Santa Clara County inmates kicked off a hunger strike to protest solitary confinement and what they see as a gap between policy and practice.

Despite opposition from law enforcement, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a new law last month that protects voting rights for felons in county jails.

A former Santa Clara County jail guard was arrested on suspicion of beating an inmate years ago, raising concerns about what took so long.

A local reform group has proposed a plan to divert people with serious mental illness out of Santa Clara County jails and into treatment.

A 57-year-old Santa Clara County inmate, whose name is being withheld, died in the hospital Thursday, according to jail officials.

Two Santa Clara County jail guards have been charged with beating a shackled inmate, the District Attorney’s Office announced Monday.

A Santa Clara County jail guard has been suspended from work after his arrest Monday on suspicion of molesting a child in 2012.

A new report traces some of the problems at Santa Clara County’s jails to a lack of staffing, training, funding and a deeply divided work culture.

A 36-year-old Santa Clara County inmate died at the hospital Monday, authorities confirmed.

Sheriff Laurie Smith left in the middle of a hearing on jail reforms Tuesday, but her early exit rubbed some people the wrong way.

Santa Clara County’s Main Jail went on lockdown this morning after a fight broke out in the southern wing, according to the sheriff’s office.

A reform commission created after the fatal beating of a mentally ill inmate wants to wrest control of the jails from Sheriff Laurie Smith.

A review of local jails found that inmate complaints often fall on deaf ears and that a lack of oversight allows guards to conceal their own misconduct.

Board President Dave Cortese called for jail reforms and continued efforts to help the homeless in Wednesday's State of the County speech.

It wasn’t until December, under mounting public pressure, that the Sheriff's Office disclosed its jail use-of-force and cell extraction policies.

A year in review is rarely pretty, and 2015 was no exception. Here’s a brief list of the some of the biggest stories that made it a year to remember, and soon leave behind.