The Grand Jury reviewed the Amador County Detention Facility as required by law pursuant to Penal Code sections 919(b) and 921, and reviewed the Amador County Sheriff’s Office pursuant to Penal Code section 925.
The Amador County Office of the Sheriff-Coroner (Sheriff’s Office) is responsible for general law enforcement, crime prevention and suppression in the unincorporated areas of the county. Operation of the County’s detention center (county jail) and the 911/Dispatch Center are also included in Sheriff’s Office area of responsibility. In addition, the following areas are some but not all of the other activities administered by the Sheriff’s Office:
Coroner’s
duties
SWAT
K9
Narcotics
DARE (Drug Abuse
Recognition and Education)
Operation of
Emergency Services (OES) Center
Back-up other Law
Enforcement Agencies as required
Bailiff, Civil
Process, and Civil stand-by
Boat patrol
including Fast Water Rescue Teams
Search and
Rescue, both winter and summer
Volunteer reserve
force
Aerosquadron
The Dispatch Center is responsible for the following duties in addition to others not listed:
Receive and
handle all Amador 911 calls
Dispatch all
Sheriff’s/Coroner units
Dispatch Police
units for Ione, Sutter Creek, and Jackson Police Departments after hours
Dispatch all
American Legion Ambulances
Dispatch for
Probation, Code Enforcement and OES
Dispatch (after
hours) for Animal Control and Public Works
Provide
intermittent dispatch for Forest Service, Fish and Game, and BLM Law
Enforcement
Receive all phone
calls after hours for Sheriff’s Office, and all three Police Departments
Receive and
transfer all fire-related 911 calls to CDF (Camino)
Receive, catalog,
and update all arrest warrants issued by Amador courts
Dispatch medical
calls to appropriate EMS units
Provide medical instructions prior to EMS arrival
The Grand Jury
toured the Sheriff’s Office and detention facility on several occasions,
reviewed the documents, and interviewed staff as listed.
In addition, members did a ride-along with a Deputy Sheriff on patrol,
observed the dispatch center in operation, and observed the operation of the
detention facility, including return of inmates from court, booking, release of
parolees, preparation and distribution of evening meals, distribution of
medicines, and sampled an inmate meal.
Persons interviewed:
Sheriff
Undersheriff
Captain in charge
of Corrections and Court Security
Captain in charge
of Operations
Lieutenant in
charge of Investigations and Coroner
Lieutenant
assigned to Operations
Patrol Sergeants
Deputies
Senior
Correctional Officers
Correctional
Officers, including CO in charge of Inmate Job Skill Program
Emergency Service
Coordinator
Dispatchers/EMDs
Senior Volunteers
and Senior Volunteers/Posse
Inmates
Documents examined:
Detention
Facility Manual, with updates
Building plans
detailing revisions to Sheriff’s Office Administration area and Detention
Facility (dated 7/28/00)
California Public
Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Insurance Package (dated 9/00)
Letter dated
2/25/00 from CalPERS
Letter dated
12/8/00 from Vice President of Sheriff’s Office Middle Management Unit (SOMMU)
re: Salary
California Budget
Project Report re: Cost to raise a family in California (dated 11/22/00)
Status Report to
Grand Jury from Vice President of SOMMU “Recruitment Efforts since
1-2000”
Menus for
breakfast, lunch and dinner for a typical month (for inmates in Detention
Facility)
Amador County
Sheriff’s Departmental/Personnel diagram (dated 11/8/00)
Letter dated
4/5/01 from Amador County Deputy Sheriffs Association to Grand Jury
Letter dated
3/27/01 from Captain in charge of Detention Facility to Grand Jury
Memo dated 5/22/01 from Undersheriff to Grand Jury
Sites visited:
Sheriff’s
Office Administration Building
Detention
Facility
Dispatch Center
Sheriff’s Up-Country Sub-station (Pioneer)
