20 May 2002

TO:       All DPH Institutional Police Personnel

FROM:  SFSD/SFIP Transition Team

SUBJECT:  NEWS UPDATE

The Transition is moving ahead, close to schedule, and the prospect of a merger is getting much closer to becoming a reality. The budget people from the Sheriff and DPH have crunched and compared numbers, the all new draft of the Institutional Police Policy and Procedure Manual has been presented to labor and others for review and comment, and new officers have been hired to improve staffing levels.

COMMENDATIONS

            The San Francisco Sheriff’s Department officially recognized three I.P. members who received Captain’s Commendations for their work. On 05/13/02 SFSD Chief Deputy C. Koehler, Awards Committee Chair, issued a memorandum listing the awards his committee processed. IP Sergeant Timothy Overall # 16, IP Officer Linell Williams # 50 and IP Officer Al Cortez # 42 all received commendations through Capt. Al Waters. The three officers were instrumental in locating, identifying and assisting in the arrest of a fugitive wanted by a joint federal, state and local task force. The suspect was considered a high profile violent offender. A copy of Chief Koehler’s memorandum will be posted in the LHH and SFGH IP stations.

            Capt. Al Waters also issued Captain’s Commendations for IP Officer Agustus Isaac # 48, IP Officer Otha Cotton # 112, and IP Officer Len Williams # 116 for their involvement in the arrest of a two-strike felon who had boosted an auto and was carrying a hammer.

            Congratulations for all of the IP officers who were commended.

MERGER STAFFING REPORT

            Sr. Deputy David Hardy and members of the Transition Team completed a detailed Staffing Report for presentation to the financial / budget types at SFSD, DPH and the Mayor’s Office. The staffing report illustrates the means by which officers are assigned, how and where they are deployed and scheduled, ideal staffing levels, current and proposed staffing levels, and staffing budgets. By all accounts, the proposal was well received. A PowerPoint computer presentation was used to help illustrate staffing levels and the associated costs.

I.P. STAFFING AT SFGH and LHH

            DPH has hired four, new full-time 8204 Institutional Police Officers in recent months (a couple were already part-timers). Capt. AL Waters, Sgt. Ralph Restauro and Sgt. Tim Overall all worked together to accomplish the hiring. For SFGH, we hired Agustus “Gus” Isaac and Lon Banks. For LHH, we hired Thomas Yee and Donald Richardson. For the Clinics, we are attempting to convert part-time officer Ed Balli to full-time status. These are major steps in addressing staff shortages, task saturation, workload induced officer fatigue and most importantly…OFFICER SAFETY. More Cops = More Backup.

CROSS TRAINING

            When LHH Officer Thomas Yee did his Field Training at SFGH, SFGH Officer R.V. Finwall filled in for him at LHH. This resulted in a form of cross training for both officers. When LHH Officer Donald Richardson starts his Field Training at SFGH, Officer Mark Mesquita will temporarily cover his shifts at LHH.

DISPATCHER STAFFING

            Interviews have been conducted to replace a vacant Dispatcher’s position. We are hoping to hire and train a replacement dispatcher as quickly as possible.

TRAINING

            Contact has been made with POST. Inquiries have been made regarding the Basic Course Waiver (BCW), Basic Course Re-qualification (BCR), module “D” training, etc. to POST. There is nothing official from POST yet regarding IP personnel acquiring an expedited POST Basic certificate or restoring expired certificates. Officer Gordon Low has been collecting training data to develop a training matrix for each officer. When a training matrix has been completed for each officer, a representative from POST will be consulted as to how best to proceed from there. Officer Low or Officer Ken Nichols will attempt to meet with every IPO so that each officer can review their own file prior to presentation to POST.

THE MANUAL

            Lt. Gary Kong has nearly completed the draft Institutional Police Policy and Procedure Manual. It incorporates elements of the SFPD General Orders, SF Sheriff’s Dept. Manual, the LAPD and LA County (formerly “Safety”) Police Manuals, Highland Hospital/AC County Sheriff Manual and existing DPH manuals. All of the important operational policies are done and only a handful of detail policies (or policies which may already be in place with the SFSD) remain to be done. Copies of the draft manual were presented to the Transition Team and leadership members of the SFIPOA and the SEIU Local 790 for review.

MEETING

            There was a meeting on 05/07/02 with representatives of the SFIPOA and SEIU Local 790. Capt. Al Waters presented a status report of the transition process, and much of the content from that meeting is contained in this newsletter. The next meeting is scheduled for 06/04/02.

PROBATIONARY OFFICERS WORKING O.T.

            After a discussion at the 05/07/02 meeting, it was determined that institutional police officers who have completed F.T.O. but are still on probation can work overtime post assignments after all overtime lists (of all ranks) and call-ups have been exhausted.

CLINIC SUPERVISOR

            John Majka has announced that he will retire near the end of the month. He is currently the acting supervisor for the Clinics. Capt. Waters announced signups among DPH IP Sergeants and Sheriff’s Staff for appointment as the “Clinic Sergeant.” No selection has been made at this time.

BUDGET REPORT

            The budget implications of the merger have been researched by the financial officers of both DPH and SFSD. A report has been presented to the Mayor’s Office. The Mayor’s Office has until mid-May to submit a budget report to the Board of Supervisors. As of this date, there is no indication that the report has been forwarded. The Board of Supervisors then has to have an approved budget in place for July 01, 2002 which is the first day of the new fiscal year.

TARGET DATE

            July 01, 2002 is the anticipated date of the official transfer of IPO’s from DPH to SFSD. We are hopeful that the transfer (merger) will be completed on schedule.

JCAHO INSPECTION

            By all accounts, IP operations passed JCAHO with flying colors. Nice work!