange County, ranging from the executive director of Interpol in France to an electrician's assistant in Garden Grove, according to a list the county released Friday. The list includes several local candidates who had already expressed their interest in the office, including current acting Sheriff Jack Anderson, Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters, former Orange County Sheriff's Lt.

Re "How to get a better sheriff," Opinion, June 26 Regarding Steve Remige's proposal that sheriffs not be elected, I disagree. Most sheriffs come up through the ranks and thus typically have a long-established familiarity with the culture, operation and missions of their departments and with the community. Political appointment is rarely a guarantee of capability or success, as the Los Angeles Police Department's experiences with several appointed chiefs through the 1990s demonstrate.

Six months ago, this town of 5,500 took a stand against the most powerful lawman in the state. As Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's deputies swept through town during a controversial operation searching for illegal immigrants, Mayor Rebecca Jimenez confronted the 76-year-old sheriff and told him he wasn't wanted. The town, founded by Yaqui Indians a century ago, became a symbol of a grass-roots rejection of Arpaio's tough anti-immigration tactics.

westwego, la. -- Thousands of people paid their respects Friday to popular -- and controversial -- longtime Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee. After the viewing, his flag-draped casket was escorted from a suburban New Orleans auditorium to the strains of Frank Sinatra's "My Way." Lee, 75, died Monday. He had leukemia.

A 29-year-old Muslim woman sued San Bernardino County and its sheriff Wednesday, alleging that deputies violated her rights by forcing her to remove the head scarf she wears because of her religious beliefs. The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California filed the complaint on behalf of Jameelah Medina in U.S.

A Cook County Jail guard who said inmates had overpowered him during a weekend jailbreak has told investigators that he aided the plot in an attempt to influence the upcoming election for sheriff, according to sources close to the investigation. Hours after the last three of the six escaped inmates had been captured early Monday, investigators were questioning several more guards to determine if the account of the plot held up.

The state attorney general's office will review the practice by some top Southern California law enforcement officials of issuing honorary badges and identification cards to political supporters and other members of the public, authorities said Monday. Riverside County Dist. Atty. Grover Trask requested the state inquiry saying that a "clarification of the law is necessary" because of the controversy the badge programs had created statewide.

A Riverside County supervisor on Tuesday withdrew a proposal to prevent the sheriff from issuing honorary badges to the public after a majority of supervisors opposed taking action until the state attorney general reviewed the practice.

Despite fierce attacks on his character and repeated calls for his resignation, Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona appears to be stumbling to a third term, hoping to win outright in next month's crowded primary. It hasn't been pretty. When Los Angeles County sheriff's Cmdr. Ralph Martin held his first press conference this month in the race to unseat Carona, he demanded the sheriff's resignation for consorting with alleged mob associates.