A recent Santa Barbara County Grand Jury report found that female inmates in Santa Barbara County jails have fewer work opportunities than male inmates and that inmates at the Main Jail have fewer educational opportunities than inmates at the Northern Branch Jail.
Due to fewer female inmates, there are not enough female inmates to fill educational classes and work crews, leaving inmates with little to no opportunity, the report says.
In 2024, approximately 12% of inmates at the county Main Jail were women while roughly 11% of inmates at the Northern Branch Jail near Santa Maria were women. Across the two jails, there were 849 female inmates in 2024: 533 were only there for one day, 170 women spent two-three days in jail, and 67 women spent more than 10 days in jail…