S.F. expands jail capacity, anticipating ramp-up in arrests

Smiling person with curly blonde and black hair, wearing a black sleeveless top, standing outdoors with trees and a clear sky in the background. by ELENI BALAKRISHNAN FEBRUARY 5, 2025 (MissionLocal.org)

Aerial view of a large, modern, multi-winged building with rounded sections, surrounded by a fence and located near a barren landscape and road. — San Francisco’s San Bruno jail. Image from Google Maps.

The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office announced today that it has reopened two more dorms in a once-shuttered San Bruno jail annex and expects to open a third next month, to accommodate a population that has jumped over the past two years.

One of those dormitories will be specifically used for addressing people with substance-abuse issues, providing case management and referring them to outside services. The expansion will increase the jail capacity by 180 beds, a sheriff spokesperson said; the annex, which first reopened in 2023, will hold a maximum of 300 people.

The department said its jail population has increased by 35 percent over the past two years, and currently its average daily population is more than 1,200, compared to 800 in 2023. Today, 1,231 people are in jail. Most are jailed in San Bruno, with a smaller number at the jail near 850 Bryant St.

The announcement comes a month after District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey proposed a police quota of 100 arrests per day, and the opening of “drug jails” — and a day after the police department announced its plan for a pop-up jail and treatment center on Sixth Street.

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The Sixth Street center is partly meant to facilitate arrests next to one of the city’s thorniest drug markets, and could swell jail populations even more.

Entrance gate with a security booth on the right, traffic cones lining the road, and a car approaching. Blue sky with clouds above. — Entrance to the San Francisco county jail in San Bruno. Image from Google Maps.

The city has been trending toward more arrests and easing restrictions on law enforcement. Mayor Daniel Lurie emphasized public safety during his campaign, and has made it a top goal of his administration. Last year, voters approved Prop. E, which expanded police powers and limited oversight from the civilian police commission.

In October 2023, the department announced the reopening of the 300-bed annex at its San Bruno jail in response to a growing jail population. At the time, only two of six dorms there were opened, and the daily jail population was around 1,100.

The city’s jail population has trended downward over the past 20 years: In the late aughts, more than 2,000 people were incarcerated in local jails each day, and this slowly decreased before a precipitous drop in 2020. Between 2020 and 2022, the jail population hovered around 700.

As more people with substance use and mental health disorders fill the jails, inmates and deputy sheriffs have described chaotic and violent conditions, involving frequent lockdowns, injuries and hospitalizations.

Sheriff spokesperson Tara Moriarty said the department oversaw a six-month renovation of the annex last year, allowing it to open the three additional dorms. She said the annex has one remaining dorm, which will remain closed for now.

One newly renovated dorm at the annex hosts the sheriff’s Roads to Recovery program for 60 men, and will permit outdoor recreation, according to a statement from Ali Riker, the sheriff’s director of programs.

Sheriff Paul Miyamoto said the unit will provide “cognitive behavioral classes and communal support they need to get back up on their feet.”