Los Angeles County’s overall jail population has increased nearly 4% since late last year, in part because of more arrests related to a voter-approved proposition that allowed police to once again arrest people accused of certain low-level drug and theft crimes.
It’s a relatively small increase — roughly 500 incarcerated people — but it could indicate what is to come now that Proposition 36 is California law.
The county Sheriff’s Department, which runs the jails, and county officials tasked with moving people out of the crumbling Men’s Central Jail in downtown L.A., said they’re watching the jail population growth closely as it could make it harder to meet their needs.
It could also strain the department’s ability to serve people’s specific mental health needs even further. About 45% of the overall jail population are living with mental health issues, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
“We are going in the wrong direction,” said Wilford Pinkney, executive director of the Community Safety Implementation Team, which is responsible for figuring out how to safely move people out of the Men’s Central Jail and eventually close it.
“We’re going to have to continue to look at strategies to address any increase in the jail population, whether it’s from Prop. 36 or anything else,” Pinkney told the Board of Supervisors last month.
The Sheriff’s Department told LAist that, so far, the population increase has not affected jail operations or required more staff. But department authorities said they were watching the population growth “very closely.”
“We are concerned that if the [increase] compounds over time the availability of specialized medical and mental health housing will be adversely impacted,” the department…
Read the full article here
