Over the past weekend, two prisons in San Francisco County were locked down and the National Guard was requested to provide assistance as officials reported an increasing number of inmate assaults on prison officers.
The San Francisco County Sheriff’s Office stated in a press release that due to the escalating incidents of physical attacks by inmates on correctional officers and staff, the San Francisco County Jail #2 and Jail #3 were placed on lockdown.
Since March 29th, inmates have injured 7 staff members, with 2 of them sustaining serious injuries according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Following these attacks, the union representing the San Francisco County Sheriff’s Office called on the California National Guard to assist in addressing the severe staff shortages in the county jails.
“The recent events have shocked the community, including a sharp increase in inmate-on-inmate fights, inmate assaults on staff, and civilian employees and officers being injured. These dangerous incidents underscore the urgent need for intervention to ensure the safety of all individuals,” stated the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association in a press release.
Ken Lomba, President of the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, attributed the surge in violent incidents directly to the shortage of personnel in the department.
Lomba explained that this crisis has been deteriorating since 2020. In 2023 alone, there were 240 reported inmate fights, a 58% increase from the previous year. Lomba called for the deployment of the California National Guard in a letter to temporarily assist in staffing.
He emphasized that the National Guard can temporarily supplement the current staffing levels and their presence is crucial for providing immediate assistance and enhancing the safety of all individuals, both staff and inmates in our facilities.
The Sheriff’s Office announced that all visitation, programs, and services at these facilities will be suspended.
They also stated that they are actively investigating these incidents to determine their root causes and any potential correlations to prevent similar incidents in the future. Normal operations at the jails are expected to resume next week.