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ADMIN ACTION E-220 FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TITLE: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION NO: E-220 FILE: ADMIN ACTION EFFECTIVE DATE: 03-05-90 REVISED: 12-25-94, 06-04-95, 09-01-96, 03-01-99 01-01-00, 12-01-01, 10-01-20 AUTHORITY: Sheriff M. Mims APPROVED BY: Assistant Sheriff T. Gattie REFERENCE: California Code of Regulations, Title 15, Sections 1012 and 1081. PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to establish a process for the temporary suspension of any standard or requirement of the Minimum Jail Standards' or jail policy. POLICY: It is the policy of the Fresno County Sheriffs Office Jail Division to invoke administrative action by temporarily suspending regulations, privileges, opportunities, or activities normally granted to an individual inmate or group of inmates when the safety of staff, the public, other inmates and/or the security of the facility is at risk, provided that the suspended regulations are directly affected by the emergency and the action receives the prior approval of the Watch Commander. It is the policy of the Fresno County Sheriffs Office Jail Division that administrative action shall not be invoked as discipline or punishment. Administrative action can, however, be utilized to remove a person from general housing pending the outcome of either the disciplinary process or prosecution. Removing the person from the environment where the incident occurred prevents a continuation of that behavior while discouraging others to follow along. It is the policy of the Fresno County Sheriffs Office Jail Division that the Jail Operations Bureau Commander shall notify the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) in writing in the event that a suspension of any standard or a requirement contained within the Minimum Jail Standards lasts longer than three (3) days. In no event shall such a suspension continue more than fifteen (15) days without the approval of the chairperson of the BSCC for a time specified by him/her. The Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) Minimum Standards for Local Detention Facilities as found in Title 15, Division 1,Chapter 1,Subchapter 4, Section 1000 et seq.of the California Code of Regulations. Page 1 of 7 FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TITLE: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION NO: E-220 FILE: ADMIN ACTION PROCEDURES: I. ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION PARAMETERS A. Any emergency that causes a significant disruption of normal facility procedure, policy or operation caused by civil disorder, single incident of mass arrest, or natural disasters, may cause the temporary suspension of any standard or requirement. Emergencies can be caused by- 1. Inmates (e.g., a major behavior incident or contagious disease outbreak). 2. Natural disaster (e.g., fire, earthquake, etc.). 3. An immediate need to correct or repair a major facility system (e.g., locking mechanisms, etc.). B. In emergency situations, the Watch Commander may invoke administrative action and suspend compliance with any standard or requirement for up to three (3) days. 1. Administrative action may only be invoked with the prior approval of the Watch Commander. 2. The BSCC shall be notified if the suspension lasts longer than three (3) days. 3. In no event shall such a suspension continue more than fifteen (15) days without the approval of the chairperson of the BSCC for a time specified by him/her. C. The administrative action taken shall be reasonably related to providing a solution to the security or safety problem at hand. D. Only such regulations directly affected by the disruption may be suspended. E. Whenever administrative action is taken, the Watch Commander instituting the action shall be responsible to ensure: 1. An Administrative Action Report(J-133 form) is completed. 2. Medical staff is called and notified. Page 2 of 7 FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TITLE: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION NO: E-220 FILE: ADMIN ACTION 3. Copies of the Administrative Action Report are distributed as indicated on the bottom of the form. 4. The original form, along with a copy of the incident report, is forwarded to the Jail Operations Bureau Commander for review. II. REVIEW AND DISCONTINUATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION A. Any administrative action taken will be reviewed by the Jail Operations Bureau Commander (or his/her designee) on the next regular workday. The Jail Operations Bureau Commander may approve, discontinue and/or modify the administrative action. B. Administrative action should continue for the least amount of time necessary to handle each particular situation. C. An Administrative Action Review (J-134 form) shall be completed a mimimum of once every twenty-four (24) hours. 1. The Watch Commander of the shift on which the administrative action was first initiated shall be responsible to perform the review(s) and determine if the action should be continued, discontinued or modified. 2. The form shall be forwarded to the Jail Operations Bureau Commander for review, and copies shall be distributed as indicated on the bottom of the form. 3. Nothing shall preclude any Watch Commander from assessing the administrative action for modification or discontinuation at any time. D. If the suspension of standards or requirements continues beyond three (3) days, the Jail Operations Bureau Commander (or designee) must notify the BSCC. Notification should occur as soon as possible by written notification (via email). E. When the action is discontinued, the following shall occur: 1. An Administrative Action Review form is completed. 2. Medical staff is called and notified. 3. Copies of the form are distributed as indicated on the bottom of the form. Page 3 of 7 FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TITLE: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION NO: E-220 FILE: ADMIN ACTION 4. The original form is forwarded to the Jail Operations Bureau Commander for review and approval. F. The original forms documenting the progression of the administrative action will be maintained by the Jail Division's Administrative Assistant. The forms will be filed in the Administrative Office, indexed by date. The forms shall be maintained for five (5) years. III. ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION INVOLVING AN INDIVIDUAL INMATE A. If the actions or behavior of an inmate poses a threat to the safety of staff or other inmates, and/or the inmate misuses or abuses a right or privilege, a rule violation and incident report documenting the behavior shall be written and routed to the Facility Sergeant. The inmate may be placed on administrative action while awaiting the discipline process and such rights and privileges may be denied until it is determined by a Watch Commander to be safe to be allowed. 1. Any deprivation of rights or privileges withheld from an inmate prior to the discipline process shall require prior approval from the Watch Commander. NOTE: Any deprivation of a right must be reasonably related to legitimate penological interests. 2. Deprivation of any rights or privileges shall be documented in the incident report to include the occurrence, date and time of denial and date and time of return, when applicable. 3. Health care staff shall be notified to determine the existence of any underlying medical conditions or the need for mental health services. B. Any inmate may be transferred to an administrative segregation housing unit in order to protect the welfare of inmates and staff. Transfer to an administrative segregation unit or placement on lockdown status does not rise to the level of administrative action unless there is a deprivation of rights or privileges withheld prior to a discipline process. 1. Administrative segregation consists of separate and secure housing that does not involve any other deprivation of privileges than is necessary to maintain order, safety and security of the jail. Page 4 of 7 FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TITLE: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION NO: E-220 FILE: ADMIN ACTION 2. Such placements shall be in compliance with policy D-130/Inmate Classification [FILE: CLASSIFICATION] and do not require the notification of the BSCC. C. Inmates placed into a safety cell are not considered to be under administrative action unless there is a justifiable need to deny them any amenity normally provided to an inmate confined to a safety cell. In the event it becomes necessary to invoke administrative action with an inmate held in a safety cell, the same administrative action parameters and review of administrative action apply. [Refer to policy D-210/Safety Cell (FILE: SAFETY CELL).] IV. ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION INVOLVING A GROUP OF INMATES A. Whenever a group of inmates cause a disturbance which results in the need to implement administrative action, an incident report concerning the incident shall be written and forwarded to the Facility Sergeant. 1. The housing unit will be placed on Iockdown. All inmates will be restricted to their cells/dormitory bunks. 2. Movement may be limited to essential or emergency services (e.g., court appearances, attorney interviews, and medical, dental and mental health visits). 3. Regulations, rights, privileges, and activities may be temporarily suspended. a. Any deprivation of rights or privileges withheld prior to a discipline process shall require prior approval from the Watch Commander. b. Any suspension of Title 15 standards or requirements that exceeds three (3) days requires notification of the BSCC. No suspension shall continue more than fifteen (15) days without the approval of the chairperson of the BSCC. NOTE: Placement on Iockdown status without suspension of any regulation or privilege does not require notification of the BSCC. 4. Population Management will perform an investigation and make any necessary housing reassignments. Page 5 of 7 FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TITLE: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION NO: E-220 FILE: ADMIN ACTION B. Administrative action will last no longer than is necessary to restore facility safety and security or to investigate the triggering event. Discontinuation and/or modification of administrative action may be contingent upon the recommendation and advice of Population Management. V. MODIFICATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION A. Subsequent to investigation (or during an extended investigation), Population Management may recommend that the housing unit be placed on "modified administrative action." Population Management shall complete a Modified Administrative Action (J-135) form to document the recommendation, which shall include the following information- 1. A brief synopsis of the incident and the reason for the recommendation. 2. The parameters of the action, which shall indicate the cells affected and provide for staggered dayroom access times and modified recreation schedules. 3. A timeline for review of the action (e.g., thirty (30) days). 4. The form shall be distributed to the "Jail Admin Action" email group and scanned into Laserfiche. B. Population Management shall complete a Modified Administrative Action form to document the mandatory review of a modified administrative action currently in place, which shall include the following information- 1. A recommendation that the modified administrative action be discontinued, extended, or further modified. 2. A synopsis of the information that was considered as part of the investigation and the reason for the recommendation. 3. The form shall be distributed to the "Jail Admin Action" email group and scanned into Laserfiche. Page 6 of 7 FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TITLE: ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION NO: E-220 FILE: ADMIN ACTION VI. PARTIAL ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION When only a portion of a pod is considered to be on administrative action and only a limited number of cells are provided with access to the dayroom at one time, the following procedures shall apply: A. The entire pod shall be locked down during medication pass. For security and safety reasons, the medication cart shall not be made accessible to the inmates in the dayroom. B. The inmates who are not actively in the dayroom shall not be denied the opportunity to participate in activities or privileges which have not been revoked. For example, if cells 1, 3, 5 and 7 are in the dayroom, and an inmate from cell 8 receives a visit, the inmate will be permitted to visit. Depending on the situation, the inmate will either be escorted by one or more officer, or the inmates in the dayroom will be required to briefly return to their cells while the inmate is removed. Page 7 of 7