|
Contact
Us
|
|
|
|
Information:
|
(415)
554-7225 |
| |
|
|
|
CONGRATULATIONS
to
Our New Hires and to Our
Retirees:
New
Hires:
Cadet Ryan
Aguas
Cadet Jazmin
Aguirre
Cadet Ferran
Anderson
Cadet
Victoria Avarez-Im
Cadet Shannon
Beard
Cadet Charmaine
Benitez
Cadet Emare
Butler
Cadet
Jeanette Canstanza
Cadet Kenneth
Deng
Cadet Yrwin
Factoran
Cadet Jason
Jeung
Cadet Elvira
Flores-Jimenez
Cadet Marc
Jimenez
Cadet Charles
Hegarty
Cadet Alex
Jayson
Cadet
Humair Khan
Cadet
Johnny Li
Cadet
Steven Lu
Cadet
Anthoni Nguyen
Cadet
April Palencia
Cadet
Vanessa Perez
Cadet
Leidemar Pescador
Cadet Francisco
Ruiz
Cadet Devin
Smith
Cadet David
Soto
Cadet Ashley
Trevizo
Cadet Marc
Untalan
Keiko
Fukuma
Clerk
Damon
Holmes
Stationary
Engineer
Shani Jones
Fingerprint Techician
Jessica
Rogers
Fingerprint
Technician
Promotions:
Lieutenant John
Caramucci
Lieutenant Brian
Krol
Lieutenant David
Murphy
Lieutenant James
Quanico
Sergeant Fabian
Brown
Sergeant Philip
Judson
Sergeant Tiffany
Martin
Sergeant Sara
O'Malley
Sergeant Scott
Roth
Sergeant Robert
Ward
Sergeant Alvin
Young
Sergeant
Alisa Zehner
Deputy Lawrence Hom
Senior Deputy Mayorga
Deputy Mark Morrison
Sergeant Derrick
Pressley |
|
©
2016
San
Francisco
Sheriff's
Department
|
| |
|
A
Message from Sheriff
Vicki
Hennessy
Welcome to the consolidated May, June, July
and August issue of the San Francisco Sheriff's
Department Newsletter. As I mentioned in
the April Newsletter we lost our public
information officer to a cross country move -
hence the reason for the four-month issue.
The good news is that we have identified a
replacement who we hope to hire and introduce in
the next newsletter.
This newsletter recounts the good work by
Deputy Rosado, who, while off-duty, called 911
to report a man with a gun and then assisted the
responding police sergeant in apprehending him.
Even though he was ordered to stop, the suspect
moved toward the sergeant, but Deputy Rosado was
able to position himself in order to stop the
suspect and effect his capture. He did so
quickly and effectively, exhibiting the best
attributes of a peace officer who runs to help
when needed.
Officers who "run to help" are the subject
of an article about the California Peace
Officer's Memorial enrollment ceremony that took
place on May 2nd, honoring five officers killed
in the line of duty. This event was held prior
to the recent upsurge in deaths of peace
officers around the country. News coverage of
the two police officers and a deputy sheriff who
died in an ambush in Baton Rouge on Sunday
morning, July 17th, included a particularly
poignant Facebook posting by one of the
officers, Montrell Jackson. In it, he expressed
how physically and emotionally drained he had
felt as an African American peace officer since
protests had erupted in his city after the July
5th killing of Alton Sterling by police.
His post included this plea, "...These are
trying times. Please don't let hate infect
your heart."
Hate is far from the heart of the Sheriff's
Department Religious Services Coordinator,
Yolanda Robinson. In fact, love is her
message. Soon after I took office, Ms.
Robinson invited me to meet with her many
volunteers, who represent a wide variety of
religious organizations. It was at this
meeting that she relayed the story you will read
in this issue about what led her to develop
Prayer at the Gate. She had a vision and
was able to put it into practice. By all
accounts, Prayer at the Gate has been a success
story for the spirit and the soul.
