Orange County, California is used as a case study for this analysis of perceptions of jail overcrowding. The county's policy makers identified eight themes related to jail overcrowding: conservative public attitudes; decreased county revenues; resistance to alternatives; problems in siting new jails; changes in crime; population growth; problems in interagency communication; and social malaise. Each of these themes are discussed. The policy makers also listed perceived solutions to overcrowding: jail construction; prevention and education; and devolution. The strategies used by policy makers include avoidance of blame, limiting the agenda, throwing good money after bad, finding a scapegoat, passing the buck, myths, increased crime, and circling the wagons. Six policy implications are discussed: goal consensus versus conflict; placement on policy agenda; availability of policy alternatives; diversity of stakeholders; locus of expertise; and resources available for policy. The final component of policy analysis determines who will be responsible for implementing the policies and what the criteria of performance will be. 1 table and 77 references