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Extracted from Consolidated Report

This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.

Lake County Grand Jury • 2018-2019

Public Safety-the First Responsibility of Local Government

7 pages
View PDF View Full Original

Findings 11 findings

F1 Page 72
Public safety is a State of California Constitutional mandate.
F2 Page 72
The combined average vacancy rate among the Sheriff’s deputies, correctional officers, and dispatchers is currently 36%. [See, Exhibit 1] 2018-2019 Lake County, California Civil Grand Jury Final Report 71
F3 Page 73
Inadequate numbers of patrol officers place the safety of Lake County residents and visitors – and the officers themselves - at-risk.
F4 Page 73
The Sheriff’s Office has been losing employees in large part due to the County’s non-competitive salary and health insurance costs.
F5 Page 73
In December, 2018, the Board of Supervisors increased its maximum monthly contribution for insurance coverage for deputies in the Union from $800 to $1,000. [The Board is able to negotiate with the DSA separately.]
F6 Page 73
The Sheriff has requested restructuring of ranks within management in Dispatch and the Jail, which was approved “in theory” by the Board of Supervisors, but was not funded.
F7 Page 73
Short-staffing in the Jail and Patrol divisions results in substantial overtime costs that can impact the General Fund when grant funds are inapplicable.
F8 Page 73
The lack of available patrol officers leads to community insecurity and decreased trust of the reliability of the Sheriff’s Office by the residents they are entrusted to protect.
F9 Page 73
Communities in Lake County that feel unsafe believe that they need to mobilize citizen patrols. Although the actions of these groups are not monitored by the Sheriff’s Office, fallout from any resulting injurious events may well result in lawsuits against the County, as well as against the involved community members.
F10 Page 73
In May, 2019, the BOS agreed to an 80/20 split for deputies’ healthcare costs through its commendable approval of the MOU with the DSA, effective through the end of this year. The terms of the agreement immediately produced the desired effect, in that one deputy decided not to leave and another deputy decided to return.
F11 Page 73
The Sheriff currently has no arson investigator. RECOMMENDATIONS:

Recommendations 7