A new rigorously researched report takes a deep look at the corrosive effects that deputy gangs...
Sheriff Alex Villanueva
The Executioners: Does a Violent Deputy Gang Rule LA County’s Compton Station?
In a new legal claim, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy describes how the Compton Sheriff’s...
Defunding 2020: Yes, the LA County Supes Cut $145.5 Million from the LA Sheriff’s Budget & $49.1 million from Probation, Then They Killed the Probation Oversight Commission. (Unless…)
At Monday's Board of Supervisors meeting, prior to the vote on Los Angeles County's 2020-21...
WitnessLA on KCRW’s “Greater LA” With Steve Chiotakis Talking About The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
WitnessLA was on KCRW’s GreaterLA with host Steve Chiotakis on Monday, June 29, to talk with...
LA County Supes Unanimously Call for Independent Oversight of Investigation Into LASD Shooting of Andres Guardado
At the start of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Supervisor Mark...
Disputes Over Body Cams, A Twitter War — & A Perplexing New Task Force to Probe Officer Involved Shootings
On Sunday an interesting Twitter war occurred between Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark...
LA County Supes Release $82.7 Million in Frozen Funding to Sheriff, While Telling Him to Cut Cadet Classes and Pause Promotions
Last October, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors paused the LA County Sheriff’s...
LA County Supes May Unlock Some of the LASD’s Frozen Spending Power to Help the Department Respond to Coronavirus Needs
In October 2019, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to freeze $143.7 million in LA...
Historic County-Community Partnership Takes the Vote Behind Bars in LA County
At a joint press conference on Sunday, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan, and...
Measure R: Codifies Subpoena Power for LASD Civilian Oversight Commission, and Requires Jail Population Reduction Plan
On March 3, and during the preceding early voting days, Los Angeles voters will decide whether to...
Subpoena Power for Oversight of LA County Sheriff & LA County Probation Is a Done Deal: So What Does That Mean?
"Using subpoena power doesn't necessitate a divisive standoff," Loyola Law Professor and COC...
After Rancor & Accusations Supervisors Vote For Subpoena Power to Compel LA County Sheriff Villanueva to Share Information
At just around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 21, 2020, the LA County Supervisors voted to give...
LA County Sheriff’s Sergeant Accused of “Unlawful” Campaign of Harassment Against Justice Advocate & Film Producer Scott Budnick
On Sunday, December 15, civil rights attorney Ron Kaye sent a letter to Los Angeles County Sheriff...
Grieving Families Report Harassment From LASD Deputies, Civilian Oversight Commission Votes to Investigate
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Civilian Oversight Commission responsible for overseeing the LA...
Federal Judge Shreds Fired Deputy’s Lawsuit Claiming Political Retaliation, In the Latest Chapter of the Never-Ending Carl Mandoyan Drama
According to the judge, where a plaintiff is "not entitled to his job at all." The plaintiff, the...
Why the Board of Supervisors are Determined to Get Subpoena Power for the LASD Civilian Oversight Commission
If the LASD says no, everyone goes to court, Huntsman said. Litigation "is a fine process," he...
Op-Ed: The False Claim Of An LA County Sheriff’s Deputy Being Shot By A Sniper Leads To A Classic Fail in Crisis Communication
We both advise companies & organizations on how to communicate with the public during a crisis, &...
Judge Orders Sheriff to Make Rehired Deputy Mandoyan Turn in His Badge, Uniform, & Gun … Plus Other Interesting Villanueva-Related Events of the Past Week
On Monday, August 19, LA County Superior Court Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff ordered a preliminary...
“I was hired,” said IG Max Huntsman to the LA Supes, “in part to tell you if we ever face a Tanaka-level crisis again. We face it now.”
On Tuesday, July 23, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in favor of...
Decoding the Mandoyan Case Files, Part 2: An In-Depth Analysis by the Inspector General Pronounces Re-Hired LA County Deputy Carl Mandoyan Unfit For the position of Deputy Sheriff
"....the Department was in possession of now publicly available evidence that conclusively...
DJJ Watch
With a Huge COVID-19 Spike In CA’s Dangerous Youth Prisons, Why Did the Governor Ask Counties to Keep Sending More Kids?
COVID-19 is spiking in California’s youth prisons. And the upward climb has yet to stop. As...
New COVID-19 outbreak at one of California’s Youth Prisons—As Counties Resume Sending Kids Into the State’s Long-Broken System
Now that the state's counties are again sending kids to the state's youth prisons, it appears that...
New Board Of Supes Motion Proposes to Use Closing Of DJJ to “Transform Youth Justice in California”
The news that Governor Gavin Newsom intends to permanently close California’s Division of...
