High Risk Incident Command

If the name of this command doesn’t tip you off in terms of its importance to the day to day operation of the Sheriff’s Office, the units that serve under it certainly will.

These are the folks who get the call during the most critical incidents that occur in the county.

The range of assignments handled by HRIC can span from the recovery and rendering safe of an explosive device to the long term recovery of a natural disaster that has crippled the county.

Worth noting, is the fact that most of the personnel who have volunteered to serve on an HRIC unit all have “day jobs.” That is, they all work regular assignments within the agency, but are ready at a moment’s notice, to respond to a critical incident when the call goes out. Clearly, HRIC is a vital component of the operational inventory of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Emergency Response Team

The Emergency Response Team (ERT) was designed to handle large scale incidents requiring a response by multiple members of the agency. The team’s primary mission is to handle crowd control or civil unrest situations, but is called upon to provide a number of support services to other units throughout the agency. They are trained to deal with riots, provide long-term and specialized support during a natural disaster and provide manpower and support during search and recovery operations.

SWAT

They draw the toughest, and often, the most dangerous assignments. They are called into service with little notice, on any day, at any hour. Some would say they are the elite among their law enforcement peers. They would tell you that they are just doing a job. They, of course, are the deputies who volunteer to serve on the Orange County Sheriff's Office Special Weapons and Tactics Team. The very nature of the assignments they are tasked with requires that deputies with aspirations to serve on the SWAT Team undergo a rigorous selection process and that they regularly and vigorously train for every possible scenario and situation that might present itself.

Hazardous Device Team

A deputy serving on the agency's Hazardous Device Team can't afford to have a bad day. These are the people who respond to reports of suspicious, potentially explosive devices in Orange County. They are highly trained, have nerves of steel, and cannot afford to make a mistake.

Hostage Negation Team

Training, patience, and time... that's what it takes to talk a barricaded suspect out of a house without harming themselves or the deputies responding to a call for help or talking a person who sees no future from jumping off a highway overpass. The agency's team of active Hostage Negotiators respond to incidents as needed. Their calls can range from talking a female bank robber holding 15 hostages in the bank's vault into freeing her captives and giving up, to talking a distraught man who had lost his job and was threatening to jump off a bridge into getting help. Clearly, the team saves lives.

Portuguese Police Academy (April 2025)

Awards Ceremony (February 2025)

CIT Graduation (February 2025)

Swearing in Ceremony (NOV 2024)

Hispanic Civilian Police Academy (November 2024)

High Risk Incident Command

Emergency Response Team

SWAT

Hazardous Device Team

Hostage Negation Team

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