Military Equipment Use Reports
This statutory annual report provides the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors a comprehensive overview of Sheriff’s Office military equipment and usage. The format of this report was crafted in a manner that conforms to California Government Code section 7072(a) to include the following information:
Statistics/Uses: During this reporting period, the Law Enforcement Bureau responded to approximately 119,191 incidents through a combination of calls for service by the community and proactive law enforcement. There were fifty-seven (57) uses or deployments across all approved equipment categories during this reporting period. The Custody Bureau had seventy-eight (78) uses across all approved equipment categories in both facilities combined during this reporting period. These uses should be considered with staff running a 24/7 operation with an average daily population of approximately 2,900 incarcerated individuals and a total of 32,731 custody bookings during this reporting period. The Sheriff's Office reserve deputies employed by the Stanford Department of Public Safety did not have any deployments across all approved categories of military equipment.
Audits/Transparency: All uses of this equipment were audited to include report and body worn camera reviews to ensure adherence to policy. Corrective action was taken on one (1) incident for improper deployment distance of a chemical agent and two (2) uses are currently being investigated by Internal Affairs for policy violations. The Internal Affairs cases will be shared with OCLEM for independent review in accordance with the information sharing agreement.
Analysis: While the year-to-year comparison suggests a slight uptick in the military equipment usage for both the Law Enforcement and Custody Bureaus, several factors must be considered to include last year’s report captured data starting May 1, 2022, as well as an increase of around 5,000 calls for law enforcement services. The military equipment usage by Sheriff’s Office staff was still low in contrast to the number of incidents in which Sheriff's Office staff responded. Of note, the usage of Clear-Out in the Custody setting was down from 17 to 12 uses during this reporting period. This low usage rate is a direct reflection of the judiciousness of use as well as the incident intensity reduction efforts by staff. It is the position of the Sheriff's Office that equipment defined under AB 481 is vital in the resolution of critical incidents and violent confrontations to keep the public and our staff safe. We are seeking approval for several additional items to better resolve critical incidents and gain voluntary compliance of subjects. The additional equipment will improve the likelihood incidents will be resolved without the use of deadly force. The Sheriff’s Office remains committed to transparent reporting and review as well as judicious and responsible use of the equipment.
Reports
2023-2024 Military Equipment Report
2023-2024 Military Equipment Report Presentation
2022-2023 Military Equipment Report
For questions related to the military equipment, please email [email protected].