Mandatory Overtime in the Sheriff's Office

Conclusions 15

• CL1
  The impact of mandatory overtime on custody deputies is unknown. 2017-18 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 11 MANDATORY OVERTIME IN THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE
• CL2
  The Sheriff’s Office has not considered all possible measures that could help reduce the mandatory overtime requirements in the short term.
• CL3
  Recruiting is a low priority for the Sheriff’s Office.
• CL4
  The Jail Operations Division’s Transportation Unit is particularly understaffed, creating acute mandatory overtime requirements.
• CL5
  The impact of the 2019 scheduled opening of the Northern Branch Jail on existing overtime requirements is unknown.
• CL6
  the allocation of positions to law enforcement and custody
• CL7
  how the average of 1578 productive hours compares to other law enforcement entities
• CL8
  the number of additional custody deputies required to eliminate the standing mandatory overtime policy
• CL9
  the projected costs of funding additional positions 2017-18 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 12 MANDATORY OVERTIME IN THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE Finding 4 The Jail Operations Division’s Transportation Unit is particularly understaffed, creating acute mandatory overtime requirements.
• CL10
  Disagree Wholly, with an explanation
• CL11
  Disagree Partially, with an explanation Responses to Recommendations shall be one of the following:
• CL12
  Has been implemented, with a brief summary of the implemented actions
• CL13
  Will be implemented, with an implementation schedule
• CL14
  Requires further analysis, with an explanation and the scope and parameters of an analysis or study, and a completion date that is not more than 6 months after the issuance of this report
• CL15
  Will not be implemented because it is not warranted or is not reasonable, with an explanation Santa Barbara County Sheriff - 60 Days Findings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 2017-18 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 13 MANDATORY OVERTIME IN THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Observations 1

• OB1
  The Sheriff’s Office is composed of two main operational branches—the Custody Operations Branch and the Law Enforcement Operations Branch. Custody Operations is the correctional arm of the Sheriff’s Office, providing custody and care of pre-sentenced and sentenced adult inmates. The Branch has two divisions. The Jail Operations Division runs the Main Jail and oversees the Transportation Unit, which transports inmates to and from court appearances and medical appointments as well as to other local or state correctional facilities. The Custody Support Division oversees education programs and vocational training for inmates; the contracted medical provider for the Main Jail, California Forensic Medical Group; facility maintenance; custody records; and the Northern Branch Jail Project, the 376-bed jail under construction in Santa Maria. The Law Enforcement Branch provides primary law enforcement services for unincorporated Santa Barbara County and the contract cities of Buellton, Carpinteria, Goleta and Solvang. The Branch has three Divisions: South County Operations, North County Operations, and the Criminal Investigations Division. These services include sheriff patrols, detective services, court security, civil processes and law enforcement records functions. Nearly 40 percent of the Office’s total personnel are assigned to Law Enforcement Operations. Applicants apply to be either a custody deputy or a Sheriff’s (law enforcement) deputy, also commonly known as patrol deputy. Custody deputies are distinguished from Sheriff's deputies in that they have only limited peace officer power pursuant to California Penal Code Section 830.1(c), are not deputy coroners, and are not assigned to patrol or bailiff duties. Staffing Requirements Custody Staffing The Jury found it difficult to reconcile various sets of staffing numbers for Custody Operations provided by the Office. As of early 2018, the Office reported that there are currently 216 funded custody deputy positions, of which 13 are vacant, for an on-hand total of 203 custody deputies. The Office provided conflicting information on the number of custody deputy positions allocated to the Main Jail. It stated in one answer that 202 positions are allocated to the Main Jail, of which 14 are vacant, for an on-hand total of 188 custody deputies. In another answer, the Office stated that 118 custody deputies are allocated to the Main Jail. There are 23 custody deputy positions 2017-18 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 2 MANDATORY OVERTIME IN THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE allocated to Transportation; five are vacant. It is unclear how 225 can be allocated to the Main Jail and Transportation Unit combined when there are only 216 funded positions. There are currently 17 custody deputies serving in non-line positions: four in Human Resources, one in training, six on the Northern Branch Jail Transition Team, and six