Stars and Bars - Spring 2000 Issue Continued

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Human Resource Corner

By Jeneen Johnson

The months of February and March in Human Resources are busy with winter vacations, work conferences and, for several staff members, our performance appraisals.

Performance appraisals are a valuable tool and resource for all employees and should be a work in progress throughout the reporting period, not the month the appraisal is due. The performance appraisal, which is completed on an annual basis for non-probationary staff, is an opportunity for both management and line staff to evaluate work performance and discuss current and future department and individual goals.

The following are some tips for the supervisor. Review the employee’s performance throughout the year, don’t start the week the performance appraisal notice is received. If the employee has changed supervisors or assignments during the reporting period, check with the previous supervisor for their input into the task grading. When meeting with the employee, make sure to give them your undivided attention. If your meeting is interrupted with numerous phone calls, the employee may feel their ideas and concerns were unimportant.

So, I am off to my performance appraisal meeting. As usual, I am looking forward to the opportunity to meet with Judy to discuss the past year’s accomplishments and next year’s opportunities.

Remember, if you have an idea or topic for the next column, please address them to my attention in Human Resources. My phone extension is 6080 and my e-mail is johnsonjj@washington.mn.us.

Think spring!

Jeneen Johnson

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The Walls Have Ears

By Scott Malinosky

In early October 1999, the Investigative Division welcomed a new part-time employee in the person of Jeanine Nelson. Jeanine was hired to monitor inmate phone calls for law enforcement agencies. The position is funded by revenue generated when inmates use the jail phone system.

Having Jeanine on board has freed investigators to concentrate on their case loads while maintaining an important and valuable customer service for our agency, as well as outside agencies.

Since starting with the Sheriff’s Office, Jeanine has been able to provide valuable information, gleaned from phone monitoring, in the Byron Lewis Theater robbery case, in addition to some narcotic cases. Even though prisoners are advised that their phone conversations may be monitored, they often feel the need to talk about their cases to their associates.

Jeanine has been a resident of West Lakeland for 13 years. She is the mother of 3, now grown children and has 3 grandchildren.

Agencies may request phone monitoring, by contacting Jeanine at 430-7953. The request lines are open, so pick up the phone and call now. We’re all ears!

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Recognition Committee

  The Employee Recognition Committee, a.k.a. The Awards Committee, was created to identify and recognize actions by employees of the Sheriff’s Office, as well as citizens of Washington County. Citizens and employees who display excellent work ethic, who go “beyond the call of duty,” and who act or perform in a manner that is not expected of them, are eligible.

The committee members meet once per month and review requests for awards that are submitted by fellow employees. The requests include the name of the person nominated for the award, the incident that occurred, the action taken by the subject, and why they believe an award should be given. The task of the committee is to then review these requests, discuss the merits of each incident, and vote on whether recommendation for an award should be forwarded to the Sheriff.

There are five awards that may be presented to an employee. They are the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Award, Life Saving Award, Meritorious Service Award and Letters of Excellence.

Recently, an award was issued to an entire unit. This unit citation was issued to members of the Investigations Division for their work on the Wohlenhaus murder, and subsequent Ture trial. Unit Citations were also issued to the County Attorney and BCA for their contributions.

There are three awards that may be presented to the citizens of Washington County. The awards are The Sheriff’s Commendation Certificate, Life Saving Award, and the Sheriff’s Certificate of Appreciation.

The Employee Recognition Committee met for the first time this year on January 11^th. The first order of business was to introduce and welcome new and present members. The new chair of the committee is Jail Administrator, Chuck Yetter. Other members are Sgt. Pat Olson-Narcotics, Deputy Brad Marquardt-Patrol, Connie Bengston-Comm. Center, Sgt. Laura Waldon-Jail, COII Brian Land-Jail, Amy Larson, Records. Past members of the committee are Sgt. Roger Heinen-Jail, Tom Hollister-Jail Programs, Candrice Ellickson-Comm Center, Betty Lokker-Special Services and Sgt. Dave Heuer-Patrol.

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Training Opportunities

By Yale Norwick 

Did you know the Sheriff’s Office has a training library? This library can be a useful tool when looking for specific training prospects. Located in the Special Services records area, this library is updated on a weekly basis. The library includes everything from individual training announcements to entire college catalogs. Topics range from computer applications to criminal justice and correction programs. Please feel free to look through the library or contact Yale Norwick with specific topics for which you are looking. Chances are very good that we will be able to find it.

Partial list of library contents

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“Human Resourcefulness”

By Chuck Yetter

When I arrived at the Washington County Jail as the Jail Administrator in November of 1995, the jail was nine shy of being at full complement. Today, Sunday February 26, 2000, we are currently eight staff down, but with good things on the horizon. On Saturday February 26, 2000, I sat in front of eight new staff hired as Correctional Officers for the Washington County Jail. This new group of staff is the largest hiring effort since the class1995 and, without some misfortune, will allow us to reach full complement for the first time since whenever (you pick the date).

