Through the legislative process, lawmakers continually give expanded powers and budgets to the public agencies that oversee the behavior of the general public. Politicians have been far less aggressive, however, at approving effective oversight mechanisms over the government. It’s an age-old question: What’s the best way for a free people to oversee their overseers?
In 2008, the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved an Office of Independent Review as an appalling scandal unfolded in the sheriff’s department. The previous year, the feds indicted former Sheriff Mike Carona on corruption charges. He resigned from office in 2008 and later served 52 months of a 66-month term for felony witness tampering.
To deal with opposition, supervisors placed the new office under control of the sheriff’s department. That immediately undermined its independence. It’s current charge is broad – overseeing the sheriff’s department, probation department, district attorney’s office, office of public defender and the social services agency – while it’s staffing level and budget are slim. But resources aren’t the problem. The agency always has lacked support and purpose.
The office has never done much of anything and certainly nothing of value. It’s basically a rubber stamp for law enforcement rather than an oversight body.
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While progressive jurisdictions have police commissions that are reflexively anti-law-enforcement, Orange County’s seems like an arm of the agencies it reviews. Its head, Robert Faigan, spent most of his career as a legal adviser to sheriffs.
Because of its do-nothing attitude, previous boards considered shuttering the office. Supervisors are again asking pertinent questions. According to the VoiceofOC, Faigan has issued only one report since 2022 – and it involved a noncontroversial issue. The publication rightly called it “catatonic for most of its history.” That’s shameful given the number of serious civil-rights scandals (involving snitches and evidence booking) that have plagued county law enforcement.
The OIR is worse than pointless, as it gives a veneer of accountability when none actually exists. Instead of shuttering it, supervisors need to invest energy into reformatting it into something of value rather than the current comatose waste of public funds.
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