Sheriff's office to increase patrols in Lafayette and Orinda
By Sora O'Doherty
Contra Costa Sheriff David Livingston announced on Nov. 27 that he has assigned additional patrol deputies to both the Lafayette and Orinda communities immediately. The sheriff's office provides law enforcement and public safety services to both Orinda and Lafayette through contracts.
These deputy sheriffs will augment the Lafayette and Orinda police departments' regular patrols and will remain in those cities until further notice. The deputies will work both daytime and nighttime hours in fully marked patrol vehicles. The announcement indicated that other security measures have also been stepped up and are ongoing.
"Anytime we see a rise in criminal activity, especially violent crime, we react immediately," said Livingston. In addition, he said, "the citizens of Orinda and Lafayette should know we are out in force - some measures will be highly visible like our additional patrol deputies and other measures will be more covert. Our goal remains unchanged, to keep Contra Costa families safe."
Orinda Police Chief David Cook has said that the additional coverage being provided by the sheriff 's office will not be charged to the cities of Orinda or Lafayette. The deputies will be patrolling in sheriff's office cars and uniforms. Cook explained, "I work very closely with the Command Staff of the Sheriff's Field Operations Bureau."
In reply to social media comments, Livingston clarified that the additional coverage in Lafayette and Orinda will not have any impact on the deployment of deputies or coverage of unincorporated areas. The patrol deputies being assigned to Lafayette and Orinda will come from other units in the sheriff's office.
The announcement made via social media resulted in a number of negative comments about the sheriff, coverage of wealthy versus poorer areas of the county, and calls for allowing more citizens to carry concealed weapons.
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