It shall be the responsibility of line personnel on each shift to ensure an adequate supply of Inmate Request Forms, Inmate Grievance Forms, and medical envelopes are available and reasonably accessible to inmates in the housing location. Line supervisors shall check each housing location a minimum of once per shift to ensure the forms and medical envelopes are reasonably available.
Whenever possible, housing officers shall answer all informal requests for general information concerning the inmate and address any informal requests during the shift in which they are received. In instances where this is not possible, any requests for information that have not been addressed shall be relayed to respective personnel of the following shift for appropriate handling. Refer to section 8-02/005.00, "Informal Requests."
Inmate Grievance Forms given directly to the housing officer shall not be refused. Line personnel who receive a request, grievance, or appeal from an inmate shall give the form(s) to the floor sergeant, who shall review and time stamp the form(s) and assign any informal requests to housing area personnel. Emergency grievances as delineated in section 8-03/010.00, "Emergency Grievances," or those requiring priority handling (see “Line Sergeant Responsibilities”), shall be delivered promptly to the watch commander for further review and assignment. General requests and non-emergent grievances shall be placed in locked collection bins for retrieval by the Unit Inmate Grievance Team.
Line sergeants shall be responsible for collecting inmate requests, grievances, and appeals, from all secured inmate grievance boxes located throughout the jail, in keeping with the collection times established in the respective facility’s unit orders, but no less than once per day. The number of forms retrieved shall be recorded in the designated section of the electronic Uniform Daily Activity Log (e-UDAL).
Whether collected from secured inmate grievance boxes or delivered to staff directly by the filing inmate, request, grievance, and appeal forms shall be time stamped and reviewed by line sergeants. As part of their review, line sergeants shall identify any requests, grievances, and appeals requiring priority handling, confirm the dates of submission and verify that only one issue is addressed per form, sign and date the forms, and ensure the inmate has taken his or her copy. The forms shall be sorted by category. Informal requests shall be assigned by the sergeant to a staff member to handle promptly (refer to section 8-02/005.00, "Informal Requests").
In addition, line sergeants shall be responsible for, at least once per day, reviewing any inmate requests, grievances, and appeals received via computer tablet to identify any which may require priority handling.
During the collection and review of inmate requests, grievances, and appeals, line sergeants shall identify any of which concern healthcare, including grievances against medical and mental health staff, and promptly time stamp and deliver these to an on-duty supervising staff nurse. Correctional health Services (CHS) personnel receiving a medical or mental health grievance shall time stamp, review, and process them in accordance with unit orders established by CHS. Line sergeants identifying priority grievances outlined in section 8-03/005.00, "Inmate Grievances" and emergency appeals, shall handle them as follows:
Watch commanders presented with any of the requests, grievances, or appeals requiring priority handling shall review them with priority and ensure they are addressed in accordance with the procedures set forth in this policy.
Supervising staff nurses presented with any requests, grievances, or appeals shall review and address them in accordance with CHS policy. Refer to section 8-03/020.00, "Healthcare Grievances."
All other requests and grievances shall be time stamped and placed in secured collection bins centrally located within each floor, area or building, pending retrieval by Inmate Grievance Team personnel.
In the event that a line sergeant is not available to perform the collection as noted, he or she shall notify the watch commander who shall reassign this task to another line sergeant(s).
It shall be the watch commander’s responsibility to ensure Inmate Grievance Forms, Inmate Request Forms, and appeals forms are collected from secured inmate grievance boxes as established in the facility’s unit orders, but no less than once per day. The watch commander shall regularly review the e-UDAL to ensure the supervisors collecting Inmate Grievance and Inmate Request Forms are signing the e-UDAL as required.
Watch commanders shall review and approve all dispositions involving resolved grievances against staff as stated under section 8-04/010.00, "Dispositions, Interim Status Responses, and Inmate Notifications."
NOTE: In cases of allegations concerning employee misconduct, the watch commander shall forward a memorandum with all related documents to the unit commander with his or her recommendation as to whether or not an administrative or criminal investigation is warranted.
