Watch Sheila Kuehl’s own words on live television the morning LASD Public Corruption Unit detectives raided her Santa Monica home (Fox 11, September 14, 2022):
Standing outside her residence as search warrants were executed, Kuehl stared into the Fox 11 camera and declared she “had nothing to do with” any contracts involving Peace Over Violence (POV), the nonprofit run by her longtime best friend and political ally Patti Giggans. She called the probe “bogus,” insisted she had “no knowledge” of the deals, and blamed a “disgruntled former Metro employee.” That clip remains online as her public firewall.
It has been demolished by Public Records Act documents, Board proceedings, County Counsel memos, and active contract renewals. This is textbook steering: a powerful elected official using her position to embed a personal ally’s nonprofit into mandatory county programs without competition, then shielding the arrangement through political alliances. The result? Steady taxpayer dollars flowing to Giggans’ organization while measurable outcomes remain hidden or embarrassingly low.
Metro Contract: The Exposed Cash Cow the AG Closed
The 2022 raids centered on a sole-source, no-bid Metro sexual harassment hotline (“Off Limits”) worth nearly $890,000 to POV. Fox 11’s Bill Melugin revealed the scandal: since 2017, over 1,300 “calls” logged, but the vast majority were hang-ups, wrong numbers, or tests. In 2019, 349 reported calls, yet 260 (74%) were junk; October 2019 saw only 8 legitimate ones out of 27. Through August 2020, just 13 genuine sexual harassment calls all year. Cost per actual call? As high as $8,450. Whistleblower Jennifer Loew (Metro transit security manager) alleged POV inflated numbers and that contracts were political back-scratching tied to Kuehl-Giggans friendship (Kuehl on POV’s advisory board, officiated Giggans’ wedding, campaign donations flowed). Metro changed policy in 2020 to redirect calls to 911.
In August 2024, the Attorney General’s office did not review the evidence; it was barred from even examining it. As a result, claims that there was “insufficient evidence” regarding the Metro deal or related donations are demonstrably false.
But Metro was never the full story.
The Separate Jail PREA Contract: Ongoing, Hidden, and Still Funded by Taxpayers
While the world fixated on the transit hotline, Kuehl and the Board quietly locked POV into a far more sensitive, continuing revenue stream inside county jails under the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA).
• April 13, 2018 Cooperation Agreement: Signed by then-Sheriff Jim McDonnell and POV. Grants exclusive access for 24/7 hotline (*25 from inmate phones), confidential mail, hospital accompaniment for forensic exams at San Gabriel Valley Medical Center or LAC+USC SART, trauma training for staff, and security clearances. POV’s contact info is distributed to every inmate at Men’s Central Jail, Twin Towers, Century Regional Detention Facility, and Inmate Reception Center.
• May 29, 2018 Board Proceedings (Kuehl on the Board): Advanced PREA implementation the same day these partnerships solidified.
• January 2, 2019 County Counsel Memo: Explicitly states the PREA Compliance Team (created by Board motion) inserted POV via MOU for rape crisis counseling in jails — no bidding mentioned.
• November 1, 2024 – October 31, 2025 Renewal: Brand-new full-year contract under Sheriff Robert Luna — identical scope, same paid services.
Kuehl’s on-camera claim of “nothing to do with any contracts” is flatly contradicted.
Zero Transparency on Actual Usage: LASD Refuses to Disclose Inmate Call Numbers
Despite PREA’s mandate for outside victim advocate services, the Sheriff’s Department has refused to release specific numbers on how many inmates have actually called the POV hotline. LASD publishes quarterly PREA allegation alerts (e.g., hundreds of inmate-on-inmate or staff-on-inmate reports tracked internally), but those are not hotline-specific usage stats for POV. PREA facility audits mention contacting POV as a community partner but provide zero call-volume data. Public Records Act requests for precise POV jail hotline metrics have gone unanswered or been stonewalled — a pattern of opacity consistent with broader LASD transparency issues.
