'602 Letters' Could Increase In Lake Elsinore: Here's Why

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — Officials in Lake Elsinore Wednesday will be convening a letter-writing campaign on behalf of business owners frustrated with trespassing by vagrants and panhandlers, offering proprietors hands-on assistance filling out forms that authorize sheriff's deputies to arrest trespassers on-site.

"Are you having issues with trespassing at your place of business?" the Lake Elsinore Economic Development Agency said in a statement. "Let us help (with) the Trespass Letter of Authority, a formal written request from a business or property owner to law enforcement."

Agency representatives will be conducting the assistance workshop from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesday at CJ's Sports Grill Outdoor Patio, 20930 Malaga Road. A second workshop is additionally planned on June 11 at the same time, same venue.

Notaries and deputies are slated to be on hand to help.

The Trespass Letter of Authority, commonly referred to as a "602 Letter," stems from Penal Code section 602, which directly addresses trespassing on residential, commercial and government property.

The section was modified under legislation passed and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023, enabling affected parties to fill in blanks on three-page letters providing basic information and authorizations for law enforcement personnel to enter premises anytime to order trespassers to leave, or arrest them for misdemeanor violations.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department contracts with Lake Elsinore for law enforcement services, and the agency's 602 letter specifies that deputies are authorized to "ask persons who are obstructing business, or intimidating business operators and customers, to leave the property."

"If they refuse to do so, or return thereafter ... the sheriff's office (is authorized) to arrest such person," according to the letter.

Any type of nuisance activity, from transients sleeping near a doorway to loitering, qualifies for a 602 response.

Those who are charged and convicted can face an initial fine up to $1,000 and six months' jail time.

Municipalities and communities countywide, not just Lake Elsinore, are eligible for 602 protections.