Op-Ed: California’s Closure of DJJ Is a Victory—But With Significant Challenges
Simply handing DJJ youth over to the county probation departments is not reason enough alone to...
Youth Advocates Cheered as Governor Newsom Announced Plans to Shut Down CA’s Prisons for Kids — But It’s Complicated
On May 14, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a plan to close the state’s youth correctional...
COVID-19 Arrives at CA’s Department Of Juvenile Justice As A New Report Shines a Light on DJJ’s Chronic Failures
The COVID-19-driven concern about the dangers inherent in congregate facilities like nursing...
DJJ Watch: The Secrets of Data Collecting Inside California’s Youth Prisons
Even if a fight between two kids is documented, the reason behind the fight may not be, and that is...
DJJ Watch: Governor Newsom to Replace Head of State’s Youth Justice System Chuck Supple. So Who Will Follow?
On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced he would be replacing the top person at California...
DJJ Watch: Visitor Brings Hidden Cache of Weapons to Stockton Youth Detention Facility
On Saturday, August 10, a 24-year-old man was arrested after attempting to visit one of...
DJJ Watch: Friendly Suggestions for Gov. Gavin Newsom Regarding His Proposed Overhaul of the State’s Youth Justice System
I am a fourth-year social studies teacher at a Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facility located...
The Writer
THE WRITER, The Sequel: A Confused Teenager, a Shooting, a Long Prison Sentence & an Unusual Opportunity
EDITOR’S NOTE: On Thanksgiving morning, 2017, I received an unexpected email from someone whose name sounded vaguely familiar but that I couldn’t place. The email read as follows: You likely do not know me. About seven...
The Trial of Lee Baca
Former LA County Sheriff Lee Baca Granted Bail Pending Appeal
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted Leroy Baca’s motion for bail pending his appeal in an...
Judge Denies Former LA County Sheriff Lee Baca Bail While Awaiting Appeal (But It’s Still Unlikely Baca Will Go to Prison on July 25)
On Thursday afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson issued an order denying former LA...
AFTER THE FALL: Why Judge Anderson’s 3-Year Sentence for Former LA Sheriff Lee Baca Was Not a Surprise
Warning Signs Los Angeles Missed That Allowed the LA County Sheriff’s Department to Spin Out of Control
Former Sheriff Lee Baca Sentenced to 36 Months in Federal Prison
Lee Baca’s Lawyers Ask for More Alzheimer’s Testing As a Sentencing Day is Set
WitnessLA Discusses the Long Road to Baca’s Conviction on KCRW & KPFK
THE RETRIAL OF LEE BACA: How LA County’s Popular Sheriff Got Convicted
THE RETRIAL OF LEE BACA: The Jury Finds Baca Guilty on All 3 Counts
THE RETRIAL OF LEE BACA: Jury Still Deliberating…& Sending Notes
THE RETRIAL OF LEE BACA: The Eyes of Sheriff Baca vs. the Chess King
THE RETRIAL OF LEE BACA : The Defense Calls Only One Witness
During 1st Week of Testimony 4 Former LASD Members Point to Baca as the Man Who Gave the Orders
THE RETRIAL OF LEE BACA: During Opening Statements the Prosecution & the Defense Drag a Ghost Into Court
THE TRIAL OF LEE BACA -Judge Rules No Star Pin, No “Good Works” Defense, & No Alzheimer’s Expert
Lee Baca’s Defense Team Claims Double Jeopardy as Prosecutors Move to Nix the Mini Sheriff’s Badge
Prosecutors Announce They Will Retry Former LA County Sheriff Lee Baca
THE TRIAL OF LEE BACA: To Retry or Not to Retry
Hung Jury in Baca Trial – “Unable to reach a Verdict,” Deadlocked at 11 /1 for Acquittal
THE TRIAL OF LEE BACA – The Jury Deliberates
Lee Baca Trial: The Prosecution Rests With Fed Judge’s Account of Furious Sheriff, and the Defense Calls a Speedy List of Character Witnesses
The Trial of Lee Baca – Day 3: A Colleague’s Warning & a Convicted Deputy Shows the High Cost of Following Orders
Updates on the Lee Baca Trial Coming This Weekend – UPDATED
Judge Rules That Lee Baca Will Now Have Two Trials. (No. We Are Not Kidding.)
As Former LA County Sheriff Lee Baca’s Trial Approaches….
