Assessing the Police – Part 10 - Jail Deputies, Custodial Officers, and Jail Inspections

The criminal justice system is composed of the agencies of police, courts, and corrections. The corrections component holds people suspected (awaiting trial) and convicted of criminal offenses in-custody. There would not be much point in the police arresting someone, then the courts finding the person guilty, if the corrections function did not enforce and carry out the sentence as ordered by the court. So, who are the law enforcement officers that run the corrections component in California, what legal authority do they have, how does it compare to officers working in the streets. The authority to be a full-time sworn police officer in California is listed in penal code section 830.1(a), this includes positions with municipal police departments, sheriff deputies assigned to contract cities, and district attorney investigators for example. There is some confusion when it comes to the legal authority of correctional officers in the state based on the county involved. When it comes to those Sheriff deputies that work in our jails, there are different training requirements, and different legal classifications of what it means to be a “jail” or “custodial/correctional” deputy. 

CA POST regulates sheriff deputies and checks compliance for the 58 county POST Sheriff Agencies, which we classify as a “DPTY” in the POST database. CA POST reviews deputy background files when they are hired. However, for those deputies that work full-time in a county jail or correctional institution, their training compliance falls under the regulatory authority of the CA BSCC or Board of State and Community Corrections. Deputies that fall under BSCC are often classified as a “JDEP” or jail deputy in the POST database. There are also differences between the 58 counties in California, some allow for different levels of deputies, some do not. State Correctional Officers with the CDCR fall under 830.2(d) (1), this agency regulates itself and does not fall under POST or BSCC for auditing purposes.

Jail Deputies – 830.1(c) PC

In 1996, California Governor Pete Wilson signed legislation enacting Assembly Bill 574, this allowed the County of Los Angeles to designate deputies who are employed to perform duties exclusively relating to custodial assignments as “Jail Deputies” under penal code section 830.1(c). Since this designation was implemented on January 1, 1997, a total of 32 counties have been granted this authority. The 32 counties include Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Mendocino, Plumas, Riverside, San Benito, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Shasta, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, and Yuba.

Jail deputies are peace officers whose authority extends to any place in the state only while engaged in the performance of the duties of his or her respective employment and for the purpose of carrying out the primary function of employment relating to his or her custodial assignments, or when performing other law enforcement duties directed by his or her employing agency during a local state of emergency, unlike deputies hired under 830.1(a) that always have peace officer authority, such as deputies assigned to patrol functions. Jail deputies are those sworn employees tasked with performing duties exclusively or initially relating to custodial assignments with responsibilities for maintaining the operations of county custodial facilities, including the custody, care, supervision, security, movement, and transportation of inmates. The JDEPs, based solely on their penal code classification, do not fall under POST they fall under STC as stated in this section, this makes them ineligible for POST professional certificates.  

The Board of State and Community Corrections

The BSCC was established on July 1, 2012, and was formerly known as the Corrections Standards Authority (CSA), and prior to 2005, as the Board of Corrections (BOC) which was created in 1944 to provide leadership and coordination for local corrections agencies. Among other duties, the BSCC sets minimum standards for the selection and training requirements for local corrections personnel employed by Sheriff’s Offices, Probation Departments, including the core training standards. These responsibilities are defined in California Penal Code Sections 6024 through 6037 and carried out by the STC Division of the BSCC.

The STC program was established in 1980 to establish a statewide standard to raise the level of competence of the state’s local corrections and adult corrections personnel. The program accomplishes this by developing selection and training standards, providing a statewide course certification and delivery system, conducting compliance reviews, and providing technical assistance, training and funding to local corrections agencies. The program assists corrections agencies in ensuring they select qualified personnel and train them to a statewide standard to support proficient job performance. STC establishes legally defensible job-related skills training standards and selection criteria that helps protect agencies from failure to training and fair employment challenges. Job relatedness is provided through a thorough job analysis and assessment process that demonstrates the relationship between the standard (course subject matter or employment screening tool) and the job being performed.

Just like with POST, corrections agencies participate in the STC program voluntarily. Through their participation, agencies receive access to the statewide standards, the certification and course delivery system, and training and technical assistance provided through the STC program and agree to follow all program regulations, policies and procedures. Just like with POST, corrections agencies also receive funding to help offset the costs of complying with the state standards. The STC program is authorized in Penal Code Section 6035 and 6036, supporting regulations are found in Title 15, Division 1, Subchapter 1, Articles 1 - 9, Sections 100-358 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR). California Code of Regulations Sections 169-185 requires everyone hired into an entry-level corrections position to complete a core course of training, this is about 200 hours of corrections academy training, prescribed by STC, within one year of hire, assignment, or promotion. To locate training dates and times for the core courses, please refer to the STC Course Catalog or use the STC Core Course Schedule.