in Alternative Sentencing. The Office reported that 90 custody deputies will be assigned to the Northern Branch Jail, 24 of which will be transferred from the Main Jail and 66 of which will be new positions. Of these, 38 positions have been filled. The Office plans to seek 17 additional custody deputy positions to augment Main Jail staffing. Additional positions may be sought once the Northern Branch Jail is open, in part to help cover vacation, injury and other absences. The Jury was unable to obtain a definitive answer on the basis of the minimum staffing requirements set by the Office for the Main Jail and the Transportation Unit. The Sheriff’s Office stated that the staffing requirements for the Main Jail were derived from guidance from a California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) 2002 staffing study. The Office further stated that the BSCC will do a new staffing analysis when a significant change has occurred to the physical plant of a facility or when requested, and that no physical change has occurred and the Office has not requested a new study. The Jury was provided a portion of the 2002 study, which was insufficient to confirm it was the basis for the current minimum staffing requirements for the Main Jail or Transportation Unit. The 2002 BSCC study explained the challenges of staffing a 24/7 operation: one 24-hour position requires a minimum of two individuals (working 12-hour shifts) to fill the position; illness, injury or vacation requires that a third person be available to cover the vacant shift(s). The report noted: Oftentimes, sheriff’s departments utilize overtime to cover an unfilled post. This practice can be dangerous since staff may have recently completed a 12-hour shift when they are required to work additional overtime. During Fiscal Year 2001/02, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department filled a total of 10,319 corrections officer hours with overtime. Essentially, this equals five positions that could have been funded with the personnel costs of overtime. It is expected that detention facilities will utilize overtime hours to augment a minimum staffing level. There is no way to eliminate all use of overtime; overtime is simply a necessary component of staffing a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week operation. However, efforts must be made to reduce the number of overtime hours in order to save the department money and reduce the potential for staff burnout. Main Jail Staffing There are 19 custody deputy positions which must be filled during the day shift. The Sheriff’s Office has established staffing requirements at a minimum of 20 custody deputies during the day shift and 18 during the night shift. In addition, four additional custody deputies are needed to provide medical escorts. These requirements are based on the physical layout of the different components of the Main Jail and the classification of inmates. Original planning for the Northern Branch Jail included the closure of the Medium Security Facility and Basement Dorms 1, 2, and 3, with the 24 staff assigned to these posts being reassigned 2017-18 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 3 MANDATORY OVERTIME IN THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE to the Northern Branch Jail. The Female Medium Security Facility closed in 2017. Plans still call for the transfer of 24 Main Jail positions to the Northern Branch Jail. However, interviews with Main Jail staff indicate that it will remain close to its rated capacity of 659 after the new jail opens, leaving uncertain whether sections of the Main Jail will be permanently closed. Transportation Unit Staffing Transportation Unit staffing, unlike that for the Main Jail, is Monday through Friday, with shifts beginning as early as 4:30 am and ending at 6:30 pm. Unit personnel transport inmates from the Main Jail to and from court appearances in Santa Maria, Lompoc and Santa Barbara and staff the court holding facilities in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, and Lompoc, where inmates are housed while waiting for their cases to be called. There are typically four bus and three van runs per day. The minimum daily staffing required for these duties is 21 custody deputies working 10-hour shifts. Based on information from Transportation Unit personnel, in practice, transportation shifts often extend beyond 10 hours due to unpredictable court schedules. With only 18 positions currently filled, the Transportation Unit cannot meet minimum daily requirements with staff on hand. The shortfall is more acute given the coverage gaps caused by illness, injury or vacation. Even if all 23 positions were filled, substantial coverage gaps would exist, as explained below. Law Enforcement Staffing There are no federal, state or local laws, or regulations that mandate law enforcement (patrol) staffing levels. The Sheriff’s Office has set minimum staffing requirements for its individual patrol bureaus over the years. Patrol minimum staffing is driven by a combination of geographic challenges in conjunction with the number and nature of the calls for service