In consultation with the Division Inmate Grievance Coordinator, unit commanders shall designate an Inmate Grievance Team at their respective facilities. The unit commander for Pitchess Detention Center (PDC) North shall designate the Inmate Grievance Team for North and South facilities. While a formalized Inmate Grievance Team will not be required for the Inmate Reception Center (IRC), the unit commander of IRC shall designate a sergeant who will be responsible to perform the duties of the Unit Inmate Grievance Coordinator, as applicable, and shall establish a unit order describing the process by which all grievances, requests, and/or appeals are collected, reviewed, and handled in accordance with this policy.
The unit commander, or designee, shall review and sign the final disposition of completed inmate grievances against staff and emergency grievances, as specified in section 8-03/040.00, "Grievances Against Staff." If during the review, the unit commander or designee determines the disposition to be inappropriate, the grievance shall be returned to the supervisor who approved the disposition for additional investigation or review.
Upon reviewing and approving their dispositions, unit commanders shall ensure that grievances against staff alleging that any level of force was used to retaliate against the aggrieved inmate are scheduled for review by the Custody Force Review Committee (CFRC). CFRC shall review the grievance at its next meeting, or the meeting threafter, following the unit commander's approval of the disposition. Refer to CDM section 7-07/020.00, "Custody Force Review Committee."
In addition, the unit commander shall direct, when appropriate, any additional training, counseling, or mentoring, when a grievance against staff involving a use of force allegation results in a disposition of "Appears Employee Conduct Could Have Been Better," and document the action(s) taken. As part of the assessment and determination of the most appropriate course of action, unit commanders shall review the involved employee's Personnel Recording and Monitoring System (PRMS) record(s) and/or personnel file(s).
Should an inmate grievance investigation result in a disposition wherein the "Employee Conduct Should Have Been Different," the unit commander shall determine the following course of action:
For further information regarding dispositions for requests or grievances refer to section 8-04/010.00, "Dispositions, Interim Status Responses, and Inmate Notifications."
Unit commanders shall review first-level appeals of general grievances (refer to sections 8-04/030.05, "Appeals of Grievances - Not Against Staff" and 8-04/030.15, "Appeals of Emergency Grievances"), and ensure that if the review of an appeal of a grievance against staff results in a disposition modification not reflected in the original "Result of Inmate Grievance Against STaff Review" form (SH-J-455), the required documentation is completed as delineated in section 8-04/030.10, "Appeals of Grievances Against Staff."
Unit commanders shall be responsible for ensuring the inmate grievance process is implemented and maintained within their respective facilities, bureaus, or units in accordance with these policies and procedures. In addition, they shall establish unit orders, as appropriate, to address the operations of their facility's Inmate Grievance Team, and the handling of inmate requests, inmate grievances, and appeals, according to the specific needs of the facility. Unit commanders shall ensure grievance positions and responsibilities are appropriately staffed during designated times in accordance with established unit orders to ensure consistency in collecting and processing inmate grievances and requests.
While every effort shall be made by line sergeants to ensure inmate requests, grievances, and appeals are collected from secured inmate grievance boxes once every shift, unit orders shall specify they be collected and reviewed no less than once per day. The time(s) of said collection shall be coordinated with the Unit Inmate Grievance Team's collection, and shall be determined by the needs of the unit as designated by the respective unit commander.
Inmate Grievance Teams at MCJ, TTCF, Century Regional Detention Facility (CRDF), and the North County Correctional Facility (NCCF), shall be comprised of, at minimum, a supervising line deputy, a custody assistant and/or other appropriate professional staff, and shall be supervised by at least one sworn supervisor of the minimum rank of a sergeant who will serve as the Unit Inmate Grievance Coordinator and report to the Division Inmate Grievance Coordinator.
Due to the unique composition of PDC's North and South facilities, one (1) Inmate Grievance Team will assume the described responsibilities at both of these facilities and will coordinate with the concerned Compliance Lieutenant to ensure adherence with this policy.
Members of the Inmate Grievance Team shall be responsible for collecting from centrally located collection bins those requests and grievances not handled by line sergeants. Each Inmate Grievance Team shall also be responsible for reviewing, categorizing, tracking, and forwarding requests, grievances, and appeals to the appropriate person or unit for investigation and handling, and shall assist with responding to inmates as appropriate. In addition, they shall scan and enter all non-electronic grievances, general requests, and appeals forms they collect into CARTS, including the collection times, and assign them reference numbers.
