Alameda County Sheriff's Office

Infobox Law enforcement agency
agencyname = Alameda County Sheriff's Office
abbreviation = ACSO
patch = Alameda County, CA Sheriff.jpg
formedyear =
country = United States
countryabbr = USA
divtype = State
divname = California
subdivtype = County
subdivname = Alameda
legaljuris = Alameda County, California
headquarters = Oakland, California
hqloc

hqlocleft =
hqloctop =
hqlocmappoptitle =
sworntype =
sworn = 1000+
unsworntype =
unsworn = 500+
electeetype = Sheriff
minister1name = Gregory J. Ahern
minister1pfo =
stationtype =
stations = 5
lockuptype = Jail
lockups = 2
website = [http://www.alamedacountysheriff.org/ Official website]

The Alameda County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) is a law enforcement agency serving Alameda County, California. The ACSO is accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) [ [http://www.calea.org/Default.htm Welcome to CALEA Online ] ] , the American Correctional Association (ACA) [ [http://www.aca.org/ American Correctional Association (ACA): Home ] ] , National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) [ [http://www.ncchc.org National Commission on Correctional Health Care ] ] and the California Medical Association (CMA).

As of 2008, the ACSO has approximately 1500 positions, over 1000 of which are sworn peace officers.

The ACSO is charged with
# Providing security to the Consolidated Superior Courts
# Operating the Coroner's Bureau
# Operating a full service crime laboratory
# Operating a County Jail and Detention Center
# Conducting a basic academy pursuant to Police Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) requirements.
# Performing Civil Process
# Operating the County Office of Emergency Services
# Providing Fish and Game enforcement
# Operating a Marine Patrol Unit in the San Francisco Bay waters
# Providing patrol and investigative services to the unincorporated areas of Alameda County
# Pursuant to contractual agreements, providing patrol and investigative services to the City of Dublin, Peralta Community College District, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum complex, Oakland International Airport, Highland County Hospital, Social Services, and to the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District [ [http://www.alamedacountysheriff.org Alameda County Sheriff's Office ] ]

The sheriff and coroner is an elected position currently filled by Gregory J. Ahern.

Detention Facilities

The ACSO operates two detention facilities (or jails). The Santa Rita Jail is the primary facility that houses most people arrested or convicted of crimes in the county and is located in Dublin, CA. The Glenn Dyer Detention facility houses a smaller number of inmates and is located in downtown Oakland, directly adjacent to the Wiley W. Manuel court building in which the majority of the county's criminal calendar is heard. [ [http://www.alamedacountysheriff.org/DC/dc_info.htm Alameda County Sheriff's Office - Detention & Corrections Division ] ]

Training and Exercises

The ACSO operates a police academy as well as training exercises for the greater law enforcement community in the Bay Area.

Hosted by the ACSO, Urban Shield was the largest urban "SWAT" exercise so far in the USA. Held in September 2007 it provided an opportunity for police special teams from all over the nation to train in 20 scenarios over a continuous 50 hour exercise. These scenarios ranged from an active shooter on the UC Berkeley campus to airplane hijacking to maritime interdiction. [ [http://www.urbanshield.org Urban Shield 2007 Alameda County Sheriff's Department ] ]

Crime Laboratory

The ACSO operates a crime laboratory that is accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors. The Crime Lab, located in San Leandro, CA, receives and analyzes evidence from law enforcement agencies throughout the county. The Crime Lab has capabilities in controlled substance analysis, latent fingerprint recovery, ballistics, tool mark identification, and DNA extraction and analysis. The crime lab staff can also serve as crime scene investigators upon request by law enforcement agencies in the county. [ [http://www.alamedacountysheriff.org/CWS/crime_lab.htm Alameda County Sheriff's Office - Criminalistics Laboratory ] ]

Coroner's Bureau

The ACSO operates the Coroner's Bureau in downtown Oakland. Medical examiners and other coroner's investigators provide forensics services to the county and local law enforcement through the investigation of deaths. [ [http://www.alamedacountysheriff.org/CWS/coroner.htm Alameda County Sheriff's Office - Coroner's Bureau ] ]

History

Controversy

During the Free Speech Movement riots of the 1960s, Alameda County Sheriff deployed several squads of officers. Clad in light blue jumpsuits, they quickly became known by anti-government protesters as "The Blue Meanies," a nickname that has lasted to this day.

ee also

* List of law enforcement agencies in California

References

External links

* [http://www.alamedacountysheriff.org/ Official website]