March 13, 2020

Heightened concern over the COVID-19 pandemic has gripped our communities. Just this month, a state of emergency was declared in response to California’s first COVID-19 death. Each day, the number of people infected with the virus in Los Angeles County continues to rise. Our major universities have suspended classes, employees are being encouraged to telecommute, and consumers are stocking their homes with enough food, water, and medical supplies to survive a multi-week quarantine. However, insufficient preparation has been taken to protect against the spread of COVID-19 through one of the largest and most vulnerable institutions in our community: the Los Angeles County jail system.

Our county jails are the most populated jails in the country , with a daily average of 17,000 people. Near the end of last year, the jail system was at 136% capacity, as six of the seven facilities were overpopulated by as much as 87%. The individuals crowded into our jails are medically vulnerable and held in close contact with each other, without frequent and adequate access to water and soap. In a context where medical care is deficient, housing conditions are squalid and individual needs are neglected, this is a recipe for the rapid spread of disease.

Recently released individuals have started to speak out about the notoriously unsanitary and overcrowded conditions in our jails. Blood and fecal matter stained walls and severely limited access to showers have been reported . This inhumane situation puts our entire county at risk. Each day, jails, unlike prisons, see a large number of people arrested and confined, while many others are released back to their community. The revolving door of incarcerated individuals, coupled with the daily influx of jail staff, vendors and medical professionals who return home, provides multiple avenues for COVID-19 to enter the jail and exit back into our neighborhoods and homes.

COVID-19 poses the greatest risk to the elderly and those who are immunocompromised because of preexisting medical conditions. In L.A. County, we have an aging jail population that the Sheriff’s Department has described as “ unwell .” In 2019, it was reported that 21% of the jail population was 45 or older. People in this age group are at the greatest risk for COVID-19, yet pose the least public safety risk to our communities. By keeping vulnerable individuals behind bars, we are increasing the likelihood that COVID-19 will not only spread “ like wildfire" throughout the jail system, but that the virus will be routinely transmitted to even larger populations outside jail facilities.

Finally, when vulnerable individuals are released from county jail facilities, it is imperative that we ensure that they are not forced into houselessness. Our houseless community is at heightened risk of not only contracting COVID-19, but of dying from the virus.

Given the urgency of this situation, we are calling on the Los Angeles County Sheriff, the Department of Health Services-Correctional Health Services, the District Attorney, the Los Angeles County Superior Court, and the Board of Supervisors to act immediately to protect the lives of the people impacted by our county’s jail system. This includes individuals in custody and jail staff, as well as their family members and communities. With COVID-19 threatening the health and lives of untold numbers of Angelenos, confinement in a jail facility for even a few hours, could turn into a death sentence for many.

To this end, we urge the County Sheriff, the Department of Health Services-Correctional Health Services, the District Attorney, the Los Angeles County Superior Court, and the Board of Supervisors to act in accordance with the recommendations below: