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Law enforcement culture should embrace a guardian mindset to build public trust and legitimacy. Toward that end, police and sheriffs’ departments should adopt procedural justice as the guiding principle for internal and external policies and practices to guide their interactions with the citizens they serve.
Procedural justice concerns the fairness and the transparency of the processes by which decisions are made. The manner in which the Sheriff’s Office is implementing 21st Century Policing is a good example of how procedural justice is applied to a project or program: To adopt 21st Century Policing, Sheriff Hart convened a Task Force comprised of 20 deputies and support staff to participate in a series of workshops over a six-month period to examine and advise on how the recommendations may be implemented. Simultaneously, the Sheriffs’ Advisory Team, consisting of 20 citizens, was asked to review specific recommendations to obtain different points of view on various topics. Finally, the Sheriff launched the initiative as a public event, created a website and other supportive material to keep the public informed and committed to present a community report at the conclusion of the project.
Law enforcement agencies should acknowledge the role of policing in past and present injustice and discrimination and how it is a hurdle to the promotion of community trust.
American institutions are imperfect and law enforcement is no exception. Historical examples of injustice in our nation include inappropriate police response toward peaceful civil rights demonstrators and the unlawful targeting of individuals for their political beliefs or affiliations. Not long ago, the beating of Rodney King tarnished the reputations of police in California. More recent events have exposed a crisis of confidence in many sections of our country, damaging the public’s confidence in law enforcement. 21st Century Policing is designed to restore public trust in law enforcement by recommitting to community policing, to impartial policing and increasing transparency and accessibility.
Law enforcement agencies should establish a culture of transparency and accountability in order to build public trust and legitimacy. This will help ensure decision making is understood and in accord with stated policy.
The Sheriff’s Office is engaged in several efforts to increase transparency and improve communications:
Increased community outreach using social media including Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/SantaCruzSheriffsOffice/
Community Observer Program to allow members of our community to observe training and provide feedback
Providing the community information concerning critical incidents in a timely fashion
Posting Sheriff’s Office Policy on our website:
http://www.scsheriff.com/
Conducting Community Surveys to assess the level of public satisfaction with our service
To embrace a culture of transparency, law enforcement agencies should make all department policies available for public review and regularly post on the department’s website information about stops, summonses, arrests, reported crime, and other law enforcement data aggregated by demographics.
Consistent with the recommendation to promote transparency, a complete copy of the Sheriff’s Office policy manual is available on our website:
http://www.scsheriff.com/
The Sheriff’s Office intends to post information about stops on its website as soon as the means for collecting and reporting the data becomes available.
When serious incidents occur, including those involving alleged police misconduct, agencies should communicate with citizens and the media swiftly, openly, and neutrally, respecting areas where the law requires confidentiality.
The Sheriff’s Office will provide substantial and timely information to the public following a critical incident.
Law enforcement agencies should promote legitimacy internally within the organization by applying the principles of procedural justice.
Examples of efforts to promote legitimacy internally include:
Sheriff’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing consists of 20 deputies and support staff
Critical Incident Peer Review to promote best practices and shared learning experiences
Patrol Problem Resolution Group to provide a means of addressing minor but persistent issues
Procedural Justice training for deputies
Open recruitments for specialized assignments such as Detective and School Resource Officer
Standardized employee evaluations
In order to achieve internal legitimacy, law enforcement agencies should involve employees in the process of developing policies and procedures.
The Sheriff’s Office frequently assigns employees to review, modify and update policies, particularly those involving critical issues such as the use of force and technical areas such as Bomb and SWAT teams. We recently established the Patrol Resolution Group, comprised of deputies, sergeants and a lieutenant, to discuss policy interpretation or policy conflicts that occasionally arise and make suggestions for improvement. Sheriff Hart appointed employees from all ranks, assignments and job classes to the 21st Century Policing Task Force to ensure that our personnel had a voice during this transition.
Law enforcement agency leadership should examine opportunities to incorporate procedural justice into the internal discipline process, placing additional importance on values adherence rather than adherence to rules. Union leadership should be partners in this process.
The internal discipline process is regulated by California’s Government Code Sections 3300-3312, also known as the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights and Sheriff’s Office policy 1020 further defines the parameters of personnel investigations. The disciplinary process is formal to ensure it is consistent, fair, complies with legal and regulatory standards and employees have the opportunity for representation or assistance from union leadership.
Law enforcement agencies should proactively promote public trust by initiating positive non-enforcement activities to engage communities that typically have high rates of investigative and enforcement involvement with government agencies.
When people think of police, the images that probably come to mind involve handcuffs or traffic tickets. In fact, arresting offenders - both necessary and occasionally dangerous - does not constitute the majority of police time. Officers spend most of their time keeping the peace, problem-solving social issues, meeting with people and generating reports and records. Recognizing our responsibility to serve communities, the Sheriff’s Office is involved in many non-enforcement activities. A partial list of our involvement includes:
Sheriff Activity League: provides sports, field trips and other activities for the youth aged four to eighteen years old to promote healthy activities.
National Night Out: an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, better places to live.
Community education: guidance and planning advice to schools for emergencies, businesses for workplace violence and neighborhoods for crime prevention.
Coffee with the Sheriff: regular opportunities at each Sheriff’s Service Center for the public to walk in and speak directly with the Sheriff about any issue.
Public Space Protection: During the summer deputies will work out of our Mobile Community Policing trailer at specified regional parks and provide increased patrols on our North Coast beaches.
In order to achieve external legitimacy, law enforcement agencies should involve the community in the process of developing and evaluating policies and procedures.
The Sheriff’s Office proposed Body Worn Camera policy is a good example of a policy that was subjected to extensive external review by community representatives. During policy development we contacted and worked with the local chapters of the ACLU, NAACP and Public Defender to review and make suggestions and recommendations. While the process of engaging community stakeholders takes time and effort, it is a sound practice that produces a reliable policy.
Law enforcement agencies should institute residency incentive programs such as Resident Officer Programs.
Peace officers in Santa Cruz County have opportunities to obtain subsidized housing in exchange for living in specific housing projects and several officers have done so. Typically the officer lives in a designated rental units based on agreement to provide security reports to the housing authority. Locally, most officers have not been interested in these programs.
