Monterey County Grand Jury • 2018-2019 • Agency Response
Response to: Monterey County Auditor-Controller’s Response to the Disclosing Public Employee Data in Monterey County report

Dear Judge Hulsey: This letter is written in response to the Monterey Civil Grand Jury Final Report -*

Published: August 28, 2019 4 pages
View Original PDF

Findings and Recommendations 9 findings

F1
- LEAs in Monterey County lacked awareness and provided unclear and inconsistent information as to whether there are any backlogged rape kits. The City of King partially agrees with this finding. The KCPD tracks and is aware of the status of sexual assault rape kits that have been collected in relation to investigations conducted by the KCPD. City Hall, 212 South Vanderhurst Ave. King City, CA 93930 Tel: (831) 385-3281 • Fax (831) 386-5968 • www.kinacity.com
No recommendations for this finding
F2
- The lack of a centralized place to post information has resulted in a lack of consistency in the way that LEAs manage and track sexual assaults. The City of King partially agrees with this finding. The KCPD is now participating in a monthly meeting with other law enforcement agencies and the District Attorney's Office to coordinate sexual assault investigations. The KCPD is part of the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) which works with Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE), during the investigation. Any DNA evidence obtained is submitted to the Rapid DNA Service (RADS). The KCPD also reports the status of sexual assault forensic evidence through the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Tracking (SAFE-T) though the California Department of Justice as is required by PC 680.4.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
- By January 15, 2020, the governing bodies of all Monterey County LEAs should assign a representative to participate in the DA - led centralized reporting initiative. This recommendation has been partially implemented. As was previously described, the KCPD now participates in a monthly meeting with the District Attorney's office regarding sexual assaults. The KCPD will continue to participate with the District Attorney's Office and other law enforcement entities in ensuring crimes are properly investigated and coordinated. In addition, the City will assign a representative to participate in the DA-led centralized reporting initiative as soon as notification is received that it has been formed.
F3
- At the beginning of this investigation, not all the LEAs were prepared to report the Rape Kit status information to the CDOJ as required by PC 680.4. The City of King partially agrees with this finding. The KCPD has reported the Rape Kit status information to the CDOJ as required by PC 680.4.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
- By July 1, 2019, every Monterey County LEA should report to the CDOJ the required data outlined in PC 680.4. This recommendation has been implemented. The KCPD reported by July 1, 2019 and will continue to report the required data to the CDOJ outlined in PC 680.4.
F4
- There is advanced training available for sexual assault investigators, but LEAs are instead relying upon senior investigators to provide "on the job training to other investigators within their respective departments." The City of King partially agrees with this finding. The KCPD sends all detectives to a Sexual Assault Investigator Course when assigned to the KCPD Investigations Division. The one detective sergeant currently assigned to the KCPD Investigations Division has completed the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Police, Institute of Criminal Investigation (ICI) Sexual Assault Investigator Course. The detective assigned to the Major Crimes Unit (MCU), a joint collaboration of investigators with Greenfield PD, is currently scheduled to attend the ICI Sexual Assault Investigator Course in 2019. He is also currently a certified SART interviewer.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
- By July 1, 2019, and annually thereafter, every Monterey County LEA should report to their governing body and the public the required data outlined in PC 680.4. This recommendation has not yet been implemented, but it will be implemented in the future. The KCPD will work with the King City Attorney's Office to determine what can publicly be reported and will report items related to PC 680.4 on the KCPD webpage on an annual basis. This will be completed
F5
- Training for advanced skills in the forensics of sexual assault investigations is not prioritized in the budgeting process. The City of King partially agrees with this finding. The City of King and KCPD ensures that there is funding for all KCPD detectives to attend sexual assault training. This is a priority.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
- By July 15, 2020, every Monterey County LEA should develop a funding source, such as grants, for additional expertise training and recertification within the Sexual Assault and Forensic Division. This recommendation has been partially implemented. The KCPD consistently searches for grant opportunities and leverages any successful grant awards with the KCPD operating budget, which can be used for this expense. These efforts will continue and will be completed by July 15, 2020, but it will also depend on the availability of funding.
F6
- Some LEAs rely on cross-training less experienced patrol officers to supplement understaffed investigative teams rather than prioritizing the strategic increase of well-trained investigators. The City of King partially agrees with this finding. The KCPD places a priority on training detectives in sexual assault investigations as described previously. Currently, the KCPD detective sergeant has over 10 years of assignment in sexual assault investigations.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
- By fiscal year 2020-2021, every Monterey County LEA should add or dedicate certified staff for Sexual Assault Investigations and include that increased cost in their budgets. This recommendation has been implemented. As previously noted, the KCPD detective sergeant and investigator assigned to the KCPD Investigations Division is California POST trained in sexual assault investigations. The detective assigned to MCU is scheduled to attend the California POST sexual assault investigations course in 2019. We hope that this information addresses the Grand Jury's findings and recommendations. Please contact KCPD Chief Bob Masterson if you have any questions or require additional information. Sincerely, mit Mike LeBarre Mayor
F7
- All jurisdictions can expedite the investigations of rape crimes through access to the RADS processing to facilitate timely resolution of rape cases. The City of King agrees with this finding. The KCPD has access to and utilizes the RADS processing system.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
- Most LEAs in Monterey County have implemented DNA testing protocols established by the CDOJ which have reduced the likelihood of unprocessed DNA evidence. The City of King agrees with this finding. The KCPD has implemented DNA testing protocols that are in compliance with CDOJ.
No recommendations for this finding
F9
- There is no centralized authority coordinating all LEAs in Monterey County regarding collection, processing and reporting of sexual assaults. The City of King partially agrees with this finding. The KCPD complies with all state mandates and employs contemporary best practices to investigate sexual assaults. The KCPD now attends monthly meetings with other Monterey County Sexual Assault Investigators, including the District Attorney, to share information and coordinate any investigations that may be occurring in other jurisdictions.
No recommendations for this finding

* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.