Objectives / Goals

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Vision Statement

We are committed to working as a team to meet the needs and expectations of our customers by fulfilling our mandated mission in a professional, compassionate, ethical and timely manner.

2013-15 Objectives

The Public Safety Group’s performance measurement initiative identified mission critical services and desired outcomes. The results of this initiative are reflected in the objectives stated below.

Strategic Initiative – Healthy Families

  • Continue to contribute to research efforts in childhood death by providing statistics and case examples, and lending expertise through active participation in groups such as the San Diego County Child Fatality Committee, the Methamphetamine Strike Force, MECAP,NICHD, Prescription Drug Task Force, Domestic Violence Task Force and the California SIDS Advisory Council.
  • Continue to contribute to research efforts in Alzheimer’s, Epilepsy, Autism and Schizophrenic studies by providing tissue to academic research organizations with family consent.

 

Strategic Initiative – Safe Communities

Promote safe and livable communities by providing objective, accurate, and timely determination of cause and manner of death in order to assist families and public and private agencies.

  • Continue enabling timely sharing of detailed information with customers (families, law enforcement agencies, hospitals, insurance companies, media, etc.) regarding the cause and manner of death. 
  • Enable timely progress of the justice system by completing homicide examination reports within the stated performance standards.
  • Ensure neighborhoods are safe to work, live and play.
    • Gather epidemiology information to address public health issues and partner with agencies to alert the community on patterns and trends. These trends will be communicated through press releases and an annual report published online. 
    • Continue to train medical residents, students and first responders on forensic investigations by fulfilling requests in a timely fashion.


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Changes from previous plan

Staffing

Total staffing is proposed to increase by 2.00 staff years.

  • The proposed addition of 2.00 staff years will provide support for investigations and improve the Department's ability to respond to subpoenas and court orders in an efficient and timely manner.
 

Expenditures

A proposed net increase in expenditures of $0.5 million.

  • A proposed increase of $0.3 million supports the staffing changes described above, the restoration of funding for a Forensic Pathology Fellow, and an increase in County retirement contributions.  
  • A proposed net increase of $0.1 million is primarily due to increases in Services and Supplies to support increases in department operating costs.
  • A proposed increase of $0.1 million is due to planned one-time capital assets (equipment) purchases.

 

Revenues

A proposed net increase in revenues of $0.5 million is due to an increase in General Revenue Allocation to support the increase in County retirement contributions and increased facility costs, an increase in fees approved for FY 2011-12, and the reinstatement of a federal grant to fund a Forensic Pathology Fellow.

These result in a net decrease of budget of $0.1 million due to a reduction in one-time expenditures, partially offset by an increase in County retirement contributions.


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