Law enforcement agencies should create opportunities in schools and communities for positive non-enforcement interactions with police. Agencies should also publicize the beneficial outcomes and images of positive, trust-building partnerships and initiatives.
The Sheriff’s Office is involved with youth and schools in many ways:
School Resource Officers are assigned to Aptos and Soquel High Schools.
Patrol Division deputies have increased routine after-hour security checks at all schools and are more visible when children are dropped off and picked up.
The Sheriff’s Activity League/Junior Giants Program promotes positive non-enforcement interactions between deputies and youth.
Non-profit school-based support groups occasionally “auction” a ride in a patrol car as a fundraiser, allowing deputies to get to know children and parents.
A Youth Academy is currently in planning for late 2016.
Use of physical control equipment and techniques against vulnerable populations—including children, elderly persons, pregnant women, people with physical and mental disabilities, limited English proficiency, and others—can undermine public trust and should be used as a last resort. Law enforcement agencies should carefully consider and review their policies towards these populations and adopt policies if none are in place.
Several policies specifically address use of force issues concerning vulnerable populations; we emphasize these practices in our continuous professional training program; all use of force is documented in official reports, which are reviewed by supervisors and managers regularly.
Policy 307.4 directs deputies to carefully balance officer safety concerns with factors that include the age and health of the person; whether the person is known to be pregnant; whether the person has a hearing or speaking disability; and restricts restraints on juveniles under the age of 14 unless suspected of a dangerous felony or when deputies have reasonable suspicion that the juvenile may resist, attempt escape, injure him/herself, injure deputy or damage property.
Policy 309.5.2 directs deputies to consider special factors concerning individuals who are known to be pregnant, elderly persons, individuals with obviously low body mass, individuals who are handcuffed or otherwise restrained, individuals who have been recently sprayed with a flammable chemical agent or who are otherwise in close proximity to any known combustible vapor or flammable material when using force.
Law enforcement agencies should consider the potential damage to public trust when implementing crime fighting strategies.
Law enforcement must balance enforcement strategies against the greater good for the communities we serve. We must be sensitive to any organized law enforcement activities that may be viewed as “sweeps” to avoid casting a too wide a net at the risk of damaging our credibility. Toward these goals we strive to:
Respect the constitutional rights of all persons we contact
Identify ourselves and provide business cards to people we contact
Increase positive non enforcement contacts with communities
Monitor the demographic composition of our stops
Maintain open communication with communities
Provide information about incidents that involved significant police presence
Answer questions directed toward us from the public
Encourage citizen input about our strategies and tactics
Research conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of crime fighting strategies should specifically look at the potential for collateral damage of any given strategy on community trust and legitimacy.
Police should do more good than harm. We understand that police operations may occasionally produce negative impacts on communities and we consider alternatives to mitigate those impacts when conducting law enforcement operations. Although the Sheriff’s Office is not a research-producing organization, we regularly provide data to researchers, work with independent evaluators on various initiatives, keep up with the latest information about criminal and social trends and continuously train to best police practices.
Law enforcement agencies should track the level of trust in police by their communities just as they measure changes in crime. Annual community surveys, ideally standardized across jurisdictions and with accepted sampling protocols, can measure how policing in that community affects public trust.
We initiated our Community Member Survey program to obtain feedback about our performance from the people who called us for help.
Here is how it works. Following the resolution of the service call, the deputy’s supervisor phones the person who called and asks three questions:
Based on the urgency of the problem you reported, did we respond in a timely manner?
Did we act professionally?
Did we help in resolving the problem you called about?
We know this is not a scientific survey and recognize that we may influence the results since we are conducting the survey ourselves, but we wanted to know what people thought of our service and it serves a quality assurance function. Based on 234 surveys during February and March, we found 96% of respondents agreed our response was timely, 98% reported we were professional and 95% found we were helpful. We will continue the Community Survey program for a six-month period.
We pay close attention to local community surveys concerning public safety and quality of life issues, such as the United Way’s annual Community Assessment Project, and we are open to working with credible researchers and analysts as opportunities become available.
Law enforcement agencies should strive to create a workforce that contains a broad range of diversity including race, gender, language, life experience, and cultural background to improve understanding and effectiveness in dealing with all communities.
The Sheriff’s Office recognizes the value of a diverse workforce and is continuously and actively working toward that goal. Sheriff Hart has directed the Hiring Unit to develop strategies to recruit and select employees from a qualified and diverse pool of candidates and regularly review statistical data to monitor and improve our efforts in hiring.
As of December 31, 2015, minorities represented 36% of Sheriff’s Office sworn staff.
As of December 31, 2015, females represented 22% of Sheriff’s Office sworn staff.
Females represent 30% of sworn Sheriff’s Office staff hired Between January 1, 2016 and April 30, 2016.
Minorities represent 40% of sworn Sheriff’s Office staff hired Between January 1, 2016 and April 30, 2016.
45% of sworn Sheriff’s Office staff hired between January 1, 2016 and April 30, 2016 were bilingual.
Law enforcement agencies should be encouraged to explore more flexible staffing models.
This is the current basic staffing model at the Sheriff’s Office:
Deputies assigned to Patrol: 10-hour shift with four work days. Deputies are assigned to one of two patrol groups for a minimum of six months and have consistent and consecutive days off including either a Saturday or Sunday depending on the group. Research indicates shifts that are longer than 10 hours impede performance.
Deputies assigned to Investigations: 8-hour day shift, five days a week with weekends and holidays off. Detectives are periodically on-call for major events that occur after hours.
Deputies assigned to Community Policing: 8-hour day shift, five days a week with weekends and holidaysoff. Deputies occasionally flex their working hours to attend job related activities that occur outside their normally assigned working hours.
Sheriff’s managers review memorandums of understanding between the County and bargaining units and work with representatives of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association when considering changes to work schedules.
Law enforcement agencies should build relationships based on trust with immigrant communities. This is central to overall public safety.
The Sheriff’s Office participates in several school-safety programs including B.A.S.T.A. (Broad-Based Apprehension, Suppression, Treatment & Alternatives), which hosts forums and presentations for at risk youth, many of whom are immigrants.
