Public Safety Committee Clearlake Police Department Holding Facility Unannounced visit

Recommendations 1

• R1

  Page 232
  The Grand Jury recommends the Clearlake Police Department design an informational web page to acknowledge individual officers’ achievements, advertise the mission statement, promote community relations, etc.( F1, F2, F3,F4, F5, F6) Agency/Department(s) Required to Respond: • Clearlake Police Department via Clearlake City Council (90 days) 2009-2010 Lake County Civil Grand Jury Public Safety Committee Konocti Conservation Camp # 27 Oversight Summary: California’s overall recidivism rate for general population prisoners is approximately 80%. Konocti Conservation Camp (KCC), with its select, non-violent volunteer inmates, has a rate significantly lower by half for those who successfully complete its program. The State spends $42,000 to $47,000 annually maintaining each inmate incarcerated in prison. The cost for supporting an inmate at KCC is less than half that. KCC’s response to fire emergencies saved the State an estimated $2.5 million in 2009. This demonstrates a successful working relationship between the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Background: KCC# 27, established in 1961, is a level I minimum security camp in an isolated area of Lower Lake. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and the California Department of Forestry and Fire protection (CAL FIRE) operate the camp jointly. Their primary function is to prepare inmates for return to society while providing inmate fire crews throughout California. CDCR retains responsibility for the selection, supervision, care and discipline of the inmates. CAL FIRE maintains the camp and supervises fire suppression training plus conservation projects. CDCR officers accompany the fire and work crews during daily work to provide safety and security in camp and when assigned to off-campus projects. This is a low risk unlocked facility. Methodology / Procedure: The 2009-2010 Lake County Civil Grand Jury inspected KCC as mandated by Penal code 919(b). Although KCC is State-run it is an inmate-holding facility within Lake County and, therefore, within the Grand Jury’s purview. 2009-2010 Lake County Civil Grand Jury Public Safety Committee The Public Safety Committee spent three hours touring administration offices, dormitories, kitchen, showers and bathrooms, as well as work, entertainment, exercise and hobby areas. It inspected the new water treatment plant, storage sheds, and machine and heavy equipment bays. Interviews with staff and many casual encounters with inmates provided a more personal view of KCC operations. The Committee was provided hand-outs, inmate-prepared displays, samples of facility food and insights into daily life. Facts: • Inmates selected for KCC must have less than five years remaining on their sentence, have low violence potential and must be motivated. Inmates must demonstrate willingness to conform to camp expectations of behavior and work ethic. • Inmates with useful skills, viz. welding, carpentry, plumbing, mechanics, electrical and clerical expertise are given priority. • Inmates do most building, grounds, plumbing and electrical maintenance themselves. • On average only the last nine months of an inmate’s sentence are spent at the camp. • Gang or race-related misbehavior is not tolerated. Staff indicated this is not an issue in KCC’s small motivated inmate population. • KCC’s average cost of meals per inmate is $2.80 a day. Most camps keep their food costs from $1.80 to$ 2.60. KCC’s cost is higher due to its rural location. The kitchen crew verbalized pride in its culinary expertise. • Inmate and staff work to keep the facility as close to self-sufficient as possible. • A garden supplements inmate meals with fresh vegetables. Extra produce is sent to other camps weekly in season. • The up-graded water treatment plant provides on-site training for inmates and recycled water for gardening and landscaping. • KCC has a functioning generator and a working well. • Camp #27 offers no on-sight medical care except first aid. Sick call is daily at 8:15 am. Emergencies are transported to the Sutter Lakeside Hospital; non- emergent medical needs are sent to the prison medical facility at Susanville. The biggest medical problem usually encountered is poison oak reaction. • The camp inmate capacity is 118 men. KCC presently holds 110 minimum security male felons, comprising five 16-man fire crews with the remainder as support workers. 