Eight candidates \u2013 including an incumbent and his predecessor \u2013 are running to lead the country\u2019s largest sheriff department in the June 2 primary election.<\/p>\n
The candidates, all current or former members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff\u2019s Department, are running on differing approaches to homelessness, immigration enforcement and how to manage the department\u2019s billion-dollar budget. If no candidate receives more than 50% of primary votes, the top two candidates will move on to a November runoff election.<\/p>\n
LASD runs the country\u2019s largest jail system, serves as municipal police in unincorporated areas and contracting cities and provides security at the county\u2019s Superior Courts, hospitals and several community colleges. The sheriff is elected, unlike LA\u2019s police chief, and serves a four-year term.<\/p>\n
Incumbent Robert Luna said in an emailed statement that UCLA students rely on cooperation between UCPD and the LA sheriff because of the university\u2019s open campus. LASD provides mutual aid to UCLA during emergencies and works in areas adjacent to campus, impacting regional safety and traffic enforcement, said Luna, who worked for the Long Beach Police Department for 36 years before becoming sheriff in 2022.<\/p>\n
In the 2022 election, he pledged to eliminate law enforcement gangs \u2013 which are groups of deputies that intentionally break laws or violate professional principles while policing \u2013 and address repeat offenders, especially people accused of gun violence. He aimed to reduce mental health and substance abuse issues in county jails, as well as implement wellness programs for deputies and restore public trust in LASD.<\/p>\n
Violent crime has decreased each year since 2022, according to an LASD transparency dashboard.<\/a> The percentage of reported violent and property crimes that were solved increased each year from 2022 to 2024, while the same percentage decreased for arson, according to data<\/a> published by the California Department of Justice.<\/p>\n Luna also established a Crime Strategy Unit and Office of Constitutional Policing, outfitted deputies at jails with body-worn cameras and published more transparency data, according to his campaign website.<\/p>\n The campaign website also says Luna banned deputy gangs, which was already required under Assembly Bill 958.<\/a><\/p>\n If re-elected, Luna\u2019s priorities still include holding repeat offenders accountable, improving deputy mental health and investing in long-term crime prevention strategies, according to his website.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a County-wide elected official, it is my job as Sheriff to be responsive and collaborative with everyone in Los Angeles County, including students at UCLA,\u201d Luna said in the statement. \u201cI look forward to engaging with UCLA students on policies that promote justice, the protection of civil rights, and community safety.\u201d <\/p>\n Brendan Corbett, a retired assistant sheriff and sheriff candidate, said LASD deputies are overworked and fatigued, adding that the department\u2019s funds are often mishandled. Corbett said he believes LASD is not fulfilling its contractual obligation to provide adequate security at LA community colleges.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re exhausted, they\u2019re overworked and there\u2019s no light on the horizon,\u201d Corbett said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had deputies falling asleep at the wheel and dying, for heaven\u2019s sake. It\u2019s untenable and unsustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n Corbett said he does not believe crime has actually declined, but is simply underreported. <\/p>\n He added that he is applying 40 years of LASD experience in the jails, on patrol, and on SWAT teams to his campaign. Corbett said he plans to expand the Reserve Deputy Program, in which civilians volunteer as sheriff deputies to perform administrative tasks and work in the field, and create more community advisory councils.<\/p>\n Corbett said that, if elected, he plans to establish a new system in which jail inmates experiencing mental illness or substance abuse are mandated to work with a case manager upon their release, who would monitor their behavior. <\/p>\n Under the new system, which aims to reduce homelessness, the sheriffs would also provide support resources to inmates\u2019 families and notify the local police department that arrested the person when they are released from custody, Corbett added.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s communicating to get the best level of care for individuals going out, because that\u2019s how you\u2019re going to stop the homeless crisis,\u201d he said. \u201cRight now, unfortunately, the best timeout and place to heal and get well is if they\u2019re incarcerated.