Administrative Bureau - Professional Standards Division

The Professional Standards Division falls under our Administration Bureau. The Administration Bureau has several other divisions, the Fiscal Division, Coroner Division, Civil Division, Training Division, Records Division, and Recruiting Division, and is commanded by Chief Deputy Steve Deering. The Administration staff provides direct support to the Corrections and Enforcement Operations Bureaus.

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.

Volunteer Units: The Chaplain Corps is open to priests, ministers and rabbis that are ordained, have at least five years pastoral experience, and have the support of their respective congregations. The Chaplain Corps provides ministerial services to the employees of the Sheriff's Office and the residents of the County.

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. In 2006, 74 such investigations were conducted. 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. Budget cuts have eliminated the position of the Public Information Officer. The Division Commander, and adherence to a media matrix, 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 two personnel assigned are responsible for recruitment and 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.