Overcrowding is a long-standing problem in the Salt Lake County jail system, according to Matt Dumont, chief deputy of the Corrections Bureau for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office. And it could get worse soon.
The sheriff’s office has historically used its ability to release inmates when the jail is over capacity. They let people go based on the severity of their charges and whether they present the lowest risk out of custody, according to Dumont.
But starting Sept. 1, that ability will be restricted.
HB312, sponsored by Republican Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, passed in the 2025 general session. It establishes tight limits as to who is eligible for overcrowding release.
“We're concerned that the outflow of people from the facility won't keep up with the inflow,” Dumont said.
Overcrowding stresses resources such as judicial processing, transportation and medical care. According to Dumont, the sheriff's office starts to worry when demand surpasses the number of beds at the jail. Salt Lake County proposed a $507 million public safety bond last year to improve the jail’s infrastructure and increase the beds in the system, but voters rejected it.
The county council later approved a sales tax hike to increase the jail’s capacity. That revenue has gone to operations at the Oxbow Jail, according to Dumont, where he said an additional 184 beds opened on June 1. Since then, he said, the county has not had to rely on overcrowding releases. While the jail is keeping up with the current demand, concerns about overcrowding still persist as Salt Lake County grows.
“I don't think it's reasonable or logical to assume that we'll be able to maintain the same number of jail beds with an increasing population,” Dumont said.
Local activists say the county is looking at the wrong solutions. Shannon Woulfe is a volunteer organizer for the Salt Lake Community Bail Fund, an organization that pays bail for people in need.
“There are more police on the streets. They're finding more reasons to put people in jail. People are going to jail on lower-level stuff and then, and then they're asking for bigger jails, more beds,” Woulfe said. “This is not how we solve the community ills.”
She said HB312 is a way to get people experiencing homelessness off the streets. When the jail is overcrowded, she added, the courts can’t keep up. That means processing times are longer, and people can't see a judge in the time they are entitled to.
Liz Maryon, another volunteer for the organization, said police are criminalizing immigrants and those experiencing homelessness, rather than addressing ongoing housing, poverty, mental health and substance abuse issues.
“We need to provide resources that people need, not more jail beds,” Maryon said.
