Score: -7 (1/3/8)
Santa Cruz County Grand Jury • 2020-2021

Fail in the Jail No Lights, No Camera, No Action?

9 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 8 findings

F1
Contract personnel responsible for power operations at the County jail were unaware of Sheriff’s Policy 403, which compromises the ability to reach a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the County’s General Services Department and the Sheriff’s Department for operational roles and responsibilities.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The Sheriff’s Department, in conjunction with the County General Services Department, should analyze and document plans to comply with stated policies by December 31, 2020. (F1, F3)
F2
Some personnel with power infrastructure responsibility at the County jail had never read or reviewed the After-Action Report, so they were unaware of the actions they needed to take.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The Sheriff’s Department leadership and the County Administrative Officer and General Services Director should work together to provide regular communications as soon as possible with all personnel (detention, general services, leadership) who have a need to know, to provide status, project planning, and goal completion. (F2, F4)
F3
While an emergency generator has been procured, adequate testing of methods of connection and operation has not been done yet.
Related Recommendations (2)
R1
The Sheriff’s Department, in conjunction with the County General Services Department, should analyze and document plans to comply with stated policies by December 31, 2020. (F1, F3)
R2
The Sheriff’s Department and the County General Services Department should have a documented Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by December 31, 2020 for roles and responsibilities, particularly and specifically in the event of emergencies. (F3)
F4
Ongoing communications of status and progress before, during and after an emergency are not in evidence between Jail personnel and County General Services personnel.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The Sheriff’s Department leadership and the County Administrative Officer and General Services Director should work together to provide regular communications as soon as possible with all personnel (detention, general services, leadership) who have a need to know, to provide status, project planning, and goal completion. (F2, F4)
F5
The County was non-compliant with policy regarding emergency backup at the jail and remained non-compliant for months, including fueling, maintenance, testing, and emergency backup power generation.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The Sheriff’s Department and the County General Services Department should develop a document, updated quarterly, which shows compliance with Policy 403. The signed confirmation should be delivered to the Board of Supervisors by December 31, 2020. (F5, F6)
F6
No policies and procedures were identified depicting response timeframes and what to do when a response is required during an emergency; no policies or procedures are documented depicting the response or monitoring responsibility of on-call staff at the County’s correctional facilities.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The Sheriff’s Department and the County General Services Department should develop a document, updated quarterly, which shows compliance with Policy 403. The signed confirmation should be delivered to the Board of Supervisors by December 31, 2020. (F5, F6)
F7
The failure to escalate critical issues by key County General Services and Sheriff’s department personnel is very concerning. Procedures for escalation are lacking and this creates unwanted risk.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
The Sheriff’s Department, in conjunction with the County General Services Department, should develop and document policies and procedures for escalation of critical issues by December 31, 2020. (F7)
F8
Robust risk management and mitigation is lacking in the County and correctional facility organizations.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
The Board of Supervisors should direct the County Administrative Officer to immediately define a risk management position, hire a qualified individual, and review all risk areas, mitigation plans and capabilities with the Board of Supervisors by June 30, 2021. (F8)

Agency Responses 2

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No Responses Found 1

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Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Elected County Office