Santa Barbara County Grand Jury • 2020-2021 • Agency Response
Response to: DETENTION FACILITIES IN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY

Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office Response to the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 2019-2020 Report "Detention*

Published: July 21, 2020 6 pages
Ver PDF original

Findings and Recommendations 6 findings

F1
The Main Jail is outdated and in need of seismic and ADA compliance. SBSO Response: Agree.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
That the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department add an external security camera monitoring system. <b>SBSO</b> Response: This recommendation will not be implemented at the current facility. The current Cuyama substation is antiquated and is scheduled to be decommissioned as a station. A new combined Cuyama Public Safety facility (Sheriff/ Fire) project is underway and will replace the current station. It would be unwise to invest funding into the existing facility. We will share and support the Grand Jury's recommendation with the SBC General Services project manager who is leading the combined public safety facility project.
F2
The Main Jail is overcrowded. This overcrowding situation may be partially alleviated by the opening of the Northern Branch Jail. <b>SBSO</b> Response: Agree.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
That the Sheriff consider making space available for face-to-face personal visits at the Northern Branch Jail. <b>SBSO</b> Response: Will not be implemented. The costs and delays associated with designing and constructing suitable space for such face-to-face visitation would be prohibitive and unnecessary. At the time of construction, there were no standards that would require such visitation, and the California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) approved the design and building plans without them. We do however have a family re-unification room that is designed for face-to-face family visits in exceptional circumstances.
F3
Inmates are walked across a public street between the holding facility on Figueroa Street and the historic Courthouse. <b>SBSO</b> Response: The Sheriff's Office agrees with this finding <b>Recommendation 3</b> That the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs' Department transfer inmates in vehicles to the historic Courthouse for greater safety. <b>SBSO</b> Response: The Sheriff's Office will not be implementing this recommendation because it is not realistically feasible. We fully support the safe and secure movement of inmates to and from the holding facility and the historic courthouse and want to do so while minimizing the potential for embarrassment to the inmates. However, current staffing levels and vehicle resources preclude us from doing so with vehicles. Using vehicles would require additional personnel, as it would be significantly less efficient for moving inmates. It is our hope that this issue will be resolved with the construction of the new court complex under consideration. The proposed new courthouse design would eliminate the need to move inmates outside the facility and would substantially improve safety and security for the inmates, officers and the public. Ideally, a tunnel would be constructed to move inmates back and forth, however, the Courthouse is state property. The impacts on existing infrastructure such as water, sewer and power are unknown. Report 4.3 Lompoc Courthouse Holding Facility
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and the Sheriff's Department purchase a second body scanner system to provide additional screening coverage for inmates returning from outside appointments and court visits. <b>SBSO</b> Response: Will not be implemented. The use of body scanners is subject to a higher standard of probable cause due to the invasive nature of the scan. This standard will reduce the number of actual scans performed. In addition, the cost of such equipment is prohibitive and would be better spent in other endeavors.
F4
There are no body scanners to detect dangerous contraband. <b>SBSO Response:</b> Agree.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and the Sheriff's Department purchase and install a body scanning system immediately to intercept contraband at the Main Jail. <b>SBSO</b> Response: Will be implemented. A Side X-ray Body Scanner has been purchased and has been installed at the Main Jail. The use of the scanner has not yet begun as we are waiting for training from the manufacturer on its use.
F5
Surveillance camera positions do not provide complete coverage of inmate cell activity. <b>SBSO Response:</b> Agree.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
That the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department review camera coverage to make sure that each camera is providing the custody deputies full views of the cells. <b>SBSO</b> Response: Will be implemented. The Sheriff's Office, in conjunction with County General Services, has contracted with Vanir Construction Management, Inc to develop a renovation plan for the Main Jail. Part of that plan is a total update to the facility's security system, including CCTV surveillance cameras and recording. The plan, which has a completion timetable of 34 months, is awaiting finalization and approval by the Board of Supervisors.
F6
The inmate transportation fleet is old and unreliable. <b>SBSO</b> Response: Disagree partially. Seven (7) of the Eight (8) transportation vans are 1-4 years old and one specialty van is over ten years old, but has less than 100,00 miles on it. The four MCI buses are still within their expected life span. All vehicles are serviced regularly by Santa Barbara County General Services.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
That the Board of Supervisors and Sheriff consider funding for upgrade and replacement of the inmate transportation fleet within two years. <b>SBSO</b> Response: Will be implemented. A replacement schedule for the entire inmate transportation fleet had been implemented previously. The vans are 1-4 years old and all MCI buses are on a current replacement schedule identified by Santa Barbara County General Services. The Carpenter bus does need to be replaced, however, it is currently only used as a back-up bus in the event that the other busses are down for service. It will be retired when it is no longer serviceable. Report 1.2 Northern Branch Jail

* 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.