COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Sheriff's Office

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

DATE:

January 15, 2002

BOARD MEETING DATE:

January 29, 2002

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Sheriff Don Horsley

SUBJECT:

Reorganization Plan to Address New Challenges

Recommendation

That your Board:

1)

Approve the proposed reorganization plan for the Sheriffs Office;

2)

Approve a Salary Ordinance amending the Adopted FY 2001-02 Salary Ordinance, adding eight positions and deleting one position to accomplish the proposed reorganization;

3)

Approve an Appropriation Transfer appropriating $513,699 from the Public Safety Sales Tax Fund to fund the five-month cost of the reorganization for the remainder of FY 2001-02.

Factors Creating a Need for Reorganization

During the past several years, and culminating over the last six months, a number of primarily externally-driven developments have placed an increasing pressure on existing Sheriff's departmental resources. These major developments include:

1.

The Sheriff's Office has assumed the lead role in security administration and internal investigations across County agencies and facilities. Major responsibilities include the Courts, County General Hospital, Health Services Divisions, Human Services, the County Government Center, and, we believe, a pressing need to improve security at County Airports in the wake of terrorist threats. Excluding Court-funded Trial Court Security, these duties have been assumed with a minimum of new staff. Three positions handle all non-Court security programs, including administration of 7-day, 24-hour Pinkerton contract security personnel; security reviews, planning and training for County facilities and field personnel operations; and investigation of all security or criminal incidents involving County employees or the public visiting County facilities.

2.

In January, 2002, the governing boards of both SAMTRANS and the CALTRAIN Joint Powers Authority will be reviewing a recommended contract with the Sheriff's Office to assume security administration for all SAMTRANS bus and CALTRAIN rail operations. This contract will initially start with five to six new positions, with a planned eventual expansion of up to 18 Sheriff's staff. The direct costs of service will be fully borne by the transit agencies. Once approved by the agency governing boards, the contract will be brought to your Board for review and approval.

3.

Significant economic growth and increasingly sophisticated high-tech industrial development in the Bay Area generally, and on the Peninsula particularly, have brought a new set of challenges for law enforcement. Added to high-tech development is the major expansion of San Francisco International Airport, which has wide-ranging impacts across the spectrum of business, commercial transportation, traffic/environmental, and law enforcement activities throughout the County and the region. As the lead Peninsula law enforcement agency, the Sheriff's Office has over the past few years been asked by federal and state law enforcement agencies to participate in several new, multi-agency, special-focus task forces. These units seek to combat sophisticated new avenues of criminal activity, including "garage" meth labs; organized, large-scale computer component theft activities; new auto and credit card theft gangs targeting the airport; internet crime including identity theft, industrial hacking, and child pornography; sophisticated narcotics smuggling operations; and the rise of dangerous new organized crime groups amongst a small segment of our immigrant population, particularly in the Russian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Island communities.

4.

The terrorist attacks of September 11^th and subsequent bioterrorism incidents have permanently influenced and altered the mission of every law enforcement agency in the nation. The Sheriff's Office also has an additional role as mutual aid coordinator for all police and law enforcement agencies in the County, as well as a duty through the Office of Emergency Services to develop and coordinate response plans for potential new threats, and provide a central channel for emergency response/preparedness information relayed from the Governor's Office and State Office of Emergency Services.

While the focal points of the 9/11/01 aircraft attacks were on the East coast, some of the terrorist cells, as well as airflight origins/destinations and regrettably, passengers, were California-based. San Mateo County is the center point of a region bordered by San Francisco to the north, Silicon Valley to the south, and contains one of the nations busiest airports, serving as an international destination port for the entire Pacific Rim and a symbol of international trade and tourism. The FBI and the federal Office of Homeland Security remain highly concerned with security and the potential for future threats in the area. All Bay Area law enforcement agencies remain on a high state of alert. Due to San Mateo County's key geographic location; likely role as a first responder to regional events; and record of successful multi-jurisdictional cooperation, the Sheriff's Office was asked by the FBI to participate in the Bay Area Joint Terrorism Task Force. We believe it is also in the County's best interests that we participate in this group.

