Alameda County Public Protection Committee Annual State of the Jail Hearing – November 20, 2025
Alameda County Public Protection Committee Annual State of the Jail Hearing – November 20, 2025
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors Public Protection Committee convened for its annual state of the jail hearing on Thursday, November 20, 2025, from approximately 11:15 AM to after 1 PM. Chaired by Supervisor Elisa Marquez, the meeting featured four informational presentations: an updated jail population analysis by Wendy Ware of the JFA Institute, a state of the jail update from Lieutenant Daniel Murphy, the Title 15 inspection report for 2025 from Alameda County Health, and an Adult Forensic Behavioral Health (AFBH) update from Director Juan Taizan. The committee heard public comments on each item and highlighted significant progress in programming, therapeutic services, and suicide prevention, while noting ongoing challenges in nutrition and data integration.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Richard Spiegelman (Interfaith Coalition for Justice and Our Jails) praised the data but requested future community input into data questions, integration of behavioral health data, and identification of areas for program evaluation.
- Alice Fellard (psychiatrist) remarked on jails functioning as hospitals and described observing deputies treating incarcerated people respectfully but noted the lack of privacy during psychiatric consultations.
- Terry Dunn (Interfaith Coalition) asked how the Sheriff's Office will continue the population analysis in the future and who will be responsible for data collection.
- Mickey Duxberry (Welcome Home Project) emphasized the importance of mentors and psychological/spiritual transformation, citing interviews with formerly incarcerated individuals; he also commended the culture change at the jail.
- Alison Monroe (FASME) asked if data breaks out individuals waiting for restoration to competency (IST) and the average wait time for transfer to Napa.
- Brian Bloom (Mental Health Advisory Board Chair) urged a more critical definition of recidivism (reoffending vs. re-incarceration) and proposed focusing on programmatic interventions.
- Lonnie (public commenter) congratulated presenters, asked about housing availability post-release and interaction with the housing department, and inquired whether outdoor spaces will include large fields like San Quentin.
- Myrna Schwartz (Interfaith Coalition) asked whether AFBH clinicians communicate with defense attorneys and court clinical managers for timely referrals to behavioral health courts, and what proportion of the 170 IST diversion (EASE) program clients transitioned to community-based treatment vs. state hospitals.
- Carrie (Restore Oakland) affirmed that jail is not appropriate for mental health/substance abuse issues, urged prioritization of community-based care and diversion, and recommended ending the contract with Wellpath.
Discussion Items
- Jail Population Analysis (Wendy Ware):
- Alameda County’s population is growing, especially males 15-34. Violent and property crime spiked in 2023 but decreased in 2024, though aggravated assault remains elevated. Jail bookings remain below pre-COVID levels, and the average daily jail population has steadily declined to about 1,600-1,700. The sitting population is 94% male, 45% Black, 34% Hispanic, with 66% held for violent felonies. Average length of stay is 25 days (national average 42). 58% of release events occur within 3 days. High utilizers (3+ bookings/year) account for 20% of releases but only 1,500 individuals. Recidivism (return to jail within a year) is 48-50%; recidivism increases with longer sentences. Prop 36 has had minimal impact in Alameda County so far.
- State of the Jail Update (Lt. Daniel Murphy):
- Consent decree: 188 provisions; 40 no longer monitored; 194 additional deputies needed; 61 graduates expected in next 6 months. Construction includes outdoor recreation areas, network infrastructure (900 cameras), cell softening, Michael Foley Operations Center, and conversion of living spaces to confidential clinical spaces. New programs: Juilliard music composition, Freedom Breeders entrepreneurship, Armour food handler certification (with a formerly incarcerated instructor), LiUNA pre-apprenticeship (75 graduates, 22 in union). Use of force decreased 21% each year for 2 years; 68% of force incidents were Category 1 (no injuries). Strategic Response Team deployed 17 times; 9 resolved without force. 319 lives saved from July 2024 to June 2025 (164 medical, 135 self-harm, 6 assault, 14 overdoses). Reentry: Transition center saw 4,032 individuals; 108 classes offered weekly.
- Title 15 Inspection Report (Dr. Nicholas Moss & Antonio Galard):
- Inspection on April 15, 2025, population 1,640. Medical/mental health compliance met but recommendations made on quality improvement program and syringe tracking. Nutritional health: multiple noncompliance findings (food palatability, fruit/vegetable amounts, menu substitutions, stored food, serving trays, portion consistency, special diet management). Two of six 2024 recommendations corrected; others converted to findings. Environmental Health: minor kitchen violations (missing tile, leaking faucet) repaired during inspection; water samples negative for E. coli; overall sanitation compliant.
