[Santa Barbara] Grand Jury Report Outlines Concerns with Northern Branch Jail Design as Construction Delayed Again

New facility near Santa Maria won't be finished in May after all, but it's still expected to open this year

The construction completion date for the new Santa Barbara County jail has been pushed again, but the Sheriff’s Department still expects to start accepting inmates at the facility this summer.

The 376-bed Northern Branch Jail near Santa Maria is expected to finish construction between late June and August, then staff will have a training period and open it by September, Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Raquel Zick recently said.

Santa Barbara County has 90 days to occupy the space after construction is finished,

Chief Vincent Wasilewski, head of the Custody Operations Branch, has said the plan is to gradually start accepting inmates at the Santa Maria location, rather than sending everyone south to the Main Jail.

The aging Main Jail facility near Santa Barbara has been overcrowded for decades, until the novel coronavirus pandemic prompted the Sheriff’s Department to reduce bookings, grant early releases and take other measures to drop the inmate population to 568 as of last week — the lowest it’s been in 50-plus years.

Even if the new jail opened sooner, “we still wouldn’t be able to achieve the social distancing,” Zick said.

Main Jail inmates have been provided N-95 masks and cloth masks, as well as paper bags to store them in, she said. They are typically wearing them whenever they leave their housing units for programs or to use common areas.

Construction has been reportedly 98 percent completed on the new North County jail for several months now.

The county’s Civil Grand Jury issues a Detention Facilities report every year, and in February it visited the new jail as part of its investigation.

“The most noteworthy findings were the current overcrowding in the Main Jail, the significant schedule and cost overrun of the new Northern Branch Jail, a new proposed approach to inmate management for the new jail, the significant shortage of critical body scanning equipment in the facilities to address the drug contraband problem, the need for improved camera coverage, and serious sheriff and police staff shortages directly impacting public safety,” the Grand Jury report concluded.

Jurors took issue with some of the Northern Branch Jail’s design features, such as the lack of in-person visitation (only video booths are included) and small exercise areas.

“Considering the potentially long sentences for some inmates, these small enclosures are inadequate,” the Grand Jury wrote.

The Sheriff’s Department did not have transportation available for released inmates to leave the facility, which is 10 miles from the Santa Maria city center, the report said.

Zick said the Sheriff’s Department is not commenting on the report’s finding and recommendations until the official response to the Grand Jury is released.

Noozhawk
By Giana Magnoli, Noozhawk Managing Editor | @magnoli
May 15, 2020

Santa Barbara County Courts Slowly Expand Operations, Delay New Grand Jury

Citing the COVID-19 public health emergency, Santa Barbara County Superior Court officials will postpone swearing in a new civil grand jury until January and may not see jury trials return until mid-July.

Since Monday, activity at the Santa Maria, Lompoc and Santa Barbara court facilities has slowly started ramping up after limited operations for more than two months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anyone entering courts should expect to undergo a regular weapons screening and now a temperature check, with masks also required. The courts also have employed video and phone calls more frequently to reduce the number of people entering the buildings.

Presiding Judge Michael Carrozzo recently extended the statutory deadline for jury trials from June 16 to mid-July. Some could occur sooner, but the order gives the court authority to continue them for another 30 days, Court Executive Officer Darrel Parker said.

Among the post-COVID-19 challenges, court staff has worked to iron out complexities of bringing groups of potential jurors into the court facilities.

The local court cautiously has resumed civil, family law and probate matters by expanding the use of conference calling and video conferencing technology, Parker said. Matters scheduled but postponed during the court closure are now being rescheduled, and notices of new hearing dates are being sent.

Anyone with civil, family law and probate matters previously scheduled from May 26 through June 5 should plan on appearing for their court hearing by conference call. Hearings on or after June 8 will occur as planned, so the court doesn't intend to send notices to attorneys.

Court staff also has worked to reschedule hearing dates during the March 17 to May 22 closure with notices to be sent to self-represented parties and attorneys.

People with family support matters involving the Department of Child Support Services will receive notice of their rescheduled hearing and instructions for remote appearances from DCSS.

Updates can be found by looking up cases on the court website at www.sbcourts.org or calling the Court Clerk’s Office at 805.882.4520 in Santa Barbara and 805.614.6414 in Santa Maria..

The Superior Court Clerk’s Office will remain closed for in-person transactions until the state’s stay-at-home order is lifted fully, court officials said. However, staff can be reached by phone.

