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N.1 GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE Page 1 of 6 #18//17 San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Detention Services Bureau – Manual of Policies and Procedures PURPOSE To establish uniform procedures for the resolution of inmate grievances relating to disciplinary actions and/or conditions of incarcerati on, and to comply with a U.S. District Court order in Armstrong v. Schwarzenegger . POLICY Each facility shall attempt to resolve inmate grievances in compliance with CCR Title 15, Section 1073 and the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, Section 115- 52. Informal resolution of an issue before it becomes a written grievance is both desirable and recommended. Furthermore, written grievances can often be resolved without the intervention of a supervisor , and every effort should be made by a deputy or staff member who receives a grievance to handle it at his or her level . Grievances alleging that an inmate is subject to a substantial risk of imminent sexual abuse shall be referred to as an " Emergency Grievance" and immediately forwarded to the watch commander or designee. PROCEDURE I. GRIEVANCES A. Grievances may relate to any condition of confinement, including , but not limited to: 1. Medical care 2. Classification actions 3. Disciplinary actions 4. Program participation 5. Telephone, mail and visitation procedures 6. Food, clothing and bedding 7. Conditions that cause an inmate to believe he/she is at a substantial risk of sexual abuse. B. Grievances can be submitted in writing by any inmate. 1. Inmates may submit their grievances on a regular Inmate Grievance (J -22 form ) or an y other writing material. The reverse side of the J -22 form describes the DATE: DECEMBER 27, 2018 NUMBER: N.1 SUBJECT: GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE RELATED SECTIONS: O.1, O.3 , N.3 N.1 GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE Page 2 of 6 #18//17 grievance procedure in English and Spanish. J -22 forms shall be available and accessible to all inmates. 2. Inmates may submit written grievances directly to deputies or other employe es at any time when they are in a place they have permission to be. Absent exigent circumstances, any deputy or other staff member who is presented with a written grievance will accept it. 3. The deputy or other employee who initially receives a grievance will sign his or her name and ARJIS number on the J -22 form along with the date and time. The second page of the J -22 form will immediately be given to the inmate as a signed receipt for the grievance. 4. As an alternate means for submitting grievances, s ecured boxes may be provided for inmates to deposit their grievances into. Any grievance retrieved from one of these dedicated grievance boxes will be signed by the s ergeant or designee who collected it, and the signed second page of the J -22 form will be returned to the corresponding inmate as soon as practical. 5. The deputy or other staff member who receives and signs for a grievance will be responsible for entering it into JIMS , making sure to link the inmate(s) to the grievance report . When completing the “s ummary” in JIMS, the inmate’s grievance may be summarized, but must clearly articulate the nature of the grievance. Once the grievance has been entered into JIMS , the JIMS generated grievance number will be entered on the J-22 form, along with the da te and time that the grievance is entered into JIMS. The exception to this is for medical grievances, which shall be given directly to medical staff without first being entered into JIMS. 6. Anonymous or group grievances in which no primary grievant can be identified will be reviewed by the watch commander and forwarded to the facility commander for review. Anonymous or group grievances will not be entered into JIMS. They will serve as a tool for management oversight only. The facility commander will main tain a file containing anonymous and group grievances, along with a description of any action taken. 7. A grievance in which the primary grievant can be identifi ed will be handled as a normal grievance, even if other inmates sign the form. The inmate compl eting the J-22 form by including his/her name, booking number, and signature in the appropriate spaces, will be considered the primary grievant. In these cases, the grievance will be entered into JIMS and only the primary grievant will be linked to the gr ievance and receive a writ ten response under the guidelines outlined below. The deputy or staff member who responds to the grievance shall determine if the grievance alleges the inmate’s health or safety is being threatened by a condition of confinement , or a condition of confinement has prevented the inmate’s effective communication/participation in any court or administrative hearing. If any of the above are alleged, check the corresponding box on the J -22 form and N.1 GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE Page 3 of 6 #18//17 respond within the time frame outlin ed in paragraph II.B.1. Place a copy of the grievance/request and response in the inmate's custody record . 8. If the grievance must be routed to another individual or unit for resolution (e.g. the shift sergeant,