First Responders Partnerships
The Capistrano Unified School District maintains a strong partnership with the Orange County Sheriff's Department and all of our first responders to ensure the safety and well-being of its students. This collaboration involves regular communication and joint initiatives to address safety concerns and prevent incidents on school campuses. Through this close working relationship, the district benefits from the Sheriff's Department's expertise in security and law enforcement, which helps to create a safer learning environment and fosters a safe atmosphere conducive to academic success.
SCHOOL MOBILE ASSESSMENT AND RESOURCE TEAM (SMART)
The School Mobile Assessment and Resource Team is utilized in school situations and incidents related to violence, threats, possession and/or use of weapons, unstable behaviors, and suicidal actions or tendencies. SMART works collaboratively in conjunction with school officials, the Probation Department, the District Attorney’s Office, and the Heath Care Agency to help resolve safety issues and concerns involving all personnel associated to schools. SMART is comprised of a sergeant, an investigator, three deputies and a clinician from the Orange County Heath Care Agency. The team responds at the request of law enforcement personnel or school administration to provide services and resources, including threat assessments, criminal investigation, case management and referrals to mandatory counseling, where deemed appropriate. The goal of SMART is to evaluate and assess each incident individually, to effectively resolve the matter through the least intrusive means available (while still maintaining safety and security to the school), and ultimately return the staff and students to their daily routine. For the years 2018 and 2019, the SMART team has conducted 305 threat assessments, made 74 arrests, and confiscated 88 weapons.SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER PROGRAM (SRO)
The School Resource Officer (SRO) Program places uniformed officers within educational institutions to meet a variety of needs. Although the SRO’s are predominantly assigned to Middle or High Schools that are located in the Sheriff’s jurisdiction of Orange County, they also respond to elementary and private education institutions within their areas. SRO’s meet many needs including strengthening relationships between youth and law enforcement, forging cooperative relationships with school staff to meet a variety of student needs, and augmenting existing safety and security planning at our schools. SRO’s handle criminal as well as social problems that occur with our youth and regularly attend sporting events, school functions, and parent meetings while still enforcing criminal laws. An SRO’s average day might include:
- Driving to the home of a student who hasn’t attended school in several days
- Presenting a class on teen violence, bullying or drug education to students, parents or staff
- Attending administrative meetings with school staff on a variety of topics from current trends to upcoming school events
- Reviewing school site safety plans for accuracy or potential issues
- Mentoring a student on a variety of topics including family problems, to career opportunities, or solutions to deal with interpersonal issues within their peer group
- Conducting initial criminal investigations of school related incidents
- Responding to actual criminal acts occurring on or surrounding the campus
Throughout all their activities, the fourteen senior patrol deputies assigned to the program provide a much needed partnership relationship between the individual school districts, school staff, and the students within the institutions. In their unique position side-by-side with educators, the SRO’s have the opportunity to act in a proactive way to defuse some incidents prior to them becoming significant or before they even occur.
The SRO Programs day-to-day management is handled by patrol operations and it is coordinated by the Juvenile Services Bureau Sergeant. SRO’s are assigned throughout the Sheriff’s Jurisdiction from San Clemente in South County, to Villa Park in the North.
ORANGE COUNTY INTELLIGENCE ASSESSMENT CENTER (OCIAC)
The Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center (OCIAC) provides an integrated, multi-disciplined, information and intelligence sharing network to collect, analyze, and disseminate information on all criminal risks and safety threats to law enforcement, fire, health, private sector and public sector stakeholders in a timely manner in order to protect the residents, visitors, and critical infrastructure while ensuring the civil rights and civil liberties of all persons are recognized.
PEPPERDINE RESOURCE YOUTH DIVERSION AND EDUCATION (PRYDE)
In an effort to divert first-time juvenile offenders from the impacted Juvenile Justice System, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department is proud to announce its ongoing partnership with Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology. The PRYDE Program prevention, intervention, and counseling programs are available at no costs to at-risk youths and their families in all cities and unincorporated areas of Orange County. The program focuses on providing services and resources that help youth and their families make positive changes in their lives. PRYDE emphasizes education, family involvement and community support to give youth the tools and opportunities to accomplish their goals.
Juveniles can enter the PRYDE Program through one of three ways; The first is through a law enforcement contact that would normally result in the teenager’s referral to the Juvenile Justice System. Teens who are eligible for the program are generally first time offenders for non-violent crimes such as theft. The other two ways that juveniles can enter the PRYDE program are through a referral from a school administrator or teacher, and by referral from their parents. All three different methods by which juveniles are referred to the program begin with a comprehensive intake assessment. During the intake, PRYDE’s diversion specialists determine the appropriate services to provide or recommend to the juvenile and their family. Some of these services might include counseling, legal awareness or substance abuse education, or communication and problem solving training to name just a few. PRYDE also maintains an active list of other services and resources that may meet an individual or family’s needs.
