With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today.
Why Were LA Jail Health Care Workers Rallying?
Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles.
(
Andrew Cullen for LAist
)
Health care workers rallied in front of Men’s Central Jail Wednesday to call attention to what they say are inhumane conditions for incarcerated people.
Nurse practitioners, psychologists and others who care for the roughly 13,000 people inside L.A. County jails are asking a federal judge to conduct an unannounced tour of Men’s Central Jail. The action came just a few weeks before a hearing in which the same federal judge is slated to decide whether the county is in contempt of court for failing to improve conditions at the jail complex downtown.
The backstory
Sponsored message
Dr. Timothy Belavich, director of Correctional Health Services, said Monday that roughly one-quarter of the 2,000 budgeted jail health care positions are unfilled.
LAist’s review of coroner's records found 2021 marked the highest number of deaths by suicide inside the downtown jail complex in eight years.
The rise in suicide deaths comes at a time when the L.A. County Jail system is plagued by a number of issues: facilities are overcrowded, jail officials are struggling to maintain a mental health workforce and the jails are out of compliance with court-mandated requirements.
U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson is scheduled to preside over a contempt hearing scheduled for June 27. Attorneys with the ACLU are asking the judge to hold the county in contempt for failing to improve what the ACLU calls “abysmal” conditions at the Inmate Reception Center.
At LAist, we focus on what matters to our community: clear, fair, and transparent reporting that helps you make decisions with confidence and keeps powerful institutions accountable.
Your support for independent local news is critical. With federal funding for public media gone, LAist faces a $1.7 million yearly shortfall. Speaking frankly, how much reader support we receive now will determine the strength of this reliable source of local information now and for years to come.
This work is only possible with community support. Every investigation, service guide, and story is made possible by people like you who believe that local news is a public good and that everyone deserves access to trustworthy local information.
That’s why we’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Thank you for understanding how essential it is to have an informed community and standing up for free press.
Your support for independent local news is critical. With federal funding for public media gone, LAist faces a $1.7 million yearly shortfall. Speaking frankly, how much reader support we receive now will determine the strength of this reliable source of local information now and for years to come.
This work is only possible with community support. Every investigation, service guide, and story is made possible by people like you who believe that local news is a public good and that everyone deserves access to trustworthy local information.
That’s why we’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Thank you for understanding how essential it is to have an informed community and standing up for free press.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
