Inmate Deaths in L.A. County Jails Continue in 2026: 9 Reported So Far This Year

Los Angeles County might have a serious problem in its jails, with a new report revealing that nine people have died inside county facilities so far this year, raising concerns about jail conditions and inmate safety.

But despite the alarming number of deaths in less than two months, the county is on pace to match 2025, when nine deaths were also reported by the end of February, and the year ultimately ended with 46 in-custody deaths. So far this year, seven inmates died in January and two more occurred this month, and all causes of death are still pending autopsy results.

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As inmate deaths and lawsuits alleging inhumane conditions continue to stack up, the Los Angeles Times spoke with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which said it is aware of the problem and continues to implement changes in hopes of better assisting an inmate population that is increasingly struggling with medical and mental health issues.

"Every time I get notified that someone in my care has passed away, it's like a kick in the groin," Sheriff Robert Luna said in an interview with the outlet. "It's not what you want to hear."

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission is set to examine the county's Correctional Health Services division at its next meeting, focusing on eight suicides and 10 drug-related deaths that occurred in 2025.

In an effort to prevent more deaths, the Sheriff's Department is implementing changes such as requiring deputies inside jails to wear body-worn cameras, and it is also making physical modifications to its Inmate Reception Center to improve the likelihood of identifying people with medical or mental health conditions at the time they are booked.

For months, California officials have questioned the Sheriff's Department about inmate living conditions and whether detainees are receiving timely and adequate care.

Last September, California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Sheriff's Department, alleging in the state's complaint that inmates were being "forced to live in filthy cells with broken and overflowing toilets, infestations of rats and roaches, and no clean water for drinking or bathing."

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, state officials argued that the conditions inmates were subjected to violated their constitutional rights and could be linked to the high number of in-custody deaths.

"The lack of access to care contributes to the shocking rate of preventable in-custody deaths, such as suicides," Bonta's office said in a statement when the lawsuit was filed.

Additionally, Bonta said inmates were unable to consistently access mental and medical care, leading to an elevated number of deaths while in custody, many of which he said stemmed from preventable circumstances such as overdoses, suicides or violent incidents.

"Instead of addressing root causes or devoting resources to resolving violations of state and federal law that they themselves acknowledge, the county and LASD have continued to resist oversight and accountability, spending millions of dollars to defend and settle litigation about abuses in the jails over the years, without making the necessary changes to their operations and policies and stymieing the work of independent oversight bodies to provide some level of transparency and accountability," Bonta wrote.

According to data obtained from the Sheriff's Department, half of the 46 in-custody deaths in 2025 were classified as natural, the Los Angeles Times reported.

As Luna highlighted, the department has also seen an elevated number of deaths as it books people who are older, less healthy, living with chronic medical conditions and in need of mental health care.

According to the report, about 82% of the more than 13,500 inmates detained in Los Angeles County jails have at least one identified medical or mental health issue. Focusing solely on mental health, the shift has been significant.

Assistant Sheriff Hugo Macias, chief of the Custody Services Division, told the Los Angeles Times that in 2015, about 22% of the inmate population required mental health care, but today that number has more than doubled to 49% of inmates diagnosed with mental health issues.

"The population that we're seeing has really shifted and not only is it becoming more ill, our correctional health is getting more work," Luna said.

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