Seems like this station has a history of alleged harassment so I'll leave my experience here and I'll give names and badge numbers- On May 4 2026 10:25pm I am in my van on a public road when I hear a thud come from the front of my vehicle and after I get some glasses on to check it out I see a cop car speeding away. PD can write tickets for camping after 10pm so thanks for the 25 minute grace period officer K. Colburn #0095. No attempt to speak to me or verify I was in the vehicle. Around 6am the next morning I see the ticket Mr. Colburn left for me along with two more tickets. One was written at 5:58am again for camping in my vehicle and the name is illegible looks like "OW" and badge number also illegible looks like "2191" or "2491" hilarious because everything else they wrote on the ticket is perfectly readable. The third ticket was written two minutes later at 6:00am by officer Guerra #2442. He discovered a new law I was breaking and delivered the city some justice by giving me a third $42 fine. He found that I was in a red zone. By a couple feet! On a very busy street where parking COMPLETELY in the red is commonplace. But I digress, I paid that one. Before I could properly appeal these I had to email this code compliance officer. Another long story but he was nearly useless. He gave me a "one time courtesy for the second camping ticket and upheld the original. After 4 time asking him for the officers evidence he finally told me to file a proper appeal at a court in Newport Beach???? So I did that and asked for the officers evidence and it was upheld because I didn't have evidence I'm not in the van. Sorry but what kind of shit is that??? Basically saying a cop can write a ticket for absolutely anything they feel like and they can get away with it unless proven guilty of HARASSMENT and PROFILING. Never again will I be honest with a cop, cooperate with your needs, or show any kind of respect. At least not in this jurisdiction I should say. I tried to tell you guys that I was unaware of the law and was not formally informed of the law and no evidence was ever provided to me and I tried to explain I'm just going through a difficult time and I'm here trying to empathize with an officer forcing me to donate $42 x3 to the city of SOLANA BEACH LOL read more

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Left on Read by the Law I've had lousy help from the Encinitas sheriffs with serious issues before, so when an on-duty officer gave me his number, I thought I'd give them one more chance. He was sweet, we texted... and then crickets. Guess follow-through isn't their strong suit, on duty or off. 10/10 would NOT recommend. read more

Nothing but harrasssed by these cops. I've lived here just under 2 years & been profiled & spotlighted 3-4 times. Seems to have an uptick since you know who was elected. Cocky, arrogant, selfish attitudes, not for the people! They have never made me feel safe or secure. They always give reason to be upset or escalate a situation, but I know their motives & routines & don't fall for them , not to mention I am a stand-up citizen. read more

Back like 6 years my best friend came to my house in Encinitas. He arrived through the side door. My friend and I started hanging out in my backyard and having fun. All of the sudden 3 police officers storm through the side of my gate into my backyard without permission and grab my friend. Funny how they didn't grab me because I'm white, they only grabbed my dark skin friend and threw him against the trash can against the side of my house and put him in hand cuffs. The whole time I was yelling at them saying stop saying "he's my friend" but the cops kept saying he was trying to break into the house. Even though I INVITED HIM TO MY HOUSE IN THE FIRST PLACE. The cops then held him (illegal detainment, illegal seizure of his backpack, violated terry stop) and humiliated him on my front lawn for a long time and kept him in handcuffs until my mom came home and told them to let him go. YOU VIOLTED MULTIPLE AMENDMENTS AND IF I HAD KNOW WHAT I KNOW KNOW I WOULD HAVE TAKEN YOU ALL TO COURT. YOU CAME INTO MY HOUSE AND ARRESTED MY FRIEND JUST BECUASE HIS SKIN WAS BLACK. AND IT WAS ILLEGAL TO ENTER MY PROPERTY THE WAY YOU DID. THE FOLLOWING PICTURE I AM ATTATCHING IS OF THE 3 CLOWNSHOW OFFICERS THAT THREW MY FRIEND TO THE GROUND AND Humiliated him. I would like your department to give me an explanation to this incident, becuase major protocols were broken on that day. I was having a peaceful fun day with my friend and it turned horrible traumatizing into an illegal department and illegal search and seizure and illegal breach of a premises. "Section 242 of Title 18 makes it a crime for a person acting under color of any law to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States." Under section 242 you technically could be sued for kidnapping an individual, good job guys read more

