Printer-friendly version
By Ken Stone, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association
Photo: Sheriff Bill Gore, whose retirement is effective Thursday, has pushed back against jail critics in the past. Photo by Ken Stone
February 3, 2022 (San Diego) - On the day San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore retires, a state auditor released a damning report Thursday that calls on state lawmakers to make “meaningful changes” to reduce his agency’s high rate of jail deaths.
"In light of the ongoing risk to inmate safety, the Sheriff’s Department’s inadequate response to deaths, and the lack of effective independent oversight, we believe that the Legislature must take action,” said Michael Tilden, acting California state auditor.
His 126-page study, released Thursday morning, notes that from 2006 through 2020, 185 people died in San Diego County jails, confirming Union-Tribune reports that this is one of the highest in the state.
“The high rate of deaths in San Diego County’s jails compared to other counties raises concerns about underlying systemic issues with the Sheriff’s Department’s policies and practices,” the audit says.
“In fact, our review identified deficiencies with how the Sheriff’s Department provides care for and protects incarcerated individuals, which likely contributed to in‑custody deaths.”
The audit decries “deficiencies” in medical and mental health care and its “performance of visual checks to ensure the safety and health of individuals in its custody.”
Tilden also faulted the Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board, a panel approved by San Diego County voters to restore public confidence in county law enforcement.
Photo, right: manner of jail deaths in four counties. Image via state audit.
The board, he said, “has failed to provide effective, independent oversight of in‑custody deaths. CLERB also failed to investigate nearly one‑third of the deaths of incarcerated individuals in the past 15 years, which means that dozens of deaths have not been subject to a key form of review outside of the Sheriff’s Department.”
The Sheriff’s Department, anticipating the audit’s release, responded with this statement:
The independent review was conducted at the request of the California Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) after state legislators presented an audit request to JLAC on June 30, 2021. The evaluation reviewed in-custody deaths at San Diego County Sheriff’s Department jails over the last 15 years, as well as the protocol and prevention procedures.
State auditors conducted their review of the Sheriff’s Department from July 2021 to December 2021. The audit was extensive and included every aspect of Sheriff’s Department’s record of in-custody deaths, policies, procedures, facility maintenance and staff records. The department was open and transparent during the audit. We participated and cooperated throughout the entire process. We take the findings of the audit seriously and are taking action to implement the recommendations.
Many of JLAC’s recommendations are ones that we provided and completely support. They also align with our existing practices, current and future plans, as well as proactive efforts to continuously improve health care services and the safety of our jails.
Photo, left: 15-year death comparison of four counties. Image via state audit
These recommendations will require substantial investment in the existing jail system. They include, but are not limited to, hiring more personnel and renovations at our detention facilities. The County Board of Supervisors has already approved funding for more healthcare staff and we are actively working to fill these positions. Infrastructure and technology investments to the existing jails are planned and moving forward. The addition of programs such as medication-assisted treatment and mental health evaluations at intake are already in process or in place.
Sheriff’s Department jail staff and medical personnel are some of the finest, most dedicated, compassionate and committed county employees. We support change and know the recommendations will improve our jail system for the people in our custody and employees.
Undersheriff Kelly Martinez, who is becoming acting sheriff, was being made available for interviews on the report over the next two days, the statement concluded.
Other key findings of the audit:
- The Sheriff’s Department “alarmingly” saw a total of 52 suicides in jail over the past 15 years, “which is more than twice the number in each of the comparable counties.”
- Based on Sheriff’s Department data, in 2018 through 2020 the percentage of deaths of Black inmates was disproportionately higher than their overall composition of the jail population.
- But “White individuals died at proportionally higher rates in 2007, 2009 through 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2020. In 2006, 2008, and 2015, the percentage of deaths among Hispanic individuals exceeded their population percentage,” the audit said.
- Sheriff’s departments statewide may be underreporting the number of deaths occurring from incidents in the jails, with some deaths occurring outside of county lockups.
- “Our case review found that Sheriff’s Department staff did not always follow up after individuals previously received or requested medical or mental health services, even though these individuals often had serious needs that, when unmet, may have contributed to their deaths.”
- Based on video surveillance footage, “we observed multiple instances of sworn staff who spent no more than one second glancing into an individual’s cell, sometimes without breaking stride as they walked through the housing module. … Staff later discovered individuals unresponsive in their cells, some with signs of having died several hours earlier, as detention staff described some of these individuals as stiff and cold to the touch.”
The U-T noted Thursday how its six-month investigation in 2019 showed San Diego County had the highest jail death rate among California’s largest counties.
“The ‘Dying Behind Bars’ report showed the suicide rate in San Diego was almost five times higher than in Orange County and almost three times the Los Angeles County rate over the 10 years ending in 2018,” wrote Jeff McDonald, who teamed with freelancer Kelly Davis on the series.
“Many of the deaths have resulted in civil lawsuits that have cost San Diego County taxpayers millions of dollars in legal settlements and jury awards,” said the former San Diego SPJ Journalist of the Year.
In fact, the audit said 22 lawsuits between 2006 and 202 were filed related to jail deaths.
“San Diego County has settled 11 of these, for a total cost of $9.2 million,” the audit said. “Payments for these cases ranged from $10,000 to $3.5 million for an average of $838,000 per settlement.”
Recent comments