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Field Operations Directives (FODs)

86-012 Inmate Security, Safety, and Special Handling


86-013 Fire and Life Safety at Field Operations Regions' Facilities
86-011 Notification and Reporting of Significant Incidents

INMATE SECURITY, SAFETY, AND SPECIAL HANDLING

The security and safety of all inmates booked and housed in station jail facilities are a prime responsibility of all sheriff's station unit commanders. Each station unit commander shall appoint a jail manager to operate and supervise their Type I jail facility. The appointed jail manager shall be the permanent rank of lieutenant.

The custodian of prisoners has a responsibility to the prisoner to keep them safe and to protect them from unnecessary harm. Thus, the official must exercise reasonable and ordinary care for the life and health of the prisoner.

Persons arrested and/or housed in station jails shall be handled as follows:

Comatose Persons

Patrol deputies encountering comatose (passed out) or unconscious persons shall:

  • Transport or cause to be transported such persons to the nearest emergency hospital for medical examination. A comatose prisoner shall not be transported to the station.
  • If the medical authority determines that intoxication is the sole cause of their condition, they may be booked at the station if:
    • They regain consciousness and no obvious hazards are attached by jailing them him.
    • The medical evaluation form completed by the approved medical authority states that the prisoner is okay for booking.
    • The elements necessary to establish a violation of 647-f Penal Code are present.

NOTE: If attempts to rouse an individual fail and booking is necessary, they shall be transported to L.C.M.C.

  • Station jailers shall be alert to the presence of persons in custody and if they note any unusual change in condition in the inmate, they shall immediately notify the desk sergeant and watch commander. The watch commander shall be responsible for evaluating the situation and if necessary, take appropriate action, e.g., immediate transport to E.A.P. hospital or arrange transfer to jail wards.

Injured Inmates

No inmate who has received or complains of serious injury, whether inflicted at the time of arrest or prior thereto, shall be booked into a station jail before they have been examined, treated and incarceration approved by a medical authority.

Injuries sustained by inmates during the course of their booking or their subsequent station confinement shall be verbally reported to the watch commander.

Unusual Conditions

Inmates with unusual medical or psychological problems, i.e., diabetes, heart condition, contagious diseases, mental derangement, suicidal or self-injury tendencies require special handling.

To meet our stated duty to the inmate and to protect Department employees, the following procedures must be followed:

  • Whenever it comes to your attention that an inmate may possibly require special handling, an "Inmate Special Handling Request Form" (SH-J-181) shall be completed and signed by the watch commander.
    • This special form shall be available at the station booking area and the completes form shall be kept with the teletype copies of the booking slip and the inmate's property.
    • Transportation personnel shall be advised of the special handling requirements on inmates being transported.
    • Transportation Bureau personnel shall be given the "Inmate Special Handling Request Form" for delivery to the appropriate custodial facility.
  • Jailers are instructed to bring to the attention of the watch sergeant and watch commander any problems of a nature necessitating special handling that develops subsequent to booking.
    • If there is doubt as to the physical condition of a prisoner, the watch sergeant or watch commander shall have the prisoner transported to a hospital for a doctor's opinion and the doctor's name shall be noted on the "Inmate Special Handling Request Form."

Station Inmate Inspection Procedure

Visual Inspections

The jailer responsible for inmates held at a station shall conduct an inspection of the inmates at periodic intervals during each shift. The exact time of each inspection shall be left to the discretion of the station jailer. However, normal intervals of not more than thirty minutes will be adhered to on a varied basis that will provide a minimum of at least two inspections per hour. These inspections shall be conducted with the two-fold purpose of providing maximum jail security and ensuring the safety and welfare of the prisoners.

In addition, watch commanders and watch sergeants will visually inspect detention areas a minimum of two times per watch.

Inmate Worker Count Procedure

The reverse side of the "Station Prisoner Inspection Record" provides for a station inmate worker tcount, by watch, which shall be conducted as follows:

  • The person assigned to supervise inmate workers (sergeant, jailer, custody assistant, etc.) shall check each inmate worker by name and indicate their presence by initialing the appropriate time column. This verification shall occur at least three times during each watch, unless the inmate workers are under lock down.

Maintenance and Disposition of Record

A separate record shall be maintained covering each shift during a twenty-four hour period. These records shall be kept on file for a period of thirty days, at which time, they may be destroyed.

Follow-up Inquiry on Inmates

In all cases of suicide, including attempt suicide, and in other cases where inmates die in station facilities or as a direct result of incarceration in stations, in addition to other required notification, the appropriate division commander (area commander and /or department duty commander), shall be notified.

Memoranda by the watch commander, watch sergeant, jailer, and other responsibility for the care and custody of such inmate shall be submitted to the station unit commander.

The division commander shall make a comprehensive investigation without unnecessary delay and submit a memorandum to the division chief setting forth their findings.

All stations shall adopt procedures in the following areas:

Sanitation and Health Plan

Each station shall maintain a written plan outlining a regular schedule of cleaning and sanitary inspection to include provisions for immediate supervision of food service by a staff member, and periodic testing of food temperatures (140 degrees Fahrenheit hot; 45 degrees Fahrenheit cold).

Standard Issue of Bedding

All prisoners confined in other than the booking or holding cells shall be issued:

  • A clean serviceable mattress.
  • A clean mattress cover.
  • One or more blankets depending on climatic conditions.

Fire Suppression Plan

A fire suppression plan, approved by fire authorities having jurisdiction over the facility, shall be developed to include:

  • Regular fire prevention inspections by facility staff.
  • Fire prevention inspections by fire authorities at least twice a year.
  • An evacuation plan for prisoners including alternate housing locations.

Area for Reception and Booking

  • The capacity of the booking area (booking cage) shall not exceed ten (10) prisoners, except during emergency conditions.
  • The capacity of the sobering/detox cell shall not exceed fifteen (15) prisoners, except during emergency conditions.

These limitations may be exceeded at the direction of the station watch commander whenever unusual events such as mass bookings, disturbances, etc., exists.

Inmate Workers

Inmate workers shall be governed by the Custody Division Manual and the Station Jail Manual.

Attorney Interviews

Each station shall provide an area that can be used for confidential attorney/prisoner consultation.