By C1 Staff
SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco jail is being touted as the model for a new bill signed into law last September by Gov. Jerry Brown where inmates must have access to condoms in all of its adult prison facilities.
Assembly Bill 966, the Prisoner Protections for Family and Community Health Act, requires the CDCR to develop and institute a five-year plan to make the prophylactics available in all 34 of its adult prison facilities, according to UPI.
San Francisco County Jail has been giving out condoms to inmates since the 1980s, and now is being held up as a model for the entire state. Even with this new law, sex between inmates is prohibited by law.
“I think we have to be very careful about sending mixed messages about what is permissible and acceptable behavior,” said Sheriff’s Department chief Matt Freeman to CBS News.
One person in seven who is infected with HIV passes through a correctional facility each year. In California, more than a thousand prisoners are known to be HIV positive.
Sheriff Mirkarimi says this new law will address a bigger issue, “making sure that people see that improving public safety is also about improving public health.”
California is the second state to adopt such a law. Vermont started offering condoms to prisoners in the 1980s.