The Most Dangerous Place in Alameda County

In January, citing reporting by the East Bay Express as well as the numerous allegations found in some of the lawsuits described in this story, State Sen. Nancy Skinner wrote a letter to the Board of Supervisors expressing support for an independent financial and performance audit. "A strong performance audit will generate crucial evaluative data that can thoroughly assess all current practices and policies [and] provide lifesaving recommendations for implementation," Skinner wrote.

Skinner called the jail's track record troubling during a recent interview. "Thirty-four in-custody deaths in a five-year period is pretty significant and additionally having 29 women file suit in four years around allegations of mistreatment," she said. "We know a number of those allegations are actually accurate — I can't verify all of them — certainly a woman giving birth in her cell alone, that's not normal, it's not what you would expect in a well-run facility."

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