Incorporated on July 1, 2001 as Orange County’s 34th City and the 16th Contract law enforcement partner with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Aliso Viejo is a master-planned community with a population of just over 45,000.

The City Council made some significant additions to the Police Services Program for 2005:

• Automatic External Defibrillators (AED’s) were added to every patrol car in the city.
• Aliso Viejo was the first City in Orange County enacting an ordinance making mandatory the installation of communications infrastructure in new commercial construction for police and fire emergency communications.
• The adoption of the National Incident Management System integrated into the City’s Emergency Operations Plan.
• Enacted a resolution authorizing Police Services to enforce local laws in the newest AVCA Parks.
• Approved a program providing free education and child safety seats to persons cited for this type violation.

On May 17, 2006, the City Council approved the following additions to the Police Services Program: A 50% funding increase to provide 2 full time general investigators to the city; the purchase of a new Honda 1300SP Police Motorcycle for a total compliment of two motorcycles for the City; a cost sharing apportionment for an additional Sheriff’s Sergeant was approved to create a second Directed Enforcement Team, an undercover surveillance team serving the entire South County Region and two new police vehicles, one for the new investigator and one for the Crime Prevention Specialist.

City residents are served by five elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school and the 103-acre SOKA University. The focal point of the community is the Aliso Viejo Town Center, a dining, shopping and entertainment complex. Bordering the city is the beautiful Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park. Miles of bicycle and pedestrian paths snake through the City and the Jack Nicklaus-designed Aliso Viejo Golf Club has received national acclaim. Several international companies maintain their headquarters in the City and in the next two to four years, Police Services will work closely with the City Council, city staff and developers in furtherance of police staffing in relation to the addition of 500,000 square feet of commercial and recreational space and 1,000 new residences in the Aliso Viejo Parkway / Enterprise area.

Lieutenant Richard Paddock, a 30-year veteran of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, serves as Chief of Police Services. He supervises 19 deputy sheriffs, four sergeants, two investigators and two Community Services Officers. Sheriff’s personnel are responsible for general patrol, traffic enforcement, traffic collision and criminal investigation. One of the deputies is assigned to the Regional Directed Enforcement Team, mentioned earlier, which is a specialized unit of deputies who move throughout the South County area conducting undercover criminal suppression. On July 1, 2004, the Aliso Viejo City Council added two deputy sheriffs to the roster of Police Services. These two deputies now comprise the “Special Enforcement Team” which was formed to address the special enforcement issues in the Aliso Viejo Towne Center and other special policing needs in the City. A Crime Prevention Specialist organizes neighborhood and business watch programs and participates in the development process through the Development Review Committee in furtherance of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED).

In the sixth year of incorporation, Police Services reports one of the best crime rates in the County, many categories revealing the lowest in the South County area. Other partnerships have proved very productive, such as working with City Community Services regarding programs at Iglesia Park regarding programs for the city’s Family Resource Center at Iglesia Park.

Police Services looks forward to the sixth year of service to the citizens, merchants and visitors of Aliso Viejo and to working together with the community to continue the high standard of living in one of the premier cities in America.

Click here to e-mail the Police Services Chief for the City of Aliso Viejo.