COVID-19

File Police reports online

In case you did not know, you can file a police report through our website.  The Sheriff’s Online Report Tracking System (SORTS) allows you to file a specific type of crime or incident report.

Once your report is reviewed and accepted, you will receive a free copy of the approved report via email for your records. All cases filed within this system will be reviewed.

If you are a victim of any of these incidents, you can file a police report using SORTS:

• Lost or stolen cell phones valued $950 or less
• Lost or stolen property valued $950 or less
• Vandalism, excluding graffiti, where damage is valued under $400
• Theft from an unlocked vehicle valued $950 or less
• Theft from an open or unsecured area valued $950 or less
• Supplemental Loss Form (Must already have a LASD report number)

Department policy will dictate the level of investigation needed for the incident you report to us. A Deputy Sheriff may need to follow-up by email, telephone, or in person, if the incident requires further investigation.

If you need to file a police report, click on the link below  

Internet Safety for CHILDREN

Since the beginning of March 2020, child exploitation CyberTips reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) have increased nationwide. NCMEC reports they have experienced a 106% increase in CyberTipline reports, from 983,734 reports in March 2019 to 2,027,520 in March 2020.

Although this significant increase can be attributed in part to a few viral videos being shared and reported in March, this does bring up an opportunity to talk to your children about internet safety, and proper reporting of these crimes if seen.  

As part of Los Angeles Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department receives CyberTips from NCMEC and investigates them, along with the Los Angeles Police Department and our multiple local and federal law enforcement partners. If you are on the internet and see a child being exploited online, please don’t share the video out of outrage, report it to your local law enforcement agency, or NCMEC by visiting https://report.cybertip.org/. 

With recent school closures due to #COVID19, many children are using the internet from home and have recently created email accounts or social media profiles to communicate with their friends or to complete school work and education programs. If not properly supervised, this leaves children vulnerable to social engineering scams, and potentially being conned into revealing sensitive information about themselves and family, or even sharing compromising photographs of themselves.

We at the LASD are encouraging parents of children of any age to discuss internet safety with your child. Any time is the right time to make sure your children are safe. Below are some recommended tips you can follow to protect your child from becoming a victim. 

-TALK about Internet safety with children of ALL ages before they engage in online activity. Keep in mind there are several ways other than the family computer for children to access the internet, such as smartphones, tablets, and gaming systems.

-Review & approve games and apps before they are downloaded… especially applications that require access to your photos, videos, voice, and have messaging capabilities.

-Make sure privacy settings are set to the strictest level possible for online gaming systems and electronic devices. You can use parental controls or manually scan your child’s device as needed. 

-Monitor your children’s use of the internet; keep electronic devices in an open, common room of the house. Contact your Internet Service Provider to learn how to enable parental controls or use downloadable software or apps.

-Check your children’s social media profiles and see what personal information they are sharing publicly. Make sure they are not posting their age, address, phone numbers, or any other personal information.

-Explain to your children that images AKA selfies posted online will remain permanently on the internet and never share an image they don’t want the whole world to see.

-Make sure children know that anyone who asks a child to engage in sexually explicit activity online should be reported to a parent, guardian, or other trusted adult and law enforcement.

 -Remember that victims should not be afraid to tell law enforcement if they are being sexually exploited. It is not a crime for a child to send sexually explicit images to someone if they are compelled or coerced to do so.

For additional information, visit the links listed below to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website, which has published several educational tools to help educate parents and children against child predators. Go to the “Education” drop-down menu to access training videos regarding online enticement, smartphones, and social media.

CyberTips can be reported to NCMEC at: https://report.cybertip.org/

Educational Materials are available at:

https://www.kidsmartz.org

https://www.missingkids.org/netsmartz/home

THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT, YOUTH SERVICES UNIT DISTANCE LEARNING

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Youth Services Unit, has developed an online curriculum for explorer recruits for Academy Class 104. This explorer recruit class is comprised of 160 recruits from LASD and participating police agencies.

This online curriculum allows recruits to attend online “live” classes to continue the academy from home, without compromising their ability to graduate.