The Sheriff’s Activity League partners with communities and stakeholders to involve children in sports, many of whom are disadvantaged or immigrant children, free of charge.
The Sheriff’s Office participates in National Night Out, a neighborhood strengthening event including immigrant communities.
Decouple federal immigration enforcement from routine local policing for civil enforcement and non-serious crime.
The Sheriff’s Office is a local law enforcement agency and does not enforce federal immigration laws.
Law enforcement agencies should ensure reasonable and equitable language access for all persons who have encounters with police or who enter the criminal justice system.
Our efforts to meet everyone’s needs include:
Bilingual staff, primarily Spanish.
24-hour professional telephonic translation services
Written documents in Spanish
51% of personnel hired in 2015 speak Spanish
Law enforcement agencies should collaborate with community members to develop policies and strategies in communities and neighborhoods disproportionately affected by crime for deploying resources that aim to reduce crime by improving relationships, greater community engagement, and cooperation.
The Sheriff’s Office operates four community service centers throughout the county to be accessible to and to work directly with communities on issues related to law enforcement, social problems or quality of life. A supervisor is assigned to each of the four centers for the specific purpose of engaging with community members, improving and maintaining relationships between the Sheriff’s Office and encouraging cooperation between citizens and law enforcement.
Law enforcement agencies should have comprehensive policies on the use of force that include training, investigations, prosecutions, data collection, and information sharing. These policies must be clear, concise, and openly available for public inspection.
Sheriff’s Office policies concerning the use of force are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changes in law, court decisions and best practices. All policies are available online for public inspection. Just as important, our training matches our policies: our staff receives training in the critical areas of de-escalation practices, effectively dealing with persons who have mental health problems, and working with populations traditionally underserved by law enforcement.
Law enforcement agency policies for training on use of force should emphasize de-escalation and alternatives to arrest or summons in situations where appropriate.
The Sheriff’s Office trains officers on a comprehensive program of de-escalation strategies and tactics. De-escalation is the preferred and tactically sound approach in many critical incidents and these principals are contained in all use of force training session. Additionally, de-escalation options and strategies are discussed during critical incident peer review sessions.
These policies should also mandate external and independent criminal investigations in cases of police use of force resulting in death, officer-involved shootings resulting in injury or death, or in-custody deaths.
In Santa Cruz County, all law enforcement agencies, including the Sheriff’s Office, agreed to participate in a formal investigative process for cases of officer involved shootings and other critical incidents resulting in death. The critical incident protocol assures that such cases are fully and fairly investigated and the results are reviewed by the District Attorney for legal disposition and resolution. Investigators with the District Attorney’s Office monitor and may participate in the investigation.
In cases involving in-custody deaths, the Coroner’s section, including a forensic pathologist – a physician specializing in determining the cause and manner of death – conducts a comprehensive investigation of the circumstances of death that includes an examination of the place where the death occurred, an autopsy of the decedent and examination of medical records, review of all video recordings and official documents, and interviews of witnesses. All in-custody deaths are reported to the State of California Department of Justice.
The task force encourages policies that mandate the use of external and independent prosecutors in cases of police use of force resulting in death, officer-involved shootings resulting in injury or death, or in-custody deaths.
In Santa Cruz County, all law enforcement agencies, including the Sheriff’s Office, agreed to participate in a formal investigative process for cases of officer involved shootings and other critical incidents resulting in death. The critical incident protocol assures that such cases are fully and fairly investigated and the results are reviewed by the District Attorney for legal disposition and resolution. Investigators with the District Attorney’s Office monitor and may participate in the investigation.
In cases involving in-custody deaths at the County Jail, the Coroner’s section, including a forensic pathologist – a physician specializing in determining the cause and manner of death – conducts a comprehensive investigation of the circumstances of death that includes an examination of the place where the death occurred, an autopsy of the decedent and examination of medical records, review of all video recordings and official documents, and interviews of witnesses. All in-custody deaths are reported to the State of California Department of Justice.
Policies on use of force should also require agencies to collect, maintain, and report data to the Federal Government on all officer-involved shootings, whether fatal or nonfatal, as well as any in-custody death.
The Sheriff’s Office reports all officer involved shootings and in-custody deaths to the California Department of Justice in compliance with California Government Code Section 12525.
Policies on use of force should clearly state what types of information will be released, when, and in what situation, to maintain transparency.
The use of force by law enforcement personnel is a matter of critical concern, both to the public and to the law enforcement community. Sheriff Jim Hart is committed to releasing information to the public on critical incidents involving officers as soon as possible and to the extent allowed by law.
Use of Force Policy 300 provides guidelines on the reasonable use of force, including reporting to the California Department of Justice.
News Media Relations Policy 346 provides guidelines on the release of information to the public.
Law enforcement agencies should establish a Serious Incident Review Board comprising sworn staff and community members to review cases involving officer involved shootings and other serious incidents that have the potential to damage community trust or confidence in the agency. The purpose of this board should be to identify any administrative supervisory, training, tactical, or policy issues that need to be addressed.
The Sheriff’s Office, along with other local law enforcement agencies and the District Attorney’s Office, uses a county-wide critical incident protocol to ensure a thorough and impartial investigation of officer-involved incidents, such as shootings or other serious events.
Law enforcement agencies are encouraged to implement non-punitive peer review of critical incidents separate from criminal and administrative investigations.
The Sheriff’s Office has a long-standing practice of debriefing critical incidents with staff during shift briefings and peer input/review is an important factor. When reviewing an incident, we conduct a professional discussion of the event emphasizing performance standards, policy adherence, options and alternatives, causal conditions and mitigating and aggravating factors. When correctly used, debriefing is as an integral tool to:
Increase safety for deputies and the public
Identifying areas for improvement
Improve teamwork through better awareness and coordination
Develop competence by sharing useful tools and techniques
Instill confidence by recognizing and reinforcing successes
Law enforcement agencies are encouraged to adopt identification procedures that implement scientifically supported practices that eliminate or minimize presenter bias or influence.
