Orange County Sheriff's Department Sheriff-coroner Sandra Hutchens August 20, 2018 Honorable Charles Margines Presiding*

Operating fifteen public agency helicopters in a busy and compressed airspace necessitates close cooperation and communication. Response: Agrees with the finding.

While responding to search and rescue events, Orange County Sheriff's Department and Orange County Fire Authority helicopters have flown too close to each other without adequate communication or coordination, which behavior could result in flight safety issues. Response: Agrees with the finding.

Some air crew members and management personnel of the Orange County Fire Authority and Orange County law enforcement air support units have expressed serious concerns regarding each other's flight safety and aerial rescue operations. Response: Agrees with the finding.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department has sufficient staffing, equipment, and training to implement the Board of Supervisors' resolution that the Sheriff should be the lead agency for remote/off-road search and rescues. Response: Agrees with the finding

Orange County public agencies have substantially more helicopters per square mile than any county in southern California, which provides opportunity for further cost benefit analysis. Response: Partially disagrees with the finding. This finding does not take into account the populations density of Orange County. While the County is small geographically, it is one of the nation's most populous.

Sheriff's helicopters and pilots with fire department paramedics onboard are used in many other California counties, including San Bernardino, San Diego, and Santa Barbara and have proven to be an effective combination. Response: Agrees with the finding.

Orange County's public aviation units lack inter-agency coordination, inhibiting efficient and cost-effective resource utilization. Response: Disagrees with the finding. The Orange County Sheriff's Department communicates and collaborates with all public agencies that operate aviation units.

Orange County Sheriff's Department does not have mid- to senior-level leadership with prior pilot experience who can provide appropriate oversight for flight operations and help resolve interagency issues. Response: Disagrees with the finding. While the Orange County Sheriff's Department does not have mid or senior-level leadership with pilot experience, the leadership who oversee the aviation unit have exceptional experience in managing public safety functions. The leadership provides sufficient oversight and is capable of resolving any interagency issues that arise.

Orange County air support units could benefit from co-locating at Fullerton Airport where they can leverage existing facilities. Response: Disagrees with the finding. Fullerton Airport is not an ideal location for responding to the Orange County Sheriff's Department's primary service area. OCSD has done an evaluation and assessment of the site and determined that Fullerton Airport is not a preferred location.

Several nearby counties have gained efficiencies by successfully consolidating their sheriffs' and fire agencies' air support units into one organization within each county. Response: Agrees with the finding. RECOMMENDATIONS: