Stop the Scandals is a student-led initiative of Fixin’ San Mateo County, a grassroots organization dedicated to creating effective, independent civilian oversight of the Sheriff’s Office. Since 2021, Fixin’ has worked alongside residents, community organizations, and local leaders to advocate for greater transparency, accountability, and public trust in the Sheriff’s Office. Stop the Scandals was created and designed by student interns from Carlmont High School who believe that San Mateo County can do a better job at protecting and serving the community. 

As young people growing up in this community, we have watched our county spend millions of taxpayer dollars responding to scandals, investigations, and lawsuits tied to the Sheriff’s Office. From decades of misconduct allegations to the recent controversies surrounding former Sheriff Christina Corpus, these incidents have damaged public trust and diverted resources away from the services that support our people.

Whether it be youth programs, education, mental health services, or public infrastructure, we believe resources should be allocated to investment in the future of San Mateo County, rather than repeatedly covering the costs of preventable issues.   

Our youth-led campaign focuses on one critical solution: establishing an independent inspector general for San Mateo County. An inspector general would monitor the Sheriff’s Office activities, investigate allegations of misconduct, review systemic issues, and help ensure accountability before problems become costly scandals.

For many young people, this issue is personal. San Mateo County was one of the last counties in the Bay Area to stop transferring people to ICE custody, a practice that continued until 2021 despite widespread community opposition. Combined with repeated controversies within the Sheriff’s Office, these events have left many residents — especially immigrants, youth, and historically marginalized communities — questioning whether existing accountability systems are enough.

We started Stop the Scandals because we believe accountability should not depend on the next crisis. As the generation that will inherit the future of this county, we want a government that learns from past mistakes, protects its communities, and invests in people rather than preventable scandals.