Differential Incarceration by Race-Ethnicity and Mental Health Service Status in the Los Angeles County Jail System

Objective: This study analyzed race-ethnicity and arrest charge data from the Los Angeles (LA) County jail mental health (JMH) population to examine disparities by race and ethnicity. Methods: Data from the LA County Sheriff's Department for all persons in the JMH population on February 14, 2019 (N=5,134), and for the overall LA County jail population (N=16,975) were compared with chi-square tests (p <= 0.05 for binary measures and Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons). Results: The JMH sample had a significantly larger proportion of black (41% versus 30%) and white (19% versus 15%) persons and a smaller proportion of Hispanic persons (35% versus 52%), compared with the overall jail population (p<0.001). A significantly smaller proportion of the JMH sample was charged with a felony (80% versus 91%, p<0.001). Conclusions: Resources should be invested in prioritizing jail diversion of black individuals with mental illness and addressing the incarceration of persons with mental disorders charged with misdemeanors.