Background
The Office of the Sheriff is established to preserve peace and supervise crime prevention and rehabilitation of persons convicted of crime. The Board of Supervisors is authorized to oversee the official conduct of all county officers, including the Sheriff, within constitutional and statutory principles that limit interference with core law enforcement investigatory functions. New law vests the Board of Supervisors with discretion to create an oversight body, inspector general, or both to assist with the Board’s oversight functions related to the Sheriff.
About this Subcommittee
On September 13, 2022, Supervisors Dave Pine and Warren Slocum were appointed to an ad-hoc subcommittee to consider supplemental Sheriff’s oversight. On November 1, 2022, the Board of Supervisors received an initial informational presentation on supplemental Sheriff’s oversight in a Board Study Session, which included a review of supplemental oversight models that have been implemented or considered in other jurisdictions and next steps for analysis and possible implementation.
Update on the work of the Subcommittee
- On December 12, 2023, the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to adopt a resolution establishing the Independent Civilian Advisory Commission on the Sheriff’s Office.
This Commission will advise the Board of Supervisors in its effort to facilitate public transparency, accountability, and public engagement with respect to the Sheriff’s Office. It will provide a public forum for input from the community regarding the Sheriff’s Office, develop and implement an annual work plan, and make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors.
The Commission will be comprised of seven voting members and two alternates, of which five members are nominated by each Supervisor and resides in their respective districts; one member is nominated by the Sheriff, and the remaining one member and two alternates will be at-large and nominated by the two Board liaisons. Selected non-voting members of the Sheriff’s CARE program and one non-voting member of the Youth Commission will serve as liaisons. All nominations will be subject to the approval of the full Board of Supervisors. Meetings are to be held at least four times per year.
The Board of Supervisors is seeking candidates who are residents of San Mateo County and who are committed to working closely with the Board and the Sheriff’s office to advance the goals above and who reflect the diversity of San Mateo County in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, lived experience and geographic distribution. Applications can be submitted online at the County website, and you are encouraged to apply regardless of citizenship status.
The deadline for applications to the Independent Civilian Advisory Commission on the Sheriff’s Office was February 23, 2024.
Questions can be directed to Deputy Clerk of the Board Sherry Golestan at sgolestan@smcgov.org. - On October 24, 2023, the Board of Supervisors held a Study Session to review the work of the Subcommittee.
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