The County of Santa Barbara reviewed its jail population demographics as it plans to expand the Northern Branch Jail, finding that 83% of people in custody have not been sentenced and 11% suffer from some form of serious mental illness.
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors heard a report on Tuesday on the jail population and efforts by the Public Defender’s Office to safely reduce the number of people in custody.
The report found that the county’s jail population levels remained steady between 2024 and 2025, and that “most of the jail admissions were male, Hispanic, and aged 30-49.”…