Report 2017-101 Recommendation 4 Responses

Report 2017-101: Concealed Carry Weapon Licenses: Sheriffs Have Implemented Their Local Programs Inconsistently and Sometimes Inadequately (Release Date: December 2017)

Recommendation #4 To: Sacramento County Sheriff's Department

To ensure that staff are following its newly established procedures and to identify any need for additional guidance, by March 2018 Sacramento should establish a review process wherein it regularly reviews a selection of license files and denied applications to determine whether its staff are collecting sufficient and consistent documentation in accordance with its policies and are appropriately including which requirement applicants did not meet in its denial letters.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2023

As of January 2018 the following procedures have been in practice for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office Concealed Weapons Permitting Office.

For the issuance of the new, initial CCWs, a senior staff member makes a final review to ensure all criteria have been met.

Each week, a senior staff member reviews a minimum of 24 randomly selected CCW applications, including, but not limited to, initial, renewal, duplicate & modified CCW permit applications, to ensure consistency with CCW staff processing of CCW applications.

The Sheriff's Office has appointed a CCW Committee that consists of one Chief Deputy and two Sheriff's Captains. This committee conducts bi-weekly reviews of CCW applications. This Committee has been in place since the Audit in 2017. This panel reviews all new applications for approval or denial. The CCW Committee also oversees revocations of CCW Permits. During this review, the panel discussed how staff collected sufficient and consistent forms and ensured our documentation was by its policies. It includes requirements applicants did not meet in our denial letters as per the recommendations in the "Report 2017-101 Recommendations."

Additionally, the Sheriff's Office has an assigned Chief Deputy who is not on the CCW panel to conduct an independent review of all appeals. The Chief Deputy reviews each denial or revocation that the CCW applicant has appealed in writing. The applicant is notified via mail if their appeal has been denied or granted.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

To support its response, the Sheriff's Office provided a handout explaining its CCW policies and procedures to the public, but this document did not include the review process the Sheriff's department describes in its response.

All Recommendations in 2017-101

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.