The attainment of this goal has come from hard work by all that have participated in the oral interview boards, the recruitment job fairs and word of mouth. That is you, the staff at the Washington County Sheriff's Office. There are a number of reasons why this goal has been so hard to reach over the years. The economy and abundance of jobs are factors, which have made hiring qualified, suitable staff difficult. Also, the amount of time needed to schedule two interviews, conduct a background check, pass a psychological and physical and drug test, causes an average turnaround time, of two and a half months. Competition and an employee’s future aspirations have also caused turnover within the rank and file. We also have had staff leave for personal reasons. 

A primary reason that has made it hard to reach our goal of full complement is that we do not “hire” just to “hire.” The Sheriff has always stood by the idea that we just don’t hire a live, breathing body to fill a vacancy. The individual needs to be qualified and suitable for the Washington County Sheriff's Office. Suitable is still only a guess or a gut reaction by the interview panel, but every effort is made to hire the best staff possible. So, as you can see, we certainly strive to get the full complement, but we will not go to any length just to fill a post. The road has been uphill without many breaks in the action of hiring. It has sometimes been a tedious process for which we have utilized a number of you to complete. Will it end? Probably not, but you can be assured that we will always strive to get there without jeopardizing our goals of being “Committed to Excellence.”

A number of people noticed and commented on how quickly we were able to put the current class together. With the help of the Human Resources Department, we changed some established hiring qualifications, interviewed quicker and expedited the background process with the approval of the Sheriff. All this leads to a one-month process instead of the aforementioned, two and one half-month turnaround time. End result eight new staff starting the three-week training academy at Carver County on Monday February 28^th.

SUCCESS

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child,

A garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because

You have lived.  That is to have succeeded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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 What are the Bailiffs, and what do they do?

By Sgt. Gelderman

When we are operating at full strength there are nine bailiffs and one supervisor. This corresponds with the nine judges who are assigned to the Washington County in the 10^th Judicial District.

Some of the staff work 0800-1600 and some work 0830-1630. These hours are necessary to prepare courtrooms for the daily calendars, which usually begin at either 0830 or 0900. The hours may vary due to satellite court locations in Cottage Grove and Forest Lake.

Once the bailiffs report for duty, they check the calendar of their assigned judge for items such as inmates in custody or transports arriving from other jurisdictions on writs. In addition, they check to see if anyone has outstanding warrants and will often times identify individuals who need a language interpreter or have other special needs.

It is not unusual for a number of the bailiffs to make several trips daily to and from the jail to deal with the in-custody individuals or the daily jail calendar. Each Friday, there is an afternoon jail calendar to help with potential 36 or 48-hour in-custody issues. 

The bailiff is charged with maintaining courtroom security. In most instances, they are in the courtroom while court is in session. When not in the courtroom bailiffs may be assisting the court with a request or moving a prisoner. Oddly enough, we have more tense moments in civil hearings than criminal as they usually involve a divorce, child custody matter, estate or some monetary dispute where emotions run high.

As time allows, bailiffs attempt to monitor hallway activity for suspicious persons or unusual items, and occurrences. The bailiffs monitor judicial corridors, chamber areas, and the court administration area. The also escort attorneys, court services personnel and other individuals to see the judges on various matters.

Increasingly bailiffs provide escorts to members of the public. In most instances, these are escorts to the parking lot after a trial or hearing. These escorts, on several occasions, have helped prevent additional difficulty between opposing parties who have just made a court appearance.

A very important task of a bailiff is to work with juries and not allow interference during the trial or the deliberation process. These can be very busy and tense times as they need not only assist the court, but arrange for meals and lodging, when necessary.

The bailiffs also assist the jail with prisoner transports. Although the jail has several part-time staff members to call, there are so many transport, that they cannot keep up with demand. Some of the transports are local and some involve several hours on the road.

I could probably say a lot more about the bailiffs, but this should help you better understand how their day normally goes. I do want to take this opportunity to thank all of the bailiffs for their hard work, especially as we work our way through the most current staff shortage. The circumstances and timing were most unfortunate, but we will do our best to provide a safe work environment for all.

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 What is the Program Unit?

By Dan Luke

The Program unit is comprised of five full time Sheriff’s Office employees, five contract employees, three employees of Human Services Inc. assigned to the jail, eight employees of Court Services who operate the STS program and approximately eighty volunteers. There are two basic categories of jail programs; programs provided to straight time jail inmates and release status programs.

Programs provided for straight time inmates are mandated by the Department of Corrections in Chapter 2911 of the rules governing Adult Detention Facilities. These programs include education and GED Preparation and testing, recreation, religious programming and services, chemical dependency treatment and AA, recreation reading library, law library, anger management group, expanded life choices for female inmates and adult insight. All of the money used to operate the programs listed above is taken from the profits derived from operating the inmate canteen and inmate phone system. When you observe an inmate reading a book, magazine or newspaper, watching a TV, playing basketball or being tutored by an educational instructor, the inmate and his fellow prisoners are paying the bill for providing these services, not the taxpayer.