Custodial Deputies – 831.5(a) PC

A custodial deputy is a public officer, not a peace officer, who is employed by the Sheriff in select counties. The counties that employ custodial deputies are Fresno County, Kern County, Madera County, Napa County, Riverside County, Santa Clara County, San Diego County, and Stanislaus County; or any county having a population of 425,000 or less population. A custodial officer includes a person designated as a correctional deputy, jailer, or other similar title. A custodial deputy does not attend a full Regular Basic Course (police academy), they attend an approximately 200-hour correctional academy that is regulated by the BSCC. The duties of a custodial officer may include the serving of warrants, court orders, writs, and subpoenas in the detention facility or under circumstances arising directly out of maintaining custody of prisoners and related tasks.

A custodial officer has no right to carry or possess firearms in the performance of the officer’s prescribed duties, except, under the direction of the sheriff or chief of police, while engaged in transporting prisoners; guarding hospitalized prisoners; or suppressing jail riots, escapes, or rescues in or about a detention facility falling under the care and custody of the sheriff or chief of police. A person described in this section as a custodial officer shall, within 90 days following the date of the initial assignment to that position, satisfactorily complete the training course specified in Section 832. In addition, a person designated as a custodial officer shall, within one year following the date of the initial assignment as a custodial officer, have satisfactorily met the minimum selection and training standards prescribed by the Board of State and Community Corrections pursuant to Section 6035. 

A person described in this section as a custodial officer shall, within 90 days following the date of the initial assignment to that position, satisfactorily complete the training course specified in penal code section 832. In addition, a person designated as a custodial officer shall, within one year following the date of the initial assignment as a custodial officer, have satisfactorily met the minimum selection and training standards prescribed by the Board of State and Community Corrections pursuant to Section 6035. Persons designated as custodial officers, before the expiration of the 90-day and one-year periods described in this subdivision, who have not yet completed the required training, shall not carry or possess firearms in the performance of their prescribed duties, but may perform the duties of a custodial officer only while under the direct supervision of a peace officer, as described in Section 830.1, who has completed the training prescribed by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, or a custodial officer who has completed the training required in this section.

The law requires that anytime there are 20 or more custodial officers on duty in a jail, there shall be at least one peace officer (fulltime 830.1a deputy) on duty at the same time to supervise the performance of the custodial officers. Per Penal Code section 831(f) a custodial officer may do all of the following: (1) Use reasonable force in establishing and maintaining custody of persons delivered to him or her by a law enforcement officer. (2) Make arrests for misdemeanors and felonies within the local detention facility pursuant to a duly issued warrant. (3) Release without further criminal process persons arrested for intoxication. and (4) Release misdemeanants on citation to appear in lieu of or after booking.

A custodial officer may use reasonable force in establishing and maintaining custody of persons delivered to the custodial officer by a law enforcement officer; may make arrests for misdemeanors and felonies within the local detention facility pursuant to a duly issued warrant; may make warrantless arrests pursuant to Section 836.5 only during the duration of the custodial officer’s job; may release without further criminal process persons arrested for intoxication; and may release misdemeanants on citation to appear in lieu of or after booking.

Santa Clara, Madera, and Napa Counties

The law expands authority for certain counties. For example, custodial officers employed by the Santa Clara County Department of Correction, the Napa County Department of Corrections, and the Madera County Department of Corrections are authorized to perform the following additional duties in the facility: (1) Arrest a person without a warrant whenever the custodial officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed a misdemeanor or felony in the presence of the officer that is a violation of a statute or ordinance that the officer has the duty to enforce. (2) Search property, cells, prisoners, or visitors. (3) Conduct strip or body cavity searches of prisoners pursuant to Section 4030. (4) Conduct searches and seizures pursuant to a duly issued warrant. (5) Segregate prisoners. And (6) Classify prisoners for the purpose of housing or participation in supervised activities. This subdivision does not authorize the performance of any law enforcement activity involving any person other than the inmate or the inmate’s visitors.