Problems associated with mistaken identifications across the nation have resulted in increased scrutiny of police identification procedures. Research in this area has resulted in recommendations for improved procedures including composition of line ups, witness admonishments, use of sequential photos in line ups and officer behavior during the identification process. These recommendations are contained in Policy 610 and deputies have received training in identification procedures.
All federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies should report and make available to the public census data regarding the composition of their departments including race, gender, age, and other relevant demographic data.
Composition of Sheriff’s Office peace officer personnel as of June, 2016:
Race
White:
114
(77%)
Latino:
26
(18%)
Asian:
6
(4%)
Black:
2
(1%)
Gender
Male:
120
(81%)
Female:
28
(19%)
Age
21-29:
26
(18%)
30-39:
49
(33%)
40-49:
48
(32%)
50-59:
25
(17%)
Law enforcement agencies should be encouraged to collect, maintain and analyze demographic data on all detentions (stops, frisks, searches, summons, and arrests). This data should be disaggregated by school and non-school contacts.
The Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015 (Assembly Bill 953 / Government Code Section 12525.5) requires California local law enforcement agencies to report specified information on all stops to the Attorney General. The reporting requirements apply to agencies based on size beginning 2020 for large departments to 2023 for the small departments, such as the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Hart did not want to wait until 2023 to gather and share this information and directed staff to work with the local dispatching center, Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1, to develop systems to obtain related data as soon as possible.
On March 31, 2016 the Sheriff’s Office adopted a revised coding system to collect race, gender and age of persons during vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle stops and continues to work with the dispatching center to obtain relevant reports from the stops. Although it may be necessary for the dispatch center to obtain a new computer-aided dispatch software to capture all the information required by the Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015, the Sheriff’s Office intends to share the available stop data with the public through our website later this year.
Law enforcement agencies should create policies and procedures for policing mass demonstrations that employ a continuum of managed tactical resources that are designed to minimize the appearance of a military operation and avoid using provocative tactics and equipment that undermine civilian trust.
The Sheriff’s Office will protect life, keep the peace and prevent the destruction of property, but we are also committed to respect the rights of people to peaceably assemble and will not interfere with, harass, intimidate or discriminate against persons engaged in the lawful exercise of their first amendment rights. Policy 465 provides guidance for responding to public assemblies and demonstrations and we adhere to the guidelines set forth by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training on crowd management:
http://lib.post.ca.gov/Publications/CrowdMgtGuidelines.pdf
.
Law enforcement agency policies should address procedures for implementing a layered response to mass demonstrations that prioritize de-escalation and a guardian mindset.
The primary purpose of law enforcement in response to mass demonstration is to protect life, preserve peace and prevent the destruction of property. Law enforcement leaders should, whenever circumstances permit, consult with elected officials and administrative leaders to formulate a response to a mass demonstration.
In early 2016 deputies received training on how to respond to mass demonstration. Members of the local chapter of the ACLU were invited to and attended the course. The training presentation was delivered by Lieutenant Fred Plageman, a deputy with 28 years of law enforcement experience including the successful resolutions to many demonstrations and protests. The course emphasized respect for all persons, law enforcement professionalism and discipline and legal authority for action if necessary.
The following material was presented in detail:
Public assembly is legal
Deputies should monitor events to keep the peace and protect the safety of all persons
A patrol supervisor shall be notified if an event may require increased resources
Deputies must balance speech and association rights against safety concerns before action
Deputies will attempt to establish communications with organizers whenever possible
Deputies should not engage in conversations with demonstrators about the issue of protest
Deputies shall not harass or intimidate participants
Deputies shall not seize cameras, phones or materials of participants unless person arrested
Law enforcement response to unlawful assemblies must be legal, measured and appropriate
Police canine will not be deployed in response to a mass demonstration
Deputies will not make recordings of groups solely because they are involved in constitutionally protected activity
Some form of civilian oversight of law enforcement is important in order to strengthen trust with the community. Every community should define the appropriate form and structure of civilian oversight to meet the needs of that community.
The Sheriff’s Office has civilian oversight. In California, police chiefs are appointed by the city council or mayor and generally report to the city manager. Sheriffs are elected by voters in their county for a four-year term and must be re-elected to retain their positions. This system makes Sheriffs directly accountable to citizens and encourages Sheriffs to build and maintain trust with their community.
Law enforcement agencies and municipalities should refrain from practices requiring officers to issue a predetermined number of tickets, citations, arrests, or summonses, or to initiate investigative contacts with citizens for reasons not directly related to improving public safety, such as generating revenue
Enforcement decisions should be based on factors related to public safety. We take pride in our ability to use discretion in our work: the Sheriff’s Office does not use “quotas” as a way to generate work.
Law enforcement officers should be required to seek consent before a search and explain that a person has the right to refuse consent when there is no warrant or probable cause. Furthermore, officers should ideally obtain written acknowledgement that they have sought consent to a search in these circumstances.
Sheriff’s Office Policy 322 states “valid consent” is required for a warrantless search that is not otherwise legally justified, e.g. incident to arrest, public safety emergency, etc.
Our policy also states searches should be conducted with dignity and that the basis and extent of the search will be explained to the person being searched.
A “Consent to Search” form that includes the right to refuse, conditions of search and signature of person consenting to search is available for use by deputies.
Law enforcement agencies should adopt policies requiring officers to identify themselves by their full name, rank, and command (as applicable) and provide that information in writing to individuals they have stopped. In addition, policies should require officers to state the reason for the stop and the reason for the search if one is conducted.
Sheriff’s Office Policy 322.4(b) states: Deputies should explain to the person being searched the reason for the search and how the search will be conducted.
Research indicates people care more about the way they were treated by the police than the outcome of the encounter (
https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/248654.pdf
). Offering an explanation to a person who will be or has been searched promotes legitimacy and enhances the credibility of law enforcement.
One example of how to do this is for law enforcement officers to carry business cards containing their name, rank, command, and contact information that would enable individuals to offer suggestions or commendations or to file complaints with the appropriate individual, office, or board. These cards would be easily distributed in all encounters.
The Sheriff’s Task Force recommended deputies should hand out their business card to individuals following vehicle, bicycle, pedestrian and other stops.
