Orange County Sheriff’s Department Discusses Crime with the Ladera Ranch Civic Council

In the wake of several serious crimes that have occurred in Ladera Ranch this year, Ladera Ranch residents have begun wondering if their community is still a safe place to live.  We noticed what seemed like an increase in crime as well.  Orange County Sheriff’s deputies addressed resident concerns about safety at the February meeting of the Ladera Ranch Civic Council earlier this week.  Among the takeaways:

• Historically, Ladera Ranch is a very safe community with infrequent serious crime.  In the last two years (excluding 2013), there were no homicides or rapes.  In 2011, there were three robberies, five aggravated assaults and one stolen vehicle. In 2012, there were five robberies, four aggravated assaults and four stolen vehicles.  There were 89 burglaries in 2011 and 60 burglaries in 2012.  Ladera Ranch has approximately 23,000 residents.
• The average time for a Sheriff’s deputy to respond to a call for service in Ladera Ranch was 17 minutes.  For a crime in progress, the response time is about half that – approximately eight minutes.  These times are higher than in previous years and above the Sheriff’s Department’s target response times.  Response times in Ladera Ranch are slower than Sheriff response times in San Juan Capistrano, due in part to the fact that San Juan Capistrano is a smaller, more contained area.
• The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is responsible for policing unincorporated Orange County, including Ladera Ranch, Coto de Caza, Las Flores, Wagon Wheel and Trabuco Canyon.  Sheriff’s deputies will also police the new Rancho Mission Viejo development, including Sendero.  The total area currently has 55,000 residents (with perhaps another 2,300 coming to Sendero and Gavilan) and is served by 20 Sheriff’s deputies, with at least five on duty at any given time.  By comparison, the City of San Juan Capistrano (which contracts with the Orange County Sheriff for policing services) has 19 full-time deputies assigned for a city with approximately 35,000 residents.