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Contact
Us
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Information:
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(415)
554-7225 |
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CONGRATULATIONS
to
Our Promotions and to Our
Retirees:
Promoted:
Ricarlito
Ignao
Senior
Stationary Engineer
Retirees:
Sergeant.
G. McCollough
18
years
Sergeant.
E. Cranston
31
years
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©
2015
San
Francisco
Sheriff's
Department
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A
Message from
Sheriff
Ross
Mirkarimi
The path to successful reentry is no
mystery -- connection, education and training,
healing, and above all, commitment to changing
the course that ended in jail. We can offer the
tools, but the only the person can keep
the "ex" in front of ex-offender. In order to
help facilitate family and community ties, we've
developed a comprehensive Inmate Locator tool on
our website.
Multi-lingual, user-friendly, and
accessible by computer and smart phone, this
service provides convenient access for family
and friends to maintain contact. With
online visiting, and allowing 16 year olds to
visit, the new locater adds another link between
inmates and the places where they will return.
Our vocational programs provide
training for jobs that enhance and empower the
community. Case in point -- the front gate at
County Jail #5 was completed with solar panels
built by our students. This solar array will
light the facility's signage while a companion
array will light the flag. Healing skills
complement practical skills, and four of our men
in the Resolve to Stop the Violence Program
became certified assistant facilitators in a
nonviolence conflict reconciliation program
developed from the teachings of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Peers in and out of custody are
learning this training and life experience to
sort out conflict and violence, and to create
understanding and peace.
Women also have opportunities to
participate in healing programs. Twenty-five
committed survivors of domestic violence worked
with our Survivor Restoration Program and the
International Association for Human Values to
learn techniques to release trauma. Participants
found the training transformative. Acupuncture,
offered by our Women's Resource Center, is
another technique for relieving stress and
promoting wellbeing, especially when combined
with other therapies for relief from addictions
and mental health issues.
Many people come to jail broken, but
find the means there to become whole again. The
professionalism and commitment of our staff
facilitate and contribute to an environment that
fosters the ability of the inmates to see their
families and to participate in education and
training programs. The Sherman Block Supervisory
Leadership Institute (SBSLI), Project Urban
Shield, and softball competitions all offer our
deputies opportunities for training and team
building exercises. We are honored by the
accomplishments of our staff.
There is no question that the expense
of incarceration disproportionately affects
working class and poor families. Last year, we
took on the unreasonable phone fees charged to
inmates and their families who were literally
paying a high price to stay connected. We
are pleased that the FCC recently capped phone
fees in jails and in federal and state
prisons.
Our next challenge is bail reform.
Many pretrial detainees sit in jail, while their
families and jobs begin to fall apart from their
absence and from stress simply because they
cannot afford bail. Unreasonable bail
requirements are also unconstitutional. After
unsuccessful proposals to advance electronic
monitoring and other programs as alternatives to
the inability to buy pretrial release, a class
action lawsuit was filed to challenge the fixed
cash bail system and push this issue
forward.
Public safety depends on public
trust, and public trust requires an equitable
justice system -- blind to color and to bank
account. We have a ways to go to reach these
goals, but we'll keep working in that direction.
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Sheriff
Mirkarimi Supports Ending City's Money Bail
System
A
class action lawsuit filed in federal court on
October 29, 2015 by Equal Justice Under Law, a
Washington, D.C.-based civil rights organization
that fights systemic inequalities in the legal
system, seeks to end the practice of money bail
in San Francisco. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S.
District Court for the Northern District of
California, takes aim at San Francisco's
"wealth-based detention scheme."
Sheriff
Mirkarimi, who submitted a declaration stating
his position on the lawsuit, stated that "the
use of monetary conditions to detain pretrial
defendants penalizes indigent arrestees solely
based on their wealth status. The notion that
someone's freedom depends on the amount of money
they have is anathema to equality and justice."
San
Francisco's fixed bail schedule, set by San
Francisco Superior Court judges and ranking
among the most expensive in the state, sets bail
amounts based on offense and does not take
individual circumstances or public safety into
account, according to the lawsuit. Approximately
50 people per day and 18,000 people per year are
booked into San Francisco County Jail. About 85
percent of inmates have not yet been convicted.
Because they cannot afford bail, they can remain
locked up for months while awaiting trial, often
losing their housing, jobs, or
children.
The
lawsuit argues that appropriate conditions of
release -- including pretrial release services
and text message or phone call reminders of
court dates -- can save taxpayer dollars while
also increasing public safety and court
appearance rates. The lawsuit also calls for
appropriate alternatives to pretrial
incarceration such as electronic monitoring,
intervention and rehabilitation programs,
stay-away orders, and home
detention.
Lawsuit
Aims To End San Francisco's Money-Based
Bail System.