San Diego County Sheriff's Encinitas Station - Police Departments Near Me - Encinitas, California

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Amazing department. So professional, reasonable, attentive, and cool. They made a scary situation a calm safe one. Great team. Thank you

Blood results are in and there was 0 alcohol and a very low amount of my prescription medication. My license has been returned after going thru the DMV court. As I had mentioned from my review earlier I identify as a trans female my pronouns as she, hers, her. The officer was ever so disrespectful to address me as HE! Thru the entire officer statement; even worse he lied on official documents stating he pulled me over at a different hour than what my Cell Phone Bill states. Remember cell phone bills are receipts and actual proof that can't be tampered with. Let's see how this goes in court.... the only flaw was me losing my Trusted Traveler Program that I have been on for 11+ years due to the lying, slanderous, and discriminating actions of Officer Rader. read more

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Dude some sheriff creeping around at 4:24 in the morning writing tickers for no front lisence plate. Then comes back 2 weeks later to write another round of bs tickets. A sheriff stopping me on my street while walking my dogs after work to ask who I and what I'm doing. Walking my dogs on my street. Then tells me the reason for questioning me is cause a house got toilet papered 2 blocks down. I'm 38 years old. Has his spot light and flashlight on me the entire time. When I asked for his name since I couldn't see anything he said none of ny business then left. The list of bs goes on and on. Nothing better to do than write front license plate and tint tickets all creep like at 4am. Is your hobby just being a douche? read more

Blessed and appreciative Cardiff citizen grateful for the selfless; dedicated; and hard working sheriffs in Encinitas- keeping our lovely neighborhood safe. Thank you for your sacrifice and bravery! Lastly, your professionalism and kindness is uniquely refreshing and rare to find. read more

Just another example of why you can never rely on the police. Had a incident with a vehicle while driving down El Camino Real (the same street the police station is located on). Basically, some kid threw some pipe fittings and change at my BMW. I tried to pursue him, but he drove erratically through rush hour traffic, which I was not willing to do. Luckily, I had a dash cam on my vehicle, so I caught the incident on camera. Contacted the police department, and they advised me to wait at the station to fill out a police report. This was around 5pm. I waited until almost 9pm, until I couldn't possibly wait any longer. I figured I could go in the next day to fill out the report. I went in the next day, ended up waiting around a hour for a police officer to show up so that I could fill out a report. He shows up, dismisses the damage on my vehicle as minor, and tells me I can't file a police report as the offenders license plate is registered to a LA address, and the damage would only qualify as a misdemeanor. I ended up having to pay out of pocket to fix my vehicle, which totaled to nearly $1,000 in damage. According to Penal Code 594 PC, any damage in excess of $400 can be charged as a felony. Long story short, people are allowed to throw objects at your vehicle and damage it with impunity, as long as a police officer doesn't witness it with their own eyes. Don't rely on the police. read more

Dispatch responded to my non urgent situation re: a kitten scam where I paid for a kitten and never received it by sending a deputy to take a report. Deputy Jimenez came to my home and was courteous, empathetic and knowledgeable re: the situation. The department should be proud to have someone of her caliber working in the department. read more

I had a 40th birthday party for one of my friends this past weekend and even though the band we had playing in the backyard was reggae and low key one of my neighbors called the sheriff, twice!! If this review was for the first deputy I would give it 5 stars. He was polite, calm and just stated that someone called and he had to respond. He saw no problem and we could keep going like this for all night. Wished my friend a happy birthday and was on his way. The next deputy was a humongous power tripper. Said that all my neighbors were willing to sign an arrest warrant if I didn't shut down the band. (This was 8:30 pm) How about just saying hey obviously a neighbor is bummed out about the band can you turn it down or tell them to stop. No need to threaten with arrest. It's not like I'm an underage rager partying while my parents are out of town. I've lived here for 10 years and this is the first time the cops were called. At least I knew I had a successful party. ;) read more

