Grant to reduce overcrowding at St. Louis County jail is ending as jail hovers near capacity 91%
By Lacretia Wimbley0%
4/30/2026, 3:00:00 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 22 faulty reasoning types, including Halo Effect, Biased Writer Voice, and Optimism Bias, with Post Hoc (False Cause) as the most egregious example at 22.7% saturation with 127 hits. Analysis detected 775 faulty-reasoning hits from 560 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 85.4% and a BS Rank of 91% (1,966 of 21,887 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 91.00% of the article peer group.
The MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge initiative has provided $6 million over the past decade for efforts to reduce the population at the overcrowded St.
Louis County jail, and the grant is coming to a close.
The Safety and Justice Challenge began in May 2016.
The money will stop flowing on June 1, said Mandy Smith, grant manager for St.
Louis County Justice Services.
But jail officials said five programs implemented under the initiative will continue despite the grant ending.
They include items like enhanced pretrial supervision; a public safety assessment tool that objectively scores individuals eyed for release on their potential for new criminal activity; expedited probation handling, in which Missouri probation and parole officers are embedded in the jail to quickly address probation violations, and Tap In Centers, where individuals can potentially get their warrants recalled, as well as new court dates.
Jonel Coleman, acting director at the jail, said that through the initiative, the jail has managed overcrowding by releasing nonviolent offenders and reducing the need for additional jail beds.
But earlier this month, Coleman noted the jail has been slightly over capacity lately.
As of April 29, online data shows the jail had a population of 1,224, just under its stated capacity of 1,232.
Although the population at the jail has fluctuated over time, it’s been rising steadily since 2023.
“When we say we're overcrowded it doesn't mean that we have zero beds in here.
It means that we have too many people with the same classification,” Coleman said.
“Because of the overcrowding, (the initiative) doesn't seem as beneficial, but it's very beneficial when you consider the amount of people that aren't currently incarcerated.”
Coleman has said the jail doesn't house people held on low-level offenses in the same area as someone with a murder charge, for example.
Coleman said the enhanced pretrial supervision under the Safety and Justice Challenge has allowed at least 750 low-risk people to remain in the community while awaiting trial, instead of in jail.
More than 1,300 people have been released from jail or had their cases expedited based on recommendations from the Population Review Team, which was established under the initiative eight years ago.
The PRT is made up of public defenders, prosecutors, judges, community-based organizations and other court offices.
The group meets weekly to review individual cases in the jail to discuss potentially releasing them or getting their cases processed more quickly.
“We have a set list of individuals that we review there.
We go through any changes over the last month and really just use it as a time to bounce ideas off one another,” Smith said.
“A lot of these people come to the table with opposing views, but the overarching goal is public safety.
We can all agree on that every time.”
Coleman said the established work from the initiative will continue despite the grant ending.
The jail has been criticized for its residents’ declining mental health and medical neglect after Robin Marshall-Smith died in custody last month.
The jail also failed an American Correctional Association inspection last year.
Leaders said they’re hopeful of passing the next one when inspectors return this summer.
The facility currently has an 80-officer shortage, affecting operations and staff morale, jail leaders said previously.
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