DSA, CPOA Request Sheriff Smith's Answers to Law-Enforcement Questions Ahead of June 3 Election

Members of the associations that represent sheriff’s patrol deputies and jail deputies in Santa Clara County request that 16-year incumbent Sheriff Laurie Smith answer questions on law enforcement issues raised in the Sheriff’s campaign for the Tuesday, June 3 election.


Smith has refused to publicly debate challenger Kevin Jensen, a 28-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, cancelling an April 26 debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters, reported Roger Winslow, vice-president of the Deputy Sheriffs’ Assn. of Santa Clara County, called the DSA.


She has criticized missing-child advocate Marc Klaas, father of Polly Klaas, who was kidnapped and murdered in 1993 as “thoroughly misinformed,” when he stated that the sheriff stonewalled the volunteer search efforts to find kidnapping victim Sierra LaMar.


Smith has refused to address problems raised by retired police chiefs on the Sierra LaMar and Audrie Pott cases and the attack on the PG&E electrical substation. She has awarded preferential treatment to her donors and special privileges to a football star while the office remains understaffed, according to Winslow.


She sent threatening letters to both associations in an attempt to influence their decisions, failed to bring up sheriff’s office staffing levels to the County Board of Supervisors and wasted taxpayer money by declining to use local training facilities while all along refusing to cooperate with other police agencies, said Lance Scimeca, president of the Santa Clara County Correctional Peace Officers’ Assn., called the CPOA.


Both the CPOA and the DSA endorse Kevin Jensen for sheriff, based on the results of an election last June that came out with 90 percent support from the DSA and 100 percent support from the CPOA. The sheriff received 12 DSA votes, less than four percent. 


Jensen has the endorsement of police officer associations from Campbell, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale.  Jensen is also endorsed by neighboring Deputy Sheriffs’ Associations in Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz counties. The San Jose Police Officers Assn. remains neutral.


“While residents of San Jose are rightfully worried about understaffing by the San Jose Police Dept., understaffing at the Sheriff’s Office is worse,” Winslow related.


Enforcement deputies are understaffed by 18 percent, not including those who are out on injury, medical and military leave, which brings the shortage to 23 percent in the Sheriff’s Office. In contrast, San Jose police are 10 percent understaffed, with the shortage rising to 20 percent when personnel unable to work the street are taken into account, he said.


Almost three years ago now, the Sheriff’s Office had between 50 and 77 deputy positions available. The San Jose police had just laid off 66 police officers, but Smith failed to hire a single one of these qualified candidates. “They were already trained and knew the county,” Winslow commented.  “Instead, Smith poured taxpayer money into her own training academy.”


Sheriff’s overtime expenses have risen from $3 million to more than $5.7 million from 2004 to last year. Job-related injuries have increased by 73 percent, spending about $2,000 per deputy to $3,500 in 2013. Medical treatment costs from on-the-job injuries have increased over 122% from approximately $2,200 to $5,000 per deputy in 2013.


"With understaffing, rising costs and injuries, the Sheriff’s Office can barely fulfill its own obligations,” commented Winslow.


Smith did not bring up this information with the County Board of Supervisors or Dave Cortese last month when she was asked what services her organization might provide to the City of San Jose.


“The only way to gain the public’s trust is by not being afraid to talk about where the Sheriff’s Office fails and where we can do a better job.  We serve at the permission of the public to get our job done.,” Winslow concluded.

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