Grand jury report on SLO County crime lab

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FORENSIC INVESTIGATIONS IN SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY: THE SLO COUNTY CRIME LABORATORY

THE SLO COUNTY CORONER’S OFFICE

INTRODUCTION

This report presents the 2013-2014 San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury's inquiry into the

conditions and management of the San Luis Obispo County Crime Laboratory (Crime Lab) and

San Luis Obispo County Coroner's Office (Coroner’s Office).

AUTHORITY

Section 925 of the California Penal Code authorizes the Grand Jury to “investigate and report on

the operations, accounts, and records of the officers, departments, or functions of the county…”

METHOD

The Grand Jury visited the Crime Lab and Coroner’s Office and was briefed by the staff of those

facilities on their operation and procedures. Additional information was obtained through

follow-up communications with the Sheriff, detectives, and both Crime Lab and Coroner’s

Office personnel.

BACKGROUND

The Sheriff's Office Crime Lab provides forensic services in support of local, state, and federal

agencies. Those services include suspect identification, testing of body fluids for chemical and

toxic substances, and gathering and processing of crime scene evidence. Specialized capability

exists for drug testing focusing on the detection of methamphetamines, cocaine, marijuana,

heroin and benzodiazepine tranquilizers. DNA and ballistics evidence requires unique

instrumentation and expertise not available in-house and must be sent to laboratories outside San

Obispo County.

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The elected Sheriff-Coroner is responsible for all death investigations that occur within the

County of San Luis Obispo. Those deaths occurring outside of a hospital, outside the presence

of a physician and all other cases involving homicides, suicides, accidental deaths and deaths due

to suspicious circumstances are investigated as mandated by state law. In addition, any deaths of

persons under the age of 18 require the coroner’s office involvement. For deaths that may occur

under hospice care, the coroner’s office maintains a hospice patient list to preclude the coroner

from needing to investigate those deaths.

The Coroner's Office reviews and determines the cause of death before a death certificate can be

issued. In order to determine the cause of death, many cases require an autopsy or medical

examination. Autopsies are conducted by a certified forensic pathologist. The forensic

pathologist serves three local counties and performs autopsies in San Luis Obispo County once a

week. He is assisted by one of three full-time deputy coroners (coroner-investigators). The

coroner-investigators receive 80 hours of training at a coroner school and then gain practical

working experience on the job.

Prior to August 2012, the County leased facilities in a private mortuary in Los Osos and

contracted with an independent Central Valley pathologist to conduct the autopsies. The forensic

investigators had office space in the Sheriff's Office. The Coroner's Office was moved to a new

permanent facility in a separate location from the Sheriff's Office in August of 2012. The

permanent consolidated facility includes the administrative office, cooler, autopsy room,

evidence room housing the evidence dryer and refrigerator-freezer, a sexual assault investigation

room1 and forensic investigation rooms along with a viewing room. It remains financially

efficient, with operating costs for rent and cleaning equivalent to the costs before consolidation,

further validating the justification for the consolidation. Locating all facilities that support the

coroner in one location appears to have resulted in more efficient procedures.

1 A Sexual Assault Response Team nurse is available when required.

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NARRATIVE

Crime Laboratory: Members of the 2013-2014 Grand Jury visited the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office

Crime Laboratory on December 4, 2013. Grand Jurors were escorted by a detective and were

introduced to the staff in charge of the various areas of the lab. Those areas include the

Fingerprint and Fiber Analysis Lab, the Trace and Imaging Lab, the Chemical and Toxicology

Lab and Staging Rooms. Grand Jurors also visited the Annex which contains a vehicle

inspection lift, a ballistics chamber and records storage.

The Crime Lab is housed in a building also accommodating other Sheriff's offices and is very

tight on office and lab space. Minor changes in layout to accommodate a new lab created

additional temporary over-crowding as observed on our visit. Work space is limited and adding

capabilities and equipment may not be feasible. Productivity and efficiency may be enhanced

with expansion or movement to a larger facility.

