COUNTYWIDE : Board Seeks to End Spat Over Inspection
The County Board of Supervisors asked its chief administrative officer Tuesday to resolve a dispute between a citizens review panel overseeing the sheriff’s department and Sheriff Jim Roache.
The review panel wants to tour the county’s jails but Roache says the group is not authorized by law to do the inspections.
An advisory committee made up of appointees by Roache, county supervisors and the courts, is the only body legally authorized to conduct the examinations, the sheriff said. The review panel replaced the advisory board earlier this year.
Eileen Luna, the review panel’s executive director, told supervisors Tuesday that the citizens group should be allowed into the jails.
Chief Administrative Officer David Janssen said he will study the alternatives, including the possibility of reviving the advisory committee, challenging the sheriff’s department in court or removing the jail inspection duties from an ordinance already approved by county supervisors.
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