JAIL: No lease, so start over

It is now time for the Board of County Commissioners to take the lease of a private jail off the table. Judge Stegner, on Friday, Aug. 29, ruled the proposed lease agreement does not pass constitutional muster. While some tinkering with the lease agreement might fix the constitutional problem it will not make a silk purse out of this sow’s ear. It is time to start over; examining our justice/correctional system rather than just the number of bodies.

We need a fresh, system wide look; examining all aspects of the justice system. The court system, law enforcement, attorneys — both defense and prosecution, probation and a wide array of community services all come into play. Can all of these components work together to provide an equivalent level of security for the community, with no additional cost to taxpayers? I believe they can. Not only can they do it but they can begin to address crime prevention as well.

The $648,000 currently spent housing prisoners out of county could pay for services here in Kootenai County. We could create jobs here in our county and provide judges with more appropriate pre-trial and sentencing options.

We cannot afford to build our way out and we cannot afford to ignore less expensive alternatives simply because we are unwilling to do the hard work of planning, studying and communicating with the public.

The BOCC should reverse course allowing the new BOCC, beginning in January, to examine the issue with new eyes and perhaps steer a different path.

JERRY SHRINER

Coeur d’Alene