Proposed jail size leads to cost and ethics questions.
With an estimated price tag of at least $170 million, Whatcom County’s new jail will be the biggest project the county has ever embarked on. But how big, exactly, should the jail be?
Jed Holmes, a spokesperson for the county, said that current scenarios being explored have about 480 beds, with the infrastructure in place to allow for expanded capacity in the future. However, these concepts are not final.
The county is working with its design-build team to develop two scenarios and cost estimates, the more expensive of which would incorporate elements designed to make the jail more “therapeutic.” The scenarios will be presented to the Justice Project’s Finance and Facility Advisory Board in a meeting on Feb. 12, and later to the County Council on Feb. 24.
For years, attempts to fund a new jail have spurred debate surrounding the role of incarceration in Whatcom County. Central to those debates has been the question of how many people the county jail should be able to hold. In 2015, voters rejected a proposal to fund a 521-bed facility. Another proposal for a jail of 480 beds was also rejected in 2017.
Currently, the combined capacity of the Whatcom County Jail and the Interim Work Center is 359. Calls for a new jail have cited overcrowding and “inhumane” conditions in the current facility. Cities in Whatcom County have also raised concerns about the booking restrictions that go into effect when the jail is at or near capacity.
Those in favor of a larger jail argue that the facility should be big enough to accommodate population growth in the county. But other community members worry that a larger jail will simply lead to more incarceration, pointing to examples across the country.
A final decision on the scope of the jail can be expected in the next several months.
What’s behind the numbers?
A July report from DLZ, a national architecture and engineering firm, claims that by 2030 Whatcom County will need 480 beds. That number grows to 624 by 2040 and 720 by 2050. The numbers consider recommendations from the National Institute of Corrections which state that jails are safest and function best at about 80% capacity.
The report recommends 156 of those beds be devoted to “special housing” — which could include protective custody, medical isolation or areas designed for those who are struggling with addiction, trauma or mental health — and 36 to orientation, meaning numbers that stay consistent regardless of growth. The report also recommends the jail design include 12 padded beds, four detox beds and 36 intake and holding beds. County officials say they are committed to making sure the jail offers better support and programming, particularly for individuals with substance use disorders or those with mental illness.
The county also plans to construct a separate behavioral care center on Division Street in Bellingham, which will be open to people who are out of custody and will likely have about 32 beds.
DLZ encouraged the county to build as many beds as it could afford now to avoid having to pay for more later. Additional beds can also account for unpredictable fluctuations in the jail population due to changes in state or federal law. But given financial constraints — the sales tax has brought in less than expected and construction costs have risen with inflation — Holmes said it’s unlikely that the county will be able to afford the number of beds projected for 2040 or 2050.
“All along we’ve had the intention to build smart so that if, in the future, the needs are different than they are in 2030, we’d have a relatively economic way to meet those needs,” he said.
Build it and they will come?
Will a larger jail in Whatcom County lead to increased incarceration?
The FAQ section on the county’s Justice Project web page assures readers that “the new facility will provide the capacity to ensure that the decisions made about who is held in the jail are made based on the safety of our community and the best path toward justice, not by the number of beds available.”
But during his July presentation to the county council, DLZ Vice President Eric Ratts cautioned the county about trends he’s witnessed.
“When you get to the new facility, you’re going to immediately have some extra beds, and way more often than not those beds start to get filled up,” he said. “Build it and they will come. It happens way too often.”
For Heather Flaherty, who co-chairs the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force or IPRTF, these kinds of statements raise concern.
“In my history working with the county, when I have seen the most innovation (with preventing incarceration) is when there’s been constraints in the jail,” said Flaherty, speaking independently of the task force.
In an interview, Sheriff Donnell Tanskley said that he doesn’t think Ratts’s predictions about filling the jail will necessarily play out in Whatcom County.
“I think that might be true in some jurisdictions that have contractual agreements with other counties or with federal authorities,” he said. “We don’t have that in Whatcom County, and that’s not my plan. I’m not trying to have some type of financial incentive to have people incarcerated.”
In counties across the United States, there are examples of jails being filled, expanded and then filled again. But this doesn’t always occur. Skagit County constructed a new 400-bed jail to alleviate overcrowding in 2017. Today, the inmate population continues to hover around 200.
Tanksley estimates that the appropriate size for Whatcom County’s jail is about 600 beds. That accounts for an increase in population which, he said, can correlate with an increase in crime. But he also said he supports current scenarios being considered by the county and hopes to ensure the jail has adequate programming and rehabilitation services.
“The priority of any jail is to provide treatment over punishment and have a commitment to diversion, rehabilitation and reintegration,” he said.
— By Christy Carley
Also read in Salish Current:
• “Whatcom’s LEAD program offers lifeline, faces limits,” Aug. 7, 2025
• “New Whatcom County jail could face decreased funding ,” May 27, 2025
• “Jail, behavioral health, community policing challenge new Whatcom sheriff,” May 16, 2024
• “Jail needs to change, community agrees; but how?,” Jan. 3, 2023
• “‘Treatment over punishment’: jail diversion programs show potential,” April 8, 2022