San Joaquin County Grand Jury 2012-2013 Law and Justice Report

Conclusions 3

• CL1
  The Grand Jury finds the job that the prison leadership and staff have accomplished at Deuel Vocational Institution is commendable, especially given the age of the facility, the impact of AB 109 and the ever-changing mission of the facility. Acknowledgements In addition, the Grand Jury sincerely appreciates the time spent by the Warden and staff, and their openness to discuss issues of interest to the Grand Jury. 154 San Joaquin County Grand Jury 2012-2013 Law and Justice Report Northern California Youth Center Summary The 2012-2013 Grand Jury (Grand Jury) conducted its mandated tour of the Stockton facilities of the Northern California Youth Center (NCYC). The two facilities located in Stockton, California, are the N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility (Chad) and the O.H. Close Youth Correctional Facility (Close). NCYC also operates the Pine Grove Youth Conservation Camp which was not toured because it is outside the County. The NCYC facilities were built in 1991 and are located on 144 acres east of Highway 99 off Arch Road. Chad has a capacity of 600 youth and housed 325 at the time of the tour. Close has a capacity of 400 youth and housed 175 at the time of the tour. These correctional institutions are operated by the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and are maximum security lock-up institutions. These two facilities receive juveniles whose crimes are violent and/or sexual in nature. The mission of this agency is to assess the needs of the incarcerated youth and to implement various programs for rehabilitation. Intense treatment programs are offered including specialized counseling for sex offenders and substance abuse treatment. These facilities also offer instruction in basic skills, high school courses, special education and vocational programs. The total operating budget for NCYC is over $205 million per year, or over $176 thousand per incarcerated youth.
• CL2
  The overall security of the facility seems to be adequate for the level of incarcerated youths. Response Requested The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of Juvenile Justice, is requested to respond within 90 days of publication of this report to the findings and recommendations in writing to the Presiding Judge of the San Joaquin County Superior Court. Mail a hard copy of the response to: Honorable David P. Warner, Presiding Judge San Joaquin County Superior Court P.O. Box 201022 Stockton, CA 95201 Also, please email the response to Trisa Martinez, Staff Secretary to the Grand Jury at: [email protected] 157 San Joaquin County Grand Jury 2012-2013 Law and Justice Report San Joaquin County Jail John J. Zunino Detention Facility Summary In accordance with Penal Code section 919(b), one of the mandated requirements of a grand jury is to annually conduct a review of the condition and management of the County Jail facilities. The 2012-2013 Grand Jury (Grand Jury) commends the Sheriff’s Department for operating a clean and well-run facility, despite intermittent overcrowding, gang-related inmate interactions and limited funding. The County Jail has been significantly impacted by the passage of California Assembly Bill (AB) 109 that became effective on October 1, 2011. This act moves specific classifications of inmates from state prisons to county jails. While the State will continue to incarcerate offenders who commit serious, violent, and/or sexual crimes, the responsibility of supervising, rehabilitating, and managing low-level offenders has now been placed with the County. In addition, parole violators are now sent to county jails and not state prisons. The implementation of this bill has raised concerns within the Grand Jury because it has increased the overcrowding of the jail, which has significantly affected the jail operations and inmate population. The overcrowding in the County Jail and the implementation of AB 109 is fully addressed in another 2012-2013 Grand Jury report. Therefore, this report does not contain findings or recommendations regarding the jail capacity.
