Men’s Central Jail was supposed to close in 2021. LA County's latest report pushes it beyond 2031

The team leading L.A. County’s push to close Men’s Central Jail says a full closure is not feasible in the next five years.

This is yet another delay since the county Board of Supervisors voted in July 2020 to close the jail within one year. A two-year plan was announced in 2021, then a five-year plan in 2024.

The Jail Closure Implementation Team, also known as JCIT, told the Board of Supervisors this week that they’ve outlined a framework that will improve conditions for thousands of people in L.A. County’s justice system, but the steps they’ve identified are still not enough to safely close the jail within the five-year timeline.

Some supervisors expressed frustration in the lack of progress, but restated their commitment to close the jail. They passed a subsequent measure to provide $28 million this year for JCIT’s work.

“Men’s Central Jail is a decrepit, outdated facility inconsistent with human values and basic decency,” Supervisor Janice Hahn told LAist in a statement after the vote. “It puts both those incarcerated there and our sheriff’s deputies at risk.”

Hahn and other county supervisors have emphasized the need for a collaborative and comprehensive effort to shut down the jail without compromising public safety.

Inhumane conditions

Why close the jail?

“The reason it's important to close the jail is that the jail is a hellhole,” Eric Miller told LAist. “It is physically disgusting and is an inhumane place to house anybody.”

Miller is a professor at Loyola Law School and was a member of the Sybil Brand Commission until he stepped down in February.

That commission, tasked with oversight of county jails and lockups, visited the Men’s Central Jail earlier this month and found issues with the quality of drinking water, moldy or burned food, people not receiving toilet paper or other hygiene products and delayed medical care.

A May inspection also found rust and gnats in drinking water and concerns that people’s grievances and medical requests were going unanswered.

“The Sybil Brand reports have been consistent that the jail is infested with vermin and mold,” Miller said, “and it's not limited to one place in the jail.”

Miller said the issues aren't limited to Men’s Central Jail either, and closing the facility won’t fix underlying problems in how people are treated in the L.A. County’s justice system.

There have been 23 deaths in L.A. County custody since the beginning of the year, according to the LASD website. Six of those deaths occurred at Men’s Central Jail.

The Sheriff's Department said it takes findings from inspections seriously and works to address them.

“Despite ongoing challenges, including a rising inmate population and an aging Men's Central Jail, our staff have remained committed to providing constitutional, humane care to those in our custody,” the department wrote in a statement. “We are proud of the progress we've made and confident in our ability to continue delivering meaningful change for our community.”

A path to closure

Wilford Pinkney Jr., the executive director of JCIT, told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that by expanding diversionary programs, pretrial services and other strategies, the daily population at the jail could be reduced by more than 800 people by 2031.

Pinkney said JCIT also estimated that just over one-quarter of the 4,020 people currently incarcerated at Men’s Central Jail might be relocated to other facilities, allowing one floor of the facility to close in the next five years.

Many could not be housed anywhere else due to "specialty housing needs, security level, or a requirement to be housed in a single cell,” he said.

The repeated delays have drawn criticism from justice reform advocates, loved ones of people incarcerated there and public officials.

“ I understand frustration because people don't see action,” Pinkney told LAist before Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.

During the meeting, he said JCIT has been working to provide tested solutions and show that the county is making progress.

Janet Asante of the JusticeLA Coalition said it's a good sign to finally have more substantive plans on how jail closure will move forward.

“ We've been fighting for [JCIT] to even exist,” Asante told LAist. “They did not get staff until November or December of 2024, and that's four years after the vote to close Men's Central Jail without a replacement.”

She said JusticeLA hopes they see urgent action from the county and stronger leadership from JCIT.

Skepticism has also come from those who think the process may still be moving too quickly.

David Slayton, the executive officer of the L.A. County Superior Court, wrote a letter to Pinkney on June 29 saying the court had “significant concerns.”

He wrote that the plans relied on “increased Court capacity, additional courtroom availability, expanded judicial officer staffing, new physical space, and enhanced operational infrastructure — none of which the Court can currently accommodate" without additional funding from the state.

Other advocates, like Marcel Rodarte from the California Contract Cities Association, cautioned against risking public safety.

“We ask you to keep every option on the table, including replacement capacity, and to make no final decision until adequate capacity, services, and funding are in place," Rodarte said at Tuesday’s meeting.

Officials respond

Supervisors remain committed to closing the jail.

Supervisor Holly Mitchell told LAist in a statement that it’s “not just about closing a building—it is about transforming a system and is integral to the County's broader public safety strategy.”

She said the new report from JCIT was a “sobering reminder” of the work left to do.

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath pressed JCIT and other county offices Tuesday to give a more concrete action plan and timeline.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger also pushed for urgent action from the board and JCIT toward closing the jail during the meeting, but said she also believes the county needs to build a replacement facility that could more safely and affordably house people currently at Men’s Central Jail.

Sheriff Robert Luna told supervisors that he supports plans to close Men’s Central Jail, but that he sees a need for a new facility.

“ The population that I serve and care for has completely changed,” Luna said. “We have to pay attention to the data and make sure that we move forward collectively together to make sure that we're caring for the people in our custody.”

The board has so far rejected options for a replacement jail since plans for the Consolidated Correctional Treatment Facility were canceled in 2019.