L.A. County leaders push new safety measures inside jails amid rising inmate deaths

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Los Angeles County leaders are demanding the Sheriff’s Department ramp up safety measures within the jail system as inmate deaths continue to mount.Ten people died inside L.A.County jails in the first two months of this year, putting the county on track for another record-setting year of in-custody deaths.

Autopsies to determine causes for all the deaths are still pending.County supervisors voted 4 to 0 on Tuesday on a motion, crafted by Supervisor Janice Hahn, requiring the Sheriff Department take a series of steps to reduce inmate deaths, including increasing access to the overdose reversal drug Naloxone, more closely monitoring cameras and beefing up safety checks.“If we don’t address this now, we will see another record year of deaths in the County jails — a record we do not want to repeat,” the motion stated.California Facing a pending lawsuit from the California Attorney General’s office over dire conditions in the jail system, officials at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said they are taking steps to improve the intake process and screen for health issues amid a recent spate of deaths.The death rate has eclipsed the pace of 2025, which saw nine deaths by the end of February.

The year ended with 46 in-custody deaths, a jump from the 32 reported deaths in 2024.Supervisor Kathryn Barger abstained from the vote, arguing the county could not address the death rate without building a new facility.“We must be honest about the limitations of facilities that were never designed to house today’s population,” she said in a statement.“I have consistently called for a modern replacement facility focused on treatment and rehabilitation because that is where the real solution lies.”Sheriff Robert Luna conceded this month that 2026 was “not off to a good start.” He framed the challenge as due partially to the fact that the county was booking peop...