San Francisco -- San Francisco jail inmates got a two-hour course this week on how to outsmart the cops -- sponsored by the sheriff himself.

Don't buy the ``good-cop-bad-cop'' routine when being questioned as a criminal suspect. Lock out police when confronted with a search warrant. Make an agreement with friends not to talk to officers until everyone has contacted a lawyer.

``What better way to reduce the city's jail population than teaching the criminals how not to get caught?'' David Hardy, president of the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs' Association, asked sarcastically.

Hardy, acting on numerous complaints from deputies, has asked the sheriff to eliminate the course, which was taught by civil rights attorney Katya Komisaruk.

Inmates in San Francisco have been briefed on their rights for 25 years through Prisoner Legal Services, a department within the sheriff's office. But deputies said the training provided by Komisaruk this week went beyond the usual lecture on constitutional rights.

Prisoners at the city's four jails went to Komisaruk's seminars Monday and Tuesday. It was the first time Komisaruk has given the class to male inmates, although she taught the same course to a group of female inmates several years ago, she said.

Officials said no city money went into the seminar.

Komisaruk, who served time in federal prison nine years ago for smashing a computer at Vandenberg Air Force Base in protest of nuclear weapons, said she was paid with a $250 donation from an inmate.

The funding source made little difference to Sheriff Michael Hennessey's deputies.

``I can't believe that the taxpaying citizen could support the sheriff teaching people how to be better criminals,'' Hardy said.

Hennessey is investigating the deputies' complaints, said Eileen Hirst, a department spokeswoman.

``The lines were apparently crossed,'' she said, adding that Komisaruk will not be asked back. In the meantime, the sheriff is determining whether to eliminate the course altogether.

The San Francisco Sheriff's Department, unlike most in the state, has a liberal reputation. Before being elected in 1979, Hennessey was directing attorney of the San Francisco County Jail Prisoner Legal Assistance Project, which he founded.

But this time, Hardy said, the department went too far. He accused Komisaruk of offering tips and tricks to help criminals conceal their activity and use the justice system to their advantage.

Deputies said they had complained to Sheriff Michael Hennessey that the course, intended to teach inmates their constitutional rights, was providing prisoners with tips on how to avoid being caught when committing crimes. They also said the course portrayed police as incompetent, racist and violent.

Katya Komisaruk, the teacher, defended her tips, saying, ``Everything I said was completely legally accurate.''

Sketches showing actors playing police officers were meant to entertain, Komisaruk said.

``I don't believe I depicted police as racist or brutal,'' she said. ``I was just trying to keep the audience interested. I certainly did not mean to offend anyone. It appears more controversial than I thought.''

Deputies had also quoted Komisaruk as telling inmates, ``It's stupid to boost from the large chain stores. They have better security.'' Komisaruk said that the comments were taken out of context and that she was just being lighthearted.

``These people could watch `NYPD Blue' and get the same information,'' Hardy said. ``But I'm not so sure that the Sheriff's Department is the one to be giving it.''

Hardy said that on top of advising crooks how to get out of jams, Komisaruk told inmates, ``It's stupid to boost from the large chain stores. They have better security.''