Santa Barbara County Grand Jury finds Coroner’s Bureau substandard…again

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Santa Barbara County Grand Jury released its report of the Sheriff's-Coroner's Bureau and found the facility is substandard and does not meet 2020 national standards.

The facility was built using inmate labor back in 1987 and has been in continuous operation since its completion in 1988.

The Jury inspected the facility and the operation and found, "most of the failures demonstrated lack of compliance with new standards," wrote Grand Jury Foreperson Pamela Olsen. "The Jury recommends that the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors separate the Santa Barbara County Coroner position and make it independent from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff when the current Sheriff-Coroner’s term expires."

The current Grand Jury concluded, "As has been reported by many previous Grand Juries in 2012-13, 2014-15 and 2015-16, and reconfirmed by the 2019-20 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff-Coroner’s facility should be replaced as soon as possible. The Jury finds that the serious inadequacies of the facility jeopardize the health and safety of the staff and the public."

The Board of Supervisors has 90 days to respond to certain findings and recommendations and the Sheriff-Coroner has 60 days to respond.

Read the entire report at the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury website.