that are handled within the particular patrol bureau. “Structural Staffing Deficit” The Sheriff’s Office acknowledged it would be unable to maintain minimum staffing levels even if all positions were filled. It termed this personnel shortfall a “structural staffing deficit,” meaning the number of funded custody and law enforcement positions does not adequately account for work time that is lost due to training, illness, vacation, and other types of leave the Office is required to provide. The Office attributes this staffing deficit to protracted budgetary constraints imposed on the Sheriff’s budget by the County Board of Supervisors over the past 15 years. Although the Sheriff has the authority to decide how to make budget cuts within the Office, the Office contends that major budget cuts require staff cuts. The Office noted, as an example, there were 285 approved and funded sworn law enforcement positions in 2007, down to 255 positions in 2017. The Sheriff’s Office defines the average yearly productive work hours—hours spent working the primary assignment, not including training and various types of leave—as 1578 for a deputy. This number is based on a 2016-17 Office study that averaged all lost time across the total number of deputies for the deputy sheriff classification. (Full time or 40 hours/week for 52 weeks/year totals 2080 hours, meaning the average non-productive time—for leave and other absences—is 502 hours or roughly 63 days). The Jury did not have sufficient information to assess how this number compares to that for other law enforcement entities or whether significant overtime work negatively affected productive hours, such as by causing burnout or other health-related issues. 2017-18 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 4 MANDATORY OVERTIME IN THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE Positions that require 24/7 staffing need additional staff to cover the absences. Based on minimum staffing requirements provided, the Main Jail requires 456 deputy hours per day (20 12-hour day shifts and 18 12-hour night shifts) and 166,440 deputy hours per year (456 hours x 365 days). This equates to a requirement for 106 deputies working 1578 productive hours per year if none were required to work overtime. In theory, if the figure of 118 sworn staff allocated to the Main Jail is correct, and if all those staff are on hand, it appears that the Main Jail personnel pool provides sufficient reserve capability to cover leave and other absences. For the Transportation Unit, the minimum staffing requirement for 21 deputies, working 10-hour shifts Monday through Friday, totals 1050 deputy hours per week (210 hours/day x 5) and 54,600 deputy hours per year (1050 x 52 weeks). This equates to 34 deputies working 1578 productive hours per year if none were required to work overtime. With only 23 positions funded and 18 filled, the Transportation Unit is operating with a particularly acute personnel shortfall. The Jury learned that proposals for arraignments via videoconference are under discussion by the Sheriff’s Office, Public Defender, District Attorney, and the Superior Court. The ability to conduct such arraignments would reduce Transportation Unit requirements but the Jury was unable to assess the specific impacts. Historical Overtime Trends The Sheriff’s Office reports that to some degree, the Office has always had vacancy rates that have required the use of overtime to maintain required staffing levels, both in custody and law enforcement operations, as illustrated in Figure 1. Vacancy rates for custody have ranged from less than one percent to 11 percent, averaging 6 percent over the selected years. Law enforcement vacancy rates range from five to 13 percent, averaging 8.6 percent over the selected years. Figure 1: Selected Annual Vacancy Rates, 2001-2017 Year Custody Filled Positions Custody Vacant Law Enforcement Filled Law Enforcement Positions FTE* Vacant FTE* 2001 187 1 289 14 2005 178 18 277 20 2010 178 21 267 40 2015 191 5 253 22 2017 203 13 215 23 *FTE: Full Time Equivalent (Source: Sheriff’s Office) According to the Sheriff’s Office, there has never been a time in recent history when staffing levels were able to eliminate the need for overtime. Vacancy rates since 2001 have always required the use of overtime to maintain staffing levels. The Office noted that in some years, the need for overtime “was more manageable and was met solely through the use of voluntary overtime.” In Custody Operations, however, mandatory overtime has been in effect for all but two of the past 15 years, according to multiple custody deputies. Law Enforcement Operations does not currently have a mandatory overtime policy. The nature of the patrol mission affords a larger pool of personnel who have greater flexibility in covering absences, such as by extending patrol areas of law enforcement deputies. 