As part of its concerted effort with other public agencies to drive the homeless population out of San Bernardino County, sheriff’s deputies on September 4 confronted 64 people they had grounds to believe were living on the streets of Loma Linda, Grand Terrace and unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County. The deputies offered to drive them and their belongings, no questions asked and without checking to see if they had any outstanding warrants, to any destination of their choosing in contiguous Los Angeles County, Riverside County, Orange County, Kern County Inyo County, Kern County, Clark County in Nevada and Cochise County in Arizona. Those who accepted the offer were given conveyance to wherever they wanted to go, and provided with a hot fast-food meal to boot. Those who refused were identified by the forced production of identification or the use of what one lieutenant in the department called “alternate means.” They were then subjected to checks utilizing their names, birthdates, license or registration numbers against the data bases shared by California law enforcement agencies – NCIC, the National Crime Information Center, considered the United States’ primary database and information registry for tracking crime-related information, maintained by the Criminal Justice Information Services Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, known by its acronym CLETS, consisting of information compiled by the California Attorney General’s Office to include criminal histories, arrests, convictions and information on California’s licensed drivers provided by the Department of Motor Vehicles and other databases at the disposal of California public safety agencies; JDIC, the Justice Data Interface Controller, a law enforcement data communications system operated and maintained by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Data Systems Bureau which serves as the central message switching hub for law enforcement agencies across Los Angeles County; and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Central Name Index, that agency’s cybernetic file system that logs deputies’ field contacts with, detainment of, citations issued to and arrests of subjects or suspects, along with charges filed against them and resulting convictions, as well as victim and witness statements. Five of those individuals were found to have felony warrants and another ten had misdemeanor warrants. They were arrested.
For the purpose of ensuring officer security, those encountered were “patted down.” This resulted in two of those being determined to have a controlled substance in their possession. They were arrested. Another homeless man was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia.
The sheriff’s department’s Homeless Outreach Proactive Enforcement Team, known by acronym H.O.P.E., the sheriff’s department’s Innovative Remote On site Assistance Delivery Team, known by its acronym InnROADS and members of the county’s probation department then took a crack at the remaining 46, telling them they are mentally ill or they wouldn’t be living on the streets and that they need to avail themselves of the services offered to them by the county’s behavioral health department. For those who don’t accept the help being offered, the officers said, it was just a matter of time before they, too, went to jail.
It used to be that the homeless population was mollycoddled, but those days are over, the deputies told those they were detaining. 2025’s Senate Bill 1011 gives law enforcement license to clear out homeless encampments near schools, open spaces, and roadways. For those living on the streets who do not accept help in leaving the area, the deputies said, it would be a matter of time before they went to jail.
On September 9, the sheriff’s department engaged in another “Quality of Life” and “safety concern” operation, in that case throughout the Town of Apple Valley.
According to the department that effort “provided outreach and connected subjects with available community resources, including mental health treatment and supportive services.” H.O.P.E. and InnROADS Teams contacted 68 individuals throughout the town. Eleven of those 68 were arrested, with. three individuals taken into custody for possession of narcotics, two for possession of drug paraphernalia, three arrested on outstanding warrants, two arrested for trespassing and one for violations of the Apple Valley Municipal Code. Three of the 68 said they would accept offers of available resources and supportive services. Deputies also administered Narcan during a drug-related medical emergency and recovered a stolen flatbed trailer. It was made clear to the remaining homeless who were not arrested and did not accept assistance in the form of transportation out of Apple Valley, that their continued presence in the town was not appreciated.
Cutting to the chase, the word has gone out to the homeless: “The people of San Bernardino County don’t want you here. The political leaders – mayors and town council members, city council members and the members of the county board of supervisors – don’t want you here. Police officers and sheriff’s deputies are at liberty to treat you harshly if you don’t leave. Nobody likes you. You stink. We are good and decent people. You are not even despicable human beings. You are animals. When we piss and shit, we do so into water. You don’t. You don’t have any money. You don’t have any power. You don’t have lawyers. We do. Get the message and just get out of here.”