It is the intent of the Legislature that this section, as it relates to Santa Clara, Madera, and Napa Counties, enumerate specific duties of custodial officers known as “correctional officers” in Santa Clara, Madera, and Napa Counties and to clarify the relationships of the correctional officers and deputy sheriffs in those counties. These duties are the same duties of the custodial officers prior to the date of enactment of Chapter 635 of the Statutes of 1999 pursuant to local rules and judicial decisions. It is further the intent of the Legislature that all issues regarding compensation for custodial officers remain subject to the collective bargaining process between the counties and the authorized bargaining representative for the custodial officers. However, this section does not assert that the duties of custodial officers are equivalent to the duties of deputy sheriffs and does not affect the ability of the county to negotiate pay that reflects the different duties of custodial officers and deputy sheriffs.

What is the process for hiring a Jail Deputy?

Because a Jail Deputy is defined as a Peace Officer by the California Penal Code, applicants must undergo an extensive process before they are hired by law enforcement agencies. Jail Deputies must, at a minimum, meet the selection standards outlined in the Government Code and pass the POST selection requirements contained in Commission Regulations 1950-1955 prior to hire. Commission Regulation 1003 requires that agencies that are part of the POST program report the appointment of all peace officers to POST using the Notice of Appointment/Termination (NOAT) Form 2-114, within 30 days. When the NOAT for a Jail Deputy is received, POST staff will inspect the individual’s background package and basic training during the next scheduled agency compliance review to verify that the selection process and the initial mandated training meet Commission standards. The NOAT form will designate Jail Deputies as JDEP in the POST EDI database. Subsequent promotions within the correctional systems allows for a subsequent NOAT to track Jail Sergeants and Jail Lieutenants as JSGT and JLT. Additional ranks in EDI include the JCDP - Jail Chief Deputy, JCMR - Jail Commander, JCPL - Jail Corporal, and JSDP - Jail Senior Deputy.

Jail Deputy Training

POST will accept Standards and Training for Corrections (STC) in-service training as meeting the Continuing Professional Training (CPT) requirement and will have no further oversight of JDEP training. There are no Perishable Skills Program training requirements for JDEPs. The Standards and Training for Corrections (STC) establishes the minimum selection and training standards for correctional officers, develops the core training curricula for entry-level staff, administers the training course certification process, provides program support and technical assistance to local corrections systems, and provides training in selected correctional course curriculum. California Code of Regulations, Title 11, Article 2, Section 1005 (d)(1) in part states, that completion by jail deputies of in-service training required by Standards and Training for Corrections (STC) for custodial officers listed in section 100 et seq. of Title 15 is considered to meet the POST CPT requirement.

California Code of Regulations, Title 11, Article 2, Section 1005 (d) (4) in part states, that effective January 1, 2002, all peace officers (except reserve officers and jail deputies) below the middle management position are required to complete Perishable Skills and Communications training. The Penal Code defines a deputy sheriff in Section 830.1(a), as one who performs police functions. These functions include patrol and investigations. Some agencies will employ deputy sheriffs to work in custody assignments before transferring to patrol. Deputy sheriffs working custody assignments also fall under the certification requirements of BSCC and STC. A deputy sheriff working in a custody assignment (also referred to as a JDEP) is defined in Penal Code Section 830.1(c), as a deputy who is employed to perform duties exclusively or initially relating to custodial assignments with responsibilities for maintaining the operations of county custodial facilities.

Regional Consultants working in the Training Delivery and Compliance Bureau, are responsible for performing annual compliance audits of POST-participating agencies. A portion of the compliance audit includes the tracking of CPT and PSP hours for each peace officer. Regional consultants will track deputy sheriff’s CPT and PSP hours, assigned to positions other than those that are custody-related. When regional consultants schedule compliance audits at agencies who are employing deputy sheriffs, the regional consultant will ask the training manager to provide a roster of peace officers and dispatchers excluding those deputies working in custody assignments; or two complete rosters showing custody and non-custody assignments. Only those peace officers (deputy sheriffs) who are on the roster of non-custody assignments will be responsible for completing the CPT and PSP requirements. Once deputy sheriffs transfer out of a custody assignment, they will not be responsible for completing CPT and PSP requirements until the following CPT cycle. Agencies may, at their discretion, elect to have their respective custodial deputy sheriffs attend conventional CPT and PSP courses.

Under the umbrella of the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC), the STC works hand in hand with local corrections systems to ensure the professional competence of its staff. The STC Core Training Program, developed in 2013, is similar to the Police Academy Training Curriculum. The STC Core Training Program includes six courses that provide the requisite knowledge and skills for success throughout the various stages of a worker career. Each course is directly linked to a specific corrections department job and contains subject matter related to the performance of that particular job. The courses—range from 56 to 196 hours of instruction.

