Almost nine of every 10 people who died in San Diego County jails between 2011 and 2023 had not been convicted of the crime for which they were being held, a new study has found.
Black people made up just 6 percent of the county population but 12 percent of all the people who died in jail over the same period — and 19 percent of the jail population, the report from the Care First California Coalition found.
The coalition is a collection of some 20 advocacy groups across the state, most of them dedicated to bail reform, decarceration and other criminal-justice issues.
Care First California plans to release its findings at a press conference Monday with local leaders from the Racial Justice Coalition of San Diego, lawyers suing San Diego County over jail conditions and relatives of people who died in sheriff’s custody.
In addition to the racial disparities and deaths of people who had not been convicted, the study found an average of 16 people dying in San Diego County jails every year over the 13-year period.
“One of the first and quickest steps to save lives in custody would be ending pretrial custody, because that’s where the majority of deaths happen,” said Marcella Rosen, a Care First California Coalition spokesperson.
The Sheriff’s Office has defended its record on how it serves people in its custody, noting that it has implemented a host of changes aimed at better protecting them since Sheriff Kelly A. Martinez was sworn in early last year.
So far in 2024, eight people have died in local jails — the lowest number in more than a decade. Thirteen died in jail last year.
In all, the Care First California study found 211 in-custody deaths between 2011 and 2023.
The main causes of death were broken down among accidents, homicides, suicide and natural causes. Most of the accidents were identified as drug overdoses. A majority of the fatalities listed as natural deaths were deaths the study said were due to negligence by jail deputies and medical staff.
“For those who fight for the safety of people incarcerated, the category of ‘natural’ death is extremely problematic,” the report notes. “Many of those deaths are preventable with proper medical care and oversight, or caused by the stress and conditions of incarceration.”
Rosen said the report aims to push policymakers to do more to reduce the number of people in custody — especially those she says are denied a reasonable bail ahead of trial.
She also wants the study to drive more reforms in local jails, such as body-scanning everyone entering jails, including employees, to prevent illegal drugs from being smuggled inside.
“We are really trying to highlight why it’s so necessary to do drug-screening for those people coming into the jails, including the deputies,” Rosen said.
The Care First California report also cites state audit findings from 2022 that singled out the San Diego Sheriff’s Office for serious lapses in jail operations and practices.
Its scheduled release Monday will come one day before the county Board of Supervisors is set to consider sweeping new powers for the Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board, which monitors the Sheriff’s Office and Probation Department.
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