L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna revealed what he's learned and what he's planning for the department's future after one year in office. As Emily Valdez reports - one big issue is the jail system.
The Sheriff's Department oversees the jails, which Sheriff Luna says have crumbling infrastructure and aren't even fully computerized.
During a conference Tuesday afternoon, he said, "We do not have a jail management system. That's why we've been struggling for so many years of accounting for a lot of what we do, and we get ourselves in trouble in court because somebody has to go look for paper that was written in pencil that's hidden away in some dungeon."
He talked about the Men's Central Jail, which is 70 years old, saying, "The men's central jail needs to be closed down, but it needs to be replaced with something that we visualize for the future."
Luna believes that the future should include a 'care campus' designed to treat the mentally ill, the addicted, and other special conditions through rehabilitative services.
The Sherriff also referred to the mental health of his officers, saying, "We have lost eight employees to suicide. That is not acceptable," and that number does not include retirees.
He told reporters that the department is so short-staffed and deputies are having to work so much overtime that he thinks it's affecting their mental health.
In an effort to provide officers with more support, three additional counselors were hired, making a total of 20 on-staff mental health professionals. Luna says this emphasis on mental health is essential because "Our employees see things on a daily basis that people shouldn't see."
Luna says he's working closely with the Board of Supervisors and others with the money and the power to get these problems fixed.
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Luna's first year in office also centered around dismantling deputy gangs. He says several employees have been fired because of their association with such gangs.
With three investigations ongoing, Luna said, "Federal monitors...have stated to me that they've seen more progress in the last eight months than they have seen in the last several years."
"We also instituted the two Captain pilot program that was implemented at certain high activity stations. This was one of the Civilian Oversight Commission's recommendations to us regarding the gang challenge that we face," Luna added.
Currently, the Sheriff has drafted new gangs and sub-clicks law enforcement policy. As of this article, the policy is in the review stages.
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