Annual Report 2006 - San Diego County District Attorney

injunction orders, participated in 42 wiretaps, conducted671 surveillances, conducted 37 witness protectionoperations, and relocated 76 protected witnesses.The Bureau’s Public Assistance Fraud Division alsohad a very successful year. Bureau investigatorshandled 16,680 cases, conducted 62,810 interviews,responded to 6,383 Child Protective Services recordschecks, conducted 3,388 compliance visits and made209 arrests.There was a changing of the guard in the Bureauin 2006. The Bureau’s Chief Investigator MichaelConnelly retired, and was replaced by Chief PaulaRobinson. Prior to her new assignment, Robinson wasan Assistant Sheriff at the San Diego County Sheriff’sDepartment and has more than three decades ofexperience in law enforcement.Assistant Chief Carlos Gonzalez oversaw theoperations of the Bureau, and two Deputy Chiefs wereappointed. Butch Etheridge was appointed to overseeand direct the California Witness Protection Program,Training, Range Operations, Fleet Managementand the Public Assistance Office. Mike Bishop wasappointed to oversee all Financial Crimes Divisions,which include Public Assistance Fraud, Economic andInsurance Fraud, the CATCH Team and the RegionalComputer Forensic Lab (RCFL).Staffing of the Bureau remained consistentthroughout the year, staffed by 168 investigators,45 of which were assigned to Public AssistanceFraud. Turnover of Bureau staff in the supervisoryand management levels increased during 2006. Inorder to meet the future needs of the Bureau, onegoal is leadership, supervisory development andsuccession planning.The Bureau continues to participate in several CountyTask Forces such as the Narcotics Task Force (NTF),Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Task Force (SAFE),Regional Auto Theft Task Force (RATT), and ViolentCrimes Gang Task Force (VCGTF).DAIs working with the CATCH Team establisheda new class in 2006 designed to educate lawenforcement officers on the growing danger of theinternet social website MySpace. With tremendousgrowth in such websites, numerous individualsinvolved in crimes (i.e. murderers, taggers, hackers)have profiles on MySpace, or similar sites whichcontain evidence of their deeds.The Bureau of Investigation is recognized throughoutthe state as a leader in the field of witness protectionand extradition training. Our innovative teachingtechniques and curriculums have received praisefrom investigators, supervisors and administratorswho routinely send their personnel to attend theclasses led by our investigators.During 2006, the Bureau added a paralegal positionin order to stay current with the large amount ofpaperwork required by the Department of Justice forthe California Witness Protection Program (CWPP).That program provides financial assistance to theDistrict Attorney for the relocation of witnesseswhose lives have been threatened as a result ofagreeing to assist with the prosecution ofdangerous criminals.Every member of the Bureau plays a vital partin its success and accomplishments. Workingcollaboratively with other law enforcement agenciesis critical to the successful prosecution of casesby our office. We are proud of our reputation andbelieve it is our responsibility to provide supportand resources to help our counterparts locally andthroughout the state.San Diego County District Attorney 13