Rialto Police Department

If a loved one, a family member or you have been arrested by or are being investigated by the Rialto Police Department / San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department operating in Rialto, it can cause a lot of apprehension, mostly just from not knowing what will happen or can happen.  Moreover, one is dependent upon the competence, honesty and accuracy 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 decrease one’s anxiety.  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 smart to know a few more things before interacting with any branch of law enforcement.  It can be helpful 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 and makes assumptions that may be wrong.

This article is presented with these goals in mind.

The City of Rialto Police Department is located at 128 North Willow Avenue in Rialto. According to its website, the Rialto Police Department employs 112 sworn police officers and thirty-eight civilian support personnel assigned to it.  This makes it a larger police department than many others in San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside and Los Angeles County, meaning it is larger than perhaps 75% of all other city police departments.

Rialto's crime rate was slightly above the national average every year from 1999 to 2007.  From 2008 to 2016, however, the crime rate in Rialto was below the national average.  In 2006, Rialto fielded 0.89 police officers per 1,000 residents, less than one-third the national average. 

Rialto was the first city in the United States to require that all police officers wear body cameras.

Rialto does have its share of criminal street gangs, but their visibility has decreased significantly since the early 2000’s.  There are Crip and Sureño subsets and cliques, as well as other smaller African American, Hispanic and white gangs.

The City of Rialto is 24.09 square miles and has a population of 104,026 as of the 2020 census.  It is home to several major regional distribution centers, such as Staples, which serves stores across the entire West Coast, Amazon, Under Armour, Medline Industries, Niagara Bottling, Monster Energy and Target, all in the northern region of the city, in the Las Colinas community. One of the United States' largest fireworks companies, Pyro Spectaculars, is also headquartered in Rialto.

Rialto was the birthplace of Rodney King, an African American taxi driver whose videotaped beating by police in 1991 was the catalyst for the  1992 Los Angeles Riots.  It is also the birthplace of Ronnie Harris, a 1996 Olympian for the United States at 5,000 meters. 

 
For arrests along Interstate 10, State Route 210 and Route 66 crossing Rialto, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) will normally handle this work, although one may be thereafter transported to the Rialto Police Department for processing, a breath test (if a DUI) and booking.  The person may also be held at the Rialto jail until bail is posted or the person is transferred to the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino.

As of 2010, Rialto’s population was 9.20% non-Hispanic white, 2.36% Asian, 11.27% African American and 74.35% Hispanic.

Most cases arising out of the Rialto Police Department’s areas of responsibility are brought at the Fontana Courthouse, but some are also brought at the San Bernardino Hall of Justice at 4100 Main Street in downtown San Bernardino.  

Over the last 25 years, our office has only handled perhaps five cases arising out of Rialto and prosecuted in the Fontana Courthouse.  One was a rather significant drug case, another was a DUI from along the I-10 freeway and the others were post-conviction relief matters.  However, we would expect additional cases to include, but not be limited to DUI, violation of a protective order, domestic violence, shoplifting and possession of and / or sales of a controlled substance.  

Nonetheless, we have received phone calls from people in Rialto asking about hiring a criminal defense attorney.  We find that locals to the Rialto 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 are considered as counsel instead because we are not located in Rialto and presumably have no such ties or loyalties.

Areas Served:  City of Rialto

Below is the Google Map to the  Rialto Police Department.