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Sheriff Luna addresses concerns; 10 inmates die in LA County jails this year
ABC7"Please remember this: every number is a family, and somebody who died and I recognize that, so we're working very hard," Luna said.
He said the number of people entering jails is increasing, a trend he linked to Proposition 36.
"We're seeing that the population, the mental health population, the people addicted, the people who are medically and mentally fragile is increasing," he said. "As a matter of fact, we're now at 51% of our population who needs more medical care. If you look at the numbers from last year, and again, each number is a person, 54% died of natural causes. That tells you that something is wrong, health wise, in our community."
Luna said the department has been looking at other jail systems across the country and said many are experiencing similar trends.
He said the number of people entering jails is increasing, a trend he linked to Proposition 36.
"We're seeing that the population, the mental health population, the people addicted, the people who are medically and mentally fragile is increasing," he said. "As a matter of fact, we're now at 51% of our population who needs more medical care. If you look at the numbers from last year, and again, each number is a person, 54% died of natural causes. That tells you that something is wrong, health wise, in our community."
Luna said the department has been looking at other jail systems across the country and said many are experiencing similar trends.
Everything is broken.