In its first report of the
year, a citizens watchdog panel turned its attention to government agency
follow-through on community issues in past years.
The 2021–22 Santa Cruz
County Civil Grand Jury on Tuesday released “Honoring Commitments to the
Public.” The volunteer-powered investigation looked back on three of the
2018-19 grand jury panel’s reports, including those involving investigations
into library user privacy issues, probation officer field safety and public
defense. The analysis of agencies’ continued commitment to public concerns was
largely glowing in its praise, taking issue only with Santa Cruz County’s
perceived handling of alternate public defense law firm contacts.
The report’s findings were
that:
• Santa Cruz Public
Library patrons “can trust that their personal information is no longer at
risk;”
• Santa Cruz County
Probation Department officers are “better equipped and safer in carrying out
their important work;”
• Santa Cruz County has
replaced a “long-standing and unwieldy contract” with private-sector attorneys
with a dedicated Public Defender’s Office.
“Perhaps the most telling
and positive outcome from this Grand Jury report is the County’s recent
decision to create and appoint a Public Defender to provide these vital
publicly funded services,” the report states.
Meanwhile, the grand jury
highlights some concerns with the county’s continued use of separate contacts
with defense law firms needed when a conflict arises with the main Public
Defender’s Office. Namely, the report asserts that the conflict attorneys are
being allowed free use of county office space in Watsonville without contract
and may be being reimbursed for expenses outside their agreements.
In a response to a
Sentinel inquiry, county spokesperson Jason Hoppin questioned the accuracy of
the report. Citing a March 6 Board of Supervisors agenda report, Hoppin said
the conflict attorneys were moving out of the Watsonville space and that the
county has a new $2.2 million conflicts defense contract in place, effective
July 1.
The complete grand jury
report, including past and future investigations, are posted online at
scgrandjury.org.
By Jessica A. York
May 17, 2022
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