Who can fix California’s troubled jails? This board is gaining new power to review deaths

California’s county-run jails have a crisis on their hands with overdoses and suicides claiming dozens of lives every year. 

This year, for the first time, a state agency that oversees conditions in the locally run lockups is gaining authority through a new state law to demand information from sheriffs and review those deaths. 

California created the Board of State and Community Corrections in 2011 when it reduced its severely overcrowded state prison population in part by directing more inmates to the locally run jails. The board was supposed to collect data, recommend policies and distribute grants.

Now, advocates for jail inmates want the board to take a more active role in addressing conditions inside the lockups.

The board is composed primarily of people with backgrounds in law enforcement. In July, the board will gain two additional members with expertise in health care and mental health. 

Here’s a look at who is on the board today.