Sharp Rise in Jail’s Black Population

As San Francisco’s population of African American residents has decreased in recent years, the population of black men and women locked up in the San Francisco County Jail has increased dramatically, Sheriff Michael Hennessey said.

More than 60 percent of all prisoners are African American, according to a survey of the city jail’s population. And of the 282 female prisoners, 67 percent are black.

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In contrast, 6.7 percent of San Francisco residents are black—a number that has been in steady decline, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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