Multnomah County Sheriff’s office still using solitary confinement too often, says auditor’s report

In 2022, the Multnomah county auditor looked into the jails run by the county sheriff’s office. The audit found that adults in custody who were Black or had mental health conditions were discipled and put in isolation or solitary confinement more often. That audit made several recommendations, but a new report says the sheriff’s office has not implemented the recommendations related to the use of solitary confinement. While the sheriff’s office did not include a response to this report, a public information officer told OPB that their operations were grounded in best practices, and that the auditor’s office refused their request to meet before the report was released. The sheriff’s office also said that “a decision to not adopt a specific recommendation does not diminish our commitment to providing exemplary public safety services.”We talk with auditor Jennifer McGuirk about the details of the report and its recommendations.