Not very helpful....seems like if they don't need to their way to help out.. th ey won't. Better to stay in the office and take care of things by phone. Sounds like they're just happy getting paid. Very disappointed ! read more

I'm a homeless man approaching sixty years old. I've been homeless and in and out of Vista and east maysa ( camp Snoopy) jails for over ten years. Overall, I guess I've done over a year inside. Although I have been in for things I never did ( domestic violence ) and things I did do, when it all bowls down to it. I would not want to take the experience back. Being incarcerated tought me more about people ( cyvillians, cops,homies and myself) in one year, then a lifetime of never being locked up would have. I never thought I was angry, but the anger management class taught me that most of us are. I whent in a highschool dropout, and left with a GED. I would like to thank the Encinitas sherrif department the Oceanside PD and the Carlsbad PD for all the good that they do that for the most part, goes unnoticed. PS I'm now happily employed and soon to be off the streets . read more

I had my rear license plate stolen and replaced with another stolen plate. The individual with my stolen license plate ran a RED Light in Encinitas and I was served with a violation - I called the Sheriff Department spoke to Deputy Eric Rader who researched and helped with straightening it out - Thank you Deputy Rader - great service!!!!!! read more

Yesterday we got a lead in regards to case that we have with a missing loved one, whom we have been looking for and a lot of people in the community as well are just to get him home safe and sound with god help, and the officers who responded on scene were so kind, had the most upmost professional manner and held strong good work ethic with ethical morales and respect made us feel safe, secure and that they were helping in any way possible, and handled the entire situation in a professional manner well the officers I personally spoke to and I encountered with in front of the cvs, where a family member of ours is a manager there, all the officers I spoke to we're very kind, respectful and professional and held awesome ethical morales as a representation of Encinitas sheriffs and honestly may god watch over them and help find my brother safely and return him home we're heartbroken and it's the most awful feeling spending Easter not knowing if our family member is okay who's never done anything like this, has a clean criminal record and is the kindest soul ever, thank you sheriffs for offering the best representation of a good sheriff office last night to me and my family god bless you guys! read more

These people are some of the nicest people that I have ever met. I have met them around town in Encinitas and they are always doing such an wonderful job keeping the peace around the town. (I know that sounded kinda lame, but they really are really cool people!) I came here one night after finding someone's purse at the YMCA (does a little dance) and then didn't know what to do with it. The YMCA offices were all closed, and so I drove down to the Encinitas Sheriff's Department Office, to only find that no one was there. I called the number on the door for non-emergencies and talked to this lady who then said she would send a patrol car out to me and just to wait patiently. So when he arrived, I got out of the car, and he flashed his lights at me, and told me to put the bag on the car, and to keep my hands where he could see them. He then approaches me, and I'm just about to ish myself, because I just want to make sure this bag is safe....and he then looks at the bag and finds the ID and returns it. He then takes down my information, and I'm just again, about to ish myself, because I have no idea what to do, or what is going on. overall, I understand the steps that he needed to take to be safe and all, but it was just an interesting experience. read more

