Alameda County Sheriff's Office Makes Surprise $85 Million Request for Santa Rita Jail

[UPDATE 3/24: Following last minute pressure from the community, the Board of Supervisors delayed the vote on the proposal until their next meeting on Tuesday, March 31. There's still time to contact supervisors to demand they vote no.]


Rather than spend money to help our desperate public health workers, laid off co-workers, or unhoused neighbors, Alameda County is spending our money on incarceration.

This is even more glaring given the safety concerns COVID-19 poses to those locked up inside. This should be a time for decarceration, NOT more sheriff deputies!

Call your supervisor and demand they vote against this unconscionable use of our county funds:

Dial 510-272-6691 for Supervisor Scott Haggerty in District 1
Dial 510-272-6692 for Supervisor Richard Valle in District 2
Dial 510-272-6693 for Supervisor Wilma Chan in District 3
Dial 510-272-6694 for Supervisor Nathan Miley in District 4
Dial 510-272-6695 for Supervisor Keith Carson in District 5

Once a staff person answers, tell them:

"My name is _____, I'm an Alameda County resident and I urge you to vote NO on agenda item 32.5. We should be using our valuable county funds for health affirming resources, housing, & living wages.

Handing millions of dollars to an unaccountable sheriff department is unacceptable, and it is the opposite of what needs to be prioritized in the middle of a health and economic crisis for our communities in the county."

If you don't know your County Supervisor, you can look it up here!

More sheriff deputies is not what we need during a pandemic — or ever! We must invest in the assets that make our communities healthy!

We need to divest from jails, prisons, detention centers, and policing, and we MUST invest in health-affirming resources, such as robust health care, affordable housing, living wages, quality schools, environmental justice, and adequate transportation.

Having this vote during a shelter-in-place order is anti-democratic! Make sure your voice is heard.