The Riverside County Board of Supervisors has agreed to create a committee to study recommendations that call for oversight of its sheriff's department. A grand jury recently made the recommendations after investigating concerns about jail deaths and a lack of oversight.
Since March 2023, 29 people have died in Riverside County jails. The spike in jail deaths prompted the civil grand jury to investigate the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
The grand jury concluded the department needs more transparency and accountability. It made several recommendations to improve jail conditions and form an independent oversight authority. The grand jury recommended the county grant the oversight authority subpoena and investigatory powers.
Riverside County Supervisors Jose Medina and Karen Spiegel brought forth the item to create an ad hoc committee to evaluate the options for oversight, or whether they need it. The committee must present its findings to the board in 180 days.
Medina, who ran on a platform of sheriff's oversight, said the ad hoc committee is a step in the right direction and that public policy decisions take time.
"The best public policy is shaped when people are willing to share their perspectives, listen to one another, and stay engaged in the process," Medina said.
Spiegel said the ad hoc committee was the best way to move the conversation forward.
Lisa Matus, whose son Richard died in a Riverside County jail in 2022, said she hopes officials move forward with oversight.
"The grand jury report says everything we've said all along," Matus said. "That there's problems."
Matus said she was frustrated that the committee could possibly decide oversight isn't needed.
"They could say no, and then we're right back at the beginning," she said.
Last July, before the grand jury investigation, the board voted down a similar proposal to create an ad hoc committee to study oversight.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Chad Bianco said in a statement to KVCR that his department does not need more oversight and that the issue is being pushed by those with an "anti-law enforcement agenda."