Photos: New Jail Breaks Ground

The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday at the site of the new jail which is slated for completion in 2015.

The the new 260,000 square foot Maple Street Correctional Center on October 4, 2011, which has an estimated price tag of $160 million.

All five members of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, Undersheriff Carlos Bolanos, Assemblymember Jerry Hill, Redwood City Mayor Alicia Aguirre and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Secretary Matt Cate were in attendance. 

The recently approved state budget includes $500 million for additional local jail bed construction, but San Mateo County must apply for grants to receive some of this money. Back in October 2011, just a few weeks after the jail's approval, the state rejected the county's application for funds.

Many community members have protested this new jail, citing a large price tag that is not feasible within the county’s current budget.

Sheriff Greg Munks called the new jail a “place a hope” which will have more like culinary training, a dog training program and de-centralized computer labs to reduce recidivism and reintegrate former inmates back into society.

Children of inmates are five times more like than children of non-offenders to become incarcerated themselves, Munks said quoting statistics. He said he was committed to reducing this statistic by providing more visiting opportunities to the children of all inmates.

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