Emily Elena Dugdale

We're looking at the entrance to the downtown jail public lobby and inmate reception center. A concrete beige building faces us, with glass windows framed with red. The door has white signs like "put on your mask". The building is part of a large complex -- we can see other beige buildings beyond the reception center. A palm tree is to the right of the building, and there are green grass and shrubs.

Criminal Justice

ACLU Asks Judge To Hold LA County In Contempt For 'Flagrant Violations' Of Jail Order

Last year, a federal judge ordered immediate improvements after the ACLU filed a motion about “abysmal” conditions at the Inmate Reception Center. Now the civil rights group says the county is not complying with the order.

Ahmanise Sanati, a light-skinned woman with long black hair wearing a blue denim shirt, a green lanyard, and silver hoop earrings, holds up a copy of Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential in her left hand as she smiles at the camera. She's standing in front of her silver car, with brown bags and boxes of books visible from the back seat.

Criminal Justice

LA County Supes Vote To Explore How To Get More Books Into Jails

Earlier this month, we wrote about the lack of books inside L.A. County jails and one woman’s effort to change that. Now, the board of supervisors wants the Sheriff’s Department to report back on ways to make books available.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a white man, looks at the camera. He has short-cropped salt-and-pepper hair, a bushy moustache that curls just below his mouth, and he is wearing his tan sheriff's uniform.

Criminal Justice

CA Attorney General Investigating Riverside Sheriff’s Department, Focusing On Jail Deaths, Use Of Force

Rob Bonta says Riverside's department has had large numbers of deaths in custody, use of force in custody, and deaths by firearms.

Ahmanise Sanati pauses while loading books onto a rolling black cart to be brought into the jail. She is a light-skinned woman with long black hair, wearing a denim shirt, jeans, and a green lanyard. She's holding a brown paper bag full of books. In front of her are brown and white boxes and bags of books.

Criminal Justice

‘Overwhelming In The Best Of Ways’ — A Big Response To Our Story On Books In Jail

Ahmanise Sanati is starting up book drives again after bringing thousands of books inside jails over a more than a decade-long career there. After we wrote about her efforts two weeks ago, her DMs blew up.

The exterior of a building has smooth stucco and large windows reflection other buildings. The building has a sign reading: LINK KOLLEL

Criminal Justice

Man Arrested In Connection With Shootings Of Two Jewish Men In Pico-Robertson Faces Federal Hate Charges

A Riverside man who authorities described as having "a history of antisemitic and threatening conduct" faces federal hate crime charges.

A Los Angeles Sheriff's Department police cruiser sedan sits in front of a bank of payphones on a sidewalk in front of a fenced-off concrete building labeled as Los Angeles County Sheriff Men's Central Jail

Criminal Justice

LA Sheriff Agrees To More Transparency On Jail Conditions

Responding to a request from the Civilian Oversight Commission Thursday, the Sheriff's Department said it will provide quarterly online reports about conditions inside the county jails and its efforts to improve them.

The exterior of a jail has the word "JAIL' carved into sign outside an empty courtyard expanse. The block walls have stripes and a row of first-floor windows

Criminal Justice

18 People Died In Riverside County Jails Last Year. Advocates Urge State Action

The ACLU of Southern California and two community groups penned a letter alleging that incarcerated people in Riverside County are not getting the medical and mental health care they need.

Criminal Justice

People In LA Jails Need Books. She's Making It Happen

Ahmanise Sanati helped get books on every floor of Twin Towers jail when she worked there, but the effort fizzled out after she left. Now she’s revving up jail book drives from the outside.

A Black man with a dark blue suit and black-rimmed glasses speaks in front of a group of news station microphones.Behind him there's a group of people holding signs.

Criminal Justice

Huntington Park Police Shot, Killed Man Who Had Both Legs Amputated: What We Know So Far

Anthony Lowe was shot and killed by Huntington Park police on Jan. 26. 'Thank goodness that we’re in the era of videos,' said the family attorney as they file a federal civil rights lawsuit

A demonstrator holds a "Thin Blue Line" flag - an American flag in black and white with a blue line running horizontally across the middle of the flag. To the right someone holds a sign that reads "thank you for your service police."

Criminal Justice

LAPD Chief Bans ‘Thin Blue Line’ Flag From Police Station Lobbies, Patrol Vehicles, And Uniforms

In a memo, Chief Michel Moore said “extremist groups have hijacked the use of the ‘Thin Blue Line Flag’ to symbolize their undemocratic, racist, and bigoted views.”

Emily Elena Dugdale

Stories by Emily Elena Dugdale