(NationRise.com) – Authorities placed two county jails in San Francisco on lockdown on April 14 after numerous inmate attacks, and the claim from some officers that attacks against jail deputies are increasing. In a statement, The San Francisco Deputy Sheriff’s Association said that its president, Ken Lomba, officially requested help from the state National Guard to support staffing problems.
The association added that Lomba claimed city leaders needed to take such a massive step to prevent the numerous crises in some San Francisco jails from getting worse. According to some reports, inmates have brutally injured seven staff workers since March 29, with many of them claiming that local leaders are not doing enough to tackle the problem.
In its statement, the SFDSA explained that the “community” was “shocked” after a significant rise in violent incidents where prisoners have attacked not only other inmates but also deputy sheriffs and even civilian employees. The association also claimed that such incidents show the “need for intervention” to guarantee the well-being of inmates and security personnel inside jails. The SFDSA added that normal operations in jail will resume in a week and that visitations will be canceled in the meantime.
In a public letter, Lomba wrote that the jail crisis in San Francisco has been getting worse since 2020. He claimed that the “escalating violence” within some city jails was getting out of control and that staffers needed more support. Lomba also said that the intervention of the National Guard was a must, as the crisis was reaching a “Critical point.” However, he suggested that Board of Supervisors Director Aaron Peskin and San Francisco Democratic Mayor London Breed will prevent such a move from taking place.
According to some reports, while the jail crisis in San Francisco started in the 2010s, 2023 was one of the worst years. Authorities reported a 58 percent increase from the previous years, with 240 incidents of fights between inmates. Local authorities also revealed that 2023 showed a 79 percent increase in attacks between inmates compared with 2022.
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