The San Diego County Sheriff's Office (SDSO) is a law enforcement agency serving San Diego County, California. It was established in 1850. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the county and one of the largest sheriff's offices in the United States, with over 4,700 employees, an annual budget of over $1.1 billion, and a service area over 4,500 square miles extending to a 60-mile international border.
The office provides general law enforcement and public safety services to all unincorporated areas of the county (traffic enforcement, accidents, and other traffic related issues are handled by the California Highway Patrol). Nine incorporated cities within the county (Del Mar, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, Lemon Grove, Poway, San Marcos, Santee, Solana Beach, and Vista) contract with the office for municipal law enforcement and public safety services. Within these cities, traffic enforcement is also provided.
The office operates and provides detention facilities (jails), court services, and specialized regional services (air support, search and rescue, SWAT, etc.) to all of the county and the nine contract cities. The Wireless Services Division is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the San Diego County–Imperial County Regional Communications System. The Sheriff is elected by the voters of San Diego County. The current Sheriff is Kelly Martinez, who was elected in 2022 and took office at the beginning of 2023.[3]
History
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department was formed in 1850.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department was a co-appellant in the Supreme Court of the United States and Ninth Circuit cases Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352 (1983),[4][5] which held unconstitutional laws that allow law enforcement to demand that "loiterers" and "wanderers" provide identification; this continues to affect other offices nationwide.[6][7][8]
On September 10, 2024, the agency's official name was changed to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.[9]
Organization
Office of the Sheriff
Public Affairs
Intergovernmental Legislative Affairs
Legal Affairs
Senior Executive Assistant
Division of Inspectional Services
Service bureaus
The San Diego County Sheriff's Office is organized into five service bureaus: Law Enforcement Services, Detention Facility Services, Court Services, Human Resource Services, and Management Services. Each bureau is managed by an Assistant Sheriff except the Management Services Bureau, which is headed by an Executive Director.
Law Enforcement Services Bureau
Major Crimes Division
Central Operations Detail
Computer And Technology Crime High-tech Response Team (CATCH)
Over the years, the agency's marked vehicles have sported unusual paint schemes. Originally in a traditional black and white, they transitioned to a pink-salmon color in the 1960s. From 1971 to 1991 the vehicles were painted kelly green-and-white which were the campaign colors of Sheriff John F. Duffy. When he retired the fleet was returned to the black-and-white color scheme and has remained so ever since. The office has also had a few all-white cars over the years, but these were for Traffic Enforcement and Volunteer Patrols only.
Today, the San Diego County Sheriff's Office utilizes the Ford Explorer as their base model for their fleet.
Glock 23 .40 S&W – used by detectives and other investigators, some regular deputies carry it as well as an off-duty weapon.
Glock 27 .40 S&W – backup gun for deputies, used by some investigators as well as an off-duty weapon for some deputies.
ColtCAR-15A1/A2 – R6520 variant used as a patrol rifle for deputies as is the R0603 (M16A1) variant can also be seen in patrol vehicles.
Remington 870 12-gauge – standard-issue shotgun for deputies, is a pump-action shotgun.
Springfield ArmoryM-14 – used for certain situations, is not the standard-issue rifle but the SDSO does have a few M-14s in the agency's inventory.[11]
^"Kolender v. Lawson". United States Reports. 461. Supreme Court of the United States: 352. May 2, 1983.
^"Lawson v. Kolender". United States Federal Reports. 2 (658). United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit: 1362. Oct 15, 1981. Archived from the original on 2010-05-15.
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