Voting is good for the soul and good for
the civic spirit! Leading up to the June
7th primary election, our Prisoner Legal
Services again launched the Inmate Voter
Program. Some years ago, PLS assumed
responsibility for identifying eligible
prisoners and helping them register to vote. PLS
staff facilitate the delivery of absentee
ballots and enhance the voting experience by
providing voter information guides so each
eligible prisoner can make an educated selection
for candidates and ballot measures. Voting has
been identified as an activity that contributes
to an individual's success in reentering the
community after incarceration.
Perhaps the most important factor in
successful reentry is connection to family. Many
people inside the jails have children and even
grandchildren, but too often they get lost in
the shuffle as their parents' cases are
adjudicated. To remedy this, the Sheriff's
Department is fortunate to have the services of
two exceptional organizations, One Family and
the Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice
(CJCJ), who facilitate activities that support
family unity and address the needs of children
of incarcerated parents. On Father's Day,
One Family hosted a visiting event at County
Jail #5 for 46 fathers and 72 children that
featured a mac-and-cheese lunch and many
kid-friendly activities. Sometimes, though,
child-parent visiting addresses a sadder event.
This edition of the Newsletter includes
the story of a "goodbye" visit, facilitated by
CJCJ. These visits are designed to prepare
children for a parent's transfer to state prison
and long term incarceration. Making sure that
the children of incarcerated people have an
opportunity to bond and plant seeds for the
future aids in reducing recidivism by adding the
incentives of family contact. These
programs are supported by the San Francisco
Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership.
To learn more about the work of SFCIPP,
check out their website at http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001Du2U_9VXRcsZ2mRvDf-h7skZo3w4Hl0wH6poVvpVVdMDvT1x8pV-lrKHrGoU8x5rDbmIW_GL-vZvaL1sfSgWJP_KW0dIMqF9yEDMzIsGuEPTTlhwXF_RzHaRo4unyBeC4G1TUXw3xPIoCXDFrDKgEMfu3UKgcV-UCaTJo8idRaI=&c=&ch=I was sworn into office on January 8th and
I cannot believe that it is already the middle
of August! I have been working hard with
my staff on a number of important initiatives to
improve our department services, reemphasize
expectations for staff and begin laying the
groundwork to ensure transparency in our
reporting out. The following efforts are
ongoing:
- A professional audit of our Internal Affairs
Unit is tasked with identifying gaps in
procedure and practice as well as recommending
improved resources. This undertaking also
involves bringing the investigative software up
to date to improve our ability to report out on
a regular basis dispositions of complaints.
- We recently renegotiated a contract with our
inmate phone providers that resulted in a
reduction of costs for all calls. Local
calls now cost 14 cents per minute, with no
surcharges added. This makes our phone
rates the lowest in the Bay Area.
- Immediately upon taking office I began
working closely with the Transgender Law Center
to ensure our TGI (Trans Gender-Gender
Variant-Intersex) inmates would have the
opportunity to express a preference in housing
for consideration during the classification
process. This turned out to be much more
complicated than I had imagined, and is taking
much more time than I would like. The
policy and training program are still under
construction as we work with members of the
community, the Human Rights Commission, and
members of our staff toward
implementation. For more information, click
here to download a letter I sent to
Supervisors Kim and Campos outlining some of our
progress and our goals: And, here,
you can read my training bulletin and memo to
staff on TGI policy changes that will be coming
soon.
- We worked very hard with the Mayor's Office
this year to craft a budget for the Sheriff's
Department that includes a much-needed boost in
hiring. No doubt some of you have read
that the City and County employee who earned the
most money in the last fiscal year was a deputy
for the San Francisco Sheriff's Department. This
was a direct result of our need to use employees
on overtime - and, too often, involuntary
overtime -- to fulfill our core functions. Our
Fiscal Year 2016-17 budget will allow us to
begin filling vacancies that accumulated over
the past several years. Details may be found here.
- The new budget also provides funds for the
Department to introduce body cameras as a pilot
project at County Jail #4. The policy is
currently under review, as is a schedule that
includes training, implementation, and metrics
for evaluating effectiveness.
- Another budget ask was to ensure adequate
continuing training for line staff, supervisors
and management in Crisis Intervention, Implicit
Bias, Supervision, Management and Leadership. As
we look at all the training necessary, we are
developing a strategic plan that will provide
direction over the next few years.
