Stanislaus County Grand Jury
• 2013-2014
• Agency Response
Case # 14-04c Policy and Compliance Report on the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department Helicopter*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 2 findings
F1
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The SCCGJ finds that there have been numerous activities over several years, occurring repeatedly, regarding the use of Sheriff Department vehicles, particularly helicopters, for non-law enforcement activities. Response: The respondent disagrees with the finding. Our work throughout the community, everything we do, is a law enforcement activity as defined in our Mission Statement. There is nothing in policy, practice, procedure, written or otherwise, including any type of service we provide, that could specifically be defined as a "non- law enforcement activity."
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
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Executive Officer (CEO), establish a specific written policy defining the use of Sheriff Department resources, such as helicopters, for "non-law enforcement" activities. Response: The respondent disagrees with the recommendation. Additional policies and/or procedures supporting our work in the community are unnecessary. We are currently operating lawfully, legally and in compliance with all Federal Aviation Regulations. This report specifically states: "there is no illegal or unlawful activity or intent to misuse public funds, by the Sheriff's Department."
F2
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The SCCGJ finds that there is no written policy or approved procedure within the County or the Sheriff's Department directly supporting the use of County-owned vehicles for any activity other than specific law enforcement actions. Response: The respondent disagrees with the finding. The Sheriff's Office does have a policy that directs the use of our resources for "official business." Our work throughout the community, everything we do, is official business as defined in our Mission Statement.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
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The SCCGJ recommends the policy allowing the use of the Sheriff's Department helicopter for non-law enforcement activities must include written approval that requires the concurrence of two senior members within the Sheriff's Department, or one member of the Sheriff's Department and the CEO's office. Such approval should be processed in advance of the non-law enforcement activity. Response: The respondent disagrees with the recommendation. The Honorable Loretta Murphy Begen June 25, 2014 Re: Response to Civil Grand Jury Report #14-04C Additional policies and/or procedures supporting our work in the community are unnecessary. There is no reason to obtain authorization from anyone other than the Sheriff, who is elected by and directly accountable to the people. Sincerely, ADAM CHRISTIANSON Sheriff-Coroner Stanislaus County cc: Supervisor Jim DeMartini, Chairman Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors Judy Navarro, Foreperson Pro -2014 Stan Risen, Chief Executive Officer Stanislaus County .
* 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.