Study Due Next Month On Deaths In San Diego County Jails

SAN DIEGO, CA — A study that covers just over 12 years of in-custody deaths at seven detention facilities in San Diego County will be presented at the Citizens' Law Enforcement Review Board meeting next month.

Following a 2022 state audit of the San Diego County Sheriff's Office and an independent study conducted by Analytica Consulting of jail deaths and county mortality rates, CLERB contracted with The Mountain-Whisper-Light: Statistics & Data Science in 2023 to complete another independent study on 15 interest areas, including in-custody deaths in San Diego County detention facilities for the last 10 years.

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The study, which was completed this month, aimed to identify risk and any relevant factors that might make some incarcerated people more vulnerable to in-custody death than others, officials said.

The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. on May 7 at the San Diego County Administration Center.

CLERB investigates citizen complaints against the sheriff's office and the San Diego County probation department, as well as deaths and serious bodily injuries connected to the actions of either department.

The findings and recommendations in the report are the product of TMWL, not the sheriff's office or CLERB.

More information on CLERB can be found at sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/clerb.

San Diego County has been under intense scrutiny for years over its unusually high number of in-custody deaths. In 2022, the California State Auditor found "deficiencies with how the sheriff's department provides care for and protects incarcerated individuals (that) likely contributed to in- custody deaths."

That audit examined 185 deaths within the San Diego County jail system from 2006 through 2020, a rate that exceeded all of California's other large counties during that time period. The county had 19 custody deaths in 2022 alone, and another six in 2023.

The Sheriff's Office has committed to a $500 million effort to modernize and upgrade its jails, but advocates have questioned whether those efforts are sufficient.

— City News Service