1. Dual Track and Training

Training of all Custody Personnel As stated before, the Sheriff proposes no significant changes to Academy training.8 This makes sense for many reasons. One, the Academy trains officers for other law enforcement agencies with no Custody responsibility. Further, most of the positions in the Sheriff’s Department are non- custody related. The Sheriff’s Department views the role of the Academy as providing more of a foundation with the probation period being one where the specifics of the job are learned while on the job. Finally, creating a separate Academy will degrade the perception of Custody deputies and Patrol deputies that they are one force. The Grand Jury supports the position of the Sheriff’s Department and does not believe a separate Academy experience needs to happen. That said, more should be and will be done under the Sheriff’s Plan. The Department will in- crease the amount of specific training post Academy from two to four weeks. Those additional two weeks will consist of a “Jail Operation Continuum.” Further, the amount of time spent as- sessing and evaluating deputies will increase from 12 to 16 weeks.

Training of Leadership 7 Sheriff’s Plan, p6 8 Sheriff’s Plan p3 6 2012-2013 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY REPORT DUAL TRACK AND TRAINING Those at the sergeant level and above will continue to receive 24 hours of training over three days. This training has a largely administrative focus specific to the particular facility. The only additional training being proposed is eight hours of training that would revisit the topics proposed in the “Jail Operations Continuum”. These eight hours would most likely be given in two hour chunks of intense format training. The timing is meant to avoid backfilling a position.9 This may not be enough or the right emphasis. First of all, as conveyed to the Grand Jury and also found running through the Commission’s Report were issues of failure of leadership-- specifically as it relates to mentoring, managing, conveying expectation and communication. Running a jail, especially some of the larger facilities, is a complex operation that involves sev- eral skill sets and contingencies. A career as a deputy may provide the necessary education in jail operations but not necessarily in management. Too much seems to rest on the individual’s intuition when a little training coupled with that common sense could go a long way. Much of the focus on leadership training has been on forms and required paperwork. If a ser- geant is not provided any additional training in areas such as staff assessment, evaluation, men- toring or effective leadership, what will an additional four weeks of assessment time of deputies add? Training should be viewed broadly as not just conveying information but conveying expec- tation. Especially now that sergeants will have to command the respect and train both deputies staying in Custody and those going on Patrol, it is more imperative than ever that they have the tools to stress and continuously emphasize the Nobility Policing and Constitutional Jailing that are stated values of the Department. The idea of providing training in two hour portions is a smart one that will allow a position not to have to be backfilled but the Department, for both cost and for other practical reasons needs to be focused on other methods of teaching these key skills. It may, for example need to award merit points that are necessary for promotion to those deputies and those in leadership who seek out educational opportunities on their own time. The Department is starting and needs to devote more efforts to utilizing on line resources so that individual topics can be learned over a few days. C. Custody Division Training Bureau The Sheriff’s Department is proposing a whole new infrastructure called the Custody Division Training Bureau to focus specifically on training that currently assumes staffing with close to 80- 100 officers of all ranks.10 We appreciate the greater focus on training. Particularly, we applaud the fact that the eight large facilities will have staff exclusively focused on training. The remain- der of the staff being proposed will take a more centralized approach with some focused specifi- cally on violence related issues and others will focus on the already mandated STC (Standards and Training for Correctional Officers) training which is required annually by the state. Information provided by interviews with Sheriff’s Department personnel 10 Interview with key Sheriff Department personnel, report of Implementation Monitor to Board of Supervisors, Feb- ruary 12, 2013 2012-2013 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY REPORT 7 DUAL TRACK AND TRAINING