San Bernardino County Grand Jury
• 2014-2014
Sheriff-coroner Department Specialized Investigations Division Hi-tech Crimes Laboratory
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 7 findings
F1
Page 60
No documented operating procedures currently exist.
No recommendations for this finding
F2
Page 60
The Lab personnel and the Lab are not certified individually or accredited as a Hi-Tech Forensic Lab.
No recommendations for this finding
F3
Page 60
Software updates are not occurring automatically due to the SBCSD secure firewall; updates must be uploaded manually.
No recommendations for this finding
F4
Page 70
Some items purchased for $500 or more have a barcoded asset tag but no barcode reader is available. 27 2013-2014 San Bernardino County Grand Jury Final Report
No recommendations for this finding
F5
Page 71
Previously approximately 75% of supplies and equipment was processed through the district warehouse and by April 10, 2014 approximately 99% was being processed through the district warehouse. Special orders that contain equipment valued at $500 or more are sometimes sent directly to the school site instead of the warehouse.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
Page 71
Some equipment valued at $500 or more was delivered to the construction site of the Adelanto High School and not received initially at the district warehouse. Non-district personnel (i.e. construction workers) were asked to sign for the shipments since no District employee was on site to expedite the delivery. District employees were not always informed of the receipt of equipment and had to travel to the construction site to asset tag items valued at $500 or more. Some pieces of equipment were then transferred to the former Goodwill campus which was serving as a temporary site for the Adelanto High School causing delays and lack of security for valuable items. Some equipment seen at the yet-to-be opened Adelanto High School did not have asset tags as of the Grand Jury visit on April 17, 2014.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
Page 71
As noted on the declarations of surplus equipment, some of the items disposed of during the last three years had asset tag numbers and others did not. No estimated value was noted on any of the three approvals for disposal (see attachments A, B, C). The VVUHSD School Board took action on all three requests but the method for disposal of the five (5) available methods was not noted in the requests.
No recommendations for this finding
Conclusions 5
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CL1 Page 84Based on the review conducted by the Grand Jury, the Barstow Cemetery District’s operation has improved since the review conducted by the 2009-2010 Grand Jury. Their operations will continue to improve once Recommendation #10-38 and Recommendation #10-39 have been accomplished. 35
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CL2 Page 582013-2014 San Bernardino County Grand Jury Final Report CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES
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CL3 Page 90“According to gang experts, many gang members live in economically depressed circumstances and believe their only means of survival is through banding together. Also, these experts believe gangs are involved in a range of criminal activities involving drug sales, human sex trafficking, white collar crime, or identity theft. Police officers, probation officers, school officials, and citizens should be working toward a common goal of decreasing gang activity. There is general agreement among these groups that intelligence gathering, prevention, suppression, intervention and community awareness are key elements in controlling and reducing gang membership and activity in San Bernardino County. The Strategic Plan states, ‘Research has shown working groups in multi-agency projects to use data analysis and collaboration with different agencies results in well-designed responses to violence.’ Previous projects confirm each agency has unique resources which, when pooled, make each unit more effective in curbing gang violence.” The 2005 Countywide Strategic Plan on Gangs was an important step in addressing gang activity within San Bernardino County. However, a follow-up review of the Strategic Plan is necessary to determine the extent to which agencies have implemented the recommendations 41
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CL4 Page 582013-2014 San Bernardino County Grand Jury Final Report and the impact the Plan had on suppressing street gang activity and reducing gang membership. CURRENT STATUS As a result of the Probation Department’s response to the 2012-2013 Grand Jury’s Final Report, the 2013-2014 Grand Jury submitted questions to the San Bernardino County Probation Department regarding the Strategic Plan. The response is as follows: The research and writing of the Countywide Strategic Plan on Gangs (CSPG) began in the early 2000’s and was completed by a San Bernardino County Probation Officer in 2003. In summary, the plan suggested the use of a three pronged approach to combat gang activity in San Bernardino County. This approach suggested that prevention, intervention, and suppression tactics must be used in order to effectively combat gangs. This was a “non- binding” contract/plan. In 2004, a 90 day pilot program was enacted to test the suppressive aspect of the CSPG. The pilot program was a twelve member multi-agency gang team comprised of officers from the Probation Department, Sheriff’s Department, District Attorney’s Office and the CHP. The pilot program was so successful it was continued past 90 days to 120 days. Subsequently, in May 2005, the County of San Bernardino Board of Supervisors funded $4.8 million for the San Bernardino County Movement Against Street Hoodlums (SMASH) gang program. Since 2005 the SMASH program has expanded with gang trained officers in most agencies and Sheriff’s stations in San Bernardino County. Routine SMASH operations occur at least quarterly with each agency/station donating officers to saturate designated areas in the county. Monthly meetings are scheduled for SMASH officers from various areas to come together to share information. These are two examples of how the CSPG is effective and still working. The Probation Department is working on an update, review and assessment of the CSPG. San Bernardino County Probation formed a committee of several current and former gang experienced officers to review, assess and update the CSPG. Probation has met with the Chiefs of each police agency in San Bernardino County, including the Sheriff, to gain cooperation with the review and assessment of the CSPG. San Bernardino County Probation is developing research methods to gather statistics and comparative data to evaluate the CSPG. The data should show how county agencies have responded to the CSPG, what is being done and suggestions for future plans. 42
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CL5 Page 582013-2014 San Bernardino County Grand Jury Final Report LAND USE SERVICES DEPARTMENT ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING DIVISION