People with criminal or traffic matters who have missed their court date because of the closure will receive notification of a new date to appear or make payment, court staff said.

The grand jury delay decision came after court officials attempted to recruit new candidates during the public health emergency, leading Carrozzo to announce the decision to delay empaneling grand jurors. New grand jurors typically begin their terms in July, the start of the fiscal year.

A delay provides health protections for potential candidates with plans to interview interested applicants later this year, according to court staff.

It also allows the grand jury’s service to align with the term of the presiding judge and avoid having them deal with different judges in the future, Parker said.

The current Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury, a government watchdog panel, has served since July, with members to be relased once their term ends June 30.

“The members of the grand jury have done an outstanding job in investigating the use of tax dollars in Santa Barbara County. Their selfless dedication to the citizens of Santa Barbara County is greatly appreciated,” he said.

California law allows the Board of Supervisors to change a grand jury’s term to calendar year, actions that local court leaders will pursue in the coming months.

During the remainder of this year, court leaders said they will increase efforts to recruit grand jury applicants across all five supervisorial districts of Santa Barbara County. 

Qualified applicants must be a citizen of the United States, be older than age 18, a county resident for at least one year, of sound judgment with no felony convictions and possess sufficient knowledge of English.

Citizens interested in serving on the grand jury can find more information at www.sbcgj.org and www.sbcourts.org.

Nooozhawk – North County EditionBy Janene Scully, Noozhawk North County Editor | @JaneneScullyMay 29, 2020

[Humboldt County] Civil Grand Jury Issues Glowing Report on Local Prison Camps, Suggests Training Jail Inmates to Fight Fires

Exciting news for fans of public watchdogging! The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury has issued its first report of the year — an examination of the county’s two state conservation camps, where prison inmates are trained to fight wildfires.

The Civil Grand Jury, an independent body of 19 volunteer citizens, functions as an instrument of the state court system. Its duty: to investigate and report on the institutions of local government. That includes annual visits to all the places where residents get detained, such as county jails, juvenile halls and, here in Humboldt County, Sempervirens Psychiatric Health Facility and those two fire camps: High Rock Conservation Camp, near Weott, and Eel River Conservation Camp, near Redway.

The report characterizes these camps as models of rehabilitation where inmates learn job skills, gain self-respect and prepare to re-enter society as functional, employable citizens — all while providing the state with more than $100 million-worth of firefighting resources each year.

“The rehabilitative function of [these camps] is priceless,” the report reads. “Teamwork of the multi-ethnic crews fosters cooperation, co-existence, and responsibility, in stark contrast to the rigid racial divisions of state prison life.”

Not everyone holds such a high opinion of the fire camps. During California’s devastating 2018 wildfire season, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) attracted a good deal of scrutiny and criticism for paying inmates just $2 per day plus $1 per hour when they were actively fighting fires. (This Grand Jury report notes that the daily wage has increased to between $2.90 and $5.12 per day, depending on skill level and assignment.) Some have even gone so far as to characterize this practice as “slave labor.”

Investigations have also found that while inmates at these camps do learn valuable skills, they face significant barriers to employment once released. Many fire departments require firefighters to be a licensed EMTs, and as CNBC reported, EMT certifying boards typically reject applicants with criminal histories.

However, the Grand Jury report notes that prisoners volunteer to work at the camps, partly because doing so earns them reductions to their prison sentences. But that’s not all:

“Of greater value to the inmate are the knowledge, skills, and abilities they learn at the Camps, where inmates develop self-respect and self-discipline,” the report says. When they’re not fighting fires, these inmates provide conservation services for state parks, schools and county roadways; they donate firewood to seniors; they run a cabinet shop, turning out quality wood products such as cabinets, tables and chairs; they maintain vegetable gardens and more.

Plus, inmates can take drug and alcohol rehab classes, attend in religious services and study music appreciation “with access to guitars and keyboards for musical exploration and creativity.”

Still, the firefighting services are the camps’ mosts valuable contribution, the report suggests. “The communities they have saved have often called the inmate fire crews ‘Angels in Orange.’”

The Grand Jury report borrows that exalting nickname as the title of its report, and it says that if there’s a problem with these camps it’s that they’ve become “understaffed.” There simply aren’t enough inmates to fully stock the state’s compliment of firefighting hand crews. During the 2019 fire season, the report says, 18 crews from Northern California’s fire camps went unstaffed due to a shortage of qualified inmates.