- Adult Forensic Behavioral Health Update (Director Juan Taizan):
- AFBH now serves 75% of the jail population at any time; 24/7 assessments for all bookings. Staffed 115 FTEs (75% filled). 30% of incarcerated individuals in therapeutic housing units across 5 pods. No suicide in over 2 years due to enhanced precautions, daily interagency huddles, and monthly suicide prevention meetings. 170 clients served in the EASE program (IST diversion), with 4-5 week average placement time. Post-release: Safe Landing (6 beds), Diversion Triage Center in Pleasanton, direct referrals to Horizon Treatment Services.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken as all items were informational.
- The committee acknowledged significant progress in jail programming, therapeutic services, and suicide prevention.
- Chair Marquez committed to tracking the Title 15 nutritional findings and the status of the Mazars health services audit contract at monthly meetings with the Sheriff.
- Supervisor Marquez noted upcoming meetings: December 18, 2025, joint public protection and health committee meeting on county violence prevention; a future joint meeting in January 2026 to discuss the RFP for the medical contract at Santa Rita Jail.
- The Sheriff’s Office indicated they have not yet discussed continued data analysis with Wendy Ware but are exploring an AI group to build on her foundation; the committee expressed support for continuing the working relationship.
Meeting Transcript
Progress. All right. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Alamity County Board of Supervisors Public Protection Committee meeting for Thursday, November 20th. Um, can we please start with a roll call? Supervisor Miley. Supervisor Marquez. Present. Thank you. And if the clerk could please provide instructions for their members to speak on items on the agenda, whether they're in person or remote. For in-person participation, the meeting site is open to the public. If you'd like to speak on an item, you can fill out a speaker's card in the front of the room and hand it to me. And for remote participation, you can use the raise your hand function, and we will have comment after each item. Yes, we will. Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much. Again, good morning, everyone. Welcome to the public protection committee's annual state of the jail hearing. This year's update is particularly meaningful as it reflects our continued investment in reimagining adult justice initiative spearheaded by the late Supervisor Richard Vae, whose vision and values I am honored to carry forward as the current chair. For current for context, RAJ initiative established 12 core elements that continue to guide the county's public safety work, emphasizing the need for ongoing data collection and analysis to better understand the drivers of Santa Rita Jail's population. In 2023, our board received the final RAJ report managed by our past probation chief and district two project manager Wendy Still. It is worth highlighting that several of the RAJ's recommendations align or overlap with the county's care first jails last initiative, especially around the importance of making data-driven decisions and informing program design. The RAJ report is available on my website, District 2 Alameda County CA.gov under stay informed drop-down menu. I am proud of Alameda County's consistent positive progress, including our ongoing work with Wendy Ware, who wears a who was a key, I apologize for that, who was a key force behind the RAJ initiative, and is with us here today to present an updated jail population analysis. This includes providing a deeper dive into arrests and booking trends, jail population characteristics characteristics, recidivism analysis, and pretrial opportunities. I applaud Sheriff Sanchez and her staff for continuing to fund Ms. Ware's critical research to better guide the county's investments towards rehabilitation and further support key culture shifts. Where there is more work ahead of us, the positive changes are visible. In fact, tomorrow I will have the opportunity to see firsthand this progress happening inside the jail facility. I'm very excited to attend the Labor's International Union of North America or Ailuna 304's seventh graduation at Santa Rita Jail. This transformational vocational program offered in partnership with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, trains participants in construction skills and provide certificates that keep certificates that help secure living wage jobs after their release. These transformative milestones remind us that meaningful change is both possible and already underway, even as we continue pushing for deeper system transformation. Again, our progress is the result of our partnerships across all stakeholders, including justice stakeholders, especially those with lived experience, county agency leadership and their central department staff, and our community advocates. I am encouraged by our ongoing dialogue and deepening collaboration as evident by our presenters from AC Health, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, so we may continue to build towards a more responsive and equitable public safety system. Thank you all for being here. I will also note that we do have to end this meeting shortly after 1 p.m. because Supervisor Miley and I have a special meeting at 1 30. So we will ask everyone to please keep their presentations concise and depending on how many speakers we may have to reduce public comment to one minute. So we will now start with our first item, which is an informational item. All the items on today's agenda are informational items. The first presenter I'd like to welcome and thank you so much for being here in person, Wendy Ware, president of the JFA Institute. Welcome, Wendy. And there should be PowerPoint presentations available online for everyone to review. And I believe your report has already been published and attached to our agenda. So welcome, Wendy. Thank you so much, and thank you for that wonderful introduction. I appreciate it. As you mentioned, I was part of the RAJ effort a couple of years ago, and all of the data that was incorporated in that report, we undertook this effort to update that data and look for emerging trends in the jail population. Just a bit of an introduction.
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