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CC- (1) Authorization to Increase City Jail Staffing by Three Additional Funded Jailer Positions for a Total Jail Staff of One Senior Jailer and Five Jailers; and (2) FOUR-FIFTHS VOTE REQUIREMENT: Approval of a FY 2020/2021 Related Budget Amendment in the Amount of $282,042.00.
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Meeting Date: November 9, 2020
Contact Person/Dept: Lieutenant Andrew Bellante/Police Department
Phone Number: (310) 253-6316
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: X[]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No []
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (11/04/2020)
Department Approval: Acting Police Chief Manny Cid (10/28/2020)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) authorize the increase of City Jail Staffing by three additional funded Jail positions for a total Jail Staff of one Senior Jailer and five Jailers; and (2) approve a FY2020/2021 related budget amendment in the amount of $282,042.00 (four-fifths vote requirement).
BACKGROUND
The Culver City Police Department maintains a Type 1 Jail facility, with 30 beds, capable of serving as a local detention facility used for the detention of persons for not more than 96 hours after arrest/ booking. The facility may also detain persons on court order, either for their own safekeeping, or sentenced to a City Jail as an inmate worker.
Type 1 Jail facilities are governed by the California Board of Corrections and Title 15 of the California Administrative Code, which set forth minimum standards for local detention facilities. These minimum standards include always having at least one jailer on duty, who shall be immediately responsible for the health, safety, liberties, and rights of all inmates. The jailer has primary responsibility for the reception, booking, processing, custody, and welfare of all persons arrested and booked into the Department’s Jail. The jailer, which is unarmed is also responsible for the transportation of inmates for court appearances.
Staffing - Historically, the Department’s Jail averages about 120 bookings/ inmates per month. The jail is currently staffed with three (3) jailers (Full-time City employees), each working 12-hour shifts. One of the three Jailers is classified as the Senior Jailer. As currently constructed, the Department’s Jail facility has enough staffing for one jailer to be scheduled 24 hours a day, for 3 days a week. During 3 shifts (12 hours each, Thursday-Saturday), the jail is not staffed. On the seventh day (Sunday), the jail is left unstaffed for an 8-hour period every other week. The unstaffed period is typically left to be covered by the on-duty Watch Commander or Desk Officer.
Facility- CCPD’s police facility was built in 1966 and underwent a partial renovation in 1999. The jail facility occupies 4,000 square feet of the police building. The jail has nine cells with a total of 30 beds configured in the following manner: three male holding cells (19 beds), two female holding cells (10 beds), one single cell (1 bed), one holding cell, one booking cell, and one sobering cell. The average inmate daily population in 2019 was 6.06 prisoners.
The jail’s condition is relatively good for a nearly 70-year-old facility. Larger system components such as electrical, plumbing, air conditioning, and heating are dependent on the entire building and beyond the scope of this assessment. A private company completes the daily cleaning requirements of the facility. Any required maintenance or repair is completed by the Culver City Public Works Department.
Training- Current employed jailers attended a six-week Detention Officer Academy class, typically held at the LAPD Ahmanson Training center in Westchester, CA. In addition, they all receive 24 hours of annual Standards and Training for Corrections (STC) training to ensure that their skills are kept current.
Section 1020, Corrections Officer Core Course, states: “In addition to the provisions of California Penal Code Section 831.5, all custodial personnel of a Type I, II, III, or IV facility shall successfully complete the “Corrections Officer Core Course” as described in Section 179 of Title 15, CCR, within one year from the date of assignment. (b) Custodial Personnel who have successfully completed the course of instruction required by Penal Code Section 832.3 shall also successfully complete the “Corrections Officer Basic Academy Supplemental Core Course” as described in Section 180 of Title 15, CCR, within one year from the date of assignment.”
California Board of State and Community Corrections Inspection
In 2018, as well as in 2016, the California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) conducted their biennial inspection of the Culver City Police Jail facility, as required by law. The inspection consisted of a review of policies, procedures, facility compliance, and staffing. During the inspection process, concerns were raised regarding the staffing levels of our jail facility. In short, the fact that our jail facility is intermittently left directly unsupervised by a properly trained jailer is “not acceptable.” As previously detailed, the Department’s Jail facility is intermittently left directly unsupervised during the following instances:
• Thursday- Saturday, for 12-hour periods.
• During two unscheduled eight (8) hour periods every Sunday
• During jail staffs’ vacations, sick days, and other absences
• During inmate transportation details, conducted by jail staff on a nearly daily basis
As a result, BSCC’s inspection report stated the facilities staffing was not acceptable, per Section 1027 which states, “Whenever there is an inmate in custody, there shall be at least one employee on duty at all times in a local detention facility or in the building which houses a local detention facility who shall be immediately available and accessible to inmates in the event of an emergency”.
The BSCC Biennial Inspection Report is attached to the staff report as Attachment 1.
Based on BSCC’s inspection, as well as an internal review of the Department’s Jail staffing levels and their impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of the jail facility, the Department, began to explore various options to correct the deficiency in 2017.
DISCUSSION:
Agency Survey Results
The following is a list of similar sized police agencies, who maintain a Type 1 Jail facility, and their current staffing levels. All the cities surveyed below maintain staffing levels which allow for the scheduling of two jailers on duty at most times, and never less than one jailer on duty in the jail at all times. These are approximate levels of jail staffing and number of bookings for other agencies for 2019.
Estimated Costs to Contract Jail Services with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s
Department
Below are the rates that would be charged by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department for prisoner booking, housing, and transportation to/and from court. All prisoners would need to be transported to the CRDF facility in the city of Lynwood by personnel from the Culver City Police Department. The key costs that should be highlighted are as follows:
• A booking fee of $373.67 per prisoner;
• An additional housing fee of $190.52 per day, per prisoner. (This includes food and jail supervision); and
• An additional fee of $5,049.37 per day, per prisoner for any type of medical treatment.
