Administration Bureau - Professional Standards Division

The Professional Standards Division falls under our Administration Bureau which provides direct support to the Custody and Enforcement Operations Bureaus. The Administration Bureau has several other divisions: Fiscal Division, Training Division, Records Division, Coroner Division, Civil Division. 

The Professional Standards Division encompasses the following components: Internal Affairs, Employee Testing, Human Resources, Workers’ Compensation and Public Information Requests. A Sheriff’s Commander oversees the Division. The Professional Standards Commander is also the Sheriff’s Office Equal Employment Officer and the Sheriff’s Office Loss Prevention Committee Chairman.

The Internal Affairs Unit is responsible for conducting internal investigations, prompted either by citizen complaints or by internal concerns. Two Sheriff’s Sergeants are assigned to conduct Internal Investigations.  This Unit also handles Public Records requests and is the custodian of records. This Unit works closely with the Office of County Counsel and also reviews civil matters involving claims and litigation.

Public Information is disseminated from the Professional Standards Division. Since budget cuts have eliminated the position of the Public Information Officer, the Division Commander insures that information is shared with the media, the public and other relevant users.

The Human Resources Staff are an extension of the County Administrative Office’s Human Resource Division. The personnel assigned are responsible for examination processes; classification studies and specifications; consulting on employee/labor relations and management issues; and application of federal, state and local legislation relating to County policies and procedures, the Personnel Policies and Practices Resolution (PPPR) and Memorandums of Understanding (MOU’s). The HR staff also controls the personnel records of all office employees and coordinates the benefits.

The Workers’ Compensation assignment is a professional staff position that works closely with the County’s Workers’ Compensation insurance carrier and with the County’s Risk Management Department in order to monitor all Workers’ Compensation cases. The goal of this assignment is to manage costs to the County while keeping employees apprised of their case status and facilitating injured employees’ timely return to the workforce.
 

Background Investigations: The Background Investigators are responsible for completing background investigations on all Sheriff’s Office personnel. This includes safety personnel, professional staff, temporary staff and volunteers.

The background investigation process can be quite lengthy, especially for sworn personnel, who by Government Code Standards must be deemed “of good moral character” to hold a law enforcement position in California. Investigators thoroughly check an applicant’s history by conducting interviews, making home visits and reviewing records from several sources. During this process, they may potentially make contact with references, former employers, schools, and local law enforcement agencies as well as research court records. Every effort is put forth to thoroughly screen all qualified applicants and hire only those who meet Sheriff’s Office standards.