Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Audit reveals overcrowding at Salt Lake County Jail increases recidivism rates.
- Released inmates due to overcrowding are twice as likely to reoffend, report shows.
- Salt Lake County plans to address jail capacity issues through funding and expansion efforts.
SALT LAKE CITY — Persistent issues with overcrowding at the Salt Lake County Jail have led to increased recidivism rates and, in some cases, more severe offenses, according to a new legislative audit.
Inmates released due to overcrowding at jails in the state's most populous county are more than twice as likely to reoffend as those released through other methods, according to a report released Tuesday by the Office of the Legislative Auditor General. That same group was more likely to be arrested again on first- and second-degree felony charges, auditors found.
After analyzing 100 randomly selected overcrowding inmates released from 2025, auditors say they identified 29 released individuals who were rated at the highest risk level on a test measuring the likelihood of reoffense, violence or failure to appear in court. Five of those individuals had been "specifically flagged as violent offenders," according to the report.
"This limited snapshot reveals a troubling pattern: Because of overcrowding, the jail released individuals flagged as high-risk, violent or noncompliant," the report states. "These findings suggest that overcrowding releases undermined public safety and created an accountability gap in the justice system. Reoffense rates following overcrowding releases have also increased each of the last three years."
Jail capacity has long been an issue in Salt Lake County, which auditors said can reduce the effectiveness of the threat of incarceration on potential offenders.
"In fact, after the jail stopped overcrowding releases, jail staff reported that one repeat offender was surprised that he was getting 'dressed in' to stay in jail rather than being released on the same day," auditors wrote. "Other repeat offenders shared his perception, refusing treatment services offered as an alternative to jail because they knew the jail would release them quickly."
Between January and May of this year, Salt Lake County released 1,785 inmates due to overcrowding, more than the 1,311 released after serving their whole sentences. Those released due to overcrowding spent an average of 12 hours incarcerated and 38% returned to jail on new arrests within 90 days.
Auditors said Salt Lake County also has a higher rate of defendants who fail to show up for court dates compared with the rest of the state, and attributed that in part to overcrowding releases.
The report does credit lawmakers with helping to end overcrowding releases. The Legislature passed a bill earlier this year barring any county from releasing people who have been arrested or convicted for several violent offenses, felony drug offenses, possession of fentanyl, driving under the influence if the offense resulted in death or serious injury or if they were arrested for another crime within 30 days.
HB312 prompted the county to increase sales taxes to fund the reopening of the last available section of the Oxbow Jail and to reclaim space at the Salt Lake County Adult Detention Center, thereby adding 248 additional beds. The jail system continues to "operate near capacity," auditors note, but overcrowding releases were halted at the beginning of June.
That progress may be short-lived, however, if capacity isn't fixed, which is why auditors recommend that the county "consider a range of options — including voter referendum, council-authorized bonds, or legislative coordination — to address inadequate jail capacity."
The county has tried to raise funds that would help pay for jail expansion, but voters rejected a $507 million public safety bond last year. Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson has proposed a nearly 20% property tax increase for next year, which would be used in part to address public safety and jail capacity.
In response to the report, Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera agreed with the recommendations and said her office will work with the County Council to find additional sources of funding. The county has contracted with the Leifman Group to work on criminal justice issues, and the results of that collaboration could inform a potential bond proposal for next year, the sheriff said.
"While the 2024 bond proposal included an 800-bed expansion, those numbers are being reassessed to account for new limits on overcrowd releases and continued population growth," she wrote. "Because the expansion will take several years, we will work with our criminal justice partners on interim solutions to ease capacity pressures and reduce reliance on overcrowd releases."
