Zero Tolerance Crime Program

By Bill Hunt

As your Sheriff, my primary focus will be on public safety. I want to make our neighborhoods, schools and businesses safe. I will reform the department by putting more deputies on the streets and in the jails. I will keep gang members, drug dealers, and illegal guns off our streets.

I will end the stand alone culture of the department. The department is responsible for patrolling about 30 percent of the county. 70 percent is patrolled by cities with their own police departments. Law enforcement is becoming regional. I will work with, rather than through, our public safety partners to explore opportunities for cooperative efforts in attacking regional crime problems, such as gang violence, narcotics and identity theft.

I will implement aggressive crime analysis and crime-mapping programs. These programs will identify crime trends as they occur so we can deploy resources to disrupt and prevent criminal activity. The department will share information with our law enforcement counterparts to combat crime on a countywide scale.

My first day in office, I will end the current administration's refusal to join the Integrated Law and Justice network. This program is a vital component of public safety. It will allow all county law enforcement databases to communicate with each other. It will provide timely information to field officers. Similar programs have been in neighboring counties for years. Virtually every other public safety entity has agreed to participate. There is no excuse to delay this any longer. It is in the best interest of public safety and it will be a top priority in my administration.

I will fully staff gang enforcement that has been cut by almost 50% since 2002. 300 criminal gangs prey upon our neighborhoods. Total gang membership in 2004 of more than 13,000. Gang homicides are on the rise, 30 in 2004 compared to 20 in 2003. The highest was 36 murders in 2002. There were 120 gang murders in a five-year period. As a former Gang Enforcement Supervisor, I know first hand how devastating these cuts have been to our community. I will be relentless in the enforcement of gang related crime and pursue gangs operating in our community.

I will create an Identity Theft Unit. It will identify, target and arrest those engaged in identity theft, which is among the fastest growing crimes. It is increasingly being orchestrated by sophisticated criminals and street gang members and costs millions of dollars annually. I will work closely with the District Attorney and businesses to develop ways to prosecute criminals perpetuating this crime. I will lobby our elected officials to pursue legislation that makes Identity Theft a felony and call for mandatory sentencing enhancements for those who prey upon the elderly.

I will institute long overdue jail reform to ensure safe, secure and efficient jails. Each year, the Grand Jury reports that jail overcrowding continues. The jail system operated 21% over capacity in 2002-03 and 17% over in 2003-04.

No inmate early releases. Roughly, 1,500 criminals were let out early in 2005. I will ensure we keep sentenced inmates in-custody for the duration of their sentence. I will evaluate the way inmates are classified and housed. I will maximize our jail space and find creative alternatives to housing inmates in our jails.

I will correct the 30-1 inmate to officer ratio in our jails, which is double the national average.

I will implement an accountability program that evaluates performance in the jails. It will report timely information on jail crimes, use of force and assaults, set objective and quantifiable goals for reducing these activities and hold managers responsible.

I will increase jail safety and security inspections to eliminate illegal contraband threatening the safety and welfare of Sheriff`s personnel and inmates.

I will insist upon the strict enforcement of jail rules that control inmate movement and communication which will reduce inmate-on-inmate assaults and assaults on jail personnel.

I will charge a fee for inmate initiated medical visits. Penal Code section 4011.2 provides the authority to charge inmates for medical services. 49 of the 58 California Sheriff Departments have adopted this practice. It discourages unwarranted medical visits, limits inmate movement, reduces assaults and ensures higher quality medical services for inmates with legitimate needs.

Inmates will be fed in their cells. Inmates will be served one hot and two bag meals per day. By feeding inmates in their cells and providing two sack meals, we will increase jail capacity, eliminate early releases, lower operating costs and reduce the need to build new jail facilities. The existing chow halls in the central jail complex will be turned into inmate housing areas to maximize the use of jail space. Deputies will be free for essential jail functions rather than monitoring inmate feeding. This measure will save taxpayers millions of dollars annually.

I will eliminate pornographic magazines; reduce TV options to educational programs, and increase work, vocational, educational programs for sentenced inmates.

I will eliminate the failed and mismanaged Best Choice drug treatment program. This program was the subject of an internal investigation into mismanagement, funding irregularities and exaggerating results to justify the programs existance. The jails are overcrowded and dangerously understaffed and we continue to dedicate needed jail space specifically for a failed drug treatment program. This program is better suited for the private sector.