A different class of criminal is serving time inside San Diego County jails, and it’s creating a more violent atmosphere.
That’s the explanation from the sheriff’s department after new data revealed a large increase in the number of weapons deputies found, most of it inside jails.
Sgt. Aaron Brown supervises the team of 14 detectives who investigate crimes within the county's jails. Brown said deputies often find sharpened toothbrushes and deconstructed razors from the hygiene packs handed out to inmates.
“Anything you can think of, they can make a weapon out of,” Brown said.
Deputies say the bulk of what they’re seizing are these kinds of makeshift weapons.
NBC 7 Investigates pulled departmental records and found the number of weapons seized by jail deputies more than doubled in 2023, compared with 2018.
Data shows about two-thirds of the seizures are happening inside jails. The rest have been found when visitors entered the lobby or drove into the parking lot, or during the inmate booking process. Deputies say guns and knives were only found in the parking lot, not on inmates.
No jail had more weapon seizures than the George Bailey Detention Facility. That maximum security jail has the highest population of any jail and houses only male inmates.
On any given day, about 3,900 people are locked up in the county’s eight jails. Deputies say that, now more than ever, the inmate population is more dangerous and criminally sophisticated.
“That's something that’s always on our minds," Brown said. "We’re always trying to pay attention to that."
Brown attributes the change to a state law passed in 2011. In part, AB 109 moved low-level felons out of state prisons and into county jails. Those inmates would otherwise have been in custody in prison, with more security, according to the sergeant.
To crack down on the rise in weapons, Brown said, his team does a lot of searches, including sweeps of inmates and cells that are both scheduled and unscheduled. He said they use “information-based policing,” working with analysts to choose where and who to search next.
“Our job is to protect the public," Brown said. "That drives me. It’s very important to me, and I know it’s very important to all the deputies that work inside the jails every day.”
Bringing a weapon on jail property is a felony in the state of California. The sheriff’s department said deputies don’t need a search warrant to search you or your car on jail property.
