Mendocino County Grand Jury
• 2008-2009
• Agency Response
Response to:
FORT BRAGG SUBSTATION AND HOLDING CELLS
County of Mendocino TOM Mitchell*
⚠️ 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 9 findings
F1
Attorney's Office, California Highway Patrol and federal agencies. Sheriffs Response: The Evidence Facility serves as the main evidence depository for the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office. The other agencies listed above store a very limited amount of evidence at the facility.
No recommendations for this finding
F2
Ventilation of the facility is inadequate to prevent strong pervasive odors, including those from stored marijuana and human remains. Sheriffs Response: I agree with the findings. New methods of improving the ventilation are being researched and grant opportunities are being investigated. 707-463-4411 589-A Low Gap Road Fax 707-468-3404 Ukiah, California 95482-3734 Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Grand Jury Report of May 13, 2009 A Report on the Mendocino County Sheriff's Evidence Facility
No recommendations for this finding
F3
There is no overhead sprinkler fire suppression system. Sheriffs Response: I agree with the findings. Smoke alarms and fire extinguishers are maintained at the site.
No recommendations for this finding
F4
An abundance of evidence from closed cases awaits appropriate disposal. Sheriffs Response: I agree with the findings.
No recommendations for this finding
F5
Current shelving is inadequate for efficient evidence storage. Sheriffs Response: I agree with the findings. New shelving was purchased in 2008 with asset seizure funds to improve the storage of evidence. Purchase of additional shelving is being researched.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
Evidence refrigerators are outdated. They are not energy efficient and lack adequate seals to contain odors. Sheriffs Response: I do not agree with these findings. We are using energy efficient frost free refrigeration units. Seals have been inspected and replaced if necessary. There is no generator or secondary source for electrical back-up.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
Sheriffs Response: I agree with the findings.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
Evidence is recorded in a card file. Staff reported that computer files are not backed up. Sheriffs Response: I agree with the findings. New computer programs are being researched.
No recommendations for this finding
F9
The building is privately owned and rented to the County for $3,000/month. Sheriffs Response: I agree with the findings.
No recommendations for this finding
* 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.