Compare to the Metro “Off Limits” hotline Fox 11 exposed: already minuscule legitimate usage (a handful of real calls per month amid thousands of junk entries). In the controlled, high-fear environment of county jails — where inmates risk retaliation, face limited confidential phone access, and distrust “official” channels — usage would logically be far lower. Yet taxpayers continue funding POV’s exclusive contract for a service whose real-world impact inside the jails remains a black box.
Free Alternatives Ignored: Multiple Nonprofits Would Provide These Exact Services at No Cost to Taxpayers
During my review of the contract documents and PREA framework, it became clear: there is no legitimate reason for Sheriff Luna to keep paying Peace Over Violence.
• Just Detention International (JDI): A national nonprofit that has consulted directly with LASD and Probation on PREA implementation (explicitly named in the 2019 County Counsel memo). JDI trains rape crisis counselors for jail work at no cost to facilities, provides free survivor packets and advocacy, and helps establish MOUs with local centers. They already partner with LA-area groups for exactly these PREA emotional support and hospital accompaniment services.
• Strength United: Already holds a parallel MOU with LASD for PREA victim services in the jails (confirmed in County Counsel records).
• Other LA Rape Crisis Centers: East Los Angeles Women’s Center, YWCA Greater LA Sexual Assault Services, Santa Monica Rape Treatment Center, Center for Pacific Asian Families, and others listed in every LASD PREA audit as available community partners. These groups routinely provide confidential hotline support, correspondence, and accompaniment under PREA via grant funding or pro bono advocacy — no direct jail contract or taxpayer payout required beyond basic access and security clearances (which POV already receives).
JDI’s own resources explicitly train California rape crisis centers to form free or low-cost partnerships with jails. POV is not uniquely qualified; it is simply the politically wired choice. Luna’s decision to renew the paid contract in 2024-2025, after the raids, after the donation from Kuehl during the active probe, and after disbanding the Public Corruption Unit that investigated it — defies fiscal responsibility and basic oversight.
The Classic Corruption Pattern: Relationship + Steering + Protection + Renewed Funding
Giggans and Kuehl have long described one another as “best friends forever,” a relationship that translated into power when Kuehl appointed Giggans to the Sheriff’s Civilian Oversight Commission. During Kuehl’s tenure on the Board, the county’s PREA compliance structure was reshaped between 2018 and 2019, allowing Peace Over Violence to be inserted into the jail system without competitive bidding, followed by a series of routine renewals. The result was a steady stream of county revenue for services that multiple nonprofits provide at no cost. While a corruption probe was underway, Kuehl donated $1,500 to Robert Luna’s 2022 sheriff campaign. Once in office, Luna’s first significant move was dismantling the Public Corruption Unit, after which he proceeded to renew Peace Over Violence’s jail contract anyway.
This is not policy-making. It is the anatomy of Los Angeles County cronyism: embedding a favored ally into federal compliance mandates, obscuring performance data, bypassing free alternatives, and neutralizing oversight the moment questions arise.
The Fox 11 denial video now stands as evidence in the court of public accountability. The Metro contract’s low-usage scandal exposed the waste. The jail PREA contract, separate, ongoing, and shielded from full public scrutiny, reveals the deeper and more troubling pattern. While the Attorney General closed the Metro matter, the jail contracts continue to funnel public money to Giggans’ organization for services that could be provided for free by others.
Taxpayers are funding inmate safety services, and inmates deserve meaningful access, not a politically protected pipeline. When a former supervisor publicly denies involvement, usage data remains hidden, free alternatives are ignored, and the sheriff renews the contract regardless, seasoned corruption investigators recognize the conduct for what it is: the steering of public contracts for private benefit, with strong indicia of bribery through influence and protection.
The records are public. The denial video has been exposed. The contracts continue under Luna’s watch.
Los Angeles County deserves competition, transparency, and results, not insiders shielding insiders while public money keeps flowing to Peace Over Violence. The questions are not going away, and neither should the scrutiny.
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