Crooked Deputy! - I was pulled over in Encinitas on my way to work (at a veterinary dentistry practice) & it was a legitimate violation so I was cooperative & respectful. The Deputy was so rude & reached in & grabbed my keys out of my car. For perspective, I was in the Whole Foods loading dock locked in by his car. I wasn't going anywhere & he had no need to do that. He ranted up & down about following the rules & letter of the law & I didn't argue. Fast forward about 9 days - after I took care of my violation & I was squared away - he walks into my place of work with his personal dog needing our services. I recognized him but he didn't recognize me - yet. I took excellent care of his dog & he did recognize me when he picked up his dog. He wouldn't even look me in the eye even when I was trying to hand him something. He had great pet insurance but he called the next day & actually asked us to claim something on his insurance paperwork differently than it actually was so he'd get even more $ covered by his insurance. Umm, that's called INSURANCE FRAUD & we said no. So much for following the rules/laws. I'm appalled at the absolute hypocrisy of this egotistical, power-hungry Deputy. I have huge respect for law enforcement & have done many ride alongs with SDPD. I've seen them treat people with respect so the Deputy's behavior was so unnecessary. The Bonus: I called the station & spoke with an officer of higher rank, explaining the situation & expressing how appalled I was with the behavior & hypocrisy of this Deputy. She wasn't at all concerned & asked me why I was calling & what was she supposed to do? I'd be anxious to talk to my Deputy if I was her. I gave her his name, dates, my (previous) work info, etc... She wasn't concerned about it. Appalling. Not at all like my experience with other law enforcement. I expect more from Deputies. My guess is THIS Deputy is a bad egg & the rest are good people but bad eggs spoiled it for the rest of them. read more

I work at subway and we've had multiple times when we felt threatened by people who come in and we call the cops. The cops always come late and Instead of treating it correctly they ask me multiple questions while the person has time to leave like what kind of police station is this. Why can't they do what they are hired to do. DEFUND THE POLICE read more

I called PERT for myself to get taken to a crisis house since I'd been before and was told I could do that and regular cops came, berated me, scared the shit out of me, beat me up, then charged me with a felony and took me to jail. Deputy Dorman in particular seemed to really smile about scaring me when I was vulnerable. I thought they were literally going to kill me. The court dropped the charges because I had tried to call PERT and then this happened instead. Whether or not I was on drugs was irrelevant because I was trying to get somewhere to sober up. Have nearly a year sober now. So if you want to get your ass beat by low IQ individuals who feel extremely superior to you then call EPD. If you want people who recognize that we are all also people, then as far as I know, anywhere else in North County you should be fine. Maybe it was just these ones. read more

I wish more people who met very helpful and really caring deputies from Encinitas Sheriffs Department would post their reviews.Because there are many good officers working there.But recently posting a review requires to download the app and not everyone would go for it. I work for the business that takes security seriously and our guards from contractor company have to call the police sometimes.I happened to witness some of the interactions of the deputies with offenders.All the officers were professional , polite and arrived fast. Recently I called Encinitas Sheriffs Department to get some advice on the situation with possibly fraudulent actions of a person involved in a car accident.Frankly ,I did not expect much.ESD was not called at the time of the accident.But deputy ERIC RADER's help exceeded any possible expectations. Being busy on duty he found time to contact DMV [twice!] and discussed the information with me.And when he first called me the call went straight to voice mail [for no apparent reason]. After leaving a message he called back later.He already knew from dispatch that I called for advice on the situation that did not involve police and did not happen very recently. If I would have completely lost faith in police, deputy Rader restored it 10 fold! read more

Hey Sandy J., did you think of pulling over on a side street, legally? Maybe into one of the dozens of parking lots on ECR? Of course not. I hate that your review taints the overall rating. Anyway, I love the Sheriff's Department. I find (most of) the deputies helpful and understanding. While I agree that there are always bad apples who ruin a barrel, and there probably are some deputies out there on a power trip, the majority of the Sheriff's deputies (Encinitas and elsewhere) are just normal guys trying to do their job and keep San Diego County safe. If you ever think they're being over the top or aggressive, stop and take a second to think - you pull someone over with absolutely NO idea who they are, what they have in their car, what crime they've just committed, what weapon they may have concealed in their pants, or whether or not they're law enforcement friendly. I don't know about you, but it would scare me to have to take that risk multiple times a day. Give these guys & gals some slack! read more

