MARINE ENFORCEMENT UNIT

MARINE ENFORCEMENT

THE MARINE ENFORCEMENT UNIT (MEU)

consists of 6 deputies, one sergeant and one commander. The MEU provides enforcement at Lake Nacimiento and Lake Lopez, working closely with rangers from both San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties. With a focus on education and boating safety, deputies contact dozens of boaters each day they patrol the county’s lakes.

In addition to local lakes, the coastline of San Luis Obispo County extends south from Big Sur to the Santa Maria River, just north of Point Sal. Along these 90 miles of coastline is the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, just north of Avila Beach. The MEU is equipped to provide consistent enforcement patrols in the waters off of San Luis Obispo.

Panga boat smuggling along the San Luis Obispo County coastline continues to present a challenge to law enforcement. The MEU is equipped to work with the Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, the Narcotics Unit detectives and our state and federal partners with the interdiction and safe removal of Panga boats from our county beaches using our 27’ Defender Class patrol boat. Timely removal of a Panga boat minimizes the adverse environmental impact upon the shoreline and significantly reduces man hours and costs associated with other forms of removal.

The Defender Class boat is complemented by a Rogue Jet Boatworks 25’ patrol boat which, during the busy summer months, is primarily assigned to Lake Nacimiento and provides patrol, enforcement and education on the water. While on the lake, this vessel can also operate in support of other emergency service agencies for rapid transport of emergency personnel or injured parties. It is also used to assist the Sheriff’s Dive Team with its mission to patrol all the county’s lakes and near-shore waters. The MEU’s third vessel, used for utility missions, or to complement the other vessels, is a 22’ Zodiac Hurricane rigid-hulled inflatable boat. The MEU continues to provide training support in the form of vessels and operators to the Sheriff’s Office Dive Team and the Special Enforcement Detail. Separate training for both units are usually conducted annually in and around Port San Luis, Morro Bay and Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. The MEU also provides a stable platform for the Dive Team’s side-scan sonar unit used for subsurface searches. Members of the MEU enjoy participating in community outreach events, like the Sheriff’s Youth Summer Camp, which allows the public to have access to our fleet.