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COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

SHERIFF’S OFFICE

DATE:

March 17, 2008

BOARD MEETING DATE:

March 25, 2008

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

None

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Supervisor Mark Church

Sheriff Greg Munks

SUBJECT:

SPECIAL STATUS REPORT: Firearms Domestic Violence Education and Intervention Project in San Mateo County

RECOMMENDATION:

Accept this status report of the Firearms Domestic Violence Education and Intervention Project in San Mateo County.

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: Maintenance of public safety and ensuring that children grow up in safe homes and neighborhoods. Provide a collaborative approach with San Mateo County Law enforcement.

Goal: # 6, 7, and 22: Maintenance of public safety; Ensuring that children grow up in safe homes and neighborhoods; Provide a collaborative approach involving participation by City police departments.

This project aligns with Vision 2010 Goal by providing quality public safety in a collaborative model; Provide for the review, service, and compliance of Domestic Violence Restraining Orders and remove firearms from persons who could no longer possess them due to court restraining orders.

Performance Measure(s): Specific performance measures for the program continue to be developed jointly with the County, participating cities, and the Department of Justice (DOJ). Data for domestic violence firearms compliance, seizures, and intervention cases are presented below:

Domestic Violence Firearms Compliance Unit

FY 07-08

1^st Six Months

FY 07-08

Target

FY 08-09

Target

-New Orders Received for Review

-Orders Served

-Firearms Surrendered

732

26

37

1450

45

65

1450

45

75

Special Activities:

• Created DVFCU Tracking Database

• Created San Mateo County DVFCU Protocol with Steering Committee participation and DOJ assistance (Under review with San Mateo County Superior Court and San Mateo Law Commander’s Group for Feedback).

• Second Detective assigned to DVFCU effective January 2008. Agreement finalized with DOJ and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.

BACKGROUND:

On February 6, 2007, your Board adopted a resolution authorizing the Sheriff to execute an Agreement with the California Department of Justice for participation in the Firearms Domestic Violence Education and Intervention Project from February 6, 2007 to February 5, 2009; the amount of $380,000. The County Salary Ordinance was amended to add two Deputy Sheriff (Detective) positions to be assigned to the Firearms Domestic Violence Education and Intervention Project. Initial funding was approved along with the project agreement, representing the required County match for the first five months of the program.

The goal of the first six months of the program was to create a San Mateo County protocol and begin the review and service of Domestic Violence Restraining Orders and remove firearms from persons who could no longer possess them due to court restraining orders. To date significant progress has been made and a working countywide Domestic Violence Firearms Compliance Unit (DVFCU) protocol has been created. The performance measures below demonstrate positive progress towards those efforts. Although it was anticipated that the initial overtime for a Sheriff’s Detective to work as part of a separate Armed and Prohibited Program with DOJ in Oakland, California would also be funded, that part of the program was eliminated as financial support could not be secured by DOJ. The two dedicated positions for the San Mateo County portion of the project were not affected.

DISCUSSION:

San Mateo County Domestic Violence Firearms Compliance Unit (DVFCU) has finalized the Agreement with the California Department of Justice and began implementation of this project on July 1, 2007. Our first Sheriff’s Detective was assigned and began the creation of a DVFCU Tracking Database and created a SMC DVFCU Countywide Protocol with Steering Committee participation and with DOJ guidance and approval. This is a working protocol which will be modified as needed in collaboration with the San Mateo County Project Committee, local law enforcement and the Superior Court of San Mateo County. We have resolved staffing and funding concerns with the DOJ, which will provide the Sheriff’s Detectives funding and provide for dedicated Special Agent and Crime Prevention Specialist which will act as liaisons to the project, assisting with case work and the development of future training plans. The DOJ has assigned an evaluation team from the University of California at Davis to provide guidance and evaluation of the project’s progress and success.

State DOJ Funding is for a two and a half year period, from July 1, 2007 to December 31, 2009. The State DOJ will contribute a total of $957,011 in grant funds to San Mateo County. To support the project, DOJ will additionally provide for a Special Agent and Crime Prevention Specialist Liaison assigned to the San Mateo County and Butte County pilot projects, and will supply a University of California at Davis Evaluation Team to provide guidance and evaluation of the project’s progress and success to San Mateo County.

County Counsel has reviewed and approved this document as to its form.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The grant to San Mateo County is $957,011 across the two-and a half year period (July 1, 2007 to December 31, 2009.) This will cover the full-time cost for the two Deputy Sheriff (Detective) positions amended to the Salary Ordinance in February 2007, overtime for those positions, and vehicle and computer related expenses for said positions. The County’s contribution for radio and cell phone communications, office expenses, training, safety and surveillance equipment and administrative support costs will be absorbed within the Sheriff’s existing budget. There is no net county cost impact to this project.

Project revenue and expenses will be included in the Sheriff’s Office FY 2008-09 recommended budget.