Under pressure, Board of Supervisors pulls unpopular motion to decrease jail population

Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles has been targeted for closure due to deteriorating facilities, overcrowding and poor conditions. But the plan — labeled as a motion to “Depopulate and Decarcerate the Los Angeles County Jails” — drew criticism from justice reformers and law enforcement alike. The Sheriff’s Department, meanwhile, offered a statement late Monday saying it was still working to assess the impact of the motion and affirming its commitment to addressing the “many challenges we all face in our jail system.” As originally proposed, the seven-page motion would have declared a humanitarian crisis in the Los Angeles jails and required the county “to move with all deliberate speed on meaningful solutions.” One proposed solution involved asking local law enforcement to consider using a cite-and-release system, allowing people to walk free immediately after certain low-level arrests instead of being booked into jail. “The motion does not adopt the plan put forward two years ago to close the jail,” said Melissa Camacho, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. “With regard to their no-jail concept, we all hope that one day there will be a lesser need to incarcerate people, but today’s reality is that Los Angeles needs modern jails capable of humanely and responsibly housing those who pose a threat to our society.” Then, minutes before Solis withdrew the motion, Supervisor Janice Hahn waded into the fray, saying she too did not support it.