Audit of King County jails reveal racial bias, danger to public and staff

King County jails audit finds racial bias in discipline

King County Department Adult and Juvenile Detention’s (DAJD) jail operations audit finds Black people jailed in King County generally face more severe discipline and more restrictive confinement than incarcerated people of other races.

SEATTLE - More than 30-thousand people are booked into King County jails every year, a new audit revealed Tuesday. Conducted by the King County Auditor’s Office, the report uncovers a string of racial disparities that benefit white people and harm black people, while asserting the county's Department of Adult & Juvenile Detention neglects many in the grip of mental health crisis.

Some the racial disparities can last beyond a person’s time behind bars, say justice reformists. The lasting impacts of inequities can lead to further damage inside communities the criminal justice system is intended to protect.

"Our biggest customer is the city of Seattle," said John Diaz, Director of the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention in King County.

Ever since the pandemic, the number of people behind bars in King County correction facilities is hundreds fewer than before. But, the issue of safety for community members and county employees is at the heart of this hearing.

At issue are the details within a new 60-plus page audit, reviewing approximately three years of the inner workings at jails in both Kent and Seattle. The document reveals the county lacks a comprehensive risk management strategy.

"We are the second largest mental institution in the state," said King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert.

Each day, nearly 10 people arrested who are also in need of psychiatric housing do not receive it. Also, racial disparities mean Black inmates more often face harsher disciplinary actions, are placed in higher security units and systemic racism perpetuates the cycle.  

The agency’s director says outdated technology keeps the institution from gathering good data to make better plans.

"Is that something being tracked on an officer by officer basis?" asked councilmember Girmay Zahilay.

"Right now it’s all a paper system," replied Diaz, who told the council’s Law and Justice Committee his agency plans to collaborate with local universities to study the issues further.

The audit also reveals black populations stay behind bars longer than other communities, and that physical altercations leave the public and jail staff at higher risk for injury inside the Seattle facility.

"Jail is not a place people go and somehow leave transformed and changed, particularly people of color," said Sean Goode.

Goode’s Choose 180 program offers diversion from jail for people seeking restorative justice. He says the audit proves the criminal justice system lacks meaningfully reform for those caught within it.

"We’ve perpetuated this narrative that this is the way we keep communities safe, when in reality it’s how we hide people who are suffering," he said.

Diaz says his department is investing in new technology systems to capture better data and will begin addressing the audit’s dozens of recommended changes soon.

But for Goode, the audit highlights what he believes - criminal justice means nothing if it’s riddled with systemic bias, and offers anything but reformation.

"This system of jailing people, is what we’ve invested in for far too long, and we do not see the transformation we are looking for, this report demonstrates exactly why," said Goode.