Individual grievances submitted by three (3) or more inmates from the same housing location referencing the same issue or concern, or the submission of one (1) Inmate Grievance Form by multiple inmates, shall be considered group grievances. A single reference number shall be assigned for each group grievance and applied to each individual Inmate Grievance Form.
A grievance shall not be accepted or processed as a group grievance if the matter for which the grievance is being filed requires a response to a specific set of facts that are not the same for all participants in the grievance. In such case, the group grievance shall be returned to the inmate by the retrieving Inmate Grievance Team member, or line personnel with directions to advise all inmates who signed the grievance to submit individual grievances regarding their separate issues.
Sufficient independent interviews with the participating inmates shall be held to clarify the issue in the grievance.
Once the result of the group grievance investigation has been determined, the assigned sergeant shall complete the "Disposition" section in the Custody Automated Reporting and Tracking System (CARTS). A printed Notification of Disposition form and an advisory of the right to appeal, generated in CARTS, shall be delivered to each involved inmate within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date the grievance was received by the Sheriff's Department, absent exceptional circumstances.
In order to avoid duplicate entries and the disruption of orderly and timely processing of grievances, every inmate who signs a group grievance is ineligible to submit additional grievances on the same issue. Separate grievances filed by inmates who have signed a group grievance on the same issue shall be closed in CARTS as a duplicate of the group grievance. In addition, a group grievance counts toward each aggrieved inmate’s allowable number of grievance filings, as specified in section 8-04/050.00, "Duplicate or Excessive Filings of Grievances and Appeals, and Restriction of Filing Privileges."
Refer to section 8-04/030.00, "Appeals Process and Structure," for information on appeals of group grievances.