(AP) A newly passed crime measure in California is expected to reverse the trend of declining jail populations. The Legislative Analyst’s Office says that Proposition 36 will likely increase county jail populations by stiffening penalties for certain crimes and allowing district attorneys to charge some misdemeanors as felonies. In 2019, when 156 people died in the custody of California jails, Governor Gavin Newsom pledged that the state would take a stronger hand to prevent deaths in the 57 jail systems run by California county sheriffs. In each of the following four years, more people died in California jails than when Newsom made that pledge — hitting a high of 215 in 2022. Outside observers, academics and the families of people who died in jail argue the opposite: that California is about to witness a wave of jail deaths even worse than the last four years. According to Justice Department statistics, a surge in overdoses drove the trend of increasing jail deaths. The other leading causes were suicide and the catch-all term “natural causes.” Many jail prisoners require complex care. More than half of them have mental health needs, according to a 2023 study by the Public Policy Institute of California.