Historically, the Culver City Police Department averages approximately 120 jail bookings a month. On average, approximately 25 percent, or 30 arrestees a month are housed for a duration over 24 hours. Further, on average, 10 arrestees require some form of medical treatment every month.
Below are the estimated costs that would be associated with booking arrestees at LASD’s jail facility using historical averages:
• 120 arrestees booked and housed at CRDF for under a 24-hour period would have an estimated monthly cost of $67,702.80. (Booking and mandatory one day housing fee of $564.19 per arrestee)
• 30 arrestees housed at CRDF more than 24 hours would have an additional estimated monthly cost of $5,715.60. (An additional 24-hour housing fee of $190.52 per arrestee)
• 10 arrestees requiring medical attention would have an additional estimated monthly cost of $50,493.70. ($5,049.37 a day medical facility fee per arrestee)
• The total estimated monthly cost to book and house arrestees at CRDF would be approximately $123,912.10.
• The total estimated annual cost to book and house arrestees at CRDF would be approximately $1,486,945.20.
Further, officers would be required to transport all prisoners to the CRDF jail facility in the city of Lynwood. This would have a significant impact on patrol staffing as officers would be taken out of the field for hours to handle prisoner transportation. Negative impacts could include the diminished ability of officers to respond to emergency situations, increased response times, and lower police visibility to prevent and deter crime.
The LASD jail contract service rates are attached to the staff report as Attachment 2.
Recommendations from CPSM
The Center for Public Safety Management (CPSM) was retained by the City Manager to conduct a detailed analysis to evaluate the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the police department. The analysis of the department’s jail operations revealed the following recommendations:
• CPSM recommends the hiring of three (3) full-time jailers to adequately staff the jail.
• “The current staffing of the jail facility is inadequate and CCPD’s efforts noted above to compensate for the staffing shortages does not bring the jail operation into compliance with state regulations. Core training requirements, staff availability during emergencies, and female staff availability were indicated as deficiencies during annual Board of State and Community Corrections staff (BSCC) inspections over the past three years. CPSM recommends these deficiencies be corrected. Correction can be achieved by the addition of three FTE jailers or by obtaining the required CCR Title 15 core training for alternate staff as documented in the 2020 BSCC inspection. CPSM recommends adding the three FTE jailers to ensure ongoing compliance with CCR regulations, as assigning trained staff and/or female staff when required would be a continuing challenge.”
• “CPSM recommends a revised transport policy that requires prisoner transport by a police officer(s) or a combination of a police officer and a civilian jailer to enhance safety and security of transports. This will bring CCPD’s transportation practices more in line with other local agencies. Exploring a private prisoner transportation contract or combining resources with neighboring jurisdiction to create a regional transportation network for their collective transportation needs is also an available option.”
CPSM’s recommendations are attached to the staff report as Attachment 3.
Increase Department Jail staffing to six (6) full time Jailers
As previously stated, the Department’s current staffing levels in the Jail are three (3) full time Jailers/City employees. It would be necessary to hire an additional three (3) Jailers to bring the jail’s staffing to six (6) total, an acceptable level to maintain appropriate coverage and to be on par with industry standards. Based on BSCC’s inspection reports, as well as in line with best practices in maximizing the safety of all inmates and minimizing liability to the City, the jail facility should always be staffed with 1-2 Jailers. This would allow for one Jailer to always be present in the jail facility in the event of employees taking meal breaks, rest breaks, sick time or vacation. Per CPSM’s recommendation, as well as in line with best practices, police officers will supplement jail staff with handling prisoner transportation to and from court, county jail facilities, and other law enforcement agencies.
The following would be the associated costs to staff the jail with six (6) Jailers:
• The annual cost (salary and benefits) of a new Jailer: $94,014.00
• The additional annual cost for three (3) new jailers is: $282,042.00
• The FY2020/21 approved budget (salary and benefits) for the current Jail Staff level of one (1) Sr. Jailer and two (2) Jailers: $397,750.00
• The estimated annual cost (salary and benefits) of staffing one (1) Sr. Jailer and five (5) Jailers: $679,792.00
Department Recommendation
The Department’s primary concern and focus is to bring the current jail staffing up to acceptable levels and on par with industry standards. The addition of three (3) fulltime jailers would provide the necessary personnel to maintain 24-hour coverage, seven days a week in the jail. The addition of three (3) jailers will put the City in compliance with state regulations, as well as the recommendations made in the BSCC inspection report and by CPSM. With 24-hour jail coverage, these best practices will greatly reduce the city’s exposure to civil liability, as well as improve the overall efficiency of the jail operation.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
Personnel Services cost to increase Jail staffing by three (3) Jailers is $282,042.00 annually. A FY 2020/2021 budget amendment in the amount of $282,042.00 is requested from the General Funds Reserves to Personnel Services (10140200.411100-440000). A budget amendment requires a four-fifths vote.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2020-11-09_ATT - California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) Biennial Inspection Report
2. 2020-11-09_ATT - Los Angeles Sherriff’s Department Contract Jail Rates
3. 2020-11-09_ATT - Jail Section Recommendations from CPSM Analysis Report
MOTION
That the City Council:
1. Authorize the increase of City Jail staffing by three additional funded Jailer Positions for a total Jail Staff of one Senior Jailer and five Jailers; and
2. Approve a FY 2020/2021 budget amendment in the amount $282,042.00 to increase Personnel Services Line Item for three additional funded jailer positions from General Fund Reserves to Personnel Services (10140200.411100-440000). (A budget amendment requires a four-fifths vote).