Alameda County Municipal Code Ch. 2.56 Sheriff's Office

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Formerly titled sheriff—coroner—public administrator department.

There is in the county a sheriff's department, hereafter in this chapter referred to as the sheriff's office.

(Prior admin. code § 5-28.01)

(Ord. No. 2010-36, § 1, 7-13-10)

The executive officer of the sheriff's office is the sheriff-coroner elected as provided in the Charter and state law.

(Prior admin. code § 5-28.02)

(Ord. No. 2010-36, § 1, 7-13-10)

The sheriff as chief law enforcement officer of the county shall have all the powers and perform all the duties prescribed by state law, and ordinances not inconsistent therewith, which duties shall include, but not by way of limitation:

A. To sponsor, supervise or practice in any project of crime prevention, rehabilitation of persons previously convicted of crime, or the suppression of delinquency;

B. To arrest and take before a magistrate all persons who attempt to commit or have committed a public offense;

C. To prevent and suppress affrays, breaches of the peace, riots and insurrections;

D. To command the aid of as many male inhabitants as necessary in the execution of his/her duties;

E. To have charge of and keep the county jail and the prisoners in it;

F. To supply ambulance service as prescribed by law and ordinances;

G. To have custody and disposition of prisoners' property and valuables as prescribed by law;

H. To perform other acts necessary to preserve the peace of the county;

I. To search for and rescue persons who are lost or are in danger of their lives within or in the immediate vicinity of the county.

(Prior admin. code § 5-28.03)

The sheriff is an officer of the court and shall perform all duties prescribed by state law and ordinances not inconsistent therewith, which duties shall include, but not by way of limitation:

A. To attend all Superior Courts in the county and obey all lawful orders and directions of all courts held within the county;

B. To serve ex officio as marshall of the municipal courts of Alameda County and to perform all duties connected therewith as prescribed by law;

C. To appoint, supervise and direct all constables of the justice court districts of Alameda County who shall perform all duties connected therewith as prescribed by law;

D. To release on the record all attachments of real property when an attachment has been released or discharged;

E. To serve all process and notices in the manner prescribed by law and certify manner and time of service, or reason for failure of services.

(Prior admin. code § 5-28.04)

The sheriff shall enforce the provisions of, and issue and revoke licenses as prescribed by county ordinances including, but not by way of limitation, licensing and regulation of bicycles, second-hand and junk dealers, and auctions and auctioneers.

(Prior admin. code § 5-28.05)

The sheriff is director of civil defense and disaster, ex officio.

(Prior admin. code § 5-28.06)

Unclaimed property in the possession of the sheriff shall be held by the sheriff for a period of at least four months, except unclaimed bicycles which shall be held for a period of at least three months. Thereafter, the sheriff shall transfer such property to the purchasing agent for sale to the public at public auction or for other appropriate disposition in accordance with Civil Code Section 2080.4.

(Prior admin. code § 5-28.07)

Any unclaimed property in the possession of the sheriff, which by its nature is perishable or dangerous in itself, or contrary to public policy to retain, shall be disposed in such manner as the sheriff may determine to be in the public interest.

(Prior admin. code § 5-28.10)

The sheriff shall collect all fees and charges established by law, ordinance or resolution of the board of supervisors, for licenses and permits issued by him.

(Prior admin. code § 5-28.12)

The sheriff shall collect fees and charges in the amount established by resolution of the board of supervisors upon his/her recommendation for sundry administrative services rendered by him to private parties.

(Prior admin. code § 5-28.13)

The coroner shall be vested with the powers and perform the duties prescribed by state law and ordinances not inconsistent therewith which shall include, but not by way of limitation:

A. Inquire into and determine the circumstances, manner and cause of all violent, sudden or unusual deaths; unattended deaths, deaths wherein the deceased has not been attended by a physician in the ten days before death; deaths related to or following known or suspected self-induced or criminal abortion, known or suspected homicide, suicide, or accidental poisoning; deaths known or suspected as resulting in whole or in part from or related to accident or injury either old or recent; deaths due to drowning, fire, hanging, gunshot, stabbing, cutting, exposure, starvation, alcoholism, drug addiction, strangulation or aspiration; death in whole or in part occasioned by criminal means; deaths associated with a known or alleged rape or crime against nature; deaths in prison or while under sentence; deaths known or suspected as due to contagious disease and constituting a public hazard; deaths from occupational diseases or occupational hazards; deaths under such circumstances as to afford a reasonable ground to suspect that the death was caused by the criminal act of another, or any deaths reported by physicians or other persons having knowledge of death or inquiry by the coroner;

B. Upon being informed of a death and finding it to fall into the classification of deaths requiring his/her inquiry, to proceed to where the body lies, examine the body, make identification, and, as the circumstances warrant, either order its removal for further investigation or disposition, or release the body to the next of kin;