Reorganization Plan

The Sheriff's Office is presently comprised of eleven major programs, primarily organized into four administrative Divisions, each headed by a Captain reporting up to executive management. The proposed reorganization plan restructures the department into five Divisions rather than four, spreading responsibility for Patrol Operations and Investigation Services between two separate Divisions rather than the present one. This action recognizes the reality that the widening range and breadth of activities in these functions has grown too large for one manager to effectively control. The attached organizational chart displays the new organizational structure. The plan also elevates the prominence of both emergency services and County/contract security functions into full Bureau status under each of the Divisions, respectively. Major components of the restructured emergency services function include increased responsibility for security incident response and inter-agency communication and coordination, as well as the establishment of a permanent two-person bomb squad to replace the present performance of bomb detection unit duties as a supplemental assignment to an officer's regular duty. Finally, the plan provides crime analysis support across a spectrum of multi-jurisdictional investigative programs, and provides a fulltime staff resource for the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.

To accomplish these goals, the proposed reorganization involves eight positions - seven new positions and the conversion of one existing position into a different classification:

One Captain position is added so that the present Operations Division can be split into a Patrol Division and an Investigations Division, each headed by a Captain.

The existing OES Supervising District Coordinator position is elevated to a management-level position of Deputy Director - OES, reflecting the increased level of local, state and federal responsibility which this position carries after September 11^th. This position is funded through the Emergency Services JPA, and the difference is cost would be funded through that program, beginning next fiscal year.

A Lieutenant position is added in the Countywide Security program, reflecting the countywide, management-level responsibility for security services which the position will oversee and administer. All existing security programs other than Courts are consolidated under this Bureau. Additionally, one Deputy position is added to assume responsibility for increased security planning and security operations at San Carlos and Half Moon Bay County airports.

One Detective Sergeant position is added for San Mateo County's participation in the FBI Bay Area Joint Terrorism Task Force. Additionally, one position of Crime Analyst is added to provide much-needed technical support for this task force as well as five other multi-jurisdictional programs. While the partial year 2001-02 cost of this position would be initially be borne by the County, it is believed that a large portion of the future year annualized cost might be offset by special funds available to some of the task forces such as HIDTA, and VTTF, as well as potentially through future grants. This will be explored during development of the FY 2002-03 budget.

Finally, two positions - a Sergeant and a Deputy - are added to establish a permanent Bomb Detection Unit, replacing the present situation where bomb unit activities are a supplemental assignment for three officers assigned to other Bureaus as their normal duty assignment. The Sheriff's Office maintains the only bomb detection unit operating in San Mateo County. There is an FBI bomb unit based out of San Francisco which serves the entire federal Region Nine, but this unit is already stretched well past capacity, as are the few other Bay Area units.

A three-year study conducted prior to September 11^th documented the steadily increasing workload of San Mateo County bomb unit personnel, amounting to one call-out every 2.5 days. Since 9/11/01, that workload has escalated to almost one call per day - each call requiring two technicians (for several functional and safety reasons), with a duration of typically half a day or more. While a certain portion of this increase was in immediate response to the September 11^th tragedy and subsequent anthrax incidents, there remains an ongoing substantial workload increase of service calls. For example, regrettably, as noted in some recent high-profile cases since 9/11/01, the criminal element has increased threats of explosive retaliation to try to avoid capture. In the months since September 11^th, existing bomb unit personnel have had to work as much as 40 hours per week on overtime, often in the middle of the night, while carrying regular duties. Moreover, the complexity and duration of the callouts has increased. Now, the squad's assistance is often requested directly by federal agencies in the investigation of credible threats, and the Sheriff's Office has also, by necessity, established a mutual aid relationship with the San Francisco Airport Police bomb unit, since the callouts both inside and outside the airport now often require more trained explosives handlers and detection canines than just one agency can field. The cost of the new permanent Bomb Detection Unit personnel is partially offset by a reduction in overtime expenses for existing personnel.

Fiscal Impact

The attached chart displays the cost analyses for the reorganization. Subtracting existing budgeted costs which are deferred or redirected, the reorganization results in a net annualized cost increase of $900,078 per year, which reflects personnel salaries and benefits as well as ongoing operating expenses. For FY 2001-02, a net five-month cost of $513,699 would be incurred between February 1^st and June 30^th. Included within this partial-year funding is $129,950 in one-time expenses for acquisition of four vehicles, office set-up expenses, and a computer and crime analysis software for the crime analyst position. These expenses are not repeated in future years. FY 2001-02 funding for the reorganization ($513,699) will be transferred from reserves in the public safety sales tax fund. The ongoing annual cost of the eight positions will be included within the Sheriff's Office FY 2002-03 and future year budget requests, as will any offsetting revenue for the OES manager and crime analyst positions. There will be no FY 2001-02 net General Fund outlay for this reorganization.

This Board report and accompanying documents have been reviewed and approved as to form by County Counsel. The recommended Board action contributes to various County Visioning Commitments, including the maintenance of safe and healthy communities.