• CL3
  The Grand Jury found the Juvenile Hall to be well maintained. All operations appeared efficient and orderly. The youths are kept occupied much of the day with education and training classes. There is a well-structured program of school, recreation, free-time and program attendance. Response Requirements From the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors: California Penal Code sections 933 and 933.05 require that specific responses to all findings and recommendations contained in this report be submitted to the Presiding Judge of San Joaquin County Superior Court by (within 90 days). Mail a hard copy of the response to: Honorable David P. Warner, Presiding Judge San Joaquin County Superior Court P.O. Box 201022 Stockton, CA 95201 Also, please email the response to Trisa Martinez, Staff Secretary to the Grand Jury at: [email protected] 163 San Joaquin County Grand Jury 2012-2013 Law and Justice Report Temporary Detention Facilities In addition to the County Jail, there are a number of other facilities in San Joaquin County that are used to detain individuals for a few hours or a few days. These facilities include one city jail and seven locations with holding cells, secured rooms for detaining individuals for not more than a few hours. The City of Lodi has a jail that is a Type I facility, the lowest level of jails. Type I jails are built to higher standards than holding cells and can therefore house individuals for a few days but not longer. The 2012-2013 Grand Jury (Grand Jury) found the Lodi City Jail to be adequate. Holding cells and are typically used to hold individuals for a matter of hours until they can be transported to a jail or prison or to hold individuals at a courthouse before or after their appearances. As such, holding cells are not required to meet the same level of standards as a jail or prison. The holding cells of the following jurisdictions were toured:  Escalon Police Department  Manteca Police Department  Ripon Police Department  San Joaquin County Superior Courthouse, Manteca  San Joaquin County Superior Courthouse, Stockton  Stockton Police Department  Tracy Police Department The holding cells at the above facilities, with the exception of the Stockton Superior Courthouse, appear to be adequate. 164 The San Joaquin County Superior Court building was constructed in 1962. At that time, the volume of defendants handled by the Court system was about half of today’s volume and the safety measures included in the design were adequate. Previous San Joaquin County grand juries have addressed this issue. Concerns were expressed about the holding cells and about the movement of inmates through the same hallways used by the general public. The Sheriff’s Department is responsible for courthouse security and has taken measures to protect the safety of everyone in the courthouse. Plans are moving forward to construct a new courthouse that addresses the security issues. The Grand Jury encourages the State to quickly move forward with the construction of a new courthouse. 165 San Joaquin County Grand Jury 2012-2013 Law and Justice Report Property Rooms Each law enforcement agency in the County has a property room; a secure place where items are received and stored. The proper processing and storage of these items is critical when they are needed for future prosecutions. In order for evidence to be used in a trial, each item must be received, processed, and stored in such a way that the chain of evidence can be proven in court. In addition, some items are held that are not evidence for a trial. Examples of these are firearms taken from people involved in domestic violence and recovered stolen property. The 2012-2013 Grand Jury toured each property room in San Joaquin County. They included:  Escalon Police Department  Lodi Police Department  Manteca Police Department  Ripon Police Department  San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department  Stockton Police Department  Tracy Police Department All property rooms toured appeared to be well organized and maintained. 166 San Joaquin County Grand Jury 2012-2013 Law and Justice Report Public Safety Ride Alongs Summary The 2012-2013 Grand Jury (Grand Jury) observed many public safety agencies within San Joaquin County by riding along with staff. Over the course of the year, the Grand Jury participated in more than 30 individual ride alongs, totaling more than 250 hours, with 12 different agencies. These ride alongs were with:  Escalon Police Department  Lathrop Police Services  Lodi Police Department  Manteca Police Department  Ripon Police Department  San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department (including their boat safety patrol)  San Joaquin Delta College District Police Department  Stockton Fire Department  Stockton Police Department  Stockton Police Department Animal Services  Stockton Unified School District Police Department  Tracy Police Department The employees observed were very professional. The people of the public safety agencies in San Joaquin County are to be commended for the job they are doing. During these ride alongs, the Grand Jury observed some issues related to resources used by the employees. Much of the equipment (e.g., vehicles, computers, radios, weapons) is aging and needs to be replaced. On a positive note, new rifles were recently purchased by the Sheriff’s Department so that each car can now have a shotgun and a rifle. There were also examples of services being reduced. Due to severe reductions in staffing, some agencies do not respond to low priority calls. 167 Grand Jury members often observed drivers not responding appropriately when approached by vehicles with emergency lights and/or sirens being used. When drivers fail to pull to the right and stop, response time for emergency vehicles is increased. These drivers also threaten their own safety as well as the safety of the emergency responders. Greater use of technology is becoming standard practice in public safety vehicles. Law enforcement vehicles have computers, which direct them to emergencies, give them the ability to research individuals and vehicles, provide information regarding the calls they respond to and provide other information. Lodi police and fire have a computer system that assists both departments. The Grand Jury surveyed the fire departments/districts in the County and found that the fire engines of the Stockton Fire Department and the Manteca Fire Department operate without GPS support. Firefighters in these departments rely on binders of printed material for the emergency response information they need. A quick internet survey resulted in a number of software solutions to assist firefighters. One such company even advertises that its software program will “replace all those 3-ring binders” (the actual data storage system for Stockton and Manteca Fire Departments). Issues During these ride alongs, the Grand Jury found two areas of concern. First, it was observed that drivers did not pull over when approached by an emergency vehicle. Also, it was found that the fire vehicles of some departments are without GPS navigation and other current technology. Discussion, Findings, and Recommendations 1.0 Public Does Not Respond Appropriately When Approached by Emergency Vehicles When emergency vehicles are responding to an incident/situation, a quick response time is critical. When drivers do not pull over, emergency vehicles must slow down to protect the safety of the emergency responders as well as the occupant(s) of the other vehicle(s).