What happened to all the qualified inmates? Well, thanks to California’s public safety realignment — a series of laws designed to achieve a court-ordered reduction in prison overcrowding — many would-be prisoners now serve their sentences in county jails. This Grand Jury report says jails “lack the rehabilitative benefits found in service at the camps.” Meanwhile, the Humboldt County Correctional Facility is often near or at capacity.

The Grand Jury report suggests that there might yet be a way to get these inmates involved with the fire camps.”As with many issues in life,” the report observes rather drolly, “it is complicated.”

In order to gain the full rehabilitative effects of the fire camps, an inmate should probably serve as “a productive member of a fire crew” for about a year, the report says. Problem is, most inmates at the Humboldt County Correctional Facility are serving terms of just a few months, while “[t]hose who are there for a longer time are usually still waiting for court dates or are not appropriate to be assigned to Camps, such as violent offenders.”

Regardless, the Grand Jury believes this is a goal worth pursuing. Among its recommendations is for the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office to coordinate with CDCR “to identify willing and qualified inmates for shorter work assignments that do not require extensive training.”

This, the Grand Jury argues, would be a better use of inmate labors than the current practice of assigning them to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program (SWAP) or roadside maintenance crews.

The law allows county sheriffs to transfer qualified inmates to the conservation camps, according to the report. “There seems to be an obvious nexus between a crowded [county jail] and the need for inmates at Conservation Camps,” it states.

The full report is well worth a read. The report concludes with a series of recommendations — among them, that the CDCR ask the state legislature to permit former inmates who’ve served at least a year in a Conservation Camp to earn an EMT certification.

The report also says the CDCR should maintain and publish better data on the camps and review its guidelines to ensure that the camps are being used to their full potential.

Lost Coast Outpost
RyanBurns
May 26, 2020

Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury Recommending Humboldt County Correctional Facility Invest More in Conservation (Fire) Camps for Inmates

The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury is recommending that the Humboldt County Correctional Facility and the California State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation invest more Conservation (fire) Camps - firefighting - to reintegrate more inmates into society after they are released.

The detailed report focuses on the goal of reducing recidivism and providing meaningful productive jobs for recently released inmates, siting that the county has underutilized this resource.

According to a press release sent by Jim Glover, the grand jury foreperson, the report, “details a lengthy investigation into the relationship between Conservation Camp rehabilitation, the Humboldt County Correctional Facility and efforts to more successfully reintegrate inmates into society after release.”

The grand jury has also made recommendations to the California State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation because Cal Fire depends on the services of inmates in the conservation camps throughout the year and especially during wildfire season.

Read the press release below.

The initial investigative report of the 2019-2020 Civil Grand Jury has just been released as of May 26, 2020. This report takes an intensive look at Conservation Camps located in Humboldt County.

The report, which will be available online on the Civil Grand Jury reports page of humboldtgov.org, details a lengthy investigation into the relationship between Conservation Camp rehabilitation, the Humboldt County Correctional Facility and efforts to more successfully reintegrate inmates into society after release.

Following incarceration, the goal of reducing recidivism and providing meaningful and productive job prospects for inmates is the focus of the report.

Since Cal Fire depends on the services of inmates in the Conservation Camps throughout the year, but especially during often volatile fire conditions, recommendations to the California State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are included. Subsequent reports will be released over the balance of the Spring and early Summer.

North Coast Journal

Posted By Iridian Casarez

May 25, 2020

[Santa Barbara] Grand jury report highlights concerns with Corner's Bureau facility

The Santa Barbara County grand jury recently released a report that claims the county Coroner’s Bureau facility should be replaced as soon as possible, stating that problems with the office pose health and safety risks for staff members and the public.

Among the issues, the report claims, is that all autopsies are completed in a single room. This is a problem because the building doesn’t have an isolation room to handle high-risk cases in which the spread of airborne pathogens is a possibility.

Past grand juries have noted that the building needed a new ventilation system to prevent pathogens from entering other parts of the building. The building received a new system in 2017, however, the system releases discharges from the building’s roof and isn’t monitored. This means pathogens could be released into the atmosphere, the report claims.

The report also raised concerns about staff members conducting autopsies on gurneys rather than on stainless steel tables.

