US cities, counties are building new jails to replace outdated facilities. It’s not cheap
The United States has one of the world’s highest incarceration rates. A majority of people who leave jail end up returning. Jails often are de facto mental health treatment centers.
The criminal justice system, particularly the carceral parts of it, is under strain.
In response, cities and counties across the nation are investing hundreds of millions — even billions — of dollars to build new jails.
Supporters say the behemoth design and construction projects will improve public safety and create more humane conditions for those who live, work and volunteer inside new facilities.
Critics argue cities are doubling down on mass incarceration, which amounts to prettying up cages rather than finding safer, kinder and more effective ways of dealing with harm. New buildings, they say, won’t solve the underlying problems.
On the average day, about 657,000 people are locked up in U.S. jails, fewer than 20% of whom have been convicted of the charges they face, according to the Prison Policy Initiative, a nonpartisan research organization. Many make bail and leave quickly. Others are convicted and are either released under plea bargains or are sent to prison to serve their sentences. Altogether, research shows, people are booked into U.S. jails about 7.6 million times each year.
That churn contributes to the deterioration of jail infrastructure and has led to a massive jail boom over the past 20 years, according to the Vera Institute of Justice.
Here’s a look at six of the most expensive jail projects now in the works:
New York City, $16 billion
The Borough-Based Jails program in New York is the most expensive jail construction project in history.
The project — its original price tag was about $8 billion but has since shot up to $16 billion — aims to build four new jails in the boroughs to replace the notorious and remote Rikers Island.
On June 29, Mayor Zohran Mamdani closed another section on Rikers, marking another step toward shuttering the island that houses most of the city’s jails.
The city says the new jails will have a more humane, therapeutic environment. Embedded into communities, they are supposed to better connect incarcerated people to their local families. The new jails are smaller — with fewer beds — but also, the city says, safer, and fairer.
Not everyone agrees that new jails are the answer to inhumane conditions and jail overcrowding.
Camilla Broderick, who was formerly incarcerated at Rikers Island and is now a program manager at the nonprofit St. Francis Friends of the Poor, said that while many jails are outdated with appalling conditions, new jails do not equal better conditions.
“While new jails may open sparkly and clean, the rampant neglect and callousness will lead to the same outcomes,” Broderick said. “It’s really a reform of how we operate jails and, more importantly, how we choose to handle mainly systemic issues with punitive measures rather than community support.”
The trauma of incarceration and a lack of support inside leads to worse outcomes, she said.
“The building may be new,” she said, “but the same officers, neglect, abuse and trauma will follow if we keep incarcerating at this rate.”
Fulton County, Georgia, $1.3 billion
Violence, deaths and overcrowding have become the hallmarks of the existing Fulton County Jail in Atlanta.
“The jail itself spans 35 years; it’s old and dilapidated,” Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat, who runs the jail, told Straight Arrow. “The building itself is being weaponized. … I took in 1,200 homemade knives that were made from the building in five different wheelbarrows.”
Labat has been vocal about needing a new jail. But even after a feasibility study found that 80% of the current jail was out of its life cycle, the county’s elected leaders were reluctant to raise taxes to build a replacement. Ultimately, the county changed gears.
In April, Fulton County leaders approved a $1.3 billion plan to renovate the current jail — and to build a new “special purpose” facility that will house elderly and young prisoners and people dealing with mental illness.
“We have space issues; that’s why we outsource residents to other counties and other facilities,” Labat said. “We’re working to reduce the number of people incarcerated and decrease the number of people put through, working with the DA, judges and the public defender’s office.”
The population at the current jail has already been reduced from 3,600 to 2,850.
“It was working years and years with justice partners to get people adjudicated and help with bonds,” Labat said. “Our strategy is to continue to work with our partners and reduce the amount of people in beds and then outsource to other counties … put them in a humane space that ultimately they don’t have to sleep on the floor.”
But it’s a slow process, Labat said.
“Here we are six years into my two terms and we haven’t put a shovel in the dirt,” he said. “Had we done what we said we’d do, we would have been halfway done.”
The special-purpose facility isn’t slated for completion until 2031. The jail renovation is expected to take until 2035.
Labat acknowledged the timetable is far from ideal: “It’s like the old building being on fire and saying we’re going to build the fire station next door in five years.”
Baltimore, Maryland, $1 billion
Baltimore’s new jail is Maryland’s most expensive state-funded project ever. After years of federal court oversight due to failures in medical care in Baltimore’s jail system, the city is now legally mandated to improve conditions.
Civil rights groups suing the city over jail conditions have questioned whether a new building is the answer, the Baltimore Banner reported. Many issues cited in the lawsuit concern poor medical and mental health care.
Still, the new jail — scheduled to be finished in 2029 — is described as a more “therapeutic” space.
For now, though, Baltimore’s jail system remains overcrowded.
Cuyahoga County, Ohio, $900 million
Demolition of the old jail in Cleveland, a 1976 Brutalist building that locks up 26,000 people a year, is underway, clearing the way for a new $900 million facility on a 72-acre site.
The cost “reflects the need to provide a safe and rehabilitative corrections center that supports residents during and beyond their time within the facility,” spokesperson Jennifer Ciaccia told Straight Arrow. “The project reflects the county’s commitment to balancing financial responsibility with its obligation to provide a safe, secure and resident-focused facility.”
The new jail is scheduled to open in 2029.
Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, $725 million
In 2022, voters in Oklahoma County approved a $260 million bond package to finance a new $400 million jail in Oklahoma City.
Since then, the projected cost has ballooned to $725 million. That includes a new $55 million in costs announced last week.
The current county jail, built in 1991, is outdated and out of compliance. It is still in operation while the new jail is being constructed.
Los Angeles County, California, $2.8 billion
Officials in Los Angeles are considering a new approach to jails — but it, too, would be expensive.
Rather than simply replacing the Men’s Central Jail, built half a century ago, county leaders have proposed significantly reducing the jail’s population through diversion programs and treatment centers and supportive housing.
But even the alternative to incarceration would cost an estimated $2.8 billion.
It’s unclear whether this will lead to closure of the existing jail.
In a letter last week, David Slayton, the executive officer of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, said the plan depends on improvements to the county’s court system:
“Each action relies heavily on increased Court capacity, additional courtroom availability, expanded judicial officer staffing, new physical space, and enhanced operational infrastructure — none of which the Court can currently accommodate.”
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