1. The status of allocated positions and current staffing levels as of January 20, 2001 is listed below:
|
Areas |
Number
of Authorized Positions |
Number
of Filled Positions |
Number
ofVacant Positions |
|
Operations |
35 |
35 |
0 |
|
Dispatch |
14 |
6
(+2 in training) |
6
to 8 |
|
Corrections
(Jail) |
37 |
25 |
12 |
2. The recruitment and attrition statistics as of January 20, 2001 are summarized below:
|
Areas |
Number
of Written Exams Given |
Number
of Oral Exams Given |
Number
of Background Checks Conducted |
Number
Hired |
Number Still
Employed |
|
Dispatch |
95 |
35 |
17 |
4 |
2
(two left due to stress) |
|
Deputies |
75 |
54 |
12 |
6
(one left for not meeting probation) |
5 |
|
Correctional
Officers(CO) |
95 |
26 |
15 |
1 |
1 |
3. The understaffing of COs and Dispatchers leads to overtime in order to cover existing shifts.
4. All the current full-time Dispatchers at the Sheriff’s Office are certified Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMDs) and have additional training which qualifies them to give medical instructions on the phone prior to Medics’ arrival on scene.
5. The Amador County Sheriff’s Office has lost experienced Deputies, COs and EMDs to other law enforcement agencies, due in large part to salary inequities.
6. The Sheriffs Office has been hampered in hiring adequate replacement personnel due to salary inequities.
7. The Sheriff’s Office salary survey disclosed pay-scale inequities with surrounding counties and other law enforcement agencies within the County.
8. In early 2001, the Amador County Board amended the contract governing wages to bring the equivalent positions to a level on par with agencies reviewed in the salary survey.
9. Since the salary structure change, Dispatch staffing has improved and overtime has been reduced. They now have seven full-time Dispatcher/EMDs, one Dispatcher Supervisor, one Dispatcher/EMD in training, and three Dispatch prospects in the final interview stage.
10. A new recruitment brochure has been created and implemented.
11. The 1999-2000 Grand Jury reported, and the 2000-2001 Grand Jury confirmed that the Sheriff’s Office administration area, detention facility, and EOS center need expansion and/or re-location.
12. The problem outlined by the 1999-2000 Grand Jury about temperature of meals has been corrected.
13. The Sheriff’s Office contracts with an outside agency to prepare meals for the inmates. These meals are prepared off-site, frozen, transported to the detention facility, stored in an onsite freezer and re-heated as needed.
14. The room used to store and re-heat the meals is located outside the entrance to the vehicle sallyport. This requires inmate trustees and staff who re-heat the meals to walk outside the detention facility building (still in a secure area) approximately twelve feet to access the re-heat oven room.
15. Building plans have been created to remodel/expand the administration area and the detention facility, including a new kitchen. These plans are almost through final checks and approvals prior to being released for construction bids.
1. In order to attract qualified personnel, it is important to maintain salary structures that are comparable to other nearby law enforcement agencies.
2. In order to maintain employee safety and provide the necessary services to the community, adequate staffing is essential.
3. The current location of the oven room used to re-heat the meals is no problem in good weather, but in the winter, the inmates who re-heat the meals, supervising COs, and equipment (two carts) may be exposed to inclement weather.
To the Sheriff’s Office:
1.
Construct a temporary cover for the area between the vehicle
sallyport and the reheat oven room at the Detention Center until the new kitchen
(part of the remodel plan) is completed. This would enable equipment and personnel to move back and
forth without being exposed to inclement weather.
To the Board:
2. Work with the Sheriff’s Office to ensure that the conditions of recruitment and employment are attractive enough to find and retain the best available personnel to serve the citizens of Amador County. Maintain competitive salary levels to assure the Sheriff’s Office can be staffed by qualified, dedicated and adequately-rested personnel.
3. Give support to the Sheriff’s Office remodel projects in order to move ahead with construction as soon as possible.
As required in Section 933.05 of the Penal Code, the Sheriff’s Office and the Board of Supervisors must respond to the findings and recommendations directed to them in the manner indicated on page one of this report.