Score: +5 (6/22/1)
Butte County Grand Jury • 2013-2014 • Agency Response
Response to: Sheriff

Butte County Office of the Jerry W. Smith Sheriff - Coroner August 12, 2013 Superior Court of California County of*

Published: August 12, 2013 9 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 9 findings

F1 Page 1
was demonstrated throughout the tour and interviews. Inmates were treated with respect and the jail was clean and orderly. The respondent agrees with this finding. Jail overcrowding is evident now and destined to become worse in the near future if
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
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The Butte County Sheriff's Office, in cooperation with other county agencies, is encouraged to actively search for interim housing to accommodate inmates until jail expansion is completed. This recommendation is being implemented. The Sheriff's Office has an agreement with the Sutter County Sheriff's Office to house low level sentenced offenders at the Sutter County Jail. This agreement has allowed the Sheriff's Office to house a limited number of inmates in the Sutter County Jail. Additionally, the Sheriff's Office has issued a Butte County centered Request for Proposal (RFP) for Sober Living Environment (SLE) housing with an aim to place otherwise homeless inmates into an SLE situation if they would benefit. The Sheriff's Office will explore the possibility of utilizing SLE placement over the course of the next year.
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additional space is not found. The Sheriff's Office is actively searching for solutions. The respondent agrees with this finding. That said, the jail is better described as being at capacity as opposed to being overcrowded. Alternative Custody Supervision programs are an effective way to minimize overcrowding
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
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The Butte County Sheriff's Office should continue its search for adequate funding to enlarge the jail. This recommendation is being implemented. In an effort to obtain jail expansion funding pursuant to Senate Bill 1022, we have contracted with a consultant to help us apply for funding and are working closely with the Butte County Administration Office and General Services Departments to coordinate the effort.
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and reflect a collaborative effort of the Sheriff's Office, Probation Department and the courts. The respondent agrees with this finding. County Center Drive · Oroville, CA 95965 · (530) 538-7321 · Fax (530) 538-2099
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
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Develop a tracking system to evaluate the effectiveness of the ACS programs. This recommendation has already been implemented. The Butte County Sheriff's Office, specifically its Alternative Custody Supervision (ACS) unit, enjoys a close relationship with criminal justice researchers from the California State University, Chico. Those researchers have twice, since October 2011, published independent academic studies of the programming offered through ACS, gauging effectiveness and efficiencies when measured against "best practice" norms.
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Modification in the pod tower control center would improve safety for correctional deputies. In the event of a disturbance in the housing pods, as it stands now, a door has to be opened to use deterrents such as pepper spray. This exposes the deputy to potential danger. The respondent agrees with this finding. The addition of secure ports in the pod tower glass over each housing unit would allow introduction of deterrents into the unit while greatly reducing the danger to staff.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
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Install ports in the pod tower control room to have direct access to the interior of the pods to introduce deterrents. This recommendation is being implemented. Earlier this year, jail staff examined a commercially manufactured aluminum port and evaluated its utility as a "pass-through port" for the West Facility tower control rooms. We requested the manufacturer to design and build a larger version as the currently offered version is too small to allow for the use of sighting devices on weapon platforms, such as the less-lethal 40mm munitions launcher. We are also in discussion with a local glass company examining alternative means of installing secure ports in the tower windows.
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In the protective custody housing sections T3 and T4, the camera only shows the hallway. A camera is needed over the door so officers can monitor what's going on in the cells. The respondent agrees in part with this finding. The need for additional cameras in that area of the jail warrants further study.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
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Install a security camera over the doors of T3 and T4 so officers can monitor activity in the cells. This recommendation will be studied further. T3 and T4 have traditionally housed female inmates. Out of a heightened sense of privacy protection, we have historically not placed security cameras in locations that would diminish the privacy of female inmates using the shower and/or toilets in those housing units. Over the course of the next six months we will evaluate whether this practice should continue or be modified. Due to increased incarceration time, expand medical and dental care to cover the longer
