San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez announced this week that the jail will begin a new, more intense screening system to keep contraband out of the facility. The new screening program is part of a crackdown on contraband in San Diego-area detention centers.

The searches will be conducted to “further secure detention facilities from the threat of drugs and contraband entering and harming incarcerated persons and staff,” according to the Sheriff’s Department.

Overdose Tragedies Compounded by Jail

Since the beginning of the year, San Diego’s jail has had a higher rate of overdoses than other similar jails, with eleven inmates overdosing since the start of the year. For years, officials resisted the idea of searching employees, downplaying their role in narcotics and other contraband like cell phones. Much of the focus on keeping contraband out of the jails has been searching new, incoming inmates and mail for contraband smuggling.

Over 200 inmates overdosed in San Diego County jails in the last year, prompting a lawsuit from a prisoner who overdosed and died after just three months inside. If deputies had found him and his cellmate sooner, there’s a chance he would still be alive. (In addition to not receiving help for his meth addiction, Joshua Fosbinder was at high risk of suicide and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.)

Overdose Rate In Jails Across California is High

Jails are often touted as a place for people to get the “help” they need when it comes to addiction and mental health, but the truth is more fuzzy, with few jails having the resources to help people get sober. In California prisons, at least 53 deaths in 2023 were considered to be overdose-related.

While more treatment is being offered in federal prisons, smaller jails and even larger counties struggle to provide resources to inmates instead of offering Mediation-Assisted Treatment or other therapy.

Research shows that MAT, such as Buprenorphine, offered while incarcerated and continued when released, can reduce recidivism and increase sobriety success rates. Inmates also have a higher incidence of deadly overdose when they leave jail or prison without MAT support. MAT is now more readily available across California, and in public spaces in San Diego, people can get Naloxone, a free overdose-reversal drug. Addiction can affect anyone from any walk of life, with devastating outcomes.

The New Policy For Jail Workers

The San Diego Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board has been asking for this policy for several years and released a statement:

“CLERB has strongly urged the sheriff to body-scan every single person who works in our county jails to keep illegal drugs from getting inside,” said MaryAnne Pintar, head of the advisory agency. “As CLERB’s new chair, I thank Sheriff Martinez for hearing us and doing the hard work to build out and enact a plan to make every single person working in the jails subject to random, surprise contraband screenings. It will undoubtedly go a long way toward preventing overdoses, saving lives, and sparing families the pain too many have suffered.”

Under the new policy, all jail workers, contractors, and anyone else conducting business in county lockups will be subject to searches. According to the sheriff’s public statement, additional policy details will not be public  “to protect the security of … detention facilities.”

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]