Report 2021-109 Recommendation 17 Responses

Report 2021-109: San Diego County Sheriff's Department: It Has Failed to Adequately Prevent and Respond to the Deaths of Individuals in Its Custody (Release Date: February 2022)

Recommendation #17 To: Citizens' Law Enforcement Review Board

To ensure that it fully investigates all in-custody deaths, CLERB should revise its rules and regulations by May 2022 to include the following:

- Prioritization criteria for investigating in-custody deaths above all other investigations.

- Clarification that its investigations of in-custody deaths includes those classified as natural deaths.

1-Year Agency Response

The EO and County Counsel have drafted verbiage to revise CLERB's Rules and Regulations (R&R) to prioritize death investigations over all other investigations. The EO is pursuing this change along with some other changes to the R&R and County Administrative Code (Code). Those additional changes require the assistance of Labor Relations and conferences with the affected labor associations. Once the labor relations process is complete, CLERB will review the proposed changes to the Code and R&R. If CLERB approves the changes, they will be brought before the Board of Supervisors for final approval. A summary of the proposed R&R changes, to include prioritization of in-custody deaths above all other investigations and clarification that its investigations of in-custody deaths include those classified as natural deaths, was presented to CLERB and the public on January 31, 2023. A final draft of the proposed R&R changes will be presented to CLERB and the public on February 14, 2023. The final proposed changes will then be forwarded to Labor Relations for meet-and-confer purposes.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

6-Month Agency Response

The EO and County Counsel have drafted verbiage to revise CLERB's Rules and Regulations (R&R) to prioritize death investigations over all other investigations. The EO is pursuing this change along with some other changes to the R&R and County Administrative Code (Code). Those additional changes require the assistance of Labor Relations and conferences with the affected labor associations. Once the labor relations process is complete, CLERB will review the proposed changes to the Code and R&R. If CLERB approves the changes, they will be brought before the Board of Supervisors for final approval. The EO will advise the CSA of the Code and R&R revision status during its one-year update.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

The EO and County Counsel have drafted verbiage to revise CLERB's Rules and Regulations (R&R) to prioritize death investigations over all other investigations. The EO is pursuing this change along with some other changes to the R&R and County Administrative Code (Code). Those additional changes require the assistance of Labor Relations and conferences with the affected labor associations. Once the labor relations process is complete, CLERB will review the proposed changes to the Code and R&R. If CLERB approves the changes, they will be brought before the Board of Supervisors for final approval. The EO will advise the CSA of the Code and R&R revision status during its six-month update.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2021-109

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.