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The wait for medical and dental appointments is sometimes excessive. Before AB109, most sentences were short term, and the County Jail was more involved with medical emergencies. Now there is a greater need to focus on long-term medical care. The respondent agrees in part with this finding. Although the wait time for routine medical and dental appointments has increased as the jail has experienced higher average daily populations post AB 109, the time frame for inmates to be seen by a medical professional is in accord with community standards. Emergency and/or serious medical conditions are handled expeditiously.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
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term needs of inmates. This recommendation is being implemented. We are currently negotiating a contract with a local optometrist and dentist to assist with some needs and have added more dental hours under the current contract. We are exploring expansion of jail medical care with our contracted health care provider.
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Butte County Jail is not set up to effectively treat mental health disorders. The respondent does not agree with this finding. The Butte County Jail, through its contracted health care provider, has the ability to competently treat inmates with a wide range of mental health disorders. The jail has 24 hour, 7 day per week access to a Board Certified Psychiatrist, a Marriage Family Therapist (MFT), a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), registered nurses with mental health training and a discharge planner. The services offered to inmates with mental health disorders include: Psychiatric assessments and treatments with Board Certified Psychiatrist, Assessments, referrals and therapy (with a Cognitive Behavioral emphasis) with a • MFT, Assessments and referrals with a LCSW, Discharge planning for transitions back into the community including collaboration with probation, public health, housing, social services and treatment programs, Socializing and psycho-educational opportunities targeting patients in isolated housing, and Intercommunication and collaborating with Butte County Behavioral Health, the legal system and other entities to facilitate stabilization of patients in crisis or with severe mental health issues.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
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Look for evidence-based methods of dealing with mental health disorders and formulate a plan for implementation at the County jail. This recommendation is being implemented. In the last contract we added staff for release planning to help with coordinating after care for at risk people as well as expanding the socialization program for administratively segregated persons suffering from isolation or mental illness. It is our desire to substantially improve Mental Health Services in the jail by locating and operating a Psychiatric Health Facility (PHF) as part of the proposed jail expansion. This concept is currently being discussed between the Sheriff's Office and the Butte County Department of Behavioral Health. Conduct an anonymous survey of the correctional deputies for any possible concerns.
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There are some concerns among the correctional deputies due to the stress of managing security issues in an overcrowded jail. The respondent partially agrees with this finding. The jail is full, but not overcrowded. Correctional deputies do face increased challenges providing safety and security for a more criminally sophisticated and longer term inmate population.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
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Formulate a plan to address any issues and provide feedback to the deputies. This recommendation will be studied further. The Sheriff's Office values input from staff members and has practices in place designed to elicit input and address concerns of staff. Jail managers and supervisors meet regularly with members of the Corrections Division including representatives from the employees' bargaining unit. We have found this style of communication to be an effective way for line staff to communicate concerns to management and for management to return feedback and updates to staff. Additionally, in conjunction with researchers from California State University, Chico we have used anonymous surveys in the past to elicit input and feedback from staff in reference to our implementation of programs designed to deal with the impact of AB 109. Over the course of the next six months we will evaluate this recommendation to determine if the use of a survey is warranted.
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Having only seven female deputies is insufficient for a 24/7 operation. The respondent partially agrees with this finding. Currently the Butte County Jail employs 16 female correctional deputies in various capacities. Due to a variety of reasons, the jail does face recurrent challenges ensuring adequate staffing of female correctional deputies. Grand Jury Recommendations:
Related Recommendations (1)
R9
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Recruit additional female deputies. This recommendation has already been implemented. Currently we have 16 female Correctional Deputies. We continue to actively seek out and recruit new female correctional deputies; in fact we swore in our newest female correctional deputy on July 2, 2013. <b>BUTTE COUNTY'S RESPONSE TO AB109</b> Grand Jury Findings:

Agency Responses 2

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.