San Francisco Sheriff Vicki Hennessy deserves kudos for her work to implement the department's new policy that would significantly change the way deputies interact with and house female trans inmates in jails.
This policy was first proposed nearly two years ago by then-Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, who was in a contentious re-election race against Hennessy. We endorsed her after she reassured us that she would support the policy if elected. Since assuming office she has worked diligently on the many issues that first must be addressed before the policy can be finalized, with the ultimate goal of housing trans women who have not had surgery in the women's jail unit.
As we reported last week, Hennessy recently sent a letter to new District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy in response to his request for a status report. The letter specifies the necessary groundwork required and Hennessy's ideas for realizing the new policy. Broadly speaking, the sheriff needs buy-in from the deputies, and that includes changing work rules through the collective bargaining process, which is a lengthy one.
Hennessy has also proposed purchasing full body scanners that she said will "obviate the need for strip searches where warranted to prevent the introduction of contraband into the jail environment." Female deputies, in particular, are reluctant to conduct strip searches of trans women.
A positive sign is that the deputy sheriffs association seems to be more open to the new policy. During the election, Eugene Cerbone, a gay man who's head of the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs Association, had been critical of the plan and some of his previous comments were transphobic. (The association supported Hennessy over Mirkarimi in the 2015 election.) Now, however, he is much more measured, telling us in an email last week, "The issues that we have has to do with state law. No one believes that people shouldn't be treated respectfully, and professionally." That's progress. Hennessy has also instituted gender awareness training for the staff, and just over 400 employees have completed it. The goal, she said, is to have all department personnel complete training by June 30. (New employees receive the training as part of their orientation, she noted.)
Another big improvement, scheduled to start March 1, are new field arrest cards for the sheriff's office and San Francisco Police Department. The card was developed with the cooperation of SFPD, the sheriff said, and, for the first time, will document a person's gender identity, their booking name and an "also known as" name, and their choice of gender of staff person if they need to be searched. The cards also indicate which name the inmate prefers while in custody. This will alleviate misgendering by both police and sheriff's deputies.
The national Prison Rape Elimination Act sets forth standards for housing trans and intersex inmates, and Hennessy is using it as her guide in preparation for the jail housing policy. Already, she has moved most trans prisoners to another area of County Jail #2, rather than County Jail #4, where they had been housed when she took office. They were receiving little programming and "had to walk the entire mainline and be subjected to taunts of other prisoners," she wrote. While they are still housed in a men's facility, trans inmates are in a re-entry pod that has been modified to provide them with their own housing unit, including a shower, segregated from men's housing, she said. They have more light and freedom of movement than before, she added.
Trans advocates want this housing policy implemented sooner, and it's frustrating that it will likely be later this year, or next, before it's complete. But revising union work rules and securing funding for equipment takes time, as does working with other institutions like the police department. By every measure, Hennessy has been up to the task. She has instituted a stop-gap measure to provide better service for some trans women inmates now, she has a plan to deal with strip searches, and she has worked with SFPD to develop documents that will treat trans arrestees with more respect. Progress has been slow, but changes are in motion. The Board of Supervisors must approve her request for the body scanners – about $100,000 each – in the 2017-2018 budget. The police department must utilize the new field arrest cards so that the information can be handed over to the sheriff's department once a trans person arrives at a jail.
We must also acknowledge Sheehy's work in following up on the policy. He told us he's committed to making sure there's money in the budget for the scanners. Hennessy is also working to secure state grants for jail renovations. Overall, progress has been made, and we're confident the sheriff will achieve a better trans jail housing policy.