Sheriff's Non-Emergency Dispatch: 714-647-7000 or 949-770-6011

Captain Jim Rudy

Mission Statement

The Mission of the South Operations Division is to preserve life and property, protect the constitutional rights of individuals, and maintain order. We will earn the respect of all individuals by maintaining a knowledgeable, responsive, well-trained and accountable workforce that discharges their duties and responsibilities with evidence of fairness, tolerance and equality.

The South Operations Division provides responsive, professional and caring law enforcement services to more than 566,000 residents of south Orange County. The ten contract cities of Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, and the unincorporated areas of Trabuco Canyon, Coto De Caza, Ladera Ranch, Wagon Wheel, and Las Flores are all within the South Operations area of responsibility. Encompassing the entire southern portion of Orange County, the Sheriff's South Operations Division's geographic area of responsibility covers over 370 square miles. The western portion of our patrol area is formed by the Pacific Ocean with eighteen miles of coastline.

The division deploys approximately 140 patrol cars during each twenty-four hour period to provide law enforcement services. This operation requires approximately 471 staff members, of which 371 are deputy sheriffs. These deputy sheriffs are assigned to patrol, traffic enforcement, red light camera violations, Directed Enforcement Teams (DET), Juvenile Services Bureau (JSB), School Resource Officer (SRO) programs, the School Mobile Assessment Response Team (SMART), the Major Accident Reconstruction Team (MART), supervision, management and other essential support functions. The South Operations Division also provides Live Scan Fingerprint services to the community, averaging over 1,300 annually, for employment applications, along with Department of Justice narcotic and sex offender registrations.

The Sheriff's Department's goals include responding to calls for service in a prompt manner, protecting lives and property, maintaining the public peace and order, investigating criminal offenses and traffic collisions, apprehending criminal offenders, and providing a wide variety of services directed at solving community problems and addressing local issues. Through collaborative efforts with our community partners, the South Operations Division has succeeded in maintaining a high quality of public safety within its communities by guarding and acting against those who would commit crimes against our residents, businesses and visitors. In addition, the Sheriff's Department contracts with the Trauma Intervention Program (TIP) to provide immediate on scene support to victims of crime and survivors of tragedy.

Our superior record of achievement is due to the collaborative efforts of everyone from the Sheriff to all the department members who support the South Operations Division, as well as the partnerships developed with every component of the criminal justice system. Of course, none of it would be possible without the close relationship we maintain with our community partnerships, the businesses and residents in the communities we serve. Together, the personnel assigned to the South Operations Division continue to serve the citizens of south Orange County with professionalism, allowing the region to be consistently ranked among the safest communities in the state.