Committee reviews juvenile use-of-force incidents; supervisors ask for formal process description and appeal materials

The Public Safety and Justice Committee received a report from the Probation Department on reported use-of-force incidents in juvenile custodial settings covering July 1 through Dec. 31, 2024.

Deputy Chief Jill Ugalde reviewed the reporting process and explained that any staff member, medical personnel, teacher, witness or youth can trigger a use-of-force referral. "Once a use of force referral is made or somebody alleges use of force, we then pull the actual tapes to review the incident and have that reviewed by both the sheriff's office as well as our internal affairs unit," Ugalde said.

Committee members sought clarity about timelines and independent review. Chief Probation Officer Nick Burchard told the committee the administrative investigation process can take up to a year in practice; he added the statutory limit permits up to a year and the administrative timeline may be paused if criminal charges are filed so law enforcement and district attorney investigations run their course. "To answer your question, yes. So through statute, we have up to a year," Burchard said.

Supervisors asked the department to document the formal investigative process so the committee could see the steps from referral through internal affairs investigation and, where warranted, a sheriff's office referral to the district attorney. Committee members also requested copies of the materials youth receive describing appeals and grievance rights so the board can assess whether those materials are age-appropriate and whether youth understand them.

Public comment included two speakers from Silicon Valley DeBug. Andrew Bigelow, an organizer with Silicon Valley DeBug, said the physical environment and culture of the juvenile hall contributes to higher incident counts and urged the county to reconsider long custodial stays: "It's a facility that is consistent with, adult jails and adult prisons, and the experience of young people within that facility, I think, mirrors that," he said. Alicia (organizer with Silicon Valley DeBug) said many young people fear retaliation and that community-based alternatives closer to families would better serve rehabilitation goals.

The committee voted to receive the report and added two formal directions: (1) Probation should provide a documented description of the investigative process triggered by a use-of-force report; and (2) probation should provide a copy of the youth-facing materials that explain how to appeal or challenge grievance outcomes so the committee can evaluate their developmental appropriateness. The motion was approved by recorded vote (Vice Chairperson Lee: Aye; Chairperson Ellenberg: Yes).