For the first time, the 16 weeks LASD Explorer Academy has ever gone “online.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is committed to keeping our young recruits safe while practicing social distancing.

Please discuss internet safety with your children.

With recent school closures due to #COVID19 many children are using the internet and have recently created email accounts or social media profiles to communicate with their friends or complete school work & programs.

Tips from LASD

?TALK about Internet safety with children of ALL ages when they engage in online activity.

?Review & approve games and apps before they are downloaded… especially video, voice, and messaging apps.

?Make sure privacy settings are set to the strictest level possible for online gaming systems and electronic devices. You can use parental controls or ask children to scan their device as needed.

? Monitor your children’s use of the Internet; keep electronic devices in an open, common room of the house. You can add parental controls & google “vault” or popular “hiding apps”

✅Check your children’s profiles and what they post online. Make sure they are not posting age, address, phone numbers etc.

?Explain to your children that images aka selfies posted online will be permanently on the Internet.

❌Make sure children know that anyone who asks a child to engage in sexually explicit activity online should be reported to a parent, guardian, or other trusted adult and law enforcement.

?Remember that victims should not be afraid to tell law enforcement if they are being sexually exploited. It is not a crime for a child to send sexually explicit images to someone if they are compelled or coerced to do so.

COVID-19 Sheriff Reassures Residents; “Let’s Be Prepared, Not Scared”

During a press conference on Monday, March 16, 2020, at the Hall of Justice, Sheriff Alex Villanueva stated his reassurance that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is working hard to ensure law enforcement services in the areas we serve remain uninterrupted by the coronavirus.

The County Emergency Operations Center (CEOC) remains open at a Level I status, fully-staffed with knowledgeable experts from other L.A. County departments.  Our Department continues to collaborate with local agencies, monitor world events and provide the most up-to-date information to the public.

Through innovative and creative measures, Sheriff Villanueva was adamant about keeping staff levels up and the inmate population count down.  Staff vacations were cancelled through the end of April to ensure more personnel are on-hand, and those working non-essential assignments can be temporarily moved to custody or patrol assignments to offset and augment manpower shortages.  This decision is particularly helpful for coverage, as a small number of personnel were self-quarantined over the weekend. 

The Sheriff raised the aggregate bail amount for booking inmates raised from $25,000 to $50,000, which allows more people to receive citations, rather than get booked into custody.  This reduces the number of people entering our jail facilities, therefore lowering chances of the virus being introduced into that environment.  Out of the 16,459 inmates in today’s morning count, there were zero confirmed cases of coronavirus.  Nine inmates are in isolation housing, 21 inmates are in quarantine at Men’s Central Jail, and five inmates are in quarantine at Twin Towers Correctional Facility. 

Personal protective equipment was issued to field personnel.  Inventory of these supplies was bulked-up, with a likely request to follow for the release of Service and Supply funds, to address the ongoing need for more items, such as masks, gloves, goggles, and sanitizer.  Patrol station and custody facility unit commanders were directed to sanitize their stations and jails as a preventative measure.  Personnel are reminded to be cognizant of hand-washing, don personal protective equipment, covering sneezes, not touching their faces, and practice social distancing while off-duty.

Despite all county buildings being ordered to close their doors to the public, Sheriff Villanueva directed all patrol stations to keep their lobbies open.  He encouraged the use of online reporting for non-emergent, qualifying incidents, as outlined here:  http://shq.lasdnews.net/shq/SORTS/sorts_intro.aspx or calling your local patrol station.  He also asked that those who must visit a patrol station for services, such as regularly-scheduled child custody exchanges or compliance check-ins, to notify deputies if they are experiencing flu-like symptoms, fever or respiratory illness so they can take precautionary measures. 

Residents are reminded to follow protective protocols prescribed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as found here:    and here:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/prevention.html

As events occur, information regarding public safety and other services will be provided by our agency and updated on several platforms.  Please monitor our social media sites, @LASDHQ on Twitter, @LosAngelesCountySheriffDepartment on Facebook, and our https://lasd.org/ website for up-to-date information.

