Lobby Closures, Inmate visitation cancelled, Public Health Order Enforcement and more.
The Marin County Sheriff’s Office continues to work diligently to follow protocols and procedures to proactively prevent the exposure of COVID-19.
In an effort to be proactive and assist in the limiting of spread within our community and our workplace, we are modifying our services in the Records, Patrol, Custody and Court Divisions.
Public Health Order Enforcement
While there are enforceable misdemeanor violations we can enforce per the Public Health Order, we will be taking the approach of educating the public about the Public Health Order. While we intend to focus on education, that does not exclude the fact that the Order is in place and enforcement action can and will be taken if absolutely necessary.
Records:
In keeping with the public health order issued today by the Marin County Public Health Officer, the Sheriff’s Office will close our main lobby and the lobby in each of our substations starting March 17th, 2020.
One significant impact of this decision aimed at protecting our public health is that there will be no fingerprinting and Livescan appointments. This will remain in effect until April 8th, 2020 in alignment with the public order.
We know, for some, this will be one of many inconveniences in the weeks ahead. We want our neighbors to know that despite this public facing closure, the women and men of the Marin County Sheriff’s Office are on the job and focused on maintaining public safety during this trying time.
Patrol Division
We will continue to respond to calls for service, but how we interact with the public may be altered due to social distancing and the Public Health Order. We may ask that you step outside your residence for the safety of our personnel and our residents if we come to your house to take a report. We will maintain social distancing when applicable, and may take reports over the phone if a response to your residence is not required. We encourage you to utilize our online reporting as we navigate COVID-19.
Custody Services:
Due to the discovery of community spread of COVID-19 in Marin County, effective March 17th, 2020, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office Custody Division will be temporarily suspending all visitations. All in-person (contact) and non-contact visitations will be suspended until further notice. We have asked all professional visits (legal) to not enter the facility and instead work to conduct their business from their offices utilizing the phone. Video visits are allowed with the public. We are aware that temporarily suspending all visitations may cause hardships on inmates and their families and friends. We believe these measures are the best way to safeguard the health of our inmates, the staff responsible for their caretaking, and the community. We assure you that we will reassess this moratorium on all visitation as new information becomes available from our County, State, and Federal public health partners and State Correctional authorities.
Our courts are also seeking to limit human interaction in the courts by continuing most waived time, traffic, family court cases whenever possible. This will also help alleviate the immediacy of most legal visits.
Court Services
Information about what court services are available can be found by going to www.marincourt.org or viewing this Administrative Order.
Communications Center
Our first responders are on the job, prioritizing the health and safety of the community, which includes our Communications Dispatchers. In an emergency, please dial 9-1-1. As always, we can be reached on our non-emergency line at (415)479-2311. We ask that you do not call our non-emergency line for questions related to COVID-19. Our Communications Center has been inundated with phone calls regarding COVID-19. Have questions? Individuals can contact Marin Health and Human Services with non-medical questions about the coronavirus by calling 415-473-7191 weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m.) or emailing COVID-19@marincounty.org. Our Communications Dispatchers will refer you to these resources if you call them about COVID-19.
Where to get the latest information:
Visit the official Marin County Coronavirus webpage (MarinHHS.org/coronavirus) review answers to frequently asked questions, access guidance for special groups and subscribe for email updates. To view past status updates concerning COVID-19 activity in Marin County, click on the resources tab on the Coronavirus webpage.