Inmates escorted at a Los Angeles County jail. Photo by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Also see: County Correction Facilities & Jails of Los Angeles County
Here we provide updates to the 2016 CNN article "Pop. 17,049: Welcome to America's largest jail" by Breeanna Hare and Lisa Rose.
There are 3,096 county jail jurisdictions in the United States and the Los Angeles County jail system is the largest. Because Los Angeles County’s population is larger than that of most U.S. states, its jail system held more inmates than all jails in any one of 37 U.S. states, according to 2019 Bureau of Justice Statistics Census of Jails statistics. That same agency reported that, in 2022, a little more than 2% of all U.S. county jail inmates were in the custody of Los Angeles County jails.
In the 2023-2024 County of Los Angeles budget, the Sheriff’s Department, which operates county jails, had a total budget of $3.78 billion, with $966.8 million of that (or 26%) for its jail system. The portion budgeted for the jails include $907.5 million for payroll and benefits; $52.3 million for services and supplies; and $7.3 million for equipment. Source: CEO of Los Angeles County.
If you are arrested in Los Angeles County, there is a 30% chance that you will end up in the county jail system. In the second quarter of 2024, there were 48,933 arrests in Los Angeles County and 14,800 of these were booked into county jail. This was a much lower arrest and jail incarceration rate than in pre-pandemic 2019, when, of 303,363 arrests during all of that year, 110,941, or 37%, ended up booked into jail.
Twin Towers Correctional Facility - largest single jail facility in the world. Photo by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
In the second quarter of 2024, Los Angeles County had an average daily inmate population of 12,428 within its jail system (down from 17,070 for all of 2019, due to reducing the incarcerated population during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020). Of the 2024 average daily inmate population, 1,299 were female.
| Year | Average Daily Inmate Population |
|---|---|
| 2024 (2nd Quarter) | 12,428 |
| 2023 | 13,241 |
| 2022 | 13,807 |
| 2021 | 14,577 |
| 2020 | 14,212 |
| 2019 | 17,070 |
| 2017 | 16,910 |
| 2017 | 17,024 |
| 2016 | 16,613 |
| 2015 | 17,049 |
| 2014 (1) | 18,680 |
| 2013 | 18,687 |
| 2012 | 18,043 |
| 2011 (2) | 15,014 |
| 2010 | 16,625 |
(1) Prop 47 enacted in Nov. 2014; (2) AB109 enacted in Oct. 2011
Also see: List of Los Angeles County Jail Facilities
Although L.A. County’s jails have overall been less crowded than in the past (and, in particular, below the rated capacity of all jails combined), a couple of individual jail facilities continue to hold more inmates than their rated capacity. In the first half of 2020, the county's jail population fell below its rated capacity, for the first time since 2011. That was due to skyrocketing COVID-19 infection rates in overcrowded jail facilities, compelling the county to release less-serious offenders. Source: Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC).
| Jail Facility | Board of State & Community Corrections Rated Capacity | 2024 | 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd Quarter Average Daily Inmate Population | Percent Occupied | 2nd Quarter Average Daily Inmate Population | Percent Occupied | ||
| Men’s Central Jail | 3,512 | 3,454 | 98% | 3,495 | 97% |
| Twin Towers Correctional Facility | 2,432 | 2,303 | 95% | 2,777 | 95% |
| Century Regional Detention Center | 1,708 | 1,271 | 74% | 1,351 | 85% |
| Pitchess Detention Center-East (3) | 926 | 17 | 2% | 16 | 4% |
| Pitchess Detention Center-North | 830 | 1,202 | 145% | 1,181 | 149% |
| Pitchess Detention Center-South | 782 | 648 | 83% | 760 | 123% |
| North County Correctional Facility | 2,214 | 2,899 | 131% | 3,056 | 152% |
| Total BSCC Rated Capacity | 12,404 | 11,794 | 95% | 12,778 | 103% |
The racial demographic for Los Angeles County’s jail population in the second quarter of 2024 was 56% Hispanic, 29% African American, and 12% White. Asians, Pacific Islanders and American Indians each made up less than 1%. African Americans made up an overly disproportionate share of the jail population as compared to their proportion of the overall county population (about 8 percent). To be clear, this disproportionate representation is not unique to Los Angeles County and is seen in jail populations across the nation.
In the past, the majority of Los Angeles County’s jail population was composed of nonviolent offenders. In pre-pandemic 2019, those charged with assaultive/violent offenses (crimes committed physically against persons, weapons charges, and sex crimes) were 45% of the inmate population. In 2020, however, because of efforts then to reduce the jail population due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that percentage grew to a majority of inmates at 54%. In the second quarter of 2024, that percentage stood at 67% of the jail population.
In the second quarter of 2024, 48% of inmates awaited trial or sentencing in Los Angeles County’s jail system. About 7% were sentenced specifically to time in county jail, 7% were sentenced to jail under AB109, and 23% were partially sentenced. About 6% awaited transfer to a California state prison. About 4% were held for parole violations. About 1% awaited transfer to mental health hospitals.
Besides Los Angeles County’s jail system being the largest in the nation, it is also one of the largest mental health institutions in the nation. The number of inmates in the Los Angeles County jail system with mental health problems increased 116% from 2010 through 2024 (4). With few other options in the criminal justice system, a growing number of mentally ill persons in Los Angeles County end up incarcerated in jail. In the second quarter of 2024, the average number of inmates with mental health problems accounted for 42% of Los Angeles County's jail inmate population (up from 35% in pre-pandemic 2019). The challenge of properly handling this growing number of inmates with mental health issues only further strains an already crowded jail system.
(4) Average number of mental health inmates in 2010: 2,475; Average number in 2023: 5,520.
Inmate firefighters in Los Angeles County. Photo by Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Unlike many jail facilities in the United States, the Los Angeles County jail system offers rehabilitation, educational, and vocational programs. In the second quarter of 2024, an average of 17 inmates (including two woman) were assigned to Fire Camp Training. Other in-custody programs in which inmates participated were the Conservation Work Program, involving an average of 1,245 inmates in the second quarter of 2024, the Education-Based Incarceration Program (EBI) (traditional and nontraditional education for inmates), the Back on Track Program (helping inmates with post-incarceration) and the Substance Treatment and Reentry Transition program (START) (treatment for inmates with substance abuse issues and help with transition into post-incarceration).
On watch at a jail in Los Angeles County. Photo by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
To oversee and care for its huge inmate population, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department currently assigns about 27% of its total staffing (4,712 employees) to its Custody Division. About half of these are deputies. The rest are civilian staff such as custody assistants, medical personnel, administrative, kitchen and other support staff.
Source: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