The Sheriff’s Advisory Team independently considered this recommendation and advised the Sheriff to adopt this practice to promote and maintain positive community relationships.
The Sheriff’s Office issues business cards to deputies to distribute to all persons whom we encounter including crime victims, witnesses, professional contacts and detainees.
Law enforcement agencies should establish search and seizure procedures related to LGBTQ and transgender populations and adopt as policy the recommendation from the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) to cease using the possession of condoms as the sole evidence of vice.
The Sheriff’s Office updated its search protocol, Policy 322.4(f), to respect gender identity. The Sheriff’s Office has not, and will not, consider the possession of condoms as sole evidence of vice.
Law enforcement agencies should adopt and enforce policies prohibiting profiling and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, age, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, immigration status, disability, housing status, occupation, or language fluency.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office is absolutely committed to providing fair and impartial law enforcement services to all members of our communities and visitors to our County.
Sheriff’s Office policies states:
402.2: It is the policy of this department to provide law enforcement services and to enforce the law equally, fairly and without discrimination toward any individual or group. Race, ethnicity or nationality, religion, sex, sexual orientation, economic status, age, cultural group, disability or affiliation with any other similar identifiable group shall not be used as the basis for providing differing levels of law enforcement service or the enforcement of the law.
402.3: Racial- or bias-based profiling is strictly prohibited. However, nothing in this policy is intended to prohibit a deputy from considering factors such as race or ethnicity in combination with other legitimate factors to establish reasonable suspicion or probable cause (e.g., suspect description is limited to a specific race or group).
Law enforcement agencies should deploy smart technology that is designed to prevent the tampering with or manipulating of evidence in violation of policy.
The Sheriff’s Office uses a digital evidence system that is maintained by the Forensic Services Supervisor. Once evidence is recorded and downloaded to the system, it is not erased, deleted or altered in any way prior to submission. All photographs are preserved regardless of quality, composition or relevance. Video and audio files are not altered in any way. Sheriff’s Office Policy 814.5.4
The implementation of appropriate technology by law enforcement agencies should be designed considering local needs and aligned with national standards.
The Sheriff’s Office Technology Team provides evaluation, training and implementation assistance specific to new technologies as they become available to our agency. The team considers any national or industry standards as it applied to proposed technologies as well as agency-specific needs for the technology as it applies to our mission.
Law enforcement agencies should encourage public engagement and collaboration, including the use of community advisory bodies, when developing a policy for the use of a new technology.
Sheriff Hart holds open meeting hours known as “Coffee with the Sheriff” at each Sheriff’s Service Center. The public is invited to attend and speak directly with him about problems and concerns in their neighborhood. A schedule is available at
http://www.scsheriff.com/Home/CoffeewiththeSheriff.aspx
. Sheriff Hart also meets monthly with the Sheriff’s Advisory Team, a group of twenty community members who live or work in Santa Cruz County to discuss law enforcement issues and maintain communications with the communities we serve.
Law enforcement agencies should include an evaluation or assessment process to gauge the effectiveness of any new technology, soliciting input from all levels of the agency, from line officer to leadership, as well as assessment from members of the community.
The Sheriff’s Office has diversified the task of evaluating, assessing, and gauging the effectiveness of all new technology through the use of the following groups:
Technology Team comprised of employee members including deputies and civilians equipped and experienced with the technology.
Community Advisory Groups to include input from stakeholders or community representatives.
Private Consultants for technical expertise and appropriate use of technology.
Requests For Proposal purchasing process to ensure transparency, value and fairness when acquiring new technologies.
Discuss technology needs and solicit input from Board of Supervisors
Law enforcement agencies should adopt the use of new technologies that will help them better serve people with special needs or disabilities.
Sheriff’s Office Policy 370 provides guidance to members of our agency when communicating with individuals with disabilities including those who are deaf or hard of hearing, have impaired speech or vision, or are blind. We strive to ensure that people with disabilities, whether they are victims, witnesses or arrestees have equal access to law enforcement services, programs and activities to which they are entitled.
Sheriff’s Office employees are encouraged to use:
audio recordings and enlarged print
qualified interpreters
TTY and relay services
Office employees who have demonstrated communication services such as ASL or SE
Hand gestures and visual aids during field contacts
Exchange written notes or communications
Use of computer, word processing, personal communication device or similar device to exchange texts or notes
Law enforcement agencies should review and consider the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Body Worn Camera Toolkit to assist in implementing BWCs.
Sheriff Hart is requesting funding to purchase body worn cameras (BWC) for use by deputies in the 2016/2017 fiscal year county budget. The BJA Body Worn Camera Toolkit is a primary source in the development of our BWC policies and procedures. Additionally, the Sheriff has requested policy development input from the Deputy Sheriff’s Association, County Counsel, local chapters of the ACLU and NAACP, and the District Attorney and Public Defender.
Federal, state, local, and tribal legislative bodies should be encouraged to update public record laws.
The Sheriff’s Office provides public access to records consistent with the California Public Records Act (Government Code § 6250 et seq.). Administrative staff attends annual Public Records Act training to stay current on legal updates, procedural changes and best practices to ensure we are following the statutory and legislative intent of the laws that apply to public records.
Law enforcement agencies should adopt model policies and best practices for technology-based community engagement that increases community trust and access.
The Sheriff’s Office engages the public in a variety of different ways and social media is an important part of our communications efforts. We have greatly expanded our use of Facebook to include daily postings of deputies performing their work in the community. We also use Nextdoor, Twitter and Pinterest to connect with the public and will continue to explore new communications platforms to reach out to communities.
Law enforcement agencies should develop and adopt policies and strategies that reinforce the importance of community engagement in managing public safety.
The Sheriff’s Office applied for a Strengthening Communities grant to engage communities to identify and prioritize issues of specific concern in order to form effective, community-supported problem-solving approaches. We are involved in many community outreach efforts including our Community Policing Division and Service Centers, Sheriff’s Activity League, School Resource Officers at high schools, Sheriff’s Advisory Team and a robust social media presence.
Law enforcement agencies should consider adopting preferences for seeking “least harm” resolutions, such as diversion programs or warnings and citations in lieu of arrest for minor infractions.
