KELLY MARTINEZ: I WILL CONTINUE WORKING HARD TO IMPROVE OUR JAILS

Q: Rate ex-sheriff Bill Gore and assess his legacy. What was his biggest accomplishment? What did he most neglect?

A: Sheriff Bill Gore ushered in an era of technology and ingenuity for the Sheriff ’s Department. He also did something no sheriff before him had ever done: appoint a woman as undersheriff. We shouldn’t overlook his contribution to diversifying the leadership of law enforcement.

Law enforcement agencies around the country have wrestled with changed expectations over how to provide the public safety services communities want and need, and the Sheriff ’s Department is no different. We have a lot of work to do.

The public expects law enforcement to keep it safe, and I am committed to doing that. Our criminal justice system needs to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we must prioritize data-driven, evidence-based approaches to public safety.

Investment in our jails is a top priority. Hiring, training and mentoring our staff must be at the forefront of that investment. In 2021, I worked with the state audit team as it examined our jails. I have embraced the audit and its results since it was recommended to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. I have made this statement publicly on numerous occasions and in interviews. I cannot be clearer that Sheriff Gore’s response to the audit was his own and did not reflect my experience or beliefs.

As the undersheriff, I have been making monumental and unprecedented changes to our Detentions Services Bureau. That begins with the bureau leadership and continues with hiring, training, support, accountability, infrastructure improvements, and a critical and honest assessment of what we are doing.

Q: What are the three largest issues that contribute to the high number of San Diego County jail deaths and what would you do to address them? A: The three largest issues that contribute to jail deaths in San Diego County are staffing, training and jail infrastructure. The Sheriff ’s Department is critically short-staffed in the jails. We have over 200 detentions deputy vacancies and about 200 medical staff vacancies. With the shortage of health care workers, medical and mental health checks are not done at intake, and we are unable to implement the primary care model throughout our system or the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) program to the extent that we know we need to. More training and support of our health care workers and deputies will increase their ability to properly identify medical and mental health conditions and expedite health care. The aging infrastructure of the jails makes them unsafe for staff and the individuals in our custody.

As the undersheriff, I have been working for over a year, and I am continuing to improve our jails. We recently signed a contract that will improve the management, training, policies and hiring of our 20-plus contracted health care providers. We will implement the medical and mental health screenings at intake for everyone who comes into our custody. We will connect our health care systems so they will communicate with each other, and medical providers will have access to information and a holistic view of every individual in our custody. I have approved $30 million for infrastructure improvements to the George Bailey Detention Facility, and we have a timeline for the other system improvements that are needed.

We must prioritize data-driven, evidence-based approaches to public safety.

FROM B13

Q: How would you rate the Sheriff ’s Department efforts at recruitment and retention? Do you think the staff reflects the diversity of San Diego County and how do you think it should change? A: Recruitment and retention efforts require strong leadership. We have strong leaders in place who are completely deconstructing our process and changing things that do not work. Our process takes too long. We have made changes to streamline it and make it faster. We will soon add a tracking tool, so applicants will know exactly where they are in the process. We recruit at every community event we can identify. We recruit at four-year colleges, community colleges, trade schools, nursing schools and gyms and through social media. Our best recruiters are our own personnel and we have created cards, apps, QR codes and other easily accessible avenues for our staff to recruit on the spot. We are proactively working with the county to create better ways to hire and retain staff. We provide hiring bonuses and incentives, and higher pay for certain classifications. Our work is paying off, and we have 42 recruits who will start in the academy in the next two weeks, and we plan to start another 50 in two months. We will strive to be an attractive workplace that provides value and instills pride in our profession.

Our staff closely aligns with the demographic that we serve. I am excited to be the first female undersheriff in our history and if I am elected, I would be the first female sheriff in San Diego County.

The way to increase diversity is to actively hire, support, mentor and promote qualified individuals from all communities and demographics.

Q: Department data has shown that San Diego County deputies are more likely to use force on people of color. What would you say to affected communities about this? What, if anything, would you do to address it? A: We know that racial bias and use of force is a systemic problem in our country, and it will take change across many organizations in our society to fix it. As undersheriff, the leadership team and I rewrote the mission statement for the Sheriff ’s Department. It now reads, “We provide the highest quality public safety service to everyone in San Diego County.” It is a noble statement, and I will continually work to create a culture in the department that requires and demands it.

We must provide high-quality service to everyone in our communities, regardless of race, color, gender, religion or immigration status. Whether individuals are the victim of a crime or are being suspected of criminal activity in a high-stress situation, they deserve a highly trained law enforcement response from people who respect everyone we serve. Use of force incidents undergo several levels of review. I expect each of those reviewers to look with a critical eye at every use of force for bias and to act when they see it. We have several avenues for reporting unfair policing by deputies, and I encourage the public to report instances when this occurs. I want to assure the public that I will investigate any claims that are made.