In mid-April, Santa Barbara County Supervisors will revisit a costly and consequential decision: whether to move forward with a jail expansion by building 384 beds (1.5 option) or choose a more fiscally responsible 1.0 option (256 beds). The difference — up to $147 million in construction, financing, and operating costs — money the county can use to offset serious cuts to community services.
Santa Barbara County faces a $23 million budget deficit next year and $66 million over the next five years. Across-the-board cuts may seem fair, but in our criminal justice system, they will actually increase costs and deepen existing problems. Today, several costly dysfunctions drive unnecessary jail use. Smart, targeted investments will improve justice while saving money.
Court Delays Keep People in Jail Longer than Necessary: A 2025 Defense Workloads and Staffing study documents significant caseload and staffing disparities between the Public Defender and District Attorney, creating a serious choke point for criminal justice. Public Defender understaffing leaves attorneys with overwhelming caseloads. This leads to delays in investigating contested facts and preparing defenses. Judges routinely grant continuances “for good cause.”
The result is that 70 percent of those in our jails wait for their cases to move forward at a cost of $394 per person per day. The Sheriff’s current budget just for jail operations is $107,780,000. Delays waste court resources, strain families, and undermine confidence in the justice system.
People Approved for Treatment Are Still Sitting in Jail: Roughly 35 jail residents are court-approved for mental health or substance use treatment, yet remain incarcerated because appropriate treatment beds are unavailable. This is a continuous problem: We spend heavily on jail capacity while underinvesting in treatment options that address root causes of justice involvement.
Effective Alternatives to Jail Are Underused: Community supervision (probation) is shown to be as effective as incarceration in reducing re-offending, and it costs far less. Yet, low-risk individuals who might be eligible for release remain unnecessarily jailed.
These are not abstract policy concerns — they are practical problems with practical solutions. County Supervisors can make strategic FY2026-27 budget decisions to improve justice and reduce costs.
- Strengthen public defense and expand early representation: Our County Public Defender represents about 80 percent of all those held in our jails. Hiring a few more defense attorneys and investigators to enable manageable caseloads will reduce “just cause” delays, provide more timely justice, and reduce the large numbers of those who sit in jail with their cases undecided.
The county should approve realignment funding to expand the READY (Re-entry, Early Access, and Diversion for You) program. It gives public defenders early access to clients, resulting in 28 percent fewer days in jail and cases more efficiently resolved. For that program, an investment of $110,000 saved about $250,000 in reduced days in jail.
The county General Fund Budget needs to support additional public defender staff to reduce post arraignment court delays, improve justice, and lower the jail population at comparatively minimal cost.
- Make better use of Probation Department risk assessments: Encourage judges to rely on Probation Department’s credible risk assessments. Accommodate low-risk individuals to be safely supervised in the community. Maintain public safety and reduce unnecessary jail costs.
- Expand treatment alternatives to incarceration: Support additional community-based mental health and substance use treatment to accommodate those in jail who are court-approved for such care.
- Don’t overfund jail expansion: Supervisors will soon decide between building 384 new beds (1.5 housing units) or 256 beds (1.0 unit) for the Northern Branch Jail. Investing in the strategies above can safely reduce jail demand, avoid building excess capacity, and save up to $147 million in long-term construction and operating costs.
Our county supervisors can strategically reduce incarceration, improve fairness, and protect taxpayers — all at the same time. At its core, this is about how stewardship, faith traditions and responsible caring governance call us to use resources wisely and treat every person with dignity.
The authors represent Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice and League of Women Voters Criminal Justice Workgroup.