“It was observed that the gurney used for the autopsy is cleaned by hand and drained by lifting and tilting the gurney in order to drain the residue into the sink in the autopsy room,” the report states.

Along with the infrastructure changes, the grand jury recommends that the county Board of Supervisors establish the county coroner position as a separate position from the county sheriff. Currently, Sheriff Bill Brown fills both roles.

According to the grand jury’s report, which was released on May 11, 40 other counties throughout the state also use this joint sheriff-coroner system. The remaining 17 counties have a medical examiner or somebody else solely serving in the position. The report claims the counties that operate under this joint system are not subject to the same mandatory state or national accreditation as those who use a different system.

“A medical-examiner model operates under more stringent regulations and must meet national accreditation and quality-assurance standards,” the report states.

Agencies identified in grand jury reports, which in this case include the Sheriff’s Office and the Board of Supervisors, have 60 and 90 days, respectively, to respond to the claims and recommendations listed in the document. Agencies can either fully or partially agree or disagree with the findings and state whether the jury’s recommendations will be implemented.

Earlier this year, the grand jury released a report that highlighted overcrowding and other problems within the county’s detention facilities.

Santa Maria Sun

BY ZAC EZZONE

May 27, 2020

[Placer County] Should unlimited winery/brewery events be allowed in rural residential neighborhoods?

Blog note: This article refers to recent Placer County Grand Jury Reports

Unless action is taken, Placer County is about to approve an egregious “Winery/Farm Brewery” Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) that will bring noise, traffic, tourists and other unacceptable impacts to rural residents.

Citizens are not opposed to agricultural operations of wineries and breweries. However, this ZTA was created by the wine/beer industry without addressing citizens’ legitimate concerns. The ZTA will allow wine/beer facilities to hold unlimited events (all day and evenings) that will infringe upon rural neighbors’ rights to enjoy their properties. It will allow commercial event activities, such as weddings, restaurants as “accessory uses” and what can become beer/wine “Happy Hours” disguised as “events” in residential ag and farm zones. Rural communities should not be subjected to increased tourist traffic to/from incompatible commercial wine/beer events on narrow, poorly lit, unfamiliar roads (especially after dark), nor increased road maintenance expenses.

Currently, at taxpayer expense, the county claims the sheriff will “assist” with winery/brewery complaints. However, law enforcement responses to complaints may be preempted by emergency calls. Recent grand jury reports cited the county’s notorious after-hours lack of code enforcement.

Another bitter pill is the likely decline in property values when located near or next to beer/wine bars in rural residential zones. Growing grapes or hops is a “Right to Farm” activity and having a wine/beer “tasting room” (functional equivalent of a “roadside stand”) is allowed. However, commercial events — public or private — are not agricultural operations and not covered by “Right to Farm.” Commercial events belong in commercial zones.

This ZTA is expected to be heard by county supervisors possibly in a few weeks in June. Urge them to (1) not adopt the Wine/Farm Brewery ZTA and (2) send it back for revisions by a task force composed of rural residents—the recipients of the impacts.

To read the Winery/Farm Brewery ZTA, go to https://www.placer.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/36152/Appendix-A_Proposed-Zoning-Text-Amendment-PDF?bidId= or https://tinyurl.com/y9pt59xj.

For more information, email Public Interest Coalition at public-interest@live.com. Marilyn Jasper, Chair, Public Interest Coalition P.O. Box 671 Loomis, CA 95650 or Public-Interest@live.com.

Gold Country Media

Marilyn Jasper, Loomis

May 25, 2020

[Humboldt County] Grand jury unsure of Humboldt's conservation camps' rehabilitative effectiveness

HUMBOLDT COUNTY, Calif. — The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury released a report on the county's conservation camps Monday, finding insufficient data is being collected and published to gauge their equitability and rehabilitative effectiveness.

The grand jury said it was unable to find any consistently reliable data for conservation camps, leaving them with important questions about the numbers of inmates at the camps, time inmates spend there, ages and ethnicity of inmates, inmate firefighters' injuries and fatalities and recidivism rates of camp versus institution inmates.

The grand jury maintains these are examples of data that should be tracked to validate the rehabilitative effectiveness of the conservation camp system, as well as to indicate where improvements can be made. The grand jury recommends the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation start a program to establish, maintain and publish this data by Jan. 1, 2021.