- We are implementing several
self-audits. A short description of the
Custody Division Self Audit is included in this
newsletter. Along with the Internal
Affairs Unit audit, we are also pursuing an
audit of our Technical Services Unit to provide
some recommendations regarding staffing, span of
control, data input and extraction for
reporting, and needed resources. We hope
to have the city's Controller's Office assist us
in this endeavor in the next six
months.
If there are any subjects you would like to
propose for a future edition of the Newsletter,
please feel free to email us at: mailto:sheriff@sfgov.org |
|
Off
Duty Deputy Sheriff Diffuses Dangerous
Encounter
On
a February evening, off-duty Deputy Ronald
Rosado parked his car on Geary Boulevard
and 19th Avenue and was reaching into the trunk
to get his backpack when he heard a man walking
behind him utter racial epithets and angry
threats to shoot certain individuals. As Deputy
Rosado turned to look at him, he noticed what
appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun tucked
into the front of his waistband. He dialed
911 to
report a man with a gun, and maintained a
running conversation with the dispatcher as he
followed the man across the street, staying a
safe distance from him, until police
arrived.
Deputy
Rosado pointed to the man, by now crouching
between two cars, and shouted a warning to the
responding San Francisco Police Sergeant that he
had a gun. The sergeant drew her firearm and
ordered the man to raise his hands. He raised
his hands but advanced toward the sergeant,
ignoring her repeated warnings to stop. As the
man continued to move toward her, Rosado
positioned himself to the right of him, and
swiftly applied a bar arm takedown to bring the
man to the ground, where Rosado used the
sergeant's handcuffs to restrain him.
As
the sergeant maintained control of the man,
Rosado noticed another man approaching her. He
was highly intoxicated and refused Rosado's
orders to step away. Rosado pushed him away to
prevent him from interfering with the
arrest.
Searching
the area around the man, he located the handgun,
which was later identified as a spring-loaded
pellet gun, as well as a small baton, both of
which could have been used to inflict injury on
the responding officers and passers-by.
According
to the supervising SFPD lieutenant's report,
commending him on a job well done, Deputy Rosado
"prevented a possible violent incident that was
soon to take
place." |
|
California
Peace Officers'
Memorial
On
Monday, May 2, members of the Honor Guard
represented the San Francisco Sheriff's
Department in the 40th Annual California Peace
Officers' Memorial enrollment
ceremony in Sacramento. In the shadows of the
State Capital, five law enforcement officers who
tragically lost their lives in the line of duty
were remembered for their bravery and courage.
The names are as
follows:
Officer
Michael Johnson-San Jose Police
Department;
Officer
David Nelson-Bakersfield Police
Department;
Sergeant
Scott Lunger-Hayward Police
Department;
Officer
Bryce Hanes-San Bernardino Police Department;
and,
Officer
William Waggoner-Long Beach Police
Department
Hayward
Police Chief Diane Urban gave the keynote
address to four thousand attendees. She quoted
the poet John Donne in reminding us that we are
all part of the larger community, not just our
city or community:
"No man is an
island, entire unto itself.
Every
man is a part of the continent, a piece of the
main...
Every
man's death diminishes me, because I am part of
all mankind...
Therefore,
never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it
tolls for thee."
Chief
Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, of the California
Supreme Court, recalled the words of our
national anthem in eulogizing the five officers,
saying they gave their lives so each and every
one of us can live in this land of the free and
home of the brave. She urged all law enforcement
officers to live up to the public trust invested
in each of us.
The
California Peace Officers' Memorial is composed
of three bronze figures, each nine feet tall,
that represent an 1800's county sheriff, a
1930's state trooper and a 1980's police
officer. These three figures look down on a
life-sized figure of a woman comforting a child
sitting on a bench, representing the grief-torn
families left behind in tragedy. 1400 names
appear on the memorial.
|
|
Getting
out the Vote from the Inside
The
Prisoner Legal Services unit of the San
Francisco Sheriff's Department provided 411
inmates with voter services for the June 7th,
2016, primary election through its Inmate Voter
Program. In the last four years, the Inmate
Voter Program has served over 2,000 prisoners,
with a confirmed participation rate of 62.5% in
the November 2015 local election.
