Humboldt County Sheriff's Office - Coroner: Serving the Community,*

The Coroner's Office staff and volunteers perform exemplary service and maintain investigational integrity while operating in an antiquated, undersized, and poorly maintained facility. Providing this professional and respectful service benefits the community, deceased individuals, and their families. Partially agree. The county agrees that Coroner's Office staff and volunteers perform exemplary service and maintain investigational integrity, which benefits the entire community. However, the Department of Public Works has noted that this facility is maintained according to requests made by the Sheriff's Office. Maintenance work at this facility is also funded by the Sheriff's Office, which falls under the purview of Humboldt County's elected Sheriff.

The Coroner's Office staff and volunteers perform exemplary service and maintain investigational integrity while operating under severe budget and resource constraints. Providing this professional and respectful service benefits the community, deceased individuals, and their families. Agree.

The Coroner's Office relies substantially on volunteers, who collectively contributed 4,722 volunteer hours in 2024. This generated significant cost savings for the County while providing valuable training and experience to local medical students. Agree.

Dedicated staff have successfully produced a comprehensive 86-page Humboldt County Caroner's Office Policy & Procedures Manual. This manual will standardize practices, inform employees of policies, and serve as an operational reference guide. Agree.

The Humboldt County Caroner's Register is maintained in both physical and digital formats. This enables efficient report generation from the digital version. Agree.

Safety Dato Sheets for formaldehyde and ather chemicals are readily available to the Coraners' Office staff. This provides immediate access to safety protocols and ensures compliance with California Division of Occupational Sofety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) requirements. Agree.

A Sheriff's Office property technician has dedicated nine months to cotaloging and organizing the evidence room to facilitate record digitization. The digital database will enhance record retrieval, sharing, and storage efficiency and reliability. (R1) Agree.

The existing counter surfaces and cabinets in the Caroner's Office autopsy raom are permeable, deteriorating, and fail to fail to camply with National Association of Medical Examiners standards. This creates safety risks and contamination hazards. (R2) Agree. As previously noted, this facility is maintained according to requests made by the Sheriff's Office. Maintenance work at this facility is also funded by the Sheriff's Office, which falls under the purview of the Sheriff. The Humboldt County Department of Public Works agrees that these cabinets and countertops are constructed with wood and sanitation could be improved with alternative materials at this location. The Department of Public Works has reported that no requests to remedy this issue have been made to its Facilities Management Division. Should the request be made and funded by the Sheriff's Office, the Department of Public Works will proceed with the required work to replace the surfaces and cabinets in the coroner's autopsy room.

The Coroner's Office evidence/storage room access is controlled by a single code shared among all staff. The inability to identify specific room access creates risks of tampering, contamination, or loss of records, forensic evidence, cremated remains, and decedents' personal property. (R3) Agree. As previously communicated, this facility is maintained according to requests made by the Sheriff's Office. Maintenance work at this facility is funded by the Sheriff's Office. The Department of Public Works has reported that no requests to remedy this issue have been made to its Facilities Management Division. Should the request be made and funded by the Sheriff's Office, the Department of Public Works will proceed with the required work to make the necessary upgrades.