Among their other findings, the grand jury says it was impressed with the positive aspects of rehabilitation provided by the camps, as well as the great service they provide to the communities. It also found the camps to be understaffed by inmates due to changes in housing and sentencing guidelines which limit inmates to serve time in institutions lacking the rehabilitative benefits found in service at the camps.

The grand jury also found the camps to be well-maintained and well-managed, while providing great opportunities for rehabilitation where inmates learn job skills, develop self-discipline and gain self-respect. The camp crews also provide important firefighting forces during the state's expanding fire season and community services during the non-fire season, according to the grand jury.

Specifically, the grand jury inspected the Humboldt County Correctional Facility, Humboldt County Juvenile Hall, Northern California Regional Center, High Rock Conservation Camp, Eel River Conservation Camp and Sempervirens Psychiatric Health Facility to compile their report.

By Andy Kraus

KRCR News

May 25, 2020

[Kern County] Grand jury: KCSO not processing some arrest warrants in timely manner

The 2019-2020 Kern County grand jury found the Kern County Sheriff’s Office was not processing some arrest warrants in a timely manner and has made a series of recommendations to KCSO, according to a news release from the grand jury.

The recommendations the grand jury made to KCSO to be completed in fiscal year 2020 include:

• Improving direct supervision at substations to ensure timely service of warrants and for KCSO substation supervisors to receive training regarding Criminal Justice Information Services and California Law Enforcement Telecommunication System.
• Providing formal training courses where tasks and goals are clearly outlined for sheriff support technicians and substation supervisors.
• Sheriff support technicians meeting quarterly to receive updated training, and discuss problems and solutions.
• Sheriff support technicians adjusting their work schedule to ensure last-minute warrants are processed for service.
• Having a backup sheriff support technician to act as a floater to cover absent technicians and ensure timely warrant processing.
• Setting up a tracking system or oversight procedure to ensure warrants are served in a timely manner.

The grand jury initiated an investigation after receiving a citizen complaint regarding KCSO’s handling and assignment of arrest warrants. Unannounced visits to various KCSO substations and personnel interviews were conducted to determine if there was basis to the complaint.

The jury met with several KCSO supervisors and sheriff support technicians to learn how warrants make their way from the issuing judge to the target listed on the warrant, according to the news release.

The grand jury found that a lack of trained supervision can result in warrants not being served for weeks or months, along with violations of DOJ secondary verification requirements, according to the news release. It was also found that the current sheriff support technician’s training method results in poor habits being passed on and a lack of consistency.

It was also found that there is no urgency to issue warrants in a timely manner, according to the news release.

“Without timely entry into (the California Law Enforcement Telecommunication System) and (the National Crime Information Center), other law enforcement agencies may not know an individual has an outstanding felony or misdemeanor warrant,” said the grand jury in the news release.

It was also found that warrants may be issued at any time, however, the sheriff support technician may search for Criminal Justice Information Services notifications at random times throughout the day, the news release said.

“If a warrant is issued late in the day, it may wait until the next day or longer to be assigned,” said the grand jury in its news release.

It was also found that there is no coverage for sick or vacationing sheriff support technicians, which could result in warrants going days or weeks without being assigned to a deputy.

The Bakersfield Californian
May 21, 2020

Nevada County grand jury: juvenile hall is being transformed

Despite previous grand jury recommendations (2015-16 and 2017-18) to close the Carl F. Bryan II Juvenile Hall, the 2019-20 grand jury has released a report, “The Transformation of Juvenile Hall,” detailing how “the Nevada County Probation Department has worked toward repurposing Juvenile Hall to reduce the costs of juvenile detention and to ameliorate other unsolved problems in the community.”

In light of the two previous negative reports, “I really appreciate that they (grand jury) came back with a new report,” said Supervisor Heidi Hall, chairwoman of the Nevada County Board of Supervisors.

She said a workgroup comprised of the Probation, Sheriff’s, County Executive, County Counsel, Public Defender, Behavioral Health and Health and Human Services offices came up with the “best options” for the juvenile hall.

“I think they came up with a good solution,” said Hall, whose district includes the juvenile hall. The youth detention facility is located less than a half mile from the Nevada County Jail and the Eric Rood Administrative Center on Highway 49.

Carl F. Bryan II currently houses juvenile and transitional age youth (TAY) offenders. Juvenile offenders are under 18 and TAY offenders are 18-25 years old.

