Score: 0
(1/0/1)
San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury
• 2017-2018
Inspection Report for San Luis Obispo County Detention Facilities In this report, the 2017-2018 San Luis Obispo County
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 20 findings
F1
The use of a closed-circuit video system would cut the transportation cost to the County and State (ASH) while relieving overcrowding within the facility.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The Sheriff should petition the court for the addition of a closed-circuit AV system between the courthouse and the jail (potentially ASH can tie into the system) to reduce transportation cost and resolve overcrowding at the holding facility. If the court approves the use of a closed-circuit AV system between the jail and the court, for hearings, additions or modifications in R2 are no longer recommended.
F2
The facility does not provide enough segregated cells to deal with the number of ASH inmates requiring court appearances and the changing jail population.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The facility needs an expansion to house the current inmate traffic. The expansion should add segregation cells (for ASH patients or mental health jail inmates), employee restrooms, and a regular holding cell. This would improve the safety of both inmates and staff. In light of the increase in mental health jail inmates coming to the courthouse, this expansion is needed immediately.
F3
The lack of internal restroom facilities for the employees can cause an unnecessary temporary shortage of staff.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The facility needs an expansion to house the current inmate traffic. The expansion should add segregation cells (for ASH patients or mental health jail inmates), employee restrooms, and a regular holding cell. This would improve the safety of both inmates and staff. In light of the increase in mental health jail inmates coming to the courthouse, this expansion is needed immediately.
F4
The facility often exceeds the 77-inmate capacity and should be expanded if another way to reduce the number of inmates is not implemented. County Juvenile Hall
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The facility needs an expansion to house the current inmate traffic. The expansion should add segregation cells (for ASH patients or mental health jail inmates), employee restrooms, and a regular holding cell. This would improve the safety of both inmates and staff. In light of the increase in mental health jail inmates coming to the courthouse, this expansion is needed immediately.
F5
The CVA provides an effective alternative to normal incarceration.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
The greater focus on programming and education leads to a less contentious and more stable relationship between officers and detainees.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
The turnover in JSO positions leads to younger officers and may improve rapport with the detainees.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
The staffing is based upon the 65-detainee capacity, not the average daily population which is approximately 30. Therefore, the facility does not have the staff shortage problems that plague other facilities.
No recommendations for this finding
F9
The facility has significant excess capacity. San Luis Obispo County Jail
No recommendations for this finding
F10
The entire jail complex appears to have been built piecemeal with no master plan.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
The Sheriff should formulate a long-term plan to deal with the problems associated with the condition and layout of the main jail. This plan should include the replacement of the current main jail facility.
F11
The parking for jail visitors is inadequate.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
The jail administration should improve the visitor process including adding more parking, the ability to register for visits over the phone or on-site, and screening of visitors as they enter the facility.
F12
Scheduling visitation appointments is difficult for people without access to a computer or without computer skills.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
The jail administration should improve the visitor process including adding more parking, the ability to register for visits over the phone or on-site, and screening of visitors as they enter the facility.
F13
The lack of a metal detector or other screening at the lobby presents an unnecessary risk to visitors.
Related Recommendations (2)
R3
In addition to either of the first two alternatives, the Grand Jury also recommends that cameras be added in the stairwells leading to the courtrooms and to the fenced area outside the sally port. County Juvenile Hall
R6
The jail administration should improve the visitor process including adding more parking, the ability to register for visits over the phone or on-site, and screening of visitors as they enter the facility.
F14
The lack of a closed-circuit TV system between the jail and the courthouse results in trips to the courthouse for hearings where the direct presence of the inmate is not mandatory.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The Sheriff should petition the court for the addition of a closed-circuit AV system between the courthouse and the jail (potentially ASH can tie into the system) to reduce transportation cost and resolve overcrowding at the holding facility. If the court approves the use of a closed-circuit AV system between the jail and the court, for hearings, additions or modifications in R2 are no longer recommended.
F15
The jail has a strong need for a psychiatric hospital facility on-site for both felon and misdemeanant PC 1370 inmates as well as inmate WIC 5150 cases.
