Monterey County Jail Insufficient Number Of Deputies: Car 54 Where Are You?1

The Hernandez Settlement requires an “adequate” number of sworn deputies to supervise the jail. Current staffing of the jail, even with the reassigned deputies from patrol, is barely “adequate” to comply. Both the jail and patrol are understaffed. The number of deputies reassigned from patrol to the jail has left patrol in a state of crisis.

The Sheriff’s Department does not have an adequate number of authorizations to meet the demand for the jail and patrol, and for the additional personnel necessary to cover absences for vacations, sickness, disability, family leave or personal matters. Additional staffing required to cover just these absences is estimated to be 25, or roughly 10% of the total current authorizations. 62

A reduction in the MCSO’s budget would mean a reduced number of deputies. This would result in: • The County would be at odds with complying with the Hernandez Settlement, which could mean fines and further litigation • A continued severe lack of adequate patrol coverage in our county • This will continue to cost our county millions of dollars in overtime

According to the mission statement of the MCSO, “to safeguard the lives and property of the people within our county”, our county’s citizens have the right to protection under the law.

The proposed budget reductions, which reduce the authorizations for deputy staffing, will have a negative effect on the MCSO’s ability to provide protection to our county’s citizens.

Monterey County spent over $6 million in overtime between March 24, 2016 and March 23, 2017. This amount could have funded in excess of 40 additional deputy authorizations. With an annual salary plus benefits of roughly $125,000 per person, the County could hire 40 deputies, and still have another million left over to cover the unavoidable overtime. Some overtime is unavoidable, but a significant reduction could reasonably be expected.

The MCCGJ believes that the MCSO should recognize that the tasks performed by deputies in the jail are significantly different from those performed by deputies on patrol. Each is performed in an unique environment and under very different conditions. To consider the patrol and jail duties as interchangeable has some advantages to management in terms of flexibility of assignments, but this policy has costs in terms of hiring and retaining deputies, as well as on their morale. 63

Having these two separate job classifications would have a positive impact on recruiting, retention, advancement and morale.

There are duties in the jail that could be performed by CSS and Corrections Officers, which would allow the Sheriff’s deputies, to return to patrol.

Many local cities and counties are vying for the same candidates upon graduation from the academy. Some of these same cities/counties offer signing bonuses in excess of $17,000. Monterey County pays for candidates to attend an academy. Upon completion of an Academy, the candidate may opt to work for the County, if an authorization is vacant. If not, the candidate will apply elsewhere, and our County is out the salary paid while in the academy, and the tuition. Compounding the hiring issue is the fact that these graduates, upon signing on with our county, are relegated to the jail for two years or longer, until a transfer to patrol is available. They would go straight to patrol at other locales. Our policy of assigning academy graduates directly to the jail, prior to patrol, is a deterrent to recruitment.

MCSO is working diligently to fill all the current authorizations. However, even after those authorizations are filled, there will remain an insufficient number of Sheriff’s deputies to meet the needs of both the jail and patrol.

Reducing the number of authorizations for deputies is a self-defeating proposition. To do so will continue to waste our tax dollars on unnecessary overtime. Recommendations: