Sheriff’s Employees are Honored

Recently the County Board of Supervisors honored several county employees that have demonstrated excellent service to the community. In the Justice category, the Sheriff’s Office was pleased to have its staff win both the Gold and Silver awards.

In the Gold category, Sheriff’s jail and county Probation staff consisting of Lieutenant Craig Wilson, Sergeant Dan Kemper, Officer Aldo Hernandez, Officer Siobhan Carey, Deputy Probation Officers Barbara Lee, Alissa Bailey-Dunnet, Sharon Corral, Jesse Duque, Ed Guzman, and Charlie Smith won the award for their extraordinary efforts to reduce overcrowding at the Main Jail. For many years, the main jail has been faced with a growing inmate population with too few beds for them. In 1999, the daily average population at the jail was 322 inmates. By 2004, this average had risen to 408 and would spike to 450 during the summer months.

For those that work daily in our local jail system, overcrowding breeds assaults on other inmates and staff, vandalism, suicides, and other crimes. Many of the jails in California are seriously overcrowded and Sheriffs and the courts are having to make tough choices in releasing inmates back into the community before their sentences are completed.

Trying to get ahead of this rising issue, the Sheriff’s Office formed a task force along with numerous stakeholders in the criminal justice process to develop alternative strategies to overcrowding but not affect the overall safety of the community. These staff members were tasked with coming up with alternatives by closely examining the entire custody process from initial arrest through the court process. As a result, they made many helpful suggestions, some of which have been implemented including supervised pretrial release by the Probation Department. Of the pretrial inmates released and supervised in 2006, 79% have successfully completed their programs without any rule violations and 94% made all their court appearances. This process averted an estimated 13,439 in jail bed days during the first eleven months of 2006 and continues to improve. As a result, the Main Jail realized a 10% reduction in population without affecting the safety of the public. These employees have improved upon a system that was considered too complicated to fix in a matter of months and deserve congratulations.

In the Silver category, Sheriff’s Sergeant Mario Sulay received this award for his leadership in helping to implement a Joint Agency Gang Operations task force made up of county law enforcement agencies and the District Attorneys Office. Sergeant Sulay is the Investigations Division supervisor of the Persons Crimes unit and noted the growing gang involvement in some 2006 homicides and violent assaults within the county. Recognizing that local law enforcement did not have the funding to implement a fulltime countywide gang task force, Sergeant Sulay brought all the police agencies to the table along with District Attorney Bob Lee to develop guidelines and strategies to immediately impact the gang violence occurring throughout the county. By pooling our resources in response to street gang violence, all county law agencies have a better understanding of documented gang members’ illegal activities.

To date, there have been more than a dozen JAG Operations by county law enforcement resulting in more effective gang suppression, including the arrest of two men believed responsible for a gang-related shooting in 2006. In addition to his role in organizing briefings, setting schedules for gang operations, and sharing knowledge of criminal street gangs, he has been involved in the actual street enforcement as well. His dedication along with the other officers of the various police agencies have contributed to safer communities.

Tip-A-Cop: In addition to this excellent police work, officers throughout the county volunteer their time every year to help local children and adults with developmental disabilities participate in athletic training and competition in the Special Olympics. About 400 of these athletes live in Santa Cruz County. Without the generosity of the community, there would not be a program for these wonderful athletes.

Please help support the Special Olympics by coming to Chili’s Restaurant in Capitola on Tuesday, May 8, 2007, from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm, where Sheriff’s deputies will be assisting restaurant staff serving tables to raise money for this valuable program. Hope to see you there.