Here is an example of a recent “least harm” solution that resulted in the best possible outcome. Deputy Ryan York responded to a report of a disturbance involving a woman with mental health issues. The neighbors were familiar with the woman and understood she struggled with issues; although they were disturbed, they were not afraid. But when Deputy York tried to talk to the woman, she thrust a knife toward him through her screen door. Exercising professional maturity and restraint, Deputy York backed away and assessed the situation. He determined greater harm may occur by immediately attempting to arrest the woman than to withdraw. Deputy York alerted other deputies of the problem and obtained an arrest warrant. In consultation with our resident mental health specialist, a partnership established by the Sheriff and County Mental Health, it was decided the best course of action was to monitor the woman’s behavior-cycle and wait for the safest opportunity to re-contact her. The mental health specialist engaged her in a continuing dialog until an arrangement was made with the woman to self-surrender, at which time deputies met her and she was given a date to appear in court as an alternative to physical arrest. Threatening a peace officer with a knife is a serious crime and may result in the use of the force by police. But that is not what happened on this occasion and everyone is the better for it.
The Sheriff’s Office is involved in several “least harm” programs and practices:
Sheriff Jim Hart applied for and was awarded a Bureau of Justice Assistance grant from the Board of State and Community Corrections to operate a Recovery-Sobering Center for public inebriates as an alternative to jail booking. The Recovery Center began operations on June 1
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2015 and so far has resulted in more than 20% of drunk in public arrests being diverted from county jail. Other public benefits include significant reductions in the time deputies and police spend waiting in line to book arrestees into jail so they are available for more serious crimes, reduced booking workload for correctional officers allowing increased supervision of other inmates, and community assistance referrals for public inebriates seeking help with alcoholism and addiction.
Adult offenders arrested for a misdemeanor are released in the field on their written promise to appear in court. Sheriff’s Office policy 420.2 states: It is the policy of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office to release all persons arrested on misdemeanor or other qualifying charges on a citation with certain exceptions (Penal Code § 853.6).
The primary traffic authority in the county unincorporated area is the California Highway Patrol. There are no quotas or expectations for deputies to issue traffic citations and the majority of traffic stops result in a warning to the motorist.
Community policing should be infused throughout the culture and organizational structure of law enforcement agencies.
The Sheriff’s Office adopted Community Policing in 1996. Since then we established a Community Policing Division and opened and maintained four Community Service Centers, assigned School Resource Officers to high schools, increased our participation in public events and availability, applied problem-solving strategies to reduce long-term community issues, developed the Sheriff’s Activity League and Advisory Team and expanded our communications and public outreach with social media. As we move forward, we will look for innovative approaches to infuse community-based policing principles in our Patrol Division and be alert for funding opportunities to help us strengthen our commitments to community policing.
Law enforcement agencies should evaluate officers on their efforts to engage members of the community and the partnerships they build. Making this part of the performance evaluation process places an increased value on developing partnerships.
Traditional police performance indicators include the numbers of arrests, traffic citations, contacts and the quantity of illegal drugs and firearms seized. In addition to these indicators, we intend to develop ways to measure our community policing efforts and impacts. Examples of possible indicators may include activities such as foot patrol in neighborhoods, business areas or schools; participation in problem-solving projects; community meetings and presentations; counseling contacts with minor offenders; and efforts to improve quality of life issues. As we move forward infusing community policing activities into our Patrol Division, we will look for ways to incorporate non-enforcement, community-building activities into our daily work.
Law enforcement agencies should evaluate their patrol deployment practices to allow sufficient time for patrol officers to participate in problem solving and community engagement activities.
This is difficult: the average Sheriff’s patrol shift consists of 8 deputies and a sergeant responsible for policing services to a population of about 135,000 residents living in the unincorporated area of the county, plus visitors, all within 445 square land miles. Our goal is to infuse community-based policing principles in our Patrol Division so that deputies become familiar with the people they serve and apply problem-solving strategies to reduce long-term community issues. Because our Patrol Division consists of six separate teams to provide 24/7 coverage, we are exploring ways to improve our abilities to address problems across shifts such as Directed Patrol Assignments and Patrol Service Plans. We need more patrol deputies to achieve this goal and we will have to look for funding opportunities to move us in this direction.
Law enforcement agencies should engage in multidisciplinary, community team approaches for planning, implementing, and responding to crisis situations with complex causal factors.
A good example of a multi-disciplinary approach is our partnership with the County Mental Health Department. Sheriff Jim Hart applied for and received a grant to adopt innovative strategies and practices to effectively interact with persons with mental health problems. Our partnership has resulted in a full- time mental health worker embedded in the Sheriff’s Office working directly with deputies to resolve issues with persons with mental health issues. This collaboration is proving to be an effective approach and has contributed to the implementation of least-harm resolutions to crisis incidents involving mentally ill offenders. We will continue to look for new opportunities for multi-disciplinary approaches.
Because offensive or harsh language can escalate a minor situation, law enforcement agencies should underscore the importance of language used and adopt policies directing officers to speak to individuals with respect.
Policy 340.5.9 (g) prohibits obscene, indecent, profane or derogatory language by employees while on-duty.
Law enforcement agencies should develop programs that create opportunities for patrol officers to regularly interact with neighborhood residents, faith leaders, and business leaders.
This is difficult: the average Sheriff’s patrol shift consists of 8 deputies and a sergeant responsible for policing services to a population of about 135,000 residents living in the unincorporated area of the county, plus visitors, all within 445 square land miles. Our goal is to infuse community-based policing principles in our Patrol Division so that deputies become familiar with the people they serve and apply problem-solving strategies to reduce long-term community issues. Because our Patrol Division consists of six separate teams to provide 24/7 coverage, we are exploring ways to improve our abilities to address problems across shifts such as Directed Patrol Assignments and Patrol Service Plans. We need more patrol deputies to achieve this goal and we will have to look for funding opportunities to move us in this direction.
Community policing emphasizes working with neighborhood residents to co-produce public safety. Law enforcement agencies should work with community residents to identify problems and collaborate on implementing solutions that produce meaningful results for the community.
