Safety in San Diego jails has been under the microscope since 2022 when a state audit found the county had the highest rate of inmate deaths in the entire state.
On Wednesday, San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez and her staff hosted a press conference at the Kearney Mesa County Operations building to share updates to her department's jail policies and procedures. In one corner of the room, there were easels displaying magnified x-ray photos using improved body scanners that discovered drugs on, and sometimes in, jail inmates.
Dozens of staff were also present, including a drug-sniffing dog and its deputy handler. Assistant Sheriff Theresa Adams-Hyder explained to NBC 7 how dogs like that one are being used to hold inmates and deputies accountable.
“We use our K9s in the entire facility, not just in housing units or with an incarcerated person at intake. It’s everywhere. We are going into common areas where our staff work, where incarcerated individuals sleep, where they work,” Adams-Hyder said.
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The Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board, an independent group of volunteers recognized by the county, has called on the sheriff's department to enforce daily staff scanning after reports of deputy drug-related arrests. Adams-Hyder told NBC 7 the idea is still under consideration and that staff now are subject to searches if there is enough intel that they might be harboring narcotics.
“Whether or not it’s feasible. Whether or not we have enough staffing to do it and how that would work out. So we are still looking at that, it’s not something that we’ve dismissed,” said Adams-Hyder.
Sheriff Martinez explained at the podium that drugs are making their way into her detention facilities mostly through mail and inmate transports. As a result, she said, there is now a centralized mail delivery system with special detection teams. The changes are also a response to a recent report citing an unusually high number of overdose deaths.
“They have intercepted narcotics on more than 200 occasions since January of this year,” said Martinez.
In the other corner of the conference room, there were examples of successful re-entry work like gardening and baking. It’s something that Maribel De la Rosa, a formerly incarcerated individual, can attest to. She was arrested and served time for drug charges, but is now doing well and operates her own business. She attributes her success to the many programs available to her in jail.
“I would put on that chef hat and apron and it was like another world I entered. And I gained my confidence there," said De La Rosa.
Other changes include a voluntary urine screening, medicated assisted treatment for mental health and substance abuse, more health providers and correctional counselors, ADA compliance in bathrooms, technology upgrades to help with communications and bookkeeping, and multi-million dollar renovation projects at several detention facilities.
During the press conference, Elisa Serna’s family and relatives of other inmates who have died while in custody protested outside the building. Serna died in SDSO custody in 2019 after suffering a seizure and collapsing in her cell. The sheriff's department said she died from complications of drug abuse combined with early intra-uterine pregnancy.
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“Elisa Serna died in our custody four years ago. At that time I didn’t have any oversight or authority over our jails but since that time, I did however, have oversight over the homicide team that did take that case to the DA’s office,” said Martinez. “So if there are staff that are culpable for the deaths that occur in our facility, we will hold people accountable. At this time, we really are focusing on our healthcare in our jails. We think that is important and key because sometimes the people that come in aren’t always in the best of medical and mental health conditions.”
Michael Serna told NBC 7 he is waiting for Martinez to release jail death reports. A legal battle over the release of the documents is in litigation as of Wednesday.
“I think it’s all good and dandy that they want to start bringing change now, but it’s too little too late. Two more deaths this week,” Michael Serna said.
A judge has decided the doctor and nurse accused of negligence in Serna's case will stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges.
