Running in this year’s election for L.A. County Sheriff, Lou Vince has provided leadership and oversight for many law enforcement operations, and was heavily involved in launching the LAPD’s Mission (2005) and Topanga (2009) Police Divisions—openings that today are rare.
A graduate of Western Illinois University where he obtained a degree of Science in Law Enforcement and Justice Administration, Vince is a 20-year veteran of Los Angeles law enforcement organizations, and holds extensive knowledge of the county’s many communities, the functions of the laws, and what’s required to lead effectively.
“I think we’re stuck in the mud so to speak,” Vince told the Whittier Daily News during a recent interview. “If I’m not elected, we’re going to be trading one career manager for another; someone who has had the ability to change things, but has not.”
If elected sheriff, Vince wants to change California’s sentencing rules, such as “three strikes.”
“The sentencing requirement doesn’t afford judges the discretion they need to rule on a case-by-case basis and leads to overly harsh penalties for petty thieves and others,” he explained. “The ‘three strikes,’ I’ve seen it in action, and it just doesn’t jive with what I know to be just.”
Vince added, “The sheriff’s jail-based education system needs to be run like a charter school—overseen and carried out by professional educators rather than deputies. The mentally-ill need to be in medical facilities, because L.A. jails just aren’t equipped to help them. Nonviolent drug addicts should be put in treatment. Other low-level offenders, who are behind bars simply because they can’t afford to make bail while they await trial, need to be released pending their sentences.”
In 2010, Vince completed a master’s degree in criminology, law and society from the U.C. Irvine. In 2006, Vince married his wife, Stacey, a veteran detective in Los Angeles. Together, they currently have four children, two of which were foster children which they adopted.
Vince’s professional background also includes participation as a United States Marine, service as a Level I Reserve Deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for four years, and he quickly rose through the ranks of the LAPD, starting as a field training officer, detective, sergeant, and finally elevating to chief of detectives.
Born in San Rafael, Vince and his family currently live in Agua Dulce, where he is actively engaged in the community, serving as an elected member of the Agua Dulce Town Council.
