Is this jail the future of criminal justice in San Diego County?

When San Diego County replaced its aging women’s jail in Santee more than a decade ago, officials leaned toward an emerging concept in local corrections.

The new jail would focus on reentry — the idea that people in custody should spend their time behind bars preparing for life on the outside rather than merely staying put.

That meant developing an open-concept lockup, with housing modules spread across dozens of acres, gardens for cultivating vegetables so women could learn culinary skills, a modern laundry facility and plenty of space for classes and vocational training.

The Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility opened in 2014 on 45 acres off Riverview Parkway, just north of state Route 52.

The county’s only all-women jail, Las Colinas serves as the primary booking and housing site for women arrested across the county. Women can still be booked into the Vista jail but are typically transferred to Las Colinas within 24 hours.

The complex was designed to house up to 1,280 women of every level of behavior, from drunk drivers and probation violators to suspects accused of murder and other violent crimes.

Now, as the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office pushes to rebuild the Vista Detention Facility — its nearly 50-year-old men’s jail in North County that officials say is becomi...