The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s office has lowered the county’s detention facilities to about 57 percent of capacity. The lower numbers of inmates in a usually over capacity system is due to measures implemented to fight the covid19 pandemic. The lower inmate population is due to orders from the county public health officer on safe distancing, the superior court and state’s 90-day order eliminating bail for misdemeanor and nonviolent felony charges. The jail now contains only violent and homicde suspects.
