DATE:
December 10, 2024
35
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
IMPROVING PUBLIC SAFETY THROUGH EFFECTIVE CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
According to the California State Auditor's report released in February 2022, San Diego County ("County") had the highest rate of in-custody deaths among all counties in the state of California between the years 2006-2020.1 Concerningly, the jail death rate continued to increase after the report's subject period: the in-custody death rate nearly doubled in 2021-2022 from 2.4 deaths per 1,000 average daily population ("ADP") to 4.6, largely driven by a spike in drug overdoses-often fentanyl. Recent changes to state law and in the Sheriff's policies have addressed some of the underlying causes for the high number of in-custody deaths, and the number of such deaths in 2024 is set to be significantly lower compared to previous years. But there is more the County can do.
The State Auditor's Report identified deficiencies in how the County's Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board ("CLERB") has conducted investigations of jail deaths. The Report found that CLERB failed to investigate nearly a third of all custodial deaths between 2006 and 2017. For example, CLERB dismissed investigations of 13 in-custody deaths that occurred between 2011 and 2016 because the investigations exceeded the one-year time limit on investigations of peace officer misconduct set by the Police Officers' Bill of Rights ("POBR"), Cal. Gov't Code ? 3304(d). The Report concluded that this was because CLERB first "learned in 2017 that the one-year time limit also applied to investigations of deaths." The Report also found that many custodial deaths caused by deficient medical care were insufficiently investigated because CLERB lacks authority to investigate persons other than sworn peace officers and therefore cannot investigate the alleged misconduct of healthcare providers working in County jails.
CLER...
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