Policy Text
ruqtlBSanta Clara County Sheriffs Office
Custody Manual
Gustody Manual
IO3.I PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The Custody Manual is a statement of the current policies, rules, and guidelines of this Office's
jails. \Mth the exception of the Sheriffs General Orders, all prior and existing manuals, orders,
and regulations that are in conflict with this manual are revoked, except to the extent that portions
of existing manuals, orders, and other regulations that have not been included herein shal! remain
in effect where they do not conflict with the provisions of this manual.
Except where othenrise expressly stated, the provisions of this manua! shall be considered
guidelines. lt is recognized, however, that work in the custody environment is not always
predictable, and circumstances may arise that warrant departure from these guidelines. lt is the
intent of this manualto be viewed from an objective standard, taking into consideration the sound
discretion entrusted to staff of this Office under the circumstances reasonably known to them at
the time of any incident.
103.1.1 DEF|N|ïONS
The following words and terms shall have these assigned meanings, unless it is apparent from
the context that they have a different meaning:
Office - The Santa Clara County Sheriffs Office.
Custody Manual - The Office Custody Manual.
Deputy - All persons, regardless of rank, who are employees and who are selected and trained
in accordance with state law as Deputies and Correctional Officers of the Santa Clara County
Sheriffs Office.
Employee - Any person employed by the Office.
lncarcerated Person - Any person held in the custody of the jails.
Jails - The Elmwood and Main JailComplexes
May - lndicates a permissive, discretionary, or conditional action.
On-duty employee - Status during the period when the employee is actually engaged in the
performance of assigned duties.
Order - A written or verbal instruction issued by a superior.
Rank - The job classification title held by a staff member.
Shall or will - lndicates a mandatory action.
Should - lndicates a generally required or expected action absent a rational basis for failing to
conform.
Staff - Any person employed or appointed by the Office, including:
. Full- and part-time employees
. Sworn Deputies or Officers
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Publ¡shed with permiss¡on by Santa Clara County Sheriffs
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Non-sworn employees
Extra-help employees
Interns
Volunteers
103.2 POLICY
The manual of the Custody Bureau is hereby established and shall be refened to as the Gustody
Manual (15 CCR 1029). All staff are to conform to the provisions of this manual.
103.3 DtscLAttutER
The provisions contained in the Custody Manual are not intended to create an employment
contract nor any employment rights or entitlements. The policies contained within this manual are
for the internal use of the Office and shall not be construed to create a higher standard or duty of
care for civil or criminal liability against the County of Santa Clara, its officials or staff. Violations
of any provision of any policy contained within this manual shall only form the basis for Office
administrative action, training, or discipline. The Santa Clara County SherifPs Office reserves the
right to revise any policy content, in whole or in part.
I03.4 RESPONSIBILITIES
The Sheriff or authorized designee shall be consídered the ultimate authority for the provisions
of this manual and shall have the authority to continue to issue policy amendments, which shall
modiff the provisions of this manual to which they pertain. Policy amendments shall remain
in effect until such time as they may be permanently incorporated into the Custody Manual or
vacated.
The Assistant Sheriff of Custody Operations or the authorized designee shall ensure that
mandated policies applicable to Title 15 and Title 24 contains in the Custody Manual are
comprehensively reviewed and updated at least every two years. Other policies shall be reviewed
on a schedule as determined by the Operational Standards and lnspection Unit. Vúithin the Policy
Tracking section of each policy, the regulatory authority will guide the Operational Standards and
lnspection Unit of the frequency each policy shall be comprehensively reviewed and updated. Staff
shall be trained accordingly to ensure that the policies in the manual are current and reflect the
mission of the Santa Clara County Sheriffs Office (15 CCR 1029). The review shall be documented
in written form sufficient to indicate that policies and procedures have been reviewed and amended
as appropriate to facility changes.
103.4.1 INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL SECURITY MEASURE REVIEW
The Assistant Sheriff of Custody Operations orthe authorized designee shall ensure that Custody
Manualreview, evaluation, and procedures include internaland externalsecurity measures of the
facility, including security measures specificto prevention of sexual abuse and sexual harassment
(15 CCR 102e).a
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Published with permission by Santa Clara County Sheriffs
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103.4.2 OTHER PERSONNEL
Line and supervisory staff have a unique view of how policies and procedures influence the
operation of the facility and therefore are expected to bring to the attention of their supervisors
issues that might be addressed in a new or