Board hearing flags staffing shortfalls, overcrowding as causes of repeated jail lockdowns

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Board of Supervisors, sitting as a committee of the whole on May 14, heard urgent testimony that repeated lockdowns in county jails are the product of a swollen jail census and persistent staffing shortfalls that have left deputies overworked and incarcerated people deprived of programming and legal access.

Sheriff Miyamoto told the board the jail system is managing an average daily population around 1,200 — roughly a 35–40% increase from pre‑COVID levels — and that units were locked down "deliberate[ly] and measured" after a rise in assaults on staff. "It's a new breed of inmate in here. They don't respect anything. They are mentally unwell," the sheriff said while summarizing interviews and slides he provided to the board. He described ongoing hiring and training efforts and asked for more resources to expand behavioral‑health partnerships and technology such as body‑worn cameras and tablets with translation services.

Ken Lamba, president of the Deputy Sheriffs Association, pressed a different point: understaffing is the immediate driver of the lockdowns and the health problems that follow. Citing union data, he said prisoner‑on‑prisoner fights rose roughly 45% between 2021 and 2023 and attacks on staff increased "about 380%" in the same period. Lamba and other union witnesses urged higher entry pay, a national recruitment push, outsourcing of background investigations to speed hiring, and shifting some vacant funding to hiring rather than paying overtime.

Terry Wiley, the inspector general for the sheriff's office, laid out a preliminary, evidence‑based assessment that echoed both presenters: staffing shortages and overcrowding contribute to lockdowns, and redeploying staff to investigate an incident can cascade into facility‑wide lockdowns. Wiley recommended reducing excessive overtime, redeploying non‑charter assignments back to jails where feasible, and investing in surveillance and other technology to improve monitoring with fewer staff.

Angela Chan, an assistant chief attorney at the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, focused on the effect of lockdowns on legal rights and services. "Over 97% of the people in our jails are pretrial," Chan said, warning that frequent lockdowns and short staffing have blocked attorney visits, delayed transport to court and stalled case processing. She and other speakers said limited programming, reduced language services and constrained jail health capacity are harming both detainees and the staff who serve them.

Supervisors questioned the sheriff on specifics and repeatedly asked for disaggregated data — in particular, how many people in custody are booked solely for drug use or possession versus other charges. Several supervisors blamed a recent increase in enforcement and prosecution for part of the jail population rise and pressed the mayor's office for clearer planning on non‑carceral alternatives. The mayor's representative said he would follow up with requested numbers but did not provide them at the hearing.

Public comment featured family members and community providers who described poor conditions inside the jails and urged renewed funding for in‑custody programming and stronger reentry supports. Several deputies and union leaders told the board that hiring delays — one recruit described a 13‑month hiring timeline — and prolonged mandatory overtime were worsening morale and creating safety risks.

The board filed the hearing for further work and additional data requests. Supervisors and witnesses singled out a range of near‑term and structural responses: a stepped‑up hiring and recruitment campaign, restoring or expanding cohort‑based programming, re‑investing in jail health staff and care, and creating non‑jail withdrawal‑management sites or "sobering centers" run by public health rather than corrections.

Votes at a glance: Earlier in the session the board approved routine consent items including airport lease modifications (American and United Superbay hangar lease amendments extending two years and adjusting annual rents reported by staff as approximately $7.2 million and $5.6 million), a FAA grant for HVAC work (approximately $31 million), HSH grant amendments (including a Conrad House agreement increased to a total not to exceed $12.8 million), a contract amendment with Recology (not to exceed approximately $43.8 million), and the reappointment of a Sanitation and Streets Commission member. The board also adopted items 22–27 without committee reference, including a proclamation for Stuttering Awareness Week (May 13–19, 2024) and a resolution urging the state to restore foreclosure‑intervention housing preservation funds.

What comes next: Supervisors ordered follow‑up material, including a breakdown of current jail bookings by charge type (particularly arrests for drug use versus drug sales or other crimes), staffing and vacancy data, and compliance records related to court‑ordered sunlight and outdoor access. Several members signaled additional committee hearings on recruitment, programming and non‑custodial treatment options.

Sources and attribution: quotes and attributions in this report are drawn from testimony at the May 14, 2024 San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting, including Sheriff Miyamoto; Ken Lamba, president of the Deputy Sheriffs Association; Terry Wiley, Inspector General; and Angela Chan, San Francisco Public Defender's Office (assistant chief attorney).