In 2016 the Sheriff’s Office applied for state and federal grant assistance to collaborate with neighborhood residents to identify, prioritize crime problems and community concerns in order to implement solutions that produce meaningful and measureable results. We need more patrol deputies to achieve this goal and we will have to look for funding opportunities to move us in this direction.
Law enforcement agencies should schedule regular forums and meetings where all community members can interact with police and help influence programs and policy.
We work hard to be available and stay engaged. Sheriff Hart and staff attend several public forums each week, during day and evenings, to hear from residents and business owners or to provide information. We regularly attend school and youth related events, business and civic coalitions, community events, political forums as well as issue-specific meetings about crime problems or constituent concerns.
Law enforcement agencies should engage youth and communities in joint training with law enforcement, citizen academies, ride-alongs, problem solving teams, community action teams, and quality of life teams.
Deputy Travis Huntsman is developing a Youth Academy as a pilot project that is scheduled to begin Fall 2016. We anticipate a six-session format for youth drawn from County high schools to familiarize them with justice related topics and promote positive youth-law enforcement relationships. We look forward to new opportunities that may arise in the future.
Law enforcement agencies should establish formal community/citizen advisory committees to assist in developing crime prevention strategies and agency policies as well as provide input on policing issues.
Sheriff Jim Hart established the Sheriff’s Advisory Team (SAT) in September, 2014 to promote open communication with the community we serve and assist in the production of positive public safety outcomes. SAT is a representative group of community members from all walks of life who live and work throughout Santa Cruz County. SAT meets with Sheriff Hart monthly to discuss law enforcement issues that are impacting our neighborhoods and rural areas.
Law enforcement agencies should adopt community policing strategies that support and work in concert with economic development efforts within communities.
The Sheriff’s Office met with the Santa Cruz County Economic Development staff to identify areas of mutual concern. As a result of those discussions, the Sheriff’s Office reorganized its Community Service Officers to direct our efforts at county code compliance issues including abandoned vehicle abatement, second-hand dealers and pawn shops and massage establishments. We will continue to work with County Economic Development staff as new issues or opportunities present.
Education and criminal justice agencies at all levels of government should work together to reform policies and procedures that push children into the juvenile justice system
The Sheriff’s Office diverts juvenile status offenders from custody. Sheriff’s Office policy 324.4.2 states: Status offenders should generally be released by citation or with a warning rather than taken into temporary custody. However, deputies may take custody of a status offender if requested to do so by a parent or legal guardian in order to facilitate reunification (e.g., transported home or to the station to await a parent). Status offenders shall not be held in secure custody (42 USC § 5633).
The Sheriff’s Office in an active participant and supporter of the County Youth Violence Prevention Task Force, an effort that supports youth who are "at-risk" of becoming involved in delinquent behavior and helps prevent a juvenile from entering the juvenile justice system. Prevention includes efforts to prevent youth from penetrating further into the juvenile justice system after a juvenile has committed a delinquent act; these prevention efforts include arbitration, diversionary or mediation programs, and community service work or other treatment.
The Sheriff’s Office is exploring a juvenile diversion program partnership with Peer Teen Court, operated by the Santa Cruz County Office Education. The objective of the Teen Peer Court program is to interrupt the developing pattern of criminal behavior in referred juveniles by promoting self-esteem, motivation for self-improvement, forming a healthy attitude toward authority, and increasing education. Additional information about Peer Teen Court is available at:
http://www.santacruz.k12.ca.us/ed_services/teen_peer_court.html
In order to keep youth in school and to keep them from criminal and violent behavior, law enforcement agencies should work with schools to encourage the creation of alternatives to student suspensions and expulsion through restorative justice, diversion, counseling, and family interventions.
Recommendations 65 through 69 call for collaborative efforts between schools and law enforcement to create alternatives to traditional disciplinary systems that may push youth into the juvenile justice system, reduce suspensions or expulsions, involve youth in decision-making, adopt intervention approaches to help students develop new behavior skills, allow community input toward disciplinary policies and create a developmentally appropriate and proportional series of consequences to address student misbehavior.
These recommendations primarily concern school administration and are outside the unilateral control of the Sheriff’s Office: changes to education policies require cooperative joint efforts between independent school districts and law enforcement, as well as parents and students. The Sheriff’s Office is ready to be an active participant in such efforts and supports positive change in school disciplinary policies.
Law enforcement agencies should work with schools to encourage the use of alternative strategies that involve youth in decision making, such as restorative justice, youth courts, and peer interventions.
Recommendations 65 through 69 call for collaborative efforts between schools and law enforcement to create alternatives to traditional disciplinary systems that may push youth into the juvenile justice system, reduce suspensions or expulsions, involve youth in decision-making, adopt intervention approaches to help students develop new behavior skills, allow community input toward disciplinary policies and create a developmentally appropriate and proportional series of consequences to address student misbehavior.
These recommendations primarily concern school administration and are outside the unilateral control of the Sheriff’s Office: changes to education policies require cooperative joint efforts between independent school districts and law enforcement, as well as parents and students. The Sheriff’s Office is ready to be an active participant in such efforts and supports positive change in school disciplinary policies.
Law enforcement agencies should work with schools to adopt an instructional approach to discipline that uses interventions or disciplinary consequences to help students develop new behavior skills and positive strategies to avoid conflict, redirect energy, and refocus on learning.
Recommendations 65 through 69 call for collaborative efforts between schools and law enforcement to create alternatives to traditional disciplinary systems that may push youth into the juvenile justice system, reduce suspensions or expulsions, involve youth in decision-making, adopt intervention approaches to help students develop new behavior skills, allow community input toward disciplinary policies and create a developmentally appropriate and proportional series of consequences to address student misbehavior.
These recommendations primarily concern school administration and are outside the unilateral control of the Sheriff’s Office: changes to education policies require cooperative joint efforts between independent school districts and law enforcement, as well as parents and students. The Sheriff’s Office is ready to be an active participant in such efforts and supports positive change in school disciplinary policies.
Law enforcement agencies should work with schools to develop and monitor school discipline policies with input and collaboration from school personnel, students, families, and community members. These policies should prohibit the use of corporal punishment and electronic control devices.