2017-18 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 5 MANDATORY OVERTIME IN THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE The average number of overtime hours for Custody and Law Enforcement classifications since 2001 are shown in Figure 2. Figure 2: Average Overtime Hours Per Full Time Equivalent by Job Classification Mandatory Overtime Requirements Custody deputies assigned to daytime shifts are required to sign up for 11 overtime shifts each four-month rotation period and those assigned to night shifts are required to sign up for nine. Deputies rotate every four months, meaning, on average, they must each sign up for about 30 overtime shifts each year. The shift duration depends on the specific assignment; for example, Jail Operations shifts are 12 hours, Transportation Unit shifts are 10 hours, and Administration shifts are 8 hours. Some custody deputies volunteer to work additional shifts above the 30 per year required, and other deputies may work less than 30 overtime shifts because others volunteer to work mandatory overtime shifts for them. The overtime statistics in Figure 2 indicate that the average overtime hours for custody has exceeded 30 shifts per year in recent years. Thirty 12-hour shifts total 360 hours per year; 30 10- hour shifts total 300 overtime hours per year. The average number of overtime hours worked, however, has exceeded 300 in the past seven years, and has exceeded 360 hours in the past six years. The 2016-2017 average overtime hours for custody of 564 hours equates to 47 12-hour shifts or 56 10-hour shifts. The Sheriff’s Office did not provide overtime hours worked by different Custody Operations missions (Jail Operations, Transportation Unit, Classification and Administration) in response to the Jury’s requests. 2017-18 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 6 MANDATORY OVERTIME IN THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE Figure 2 also indicates that in 12 of the past 16 years, and all of the past 8 years, custody deputies have worked significantly more overtime hours on average than law enforcement deputies. In the past 8 years, the rates of higher overtime for custody range from a low of 11 percent to a high of 127 percent, and average 53 percent more than law enforcement. In 2016-17, custody deputies worked, on average, 47 percent more overtime hours than law enforcement deputies. In years past, the Sheriff’s Office has temporarily assigned law enforcement deputies to work in the Main Jail to overcome critical staffing shortages. However, due to staffing challenges within the law enforcement patrol bureaus, this is not considered a viable option for dealing with the current jail staffing issues. The Sheriff’s Office believes it would be difficult to cross-train law enforcement deputies to enlarge the available overtime resource pool for custody because of the specialized training and expertise required for both custody and law enforcement deputies, although some law enforcement deputies who are certified in Standards and Training for Corrections do volunteer for some custody overtime. Impact of Policy on Staff The Jury was unable to assess the attitudes of custody deputies toward the mandatory overtime policy or its impact on their health and morale. Anecdotal information obtained through conversations with custody deputies and Sheriff’s Office information suggest that some oppose the policy and believe it creates hardships on their health and/or family relationships, while others appreciate the extra income earned. The Sheriff’s Office has not conducted surveys of the workforce on the policy but acknowledged that it was “well aware that mandatory overtime is a significant cause of dissatisfaction for many of our staff.” Over the years, personnel, both directly and through the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, have repeatedly told Sheriff’s Office management that they are unhappy with mandatory overtime policies. The Office also has not studied the impacts of the policy on the health and proficiency of the affected staff. The Office stated, however, “…our staff are well aware of numerous studies and professional articles that address and discuss the negative impacts of personnel working long hours.” In response to complaints, the Office stated that management teams have worked to mitigate the negative impacts of the policy and have modified the mandatory overtime programs over the years, such as by adjusting projected mandatory overtime needs prior to each four-month staff rotation. Other than allowing deputies who want the overtime to work overtime shifts for others, however, the Jury received no evidence that the Sheriff’s Office has looked at other possible means of reducing the overtime burden, such as using contract staff or retired deputies (commonly known as “Extra Help”) to work in non-line positions, thus freeing up assigned deputies, or devising a system for law enforcement deputies to be trained and required to periodically support custody overtime requirements. The Jury was unable to determine the impact that the opening of the Northern Branch Jail will have on overtime requirements or the mandatory overtime policy for Custody Operations. Given the current vacancies, however, the new jail may exacerbate the problem. 