Kern County Municipal Code Ch. 1.08 Prisoners

The sheriff is authorized to remove prisoners assigned to him as sentenced misdemeanants or felons, serving time as a condition of probation, from the facility to which they have been assigned, under custody and without court order, for purposes such as: private medical, vision or dental care, psychological care, vocational services, educational services and funerals, all in accordance with Section 4137 of the Penal Code. The determination of whether to remove any prisoner for any of the purposes stated in this section shall be within the absolute discretion of the sheriff.

(Prior code § 5572)

A. This section shall be construed to be an order of the board of supervisors pursuant to Penal Code Section 4017 and Government Code Section 25359.

B. All adult persons confined in the county jail, industrial farm, or a road camp:

1. Under the final judgment of imprisonment rendered in a criminal action or proceeding; or

2. As a condition of probation after suspension of imposition of a sentence or suspension of execution of sentence, shall perform labor on the public works or ways in the county and engage in the prevention and suppression of forest, brush and grass fires upon lands within the county, or upon lands in adjacent counties where the suppression of fires would afford fire protection to lands within the county, as required by the sheriff.

C. As used in this section, "labor on the public works or ways" includes but is not limited to clerical and menial labor performed in the county jail, industrial farm, or road camps, or performed on public grounds, roads, streets, alleys, highways, firebreaks, fire roads, riding or hiking trails, public buildings or other places for the benefit of the public.

D. A prisoner who engages in the prevention and suppression of forest, brush and grass fires shall be under the direct supervision of a local, state or federal employee whose duties include fire prevention and suppression work, and shall be provided with workers' compensation insurance coverage for the period that said prisoner is engaged in such fire prevention or suppression.

E. No prisoner who is not described in paragraphs 1 or 2 of subsection B of this section shall be permitted to do any labor on the public works or ways of the county unless or until such prisoner is provided with workers' compensation insurance coverage.

F. Any county department requiring the labor of prisoners shall requisition from the sheriff the number of prisoners required.

G. While prisoners are performing labor and while going from and returning to their place of confinement, they shall be under the custody of the sheriff, his deputies, correctional officers or a responsible person appointed by the sheriff, and shall not be permitted to communicate with any unauthorized person.

H. The sheriff is hereby authorized to furnish prisoners to perform labor as described in subsection C of this section to other public entities in Kern County. Subsection G of this section shall be applicable to prisoners performing labor for such other entities. Such entities may be provided prisoners upon submitting a requisition to the sheriff containing at least the following information:

1. The name of the entity;

2. The name of the responsible person initiating the request;

3. The number of prisoners needed;

4. The length of time the prisoners will be needed;

5. The type of work the prisoners are to do.

I. The board of supervisors may make rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this section, and may delegate all or part of such rule-making power to the sheriff.

(Prior code § 5573)