DATE/TIME: January 23, 2026, between 6:00 a.m., and 4:00 p.m.,
INCIDENT: Outreach Operation
LOCATION: City of Chino Hills and Surrounding Unincorporated County Areas
SUMMARY: The Community Service & Reentry Division's Homeless Outreach Proactive Enforcement Team (H.O.P.E.), and deputies from the Chino Hills Station, conducted "Operation Shelter Me" in the city Chino Hills and the surrounding unincorporated county areas.
This operation aimed to connect staff with unhoused residents, offering them housing, medical, and mental health treatment services, while addressing community safety concerns.
On November 5, 2024, California voters passed Proposition 36 titled “The Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act.” The proposition took effect on December 18, 2024, and reforms multiple laws from Proposition 47, which have been responsible for increasing homelessness, drug addiction, and theft. Proposition 36 includes several new Penal and Health and Safety Codes that deputies will be able to apply during arrests when appropriate. These new charges can carry enhanced sentencing, as well as prevent offenders from being cite released prior to their court appearance.
During this operation, the H.O.P.E.Team and Chino Hills Deputies focused on individuals with significant mental illnesses to link them with restorative mental health pathways. The results of the operation are as follow and where Proposition 36 is applied:
• 50 individuals currently experiencing homelessness were contacted by H.O.P.E. and Chino Hills Deputies
• 11 individuals accepted referral information to assistance programs
• 5 individuals were arrested for outstanding arrest warrants
• 1 individual was arrested for PC 30305, Felon in possession of Ammunition, a felony in the State of California
• 3 individuals were arrested for HS 11377 (a), Possession of a Controlled Substance, a misdemeanor in the State of
California
• 4 individuals were arrested for HS 11364, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, a misdemeanor in the State of California
• 1 individual was arrested for PC 602, Trespassing into a Business
The H.O.P.E. Team and other aligned resources will continue similar operations throughout the County over the next year, thanks to special "Community Concerns" funding, approved by the County Board of Supervisors. This funding allows the Sheriff's Department to address topics of concern, such as homelessness, mental illness, and community safety for county residents. All subjects arrested during the operation are contacted in the County jail by the Sheriff's Transitional Assistance Reentry Team (S.T.A.R.T.) with additional offers of resources and reentry services.
If you know of individuals experiencing homelessness who need services, please contact the H.O.P.E. Team at (909) 387- 0623 or [email protected].
Refer: The H.O.P.E. Team
Station: Community Service & Reentry Division
Phone No. (909) 387-0623
SHANNON D. DICUS, Sheriff-Coroner
PRESS RELEASE
SHANNON D. DICUS, SHERIFF-CORONER
San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department
