Crime & Safety

Use of Force to Control Jail Inmates Is up About 47 Percent

The growing number of mentally ill inmates has resulted in spikes in the use of force by deputies in the women's jail and assaults against deputies across the jail system.

By ELIZABETH MARCELLINO
City News Service

The growing number of mentally ill inmates has resulted in spikes in the use of force by deputies in the women's jail and assaults against deputies across the jail system, Assistant Sheriff Terri McDonald said today.

The use of force to control inmates is up about 47 percent at Century Regional Detention Center, an all-female facility in Lynwood, McDonald told the Board of Supervisors.

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"Because the numbers are low, that (percentage) is high. But it's still a concern for me," McDonald said.

The numbers relate to the use of any force against inmates, including incidents that don't cause injury. Most are deemed to be within policies governing the behavior of jail guards acting to protect themselves or other inmates and not excessive uses of force. They include the use of Tasers to subdue inmates.

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At Century Regional Detention Center, there were 25 reports of the use of force in the first two quarters of 2014, compared with 17 for the same period last year, according to board documents.

McDonald said the hike was driven by the increase in mentally ill inmates in the all-female jail. Deputies need more training on de-escalating situations that have the potential to spin out of control, she said.

At North County Correctional Facility, a higher security jail for male inmates, the number of incidents is up about 55 percent, from 29 in the first two quarters of 2013 to 45 during the same period in 2014. McDonald said most of those situations were related to gang activity and drug trafficking in the jail, adding that it took "considerable effort" to quell major disturbances in three dorms earlier this year.

McDonald's report, part of a routine update on the implementation of reforms, followed an update by Richard Drooyan, who has been monitoring changes recommended by the Citizens' Commission on Jail Violence.

Drooyan praised the department and its leadership.

"I think we see a very different department today than we did two years ago," Drooyan told the board.

Though the use of force in all county jails is up about 5 percent year- over-year, it is still trending below five-year averages, according to McDonald.

In response to a question by Supervisor Michael Antonovich about the risks to deputies, the assistant sheriff said that assaults against jail guards had increased across the system.

"We've had three serious staff assaults in Twin Towers in the last 120 days," McDonald added, again attributing the issue to mentally ill inmates. "So we've got to work more with the clinicians to help us identify those inmates that are unpredictable."

The report came on the same day as District Attorney Jackie Lacey highlighted efforts to build a more robust program to divert the mentally ill to treatment programs rather than putting them behind bars.

The number of mentally ill individuals in county jails has increased by 89 percent since 2011, to a total of about 3,600 inmates, according to Lacey. Seventeen percent of male inmates and 24 percent of female inmates are mentally ill, she said.

The Sheriff's Department has worked with the Department of Mental Health to develop new training for custody deputies on identifying symptoms of mental illness and suicidal behavior and de-escalating dangerous situations.


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