For more than a decade, people suffering from mental illness who are arrested in Los Angeles County have been trapped inside the county jail system. They’re in custody for crimes that are often minor but also include drug possession and lasd inmate. To reduce the number of mentally ill people in jails, the LA County Board of Supervisors created the Office of Diversion and Reentry (ODR).

ODR does work — it’s gotten thousands of people out of the jails. But its impact is hampered by a lack of funding.

Behind Bars: Exploring LASD Inmate Management

The county receives around half a percent of its total budget in fees paid by incarcerated people for telephone calls and commissary items. The money goes to a fund called the Inmate Welfare Fund, but reports show that what’s done with that money doesn’t bear much resemblance to what California law says is supposed to happen.

Despite COVID-19 protocols restricting in-person visits, the sheriff’s phone call vendor, Global Tel Link, still made at least $15 million last year from charging for telephone calls. The sheriff has not followed recommendations to improve record keeping and has inappropriately transferred Inmate Welfare Funds into its regular operating budget for years.

The sheriff’s department offers a free, computer-based inmate lookup service called VINE. To use it, you’ll need the first and last name of the person you want to find, plus their date of birth and charges. To locate an inmate, call 1-877-VINE4-LA or visit this webpage.