2009-2010 Lake County Civil Grand Jury Public Safety Committee • Staff to inmate ratio is 1:16. • Facility remains unlocked 24 hours per day. There are 6-7 routine and random roll calls every 8 hour shift and bed checks during night hours. At night the one officer on duty contacts the Lake County sheriff’s office every hour, also confirming the inmate count with Susanville. • There has been only one attempted escape in the last decade. • KCC fire crews usually answer emergency calls in Lake, Sonoma, Napa, and Mendocino Counties but can be shipped anywhere needed. • In 2009 KCC had 87 incident responses and 51 work (non–fire) requests; it responded to needs ranging from Santa Barbara, Colusa County, Lake Mendocino, and the Elem Indian Colony to Highland Springs. • There is an experienced Mobile Fire Kitchen (MFK) crew which has provided high protein, high carbohydrate meals to as many as 3000 firefighters daily during major emergencies with minimal rest. • KCC budget is scheduled around the daily census; at the time of this inspection there were no budget cut-backs from the State for the camp. • Oversight inspections are routine, mandated from a multitude of oversight agencies: the Chief Deputy Warden’s Office, management audit teams, Cal Fire, Public Health agencies, food services, Environmental Health, etc; Local, state and county investigators are seen annually, randomly, announced and unannounced. Additional research indicated KCC is compliant and within budget. • Conservation camps are limited in offering services to the community. Inmate labor must be on federal, state, county, municipal, or district projects which do not remove jobs from the private sector (CPC 2701). • The CAL FIRE-trained Mobile Equipment Unit (MEU) crew responds to fire lines for emergency maintenance and repair of the fire-suppression equipment. • KCC routinely maintains and repairs vehicles and equipment in camp for CAL FIRE and county fire districts. • CDCR at KCC has eight correctional officers, one correctional sergeant and the Camp Commander, a lieutenant. It is in the process of recruiting additional officers. • CAL FIRE staff has ten fire crew captains, one heavy equipment mechanic, one office tech and one water treatment specialist officer plus the Division Chief. • KCC maintains an ‘Open Door Policy ‘to both staff and inmates for resolution of internal issues. Examples were given of its effectiveness. 2009-2010 Lake County Civil Grand Jury Public Safety Committee • During 2009 calendar year KCC provided 27,368 hours of conservation work to local communities, 30,000 hours in emergency responses and 11,936 to federal agencies. • During 2009, estimated cost avoidance efforts of inmate fire crews saved California taxpayers $2,484,093. • Inmates are paid $1.45 to $3.90 per hour depending on their skills. When assigned to the fire line they earn an additional $1.00 per hour. • Water treatment certification preparation, GED programs, mechanical and vehicle maintenance training are promoted in KCC. Education is encouraged – and facilitated – at this facility. • Inmates may earn family visits every 30 days. A small house on camp property allows inmates to spend up to three days with their families. There are also general visiting hours during week nights. • Most inmates qualify for sentence reduction: one day of sentence is deducted for each day worked. • The three dormitories allow a small amount of personal space and individual lockers for inmate belongings; floors, walls, furniture were clean and well- maintained. • Workshops and storage sheds are well-organized with appropriate and legible signage. Work bays and the kitchen were without clutter and had adequate work space. • A new $15,000 grant will permit replacement of the mildew-prone showers with new tile in 2010; labor will be provided by the inmates themselves. • KCC has exercise equipment (no weight-lifting), picnic tables in a shaded area, sports equipment, a small donated library and a woodworking/ laminating shop for inmate leisure use. • There are two separate TV rooms; staff informed the Committee that this reduces tensions by supplying more inmate control over program selection. • Community volunteers provide religious and tutoring services. • Fire crews, MFK and the MEU from Konocti Conservation Camp are available for emergency dispatch anywhere in California, as well as other states. Findings: F1. This is an excellent program CDCR and CAL FIRE have created; useful and cost effective, safe for the community and positively affecting social change. Mutual goals and coordination between two State departments have produced a successful joint agency program. 2009-2010 Lake County Civil Grand Jury Public Safety Committee F2. Fire Captains, CDCR officers and inmate crews have developed a relationship of trust necessary to work together effectively in emergencies. Inmate and staff members choose to work at KCC. This mutual determination fosters trust and provides a foundation for success. Recommendations: None Agency/Department(s) Required to Respond: None 2009-2010 Lake County Civil Grand Jury Public Safety Committee 2009-2010 Lake County Civil Grand Jury