WANTED: Big enough jail

In 2003 voters approved a one half percent sales tax increase to pay for the county jail expansion. I voted for it and thought it was a great idea. The mistake was that they didn’t build it big enough.

A few years later, here we go again. The jail is now too small, but voters don’t want anything to do with it. Why? I think the reason was that people knew that they did not build it large enough when they had lower costs and the money available from the sales tax increase.

I would like to see a larger jail. I want one similar to the buildings on the corner of Seventh and Front streets. A large digital sign, “Kootenai County Jail — We Have Room for You,” should be placed on the jail to tell the criminals and want-to-be-criminals that they don’t want to live here. If you want to lower crime and increase employment in Kootenai County, that is the way to do it. I do not mind paying a half percent sales tax increase if it will lower crime and let the bad guys know that we have room for them in our jail.

On a side note, I read in the paper about a dangerous man who was given an eight-year sentence with three years fixed. This person has had numerous chances to be a good citizen, but he has failed. This should be close to three strikes and you are out. I left law enforcement in 1978 because of the liberal court system in another state. Is that attitude entering Idaho? Victims of crime do not need liberal courts. To discourage crime, we need a bigger jail and maybe the state should build a larger prison.

DAVE BOERNER

Coeur d’Alene