The jail in OC has consistently had about 100 more people than beds for *months*, at least what folks can see from what the jail itself publicly reports. Is the budget dependent on this overcrowding?
What came out of the meeting speaks more to how the jail is structured financially than to day-to-day capacity levels.
The jailer described a system where the facility is consistently filled from multiple sources. If one population goes away, others take its place. In his words, “the numbers are always going to be there.”
That suggests the budget depends on maintaining a steady level of occupancy over time.
Whether that translates into overcrowding in practice is a separate question, and it’s not something the budget discussion itself addressed directly.
What the meeting does clarify is the larger point: the jail is not dependent on any single group to stay operational. It’s designed to remain full through a mix of sources.
And that’s the piece that changes how the ICE agreement should be understood.
The jail in OC has consistently had about 100 more people than beds for *months*, at least what folks can see from what the jail itself publicly reports. Is the budget dependent on this overcrowding?
That’s a good question.
What came out of the meeting speaks more to how the jail is structured financially than to day-to-day capacity levels.
The jailer described a system where the facility is consistently filled from multiple sources. If one population goes away, others take its place. In his words, “the numbers are always going to be there.”
That suggests the budget depends on maintaining a steady level of occupancy over time.
Whether that translates into overcrowding in practice is a separate question, and it’s not something the budget discussion itself addressed directly.
What the meeting does clarify is the larger point: the jail is not dependent on any single group to stay operational. It’s designed to remain full through a mix of sources.
And that’s the piece that changes how the ICE agreement should be understood.