The report, released last week, shows how and why juvenile detention costs have been reduced, and can be reduced, by cost-sharing with the Nevada County Dispatch Center and the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools. Additional funds are derived from housing juvenile and TAY detainees from other counties.

Also, under the direction of Chief Probation Officer Michael Ertola, plans are under consideration to expand the juvenile hall to a less stigmatized “youth facility.” The 4-H Club of Nevada County has already contracted to use space for one of its clubs to work with juvenile and TAY detainees, according to the grand jury.

Because of a dramatic, national decrease in juvenile crime and the rise of alternative sentencing options, the Nevada County juvenile hall is underpopulated. Therefore, the grand jury reported “the county has entered into contracts with Plumas, Sierra, Calaveras, El Dorado, Inyo, Modoc, and Lassen Counties to house those counties’ juvenile detainees.

Hall said out-of-county detainees will benefit from Nevada County’s high-quality programs. Also, the juvenile hall needs the fees charged to confine out-of-county offenders.

‘A BETTER DEAL’

The Nevada County Dispatch Center will be relocated from the Nevada County Jail to the former administrative offices of the juvenile hall.

According to the report, “The space (at the jail) was small, cramped, crowded and uninviting, lacking a kitchen or break room, adequate restrooms or even windows. The new space at Juvenile Hall corrects all of those problems.”

Moving the dispatch center “frees up space in the jail for mental health,” Hall said. “It’s a better deal all the way around.”

The report adds, “The new dispatch offices may be complete by the end of 2020.”

The Earle Jamieson alternative education program for expelled and truant students, and those on probation, might be moved to the juvenile hall. It would be co-located with the existing Sugarloaf Mountain School for incarcerated youth, the report noted.

Although the 2019-20 juvenile hall report does not go into great financial detail, it said the annual cost of running the youth detention center in recent years was “in excess of $3 million.”

In the 2019-20 fiscal year, the budget for the juvenile hall is $2,468,960. Furthermore, “that figure does not reflect the future effects of spreading costs to dispatch and other county programs,” the report states.

However, “The fiscal effects of that repurposing will not be seen until next year at the earliest,” the report states.

The 2019-19 grand jury reaffirmed previous findings that “The county believes the benefit to house Nevada County youth locally in our therapeutic rich and proven environment … supersedes the cost benefit philosophy.”

“Yes, it’s expensive,” Hall conceded, but, “It’s a very good plan.” She added the COVID-19 pandemic is going to force the county to reassess its entire budget.

The Nevada County Union
Tom Durkin, Staff
May 21, 2020

Santa Barbara Grand Jury Looks to De-hyphenate Sheriff- Coroner

The Santa Barbara Grand Jury issued a report calling for the removal of the Coroner’s Bureau from the jurisdiction purview of the county Sheriff’s Office, under whose auspices it has functioned since 1947. The Grand Jury, which has issued four reports critical of the coroner’s infrastructure in the past 10 years, argued the separation would eliminate the potential for conflicts of interest. It also argued that the new bureau, once separated, would be required to operate under a higher level of technical standards and requirements than now apply.
In previous reports, the grand juries have faulted the coroner’s digs as being too small, improvised, and hodgepodge to be operated in as safe a manner as it should. For example, the Grand Jury said the new ventilation system — installed at the recommendation of a prior grand jury — lacks the safeguards necessary to ensure no airborne pathogens from bodies being worked upon or any chemicals used being released into the atmosphere.

Likewise, it found that the offices were too small and there was only one autopsy room and no isolation room for high-risk cases.

In addition, it found that the residue from autopsies was drained into a sink and discharged into the sewage system. Instead, the jury argued, it should be trapped and segregated as a biological hazardous waste — and likewise for the soap and water used to clean off the surgical devices, which the jury found require a higher degree of sterilization.

Lieutenant Erik Raney noted that the air-filtration unit — which the jury found sucks the cooler air provided by the morgue’s air-conditioning unit and emits it outdoors — contains a HEPA filtration system to prevent the spread of noxious chemicals. Other than that, Raney said, the department would prepare a more detailed response to all of the points raised by the Grand Jury at a later date.

Every year, about 3,000 people die within Santa Barbara County, about half of whom succumb to natural causes. The Coroner’s Bureau conducts investigations into about 700- 800 deaths a year and performs autopsies on about 150. In all but 17 counties, the sheriff and coroner are one and the same. If that were changed as the Grand Jury has suggested, the Grand Jury has recommended it happen at the end of Sheriff Bill Brown’s term of office.

