In 2017, in an effort to expand the ability to respond to the rising chemical and explosive threats surrounding clandestine laboratories, an added element of this response team transitioned to a coordinated effort, which now includes the Orange County Sheriff Department’s Bomb Squad, Orange County Health, Anaheim Fire & Rescue and Huntington Beach HazMat. Currently, eight investigative personnel assigned to the Regional Narcotics Suppression Program, are certified to respond to clandestine laboratories, gather intelligence and provide investigative follow up. The Orange County Clandestine Laboratory Emergency Action Network (OCCLEAN), is the Orange County chapter of the Regional Methamphetamine Task Force initiative, which deploys a responsive and investigative effort of clandestine laboratories nestled throughout the County of Orange. Orange County Clandestine Laboratory Emergency Action Network (OCCLEAN)
The RNSP Executive Board, currently chaired by Sheriff-Coroner Don Barnes, includes the Chiefs of Police from Santa Ana, Newport Beach, Orange, Tustin, Buena Park, Huntington Beach and Cal State University Fullerton, as well as representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. The Program operates under a task force agreement signed by all participating members of the Program, which encompasses the RNSP Executive Board. Program participants have first-hand access to the benefits of cutting-edge surveillance and intelligence gathering technology, consisting of GPS tracking devices, covert cameras, Title III wire intercept equipment and a state of the art fixed winged surveillance aircraft. RNSP personnel are allocated throughout an intelligence unit, three surveillance teams, air support, technical and administrative support staff. Today, the RNSP remains a multi-agency task force, which currently has the participation of two federal, one state, one county and six local agencies, for a total of 31 sworn and four non-sworn personnel. The Regional Narcotics Suppression Program (RNSP), established in December 1986 through the collaborative efforts of various Orange County Chiefs and the Sheriff to effectuate a targeted approach to investigate and prosecute individuals engaged in high-level drug trafficking and money laundering enterprises. Regional Narcotics Suppression Program (RNSP) The mission of the Task Force is to develop a strategic plan to measurably impact the growing methamphetamine problem in Orange County and allows for local control over task force operations while being able to draw upon significant resources from the state. Based at the Orange County Regional Office of the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement (BNE), this team was established to provide support and enhance the existing efforts of the BNE Clandestine Laboratory Program, with the interdiction and eradication of the small to medium size "stove top" methamphetamine labs. In 1998, the Orange County Proactive Methamphetamine Laboratory Investigative Team was established. Proactive Methamphetamine Laboratory Investigative Team (PROACT) This investigator is supervised by the North Narcotics sergeant. The mission of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s Tactical Diversion Task Force is to investigate individuals and/or organizations involved in trafficking controlled pharmaceuticals, as well as those involved in diversion schemes such as prescription forgery, “Doctor shopping” and retail-level violators of controlled pharmaceuticals and other listed chemicals. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has one investigator assigned to the DEA Tactical Diversion Task Force.