I cannot thank detective Luis Pena and the entire Encinitas detective department enough! They were so helpful and went beyond the call of duty to recover a stolen item. Here is my incident in which they successfully recovered a lost item: I used Bekins for my third move (the first two being out of state moves). This time I contacted them for a local San Diego move in December 2015. After my move, my IT specialist found that my laptop showed up in a remote area of San Diego. I alerted the Encinitas Sheriff's department - and after help from them, a warrant to pursue the IP address of my laptop from AT&T, my laptop was recovered from the house of one of the subcontractors employed by Bekins (the subcontractor company being "Keep It Moving"). The detective department at the Encinitas Sheriff's station gave me updates periodically throughout the warrant process and alerted me when they had recovered my laptop so that I could pick it up from them. Honestly, I thought it was a long shot to get my Mac back and they worked diligently to recover the item. Can't thank them enough! read more

After driving to thee police stations and getting the run around while trying to pay a fix it ticket, I ended up here. The receptionist was amazing and helped me to understand the legal terms of my ticket and understand the actions I needed to take. Way better than trying to get a hold of the silly California court system. Paying a ticket is never fun but if you have to do it go to these guys :) read more

Words fall short expressing my gratitude to the Encinitas Sheriff department. I was involved in a car accident. The deputies were there in minutes. They were cool, calm and efficient. A female deputy, Sgt Watkins, stayed by my side the whole time. It can be hard to strike a balance between being professional and compassionate, but she did it beautifully. They even drove me home. I'm so sorry to read these 1-star reviews. There are professional and unprofessional people in all careers, and I understand how frustrated and upset one can get when they encounter unprofessionalism in a civil servant sworn to protect and serve. But for me, I will be eternally grateful for the way the entire horrible mess was handled. Thank you, Encinitas Sheriff's!!!! read more

I want to thank the Encinitas Station Sheriff's department for helping to clean up what was a dangerous, messy parking situation on our residential street. I am sight-impaired, and our street is off Coast Highway, and highly trafficked night and day. Many residents were double parking their vehicles in their driveways blocking sidewalks and necessitating having to walk in the street rather than safely on the sidewalks. Dangerous enough when you have great vision.....but super scary to an individual that cannot see clearly. I thank them for helping to clear up the street. I am grateful for all they do to keep our community safe. read more

Horrible. On a Sunday morning at 3 am I came outside to my car about to be towed for a marathon in the morning. I begged that I could just go grab my key and move it. THEY REFUSED I am appalled that my neighborhood police could not grace me with enough kindness to let me just simply move the car myself. read more

