Reaching for the Stars - College Courses Offered at County Jail  

In-custody students are attentive during a City College child development course at CJ#2. Photo courtesy of Michael Ares/ S.F. Examiner.

Expanding on a three-year pilot program launched to reduce recidivism and create safer communities by providing educational opportunities to the City's incarcerated population, SFSD's Five Keys Charter High School and City College of San Francisco (CCSF) officially committed this month to a permanent partnership. The collaboration brings college classes, and introductions to college-level vocational certification tracks, to inmates at the County Jail. A goal of the partnership is to improve the post-release academic and vocational success of students who earn their high school diplomas while incarcerated.

Through Five Keys' and CCSF's new Memorandum of Understanding, inmates can receive concurrent high school and college credit for coursework. Students will also prepare for the rigors of college-level coursework with joint academic instruction from both Five Keys teachers and CCSF instructors.

Inmates studying in the program will receive one high school credit and one college credit -- conducive to short stays in the jail -- along with support towards a smoother transition from high school to college. Support measures include individual education plans for students wishing to continue taking City College courses upon release, education counseling, and post-release financial aid counseling. Vocational certificates that can be started in the jails and completed at City College through the program include Custodial, Drug and Alcohol Counselor, Youth Worker, Community Health Care Worker, and Post-Prison Health Care Worker. Classes are offered at both County Jail #2 and County Jail #5.

SFSD's award-winning Five Keys Charter High School's positive impact reaches beyond the walls of its jail-embedded classrooms to twenty-four community learning centers throughout San Francisco and Oakland and thirteen in Los Angeles -- serving over 9,000 students annually. Providing inmates with access to education helps create safer communities, reduces tax dollars spent on incarceration, and affords inmates the skills they'll need to rejoin communities and their families upon release.

Unlocking potential: S.F. County Jail offers first college credit classes to inmates. 7/24/15 SF Examiner. 

SFSD Hosts Regional Training on Investigating and Prosecuting Crimes Against Children

SFSD, in cooperation with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), on July 17, 2015, hosted a one day, first-of-its-kind SFSD training for law enforcement on the investigation and prosecution of missing and exploited children cases. Marc Klaas, President of the KlaasKids Foundation and BeyondMissing Inc., was the event's opening speaker.

Eighty-four law enforcement officers from across Northern California participated in the first-of-its-kind training.

Sheriff Mirkarimi initiated planning for

this training in December 2014 in Alexandria, Virginia, after meeting with NCMEC. "As the Sheriff and as a father, like all parents, we're preoccupied with the safety of our children," said the Sheriff. "Using my authority, we are    launching a first for   the SF Sheriff's Department in hosting a law enforcement training with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in how to better investigate and prosecute crimes against children."

The training which, according to NMEC, is the first of its kind in the state, was attended by 84 law enforcement officers throughout Northern California and took place at the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco.

Thirty-five law enforcement agencies representing district attorneys' offices, probation, and police and sheriffs' departments attended, including: the San Francisco, San Mateo, and Solano County Sheriff's Departments, the San Francisco, Alameda, Berkeley, East Palo Alto, and Oakland Police Departments, the Alameda and Contra Costa County District Attorney's Offices, San Francisco Adult Probation, San Mateo County Probation, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and many others.

The Sheriff has made coordinating follow-ups to this important and popular training a priority for the department.

Bay Area officers attending intensive training on missing children cases. KTVU, 7/17/15.

San Francisco Sheriff, Missing Children Center Hosts Training for Officers. NBC Bay Area, 7/17/15. 

National Night Out!

SFSD participated in a National Night Out event at Youngblood Coleman Park in the Bayview. Good food, spoken word performances, dancing, and children at play all ensured a successful and fun evening for all.

On August 4, 2015, SFSD participated in National Night Out, a law enforcement event which the National Association of Town Watch launched 30 years ago to heighten crime prevention awareness, generate support for local anti-crime programs, bolster neighborhood spirit, and foster police-community partnerships. National Night Out now involves over 37 million people and 15,000 communities from across the US, Canada, and military bases worldwide!

During the event, neighborhoods across the country host block parties, festivals, parades, cookouts, and other community events with safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, visits from emergency personnel, and exhibits.

The Sheriff's Department participated in two National Night Out events, one in the Bayview at Youngblood Coleman Park and the second at the Waller Center, which was hosted by the Park Police Station. Many people attended both events, which proved to be wonderful opportunities for SFSD community relations, including answering questions from the public about our department and promoting our upcoming Career Information Session. 

How to Protect a Dignitary 

During the two-day U.S. Coast Guard-sponsored training, Sgt. Rosen, Sr. Deputy Dejesus, Sr. Deputy Rold, and Deputy Schmidt learned the basics for protecting visiting dignitaries.

In early June, Sgt. Rosen, Sr. Deputy Dejesus, Sr. Deputy Rold, and Deputy Schmidt from SFSD's Field and Custody Operations Divisions attended a U.S. Coast Guard-sponsored class on dignitary protection put on by the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). The two-day class covered the basic principles of dignitary protection used by the DSS. Topics included protective intelligence, surveillance detection, site preparation, various walking formations, and how to use a motorcade. DSS provided several instructors along with motorcade vehicles. The class had about 50 participants from law enforcement agencies across the Bay Area. The training was held as a "thank you" for all the support DSS receives from local agencies who provide security to high value protectees in San Francisco and around the bay.