CBS
Local. 10/29/15.
Group
files class-action complaint to scrap S.F.'s
cash-bail system. SF
Gate. 10/29/15.
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Launch
of New Online Inmate Locator Fast Tracks Public
Access to SF's Incarcerated
Population
On
October 7, 2015, SFSD launched a comprehensive,
multi-lingual Inmate Locator on our web site.
The user-friendly program, which can be accessed
by both computer and smart phone, is a
one-stop-shop service for members of the public
looking for inmates in San Francisco's jail
system.
Easily
accessed at the SFSD's home page at
sfsheriff.com, users simply key in an inmate's
name, SF number, or booking number for real-time
details on where an inmate is currently housed
at the county jail. As the SFSD's Inmate
Locator is open to the public it will be
especially helpful for loved ones with friends
or family members, including parents, in the
jails.
"This
[the Inmate Locator] will provide youth with a
direct access point to initiate much needed
contact with their parents," said Zoe Willmott,
Project WHAT! Manager.
Balancing
the department's responsibility to protect
inmate privacy with the right of the public to
access information on incarcerated persons in
our jails, the locator provides a comprehensive
scope of public information -- which it makes
available in English, Spanish, Chinese,
Vietnamese, and Russian. In addition to housing
information, users can review an inmate's
current charges, bail amount, upcoming court
date, projected release date, relevant court
department, docket number, and age.
Users
will also find helpful links to resources
including the SFSD's popular Schedule a Visit
program, instructions for sending a care package
and for adding money to commissary accounts,
directions to each of the county's three jails -
including public transportation options, and
visiting rules.
The
SFSD's Inmate Locator was researched, designed,
and built by the department's Information
Technology Services
Section in close collaboration with the City and
County of San Francisco's Department of
Technology.
New
Inmate Locator makes it much easier to find
someone in SF County Jail. SF
Examiner.
10/07/2015.
Inmate
locator in San Francisco jails.
KGO
Radio.
10/7/2015. |
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FCC
Votes to Reduce Inmate Phone Rates
Nationwide
Sheriff
Ross Mirkarimi this month lauded the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC)'s decision to
reduce the cost of calls in prisons and jails
nationwide, a move that will help inmates across
the country to maintain connections with loved
ones -- which will help to lower recidivism
rates.
The
SFSD became the first municipal law enforcement
agency in the country to tackle the burdensome
practices of unregulated phone commissions by
the telecommunications industry. In June of
2014, responding to what he recognized to be
unreasonably high rates being charged largely to
loved ones calling inmates in San Francisco
county jails, Sheriff Mirkarimi instituted
comprehensive reforms - reducing by 70 percent
the cost of 15 minute collect and pre-paid
collect, in-state long distance calls from
$13.35 to $4.05. Fifteen minute debit, in-state
long distance calls were cut 32% from $5.98 to
$4.05.
Prompted
by his reforms, the FCC invited the Sheriff to
Washington, D.C. in December of 2014 to present
his analysis on the imperative that national
regulation be enacted.
"After
my meeting with the FCC last year I was hopeful
that change would come despite strong resistance
from the private sector and the corrections
industry," said Sheriff Mirkarimi.
This
week's 3-2 FCC vote caps state and federal
prison phone rates at 11 cents per minute. Jail
rates will be capped at 14 to 22 cents per
minute depending on the size of the jail
facility. The FCC's proposal, which extends to
immigration detention centers, also limits
additional fees and "strongly encourages parties
to move away from site
commissions."
Evidence-based
practice shows that inmates who maintain strong
social support networks are less likely to
re-offend.
Obama administration
approves plan to make prison phone calls more
affordable. Huffington
Post.
10/22/15. |
Final
Touches, Including Solar Panels, Complete County
Jail #5
The
completion of the front gate along with
the demolition of the old County Jail #3
were the final milestones to the completion of
the County Jail #5 (CJ#5) Project.
 The last of the project
funds will be used to try to connect the farm
sewage system to the new system. The front gate
has incorporated a solar panel array that
charges-up an advanced set of batteries that
light up the facility's signage all night long.
A companion array on the CJ#5 administration
roof will light up the flag at night as well.
Both of the photo-voltaic stand-alone panels
were built
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| Solar panels, built
as part of a job training project for in-custody
students, energize signage and the flag at CJ5
-- and complement the completion of the
facility's new front
gate. | as part of a
vocational project by persons in custody. The
Front Gate Station was the first SFSD facility
to use modern IP network touchscreen technology
for its security system inclusive of cameras,
intercoms, and door controls. CJ#1 and CJ#2 are
being retrofitted with similar technology. The
front gate has also incorporated the latest in
LED lighting from the street lamps to the
interior lighting. The front gate was meant to
be a sturdy and safe building that can be
operated in many ways. The deputies within the
capsule have view lines up and down the roads
and they can utilize pan/tilt/zoom cameras to
enhance their views while still in the safety of
the
capsule. |
SFSD's
Survivor Restoration Program Partners with
S.M.A.R.T.