Judge Puts Off Decision About Whether Former LA Sheriff Lee Baca Can use an Expert to Introduce Baca’s Alzheimer’s Diagnosis
As Lee Baca’s Trial Approaches, the Fight Heats Up About the Former LA Sheriff’s “Cognitive Impairment”
Fed Judge Denies Baca’s Motions to Recuse Lead Prosecutor and Change the Trial Location
Former Sheriff Lee Baca Goes to Court to Get Trial Moved Out of LA & to Get Lead Prosecutor Off Case
Baca Wants Lead Prosecutor, Federal Judge AND City of LA Disqualified
Prosecutors Request Mental Competency Evaluation for Former Sheriff Lee Baca
Lee Baca: A December Trial Date, A New Lawyer, and a Pitch for Legal $$$ – UPDATED
Now That a Grand Jury Has Indicted Former Sheriff Lee Baca, Can His Trial Move Us Closer to Lasting Reform?
No New Plea Deal Reached, Baca Almost Certain to Be Indicted and Go to Trial
What to Expect When Lee Baca To Be Sentenced Monday Morning
Day of Reckoning: The Strange and Memorable Afternoon When Former LA County Sheriff Lee Baca Pleaded Guilty to a Felony
Former Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca Pleads to Felony Charge That Would Likely Involve Time in Lock-Up
The Urgent Matter of Child Sex Trafficking & the Lasting Cost of Child Sexual Abuse
San Francisco Public Schools Include Human Trafficking in Health Curriculum
Supes to Increase Services for Parents of Sex Trafficking Victims
California Tries — With Difficulty — to Implement Two Important Laws to Help Sex-Trafficked Kids, But Progress is Maddeningly Slow
LA City and County to Crack Down on Enforcing Human Trafficking Hotline Law
“No Such Thing as a Child Prostitute” Bill Becomes State Law
Dozens of Bills (Some Overlapping) Tackle Child Sex Trafficking in California
How LA Kids are Being Recruited for Sex Trafficking & What LA Law Enforcement is Doing About It – by Kristy Plaza and Alana Victor
Are LA’s Locked Up & Traumatized Girls Getting the Help They Need?
Letter Asks DOJ to Deal With OC Prosecutorial Misconduct Scandal…Responses to Sheriff Jim McDonnell’s Prop 47 Videos…LA Launch of Coalition to End Child Exploitation…and More
Why It’s Important That LA County Sheriff Jim McDonnell and the LASD Are Making Child Sex-trafficking a Priority
LA County Sheriff Jim McDonnell Says There’s No Such Thing as a Child Prostitute
Are Abused and Traumatized Girls Disproportionately Pushed Into the Justice System? A Startling New Study Says: YES
Oakland Mentorship Program Offers Safety & Healing to Sexually Exploited Young Women – by Sarah Zahedi
Girls and the Sexual-Abuse-to-Prison-Pipeline
The Downfall of Paul Tanaka
U.S. Supreme Court Says No to Paul Tanaka, the LASD’s Former 2nd in Command, Now in Fed Prison
Former LASD Undersheriff Paul Tanaka Appeals to SCOTUS Hoping to Reverse Criminal Conviction
9th Circuit Denies Paul Tanaka’s Appeal
At Appeal Hearing 9th Circuit Judges Ask About Paul Tanaka’s Viking Tattoo
Former LA Undersheriff Paul Tanaka Gets 5-Year Sentence & Scorching Lecture
Attorneys for Paul Tanaka Fight for Probation Only, Saying Former LA Sheriff Baca Was the Real “Ringleader”
Prosecutors Call for 5 Years in Prison for Former LASD Undersheriff Paul Tanaka
The Trial of Paul Tanaka Part 6: The Verdict & the Jury
The Trial of Paul Tanaka – Part 5: The Former Undersheriff and the Vikings
The Trial of Paul Tanaka – Part 4: Tanaka Takes the Stand, and the Prosecution Uses the “V” Word
” F— the FBI!” – Trial of Former LASD Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, Part 3
The Trial of Paul Tanaka, Part 2: The “Context” and “the Crime”
Former LA Sheriff’s Dept. Captain Tom Carey Takes Plea Deal—Which Means Cooperation, Testimony….(And Maybe a Baca Indictment?) in the Future
OPERATION PANDORA’S BOX FINALLY GOES UP THE LADDER: The Day That Paul Tanaka and Tom Carey of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Were Federally Indicted
An Anatomy of the LA Jails Commission: Will It Matter?
ANATOMY OF A JAILS COMMISSION: Part 5 – Revisiting the Testimony of Undersheriff Paul Tanaka
Tanaka’s testimony may not have provided the commission members with the answers they hoped to...
ANATOMY OF A JAILS COMMISSION: Part 4 – The Sheriff & his Undersheriff Finally Talk
For much of the LA Press, who were present in greater numbers at this particularly commission...
