- King County faces glut of jail space
Source: Seattle Times; December 8, 2010
Summary: King County has such a large a glut of space in their jail that they are reducing their per inmate fees to the cities in order to stay competitive. This is despite increasing costs.
In addition, there are several cities in south King County which are considering the construction of another jail. The council is considering a reduction in the corrections workforce, but the last time the King County Council reduced the number of corrections officers, their union sponsored an initiative to reduce the number of county council members to 9 from 13. If the number of inmates continues to decrease, they will consider closing the Kent jail.
- Medical Lake site chosen for jail in 2-1 vote
Source: Spokesman-Review; September 29, 2010
Summary: Spokane County Commissioners voted 2-1 (Mielke and Richard in favor, Mager opposed) to adopt the "Medical Lake" site for the new county jail and voted, by the same margin, to declare an emergency to exempt the necessary land use change from the normal comprehensive plan amendment schedule. The site at the I-90 Medical Lake exit was chosen despite two consecutive studies that recommended a site near the county courthouse. Operational costs at the downtown site are lower due to transportation costs. The comprehensive plan will still need to be amended to allow the jail at that location. Sheriff Knezovich said that the downtown jail is overcrowded and the Geiger Corrections Center is unsafe. Spokane County laid off 67 corrections officers this summer due to a reduction in inmate population. Spokane County Commissioners have scheduled a ballot measure for April to raise taxes to build the jail. A group called "No New Jail Project" has been formed to oppose it.
Opinion: The first time the recommendation favored the downtown site, the same county commissioners (Mielke and Richard) didn't like it. So, they ordered a new study so they could get an answer they liked. But, the second study said the same thing: build it adjacent to the county courthouse. The are significant advantages to having the jail near the courthouse that can't be swept away by simply doing a new study. Not only is it better for transportation issues, but for providing services to the people who are being incarcerated and their families. Also, for those who are not incarcerated but can benefit from the same kinds of family- and community-centered services, having a downtown location is better for them as well.
- Jail site choice a crime
Source: Spokesman-Review; December 16, 2010
Summary: A letter to the editor by Bart Haggin. The jail shouldn’t be placed out on the West Plains. The transportation costs will be huge. Better, yet, don’t build it at all because "building more jails and prisons to prevent crime is like loosening your belt to prevent obesity."
Opinion: Since transportation costs escalate faster than general inflation, and the indirect costs of sprawl is also well understood (after all, this new jail will need sewer and water services and new roads, etc.), the 40-year ROI that Mielke and Richard cites is actually not anywhere near that long. In the final calculation, Mielke and Richard are seeking the more expensive option.
- County Jail Populations Drop: So What Should We Do?
Source: American Civil Liberties Union of Washington; December 14, 2010
Summary: While several King County cities are considering the construction of a new jail and Spokane County will be asking for funding for a new jail in spring 2011, jail populations are going down and jails are experiencing a glut of space. The lessons here are: 1) population forecasts are unreliable, and are determined by policy changes not societal factors; 2) crime rates have been going down for decades, but populations have increased despite it; 3) alternatives to incarceration are working, so investments should be in rehabilitation programs, not new jails.
Opinion: No one claims to know why there is a drop, but it's acknowledged that a large part is the increased use of rehabilitative programs, rather than merely storage of offenders in little boxes where they can turn bitter and learn the more advanced skills they could not out on the streets. It is easy to conceptualize that separating people from society makes them less connected to society, and less concerned about society's welfare. Keeping them with their families and in society could, for those who can be rehabilitated, reduce recidivism. Ironically, recent cuts reduced the alternatives program in Spokane County. So, who knows, perhaps the Spokane County Commissioners will increase crime enough to need the jail after all.
Four the Future - December 20
The current controversy over the construction of a new Spokane County Jail.
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One of the main reasons the population has gone down in Spokane county's jail is due to the extensive reform efforts and creation of programs to reenter arrestees back into the community with the tools they need to lead productive crime-free lives. we are moving cases more swiftly, reducing the average length of stay in the jail signficantly and having documented success in reducing recidivism through programs like our GED program, parenting, anger management, workforce training and the addition of a Mental health theraputic court; all new in the past 5 years. However, our system remains significantly overcrowded, we are using a world war II army barrack for a jail, and it takes several years to construct a new facility so the notion that we don't need a facility or we can just wait a while is simply not founded on the facts.
ReplyDeleteSecond, the decision to relocate a portion of the jail to the west plains was sheer economics. Accounting for transportation and staffing expenses our professional consultants deemed we could shave $54 million off the cost of the project by placing the more secure facility off campus. Reasons: shoe horning it downtown triggered the need for a new parking garage and placing it on a larger parcel allowed us to build single story pod type construction as opposed to the required tower construction required to fit the necessary beds downtown.
Finally, we made a deliberate decision to design a system that keeps arrestees at the downtown facility until they are booked and receive a first appearance to minimize transportation costs. We also developed a video courtroom and visitation system in the new facility model for the same reasons. Further, we are proposing and prioritizing the creation of a reentry facility (community corrections)that will be housed downtown, close to housing, services and the court system to minimize transportation costs and maximize successful reentry of arrestees back into the community.