Since 1980, the often overcrowded jail, the largest in the country, has been run under a consent decree with oversight by federal judges. A monitor files reports with the court twice a year and noted progress and "substantial compliance" at the jail in December except for issues such as overcrowding at the county-run jail hospital. It currently houses 8,800 inmates, down from more than 10,000 it frequently held last summer for the first time since 2007.