'A moral failure': California not tracking jail inmates and staff infected with coronavirus
Sacramento BeeJun 23, 2020
The state board that regulates California's county jails and Gov.
It's on them, the state says, to publish county-specific information about testing and infections inside local lockups.
But sheriffs across the state for months have put up barriers blocking access to information about COVID-19 testing behind bars and details about how widespread some outbreaks have become.
Where some counties like
While the state provides detailed data about COVID-19 in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and prisons, there has yet to be a comprehensive accounting of its spread in local jails.
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"The need for this information is just so obvious," said
Deitch and others said that's exactly what a regulatory body is supposed to do.
Meanwhile, at least 1,200
Spokesman
Five
The sheriff's office took 10 days to answer a question from
And in
None of those three counties regularly posts information about COVID-19 in jails.
Concern about the accuracy of COVID-19 data
Penner also said concerns among other state officials about counties submitting inaccurate data to a centralized state system contributed to the decision at this point to not aggregate and publish the information.
"They have not wanted to have false reporting done, and if it's done based on self-reporting COVID cases to us jail by jail, I think there's a concern that there would be issues with accuracy," she said at this month's meeting, held via Zoom.
The jail oversight group for months has collected voluntary jail population data and published it online, showing a precipitous drop as jails made space to accommodate physical distancing and fewer people were arrested.
And for years it has published voluntary data about inmates charged with felonies and misdemeanors, inmate medical visits and even the number of "dental encounters."
In those cases, research employees review the responses and work through discrepancies. But when it comes to COVID-19, the board is deferring to the counties altogether.
"We're just honoring what the health directors are choosing to do in this instance," Penner said
Nationally, jails and prisons are home to five of the largest outbreaks, The New York Times reported. At least 70,000 people have been infected and at least 627 inmates and workers have died in
Family members with loved ones in county facilities called on
The lack of information has also fed rumors about outbreaks and left the public in the dark about where clusters are worsening and where it might spread more deeply into the public as correctional officers come and go and inmates are released.
"This decision is a moral failure that threatens the lives of all Californians,"
'There are people who are suffering'
Experts say jails have a greater risk of disease outbreaks because of the constant churn of new inmates and people being released from custody.
Many people being booked have existing health conditions that could leave them especially susceptible to illness. And others who are being arrested might not show symptoms but could still transmit the new coronavirus to others.
Isolating someone who might be showing signs of illness or quarantining those who may have been exposed can be all-but-impossible, especially in older, dilapidated facilities.
Federal and state prisons, including the
"These are our community members. These are people who are suffering," Cumpian said. "We don't even know if they're getting tested, if they're keeping their distance, if they have masks."
Newsom earlier this year called for stronger jail inspections after a
Jail inspectors haven't stepped foot in a facility in months since the statewide stay-at-home order took effect.
While they have reviewed departmental policies remotely, only 57 percent of California's county jails have received in-person inspections during the two-year review term, which ends next week. Officials say all facilities will have policy reviews done by the deadline.
County jail populations in
"At some point, we need to stop not having oversight. We need to stop not holding people accountable for bad behavior," Budnick said. "And we need to pay attention to the bad actors and we need to make sure that everything that's happening is transparent.
"There's no reason why this board should not force every county just to be transparent with data. There's no excuse for it."
"For the health and wellness of people in our state, we urge local public health authorities to work with their county jails in the collection of data related to the COVID-19 pandemic," Waters said.
Deitch said advocates were right to criticize the governor's office. After all, the chair of the board reports to Newsom and the governor appoints members to the board.
"At some level," Deitch said, "the buck has to stop there."
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