The CA Vehicle Code authorizes cities and counties to adopt county ordinances to remove abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or non-operative vehicles from public and private lands. These vehicles can create a condition tending to reduce property value, create fire hazards and create a harborage for rodents and insects. Deputies respond to citizen complaints about vehicles possibly in violation of the El Dorado County Ordinance. The responding deputy works with the complainant, property owners and the registered owner of the vehicle in question in an attempt to find a solution to the problem. Often times the only solution is the abatement process.
Vehicle abatement is a multi-step process which takes approximately 30 days to complete. The responding deputy places an abatement tag on the vehicle and documents the abandoned/wrecked vehicle in a report. The report is then processed by the Sheriff's Records Unit and forwarded to the abatement coordinator for further processing. A letter is sent via certified mail to the last known registered owner of the vehicle. If there is no response received from the registered owner, the vehicle can then be removed from the location. If the vehicle has been removed from the location, there is no further action is taken. If the vehicle in violation has not been removed from the location in a timely manner, then the vehicle is removed and disposed of in accordance with state law.
In 2019, the vehicle abatement process removed a total of 135 vehicles abandoned in El Dorado County.
Vehicle Abatement
Personnel
40
Facing a staffing deficit of approximately 10%,
the Background Investigation Unit doubled and
even tripled their caseloads to accomplish their
goal of filling these vacancies. The unit relies on
staff to be flexible with their schedules to
accommodate the needs and schedules of
hopeful employees. A thorough background
investigation is a lengthy process and this team
works hard to be as efficient as possible.
Background Investigators examine personal
histories, knock on neighbor’s doors, make
home visits, contact former employers, conduct
numerous interviews, and much more to get an
unbiased report on each potential new
employee. The team actively recruited new
employees reaching 17 new laterals, visited a
handful of academies throughout California,
and began a mentoring program for academy
recruits. They received 1,453 applications in 2019
of which 156 backgrounds were completed and
63 candidates were hired. The unit is dedicated
to their work to ensure the Sheriff's Office is
staffed with the “best of the best.”