Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not governed by a local municipal corporation; similarly an unincorporated community is a settlement that is not governed by its own local municipal corporation, but rather is administered as part of larger administrative divisions, such as a township, parish, borough, county, city, canton, state, province or country. Occasionally, municipalities dissolve or disincorporate, which may happen if they become fiscally insolvent, and services become the responsibility of a higher administration. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. In most other countries of the world, there are either no unincorporated areas at all, or these are very rare; typically remote, outlying, sparsely populated or uninhabited areas.
Orcutt, California
As an unincorporated California community, Orcutt's general law enforcement services are provided by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department. The California Highway Patrol's office in Santa Maria is responsible traffic law enforcement matters and traffic collision investigations. Orcutt is an "...unincorporated community" under the responsibility of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.