Orange County Supervisors appointed a new head for their law enforcement watchdog last week – a couple months after the supervisors’ chairman called the role a “toothless tiger” and other supervisors said it doesn’t do anything. 

The Office of Independent Review has faced questions on its effectiveness since its inception in 2008, with just five staff to oversee the 10,000 workers in departments like the Sheriff’s Department, District Attorney’s office and the Social Services Agency. 

Those complaints came to a head in June, when county supervisors were looking over their budget that fell $75 million short of being structurally balanced and Supervisor Doug Chaffee suggested defunding the office to save money.

[Read: Orange County Leaders Warn of Dangerous Budget Future]

“It’s never really been productive in anything I thought was meaningful,” Chaffee said at the board’s June 9 meeting. “It’s to me a toothless tiger on a leash…it really doesn’t have any power.” 

While the rest of the board agreed the office had little to no power, they were split on how best to fix that. 

Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, who regularly called for the watchdog to do more, said it’s largely “window dressing” and that he was open to eliminating it altogether and reintroducing it with more powers. 

“It has no powers, it has no leverage,” Sarmiento said during the June meeting. “I don’t see it providing a real benefit.” 

Supervisors Katrina Foley and Janet Nguyen brought up concerns with eliminating the office altogether, highlighting it could be difficult to resurrect. 

“If it’s defunded, it’s not coming back,” Foley said. 

Discussions on fixing the office haven’t resurfaced so far, with supervisors instead voting unanimously with no discussion to appoint Catherine Santiago as the new director last Tuesday. 

Previously, Santiago was the Senior Deputy County Counsel for LA County, where Orange County staff said she “serves as strategic advisor to the Sheriff’s Department on policy development, legislative implementation, litigation exposure, and training standards” in their report. 

She also worked for the US Air Force for nearly seven years, according to her LinkedIn page and is currently a member of the Air Force Reserve. 

She’ll receive a base salary of $275,000, an $82,000 raise from her previous job with LA County, but with insurance and other benefits her annual pay is over $420,000. 

Her predecessor, Robert Faigin, quietly left last November when his contract expired after three years. 

[Read: Orange County’s Law Enforcement Watchdog Once Again Rudderless]

All of Faigin’s recommendations related to use of force for sheriff’s deputies were ignored in his tenure, but the department did take several recommendations to increase women prisoners’ access to family planning services along with health products.   

[Read: OC Sheriffs Ignores New Use of Force Policy Recommendations]

The office is also charged with reviewing custodial death reports, but its backlog stretches all the way to 2023, leaving cases from the past few years still untouched. 

It’s unclear if or when the office will see any changes to its mandates or powers. 

Chaffee declined to comment when asked about the appointment of a new director, and Sarmiento said that Santiago’s hiring would be a “springboard” for new work, but declined to answer questions about expanding the office’s powers in law. 

“The selection of the new Director marks a recommitment to the work of the office,” Sarmiento wrote in a Tuesday statement. “Though I have been disappointed by the lack of active oversight in the past, it is my hope that this hire serves as a springboard for the enhanced oversight that our residents deserve.”

Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.

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