The 2012-2013 Grand Jury report, Forensic Investigations in San Luis Obispo County, detailed

the equipment and laboratories, much of which remains unchanged. New this year is the

addition of an alcohol-related Driving Under the Influence Lab, just now being installed.

Currently that testing is outsourced with a typical turnaround of three weeks. Creating the

capability in-house has the potential of reducing that turnaround to less than one week. Also

added this year is a new Crime Lab response vehicle, purchased through the Fleet Services

Vehicle Replacement program and custom built to specifications provided by the Crime Lab.

This vehicle is used to transport tools, equipment and supplies to and from crime scenes. In

addition, it is used to secure and transport evidence collected from the crime scene to the

laboratory. As this vehicle is state-of-the-art and larger than the vehicle it replaced, all crime

scene processing can be accomplished in a single trip enhancing productivity of the Crime Lab.

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Coroner's Office: The coroner-investigators wear many hats: they have the necessary medical, pharmaceutical and

hazardous material handling knowledge, patrol experience and do much ad hoc grief counseling

when needed. The coroner-investigators go into the field to investigate all relevant death scenes,

take photographs, and collect all pertinent facts and evidence to assist in their determinations on

cause of death. They use a checklist to insure no aspect of the investigation is omitted and have

standardized forms in PDF format required by various agencies, such as the General Case

Information form and the Medical Records Request form.

Some cases require the use of CAT scan equipment to create digital body images that can be

rotated in three dimensions or manipulated with zoom capability on the computer monitor. This

process is currently done by an outside vendor. All images are maintained indefinitely by the

Coroner's Office and are separate from other Sheriff's department case materials.

The coroner-investigators perform all cleaning of the non-carpeted working rooms to ensure

antiseptically clean surfaces, tools and equipment. The coroner-investigators handle movement

of bodies using a modified pickup truck with bays for field equipment and space for the bodies.

The three coroner-investigators alternate weeks of 24-hour on-call duty during which they may

be called out for on-site investigations.

During calendar year 2013, the Coroner's Office had 1,385 reportable deaths in San Luis Obispo

County. The coroner-investigators responded to 602 cases countywide, which is an increase of

9% over 2012. Of those cases, 254 required investigations of which 165 autopsies were

performed, 56 medical inspections were conducted and 31 deaths were certified by medical

records.

The Grand Jury found the Coroner's Office well equipped and well managed with documented

procedures that enable their mission to be achieved in an efficient manner. The consolidation

into a single location continues to serve the County in ways not possible before. Staff stated

during the Grand Jury's visit that obtaining licenses for Adobe Photoshop image manipulation

would be advantageous for the Coroner's Office staff.

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CONCLUSIONS

The Grand Jury found San Luis Obispo County has equipment, processes and trained personnel

to ensure accurate forensic results in Crime Lab and Coroner cases.

FINDINGS

Crime Laboratory: F1: The Crime Lab is housed in a facility that is cramped and over-crowded.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Crime Laboratory: R1: The space for the Crime Lab should be expanded or the Crime Lab moved to a larger

facility.

COMMENDATIONS

The Grand Jury commends the high degree of professionalism of management and staff at the

Crime Lab and Coroner's Office. This includes the prompt responses to follow-up questions

posed by the Grand Jury.

REQUIRED RESPONSES

The County Sheriff's Department is required to respond to Finding 1.

The County Sheriff's Department is required to respond to Recommendation 1.

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Presiding Judge Grand Jury

Presiding Judge Dodie Harman

Superior Court of California

1035 Palm Street Room 355

San Luis Obispo, CA 93408

San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury

P.O. Box 4910

San Luis Obispo, CA 93403

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COUNTY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AGENDA ITEM TRANSMITTAL

(1) DEPARTMENT

Administrative Office

(2) MEETING DATE

4/22/2014

(3) CONTACT/PHONE

Geoff O'Quest

781-5011 (4) SUBJECT

Request to receive and file the response from the Sheriff-Coroner to the Grand Jury's 2013-14 report "Forensic Investigations in San Luis Obispo County: The SLO County Crime Lab, The SLO County Coroner’s Office.” All Districts.

