Thirteen Harris County legislators have asked the Texas Commission on Jail Standards to think carefully before approving a request from the Harris County Sheriff's Office to increase the number of beds at the county jail. The request comes just two months after the Harris County Jail was so crowded the sheriff delayed inmate transfers.

In a letter on Tuesday, the group of three senators and ten representatives expressed concern that adding new beds would only worsen overcrowding in the jail, the state's largest. Instead, the lawmakers urged the commission and Harris County officials to look for ways to divert would-be inmates from jail.

Requests for more beds, they argue, "are unnecessary when there are numerous, effective solutions that can be implemented not only to reduce jail population and eliminate the need for variances, but also increase public safety through more effective and efficient crime reduction strategies."