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CONGRATULATIONS
to
Our New Hires:
Deputy
C. Smith
Deputy J. Fitzpatrick
Deputy D.
Lok
Deputy G. Crossgrove
Deputy R.
Deering
Deputy S. Weng
Deputy M. Juan
Deputy R. Maligaya
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©
2015
San
Francisco
Sheriff's
Department
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A
Message from
Sheriff
Ross
Mirkarimi
We entered this month of thanksgiving
with a citywide summit on the health and social
service needs of our elder inmates. We convened
this meeting in partnership with the UCSF
Division of Geriatrics, the SF Department of
Public Health, HealthRight 360, and Bayview
Hunters Point Multipurpose Senior Services,
acknowledging that older adults are the most
rapidly increasing population in jails across
the country. This project actually began in
2010, when we worked with UCSF and Jail
Behavioral Health and Reentry Services to study
the healthcare utilization of our older
inmates.
This month, we observed Veterans Day
with our Community of Veterans Engaged in
Restoration (COVER), a program designed in
conjunction with Swords to Plowshares for
veterans of all the branches of the United
States military. The COVER program provides
veterans, regardless of their character of
discharge, with an opportunity to address
obstacles to their successful reintegration into
their families and communities after military
service through in-jail and post release case
management services, and links to supporting
agencies. This year, we remembered the 50th
anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War with
art and poetry created by our inmate veterans
and a keynote speech discussing some of the
hardships faced by soldiers returning from
Vietnam.
Continuing SFSD and local law
enforcement's generous tradition of community
service, the Filipino-American Law Enforcement
Officers Association (FALEO) hosted their 4th
Annual Charity Duty Pistol Match. The
competition challenges participants' accuracy,
speed, and ability to shoot on the move,
offering categories for both novice and
experienced marksmen. The event honors fallen
officers and raises funds for FALEO's
scholarship program.
The Women's Resource Center (WRC) and
the rest of the SFSD said good-bye to Vera
Pittman, a dear friend who spent the last five
years teaching nutrition, sharing cooking tips
and hosting a weekly community breakfast as part
of our Next Course Program. Transitioning from
participant to mentor, Ms. Pittman brought a
high level of respect and empathy for the women
in the WRC. She will be missed.
Our policies and programs designed to
reduce recidivism are working, the jail
population continues to decline, currently
averaging at 1,300. This will be an important
consideration as the community continues the
discussion of building a replacement jail at the
Hall of Justice. The Board of State and
Community Corrections awarded San Francisco an
$80 million grant. This is only a third of the
estimated $240 million required to build the
facility. There should be a robust community
discussion as the City considers whether to
build a new jail.
This week, as we gather with families
and friends to share what is good in our lives,
let's remember the men and women who serve and
sacrifice for our country, the men and women
growing old in our jails, and all the families
separated by wars and oceans.
And of course, as we gather this week
to give of our collective "thanks," I want to
wish you and your loved ones a wonderful
Thanksgiving! |
First
Citywide Summit on Health Needs for Older
Adult Inmates
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| Older adults are the
most rapidly growing population in the United
States' criminal justice
system. |
The
SFSD, in
partnership with the UC San
"Based
on changing demographics, our prisons and jails
of the future will likely double as
assisted-living compounds and psychiatric
hospitals that connote new challenges for
preparing communities to receive the formerly
incarcerated," said Sheriff
Mirkarimi.
Work
presented during the October Senior
Summit began in 2010, when the SFSD joined
forces with the UCSF Division of
Geriatrics and the City's Jail
Behavioral Health and Reentry Services to
research the needs of San Francisco's older
inmates. At that time, little was known about
the population and the departments were
concerned that older inmates, with increasingly
complex health needs, were in physically poor
health and were potentially ill when
transitioning back into their
communities.
Findings
from a recent study on 100 seniors in the county
jails - who were monitored for six months for
changes in their health and their healthcare
utilization - as well as highlights of community
work on behalf of senior ex-offenders were
presented during the summit. Participants were
urged to join the next phase of work which is to
mount a coordinated response to improving the
health of older adults who interact with San
Francisco's criminal
justice system. A broad array of leaders
from City agencies attended the proceedings,
including representatives from public health,
transportation, emergency room services, and
adult aging services.
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Grant
for New Rehabilitation Detention
Facility
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| The state has awarded
San Francisco $80 million to replace aging jails
at the Hall of
Justice. | The
City of San Francisco was this month awarded an
$80 million grant by the Board
of State and Community Corrections to
replace old and seismically unsafe jails
at the Hall
of Justice with a new Rehabilitation
Detention Facility (RDF). The monies are part of
an estimated $240 million needed to build the
RDF. The $80 million was authorized under Senate
Bill 863 and a state bond program, and is
conditional upon the City replacing antiquated
county jail housing with an upgraded facility
which helps to reduce recidivism while
protecting public safety.
San
Francisco's new jail proposal gets boost with
$80M state grant. SF
Examiner.
11 /12/15.
California
set to award $500 million to jails in 15
counties - Ventura County Star.
News
Archives
USA. 11/12/15.
|
Veterans
Day COVER Celebration
The
SFSD in-custody
Veterans Program, COVER
(Community of Veterans Engaged in
Restoration), a collaborative spearheaded in
conjunction with Swords
to Plowshares, held its fifth annual
Veterans Day observance on November 10,
2015.
