Restoring Publice Trust in the Sheriff's Department

By Bret Daniels

Many high-profiled lawsuits concerning abuse in the jail have caused a loss in public trust in the department.

I would start by working with the community to establish an independent review commission. Unlike the Sheriff's Advisory Board, this commission must be separate from the department so that the citizens of Sacramento County can feel confident their concerns are addressed while at the same time officers will be less likely to be falsely accused of abuse.

At the same time, I would increase staffing by reclassifying many of the mid and uppermanagement positions. There are many times when floor officers are not available to check on inmates and this has contributed to the high number of suicides. Because of a lack of adequate staffing, officers are routinely put in dangerous situations and in positions that set them up for failure.

With a $300 million budget, the department can afford to install a quality digital video/audio recording system that creates a true record of interactions between officers and inmates. I will ensure this occurs from Day #1. It's inexcusable for a major metropolitan department to not have this in today's technologically advanced time.

Finally, I would separate the functions of the jail system from other department functions (patrol, detectives) similar to the system successfully used in many counties including Placer County. Officers should be hired with a specific interest in working in the jail atmosphere.