Hemet Police Department

If a family member, you or a loved one have been arrested by or are being investigated by the Hemet Police Department, it can cause a lot of apprehension, mostly just from fear of the uncertainty of what will happen or can happen.  Moreover, one is dependent upon the accuracy, honesty, and competence of a police officer, who may or may not be experienced or have the same sense of urgency as you in having the police report properly written.  

Facing such a situation, knowing the bail amount (if any) associated with the offense or offenses at issue if police deny an own recognizance (OR) release may help decrease one’s worries.  It is also good to know what evidence is needed to convict one for the crime or crimes that allegedly took place, the defenses possible and the sentence a judge can impose if one is convicted of the crime or crimes.  

We at Greg Hill & Associates believe it is prudent to know a few more things before interacting with any branch of law enforcement.  It can be smart to know the size of the police or sheriff’s department, the area’s demographics, a bit of history about the town, city or area, and the most common types of crimes the department investigates to make one’s communication with law enforcement more meaningful, more savvy and perhaps, more respectful.  This can lead to a better outcome than if one lacks such perspective.

This article is presented with these goals in mind.

The Hemet Police Department is a large station based on the population of Hemet and the size of Hemet it patrols, although we found no specific number of sworn police officers and civilian support personnel assigned to it.  

The Hemet Police Department is responsible for patrolling the City of Hemet, which is 29.3 square miles and has a population of 89,833 as of the 2020 census.  

The City of Hemet used to be part of San Diego County, but now it is part of Riverside County.  

Hemet was named by the land development company that founded the town, The Lake Hemet Land Company.  The company drew its name from Hemet Valley, now called Garner Valley, located in the San Jacinto Mountains.  Initially, the company referred to the area as South San Jacinto, but changed the name to Hemet when the land company filed a plat map on November 11, 1893.

For arrests along the freeways (State Route 74 and State Route 79) crossing Hemet, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) will normally handle this work, although one may be thereafter transported to one of the four Hemet Police Department stations for processing, a breath test (if a DUI) and booking.  The person may also be held at the Cois M. Bryd Detention Facility in Murietta until bail is posted or the person is transferred to the Riverside County Jail, also called the Robert Presley Detention Center in downtown Riverside.

As of 2020, the city’s population was 36.79% non-Hispanic white, 3.24% Asian, 9.22% African American and 45.41% Hispanic.

Most cases arising out of the Hemet Police Department’s areas of responsibility are brought at the Murietta Courthouse, but some are also brought at the Riverside Hall of Justice at 4100 Main Street in downtown Riverside.  Cases that may be filed at the Riverside Hall of Justice instead of at the Murietta Courthouse would be very serious cases needing specialized prosecutors trained in handling such cases.

Over the last 25 years, our office has not handled any case arising out the Hemet Police Station and brought in the Murietta Courthouse.  Such cases, however, would vary from DUI to domestic violence, to shoplifting, to possession and / or sales of a controlled substance.  

We suspect that locals to the Hemet area often distrust local criminal defense attorneys as being social friends with prosecutors and judges, so they are unwilling to fight too hard to preserve their friendships, so we may be hired instead because we are not local to Hemet and presumably have no such ties or loyalties.

For more information about being arrested and possibly facing a criminal case, please click on the following articles:

Below is the Google Map to the Main Station for Hemet Police Department.