My boyfriend and I used to live in a house in San Marcos. Since then I have moved to Bankers Hill and recently relocated Downtown. The address listed with the DMV is my banker's hill address. (Yes this is relevant to the story). The house in San Marcos is now occupied by my boyfriends friend/coworker. On Tuesday, April 3rd my boyfriend called me from work (I was at home sick) to tell me that the Sheriff's department had gone to the house in San Marcos and told the tenant (again, my boyfriends friend/coworker) that they had video surveillance of me stealing purses from a TJ Maxx in Encinitas several days in a row. We were both astonished. As I am innocent and have nothing to hide (not to mention I haven't been to Encinitas since I moved from there over a year ago and my boss can vouch that at the time one of these "videos of me" was taken I was sitting at my desk at work), I called the sheriff's department. I spoke to a detective whose name was something like "Berlinksky" who informed me that there was video of me shoplifting. After I informed him that wasn't possible because I was at work we figured out that the car he had traced me by actually was a car I have for my mother that's under my name. My mother does work in Encinitas and frequents TJ Maxx. My mother also will give a clerk a nickel back if they give her 5 cents too much change at a register. So then, he starts declaring that "Oh well we have video of your mother at TJ Maxx stealing purses and we need to find her." When I tried to tell him that there's no way she would do that he insisted that the evidence stands and went so far as to say "I could tell you what she looks like." So I gave him my mother's name and address and phone number. The whole time that I was being forthcoming and trying to help him with as much information as I could (lets not forget I electively called him instead of waiting for him to find me) this guy is being a major asshole and is just abrasive (which I understand in his line of work he probably gets people all day that are not compliant but when someone IS complying and trying to help maybe being LESS of a dick than normal would be a good call huh?). I called my mother and brought her up to speed. She immediately calls in and talks to the same guy who somehow within this 20 minute span now has a completely different story saying that he actually hasn't seen the footage yet and they are just calling on cars that were in the parking lot when this happened. He (on his own grounds and as a representative of the SD County Sheriff's Encinitas Station) was unprofessional and surely didn't inspire any confidence in our law enforcement personnel. I can't imagine in what world it is acceptable for a detective to declare that they have inarguable evidence (you know that video surveillance of me that turned out to be my mom that turned out to not have even been viewed yet?) and stir up people's lives like this only to not actually have anything solid to go off of. When I spoke to an alternate detective on the case (Detective Do) all he really had to say was "well it wasn't me that said that and maybe you just caught Berlinksy on a bad day or something." Id love to show up and one of these jackoffs house and tell their wives that I have video of their husband cheating and then later say "well i haven't actually seen the video and also you just caught me on a bad day" Again, I find this department in my recent dealings with their representatives to be incompetent, unimpressive and to be frank-the one detective was a blatant liar. North county would do better to have their crimes investigated and solved by Inspector Gadget. At least he's got that cool helicopter hat. Also, my mom and I would still LOVE to see that video surveillance of me/her stealing purses. Thanks. read more

Just spoke with dispatcher Kiana #5436. Very helpful. The Encinitas Sheriff's is always helpful to our small business. Thank you.

I am blown away by the absolute unprofessionalism at this station. I was sitting and waiting for a Sheriff to write a report about my car getting broke into and, as I was waiting I couldn't help but hear the comments coming out of the front staffs mouths about people as they would leave out the door. They were as it seemed "making fun" of people or saying rude things regarding them or their situation that they came in needing HELP for. You are a community servant, there to SERVE the general public, not there to degrade or make yourself feel superior. Absolutely disgusting and disgraceful. I will be reporting to Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board. read more

Two power tripping mutual mastorbators, arrogant not real police woke me and my friend from sleep in my van. I've been traveling around the USA since I lost my job and congress ended unemployment insurance looking for a job and place to settle. This was on C street where apparently some people park and neck or whatever also a few vanners occasionally get a nights rest. I've been rousted several times in various towns including Carlsbad, Boulder co and a couple other places Sedona az but always treated civilly and as a routine police contact never ticketed sometimes after being checked out told to go back to sleep or directed to a better less conspicuous place to spend the rest of the night. Not these guys they were really getting off on playing hard cop, "don't ever let me catch you in my town" I throw all your crap on the street next time" real aholes. Very confrontational trying their best to escalate what should have been routine into an opportunity for using more force and intimidation. Officer gave me his badge number when I asked #5379 then he started backing off saying he wasn't threatening me but he certainly was prior. They hung a sheet from their trunk and had us both stand at 3 in the morning for photos in the street. Unbelievable, at a time when so many like myself are sleeping in our cars after losing homes and jobs in the Great Depression. Serve and protect not intimidate and power trip! I admire and appreciate those men/women in blue who serve the community with integrity and respect the police who can discriminate between public nuisance and personal threat. with power comes responsibility some do not deserve the trust they have been given in wearing the uniform and gun. My guess is the culture reflects top command attitude. read more