(5) RECOMMENDED ACTION

It is recommended that your Board receive and file response from the Sheriff-Coroner to the Grand Jury's 2013-14 report "Forensic Investigations in San Luis Obispo County: The SLO County Crime Lab, The SLO County Coroner’s Office.

(6) FUNDING SOURCE(S)

N/A

(7) CURRENT YEAR FINANCIAL IMPACT

N/A

(8) ANNUAL FINANCIAL IMPACT

N/A

(9) BUDGETED?

N/A

(10) AGENDA PLACEMENT

{ X } Consent { } Presentation { } Hearing (Time Est. ___) { } Board Business (Time Est.___)

(11) EXECUTED DOCUMENTS

{ } Resolutions { } Contracts { } Ordinances { X } N/A

(12) OUTLINE AGREEMENT REQUISITION NUMBER (OAR)

N/A

(13) BUDGET ADJUSTMENT REQUIRED?

BAR ID Number:

{ } 4/5 Vote Required { X } N/A (14) LOCATION MAP

N/A

(15) BUSINESS IMPACT STATEMENT?

No

(16) AGENDA ITEM HISTORY

{ X } N/A Date: ___________

(17) ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE REVIEW

This item was prepared by the County Administrative Office.

(18) SUPERVISOR DISTRICT(S)

All Districts

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County of San Luis Obispo

TO: Board of Supervisors

FROM: Administrative Office / Geoff O'Quest

781-5011

DATE: 4/22/2014

SUBJECT: Request to receive and file the response from the Sheriff-Coroner to the Grand Jury's 2013-14 report "Forensic Investigations in San Luis Obispo County: The SLO County Crime Lab, The SLO County Coroner’s Office.” All Districts.

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that your Board receive and file response from the Sheriff-Coroner to the Grand Jury's 2013-14 report "Forensic Investigations in San Luis Obispo County: The SLO County Crime Lab, The SLO County Coroner’s Office.”

DISCUSSION

On March 27, 2014, the Grand Jury issued a report on “Forensic Investigations in San Luis Obispo County: The SLO County Crime Lab, The SLO County Coroner’s Office.” This report presents the 2013-14 San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury’s inquiry into the conditions and management of the San Luis Obispo County Crime Lab and San Luis Obispo County Coroner's Office. The Grand Jury found San Luis Obispo County has equipment, processes and trained personnel to ensure accurate forensic results in Crime Lab and Coroner cases. The report contains one finding and one recommendation. The report requires a response from the Sheriff, which is attached to this staff report. The report does not require a response from the Board of Supervisors. Finding #1: The Crime Lab is housed in a facility that is cramped and over-crowded. Recommendation #1: The space for the Crime Lab should be expanded or the Crime Lab moved to a larger facility. The response from the Sheriff is due to the Presiding Judge by May 26, 2014. No response is required from the Board of Supervisors. The County Administrative Office procedures include coordinating the departmental responses to Grand Jury reports and preparing recommended responses on behalf of the Board of Supervisors. The departmental responses to this Grand Jury report are attached and, where appropriate, incorporated as the Board’s response. OTHER DEPARTMENT INVOLVEMENT/IMPACT

The Grand Jury visited the Crime Lab and Coroner’s Office and was briefed by the staff of those facilities on their operation and procedures. Additional information was obtained through follow-up communications with the Sheriff, detectives, and both Crime Lab and Coroner’s Office personnel. The County Administrative Office reviewed the response to the Grand Jury report prepared by the Sheriff in the development of the recommended Board response to this report. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS

There are no financial considerations associated with this item.

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RESULTS

This response will meet the legal requirements and time frames for responding to a Grand Jury report with findings and recommendations. ATTACHMENTS

1. Sheriff’s response to the Grand Jury's 2013-14 report "Forensic Investigations in San Luis Obispo County: The SLO County Crime Lab, The SLO County Coroner’s Office”

2. Grand Jury's 2013-14 report "Forensic Investigations in San Luis Obispo County: The SLO County Crime Lab, The SLO County Coroner’s Office”

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