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Civil grand jury urges improvements in intake, behavioral health staffing and data at county jail; supervisors to review responses
Summary
A civil grand jury report criticized conditions and procedures at the county jail — highlighting intake practices, suicide prevention, behavioral-health staffing and data transparency — and the Board of Supervisors’ Government Audit and Oversight Committee discussed the report with jail health and law‑enforcement leaders and directed responses to the full board.
The Government Audit and Oversight Committee on Friday heard an in‑depth presentation of the 2015–16 civil grand jury report examining San Francisco County jail operations and related behavioral‑health care.
Michael Skahill, presenting for the grand jury, said jurors studied compliance with California minimum standards (Title 15) and building standards, visited sites and interviewed officials. The jury found that intake — the first 24 to 48 hours in custody — is a critical period for identifying suicide risk and medical needs, and it recommended improved transfer tracking, consistent behavioral‑health staffing, better training and more open data on jail populations to allow outside study. Skahill said the jury encountered challenges across custody, health services and behavioral‑health coordination and urged a community‑oriented response for people whose needs are social and medical rather than purely criminal.
Sheriff Hennessy thanked the grand jury for its work and said the department is engaging with the re‑envisioning process established earlier this year and will respond through established channels. Lieutenant Daniel Molina of the Police Department said the department supports the re‑envisioning effort and described a six‑month timeline to implement a police transport unit to centralize prisoner transfers.
Dr. Lisa Pratt, director of Jail Health, provided operational data cited in the grand‑jury report: Jail Health has 163 full‑time equivalent staff (84 nursing FTEs, 32 behavioral‑health positions and 10 medical providers), a roughly $31,000,000 operating budget, saw about 15,000 unique patients last year and currently averages about 1,300 patients per day. Pratt said the jail population turns over quickly — she noted that about 65% of people are gone within a week — which complicates continuity of care and reentry planning.
Public commenters including Roma Guy, co‑chair of the Jail Replacement Project Work Group, urged a shift in paradigm: "The purpose of a jail...a medical problem that we diagnose in the mental health system is not for punishment," she told the committee, arguing for investment in community health facilities rather than criminal incarceration.
Supervisors discussed specific grand‑jury recommendations: 24/7 behavioral‑health staffing, locks and maintenance at particular jail facilities and training for deputies on suicide prevention and crisis intervention. The mayor’s office provided budget detail saying the 2016–17 and 2017–18 budgets included funds for locks and lights maintenance. The committee amended a response to align language about implementation status and moved the recommendations forward to the full board with a positive recommendation; Supervisor Bridal offered the motion.