In recent years, there’s been growing interest to separate the two offices in reduce the potential for conflicts of interest. A bill to that effect was sent to then Governor Jerry Brown, who vetoed it.

The Independent
By Nick Welch
May 20, 2020

[Marin] County's Cybersecurity Faulted in Grand Jury Report

Marin’s county and municipal governments should do more to protect themselves from cyberattacks, according to a new report by the Marin County Civil Grand Jury.

The county government lost almost $250,000 in a wire fraud scheme in 2018, and its computer network was breached at least five times in the past three years, the report says.

The grand jury also noted that more than half of Marin’s 11 cities and towns have fallen victim to financial fraud and network breaches, including Corte Madera, Fairfax, Larkspur, Novato, Sausalito and Tiburon. Most of those incidents were not reported to the public.

After the 2018 scheme, which targeted Marin County’s finance department, the county implemented new practices to fortify its network security, the grand jury said. The county “now has a well-developed approach to cybersecurity and a robust architecture and strategyfor avoiding attacks,” the report says.

However, it adds, “There is more that the county government can do to ensure the security of its systems.”

The report says common cyberbreaches include ransomware attacks, when a hacker crashes a computer system and demands money to restore it, and phishing, when a hacker sends     a message designed to trick the recipient into giving out a password or other sensitive information. Stolen passwords can be used to steal private data or disrupt a computer system.

Such attacks have the potential to cost taxpayers millions of dollars, and Marin’s governments should strengthen their online security measures in order to prevent them, the report says. An attack on the municipal government’s computer network in Baltimore last year cost the city an estimated $18 million, the grand jury noted. Small towns can be at an even greater risk.

“Hackers know that smaller municipalities can be easy targets because of inadequate network protections and spotty adherence to best cybersecurity practices,” the report says.

The grand jury urged Marin County to take a lead role in sharing cybersecurity tips with the cities and towns. The report suggests that each municipality hold an annual discussion about its security measures, and when a breach occurs, it should be announced publicly.

Marin’s government agencies should also share cybersecurity services to keep costs low, it says.

Marin County’s technology specialists regularly meet with representatives from other California counties to share cybersecurity practices and protocols, said Jason Balderama, the county’s chief information security officer.

“Marin is certainly open to expand our information sharing with the cities and towns,” he said.

The report suggests that municipalities adopt several security practices, including requiring strong passwords that must be frequently changed, regularly backing up data and installing antivirus  software.

With many municipal employees working remotely during the coronavirus pandemic, it’s become a crucial time for governments to focus on cybersecurity, said Corte Madera Mayor Eli Beckman.

“A lot of vulnerabilities come up when you’ve got workers trying to access a system remotely,” he said.

According to the grand jury report, a hacker disabled Corte Madera’s computer network in 2019 during a brief moment when the town’s firewall had been intentionally turned off for a system update. No ransom was paid, according to the report, but the system had to be restored from a backup.

Cybersecurity is “a constantly evolving thing that we’re always working on,” Beckman said. “It’s an integral part of good governance in the 21st century.”

The civil grand jury, an independent investigative panel empowered by the local judiciary,  posts its reports online.

techwire.net/news/countys-cybersecurity-faulted-in-grand-jury-report.html
(c)2020 The Marin Independent Journal.
May 18,2020

New Santa Barbara County Grand Jury Report Calls Coroner's Facilities Inadequate

A new Santa Barbara County Grand Jury report says the county still hasn’t properly dealt with an inadequate and unsafe Coroner’s Bureau facility.

The Bureau conducts more than 700 death investigations a year. It operates out of a facility built more than 30 years ago.

The Grand Jury says while it might have met national standards in the 1980s, it doesn’t now. Multiple past Grand Jury reports have called for a new facility.

The report asserts the building has a questionable ventilation system. It also claims that residue from autopsies is washed down drains into the sewer system, instead of being treated as hazardous waste. And, it says a stainless steel dissecting table with proper drainage is needed to replace the gurneys used now.

The report also calls for the Coroner’s position be separated from the Sheriff’s post when the current Sheriff-Coroner’s term expires.

The county has taken some steps in the past to address specific issues, but a total replacement of the facility was deemed to be too expensive.

KCLU
Lance Orozco
May 15, 2020