Unit Inmate Grievance Coordinators shall be responsible for ensuring Inmate Request Forms, Inmate Grievance Forms, and appeals forms, are collected from collection bins daily, excluding weekends and holidays, by their Inmate Grievance Teams, and inmate notifications are made, as specified in this policy.
Unit Inmate Grievance Coordinators shall be responsible for regularly tracking the facility’s handling of inmate grievances to ensure the investigations are completed reasonably and within established time frames, and inmates are notified of the results of the investigations.
Unit Inmate Grievance Coordinators shall ensure all pertinent information regarding grievances is entered and tracked in CARTS and the entries reflect the nature and status of each grievance and personnel assigned to address the concerns
In order to ensure appropriate tracking in CARTS, the Unit Inmate Grievance Coordinator shall be responsible for consulting with the watch commander, or supervising lieutenant, to ascertain which supervisor will be assigned to handle priority grievances and grievances against staff.
Except where specified by this policy, the Unit Inmate Grievance Coordinator shall be responsible for investigating any grievances which do not fall under the jurisdiction of another sub-unit or supervisor.
Unit Inmate Grievance Coordinators shall provide a monthly report to unit commanders and the Division Inmate Grievance Coordinator regarding the status of inmate grievances and the timeliness of facility investigations, responses, appeals, and notifications to inmates of the results of the investigations and grievance appeals. The report shall also include an analysis of any identified problematic trends. Unit Inmate Grievance Coordinators shall provide the Division Inmate Grievance Coordinator with status updates and follow-up regarding any areas of concern involving inmate requests, grievances, and appeals as needed, or upon request.
General requests, grievances, or appeals received electronically or in written form, shall be directed to the appropriate facilities, bureaus, or units in CARTS and shall be handled in accordance with section 8-04/040.00, "Time Frames."
The Unit Inmate Grievance Coordinator shall be responsible for making a determination as to which unit and/or person is to be assigned to handle inmate requests, grievances, and appeals. The Unit Inmate Grievance Coordinator shall consult with the watch commander, or supervising lieutenant, as needed to determine which supervisor will be assigned to handle any emergency grievances, priority requests, appeals, and/or grievances against staff.
In the absence of the sergeant assigned to this position, an Inmate Grievance Team supervisor may be temporarily designated to assume the responsibilities of the Unit Inmate Grievance Coordinator, as directed by the concerned facility's compliance lieutenant. In addition, unit commanders may authorize the performance of limited duties by a trained Inmate Grievance Team member.
Each facility's compliance lieutenant shall serve as the direct supervisor of the Unit Inmate Grievance Coordinator, and the activities of the Inmate Grievance Team. Refer to CDM section 7-07/030.00, "Compliance Lieutenant."
Unit commanders of specialized units and/or bureaus such as Food Services Unit (FSU), Population Management Bureau (PMB), Custody Investigative Services (CIS), and Inmate Services Bureau (ISB) shall establish unit orders to ensure all grievances or requests involving their unit are reasonably addressed and responded to within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date they are received by the Sheriff's Department, in accordance with section 8-04/040.00, "Time Frames." In addition, the units shall ensure that the final disposition is entered in CARTS, and coordinate with CHS to ensure that the handling of medical and/or mental health inmate grievances are tracked by the Department in CARTS. Each bureau or unit shall designate an Inmate Grievance Coordinator who shall ensure CARTS is updated with the final disposition of the grievance or request. The coordinator shall forward approved dispositions of grievances against staff to the unit commander or designee for approval and signature.
A Division Inmate Grievance Coordinator, at the minimum rank of lieutenant, assigned to Custody Support Services (CSS), shall be responsible for coordinating the review of appeals, communicating with each of the facilities, bureaus, and units regarding inmate grievances and Inmate Grievance Team activities, and for conducting regular audits to ensure compliance with the Division's grievance and appeals policy (refer to section 8-04/030.00, "Appeals Process and Structure"). The Coordinator will ensure grievance responses are completely answered and stated in clear, understandable language. In the absence of the lieutenant assigned to this position, a sergeant may be temporarily designated to assume the responsibilities of the Division Inmate Grievance Coordinator.