2017-18 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 7 MANDATORY OVERTIME IN THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE Overtime Costs Annual overtime costs for Custody Operations and Law Enforcement Operations since FY 2001- 02 were provided by the Sheriff’s Office and are shown in Figure 3. The figure includes the approved (adjusted) overtime budget and actual expenditures for each year. Since 2000, the Sheriff’s Office has requested additional funds for overtime above the level approved in the County budget 10 times, not including disaster-related events. Custody Operations exceeded its approved overtime budget for each of the past 16 years. It exceeded its budget by over 100 percent in 9 of the past 16 years, and by over 200 percent in 5 of the past 16 years. In 2016-17, for example, actual overtime costs for custody were 222 percent over what was budgeted. Custody overtime ranged from 31 percent to 48 percent of the total Sheriff’s Office overtime costs between 2001-02 and 2008-09. From 2009-10 to 2014-15, however, custody exceeded 50 percent of the total Office overtime. In the past two years, it has had slightly under 50 percent of the total overtime costs. The Sheriff’s Office formulates its overtime budget based upon the prior fiscal year funding and expenditures. The Office stated that the overtime budget essentially remains the same each year, regardless of actual need, because of overarching budgetary constraints. As is the case with funding staff positions, increasing the overtime budget would require offsetting cuts elsewhere in the Office budget. The Office acknowledged that the savings in salaries from vacant positions can help to offset overtime costs. Comparative Costs of Mandatory Overtime and Hiring Additional Staff From a strictly cost perspective, using overtime to cover staffing requirements may be cheaper, on average, in the short term than hiring additional deputies, as new hires carry pension and other benefit obligations that add to future year as well as current year costs. However, since benefits, including leave, for new employees accrue over time, paying overtime to a more senior deputy may be costlier than using a newer, junior deputy to cover the position. The Sheriff’s Office acknowledged that as more personnel are hired under the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (known by the acronym PEPRA), which reduced pension benefits for employees hired on or after January 1, 2013, comparative costs are slowly moving toward the point where the cost of a fully loaded full time equivalent and the cost to utilize overtime to cover the same number of productive hours will be similar. This trend suggests that filling vacancies would accelerate the pace of equalizing costs. Using the figure of 1578 productive hours from a full-time custody deputy and an average overtime rate of $50 per hour, the overtime cost is $78,900 per year, whereas the fully loaded cost of a custody deputy is approximately $125,000. (For law enforcement deputies, using the average rate of $65 per hour, the overtime cost is $102,570 compared to approximately $155,000 for a fully loaded deputy sheriff position). As the cost of a FTE continues to drop due to higher ratios of PEPRA employees, and if productive hours increase, the difference between overtime and FTE costs will decline. Based on the absence of Sheriff’s Office study on the effects of mandatory overtime on staff, it is unknown whether reduced overtime requirements will contribute to higher productive hours. 2017-18 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 8 MANDATORY OVERTIME IN THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE Figure 3: Custody and Countywide Law Overtime Budgets and Actual Costs FY 2001-17 CUSTODY COUNTYWIDE LAW* Fiscal Year Total Custody % of Total % Over (+) Total % of Total % Over (+) ($) for Year or Under (-) Countywide for Year or Under (-) Budget Law ($) Budget 2001 Adjusted 328,874.00 23.14% 1,033,872.00 72.73% Actual 394,398.55 30.27% 19.92% 920,222.21 70.62% -10.99% 2002 Adjusted 443,220.00 29.96% 993,888.00 67.17% Actual 493,013.48 33.59% 11.23% 994,825.18 67.77% 0.09% 2003 Adjusted 227,714.00 19.99% 848,785.00 74.52% Actual 836,437.16 40.14% 267.32% 1,276,536.97 61.25% 50.40% 2004 Adjusted 526,205.00 24.86% 1,486,694.00 70.23% Actual 802,790.89 31.79% 52.56% 1,777,281.32 70.39% 19.55% 2005 Adjusted 401,600.00 23.30% 1,231,291.00 71.45% Actual 1,161,570.57 37.79% 189.24% 1,957,076.48 63.67% 58.95% 2006 Adjusted 587,980.00 31.03% 1,158,926.46 61.15% Actual 2,064,618.31 48.12% 251.14% 2,350,791.14 54.79% 102.84% 2007 Adjusted 948,563.00 40.2% 1,086,557.00 45.84% Actual 1,825,445.87 46.44% 92.44% 2,228,350.08 56.69% 105.08% 2008 Adjusted 916,218.00 24.67% 2,548,493.00 68.63% Actual 1,462,065.79 35.16% 59.58% 2,687,024.54 64.63% 5.44% 2009 Adjusted 933,620.00 25.55% 2,495,318.00 68.30% Actual 1,488,928.05 33.43% 59.48% 2,867,104.78 64.37% 14.90% 2010 Adjusted 879,325.00 30.19% 1,812,374.00 62.23% Actual 1,817,488.04 51.68% 106.69% 1,681,864.19 47.82% -7.20% 2011 Adjusted 897,085.00 28.84% 1,817,824.00 58.43% Actual 3,022,652.77 66.42% 236.94% 1,565,060.21 34.39% -13.90% 2012 Adjusted 1,333,345.00 38.17% 2,003,117.00 57.35% Actual 2,976,324.99 