Many
COVER service providers attended to recognize
our veterans' service to our country, including
the Recovery Survival
Network, SF
SPCA's Paw's for Peace, and the Sr.
Ex-Offenders Program. Also in attendance
were staff from the V.A.'s Veterans
Justice Outreach and Veterans
Court, including Veterans Justice Court
Judge, the Honorable Jeffery Ross, Court Deputy
District Attorney, G. Mendez, probation officer,
R. Clendenning, and Deputy Director of
Swords-to-Plowshares, Dave Lopez.
Representatives from the American
Legion, AMVETS, San
Francisco Veterans Lions
Club, The V.A.'s newly developed domestic
violence program (STAND DOWN), and the Bar
Association of San Francisco were also in
attendance.
Guest
Speakers included Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi a U.S.
Navy
Reserve Veteran and Undersheriff Federico
Rocha, a two tour Vietnam
Veteran and U.S. Army
Ranger. Our keynote speaker was Gerald
Nicosia, Author of Home to War: a History of
the Vietnam Veterans Movement, described by the
Los Angeles Times as "more relevant than ever as
a new generation of soldiers comes home
-- this is the essential and authoritative
history of American's Vietnam veterans and the
hardships they faced." Both Veterans and
non-veterans listened intensely as
Gerald described some of the hardships
Vietnam veterans faced on their return
home.
Art and poetry created by our
veterans were woven throughout the
program which was dedicated to the
50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.
Our Pledge of Allegiance was led by a Marine
Corps Veteran.
Ron
Perez, COVER Coordinator and the Master of
Ceremonies, ended the program with a special
poem dedicated to our Vietnam
veterans.
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FALEO
Annual Duty Pistol Match
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| The sold out pistol
match drew 67 participants including deputy
sheriffs, police officers, state parole agents,
and local probation
officers. |
On
November 7, 2015, the Filipino-American Law
Enforcement Officers Association (FALEO) hosted
its 4th Annual Charity Duty Pistol Match at the
Alameda
County Sheriff's Range and Training Facility
in Dublin, CA. This event was established in
memory of fallen San Francisco police officers
Nick Tomasito-Birco and Bryan Tuvera who were
killed in the line of duty.
The
sold out event drew an
overwhelming sixty-seven participants
consisting of deputy sheriffs, police officers,
state parole agents, and local probation
officers. Deputies E. Espinoza (Range), W. James
(Classifications Unit), P. Lau (CJ#4), and C.
Robles (Civil Courts) represented the SFSD. Law
enforcement officers throughout the San
Francisco Bay Area and beyond attended the
fundraiser.
There
were two separate shooting classes: the
"Sportsman Class" consisted of shooters who had
competed in shooting competitions, and
the "Duty Class" consisted of novice pistol
shooters or tactical shooters who do not compete
competitively. The prize for the Sportsman Class
was a Samsung tablet and the prize for the Duty
Class was a GLOCK 43.
There
were a total of five stages for individual
shooting that included shooting at paper, steel,
and clay targets. This year's event also
included the use of shotguns and AR-15 carbine
rifles. The match challenged each individual
based on accuracy, speed, the ability to shoot
while on the move, and the ability to
shoot from behind the use of
"cover."
SFSD's
Deputy E. Espinoza and his group (J.
Emanuel of the SFPD,
T. Pashoian of BART
PD, and J. Reed of the Alameda County
Sheriff's Department) won the Duty Class team
event!
FALEO
thanks the following for their support: LC
Action Police Supply, Triple A's Sports, LPS
Tactical, GLOCK Inc., Battlecomp Enterprises,
Disneyland, San Francisco Police Credit Union,
FARMERS Insurance, and Outback
Steakhouse.
All
funds raised will benefit FALEO's scholarship
program. |
Shining
Light
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| Vera Pittman, pictured
center right in white shirt and black pants,
worked for five years on WRC's Next Course
Program. |
The
SFSD family bids
a very fond farewell to the Women's
Resource Center (WRC)'s Vera Pittman, who
for the past five years has worked
enthusiastically and graciously on WRC's Next
Course Program, teaching nutrition, sharing
cooking tips with clients, putting on a weekly
community breakfast, and filling every need, as
WRC Executive Director Ida McCray puts it, "from
cook to recruiter."
Ms.
Pittman began her association with WRC as a
participant and eventually transitioned to
working for the agency -- and bringing with
her a first-hand knowledge of a population which
she knows a lot about.
"A
jewel in a rough place," is how Ms. Pittman
lovingly refers to the WRC, where she says she
most enjoyed talking to and connecting with the
women who found help there, and above all
"treating people with unconditional
regard."
Vera's
last day at WRC was October 29, 2015. Her
parting hope is that more women are encouraged
to take advantage of its "extremely helpful"
services. You've left your mark, Vera - and you
will be sorely
missed. |
SFSD
Around Town
The
SFSD's Mounted
Unit was riding high on November 8, 2015, during
this year's Veterans
Day Parade - seen here at Fisherman's Wharf.
Sheriff Mirkarimi, a veteran of the U.S. Navy
Reserve, proudly participated in the parade
as well.
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