BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1254
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 19, 2012
Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
SB 1254 (La Malfa) - As Amended: April 9, 2012
SUMMARY : Adds Trinity and Yuba to the list of specified
counties within which deputy sheriffs assigned to perform duties
exclusively or initially relating to specified custodial
assignments are peace officers whose authority extends to any
place in California while engaged in the performance of the
duties of his or her respective employment.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that any deputy sheriff of the Counties of Los
Angeles, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial,
Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Mariposa, Mendocino, Plumas,
Riverside, San Benito, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa
Barbara, Santa Clara, Shasta, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma,
Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, and Tuolumne who is
employed to perform duties exclusively or initially relating
to custodial assignments with responsibilities for maintaining
the operations of county custodial facilities, including the
custody, care, supervision, security, movement, and
transportation of inmates, is a peace officer whose authority
extends to any place in California only while engaged in the
performance of the duties of his or her respective employment
and for the purpose of carrying out the primary function of
employment relating to custodial assignments or when
performing other law enforcement duties directed by his or her
employing agency during a local state of emergency. �Penal
Code Section 830.1(c).]
2)Provides that all cities and counties are authorized to employ
custodial officers who are public officers but not peace
officers for the purpose of maintaining order in local
detention facilities. Custodial officers under this section
do not have the right to carry or possess firearms in the
performance of his or her duties. However, custodial officers
may use reasonable force to establish and maintain custody and
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may make arrests for misdemeanors and felonies pursuant to a
warrant. (Penal Code Section 831.)
3)Provides that notwithstanding existing law, law enforcement
agencies in counties with a population of 425,000 or less and
the Counties of San Diego, Fresno, Kern, Riverside, Santa
Clara, and Stanislaus may employ custodial officers with
enhanced powers. The enhanced powers custodial officers are
empowered to serve warrants, writs, or subpoenas within the
custodial facility and, as with regular custodial officers,
use reasonable force to establish and maintain custody.
�Penal Code Section 831.5(a).]
4)Provides that prior to the exercise of peace officer powers,
every peace officer shall have satisfactorily completed the
Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST)
course. �Penal Code Section 832(b).]
5)Provides that the enhanced powers custodial officers may carry
firearms under the direction of the sheriff while fulfilling
specified job-related duties such as while assigned as a court
bailiff, transporting prisoners, guarding hospitalized
prisoners, or suppressing jail riots, escapes, or rescues.
�Penal Code Section 831.5(b).]
6)Provides that enhanced powers custodial officers may also make
warrantless arrests within the facility. �Penal Code Section
831.5(f).]
7)Provides that every peace officer shall satisfactorily
complete an introductory course of training prescribed by POST
and that, after July 1, 1989, satisfactory completion of the
course shall be demonstrated by passage of an appropriate
examination developed or approved by POST. �Penal Code
Section 832(a).]
8)Provides that prior to the exercise of peace officer powers,
every peace officer shall have satisfactorily completed the
POST course. �Penal Code Section 832(b).]
9)Provides that a person shall not have the powers of a peace
officer until he or she has satisfactorily completed the POST
course. �Penal Code Section 832(c).]
10) Provides that any person completing the POST training who
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does not become employed as a peace officer within three years
from the date of passing the examination, or who has a
three-year or longer break in service as a peace officer,
shall pass the examination prior to the exercise of powers as
a peace officer. This requirement does not apply to any
person who meets any of the following requirements �Penal Code
Section 832(e)(1)]:
a) Is returning to a management position that is at the
second level of supervision or higher �Penal Code Section
832(e)(2)(A)];
b) Has successfully requalified for a basic course through
POST �Penal Code Section 832(e)(2)(B)];
c) Has maintained proficiency through teaching the POST
course �Penal Code Section 832(e)(2)(C)];
d) During the break in California service, was continuously
employed as a peace officer in another state or at the
federal level �Penal Code Section 832(e)(2)(D)]; and,
e) Has previously met the testing requirement, has been
appointed a peace officer under Penal Code Section
830.1(c), and has continuously been employed as a custodial
officer as defined in Penal Code Section 831 or 831.5 since
completing the POST course. �Penal Code Section
832(e)(2)(E).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "This bill adds
Trinity and Yuba Counties to the existing authority currently
granted to Los Angeles County and 31 other counties to employ
deputy sheriffs who are 'employed to perform duties
exclusively or initially relating to custodial assignments'
who are peace officers pursuant to Penal Code section
830.1(c).
"This change will provide Yuba and Trinity Counties the
necessary flexibility to properly operate their custodial
facilities, which is even more pressing in light of public
safety realignment which will result in the transfer of many
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current state prison inmates to county jails and other
facilities. Custodial classifications allow counties a wider
array of means to staff facilities and transport prisoners,
flexibility which is particularly important in rural
counties."