68.84% 123.22% 1,565,980.53 36.22% -21.82% 2013 Adjusted 896,932.00 39.73% 1,220,126.00 54.04% Actual 3,273,978.76 52.49% 265.02% 3,141,743.05 50.37% 157.49% 2014 Adjusted 1,995,381.00 59.87% 1,218,959.00 36.58% Actual 4,111,358.87 56.08% 106.04% 3,472,859.06 47.37% 184.90% 2015 Adjusted 2,711,145.00 60.40% 1,672,412.00 37.26% Actual 3,690,184.92 51.80% 36.11% 3,526,225.85 49.50% 110.85% 2016 Adjusted 2,011,767.00 44.43% 2,210,531.00 48.82% Actual 3,165,730.22 45.90% 57.36% 3,538,193.47 51.30% 60.06% 2017 Adjusted 1,579,523.00 36.50% 2,432,927.00 56.23% Actual 5,083,638.16 47.80% 221.85% 4,891,376.09 46.00% 101.05% *Countywide law—category provided by Sheriff’s Office; includes more than patrol 2017-18 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 9 MANDATORY OVERTIME IN THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE Recruiting Out of a total budget of approximately $136 million, the Sheriff’s Office budgets $7,200 for recruiting, much of which is used to administer tests. The Sheriff’s Office has not conducted market surveys to determine the competitiveness of its wages and benefits. It reports that market surveys are generally conducted by County of Santa Barbara Human Resources or the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association as part of the salary and benefits negotiations process. The Office was unaware of any market surveys conducted by County Human Resources and has not requested that any be conducted. The Sheriff’s Office has the ability to shift resources internally to increase the recruiting budget. It reports that the recruiting budget has remained low due to competing priorities in the Office; any increase in the recruiting budget would require offsets elsewhere in the budget. The Office indicated it planned to make a budget expansion request for enhanced recruitment funding as part of its FY18-19 budget request, noting that this will take place in a budget process in which the Office is being directed to significantly cut funding. Recruiting is handled internally by the Sheriff’s Office. The 13-member Human Resources Branch is led by a lieutenant, who oversees a sergeant, three deputy sheriff’s background investigators, three custody deputy background investigators, a polygrapher, an administrative professional, and a recruiter assigned from County Human Resources to be embedded in the branch. The recruiter vets all applications to see if applicants meet basic hiring standards. Recruiting efforts consist of advertising in local media and on corrections and policing job-posting websites and attending job fairs at colleges and military bases. Recruiting efforts are the same for custody and law enforcement deputies. There are a number of recruiting challenges, some of which affect law enforcement agencies elsewhere in the State and across the country. A negative perception of law enforcement and a lack of interest in policing by workforce entrants have led to lower application rates. Benefits are not always competitive. At the same time, demands on law enforcement officers are increasing. The 5-phase hiring process, much of which is governed by California law, is lengthy; applicants may be disqualified at any point in the process. For every 100 custody applicants, the Office is able to hire only two to three people. In 2016, for example, there were 906 custody applicants with 29 hired, and 1711 law enforcement applicants with 33 hired. The Sheriff’s Office offers one incentive to prospective applicants—co-sponsorship in a law enforcement academy. If the Office identifies a viable candidate that is putting themselves through a law enforcement academy, it will offer them a co-sponsorship which reimburses their academy tuition and fees. Discussions have taken place in the Office about offering monetary incentives to candidates and rewards to current Office personnel who recruit a successful candidate, but the Office has not implemented such incentives due to several concerns. The Office views monetary incentives as a “slippery slope,” assessing that those individuals drawn to such incentives are most likely to repeatedly shop around for better offers once they receive the initial monetary incentive. It also believes there are legal questions over whether an employer can require an employee to stay for a lengthy period of time, or to reimburse the Office for the incentive if they leave. In the 2017-18 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 10 MANDATORY OVERTIME IN THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE absence of a market survey, the Office does not know whether or how other nearby law enforcement entities employ incentive programs or how such programs may affect recruiting. Metrics for assessing the success or failure of recruiting efforts are limited. The only means used to monitor the effectiveness of recruiting is to compare the number of employees hired with the vacancy rates. The Sheriff’s Human Resources Bureau is working to develop procedures that will allow for a more detailed analysis of the recruiting process.

Agency Responses 2

Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.