Justice Department Secures Agreement with San Luis Obispo County, California, to Resolve Claims that Conditions in the County Jail Violate Federal Laws

The Justice Department announced today that the department has reached an agreement with San Luis Obispo County, California, resolving the department’s findings that the conditions of confinement at the San Luis Obispo County Jail (the jail) violate the Eighth and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The agreement recognizes and outlines the significant strides the county has made in some areas since the findings were issued.

“We are encouraged by the improvements the San Luis Obispo County Jail has made since we announced our investigation, but there is still more that must be done to achieve constitutional compliance,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. “This agreement includes strong remedial provisions that, if fully implemented, should improve suicide prevention, reduce excessive force and reduce the use of unnecessary isolation.”       

“Safeguarding civil rights is core to American values,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California.  “We are pleased that — with the cooperation of San Luis Obispo County — we have achieved a comprehensive agreement that will protect the safety and civil rights of people incarcerated at the county’s jail. Under this agreement, the county must implement reforms in suicide prevention, restrictive housing, use of force and quality assurance. My office is committed to protecting the civil rights of everyone in our district.”

Under the agreement, the jail will, among other things:

• Take steps to protect incarcerated people at risk of suicide;
• Stop housing people with serious mental illness in isolation absent specific and significant protections;
• Require any use of force by staff comply with constitutional standards; and
• Implement a quality assurance program to identify and correct systemic deficiencies.

The agreement also requires the appointment of a lead expert to assess the county’s compliance with the agreement and provide technical assistance and recommendations to facilitate compliance. The lead expert will issue public reports every six months on the county’s compliance with the agreement.

The Justice Department initiated its investigation of the San Luis Obispo Jail in October 2018 under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) and the ADA. The department provided San Luis Obispo County written notice in August 2021 of its findings, along with the supporting facts for its findings, and the minimum remedial measures necessary to address the violations found.

The Civil Rights Division continues to prioritize unconstitutional conditions and violations of federal law in correctional and juvenile justice facilities. It opened new investigations into prisons and jails in Tennessee, California, South Carolina, and juvenile justice facilities across Kentucky. The division also issued findings in its investigations of Mississippi prisons, Texas juvenile justice system’s facilities, the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia, South Carolina, and the Georgia Department of Corrections. The division entered into agreements, including consent decrees, regarding the Fulton County, Georgia, Jail, the Cumberland County, New Jersey, Jail, the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey, the Broad River Road Complex in South Carolina, the Manson Youth Institution in Connecticut, and the Massachusetts Department of Correction. The division is also litigating matters related to the constitutionality of conditions in Alabama’s prisons for men and the incarceration of people beyond their release dates in Louisiana prisons.         

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt.

Individuals in the seven counties of the Central District of California may file a complaint asserting civil rights violations with the Civil Rights Section, Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office by completing and submitting this form (English) (Spanish) by email to USACAC.CV-CivilRights@usdoj.gov.