By Miriam Raftery

August 27, 2022 (San Diego) -- On August 16, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department announced a series of changes aimed at keeping deadly fentanyl and other drugs out of jails to prevent inmate deaths. The action followed a unanimous vote by County Supervisors the same day to approve funds aimed at reducing jail deaths including purchasing body scanners, staff incentives, wellness teams and access to Naloxone to save inmates who overdosed.  

At least 185 people have died in San Diego County jails from 2006 through 2020 and has the highest death rate among the largest county jails in California

East County News Service

February 17, 2022 (San Diego) -- Attorneys representing people incarcerated in San Diego County jails have filed an amended complaint in a federal class-action lawsuit against the County of San Diego, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, San Diego County Probation Department, and medical and mental health contractors for the San Diego County jails. The complaint challenges the defendants’ collective failure to provide adequate medical and mental health care and living conditions for people incarcerated in county jails, as well as violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the disproportionate overincarceration of people with disabilities and people of color.

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.