City and County of
San Francisco
Office of the Sheriff
Established 1850
November 13, 2020 San Francisco Sheriff's Office
Newsletter Issue 81
A Message from Sheriff Paul Miyamoto
Dear Friends,

Veterans Day is a sacred day that holds special meaning for members of the Sheriff's Office and me.

It never changes. It occurs on November 11 every year in the United States in honor of the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918 -- which signaled the end of World War I.

Veterans Day commemorates veterans of all wars and people serving in our military. This past Tuesday, November 10, a group of SFSO staff gathered at the San Francisco Veterans Memorial across from City Hall to pay tribute to all the people who have served our country in the military, and remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

As you will see from the moving video below, many members of the San Francisco Sheriff's Office have proudly served our country in the military.
County Jail COVER Program
Helps Vets for the Past Decade
The 1926 Congressional resolution that established Armistice Day (The original name for Veterans Day) called for "thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations."

It is in that spirit that we produced a second Veterans Day video with Ron Perez, founder of our nationally-recognized COVER program, Community of Veterans Engaged in Restoration.

I had the privilege of working as the facility commander with Ron when COVER opened at County Jail #5 (now CJ #3) in 2010. A Vietnam veteran, Ron recognized that many incarcerated veterans suffer from issues relating to their military experience and struggle with the transition to civilian life.

Ron has worked to get justice-involved veterans the services they need. His work with COVER and veteran advocacy group, Swords to Plowshares inspired the creation of a Veterans Justice Court in 2013.

This collaborative community court has expanded support for veterans and helped lower the number housed in jail. Other jurisdictions have also started COVER-type pods, modeled after Ron's original idea.

If you had Veterans Day off, I hope you enjoyed the free time. We thank those who have served our country, past and present, for ensuring that we have these days to enjoy.
Illegal Drugs Are Public Health Threat Inside and Outside Jails
While the Sheriff’s Office and Jail Health Services have done an extraordinary job of protecting people in our custody from COVID, our staff is also challenged by illegal drugs ravaging our city and entering our jail facilities. 
 
Early this morning, three justice-involved persons exhibited signs of medical distress at County Jail #2. Deputies and Jail Health Service personnel administered Narcan, and the San Francisco Fire Department responded to the scene and transported the individuals to Zuckerberg SF General Hospital. Several hours later, a Deputy conducting follow-up searches for contraband was exposed to white powder and transported to the hospital.

SFSO’s Criminal Investigation Unit is currently conducting an investigation into this incident.
VIDEO: Sit Down with COVER Program Founder and Veterans Activist Ron Perez
SFSO Dashboard Provides Current COVID Data for Jails, Community Programs & SFSO Staff
The San Francisco Sheriff's Office launched a dashboard on our sfsheriff.com website last month, which provides current information on COVID infections in our jail, community programs and among SFSO staff.

Jail Health Services, a section of the Department of Public Health, began offering testing in April 2020 to new arrestees housed overnight in our county jail.

Individuals who test positive are isolated; all others remain in quarantine for 14 days or until they are released from jail -- whichever comes first.

This protocol, along with other isolation, quarantine and physical distancing protocols, helps intercept and contain any potential spread.

For more information, click here to visit our COVID-19 information page and click here for our COVID-19 data dashboard.
Information: 415-554-7225
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