To: Jaimee Blashaw, Public Affairs Manager, Orange County Sheriffs Department
cc: SJC City Manager Ben Siegel, Mayor Kerry Ferguson, and
Council Members Sergio Farias, Derek Reeve, Brian Maryott, and Pam Patterson
Dear Ms. Blashaw,
We are citizens of San Juan Capistrano, and it has come to our attention that the OC Sheriffs Department has made a decision, based on a number of factors, to completely eliminate the summaries of events published in the Sheriffs Blotter. In their places, the Sheriffs now want citizens to submit Public Records Requests.
The Blotter summary information is far too important a communication link between the Sheriffs and citizens to abandon. The summaries show citizens not only where an event has occurred but as well the resolution of the call and aspects of the people involved in the call. Is this a burglary that happened to a car or a home? Was the car secured or unsecured? Are people casing a neighborhood? Are addicts stumbling down the street? Are known transients harassing a particular business? Is a Disturbance “just” a loud party, a 100 person flash mob, or a neighbor yelling at another neighbor? Is a Terrorist Threat an ex-spouse harassing the other, or someone threatening a business or an extremist group being disbanded?
We believe that this decision was made without the input of cities or citizens, and without a full understanding of how the Blotter summaries also benefit the Sheriffs. When citizens understand the threats our Sheriffs face each day, we appreciate them more. When citizens understand that Sheriffs are called to handle overdoses, the mentally ill, addicts, transients and gangs, citizens can better advocate and vote to provide resources sheriffs and cities need to address these broader issues. Likewise, citizens who read the blotter can identify trends that Sheriffs do not have time to consider. Stripping the content from the Sheriffs Blotter will mean that citizens will only learn about problems when they are finally reported in newspapers, which are an increasingly diminishing resource as well.
We understand that there is concern about the cost of providing and accurately redacting the blotter; we believe this should have been addressed as part of the city contract. Please reinstate the full summaries in the Blotter.
Sincerely,
cc: SJC City Manager Ben Siegel, Mayor Kerry Ferguson, and
Council Members Sergio Farias, Derek Reeve, Brian Maryott, and Pam Patterson
Dear Ms. Blashaw,
We are citizens of San Juan Capistrano, and it has come to our attention that the OC Sheriffs Department has made a decision, based on a number of factors, to completely eliminate the summaries of events published in the Sheriffs Blotter. In their places, the Sheriffs now want citizens to submit Public Records Requests.
The Blotter summary information is far too important a communication link between the Sheriffs and citizens to abandon. The summaries show citizens not only where an event has occurred but as well the resolution of the call and aspects of the people involved in the call. Is this a burglary that happened to a car or a home? Was the car secured or unsecured? Are people casing a neighborhood? Are addicts stumbling down the street? Are known transients harassing a particular business? Is a Disturbance “just” a loud party, a 100 person flash mob, or a neighbor yelling at another neighbor? Is a Terrorist Threat an ex-spouse harassing the other, or someone threatening a business or an extremist group being disbanded?
We believe that this decision was made without the input of cities or citizens, and without a full understanding of how the Blotter summaries also benefit the Sheriffs. When citizens understand the threats our Sheriffs face each day, we appreciate them more. When citizens understand that Sheriffs are called to handle overdoses, the mentally ill, addicts, transients and gangs, citizens can better advocate and vote to provide resources sheriffs and cities need to address these broader issues. Likewise, citizens who read the blotter can identify trends that Sheriffs do not have time to consider. Stripping the content from the Sheriffs Blotter will mean that citizens will only learn about problems when they are finally reported in newspapers, which are an increasingly diminishing resource as well.
We understand that there is concern about the cost of providing and accurately redacting the blotter; we believe this should have been addressed as part of the city contract. Please reinstate the full summaries in the Blotter.
Sincerely,