Justice Reform

Changing Lives Together

Justice, the ideal that all people are treated equitably and fairly, is essential to public safety. It is reached not just by enforcing the law and helping survivors, but also by helping people involved in the system become contributing members of our communities.

The County of San Diego continues to act to reform and improve our justice system to reach that ideal. In mid-2022, we opened our “One Safe Place North: The Family Justice Center” in San Marcos to provide hope and services for survivors of domestic violence, child abuse, human trafficking and violence. This year, we will open our second One Safe Place for people in South County.

We also continue to dedicate money and staffing to help keep people accused of low-level, non-violent crimes―particularly young people―away from jail through alternatives to incarceration. Those alternatives include job training, mental health and substance use disorder treatment, and permanent housing.

"As a judge, honestly, this is one of the few places where we can actually change the trajectory."

- Judge Cindy Davis regarding Behavioral Health Court

In 2022, we completed the first phase of our new Youth Transition Campus in Kearny Mesa that is designed to be less like a correctional facility and more like a therapeutic rehabilitative center for young people. Phase two of that project, including a new residential facility, is expected to be completed in December.

To help people successfully reenter society, County Probation used $1.2 million from the state to create two mobile probation centers. Those centers can deliver case management, outreach and links to care and assistance to vulnerable clients wherever they may be. This will improve the health and safety of people reentering society and help them grow, connect, thrive and succeed.

Probation also used a $125,000 grant to reduce the number of girls in custody. And it teamed with the County Library to offer library cards to people in detention and on probation, to assist in their transitions back to their communities.

The County has also dedicated $10 million to expand support and services to help justice-involved people return to their communities. The money aims to help people who have a history of behavioral health needs, are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

The goal is to help people leaving jail gain independence with connections to care and housing. It will improve public safety by reducing criminal behavior that could lead people back to jail.