Police can respond to Wetlands calls

Residents who lived near or walked in the Bolsa Chica Wetlands often had a dilemma when they saw someone breaking the law: call the police, and be told they couldn’t do anything on county land, or call the distant Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and face a long wait for deputies who might never come.

“We’re in an island of county territory out in the middle of nowhere, and it really takes them a really long amount of time,” said Mark Bixby, a nearby resident and conservation activist who spends long hours in the wetlands.

“If you had seen and encountered problems in the county area, and you called the sheriff, it’s a really big crapshoot.”

Parts of the area were city territory, and others were county territory. If casual visitors saw someone setting a fire or drinking in public, they wouldn’t always know what to do.

But as of this week, that has changed.

The City Council voted unanimously this week to sign a deal with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to have local police take on law enforcement duties throughout the whole Bolsa Chica region, as well as along the banks of the Santa Ana River.

The staff report states Huntington Beach residents were the people most affected by crime in those areas, but officers didn’t have the powers they needed.

“At present, HBPD officers lack the authority to enforce County of Orange ordinances such as illegal consumption of alcoholic beverages and illegal camping, which are at the root of a number of police problems in these areas,” the report states.

In both areas, residents have complained about transients camping out and committing crimes. While the change won’t necessarily push out those who camp out on privately owned property — that takes an eviction by the owner — it will give residents a way to report illegal behavior, Bixby said.

“If you see guys out there shooting wildlife with BB guns, you can call the police,” he said. “If you see guys drinking or having bonfires, you can get that stopped. It’s totally a good thing.”

MICHAEL ALEXANDER may be reached at (714) 966-4618 or at [email protected].