2)Background : Prior legislation has authorized 30 counties to
grant peace officer status to deputy sheriffs employed to
provide custodial care and supervision of inmates in the
county jail and related facilities:
a) AB 574 (Villariagosa), Chapter 950, Statutes of 1996,
added Penal Code Section 830.1(c), which allowed the Los
Angeles County Sheriff to hire a "second tier" of sheriff's
deputies who "are employed to perform duties exclusively or
initially relating to custodial assignments with
responsibilities for maintaining the operations of county
custodial facilities, including the custody, care,
supervision, security, movement, and transportation of
inmates."
b) SB 1762 (Alpert), Chapter 61, Statutes of 2000, and SB
926 (Battin), Chapter 68, Statutes of 2001, amended Penal
Code Section 830.1(c) to provide peace officer status while
on duty only to Riverside County and San Diego County
deputy sheriffs employed to provide custodial care and
supervision of inmates in the county jail and related
facilities.
c) AB 2346 (Dickerson), Chapter 185, Statutes of 2002,
extended the same provisions of SB 1762 to deputy sheriffs
in Kern, Humboldt, Imperial, Mendocino, Plumas, Santa
Barbara, Siskiyou, Sonoma, Sutter, and Tehama Counties.
d) AB 1254 (La Malfa), Chapter 70, Statutes of 2003, and SB
570 (Chesbro), Chapter 710, Statutes of 2003, extended the
same provisions of SB 1762 to deputy sheriffs in Shasta and
Solano Counties.
e) AB 1931 (La Malfa), Chapter 516, Statutes of 2004,
extended the same provisions of SB 1762 to deputy sheriffs
in Butte County.
f) AB 272 (Matthews), Chapter 127, Statutes of 2005,
extended the same provisions of SB 1762 to deputy sheriffs
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in Inyo, Merced, San Joaquin, and Tulare Counties.
g) AB 151 (Berryhill), Chapter 84, Statutes of 2007,
extended the same provisions of SB 1762 to deputy sheriffs
in Glenn, Lassen, and Stanislaus Counties.
h) AB 2215 (Berryhill), Chapter 15, Statutes of 2008,
extended the same provisions of SB 1762 to deputy sheriffs
in Lake, Calaveras, Mariposa, and San Benito Counties.
i) AB 1695 (Beall), Chapter 575, Statutes of 2010, allowed
the duties of custodial officers employed by the Santa
Clara County Department of Corrections to be performed at
other health care facilities in Santa Clara County, in
addition to duties performed at Santa Clara Valley Medical
Center.
3)Benefits Granted to Those Designated as Custodial Deputy
Sheriffs : The Penal Code Section 830.1(c) custodial deputy
sheriff classification is part of a continuum of
classifications of custodial officers in county jails and
other local detention facilities. Custodial officers under
Penal Code Sections 831 and 831.5 are not peace officers,
whereas a Penal Code Section 830.1(c) custodial deputy sheriff
is a peace officer, "who is employed to perform duties
exclusively or initially relating to custodial assignments."
�Penal Code Section 830.1(c).] One of the most significant
differences between the Penal Code Section 830.1(c) custodial
deputy sheriffs and Penal Code Sections 831 and 831.5
custodial officers is that as "peace officers" the Penal Code
Section 830.1(c) custodial deputy sheriffs are granted all the
rights and protections contained in the Public Safety Officers
Procedural Bill of Rights Act. (Government Code Section 3301
et seq.)
Trinity and Yuba - and all counties - may utilize Penal code
Section 831 non-peace officer custodial officers; however,
these officers may not carry firearms. �Penal Code Section
831(b).] Further, according to the 2010 Census, conducted by
the U.S. Census Bureau, both Trinity and Yuba counties have a
population below 425,000 and, therefore, may utilize Penal
Code Section 831.5 custodial officers. However, there are
limitations on the authority and use of Penal Code Section
831.5 custodial officers. For example, Penal Code Section
831.5 custodial officers may not perform strip searches
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(unless they are employed in Santa Clara County), have limited
arrest powers, and are limited in their "armed duty" roles.
Another limitation on the use of both Penal Code Section 831
and 831.5 non-peace officer custodial officers is that
whenever 20 or more of such officers are on duty there must be
at least one Penal Code Section 830.1 peace officer, who has
received the full 664-plus hour basic training for Penal Code
Section 830.1(a) deputy sheriffs, on duty at the same time to
supervise the custodial officers. �Penal Code Section 831(d)
and 831.5(d).]
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California State Sheriffs' Association
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744