REFERENCE: CDM 3-01/090.00, 3-01/090.05, 3-10\010.00; Custody Operations Directive 17-001
PURPOSE OF ORDER:
The purpose of this order is to establish procedures for the search and inspection of all personnel and their personal effects, as they enter secured areas of Pitchess Detention Center (PDC) South Facility.
SCOPE OF ORDER:
This order applies to all personnel entering any secured area within PDC South Facility.
ORDER:
“Secured areas” shall be defined as any area inside the second double security door from the administration offices, and any area inside the main yard gate or within the perimeter of the South Facility outer perimeter fence.
A custody canine (K-9) may assist in searching sworn employees, non-sworn employees, professional staff, volunteers, vendors, and/or anyone else who enters South Facility. Custody K-9s are trained to detect narcotics, alcohol, and cell phones. K-9s shall not examine any food items. A supervisor shall check the food items to ensure that contraband has not been concealed.
Personnel shall adhere to the list of allowed and prohibited outlined in CDM section 3-01/090.00, “Security of Personal Property.”
PROCEDURES
The shift watch commander shall designate the shift sergeants and supervising line deputies to conduct random and periodic inspections and searches of sworn personnel and their personal effects, upon signing in for their assigned shift. The searches shall be conducted at a minimum of once a week, per shift. The search shall be documented in the Watch Commander’s Log.
All personal property bags brought into custody facilities shall be clear. The decision to bring personal items into the secured area of a custody facility is an individual’s decision. Items brought into a secured area should be kept to a minimum and should be limited to items needed during the work day.
Bags/containers brought into the secured area of a custody facility shall be constructed of clear material. With regard to this policy, a backpack, briefcase, tote or lunch box are considered bags. Personal medications and hygiene products may be stored within a smaller opaque container within the main clear bag.
To ensure the ease of content inspection, identifying markings, stickers, patches, unit logos or graphics shall not obstruct the transparent view of the contents in the bag and shall not be offensive in nature.
A visual inspection of food items should be sufficient, but periodically, or if there is suspicion concerning any food item, it may be manually inspected, probed or opened to complete the search. The actual searching, probing or opening of an employee’s food item shall be conducted by personnel in possession of the item, in the presence of the supervisor requesting the search.
The watch commander shall be notified immediately when contraband is found. It shall be the watch commander’s discretion on how to handle the employee found in violation of this order, based on the egregiousness of the contraband found. Pursuant to Department policy, mandatory notifications and actions shall be followed in situations in which they are required.