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| S.M.A.R.T. program
staff train SFSD Survivor Restoration Program
staff during Domestic Violence Awareness
Month. |
In
honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the
SFSD's Survivor Restoration Program (SRP) joined
forces with the International Association for
Human Values' award-winning Stress Management
and Rehabilitation Training (S.M.A.R.T.) program
-- with thrilling (or, more accurately,
"calming") results!
Twenty
five committed and thriving survivors of
domestic abuse completed the unique S.M.A.R.T.
program, marking the first time ever that so
many survivors have taken part in the training
program at one time. This achievement was made
possible by the commitment of SRP staff who also
provided transportation, child care, and
food.
The
most innovative aspect of the training is the
Sudarshan Kriya breathing technique, which
research shows helps to release trauma and
provides a sense of calm and peace. Participants
have called the training life changing and
extremely effective.
SFSD's
SRP provides advocacy and support services for
survivors of domestic and random violence whose
perpetrators are participating in our custody
offender programs. We assist survivors and
coordinate referrals for safety planning, crisis
interventions, and empowerment programs. We
provide referrals and work in collaboration with
agencies such as the District Attorney's Victim
Services, hospitals, immigration, and legal and
employment services. Survivors are supported
while navigating through family, criminal, civil
appearances, and city
agencies. |
Onward
and Upward
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| Kazu Huga and
Theresa Guy Morgan of the East Point Peace
Academy watch as graduates of RSVP's Kingian
Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation program
congratulate one
another. | On
October 1, 2015, four men housed in the Resolve
to Stop the Violence Program (RSVP) pod
at County Jail #5 became certified as assistant
facilitators in Kingian Nonviolence Conflict
Reconciliation.
A
philosophy developed out of the teachings of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr., these men will go on to
lead Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation
workshops for their peers as well as members of
the community -- who will come into the jail to
learn about conflict, violence, peace and
nonviolence from them. The four graduated from a
six-month training facilitated by the East Point
Peace Academy. They will have an opportunity to
use their life experiences, good and bad, to
their advantage and to educate others about the
need to create cultures of
peace. |
Bravery
In the Face of Danger
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| Sr. Deputy Clauzel
helped to move to safety a victim ejected from
her car at the scene of this flaming auto
accident on the 580
freeway. |
On
Thursday evening, October 8, 2015, while off
duty and driving on the 580 freeway, Sr. Deputy
M. Clauzel saw a BMW SUV that had been badly
damaged in an accident. There was an intense
fire burning around the vehicle and it appeared
to be spreading. Sr. Deputy Clauzel ran down the
embankment in the direction of the burning
vehicle and came upon a victim who had been
ejected from the BMW during the accident. The
subject was screaming that she could not feel
her legs and smoke and flames from the fire were
rapidly approaching her location. Sr.
Deputy Clauzel called upon two private citizens
to help pull the victim to safety. His jacket
was placed underneath her head to help
immobilize her and prevent further injury. He
then assisted with traffic control at the
accident location and thoroughly briefed
responding fire, EMS and CHP personnel of the
situation.
Sr.
Deputy Clauzel displayed leadership and bravery
in the face of risks that could have ended in
the loss of life. His subsequent Captain's
Commendation reads: "Your motivation and
commitment to the mission of the San Francisco
Sheriff's Department are commendable and an
example of the highest standard of law
enforcement service."
As
a result of his actions, Sr. Deputy Clauzel has
been recommended to receive the SFSD's
Silver Medal of
Valor.
Woman rescued from
burning car reunites with heroic San Francisco
cop, deputy sheriff. ABC7.
10/29/15.
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Graduated
Leader
On
September 4, 2015, Sgt. J. Caramucci graduated
from The Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership
Institute (SBSLI). Sgt. Caramucci was one of 24
Sergeants selected from around the state to
participate in the program.
The
SBSLI is designed to stimulate personal growth,
leadership, and ethical decision-making in
California law enforcement front-line
supervisors. Designed and implemented in 1988
through the efforts of California law
enforcement professionals and top educators and
trainers, the SBSLI is an intense program based
on experiential learning techniques. Students
are challenged to learn new ways to resolve
issues through group and individual
work.
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| Sgt. Caramucci at the
SBSLI graduation with his wife and
son. |
The
curriculum takes the students through an
analysis of management (such as planning and
organizing) and leadership and how each
discipline complements the other. The course
progresses from self-evaluation, to
interpersonal evaluation, to organizational
relationships.
