Sutter County grand jury: Jail practices fall short

By Eric Vodden/Appeal-Democrat Reporter -

Policies for monitoring inmates in Sutter County Jail sobering cells have not been consistently followed and training on those policies has been inadequate, the 2012-13 grand jury has determined.

The jury said it toured the jail last November "in part" due to a 2011 death in a sobering cell at the jail. A Yuba City woman, arrested in September 2011, on suspicion of being drunk in public, was found dead in the cell after being kept there 28 hours.

In its final report released Friday, the jury noted a lack of training and inconsistent practices in monitoring inmates under the influence of alcohol or drugs in the holding cells.

The jury also found sobering cell procedures "have not been consistently followed and training on the policies and procedures is inadequate."

"Management has not implemented new practices to prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future," it said. "In order to make appropriate decisions, annual training on the policies and procedures and strict adherence to the policies are recommended."

Sutter County Sheriff J. Paul Parker said his department has already filed a formal response to the report, but it was not available Friday afternoon.

"As with all grand jury reports, there are parts we agree with and parts we don't agree with," Parker said. "On some of the issues, there is always room for improvement and we are always trying to improve."

He took issue with the jury's claim about the lack of training.

"We just did training on the policies and procedures of the jail," Parker said. "It's not always ongoing and roll call training, but every officer when he comes in is schooled greatly in weeks long training.

"That said, there is always room for improvement on some of their recommendations," he said.

The report states "there are inconsistent practices among jail shifts during the 30-minute checks on inmates in the sobering cell who appear to be sleeping or cannot be verbally aroused." It also maintains that some jail staff "are not thoroughly familiar with the policies regarding the sobering cell..."

Included among jail recommendations are tighter enforcement of procedures requiring officers to attempt physical arousal during 30-minute checks if inmates don't respond. It also recommends that staff receive training on policies and procedures annually.

Other jury recommendations

• Approving a series of measures to improve maintenance and operation of the county vehicle fleet, including a standard check-out, check-in procedure.

• Requiring all county departments follow generally accepted accounting practices. The auditor-controller should also be assigned responsibility for conducting internal audits, the jury said.

• Including emergency procedures for a slow-rise flood in the comprehensive emergency plan for the Feather River Academy.

• Developing effective marketing strategies to increase community awareness of the rental availability of Ettl Hall at the Community Memorial Museum.