The
Inmate Voter Program's mission is to provide
eligible inmates with a meaningful opportunity
for their voice to be heard about the issues
that matter to them. The program assists inmates
eligible to vote with the voter registration
process and secures their vote-by-mail ballots,
enabling them to cast their votes. The program
provides inmates with access to vital voter
information by supplying them with non-partisan
voter information guides and campaign
literature.
To
achieve its mission, the Inmate Voter Program
extends an invitation to all candidates and
contests registered with the Department of
Elections to provide their campaign
materials. Achieving this mission requires
an extraordinary amount of work and dedication,
and could not be accomplished without the
efforts of the Department's Prisoner Legal
Services staff, their partnership with the San
Francisco Department of Elections, and the
Department's sworn and civilian
personnel. |
|
Five
Keys Charter School, June Graduation
Season
Families and
friends gathered to celebrate the achievements
of fifteen in-custody graduates and eighty-one
community graduates at the Sheriff's
Department's Five Keys Charter School graduation
ceremonies in June. Keynote speaker Emon Shivers
told the in-custody graduates that his
incarceration turned out to be his rescue
because it enabled him to complete high school
and begin a new chapter in his life. Danesha
Bishop inspired the community graduates with her
story of overcoming the obstacles of the foster
care system and frequent stints in juvenile
hall. Congratulations to the Five Keys class of
2016! |
|
A
Special Goodbye
After what seemed like a longer week than
usual, Friday finally arrived. Eva, the
ten-year-old child of an incarcerated parent,
was going to jail to say goodbye to her Dad. She
was sad and upset because, after six years of
visiting her dad weekly, everything was
changing. Her father was going away to
prison.
The visit started like any other, with Eva
and Dad coloring pictures together. Then, Dad
presented Eva with a journal and explained to
her that she could use it to write down her
thoughts and feelings about his being away, and
she could note the events in her life she wanted
to be sure to share with him during their phone
calls. Eva took to the journal immediately and
decided to her first entry would be a list of
their favorite songs, which they hummed together
as she wrote. Then Dad wrote a special message
for her to read after she got home.
A photo of Dad and Eva was taken so she
would have a tangible memory of this day. Over
the years he had been incarcerated, they had
taken a photo every Christmas, and now, they
reminisced about them. Then it was time to move
to a more emotional discussion. Dad explained to
Eva that he would not be able to see her for a
while because he was moving from the jail to
state prison, and he would be there for two
years. He told her she could still come to visit
him, but not as often, and only after Gram was
given permission. He finished by telling her
that after his time in prison was over, he would
come home and they could do things
together.
Emotions grew, and Eva opened her journal
once more and wrote a word and showed it to Dad.
"Happy," it read. "I'm excited you'll come back
home," she said, "and stay overnight with Gram
and me."
At the end
of their visit, they said their usual prayer and
hugged tightly.
Research shows that children who are
supported while experiencing the incarceration
of a parent are more likely to feel valued.
Family visits, like Eva's visit with Dad, play a
crucial role in helping children cope with the
absence of their parent.
Goodbye visits are coordinated by the
Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice, whose
manager, Maire Larkin, is committed to preparing
children for their opportunity to say, "see you
next time, Dad." Working with Eva, she knew the
girl required help sorting out her emotions, so
she purchased the journal for Dad to give his
daughter.
Captain Miyamoto, facility commander of
County Jail #4, says, "The 'good bye'
visit is an extension of our one-on-one weekly
visits, and a natural progression to account for
best preparing the child to accept changes when
the parent leaves. Providing the chance
for a healthy farewell helps support and affirm
the parent-child bond, something positive we can
bring to the negatives of
incarceration."
