⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 21 findings
F1
The Inyo County Jail facility was clean and appeared to be very well kept. The landscaping outside the facility is outstanding.
No recommendations for this finding
F2
As indicated by transferred inmates from the state prison system, the meals provided by the Inyo County Jail are superior in quality to those provided in the state system.
No recommendations for this finding
F3
The Inyo County Jail now provides meals for the Inyo County Juvenile Center.
No recommendations for this finding
F4
New computer legal access programs are now in the jail library replacing law books and other legal documentation.
No recommendations for this finding
F5
Segregation of inmates as to risk classification has helped in making incarceration time safer for both inmates and correctional officers. Approximately 90% of the violence that occurs within Inyo County Jail is caused by 10% of the population. Inmates with mental health issues are those most often involved in physical confrontation. This past year 6-8 inmates met the mental health classification at Inyo County Jail at any given time.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
Volunteer programs such as faith based offerings, Alcoholics Anonymous and General Equivalency Diploma are available to inmates. Moral Reconation Therapy is provided by Inyo County Health and Human Services personnel.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
The average incarceration time for local Inyo County inmates is 14 days. The biggest issue is alcoholism with over half of the incarcerations being held, are due to alcohol. Recent records indicate that prison inmates are serving times within a range from 454 days to a high of 505 days in Inyo County Jail.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
The service belts worn by Sheriff's Deputies and Correctional Officers, with all of their equipment attached, puts stress on their backs, resulting in chronic back problems for some officers.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The Grand Jury recommends consideration be given whereby deputies have the option of wearing vests or belts in carrying the 30+ lbs. of equipment that they are required to carry.
F9
Inyo County encompasses in excess of 10,000 square miles, making it the second largest county in the United States-second only to San Bernardino County. Many times, one deputy is required to protect and serve a very large territory.
No recommendations for this finding
F10
Over the past years some Inyo County Deputies, after serving as a Sheriff's Deputy, opted to join the Bishop Police Department or the Mammoth Police Department, as both have a better pay scale than the Inyo County Sheriff's Department.
No recommendations for this finding
F11
With state funding assistance, the Sheriff's department is able to send qualified deputy candidates to Riverside County Sheriff's Academy. This costs upwards of $50,000 per candidate and involves close to 900 hours of training.
No recommendations for this finding
F12
An immediate concern involving the Inyo County Sheriff's Department and the Inyo County Health and Human Services Department involves the issue of the response to severe mental illness or severe abuse situations. These situations require that as promptly as possible, a mental health evaluation be conducted while the subject is still symptomatic and acting out before the symptoms change. A health care professional needs to respond promptly, day or night, not the next morning or after the mental illness episode has worn off or changed, so that the health care professional can see and evaluate the physical condition and mental symptoms the victims and law enforcement were faced with at the time they responded to the episode. We are told that the Welfare and Institutions Code section 5150 episodes are not being attended to until the next day, if the incarceration took place during non-business hours for the health professionals, by which time the symptoms may have dissipated or changed.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The Grand Jury recommends improved coordination between Health and Human Services and the Sheriff's department when addressing mental illness and severe substance abuse cases and responding time by Health and Human Services personnel. COMMENDATION TO THE INYO COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT The Grand Jury commends all Inyo County Sheriff's Department personnel from deputies, correctional officer's, clerical staff, support staff and Sheriff for dedication to the work responsibilities required in maintaining an efficient and well maintained jail facility-all on a budget that is deficient commensurate to the work load required.
F13
Gainful fulltime employment and housing opportunities are not easily accessible to former inmates in Inyo County. The same holds true for all unemployed citizens, including recently graduated High School students.
No recommendations for this finding
F14
Concerns with morale and the practice of the use of traveling nurses to fill positions vacated by local nursing staff and Medical Doctors have not abated. Examples of these continuing concerns include a local nursing union demonstration and Medical Doctors continuing to leave the area and NIH.
Related Recommendations (4)
R4
The NIH administration should deal with its staff, the Medical Doctors and the community in a more fair, appropriate and responsive fashion.
R6
The BOD needs to work with the CEO to develop a plan to improve morale within the hospital.
R7
The BOD and CEO need to improve communication with employees of the hospital and the community.
R8
The BOD and CEO need to actively seek input from hospital staff, as well as the public concerning the focus and mission of the hospital. STATEMENT ON COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT The local community should strongly encourage candidates to run for the NIH district BOD who understand the role the hospital plays as a community based institution. RESPONSE REQUESTED Board of Directors of the Northern Inyo Healthcare District . . CARTAGO/CG ROXANE
F15
The NIH BOD has appointed a new board member from the community to replace a retiring member. The new member's training involved approximately two weeks dealing with budgetary issues.
No recommendations for this finding
F16
Cartago MWC informed Inyo County staff of lack of permitting for the arsenic pond
No recommendations for this finding
F17
LRWQCB followed up with CG Roxane to remove the arsenic pond with specific guidelines for the removal.
No recommendations for this finding
F18
CG Roxane did not comply with guidelines of LRWQCB in removing arsenic pond in providing a plan to the Department of Toxic Substances
No recommendations for this finding
F19
Inyo County was not responsive to citizen concerns until LRWQCB got involved
No recommendations for this finding
F20
Inyo County left no options for the residents of Cartago MWC but to file a law suit to protect their drinking water and surrounding environment.
No recommendations for this finding
F21
CG Roxane filed a counter suit against Cartago MWC this year
No recommendations for this finding
Additional Recommendations 2
These recommendations are not explicitly linked to specific findings.
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R1The Grand Jury recommends a technological upgrading of the electronic control panel in the Panel in the Pod observation tower of the jail.
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R5The BOD and the CEO need to provide greater transparency to the public concerning budgeting and financial accountability.
Commendations 4
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CM1C1. The interior of the facility is very well maintained and very clean. The classroom for the detainees is unsurpassed in it's up to date technology, visual aids and overall learning environment, as compared to other public school environments. The teaching staff is to be commended for their daily dedication to student learning.
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CM2C1. Despite the crowded conditions for staff and limited space facility, the Bishop Police Department has an excellent service history. REQUEST FOR RESPONSES Bishop City Council : : CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION OWENS VALLEY CONSERVATION CAMP #26 2781 Round Valley Road Bishop, CA. 93514 California Penal Code section 919 stipulates that the Grand Jury is authorized to inquire into the conditions and management of all public prisons within the county. The Owens Valley Conservation Camp #26 (OVCC) is part of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Camps Program and is the only state prison in Inyo County. The Inyo County Grand Jury inspected the OVCC on December 17, 2015.
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CM3C1. The O.V.C.C. for being a highly cost efficient and well-maintained facility, that provides many services of benefit to Inyo County and the State of California. REQUEST FOR RESPONSES California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Owens Valley Camp #26 · · . . . CITIZEN SEEKING LAW ENFORCEMENT PROTECTION INTRODUCTION Investigation into the process involved should a citizen enter the Bishop Police Department lobby seeking personal protection.
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CM4Cartago Mutual Water Company and the adjoining citizens worked collectively and resolutely to insure that arsenic and other toxic substances were brought to the public's attention. RESPONSE REQUESTED Inyo County Board of Supervisors
Agency Responses 5
Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.