County of San Luis Obispo Countysan Luisobispo Sheriff's Office Ian Parkinson Sheriff-Coroner June 19, 2018 The*

R1

The Sheriff should petition the court for the addition of a closed-circuit AV system between the courthouse and the jail (potentially ASH can tie into the system) to reduce transportation cost and resolve overcrowding at the holding facility. This recommendation requires further analysis. Penal Code section 825 requires that a defendant shall in all cases be taken before the magistrate without unnecessary delay, and, in any event, within 48 hours after his or her arrest, excluding Sundays and holidays. To ensure that this requirement was met the Superior Court implemented a video arraignment procedure conducted each afternoon of inmates recently arrested. The 6th Amendment to the United States Constitution requires that criminal court proceedings be open to the public and that the accused have access to legal counsel in any criminal proceeding, including arraignments. To meet the requirements of the 6th Amendment the video arraignments were conducted in Department 11, which at that time was used on a part time basis for hearing traffic and small claims matters. In 2009 the Court determined that Department 11 had to be placed into fulltime use as a family law court and the traffic and small claims calendars were transferred to courtrooms in Paso Robles and at the Veteran's Hall in San Luis Obispo. In placing Department 11 into full time use, the Court examined the video arraignment process and found that it was not an efficacious use of court resources; it was difficult to locate attorneys who would attend the late afternoon arraignments as defense counsel and this necessitated a second arraignment on the next court day. Additionally, the Court found that bringing inmates to the courthouse for arraignment allowed them to confer with defense counsel and in many instances resolve the criminal matter that day. Because of their findings the Court discontinued the use of video arraignments. The Sheriff's Office is in support of any system or procedure that would be more efficient and reduce the use of crowded holding. Over the past few years, technology has improved significantly. The Sheriff's Office will exam systems in use today that might be a viable option for the Court and Sheriff's Office. If the Judges approve the use of a closed-circuit AV system between the jail and the court, for hearings, additions or modifications in R2 are no longer recommended.

R2

The facility needs an expansion to house the current inmate traffic. The expansion should add segregation cells (for ASH patients or mental health jail inmates), employee restrooms, and a regular holding cell. This would improve the safety of both inmates and staff. In light of the increase in mental health jail inmates coming to the courthouse, this expansion is needed immediately. This recommendation will not be implemented. The Judicial Council of California recognizes the inadequacy of the existing courthouse in San Luis Obispo and lists the construction of a new courthouse as a critical priority. The projected cost of a new courthouse is currently $148 million dollars. Although the Judicial Council recognizes our courthouse as being in critical need of replacement there are currently 22 other courthouses that have been identified as needing replacement ahead of San Luis Obispo County. The Grand Jury identified the need of an expansion of the existing courthouse holding facility to improve the safety of both inmates and staff. To understand the obstacles to undertaking an expansion project it is necessary to understand the relationship between the County of San Luis Obispo and the Superior Court. The Trial Court Facilities Act of 2002 (Govt. Code 70301) was enacted to address the transfer of ownership of courthouse facilities from the counties to the State of California. The Act addresses the ownership of "shared use" facilities like the San Luis Obispo Courthouse Annex building. The Act defines rooms used for secure holding of prisoners attending court sessions as part of the court facility. The Act states that in "shared use" facilities if the Court occupies 80% or more of the facility the Judicial Counsel on behalf of the Court may require the other entity to vacate the building. Ownership of the building would then transfer to the State of California. Currently the Superior Court occupies approximately 49% of the floor space of the courthouse annex building with the County occupying the remaining space. Following the opening of the new county government center the County agreed to relocate the jury commissioner's office space to the old board of supervisors chambers so that that floor space was available for a new courtroom and to relocate the Sheriff's Civil Division. The relocation of the civil division allowed the expansion of the court holding facility which doubled its capacity. This expansion project occurred in 2006. To further expand the existing court holding facility Department 12 would have to be moved to other space in the courthouse annex building and currently no space is available for this relocation idea. Additionally, a relocation of a courtroom and the expansion project would change the ratio of floor space occupied by the Court towards the 80% threshold which the County would like to avoid. With the Judicial Council's focus on funding new courthouses and with San Luis Obispo identified as being in critical need of a new courthouse it is unlikely the State would make available funds from the Trial Court Capital Plan to expand a court holding facility in a courthouse they intend to replace.

R3

In addition to either of the first two alternatives, the Grand Jury also recommends that cameras be added in the stairwells leading to the courtrooms and to the fenced area outside the sally port. This recommendation requires further analysis. The Sheriff agrees with the benefit of having cameras in the stairwells. Because the building and camera system are State property the Sheriff's Office will research the addition of cameras for the stairwells with the Presiding Judge. The fenced area outside and east of the sallyport has no inmate activity or movement so there is no benefit of installing cameras in this area. The fenced area is restricted and secured parking. County Jail

R10

The County should procure and install a back-up generator (fixed or portable) on site to provide back-up power in case of an outage. This recommendation will not be implemented at this time. The County has several portable generators on trailers that could be utilized should the Coroner's Office lose power. A generator on site not only requires the outlay of initial cost but also a preventive maintenance and testing plan to ensure the generator is properly maintained and will work when needed. The current Sheriff and County generators already have this in place and are available if needed. Adding another generator at this time is not currently budgeted but will be considered in the future when the County budget has the appropriate funds.