Recent headlines about Spokane County’s jail situation might have provoked a double take, but the underlying news is good. The criminal justice system has gotten a lot more efficient and a lot less dysfunctional.

So why are Spokane County commissioners discussing a jail expansion, while 67 jail employees are being laid off? It’s a fair question. For one thing, those jail workers are a victim of the surprisingly quick success in coordinating the efforts of law enforcement, prosecutors and judges in implementing the changes called for by David Bennett Consulting, which issued a comprehensive assessment that busted the county’s historically inept criminal justice procedures.

In response, key players got together to form an Early Case Resolution system that has served as a triage point, ending the confusion and lengthy limbo for even those people who wanted to admit guilt and get on with sentencing. Recent layoffs at the prosecutor’s office have slowed some of those gains. The advent of drug and mental health courts and other alternative sentencing tools has also helped.

Before even broaching the topic of a new jail, county officials wanted to demonstrate that they were adopting some of the practices that have proved successful elsewhere in holding down jail populations. Thus far, it has succeeded. The average daily jail population has dropped from 1,126 in 2008 to 755 for the first four months of this year. What’s surprised officials even more is that the average length of stay in jail has dropped from 17.8 days in 2008 to 11.5 days thus far this year.

That’s an impressive achievement, but it is too soon to say whether this decline is sustainable. David Bennett says it is even difficult at this point to draw solid conclusions on what specifically is working, but the county now has the tools to measure progress.

Some people have used the layoffs to claim that jail expansion is unnecessary. Nobody wants to build a jail if it isn’t needed, but this trend is not conclusive evidence of that. The sheriff must plan based on realistic assumptions, not a wish list of criminal justice changes that might not happen. The reality is that the downtown lockup is too small for the current jail population and that the lease on the Geiger Correctional Center is going to lapse. Even if the county were to stick with those facilities, they would need expensive remodeling and modernizing. Plus, a Community Corrections Center to handle inmates in alternative programs and treatment would still be needed.

Spokane County’s population will continue to grow. That much is certain. Needs can also change based on society’s embrace of a less punitive justice system. The tough-on-crime era was driven by its popularity. It could return and new criminal laws could arise. Conversely, some offenses could be decriminalized. Supreme Court rulings could encourage or hinder more arrests. We may or may not adopt a more upfront solution for the mentally ill.

All of this uncertainty points to the need for a flexible jail expansion plan that can adjust to societal shifts. Jail expansion aside, the entire community ought to applaud the early success of a more efficient criminal justice system.