For more than a decade, warnings about deaths inside San Diego County jails have come from every direction. Families have spoken out. Journalists have documented patterns that should have triggered reform. Disability Rights California raised concerns. The California State Auditor identified systemic failures. I have written about it for years.
What was missing, we were told, was definitive proof.
That proof now exists. Independent statisticians, commissioned by the county’s own oversight body, have completed the most rigorous outside study ever conducted on in-custody deaths in San Diego County. Their findings do not introduce a new story. They confirm, with data and analysis, what has already been seen and too often dismissed.
The study examined 179 deaths over more than 12 years. More than half occurred at a single facility: San Diego Central Jail. The researchers described it as “a universe of its own,” a conclusion grounded in stark differences in death rates and conditions compared to other county facilities. When a problem concentrates this clearly in one place, it is not random. It reflects how that facility is run.
The report also makes clear who is dying. 85% of those who died had not been convicted of a crime. They were awaiting trial. Under the Constitution, they were entitled to protection, not punishment. Their deaths occurred at the front end of the system, often shortly after booking, when people are most vulnerable and most dependent on the institution for care.
The analysis identifies relationships that should end any remaining debate about whether these outcomes can be prevented. As the population inside San Diego Central Jail increases, the risk of death for each individual also rises. This is not simply a function of more people producing more incidents. It reflects an increase in individual risk, meaning that crowding itself creates danger. Decisions about booking, release and capacity are therefore decisions that carry life-or-death consequences.
Supervision also matters. Facilities with higher levels of experienced supervisory staff show lower death rates. That finding reinforces a basic principle of corrections work: policies only protect people when they are enforced, and enforcement depends on supervision that is present and accountable.
Taken together, these findings describe a system where outcomes are shaped by identifiable choices. They are not the result of chance, and they are not beyond the control of leadership.
Equally important is how difficult it was for the researchers to obtain the data needed to reach these conclusions. Over 14 months, they submitted multiple public records requests, sought cooperation directly from the sheriff’s office, and offered to accept redacted data under a non-disclosure agreement. That offer was declined. What they ultimately received was limited, enough to conduct analysis but not enough to fully answer every question the study set out to examine.
When researchers ask for data about programs that are supposed to reduce deaths and receive website links and press materials instead of underlying information, it raises a fundamental issue. Transparency is not defined by what an agency chooses to publish. It is defined by whether independent reviewers can verify claims using real data.
This lack of access did not prevent the study from identifying clear patterns, but it does mean the findings we now have may understate the full scope of the problem. The barriers encountered by the research team are themselves part of the story, because they reflect how oversight functions in practice.
Responsibility for these conditions cannot be confined to the past. The current sheriff served as undersheriff during the years when many of these patterns developed, and the resistance to providing data occurred under current leadership. Continuity in leadership carries continuity in responsibility, particularly when the outcomes have remained consistent.
San Diego County has paid tens of millions of dollars in settlements tied to deaths in custody in recent years, including a $15 million case that resulted in federal oversight of jail operations. These payments are not just legal outcomes. They are indicators of systemic failure that has not been corrected.
At this point, the question is no longer whether there is enough information to act. The data confirms what has been said repeatedly: these deaths are not isolated events, and they are not beyond the control of those managing the system.
San Diego Central Jail cannot continue to operate as an outlier within its own system. Population levels, supervision, and booking practices must be managed with an understanding that they directly affect whether people live or die.
The findings are now clear. What remains is whether San Diego chooses to act on them.
David Myers is a retired San Diego Sheriff’s commander with 35 years law enforcement experience.
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