C. In any death into which he/she is to inquire, to take charge of any and all personal effects, valuables and property of the deceased at the scene of death and hold or safeguard them until lawful disposition thereof can be made;

D. If deemed necessary, to lock and seal the door or doors prohibiting entrance to the premises, pending arrival of a legally authorized representative of the deceased;

E. At his discretion, to take possession of the body which shall include the authority to exhume such body, order it removed to a convenient place, and make, or cause to be made a post-mortem examination or autopsy thereon, and make or cause to be made an analysis of the stomach, stomach contents, blood, organs, fluids or tissues of the body;

F. To retain only such tissues as necessary to determine the cause of death;

G. To maintain and safeguard such records as required by state law or by ordinance not inconsistent therewith;

H. To certify the cause of death in conformity with facts ascertained from inquiry, autopsy and other scientific findings, or from statements of relatives, persons last in attendance or persons present at the time of death, after due medical consultation and opinion has been given by one qualified and licensed to practice medicine and so recorded in the records of death, providing such information affords clear grounds to establish the correct medical cause of death within accepted medical practice and within the requirements for accuracy prescribed by the Division of Vital Statistics of the State Department of Public Health;

I. To hold inquest into a death if, in his discretion, the circumstances warrant, or if requested to do so by the Attorney General, the District Attorney, or the foreman of the county Grand Jury;

J. In accordance with state law, and the absence or wilful refusal of any person legally required to perform the service, to take charge of and decently inter the body of all indigent or unclaimed dead within his/her jurisdiction, and, if those legally required to perform the service wilfully refuse to do so, to take such action as necessary to legally recover county funds expended for the purpose;

K. To turn over to the public administrator for action any assets in his/her possession allegedly belonging to the indigent or unclaimed dead to initiate legal proceedings to liquidate and recover for the county funds expended for the purpose of an indigent or unclaimed dead disposal;

L. To perform other duties prescribed by law or ordinance not inconsistent therewith.

(Prior admin. code § 5-28.14)

A. Within the limitations of his/her personnel, the coroner may prepare copies of those public writings in his/her office which are open to public inspection. For all copies so prepared, the coroner shall collect the following:

1. The direct costs of duplicating one coroner case file .....$5.00

B. For all copies of public writings which the coroner may prepare and certify pursuant to subpoena, when the coroner is not a party to the suit, the coroner shall collect the following charges: .....

1. Search for, copy and process one coroner case file .....$23.00

2. Search for and process one coroner case file for inspection at the coroner's bureau .....15.00

3. Additional charge to retrieve one coroner case file from off site archive storage .....15.00

4. Additional charge, per quarter hour, for extraordinary search for records when the requester does not have complete biographical information needed for a routine search .....4.00

5. Additional charge to certify one coroner case file .....4.00

C. For other services the coroner may perform pursuant to law, ordinance or resolution, the coroner shall collect the following fees: .....

1. Removal of a dead body .....$254.00

2. Daily storage of a dead body .....83.00

3. Such fees shall not apply: .....

a. To any person who claims and proves to be indigent; .....

b. When the decedent is fourteen (14) years or younger; .....

c. If the decedent is an innocent victim of a crime; .....

d. To storage, during the period the coroner is performing his/her duties with regard to the body. .....

4. Body preparation .....67.00

5. Cost of filing death certificate and burial permit with the health department .....140.00

6. Cost of obtaining certified copy of death certificate from health department .....143.00

7. Lock or seal premises containing property of a decedent: .....

a. Labor cost per quarter hour .....51.00

b. The coroner shall be entitled to collect any other costs, including, but not limited to, material costs incurred in performing this service. .....

8. Private autopsies pursuant to Government Code Section 27520 .....2,000.00

D. All fees collected by the coroner shall be deposited in the county treasury as required by law and County Charter. .....

(Ord. 2003-43; Ord. 99-59 § 1: Ord. 97-32 § 1; Ord. 96-46 § 1: Ord. 94-1 § 1: Ord. 93-52 § 1: prior admin. code § 5-28.15)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 2010-36, § 2, adopted July 13, 2010, repealed § 2010-36, which pertained to general powers and duties—public administrator and derived from the prior admin. code § 5-28.16.

A. The governing body of the county declares that it desires to qualify to receive aid from the state under the provisions of Section 13522, Chapter 1 of Title 4, Part 4 of the California Penal Code.

B. Pursuant to Sections 13510.1 and 13512 of said Chapter 1, the coroner will adhere to the standards for recruitment and training established by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

C. The Commission and its representative may make such inquiries as deemed necessary to ascertain that the peace officer personnel of the coroner adhere to the standards for recruitment and training established by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

(Ord. 94-35 § 1: prior admin. code § 5-28.17)