By Carlos Alcalá
calcala@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Jun. 19, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 3B
The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office needs to fix its treatment of women in the department and prevent deputies from using phony educational degrees to gain pay increases, according to the El Dorado County grand jury's report released Friday.
The grand jury's 2010-11 report focused three of its 12 sections on the Sheriff's Office.
A newly elected sheriff, John D'Agostini, took over the department at the beginning of the year.
The report's section on gender bias in the department outlined a female staffing level far below national averages, and a pattern of gender bias complaints that jumped in 2010.
Roughly 5 percent of sworn officers are women, according to the report. It contrasted El Dorado's level to a national average of 12.8 percent in communities of similar sizes.
The department saw 12 gender bias complaints filed in 2010, double the number for 2008 and 2009 combined, the report said.
Six of the complaints were upheld, yet in half those cases, "individuals did not have records of disciplinary action related to the complaints in their files in the El Dorado County Human Resources Office," the report said.
It also noted a pair of discrimination lawsuits had been filed against the department by female employees.
The report called on the department to give women more opportunities to work in job areas considered critical to advancement and to recruit women and minorities for future openings.
Harassment policies need to be better communicated and enforced as well, the report said.
With respect to educational attainment, the report noted that five sworn officers, including a lieutenant, had gained pay increases – known as educational incentive pay – based on diplomas from questionable sources.
"One officer applied for entrance into Richardson University on August 20, 2004, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice only 27 days later, after completing 22 classes," according to the grand jury's investigation.
The body's report noted that the district attorney has not found enough evidence to prosecute these cases, in part because Sheriff's Office policies were vague and some evidence has been destroyed.
The grand jury called on the Sheriff's Office to cease accepting "diploma mill" credentials and to bring educational compensation in line with what officers receive in other nearby jurisdictions.
The third section of the report to focus on the Sheriff's Office acknowledged cost-cutting in the office, but suggested the department could save more.
It recommended tightening the use of take-home vehicles, reducing duplicate phones – desk and cell – for individual employees and putting civilians in some positions currently filled by sworn officers.
The civil grand jury is a body of citizens charged with looking into government operations.
The grand jury will present its full report to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
Elected officials who are served with reports have 60 days to respond. Non-elected officials have 90 days.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/19/3711022/grand-jury-critical-of-policies.html#ixzz1QDFz3dpw
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