First, I had no idea Encinitas had it's very own Sheriff's Dept. That is impressive. Pretty sure it's the County's dept but...I could be wrong. After reading the previous post of one Sandy J. I couldn't help but be baffled as to why she is upset. Hey, Sandy, the deputy you had the good fortune of meeting is not obliged to get you to your appointment. Weird, I know....but he is actually paid to enforce the laws. Again, this may be confusing to you....so I will take it slow. Stopping in the median to make a call because you are lost isn't exactly the smart way to start your day. In fact, I'll bet many of the drivers who had to deal with your brilliance that day were not at all amused. Did you ever think for a moment that the deputy was maybe attempting to prevent you from causing an accident? Oh, that probably didn't cross your mind as you were running red lights. Well, at least the judge made it clear when you went to court, yet, you still seem upset. I give up. Just stay clear of Encinitas. I think all the deputies would be grateful for that. I, for one, have had only really nice encounters with the deputies and staff at the Encinitas station. read more

I dont know if they are useful in anyway but I do know that they had my car towed from the train station without even checking with the DMV for registration errors. They basically told me the DMV does not communicate with the Sheriffs department with all the accurate information. How sad it that! They charged me over $300 and an entire day to clear up the situation. Not to mention that when I picked up the car from impounding I had another ticket on the car for not having a front license plate. Really?! It is absolutely disgusting that our tax money goes to a sheriff that trolls the parking lots looking to hurt people rather than help them. We hear all the time about police not being available to help people in a timely manner, well maybe they should spend more time helping people rather than harassing people using the train. The train station represetative was very helpful and stated that the tow company and the sheriff does this everyday to local people. Even to poor people that have no money. This destroy's peoples lives and they dont even care. Shame of the Sheriff for allowing this to happen in our community!!! read more

I'm giving the local sheriff's dept 5 stars, because of your review Alisa (and because they work pretty darned hard). According to your complaint, officers had to respond not once, but twice to complaints about your little party. What a waste of time - it's no wonder the second officer had to come down on you a little harder. They probably had real crime to fight. Seriously. Maybe someone should be posting reviews of you as a neighbor. read more

BAD WITH GUNS, BAD WITH TRAFFIC. WHAT ARE WE PAYING FOR? The worst police in San Diego. From the Andy Griffith answering service, to a complete disregard for victim's welfare, if you got a problem in this town, solve it yourself. HIT & RUNS... This department has a policy of "if you don't have a license plate #, we won't open an investigation." That's a direct quote from Deputy Brenda Wiebe. After I witnessed my truck being smashed into a pole, that's the response I got from her, when she showed 40-minutes later on a weeknight (tuff traffic for three blocks, eh). Other choice phrases.... "the recession is causing an increase in hit & runs." And my favorite "we've only caught 2 of the recent 10 hit & runs." That's an "F" in my grade book, kids. 20% of the one's you'll actually go after? Wow. End result, I had to pay $1000 to get my truck fixed. And the deputy stopped returning my calls after I supplied her with a second potential lead. GUN PROBLEMS... My sister (former employer of the city) was recently trapped in the local rec center, when a gang shootout occurred. The security guard on duty requested assistance from the police who showed up and waited outside. Their response heard over the guard's walkie-talkie... "Let them shoot it out, we're just here to clean up the mess." ... Luckily, no one was hurt. But, presumably, no one was caught either. Shame on you Encinitas Sheriffs. In short, we live in a pretty town, where little enough crime happens that sheriffs are allowed to get away with gross negligence and complete apathy. Of course, that's just my opinion. read more

I have experienced a high level of service and professionalism from this dept on more than one occasion. Officers have been consistently very polite and respectful to me. They have also always shown a willingness to help, and are even friendly and relaxed in their demeanor (which isn't common in this line of work and is even surprising to me). People usually only call the police when they are pissed off, and the police aren't always happy to come. However, the couple of times I have dealt with them, regardless of the circumstances, they showed up with a very professional attitude. read more