Sgt.
Caramucci is the Unit Manager for the Sheriff's
City Hall Security Unit. Congratulations, Sgt.
Caramucci!
Quick
Action by Sgt. Caramucci Facilitates
Resuscitation of Man Found Overdosed at City
Hall
Quick thinking on the part of Sgt. J.
Caramucci saved the life of a man who was found
unconscious and not breathing in a City Hall
bathroom in August after an apparent drug
overdose.
Sgt. Caramucci responded at about
11:30am to a call from a facility custodian
reporting that a man in his 30's was unconscious
in a bathroom stall. He used a pocket knife to
open the locked stall door and found the man
unconscious, with a needle in his arm, and not
breathing. Sgt. Caramucci immediately deployed
life-saving measures and contacted
paramedics who quickly arrived on
the scene, resuscitated the subject and
transported him to a hospital.
A liquid substance found later at the
scene tested positive for heroin.
"We're proud of our deputies for
their swift and effective work in this case,"
said Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi.
Sheriff's Deputy Helps
Save Man Who OD'd at S.F. City Hall.
SFGate.
8/20/15.
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Urban
Shield 2015
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| Urban Shield 2015
Site #24: Golden Gate Bridge, North. September
12,
2015. |
Since
its inception in 2007, SFSD participates
in the Urban Shield regional training exercise
hosted by the Alameda County Sheriff's
Office. Urban Shield is a unique
event that allows participating teams a
practical opportunity to evaluate their level of
preparedness and ability to perform during a
48-hour continuous operational period.
This
year, members of the SFSD's Special Response
Team (SRT) participated as a tactical team, and
the Emergency Services Unit operated two sites
with different tactical scenarios at the Hall of
Justice. During the training exercise, the
SRT participated in 34 individual events ranging
from Search Warrant Service to Active
Shooter/Immediate Action scenarios. Teams are
transported to the individual scenario sites
located in five separate Area Commands
throughout the Bay Area. The SRT was confronted
with events designed to test their capabilities
and decision-making, and was debriefed after
each scenario with immediate feedback from
tactical evaluators.
Our
participation has proven invaluable, leading to
challenging experiences for the team and an
increase in our operational capabilities.
This
event is not limited to teams from our regional
area, but is open to any team wishing to
participate. This year, teams from Miami, Texas,
and Korea participated. In past years, teams
from Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Boston have
participated, as well as teams representing the
governments of France, Israel, Jordan, Brazil,
and the Kingdom of
Bahrain. |
Acupuncture
at the WRC!
 The SFSD's Women's
Resource Center (WRC) in September began
offering free acupuncture, with a twist.
Auricular acupuncture addresses pressure points
on the ears and is widely acknowledged to
alleviate stress and instill feelings of
independence, especially among those suffering
from addictions or mental health issues.
The
WRC's collaboration with the California
Institute of Integral Studies which operates
clinics throughout the city will bring "a wealth
of much needed services for mental well-being,"
according to WRC Director, Ida McCray. More
broadly, the initiative will work in conjunction
with other therapies, such as individual and
group counseling sessions, in order to promote
wellness and thus "ascertain some healthy goals
for their life."
Auricular
acupuncture is just one part of a raft of
innovative measures aimed at reducing recidivism
among women post-release and caring for, in some
cases, homeless women and others "seeking
attention, comfort and refuge."
In
addition to clients, the treatment will also be
made available to frontline staff at the
WRC. |
Play
Ball!
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| SFSD team, 2015
Fleet Week Softball Tournament. Looking
good! |
On
Thursday, October 9, 2015 the annual Fleet Week
Softball Tournament was held at Moscone Park. It
was a beautiful day to play softball, with few
clouds in the sky. Fourteen players proudly
represent the SFSD.
Our
first game was against the United States Marine
Corps. We scored several runs in the first
inning and never looked back. Sr. Deputy Conway
showed his hitting power and running speed by
hitting a homerun! Deputy T. Kang was our
pitcher and pitched an outstanding game. We beat
the Marines by a score of 13 to 11.
Our
second game was against the SF Police Department
(SFPD). They had a very good, competitive team
this year. Cadet V. Becerra's homerun was called
back as a ground rule double because the ball
rolled into the stands of the next field. Deputy
D. Daguman made some of the best defensive plays
in the tournament. We ended up losing to the
SFPD by a score of 7 to 0.
Special
thanks to Sheriff Mikirami for allowing us to
participate this year, and many thanks to
all of the command staff, supervisors,
deputies and families who came to support us. As
usual, our department came out in full force! We
hope to see everyone again next
year!
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SFSD
Around Town
Members
of the SFSD's Mounted Unit were all smiles on
October 11, at the 147th Annual Italian Heritage
Day
Parade!
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and
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