Amid Record Jail Deaths, Oversight Of Riverside County Sheriff's Department Is Needed: Grand Jury Report

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A Riverside County Civil Grand Jury Report finalized last month was critical of the sheriff's department and the county for not being transparent about its jail system and inmate deaths.

Titled, "After a Decade of Record Deaths in County Jails, the Community Deserves Transparency through Oversight," the Grand Jury report laid out the findings.

From February 2023 through April 2026, there were 29 inmate deaths in Riverside County, with little transparency about what happened to the deceased.

Amid allegations of misconduct by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced three years ago that his office had opened a civil rights investigation into the law enforcement agency.

At the time, Sheriff Chad Bianco called the state investigation a "political stunt" fueled by favored "activists."

To date, the state investigation remains open, and findings have yet to be released — and criticism of the county jail system continues due to apparent lack of accountability.

"Over the past decade, Riverside County’s jail system has been the subject of public and media criticism, prior Grand Jury findings, and civil lawsuits," the Grand Jury report found. "While the RCSO [Riverside County Sheriff's Office] jail system has made some operational improvements, these efforts have lacked a coordinated, countywide oversight framework that could identify systemic risk, monitor long-term trends, and ensure sustained compliance with state and federal standards."

Bianco has opposed oversight of his office deeming it an attempt to gain political control. Last summer, the Board of Supervisors failed to move forward a proposal to appoint an ad hoc committee that would establish an independent body to oversee the sheriff's office. The lack of progress by the county Board came after Bianco announced his run for California Governor. (The sheriff appears to have lost his gubernatorial bid in the 2026 Statewide Primary Election; final election results will be certified next month, but Bianco is well behind the top finishers.)

Bianco's office does have a Sheriff's Advisory Committee (SAC), which was created to provide community input and promote transparency, but the committee members were picked by the sheriff.

Critics contend the SAC is far from independent. The Grand Jury report found that the SAC has "not demonstrated measurable advisory output. It does not publish meeting minutes, formal findings, or written recommendations and its meetings lack public participation."

Independent civilian oversight of local law enforcement is required under state law. The Grand Jury report found the county has not met the requirement, and that could be costly.

"The absence of independent oversight is not merely a policy gap; it presents measurable governance risk," according to the report. "Repeated in-custody deaths and allegations of systemic deficiencies expose the County to potential civil liability under federal and state law ... .

"Beyond legal exposure, continued deficiencies may erode public trust, increase insurance and litigation costs, and divert public resources from other essential services," the report continued.

To address the alleged oversight problems of the Riverside County jail system, the Grand Jury report outlined recommendations to be implemented by July 1, 2027, including:

• Establishing an independent civilian oversight body with subpoena authority or equivalent investigatory access.
• The oversight body should have independent staffing and budget, with authority to review critical incidents and in-custody deaths; mandatory public reporting; and defined appointment protections.
• There should be an independent custodial and correctional health audit, a quarterly public data dashboard, and a five-year strategic jail operations plan.
• The sheriff's office should dissolve its Sheriff's Advisory Committee.

Oversight of the Riverside County jail system, which houses thousands of people — many of whom are pretrial detainees presumed innocent — "requires institutionalized transparency, independent evaluation, and measurable accountability," according to the Grand Jury report.

The Grand Jury report put the onus on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to override Bianco.

"The Board possesses clear statutory authority to establish such oversight," according to the report. "Exercising that authority is not an intrusion upon law enforcement functions; it is a core governance responsibility."

Bianco has 60 days to respond to the Grand Jury report; the Riverside County Board of Supervisors has 90 days.