Mention the Encinitas Sheriff at a cocktail party in North County San Diego and you will get an ear full of horror tales that will go on for hours...tales of smug, arrogant, abusive, power trip officers who lie and violate the laws. There is a lot of "who you know" favors in that place...where someone gets off the hook because they know someone at the station. My own story involved my car being illegally towed from a friends condo. No need to go into details...the issue with them was that I called the Sheriff to verify the tow and to verify that the tow company had violated the 10 mile radius law and therefore had illegally towed and stored my car. The Sheriff deputy I spoke to really got into this and checked things out and calculated the radius, etc. He said, you are correct, they illegally towed your car, etc. The deputy even added that according to their records, this towing company had a history of illegal tows and there was a notation about it. So I approached the towing company and then the homeowner association with my information and that the Sheriff had confirmed that there was a violation on their part and not mine. The homeowner association said it was between me and the towing company. The towing company said they would get back to me. The towing company then called and said that they did not do an illegal tow. I went to the Sheriff station to get something in writing from the deputy sheriff I spoke to who had backed me up 100%. All of a sudden his tune changed and he started back peddling (other sheriff people and deputies were around and listening) and denying he said what he said to me. Well, obviously the Sheriff is getting some payola from the towing company...the deputy denied everything he said to me before and would not confirm anything or help me in any way. When I spoke to the towing company later the guy laughed and said he has friends at the Encinitas Sheriff department. read more

Beware and be warned! I am writing to all those who either live in Encinitas, CA and/or will travel through the main areas. There is a cop named MAG Wood who will intimidate you, threaten you and scream at you if he believes you have broken the law. In May 2009 I was on my way to the doctor's office, stopped briefly in a median on El Camino Real, turned off the motor of the car, put on my flashers and attempted to phone the doctor's office to get better directions to get to the office. He drove his police car behind my car, would not help to get me to the doctor's office, ordered me to turn right on a side street. The upshot of this unbelievable situation is that he ticketed me for being in the median (this is definitely not what one wants to do), talking on my cell phone for a medical necessity to get to a doctor's office, and running a red light after I was directed to make a right hand turn onto a side street. I was delayed for more than 20 minutes and never did get to see the doctor. When it came to being in court, the commissioner (judge) sided with the police officer. We as consumers are not safe on the roads if we get into difficulty. Recall, I was not driving, not speeding, not drinking as it was the middle of the afternoon. The State of California is financially broke and the officers will get you for what ever mis-demeanor they can fine you for. The court system sucks, and I never, but never got a notice from the court to appear. To my fellow citizens, be careful, be diligent, watch out for the Sheriff's department in Encinitas, CA. Even with an attorney, it was the officer's word against what my attorney and myself had to say in court. This was expensive and we citizens are truly the victims read more

I had a friend with dementia staying with me and she wandered off with her dog. After an hour I called the Sheriffs Department and they sent an officer out right away. She was found and all ended well but I really want to thank Deputy Chu for his help. He was very kind and talked with her for a long time trying to explain the danger that she was putting herself in. Thank you Deputy Chu and your fellow officers in helping us. read more

I can only speak for the officers I dealt with on the day I was dragged from my home after the sheriff's dept received a false 911 call claiming that I had threatened suicide. I did not get othe officers' names, but the abuse of power was terrifying. I spent 15 hrs in the hospital. And was allowed to leave receiving a clean bill of health, both mental and physical. However, I still have bruised ribs and trouble breathing from the officer's abusive behavior. Would love to file or join a class action suit if one is available. read more

I have worked in Encinitas for 23 years and I have lived here for 15 years, born and raised in San Diego and the Sheriffs in Encinitas have always given me an even break. My neighbor had a party and I spoke with them and they respected me. I had a party and they were pretty even keeled about it. I did have one neighbor in a domestic dispute with his child involved and I jumped in and convinced the neighbor to let his girl take the kid and when the sheriff showed up he drew his weapon on me, which was an odd moment but hey, I would probably draw my gun on a regular basis if I was in their position. I have them at 4 stars, the reason they do not get 5 is because the traffic on Balour Drive is 30 mph (use to be 25, thank you Rob Blough and C.O.E. and we have craters as big as the moon and when it says 30 people on Sunday on their way to church do 45 and I only wish I would see a radar gun on my street as I did 10 years ago....Keep up the good work! John Smith read more