Stay connected, remain composed and we will get through this together.

Downloadable Content:
Talking Points

There are unscrupulous persons out there who are taking advantage of the Coronavirus nationwide circumstances. Please prepare & protect yourself and your family, but don’t panic. The Department is aware there are a few scams out there, please read the information below to avoid becoming a victim. At this time, our Department is not aware of any local cases. We are, however, monitoring COVID-19 and making sure the public is aware of these scams. 

DO NOT click on phishing emails, links, or attachments you don’t recognize; hackers maybe be able to access your personal information if you click, open, or log in to a fake page. You may receive emails from fraudulent accounts impersonating official websites or Doctors. For example, an email will come from @CDC-GOV.ORG vs. the official email sender of @CDC.GOV. Make sure you hover over the link to verify the URL & domain name (Uniform Resource Locator).  

IGNORE fraudulent online offers claiming they are selling COVID-19 knockoff products, cures or treatments. At this time, per CDC, there is no vaccine for Coronavirus. There are scammers claiming they are selling the “N95” respirator face masks vs. regular surgical masks, or hand sanitizer that is 60% alcohol. Please purchase from businesses you trust. 

BE AWARE of fraudulent fundraising campaigns or donation requests for cash, gift cards, and credit cards. There are scammers seeking contributions via emails or going door to door. At this time, CDC is not sending persons door to door for cash or soliciting donations through bitcoin or PayPal.

PRICE GOUGING California Attorney General Xavier Becerra issued a price gouging alert due to State of Emergency. 

To get information, resources, and updates from official Departments, please visit www.CDC.gov or https://www.cdph.ca.gov . For local Los Angeles County information please visit the local webpage at http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/. If you believe you have been scammed, contact your bank and/or credit card company immediately and report it to your local law enforcement. If you think there is a situation where a business may be charging excessively, please file a complaint through the website at https://www.oag.ca.gov/ or call 800-952-5225.

LASD CUSTODY OPERATIONS WORKING WITH DPH AND CHS TO PREPARE FOR 2019 NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

As 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread throughout the world and new cases are being reported throughout the United States, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Custody Services Division (LASD) has been working diligently with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services – Correctional Health Services (CHS) and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) to prepare.

Although we do not currently have any inmates in our custody who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, LASD and CHS continue to follow Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines to assess and monitor inmates in our custody, as well as newly arriving inmates, for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and will arrange for quarantine as necessary. 

If an inmate meets the criteria of a suspected coronavirus patient, the inmate will be placed in isolation and staff will follow proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) guidelines. A surgical mask will be placed on the inmate patient who will be isolated in separate housing, away from general population housing.  If that inmate is confirmed to have COVID-19, they will be re-housed in the medical ward of the jail.  Proper PPE procedures for Department members and staff include safety eye goggles, an N-95 mask, disposable gloves, and a disposable gown.

Currently, Inmates who are scheduled to be released from custody will not be impacted; however, if the county jail system begins to see cases of COVID-19 within its housing locations, those housed in quarantined areas will go through a release protocol monitored by the Department of Public Health.  The Department of Public Health will additionally monitor them after their release from custody.  

The Department is working with the Superior Court of California-County of Los Angeles on a plan to minimize the impact on court proceedings for those who are quarantined if such need occurs.  Inmates will still have access to contact their attorneys.

Monitoring and potential quarantine procedures will remain in place until CHS and DPH officials determine it is safe to return to normal operations. 

To identify if your loved one is housed in a quarantined area, please visit the www.lasd.org and schedule a visit with your loved one.  If a pop-up message is displayed that your loved one is in an affected area, he/she is under observation (quarantine) until further notice. 

—— Information about COVID-19 ——

According to the Department of Public Health, COVID-19 is a contagious disease caused by a virus.  Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. The virus is spread through respiratory droplets produced through coughing and sneezing, close personal contact with an infected person, and on rare occasions from infected objects or surfaces.

For more information on COVID-19, please visit:  http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/#