COVID-19 Jail Releases

The COVID-19 health emergency prompted the San Francisco justice community to review cases of eligible persons sentenced to a term in the county jail for early release. In doing so, the objective is to lower the jail count and reduce the threat of COVID-19 exposure in the jail. 

The courts approved multiple early releases as stipulated by the District Attorney and Public Defender and continue to review stipulations.

Separately, the California Judicial Council issued a temporary emergency rule on April 13, 2020 setting $0 bail statewide for select misdemeanors and felonies. $0 bail expedites court-ordered jail releases to help ease crowding in jails and prevent COVID-19 spread.

In San Francisco county, $0 bail remained in effect for persons arrested between April 13, 2020 at 5 p.m. and June 20, 2020 at midnight. $0 bail releases were also applied to individuals held in other counties on San Francisco warrants.

The Sheriff’s Office receives public records requests for information and data relating to COVID-19-related jail releases. The Sheriff’s Office has posted two dashboards tracking multiple data points for San Francisco county stipulated and $0 bail releases.