A problem with oversight: Santa Clara County sheriff’s office lags on internal investigations

A NEW REPORT from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s oversight office said the county is lagging on internal affairs investigations into deputy misconduct.

Over the course of 2024, the Sheriff’s Office of deputy misconduct investigations were routinely completed just days or weeks before the one-year statute of limitations had expired, according to the June 17 annual report from the Office of Correction and Law Enforcement Monitoring. Still, the report offers  hope that a recent restructuring of the Sheriff’s Internal Affairs Office — and expanded staffing — will lead to more timely inquiries. Roughly 60 internal affairs cases are pending at the sheriff’s office, according to the oversight monitors.