Report 2021-109 Recommendation 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 for Legislative Action
To ensure that sworn staff properly perform safety checks, the Legislature should require the Sheriff's Department to do the following:
- Revise the safety check policy to include the requirement for staff to check that an individual is still alive without disrupting the individual's sleep.
- Develop and implement a policy requiring that designated supervising sworn staff conduct audits of at least two randomly selected safety checks from each prior shift. These audits should include a review of the applicable safety check logs and video footage to determine whether the safety checks were performed adequately. In addition, the policy should require higher-ranking sworn staff to conduct weekly and monthly audits of safety checks. The policy should also require each facility to maintain a record of the safety check audits that staff members perform.
Description of Legislative Action
AB 268 (Weber, 2023) would, among other things, commencing July 1, 2024, require the BSCC to develop and adopt regulations pertaining to standards of care for incarcerated persons with mental health issues by local correctional facilities, including safety checks of incarcerated persons that are sufficiently detailed to determine the safety and well-being of the incarcerated person, and that they are not in distress. This determination would not require facility staff to disturb or wake incarcerated persons during sleeping hours. The bill would also require jail supervisors to conduct random audits of safety checks that include a review of logs and video footage, if available, to ensure that safety checks are properly performed. Bill is pending in Assembly Appropriations Committee 3/22/2023.
SB 762 (Becker, 2023) would require the BSCC to revise standards to require a local detention facility to include a procedure for affirming that an incarcerated individual is alive during a safety check. As of 3/29/2023, the bill was referred to the Committee on Public Safety.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: April 2023
California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Legislation Introduced
Description of Legislative Action
As of September 2, 2022, the Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: September 2022
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: No Action Taken
As of September 2, 2022, the Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.
Description of Legislative Action
As of April 4, 2022, the Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: April 2022