For Dinky
Manek Enty, fulfilling the needs of children of
incarcerated parents has been her life's
work. Of Eva's goodbye visit with Dad, she
says, "These moments make my work worth it. The
lasting impact our team's efforts had with this
child and family is the reason I joined the
field." |
|
County
Jail #5 Father's Day Event
On
June 18th, One Family, in collaboration with the
San Francisco Sheriff's Department, hosted a
Father's Day celebration for the fathers
incarcerated at County Jail #5. The turn-out was
tremendous. 46 fathers and 72 children were
celebrated with macaroni and cheese, from
Homeroom in Oakland, brownies and Capri-Suns.
The event also featured a Father's Day card
making/coloring station, toys and games, viewing
of the movie, The Sandlot, and photo
booths for the children to take pictures with
their fathers. Each dad was honored with an
official "World's Best Dad" certificate. Their
children were very proud of their fathers and
gave thunderous applause as each dad received
their certificate. The fathers left the event
feeling celebrated and
appreciated. |
|
Custody
Self Audit
On
February 20, 2016, the Santa Clara County Blue
Ribbon Commission released a report entitled
Jail Conditions: Inmate, Staff & Family
Perspectives. This report took months
to prepare, used the services of over a dozen
attorneys, and included close to a thousand
interviews of inmates, jail staff, and inmate
families. The result of this report was to
identify ten (10) major issues that negatively
impacted jail operations in the Santa Clara
County Jail system. These issues included;
- Lack
of confidence in the grievance process
- Complaints
regarding gaps between policy and practice
- Delays
and deficiencies in medical care
- Problems
with hygiene and sanitation
- Insufficient
and inconsistent out of cell time
- Lack
of transparency in classification and
discipline
- Differences
in inmates serving state prison time versus
county time
- Understaffing
and poor staff morale
- Perception
by inmates and families that staff members are
not accountable for their actions
- Inmate
lack of knowledge about the Inmate Welfare Fund
(IWF)
While
we don't think our jail system shares all of the
same problems, the Custody Operations Division
has started a "self-audit" of our correctional
practices to see if we need improvement in any
of the areas identified above. The process began
with a meeting held on 6/23/16 including the
Undersheriff, the Chief of the Custody
Operations Division, all Facility Commanders,
Classification, and Custody Administration. In
future it will include meetings with medical
staff, PLS, and other involved parties.
The goal of this
exercise is to look at what our practices are in
comparison with what was identified as
problematic in the Santa Clara County report.
Each identified issue was assigned to an
individual staff member who will report back to
the larger group for discussion, identification
of problems, and possible corrective
measures.
The
department looks forward to finding out how we
are doing on these issues, and will discuss the
reports in future issues of the Sheriff's
Newsletter. |
|
PRAYER
AT THE GATE
When we think of the role of the
Sheriff's Department's Religious
Services
Coordinator, we think of providing
opportunities for prayer and worship to
prisoners, but a conversation with the mother of
a prisoner facing a possible life sentence
inspired Religious Services Coordinator Yolanda
Robinson to expand that definition.
The mother, who visited her son
regularly, told Yolanda that she wished there
was someone at the jail on visiting days to pray
with and support her. As a woman who was always
counted on to be the rock of her family, she was
the one who took care of everyone else and
prayed for everyone else. But when it came to
her own need for support, she felt that no one
in her family or her church community could
truly understand the stress and sadness of
having a loved one in jail.
Yolanda brought the mother's story to
her network of dedicated faith-based
organizations, with whom she has worked for
years to provide counseling, guidance and
spiritual support to inmates. Together, they
created Prayer at the Gate, a
twice-monthly gathering of representatives from
15 different faiths who welcome families and
friends of prisoners in County Jail #5 in San
Bruno to pray with them.
Prayer at the Gate is open
to people of all denominations, or even no
denomination. For loved ones of the
incarcerated, many of whom spend hours each week
traveling to and from the jail, Prayer at
the Gate offers a moment of respite, a
chance to pray with others who understand, and a
place to receive support.
If you or someone you know is looking
to lend some spiritual support to family members
of the incarcerated, please contact Yolanda
Robinson at 415-575-4470 or yolanda.robinson@sfgov.org.
All denominations are welcomed and encouraged to
participate.
|
|
Sheriff's
Department History
Section |
and
| |
| |