\u201d <\/p>\n Corbett said he believes LASD would benefit from enhanced access to drones, AI tools that analyze data and gather documents, medical alert systems in jail cells and video arraignments, which allow people held in jail to appear in court remotely.<\/p>\n Eric Strong, a probation operations chief running for sheriff, plans to direct all nonviolent cases involving people with addiction or mental illness to diversion programs or sobering centers instead of jail, according to his campaign website. He also wants to train every deputy in crisis intervention and de-escalation and make LASD\u2019s Internal Affairs Bureau, which investigates deputy misconduct, independent, his website said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to stop feeding the jails with people that are in crisis,\u201d he said in an interview. <\/p>\n Strong said he wants to change LASD\u2019s internal culture to teach deputies to treat people with dignity and respect, cooperate more effectively with civilian oversight and respond to more public records requests, which LASD is required to fulfil under state law. He added that he wants to ensure employees are promoted to executive ranks based on merit.<\/p>\n Strong, a UCLA alumnus, said he believes students should vote in the sheriff election, regardless of whether they support or oppose police. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the best way to basically help find the person that\u2019s going to do the least amount of harm and is going to push law enforcement in the direction of what your goals are?\u201d Strong said. \u201cIt\u2019s to get out there and vote, particularly for the sheriff.\u201d <\/p>\n Corbett and Strong both criticized Luna for not publicly taking a stand against increased federal immigration enforcement in LA County. A spokesperson for Luna\u2019s campaign said in an emailed statement that he expressed his stance in several appearances on media outlets, during which he criticized immigration raids in the county and said he did not send information about undocumented jail inmates to the federal government.<\/p>\n In November 2024, Luna said in an ABC7<\/a> interview<\/a> that sheriffs will not initiate immigration enforcement or ask about people\u2019s immigration status, but could help federal agencies under certain circumstances.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump ramped up immigration enforcement after his second inauguration, arresting 14,302 people in greater LA in 2025 compared to 4,684 in 2024, according to ABC7.<\/a> <\/p>\n Mike Bornman, a retired sheriff\u2019s captain and sheriff candidate, said on his campaign website that he would focus immigration enforcement efforts on people charged with violent felonies or serious misdemeanors if elected. However, Bornman said in an interview that he would transfer people convicted of serious crimes who are held in county jails to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement only in response to a judicial warrant. <\/p>\n Bornman said his three main goals as sheriff include conducting a forensic audit of LASD\u2019s budget and expenditures, rebuilding trust between the department and the public and improving department employee health and wellness. He added that he wants to fire anyone involved in deputy gangs and expand vocational opportunities in jails. <\/p>\n \u201cThe morale in the sheriff\u2019s department is at rock bottom low,\u201d Bornman said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got people who are chronically sleep deprived, who are stretched too thin. What kind of job are they going to do for you as a member of the public when they go out?\u201d <\/p>\n One way of boosting employee morale, Bornman added, is hiring more people by recruiting on college campuses. Strong said he wants more college graduates to consider careers in law enforcement. <\/p>\n \u201cWe need people who can think on their feet, we need people who are technologically savvy,\u201d Bornman said. \u201cWe need people who can talk themselves out of situations instead of using force.\u201d <\/p>\n Oscar Martinez, a sheriff\u2019s lieutenant, would prioritize defending law enforcement officers, modernizing the department\u2019s tools and promoting fiscal responsibility if elected sheriff, according to his campaign website. He said in an interview that he wants to strategically deploy deputies based on crime data, use drones and automated vehicles and be more transparent about sheriff expenditures. <\/p>\n \u201cTaxpayers have a right to demand that the money they spend on public safety is spent correctly,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Students deserve a sheriff\u2019s department that is reliable, responds to community concerns and protects individual rights, Martinez added in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n Martinez also wants to reinstate the federal 287(g) program, in which jails transfer inmates to ICE upon the agency\u2019s request. To implement the program, he would need to modify the California Values Act, a sanctuary law that outlaws the program, by working with state legislators. <\/p>\n