Monterey County, California Steve Bernal F's Office Sheriff-Coroner Keeping the peace since 1850 August 24, 2017*

Published: August 24, 2017 6 pages

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Findings and Recommendations 11 findings

- The Sheriff's Office does not have an adequate number of authorized positions to meet absences for vacations, sickness, disability, family leave, or personal matters. The Sheriff's Office agrees with this finding.

Related Recommendations (1)

- The Board of Supervisors should fund an outside personnel consulting firm to conduct a job analysis for jail and patrol assignments. This recommendation will not be implemented as it is not warranted. As stated in many of the responses to findings; dual classifications present a complex issue. The hiring standards for different classifications of California Peace Officers (both deputy sheriffs and correctional officers) are identical as prescribed in California Government Code Section 1031. The Sheriff would have to conduct the same entry level screening in the background investigation, medical, and phycological for either classification. The biggest difference in classifications relates to entry level training and to their final peace officer status once hired. The initial training for correctional officers is 6 weeks in duration and only scratches the surface of certain learning concepts. The initial training for deputy sheriffs is approximately 6 months and covers in detail, all the necessary baseline concepts. The work of a modern peace officer is extremely complicated. Peace Officers are expected to be: Guardians of the Constitution, peace keepers, crime fighters, interpreters of criminal statutes and case decisions, mental health clinicians, marriage and family counselors, child psychologists, and deal with every segment of the public in emergencies and times of crisis. Peace Officers need every hour of training to help prepare them for the challenging tasks they face every day. Even CDCR Correctional Officers receive 4 months of entry-level training. State Correctional Officer duties are far more simplistic when compared to the work of jail deputies. 1414 Natividad Road, Salinas CA 93906 🌸 (831) 755-3700 🔳 www.montereysheriff.org Civil Grand Jury Response August 24, 2017 Correctional Officers only deal with inmates that are fully adjudicated and convicted of felonies. Local Jail Deputies deal with fresh arrests, pre-trial detainees, and convicted felons and misdemeanants. Offering 6 weeks of training to local correctional officers compared to the 4 months for state correctional officers will create a gap in needed training to deal with all the complexities in local corrections. In addition to the lesser training standards, correctional officers are only limited duty peace officers in comparison to full deputy sheriffs. Currently, jail deputies can be used as a force augmentation and for other special assignments in patrol. Major events like Lightning in a Bottle, The AT&T Pro-Am and the United States Open (2019) require a significant "troop surge" to handle. Jail Deputies can be assigned with patrol deputies to assist with these major events. Additionally, some of the current jail deputies have already been through patrol training in Monterey County or in other local jurisdictions. Those deputies hold collateral assignments in: Search and Rescue, SWAT, Hostage Negotiations, Recruiting Team, and Honor Guard. Correctional Officers can only be used outside the jail during a local declared state of emergency. Assigning Correctional Officers will be a detriment to all collateral assignments plus the Bailiff / Court Security Operation.

- A reduction in MCSO's budget would result in fewer deputies which could cause: Potential compliance issues with the Hernandez Settlement and result in further litigation, continued lack of patrol coverage, and major overtime expenses. The Sheriff's Office agrees with this finding.

Related Recommendations (1)

- Hire directly for patrol or jail and have distinct promotional paths. This recommendation will not be implemented as it is not warranted. Recently the sheriff's office promoted sergeants from the patrol ranks and placed them in the Custody Bureau. This has proved beneficial in training the deputies in the jail to deal with the AB109 population, the more serious offenders. More search warrants have been generated from the jail and has prevented the flow of large amounts of narcotics from entering the jail. Additionally, the Sheriff's Office has recently instituted a "one commander and one sergeant" model for promotions. This model is expanding the pool of eligible promotional candidates and is increasing the diversity and expertise of our work force. Considering a recent commander rotation under the "one commander" model; we now have a commander that has served in patrol, jail, and the courts. Allowing people to move between the major bureaus has stopped the old model that created silos wherein employees only had experience in corrections or patrol; not both. The result is a more well-rounded deputy throughout the sheriff's office in both bureaus.

