Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Report: High percentage of LA inmates suffering with mental illness are black
Listen
• 1:21
Two women occupy one cell at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles. Other women sleep in the common area on day beds due to overcrowding.
(
Mae Ryan/KPCC
)
A new report by the Los Angeles-based activist group Dignity Power Now found that 43 percent of L.A. jail inmates diagnosed with serious mental illnesses are African American. That's higher than their percentage in both the general population (9.6 percent) and in the general jail population (about 30 percent).
"The racial breakdown of the jail population is striking," said Mark-Anthony Johnson, who assembled the report along with law students at UCLA's International Human Rights Law Program.
Members of the group have been invited to present their findings to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on Tuesday in Geneva, Switzerland.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to L.A. County, outlining what it described as unconstitutional conditions for mentally ill inmates in jails. Officials recommended the county seek alternatives to jail for as many of those inmates as possible.
Support for LAist comes from
Johnson said L.A.'s jail system — the largest in the nation — is a good indicator of what's happening elsewhere.
"The largest jail facilities that also operate as mental health facilities — all of them have had issues with abuse of folks with mental health conditions," Johnson said.
Johnson and others said the glut of mentally ill in jails can be traced back to three decades of cuts to public mental health services in Los Angeles County. Other large jail systems in New York and Chicago have similar problems.
The report seeks to draw attention to the effect those cuts in mental health budgets have on communities with high levels of incarceration.
L.A. County is struggling with the question of how to best care for mentally ill who commit crimes.
In May, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved a $1.7 billion jail reconstruction plan that includes a Downtown L.A. jail devoted to housing mentally ill inmates. Last week, the board authorized $14.5 million in contracts for architectural and other planning for the jail.
There's also tentative support from the board for seeking out a more community care-based model. Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey is expected to present a report on alternatives to jail for mentally ill offenders to the board in September.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Isolated showers can still hit the L.A. area until Friday as remnants from the tropical storm move out. -
First aspiring spectators must register online, then later in 2026 there will be a series of drawings. -
It's thanks to Tropical Storm Mario, so also be ready for heat and humidity, and possibly thunder and lightning. -
![A Black woman sits at a dais with a flag in the background. A name placard in front of her reads: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kell[um].](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5425437/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6298x3897+0+0/resize/640x396!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F76%2F00%2Febed9a7a4fbd9e5ba12997e51d59%2Fgettyimages-1258669633.jpg)
L.A. County investigators have launched a probe into allegations about Va Lecia Adams Kellum and people she hired at the L.A. Homeless Services Authority. -
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass suspended a state law allowing duplexes, calling more housing unsafe. But in Altadena, L.A. County leaders say these projects could be key for rebuilding. -
This measure on the Nov. 4, 2025, California ballot is part of a larger battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year.
![A Black woman sits at a dais with a flag in the background. A name placard in front of her reads: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kell[um].](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/45c201e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6298x3894+0+0/resize/786x486!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F76%2F00%2Febed9a7a4fbd9e5ba12997e51d59%2Fgettyimages-1258669633.jpg)
Best of LAist