San Francisco issued a public health order on March 16 requiring all individuals anywhere in San Francisco to shelter in place -- that is, stay at home -- except for certain essential activities and work to protect against exposure to COVID-19. How does this impact the Sheriff’s Office?
Law enforcement are essential personnel. We are on duty 24/7. As first responders, the Sheriff’s Office is always prepared and ready to serve where we are needed.
That being said, things are changing rapidly. The Sheriff's Office is currently operating under our COVID-19 emergency response and action plan to protect the public and prevent the spread of the virus. Our plan builds on years of emergency health planning and outlines responses that address every level of the outbreak.
On Friday, March 13, 2020, four days before the City issued the shelter-in-place order, the Sheriff's Office suspended county jail visits and programs, to protect incarcerated persons, staff and visitors against exposure to COVID-19.
While there are no known cases of coronavirus among our incarcerated population to date, this decision which we made in consultation with our Jail Health Services, mirrored community public health measures that ensure the safety of everyone who lives in, works at, and visits the county jail.
With one of the lowest incarceration rates in the nation, we've also implemented social distancing protocols for in-custody housing and community sites. Other Sheriff's Office emergency actions include:
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Postponing evictions beginning midnight, March 17, 2020, until further notice.
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Closing the Women's Resource Center and suspending classes at the SFSO Community Programs building.
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Continuing to support justice-involved people on alternatives to incarceration through our Community Programs unit.
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Expanding the Sheriff's law enforcement protection services to include Moscone Center, where the City is staging its Emergency Operations Center; COVID-19 testing sites.
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Providing patrol wagons for citywide district station transfers.
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Deploying more deputies to patrol expanded perimeters.
How is the Sheriff's Office working with other agencies?
The Sheriff’s Office coordinates daily with Mayor Breed's office. We work side by side with the Department of Public Health's Jail Health Services, which manages the health care of our incarcerated adult population. We collaborate with multiple public safety and public health agencies. We communicate with the Department of Emergency Management to distribute accurate and timely public safety and health information.
What is Jail Health Services doing to prevent exposure to COVID-19?
As part of the booking process, Jail Health Services has implemented aggressive enhanced screening to rapidly identify and isolate any person with symptoms or exposure related to COVID-19. They also do an extensive follow-up medical assessment of everyone housed in our jails within hours of booking.
If Jail Health Services identifies a person with symptoms or exposure to an infectious disease such as COVID-19, they may request that the arresting agency safely transport the individual to the appropriate medical facility.
If someone has unwittingly exposed others to the coronavirus in the jails, Jail Health Services may place people who have been exposed to the virus in jail medical isolation units. The Sheriff’s Office has set aside a number of jail cells for medical isolation and can convert more as needed.
If a person develops symptoms that require more extensive medical treatment than Jail Health Services can provide, they will arrange to transport the individual to the appropriate facility.
How does the Sheriff’s Office protect staff?
Our deputies are trained to manage communicable diseases and protect themselves and the public. We follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s standard precautions to prevent disease transmission, from washing your hands to not touching your face and cleaning and disinfecting environments that may be contaminated.
The Sheriff’s Office also provides personal protective equipment to employees for specific working environments, such as jail. This may include disposable gloves; safety glasses or goggles; respirator mask; and antibacterial soap to flush skin.
What steps has the Sheriff’s Office taken to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 in the jails and other public spaces where deputies provide law enforcement services?
We’ve taken a number of proactive steps. These include:
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Working with the Department of Public Health to identify and monitor our most vulnerable populations, who may be older or immunocompromised, to ensure their safety.
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Posting notices to incarcerated people and the public educating them about prevention strategies including frequent hand washing and not touching your face.
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Issuing training bulletins, health safety reminders and video messages to staff advising them how to protect the public and themselves from community outbreak.
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Emailing the jail visitor population with updates.
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Increased cleaning and sanitizing of jails and workspaces.
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Identifying housing for medical isolation if needed.
We continue to expand upon these measures as indicated in our COVID-19 Response and Action Plan.
Is there a danger that someone from the outside could bring the virus into the jail?
Yes. But that’s not unique to the jails, the courts or the other places where the Sheriff’s Office provides law enforcement protection. The Department of Public Health has established guidelines based on the Centers for Disease Control protocol to prevent and control an outbreak of COVID-19. My office follows these guidelines.
Our goal is to minimize public exposure to the virus while carrying out our mission to protect public safety in the City and County of San Francisco.
For more information about COVID-19, visit the San Francisco Department of Public Health, SF72.org or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention frequently asked questions page.