- MCSO's mission statement is: "to safeguard the lives and property of the people within our county, our county's residents have the right to protection under the law." The Sheriff's Office agrees with this finding. 1414 Natividad Road, Salinas CA 93906 iii (831) 755-3700 iii www.montereysheriff.org Civil Grand Jury Response August 24, 2017

Related Recommendations (1)

- The Board of Supervisors should investigate the use of corrections officers. This recommendation will not be implemented as it is not warranted. This topic has been explained in detail throughout the response. The Board of Supervisors are not experts in the field of Corrections.

- The proposed budget reductions will have a negative effect on MCSO's ability to provide protection to our county's residents. The Sheriff's Office agrees with this finding. Fortunately, this finding was rendered mute with the adoption of the 2018 budget.

Related Recommendations (1)

- Second job description and pay scale for corrections officers. This recommendation will not be implemented as it is not warranted. As described in detail, there are many operational difficulties in starting a second job classification for correctional officer. Sheriff's personnel have reviewed the pay scales for most of the counties that have Correctional Officers. On average, Correctional Officers earn about 85% in salary compared to a deputy sheriff. Considering current pay scale in Monterey County and the necessary allocation of jail personnel, this lower pay could result in approximately $2 million in annual savings. However, the Sheriff would lose all the flexibility to use deputies in both the jail and patrol operations as they are today. 1414 Natividad Road, Salinas CA 93906 (831) 755-3700 www.montereysheriff.org Civil Grand Jury Response August 24, 2017 As stated in recommendation 2, jail deputies currently fill assignments for court security, supplemental law enforcement for large-scale events like AT&T or Lightning in a Bottle; plus, collateral assignments, such as Search & Rescue, SWAT, Hostage Negotiations, Recruiting Team, and Honor Guard. If transitioned to Correctional Officers, these personnel would only be eligible for assignments outside the county jail during a declared state of emergency. Additionally, the lower pay would create a parity with CDCR Correctional Officers. Lowering pay to match CDCR would create a new rival for retention of corrections personnel with a state agency that has attractive retirement benefits.

- The Sheriff's Office spent over $6 million in overtime which could have funded 40 additional deputies. The Sheriff's Office disagrees partially with this finding. Refer to response to finding 1b. Several million dollars are spent in overtime each year. Only some of those hours are for shift coverage. The recent overtime study showed, the Sheriff's Office could hire 23 deputy sheriffs in exchange for "shift coverage" overtime this year. Some overtime expenses, such as: court, late arrests, call back for emergencies, and training would not all be cut with additional staffing.

Related Recommendations (1)

- Eliminate deputies in the jail and replace with correctional officers. This recommendation will not be implemented as it is not warranted. As stated throughout the document, the Sheriff's Office is opposed to replacing deputy sheriffs with correctional officers. The benefits of deputy sheriffs far outweigh the transition to correctional officers. Respectfully Submitted, Steve Bernal Sheriff-Coroner 1414 Natividad Road, Salinas CA 93906 🔞 (831) 755-3700 🎍 www.montereysheriff.org

- The Sheriff's Office should recognize that the tasks performed by deputies in the jail are different from those performed by deputies on patrol. Although having interchangeable jail and patrol deputies has some advantages for flexibility of assignments but the policy has costs in terms of hiring and retaining deputies as well as on their morale. The Sheriff's Office disagrees wholly with this finding. In 2011, the State of California enacted Public Safety Realignment Legislation which shifted the responsibility of confining and supervising many felons from the state to counties. This shift transformed local jails into regional prisons with many inmates serving felony terms in county jails. Deputy Sheriff recruits receive approximately 6 months of initial training in basic law enforcement academies. Those academies cover multiple subject areas including but not limited to: professionalism, cultural diversity, dealing with mentally ill persons, de-escalation techniques, criminal law, search and seizure, report writing, laws of arrest, use of force, evidence collection, and court procedures. This training is invaluable to prepare recruits to deal with incarcerated persons. In comparison, Correctional Officers only receive 6 weeks of initial training. Reducing the entry level training by 80% percent will have a negative impact on the level of training and overall competency of deputies serving in the jail. Plus, starting a career in the jail allows new deputies to learn important skills, such as: de-escalation techniques, dealing with persons under the influence, communicating with mentally ill offenders, and how to interact with dangerous violent offenders and gang members in a custody setting before the deputy deals with many of these same people out in the community.