The author argues that overcrowding is symptomatic of the root problem with jails, i.e., powerlessness to manage the size of the workload while being held accountable for how well jails operate. The life cycle of jails is examined in terms of the negative effects of crowding on inmates, staff, and conditions of confinement. Four ways jails are changing which will make them superior in the year 2012 are noted: (1) jails are more visible to the public, elected officials, criminologists, and correctional professionals than 10 years ago, (2) standards on conditions of confinement have taken the legal form and are being adopted by jails of all sizes, (3) jails often are part of the correctional agencies and less often an adjunct of law enforcement, and (4) jails will house different inmates and serve somewhat different functions, i.e., pretrial detainees who fail to appear for trial or are a serious threat to public safety, and sentenced offenders who have proven themselves intractable participants in community sentences. Other notable differences in jails of the future include greater compliance with the standards for local confinement prepared by the American Bar Association, the American Medical Association and the Commission on Accreditation; changes in operational costs due to the absence of inmate labor; changes in operational style due to housing primarily high-risk pretrial felons; and use of staff in proactive roles, such as managing inmates rather than simply guarding them. 17 references.