To determine how to alleviate overcrowding at the San Mateo County Jail, county officials have commissioned several reports that investigate the local correctional system. Yet, once the reports were published, San Mateo County disregarded many of the critical findings, the Palo Alto Daily News reported.

The reports largely point to the county's plans to build a new jail as being unnecessary. One, which was published in December 2011 and compiled by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice based in San Francisco, said more could be done with the county's pretrial system to expedite court cases and transfer inmates. The county could also use probation more and offer more rehabilitation programs that help keep criminals out of jail, thus reducing the need for more jail space, the Daily News reported. Bail bonds are also an effective way of keeping prison populations down, by allowing individuals continue their day-to-day lives instead of spending time in jail while going through justice system proceedings.

The third and most recent study, commissioned by San Mateo County, was discontinued after consultants began asking questions about inmates and how their trials and sentences are handled, the article stated. San Mateo County Deputy County Manager Mary McMillan said the Institute for Law and Policy Planning, which conducted the study, was reaching outside the scope of what the organization was hired to do.

"They were asking about people in pretrial, and we already had a very comprehensive pretrial report," said McMillan, according to the Daily News.

The Institute contended officials stopped the report because the county has a history of avoiding change and feared "confronting the real issues that plagued the local justice system."

Many have come out in opposition to a new Redwood City jail, which would accommodate an extra 578-768 inmates. The San Mateo County Sheriff's Department estimates the current county jail is already at least 130 percent over capacity  - an effect of the state's prison realignment program that transfers prison inmates to county-controlled facilities and rehabilitation programs. The realignment program has placed a burden upon county jails, as it increases inmate populations.

A new jail is not the answer, some have said. Emily Harris, a statewide coordinator for Citizens United for a Responsible Budget, said the reports validate the concerns of those  who oppose the new jail.

"It's been so validating that we're right; even their own reports are saying they don't need a jail," she told the Daily News.