Local Detention Facility Inspection Reports

Penal Code section 6031.1 and Welfare and Institutions Code sections 209 and 885 authorize the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) to conduct biennial inspections of local adult and juvenile detention facilities. Inspection cycles begin on July 1 in even years, ending on June 30 two years later. Pursuant to Assembly Bill 103 (Chapter 17, Statutes of 2017) biennial inspection reports will be posted on the BSCC website for public access. Summarized below are the types of facilities that the BSCC inspects, the format of biennial inspection reports, a list of local detention facilities for reference (by county and type) and a link to the reports themselves. Inspection reports are grouped into folders by type of facility and are listed alphabetically by county. For instance, the Los Angeles County Jails, which are Type II facilities, will be in the Adult County Jail and Court Holding Facility Inspection Report folder. See below for a list of the types of local detention facilities. For a list of statewide local detention facilities click here. To review completed inspection reports Click here to access inspection reports

Transport Officers and Custody Assistants

Per Penal Code Section 831.6(a) A transportation officer is a public officer, not a peace officer, appointed on a contract basis by a peace officer to transport a prisoner or prisoners. Per section (b) a transportation officer shall have the authority of a public officer, and shall have the right to carry or possess firearms, only while engaged in the transportation of a prisoner or prisoners for the duration of the contract. Per section (c) each person described in this section as a transportation officer shall, prior to the transportation of any prisoner, have satisfactorily completed the training course specified in Section 832. Per section (d) a transportation officer may use reasonable force in establishing and maintaining custody of persons delivered to him or her by a peace officer.

Per Penal Code Section 831.7(a) as used in this section, a custody assistant is a person who is a full-time employee, not a peace officer, employed by the county sheriff’s department who assists peace officer personnel in maintaining order and security in a custody detention, court detention, or station jail facility of the sheriff’s department. A custody assistant is responsible for maintaining custody of prisoners and performs tasks related to the operation of a local detention facility used for the detention of persons usually pending arraignment or upon court order either for their own safekeeping or for the specific purpose of serving a sentence therein. Custody assistants of the sheriff’s department shall be employees of, and under the authority of, the sheriff.

Per section (b) a custody assistant has no right to carry or possess firearms in the performance of his or her prescribed duties. Per section (c) each person described in this section as a custody assistant shall satisfactorily complete a training course specified by the sheriff’s department. In addition, each person designated as a custody assistant shall satisfactorily meet the minimum selection and training standards prescribed by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation pursuant to Section 6035. Per section (d) a custody assistant may use reasonable force in establishing and maintaining custody of persons housed at a local detention facility, court detention facility, or station jail facility.

Per section (e) custody assistants employed by the county sheriff’s department are authorized to perform the following additional duties in a custody facility, court detention facility, or station jail facility: (1) Assist in supervising the conduct of inmates in sleeping quarters, during meals and bathing, at recreation, and on work assignments. (2) Assist in overseeing the work of, and instructing, a group of inmates assigned to various operational, maintenance, or other rehabilitative activities. (3) Assist in the operation of main or dormitory control booths. (4) Assist in processing inmates for court appearances. (5) Control, or assist in the monitoring and control of, access to attorney rooms and visiting areas. (6) Fingerprint, photograph, or operate live scan machines with respect to inmates, or assist in the fingerprinting or photographing of inmates. (7) Obtain criminal history information relating to an inmate including any warrant or other hold, and update classification or housing information relating to an inmate, as necessary. (8) Interview inmates and review records related to the classification process to determine the appropriate security level for an inmate or the eligibility of an inmate for transfer to another facility (9) Ensure compliance of a custody facility, court detention facility, or station jail facility with the provisions of Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations, or with any other applicable legislative or judicial mandate. (10) Assist in receiving and processing inmates in a sheriff’s station, court detention area, or type I jail facility. (11) Secure inmates and their personal property and moneys as necessary in compliance with the rules and regulations of the sheriff’s department. (12) Order, inspect, or serve meals to inmates. (13) Maintain sanitary conditions within a custody facility, court detention facility, or station jail facility (14) Respond to public inquiries regarding any inmate.

Per section (f) notwithstanding any other law, nothing in this section shall be construed to confer any authority upon a custody assistant except while on duty, or to grant any additional retirement benefits to persons employed within this classification.