Allegheny County wants to cut its jail capacity, but advocates see deeper problems

A proposal request suggests that the jail could have between 500 and 1,000 beds, down from its current capacity of more than 2,000

Allegheny County is looking to decrease the capacity of its jail by more than half, according to a vendor request the county released earlier this month. 

In a Request for Proposals [RFP] entitled “Rethinking the Allegheny County Jail Facility,” the county seeks a consultant to lead an overhaul process and suggests that 500 to 1,000 beds would be “appropriate for Allegheny County’s population and crime rate,” down from the jail’s current capacity of more than 2,000. 

View the RFP in its entirety here

The request leaves it to consultants to propose, by Aug. 18, just how to accomplish that goal, suggesting that plans could include redesigning the current facility, increased use of other facilities or creating an entirely new facility. It also calls for a public input process that pays special attention to groups that have been disproportionately incarcerated at the facility, specifying the justice system’s impact on Black people and people of color. The RFP instructs consultants that any proposal should reduce the number of beds in the facility but cannot eliminate all of them.

The RFP is tied to the Safety and Justice Challenge grant the county received from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 2018. The county website says the project’s goals are to reduce the jail’s population and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system. 

Jail reform advocates are skeptical of the county’s move, though, and say a more comprehensive plan is needed to sustainably reduce the incarcerated population.

The Allegheny County Jail. (Photo by Jay Manning/PublicSource)

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Allegheny County wants to cut its jail capacity, but advocates see deeper problems

The RFP is tied to the Safety and Justice Challenge grant the county received from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 2018. The county website says the project’s goals are to reduce the jail’s population and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system. 

Jail reform advocates are skeptical of the county’s move, though, and say a more comprehensive plan is needed to sustainably reduce the incarcerated population.

While the jail’s population has decreased since the county received the grant from more than 2,300 to around 1,700 today, the drop was fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic and a rush to depopulate the jail to limit viral spread in early 2020. After a sharp drop at the outset of the pandemic, the jail’s population has been stagnant, with virtually no change in the past year. 

The RFP calls for physical changes to the facility, eliminating the space needed to house the jail’s current number of incarcerated people. The county made no public announcement of the RFP after its release. Two County Council members and criminal justice advocates are perplexed as to how the county intends to proceed.

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