Welcome to the July 2017 edition of the San Francisco Sheriff's Department Newsletter.  

This summer has been chockfull with events and plenty of warm weather. In early July, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott and I welcomed the Garden Project's incoming class of Earth Stewards. This program provides more than 200 at-risk teens and young adults with work experience, personal enrichment and growth, as well as the opportunity to experience nature. Executive Director Cathrine Sneed says, "This is a prevention program. It's not just growing plants, but growing people." Earth Stewards help maintain many public properties, including restoring native plants along watersheds and clearing reservoirs. Special thanks goes to the Academy of Art University for providing transportation to the Earth Stewards' many project sites.

I joined my colleagues on the Board of Directors when Five Keys Schools and Programs introduced its newest innovation at the end of June -- a decommissioned Muni bus transformed into a beautifully renovated mobile learning center fully equipped with books, computers, moveable desks and chairs, and even a cozy reading nook. Dubbed "Five Keys Mobile Self-Determination," the bus travels to neighborhoods throughout San Francisco offering access to high school diplomas and GEDs to adult learners who face significant obstacles, such as reluctance to crossing gang territorial lines, to attending traditional brick and mortar schools.

We have instituted a Field Training Program. Fifteen deputy sheriffs graduated from a POST-certified Field Training Officers School this spring. These designated Field Training Officers are instructing new deputies in our patrol units based at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Laguna Honda and Department of Health clinic.

Sometimes we are called upon to respond to terrible tragedies, and that was certainly the case on June 14, when 18 of our deputies responded to the tragic shooting at the UPS building. Three were among the first to arrive at the scene, and all helped secure the perimeter and search the building for possible additional shooters, victims and survivors. We participated in the unified command headed by the San Francisco Police Department and worked alongside officers from the California Highway Patrol, the San Francisco Fire Department and the University of California Police. In this issue, you can read the letter we received from Police Chief Scott thanking us for our assistance.

Serving our community by being able to respond appropriately to a variety of situations requires finding the balance between social justice and criminal justice.  We have increased training for our employees to assist them in meeting expectations. Training that emphasizes de-escalation and crisis management is essential to understanding and treating people with compassion and dignity. Professional training in law enforcement response and tactics is also crucial when faced with quickly developing dangerous situations.  We train to be ready for any situation.

As a test of our preparedness for crises, our Emergency Services Unit competed in a regional Emergency Response Team Challenge and our Special Response Team contested in the Best in the West SWAT event. Congratulations to all who participated for a job well done.

This issue also features the staff of the Civil Section who provide outstanding service to the Superior Court and to civil litigants. Our legal processing clerks are experts at understanding the sometimes daunting and complicated paperwork presented to the front counter in Room 456, City Hall.  These documents form the basis for the services performed by sworn staff, including service of process, wage garnishments, bank levies, evictions and the service of restraining orders. The highly skilled staff is led by Lt. J. Garcia, who takes great pride in the work they do in ensuring that all civil processes are completed efficiently, professionally and in accordance with the law.

Other stories featured in this newsletter include one on Aida McCray's Sewing Our Lives Together program at the Women's Resource Center; the Department's participation in the LGBTQ Pride parade; and recruitment opportunities that I hope you will share with people you think would be assets to the Department.

Kudos to Executive Secretary III Bill Fein, who shows us that while quitting smoking is very difficult, it is also very profitable! Bill, a 15-year veteran of the Sheriff's Department, was a smoker for 45 years.  The other day, I asked him how his effort to quit was going.  Without missing a beat, he said, "I quit smoking on December 30, 2016.  As of August 1, 2017, it has been 214 days and I have saved $4,150.81." Congratulations, Bill!

In closing, if you have any ideas for articles for future newsletters, including questions you would like answered, please feel free to email me at sheriff@sfgov.org and we will do our best to include them.

I hope the remainder of your summer is wonderful!