Related Recommendations (2)
R4
The Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors commission a study to investigate repurposing the juvenile hall wing currently being used as a recreational/storage/training area as a juvenile and transitional aged youth PHF with separate exterior access. This could be a better use of the facility and fill an urgent County need. For better outside access, the study should consider using the current CVA space and moving the CVA to the unused area. County Jail
R7
The Sheriff should construct a psychiatric hospital (jail bed competency treatment facility) on the jail campus or elsewhere within the County.
F16
The addition of behavioral health staff would reduce the wait time for non-crisis service and could provide 24-hour capabilities.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
The Sheriff should increase the staffing for the jail mental health workers to reduce the wait time for appointments from five days to one day or less.
F17
Addition of correctional deputies, beyond filling the nine current vacancies, would decrease the impact of transporting prisoners within the jail for medical, behavioral health, or programming reasons as well as reduce the burden of mandatory overtime now placed on all of the correctional staff. County Coroner’s Facility
Related Recommendations (1)
R9
The Sheriff should increase the staff in excess of the nine positions currently unfilled. County Coroner’s Facility
F18
The lack of on-site back-up electrical power presents an unnecessary risk.
Related Recommendations (1)
R10
The County should procure and install a back-up generator (fixed or portable) on site to provide back-up power in case of an outage.
F19
The use of an administrative assistant as a medical transcriptionist places an uncompensated burden on the employee.
No recommendations for this finding
F20
The lack of a foot control for the audio recording system causes unnecessary delays during autopsies.
No recommendations for this finding
Conclusions 1
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CL1The inspections have identified several problem areas that could be corrected in multiple ways. In addition, there is a lack of long-term planning for the jail facilities.
Commendations 1
-
CM1The management and staff of Juvenile Hall should be commended for their forward- looking approach to rehabilitating the County’s troubled youth. Submitted May 15, 2018 12
Observations 1
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OB1The Sheriff’s department is building a new medical facility with three additional classrooms for inmate programming. The new medical facility will be 8000 square feet and will provide medical, dental, and routine mental health treatment. No psychiatric hospital facilities are currently available within the jail. Medical staff is currently present at the jail facility 24 hours a day. Behavioral Health staff is present 19 hours a day, and they currently see approximately 600 inmates per month. At any one time, there are between 200 and 300 inmates receiving maintenance medications for psychological disorders. The costs for both medical and mental health services are borne by the County. The County is required by the state to house all inmates declared incompetent to stand trial (Penal Code 1370) in the jail until a bed in a state or county facility is available. This wait for a bed can take months for inmates charged with a felony. (PC 1370 inmates charged with a misdemeanor are treated at the County PHF.) The number of PC 1370 beds available at ASH is going to be reduced by 10% this year as the hospital is remodeling to be able to absorb more difficult patients. In 2017, the jail bed competency treatment facility in San Bernardino was used for most of the felony PC 1370 patients. The San Bernardino facility is now at capacity and will be able to take fewer patients in the future; thus, wait times for PC 1370 felons at the jail will rise above the current average of two-to-three months. The jail transports approximately one inmate a day to local hospitals and approximately 1000 inmates a month to the County courthouse. The jail has no closed-circuit TV capability to allow Submitted May 15, 2018 8 inmates to participate in hearings remotely. Other inmate transportation requires an additional 500 transports monthly, which can include transportation to the County Psychiatric Health Facility (PHF), and other county or state facilities. County Coroner Facility The County Coroner facility was clean and well maintained. All health and safety inspections were up to date. The staff includes both sworn deputies and civilians and includes a full-time Forensic Pathologist. This position was recently transitioned from a part-time contract position to a full- time employee. The staff was knowledgeable of the health and safety requirements as well as the legal requirements of the office. The Coroner’s office must rule on all deaths within the County, approximately 2000 annually, and perform approximately 250 autopsies per year. The process for recording an autopsy is cumbersome and requires extra time from the pathologist and assisting deputy to record. Medical transcription duties following the autopsies fall to the administrative assistant. The Coroner’s office is in a leased building with no back-up generator or other auxiliary power source available on site in the event of a long-term power outage. The current procedure is to bring a generator from the Kansas Avenue Corporation Yard in the event of an emergency.
Agency Responses 2
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No Responses Found 2
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