Legal responsibility for inmate custody and supervision belongs to the Sheriff; however, section 25359 of the Government Code states that the Sheriff may direct inmates to work under the direction of paid personnel from the Fire Department, Department of Public Works (e.g., Road Maintenance, Flood Control District) and Internal Services Department. Inmates from Custody Division are regularly assigned to work under the direction of Fire Department and Road Maintenance personnel and, occasionally, inmates may be requested to perform special tasks for other departments.
Each new request to perform work for other than Fire Department and Road Maintenance shall be in writing and shall be evaluated on its own merit. A Custody Division representative shall review the working conditions to ensure that inmates are not put into perilous or hazardous positions.
The evaluating Sergeant shall attach an SH-AD-131, memorandum, to the request, indicating his recommendations, and forward it to the concerned Custody Division headquarters for approval/disapproval.