Recommendations 65 through 69 call for collaborative efforts between schools and law enforcement to create alternatives to traditional disciplinary systems that may push youth into the juvenile justice system, reduce suspensions or expulsions, involve youth in decision-making, adopt intervention approaches to help students develop new behavior skills, allow community input toward disciplinary policies and create a developmentally appropriate and proportional series of consequences to address student misbehavior.
These recommendations primarily concern school administration and are outside the unilateral control of the Sheriff’s Office: changes to education policies require cooperative joint efforts between independent school districts and law enforcement, as well as parents and students. The Sheriff’s Office is ready to be an active participant in such efforts and supports positive change in school disciplinary policies.
Law enforcement agencies should work with schools to create a continuum of developmentally appropriate and proportional consequences for addressing ongoing and escalating student misbehavior after all appropriate interventions have been attempted.
Recommendations 65 through 69 call for collaborative efforts between schools and law enforcement to create alternatives to traditional disciplinary systems that may push youth into the juvenile justice system, reduce suspensions or expulsions, involve youth in decision-making, adopt intervention approaches to help students develop new behavior skills, allow community input toward disciplinary policies and create a developmentally appropriate and proportional series of consequences to address student misbehavior.
These recommendations primarily concern school administration and are outside the unilateral control of the Sheriff’s Office: changes to education policies require cooperative joint efforts between independent school districts and law enforcement, as well as parents and students. The Sheriff’s Office is ready to be an active participant in such efforts and supports positive change in school disciplinary policies.
Law enforcement agencies should work with communities to play a role in programs and procedures to reintegrate juveniles back into their communities as they leave the juvenile justice system.
The Sheriff’s Office supports efforts by the County Probation Department to successfully transition juvenile offenders from custody to community. These efforts should improve community safety, reduce recidivism and result in juvenile offenders behaving more safely and productively.
Law enforcement agencies and schools should establish memoranda of agreement for the placement of School Resource Officers that limit police involvement in student discipline.
The Sheriff’s Office is working with high schools to clarify the role of School Resource Officers (Deputies) assigned to campus:
The School Resource Officer protects students and staff, promotes a safe school environment and fosters a positive relationship between youth and law enforcement.
The School Resource Officer conducts criminal investigations when necessary and assists the District in maintaining safe schools.
It is the school’s responsibility to administer school discipline: school-based infractions should not be addressed through the justice-system.
Communities and law enforcement agencies should restore and build trust between youth and police by creating programs and projects for positive, consistent, and persistent interaction between youth and police.
The Sheriff’s Office created and maintains the Sheriff’s Activity League to provide sports and activities for local youth.
School Resource Officers are deputies assigned to Soquel and Aptos High Schools who work closely with school administrators and youth in a positive interactive manner.
The Sheriff’s Office is developing a Youth Academy to begin Fall 2016.
Law enforcement agencies should engage community members in the training process.
The Community Observer Program was launched to allow the community members to observe how our agency trains its officers. The training schedule varies month to month and community members are given an opportunity to speak with the training supervisor at the end of the training session.
Law enforcement agencies should provide leadership training to all personnel throughout their careers.
The Sheriff’s Office is committed to continuing professional training (CPT). The California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) requires 24 hours of CPT every two years for peace officers but in 2015 our employees received an average of 135 hours. Our sergeants complete an 80-hour supervisory course and our lieutenants complete a 104-hour management course.
Law enforcement agencies should implement ongoing, top down training for all officers in cultural diversity and related topics that can build trust and legitimacy in diverse communities. This should be accomplished with the assistance of advocacy groups that represent the viewpoints of communities that have traditionally had adversarial relationships with law enforcement.
The Sheriff’s Office is working with the County Personnel Department to develop relevant cultural diversity training for deputies and other staff. We work with advocacy groups including the local chapters of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Law enforcement agencies should implement training for officers that covers policies for interactions with the LGBTQ population, including issues such as determining gender identity for arrest placement, the Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities, and immigrant or non-English speaking groups, as well as reinforcing policies for the prevention of sexual misconduct and harassment.
The Sheriff’s Office Corrections Bureau has several measures in place to ensure appropriate arrest placement for persons taken to the county jail:
The use of “Transgender/Gender Variant Individual Statement of Preference” form to inmates during the classification process to determine safe and appropriate detention housing. An inmate who completes this form may specify the gender of correctional officers performing non-emergency searches and their housing needs.
Compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (federal law).
Staff, volunteers and contractors who may have contact with inmates receive training on how to communicate effectively and professionally with inmates, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or gender non-conforming inmates.
Practices and procedures to protect all inmates from sexual abuse or harassment and to investigate allegations of sexual abuse and harassment.
Law enforcement agencies should promote safety and wellness at every level of the organization.
The County of Santa Cruz offers a variety of health plans to our deputies and families, which include wellness programs. Deputies receive medical, dental and vision plans. Deputies have 24-hour onsite gym at the Sheriff’s Office. Other safety and wellness related benefits and programs include the Employee Assistance Program, which provides free individual and family counseling with registered counseling professionals and the Employee Safety Program to ensures safe working environments that comply with state and federal health and safety standards.
Every law enforcement officer should be provided with individual tactical first aid kits and training as well as anti-ballistic vests.
The Sheriff’s Office is currently in the process of purchasing and issuing a basic first aid kits to each deputy. Secondly, we are scheduling training for 2016-2017 in which deputies will attend the International School of Tactical Medicine, an 8-hour training course, available through the Urban Areas Security Initiative. This course will equip every deputy with a tactical first aid kit and the necessary tactical first aid training. Refer to Recommendation 79 for details regarding anti-ballistic vests.
Law enforcement agencies should adopt policies that require officers to wear seat belts and bullet-proof vests and provide training to raise awareness of the consequences of failure to do so.
We know seat belts save lives. The Sheriff's Office's has required use of seat belts by Sheriff's personnel for many years and continues to emphasize the necessity and benefits of seat belt use.
Deputies are reimbursed for the cost of high-quality, concealable anti-ballistic body armor. The Sheriff’s Office also reimburses deputies for body armor that is damaged or expires.