San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez hosted a community forum Tuesday evening at Vista City Hall to discuss the modernization of the Vista Detention Facility, signaling a significant push to address longstanding issues within the county’s jail system.
The forum, attended by representatives from the Sheriff’s Detention Services Bureau, the San Diego County Department of General Services, and local law enforcement leaders, outlined Martinez’s vision for a “state-of-the-art detention and reentry facility,” according to the Sheriff’s Department. The planned overhaul comes as Martinez prepares to seek billions of dollars from the San Diego County supervisors to upgrade the county’s jails, marking her largest request since assuming office.
Martinez took the helm of the Sheriff’s Department three years ago, inheriting a department facing multiple crises. Prior to her appointment, the department was grappling with accusations of sexual misconduct against at least five deputies, and another deputy faced a life sentence for shooting a fleeing, mentally ill man. The Sheriff’s Office was also defending a class-action lawsuit concerning its treatment of individuals with disabilities in county jails, and a 2022 state audit revealed San Diego County had the highest rate of in-custody deaths among large California counties.
Since becoming sheriff, Martinez has focused on reforming agency practices and restructuring command staff. She reached a settlement in the class-action lawsuit and pledged improvements to medical and mental health services within the jail system. These efforts have yielded some results, with in-custody deaths decreasing from 19 in 2022 to 13 in 2023, and further declining to nine deaths in 2024. However, the number of in-custody deaths has slightly increased this year, with the Sheriff’s Department reporting the tenth fatality of 2025 last month.
The planned modernization of the Vista Detention Facility represents a core component of Martinez’s broader strategy to address the systemic challenges facing the county’s jails. Details of the rebuild project were presented at a workshop held earlier this week at the Vista Civic Center, though specific financial requests and timelines remain under development.
The Sheriff’s Office has not yet announced a date for the formal presentation of the funding request to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