The Program Unit operates three release status programs:

The Home Detention program allows inmates to serve their jail sentence at home when court ordered to do so. Inmates are monitored via computer bracelet, voice verification testing and/or in home alcohol testing systems. Inmates are only allowed to leave the four walls of their home when scheduled to do so by Program Staff.

Work Release inmates are employed outside the jail at their regular place of employment. They come and go from the jail on a schedule prepared by Program Staff and spend all non-work time in the jail.

Both Home Detention and Work Release inmates are screened by Program Staff and must meet specific criteria before they are allowed on a release status program. Home Detention and Work Release inmates are required to pay $12.00 per day, seven days per week to be on the program. Inmates also pay for their own chemical testing at a cost of $15.00 per test.

Court Services operates the STS program. STS inmates are allowed to leave the jail under the supervision of an STS crew leader. Some STS inmates live at home and arrive at the jail each morning to work on the crew. In exchange for doing public service work, inmates can work off their jail time or fine. 

In addition to operating jail programs, Program staff has a number of other duties. Program staff maintains the inmate disciplinary records and act as the chairperson on all inmate disciplinary hearings. They also perform urinalysis testing for release status inmates. Program staff act as liaison for the jail with the court, court services, and other outside agencies. Programs staff process all inmate furloughs.

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Special Services Division

By Capt. Moriarty

The Special Services Division has experienced some changes since the beginning of the year. The first one occurred on February 6^th when I took over the division. This will be a significant career change for me. 

I came to Washington County from Beltrami County in 1982 and was assigned to the Patrol Division. In January 1983, I was assigned to the Hugo contract and I remained there until April of 1988, when I moved to the Narcotics Division. I worked as a Narcotics Officer until January of 1996 when I was assigned as the Lower St. Croix Valley contract officer. In January of 1997, I moved to the City grant contract.

In November of 1997, I was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and served as a patrol supervisor until November of 1999. At that time I was assigned as the Administrative Sergeant until my transfer to the Special Services Division.

Sergeant Richard Peterson left the Volunteer Services Unit on February 25^th and is working under contract for the Minnesota Community Policing Institute for two years. He will be teaching and assisting law enforcement agencies throughout the Midwest regarding implementing community policing programs. Rick has been a member of our department for nearly 20 years and although he will be a great ambassador for our department, he will be missed. I look forward to his return.

Sergeant Cheri Dexter took over the Volunteer Service Unit when Sgt. Peterson left. Cheri has served in the Patrol and Investigation Divisions. Since her promotion to Sergeant, she has supervised the Communications Center and has been a patrol supervisor. Her duties in the Volunteer Services Unit will include coordinating and overseeing the Chaplain Corps, Mounted Patrol, and both the Reserve and Explorer programs.

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Y2K! By Capt. McGlothlin

December 31, 1999, was a milestone for the Washington County Sheriff's Office Patrol Division. During 1999, the hype for Y2K brought about significant planning by the division. In an attempt to respond to any number of events that were possible that night, every deputy assigned to the division as well as deputies from the Investigative and Special Services Division were scheduled to work. It was one of the most uneventful New Year’s Eves that I can remember and every thing went according to plan. It was through the dedicated effort of our deputies that we were available to respond to any event requiring our assistance.

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 Events to Remember

National Correctional Officer recognition week begins May 8^th and runs through May 12^th.

Observance of Law Enforcement Week will begin May 15^th and lasts through May 19^th.  The traditional Law Enforcement and Correctional Officer Memorial Ceremonies to honor those who have given their lives in the line of duty will be held May 15^th at noon. Guests are invited to join public officials and law enforcement representatives, at the Washington County Law Enforcement Center public level parking area for the annual observance.

In the spirit of these two events, the following exhibits will be available to view in the Government Center atrium:

National Corrections Week exhibit May 8^th-May12th

National Police Week exhibit May 15^th-May 19^th

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SRO Stands for School Resource Officer, Not Standing Room Only

By Sgt. White

 On January 10^th, the Washington County Sheriff's Office and the Mahtomedi School District partnered to provide a School Resource Officer, who will spend most of his time at the high school. The Sheriff’s Office applied for a COPS grant for the position and when the second round of grants were reviewed in late December, the grant was approved. Our grant for this position was one of only six approved in Minnesota. Chief Deputy Pott and Superintendent Rettke worked very hard on getting this grant approved.

 Deputy Mike Petrey left his position in the Patrol Division as an FTO, to take on this new assignment into uncharted waters. Deputy Petrey has an office at the high school and is busy meeting staff at the high school, middle school and ALP (Alternative Learning Program), as well as getting to know the students. Deputy Petrey also handles the early morning traffic detail at the entrance to the school. As time goes on, Mike’s assignments at the school will increase.

 If you work the area where the high school is located, stop in and see Mike, so he doesn’t lose touch with his fellow deputies. His office phone number is 407-2261. If you stop at the main office to locate Mike, have them call for 04 on the school’s radio system, which is Mike’s call number at the school.

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Send us your comments and suggestions by email to: sheriff@co.washington.mn.us